One Piece kicked off its saddest arc with a bang in episode #1129, and it left plenty to be excited about for episode #1130 and beyond. Episode #1129 begins a story people have been waiting years to see animated, and even with just one episode to go on, it appears to have been well worth the wait.

One Piece episode #1129 continued where episode #1128 left off, with Luffy fully drained of power after overusing Gear 5 and Saint Saturn appearing on the scene in his demonic form. Saturn’s mysterious powers kept everyone immobilized as he moved to kill Luffy and Bonney, but before he could do either, One Piece’s story shifted to a showing of Kuma’s tragic backstory as a slave for the World Government. The anime has been building up to the tragedy of Kuma’s life for a long time, and as bad as things already seem, it’s only going to get worse from here.

What Time One Piece Episode 1130 Releases

One Piece Episode 1130's Release Schedule

As with previous episodes, One Piece streams new episodes weekly on Crunchyroll and Netflix, which can be accessed through their apps, websites, or third-party websites like Amazon Prime. Assuming there are no delays, One Piece episode #1130 should premiere on Crunchyroll on Sunday, May 25 at 8:45 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 11:45 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 4:45 PM British Summer Time (BST), with the same episode debuting a week later on Netflix, as well.

One Piece Episodes 1128 Review: A Perfectly Dramatic Turning Point

One Piece Episode 1128 In Review

One Piece episode #1128 marks the Egghead arc’s most dramatic turn yet, and it was handled perfectly. Much of the drama centered around Saint Saturn ing the battle, and not only did the animation surrounding him perfectly highlight how much of a threat he was, but Bonney’s reaction to him was perfectly directed to highlight what people should expect from Kuma’s tragic backstory. Saint Saturn’s appearance in the One Piece anime was perfectly handled in every regard, and that was great to see after all the hype.

The rest of the episode, of course, was of appropriately high quality. Every fight scene, no matter how small it might have been, was perfectly paced with gorgeous artwork and animation, and in a moment people have been waiting over a year to see in animation, Luffy’s Gum-Gum Star Gun attack against Kizaru was given some of the best-looking animation in the One Piece anime to date. Episode #1128 is the end of Luffy and Kizaru’s fight for the time being, and there couldn’t have been a better way to see it happen.

Everything great about episode #1128, of course, can be attributed to its director, Nozomu Shishido. Shishido has been in charge of some of the Egghead arc’s most gorgeous episodes like episode #1089 and Luffy and Lucci’s rematch in episode #1100, and sure enough, Nozomu Shishido’s work on One Piece episode #1128 made it another visual and narrative masterpiece. The Egghead arc is set for a major tone shift with One Piece episode #1129, and overall, episode #1128 was the best way to kick that off.

What Happened In One Piece Episode 1129?

Produced By Toei Animation; Directed By Tasuku Shimaya

One Piece episode #1129, “Kuma's Past - Better Off Dead in This World”, picked up where episode #1128 left off, with Bonney stabbing Saturn due to his involvement with Kuma’s backstory, but Saturn easily shrugged it off and apprehended Bonney. Bonney accused Saturn of killing Kuma, which Saturn blamed on Kuma being part of a slave caste called the Buccaneers, and he then ordered the nearby Marines to kill Bonney. As the Marines took aim, Bonney ed how Kuma had taught her about Nika as a child, and the story shifted to a full-fledged flashback to Kuma’s life.

47 years ago, Kuma was born in the Sorbet Kingdom to Clapp, a local priest and a descendant of the Buccaneers. While Clapp tried to keep his heritage under wraps, the World Government found out when Kuma was four, and the entire family was forced into slavery for the Celestial Dragons. Kuma tried to keep up a brave face as his master abused him, but he was finally broken when his mother died, and while Clapp tried to cheer him up with stories of Nika, Kuma was broken even further when his father was killed simply for being too loud.

Five years later, Kuma and dozens of other slaves were brought to God Valley for a triennial contest where Celestial Dragons hunt people for sport, which Kuma immediately tried to run away from. Kuma was quickly found by his fellow slaves, who needed to take him back so they wouldn’t be killed, and Kuma tearfully cried that he’d rather they just kill him. The other slaves ignored Kuma’s cries, of course, but before they could bring Kuma back, a young Emporio Ivankov and a girl named Ginny, both fellow slaves, appeared proposing a plan to keep them all alive.

One Piece Makes One Underrated Friendship Even Better

How One Piece Improves On A Major Friendship

One of the biggest takeaways from episode #1129 is how it recontextualizes Kuma and Ivankov’s relationship. Up until now, their friendship seemed to come purely from being leaders of the Revolutionary Army, but after episode #1129, it’s clear that Kuma and Ivankov were so close because of the bond they built on God Valley years before the Revolutionary Army was founded. That adds an incredible amount of depth to something that was largely out of focus up until now, and with how tragically it all went, that’s great to see.

One Piece Kicks Off Its Saddest Story On An Amazing Note

An Incredible Start To A Phenomenal One Piece Story In The Making

There was plenty of hype surrounding the anime’s take on Kuma’s backstory, and so far, it’s off to a great start. The story is as wonderfully tragic as it was in the manga, and with the gorgeous animation and direction accompanying it all at every turn, One Piece episode #1129 is the perfect beginning to Kuma’s backstory both visually and narratively. Tasuku Shimaya, famous for directing the beginning of Gear 5 Luffy and Kaido’s fight, came back for episode #1129, and there was no better director for the job.

The biggest point of praise for episode #1129, of course, comes from Nobuhiko Okamoto’s performance as young Kuma. Okamoto is best known for voicing loud and aggressive characters like Genya in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Bakugo in My Hero Academia, so Kuma is a noted departure from his usual work, but sure enough, Nobuhiko Okamoto has done a phenomenal job of conveying the sadness and emotional depth of Kuma’s childhood self. There won’t be much of Okamoto’s performance, but One Piece made the perfect call to cast him, and that will be even clearer in episode #1130.

Be sure to watch One Piece episode #1130 when it releases on Sunday, May 25.