Summary
TheOne Pieceanime has been hitting it out of the park lately and, now is the time to step it up a gear because Luffy’s strongest transformation, Gear 5 is finally here. Today, fans will finally witness this iconic transformation for the very first time in the anime and, undoubtedly, it is going to be a legendary episode and one to remember for ages.
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Fans are already incredibly hyped about what they are going to be treated with, and all the comments from the different staff members who are working on the episodes, especially the series director, Tatsuya Nagamine, have only gone on to excite the fans even more.
Series Director Nagamine’s Role In Gear 5 Episodes
Series director Tatsuya Nagamine took over at the very beginning of the Wano arc. He’s a legendary figure when it comes to directing and has taken charge ofOne Pieceon a few occasions in the past, withOne Piece Film: Zbeing the prime example. Nagamine certainly made sure thatOne Piecechanged for good when he took over and he brought his vision to life with Wano. The fact that fans have seen such a big step up in quality when it comes to Wano is simply down to the fact that Nagamine, and along with him, the other series directors, Aya Komaki (former) and Kohei Kureta, stepped up their effort.
Wano looks as beautiful as it doessimply because of these people and collectively, they have brought on incredible talent to the show and made sure that the quality improved for this arc, especially. Now, Wano is at its very peak and it is expected of this arc to transcend all heights and reach levels that have never been seen before.One Piecefans are incredibly excited for that and all of it is being brought to life by none other than Tatsuya Nagamine himself. Nagamine is going to be directing as well as storyboarding the first Gear 5 episode, that is,One Pieceepisode 1071.
Nagamine is a phenomenal director and he has shown that in the Wano arc previously as well. The very opening of Wano was directed by him in episode 892. Now, Nagamine is bringing his A game and this could very well be his very best contribution to theOne Pieceseries to date. The series director is also largely responsible for bringing different talents on and, while not all the names are confirmed just yet, fans can rest assured that an incredibly amazing team of animators from all over the world is going to betaking part in the Gear 5 episodes.
What To Expect From Gear 5 Stretch
The Gear 5 stretch is likely going to be the best animated stretch ofOne Piece, by far. While individual episodes might not be the very best, given how difficult it is to top Megumi Ishitani’s masterpieces, they can still be the best-animated stretch that fans have ever seen inOne Piece. This means that fans will get high-quality episodes one after the other for the very first time in the series, which usually is not the case. The Gear 5 stretch is going to see some big-name animators turn toOne Piece. In fact, Nagamine himself has quite a lot to say about what is to come.
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According to him, the staff that worked on the Gear 5 episodes, including himself, of course,tried to make Gear 5 just as it is in the manga. However, as animators, their vision started to broaden. Nagamine did not reveal everything about what fans are going to witness in the episode. However, he did continue to say that the animators are incredibly enthusiastic about their work on these episodes. Nagamine also mentioned that people from all over the world have gathered to work on these episodes. At one point, 4 languages were used in a single meeting, which just goes to show that everyone in the world adoresOne Pieceand that they are just as big fans of it as those watching on the screens, and that can only be a brilliant thing for the story.
At the same time, Nagamine also mentions that it was quite a challenge for him tobalance the laughter that Gear 5 brings with itselfin an intense battle such as Lucy versus Kaido. While he tried to cut down on the laughter a bit, Mayumi Tanaka, the voice actress for Luffy, put in such a phenomenal performance that the results exceeded all their expectations anyway.
This gives fans quite a lot to be excited about and when taking into consideration that Nagamine is bringing the very best of the animators to work alongside himself on episode 1071, fans cannot help but be excited. What’s even more incredible is the fact that another animator, Tu Yong-Ce, who has been one of the heavy lifters onOne Piece, especially since Whole Cake Island, recently stated that the Gear 5 episodes will all be high-quality ones and fans should not just look forward to episode 1071. This means that all the incredible talent that they have acquired to work on Gear 5 will be spread across this stretch. Fans will likely get to see high-quality animated cuts throughout 1071 and all the episodes after it, until Luffy finally defeats Kaido.
RELATED:One Piece: Is Vivi The 10th Straw Hat Crewmember?While nothing has been explicitly confirmed, the leaks and rumors about various animators that are going to be working on these episodes are enough for every fan to get a chill down their spine. Undoubtedly, this is going to be the very best stretch ofOne Pieceand while individual episodes might not be as good as episode 1015, they are still going to be incredible to look at.
The Contents Of The Gear 5 Stretch
Of course, the anime staff can only do so much when it comes to making all the fans stay glued to the screens. Much of that depends on the content they are adapting as well and when it comes to Gear 5, it is, by far, the best transformation that fans have likely seen, ever.Gear 5 sees Luffy return as Joyboyfor the very first time in 800 years and fight against Kaido. Fans get to know about his powers and his ability to spread laughter and joy to wherever he goes. Luffy becomes the Warrior of Liberation and is revered asthe Sun God Nika.
In his fight against Kaido, Luffy demonstrates all of his powers and what makes him truly special. Going back to the basics with hisincredibly rubbery body, Luffy is able to combat Kaido in a way that the Yonko has never seen before. Eventually, Luffy manages to gain the upper hand and the battle and frees the land of Wano for good. This fight is, by far, the very best inOne Piece, and much of that is down to this incredible transformation of Gear 5. Fans absolutely adore it and the fact that they are going to see it animated finally is enough to keep them excited for the upcoming weeks.
