Eat At Baratie
Episode 5 of One Piece picks up with the military in hot pursuit of Luffy and his crew. Flashbacks flesh out more of Luffy’s backstory here too, including his brief ties with Garp. As a kid, Luffy tried to create his own pirate ship but instead, Garp snatched him up to train him to be a better man.
Back onboard the ship in the present, Luffy organizes the troops but they’re not exactly combat-ready. Usopp spills the cannon balls, but it’s Garp who uses his unbelievable strength to throw one over at the crew. Luffy makes his body huge and bounces the cannonball back at the Admiral’s ship, destroying one of the sails.
As a result, the Straw Hat crew manage to slow down their pursuers, allowing the group to disappear into a conveniently approaching thick fog.
The ship has minor damages, but with thick fog surrounding them, they need somewhere to lay low. Thankfully, Luffy can sniff out food and with his inquisitive sense of smell, they navigate through the fog to the other side, where they happen upon the Baratie, a beautiful ship that’s been turned into a restaurant.
Usopp and Luffy’s attempts at rolling charisma don’t work with the concierge (little D&D joke there guys, apologies) but Nami slips some cash his way and they manage to get a table. Now, it wouldn’t be an anime without beautiful shots of cooking and food right? Whilst the group eat, we’re introduced to a charismatic fighter/chef by the name of Sanji. He immediately piques the interest of the Straw Hat Crew.
There’s some welcome comradeship between the group as they sit together and prepare to eat here, and they certainly have a feast on their hands! After eating, Luffy toasts to their victory against the Marines. Nami doesn’t see it that way and tries to speak plainly to him, and about the elephant in the room. That is, of course, being that the Vice Admiral Garp is Luffy’s grandfather.
Meanwhile, the Vice-Admiral calls in Mihawk to hunt down Luffy and bring him in alive. The guy is called right in the middle of a huge battle, given he’s a sea lord but his skills are impressive, using his huge sword to cut a ship from afar in half without breaking a sweat. Mihawk is a bounty hunter and given instructions to bring in Luffy alive, by any means necessary. Koby overhears this and begins to question his allegiances, telling Garp as much later on in the episode.
Back at the Baratie, Luffy tries to wave off the bill for his food, promising to pay it off with interest in the future. The head chef, Zeff, is not happy with this and instead, calls Luffy in to clean all the dishes until his debt is completely paid off. While there, Luffy tastes some of Sanji’s food and his face lights up immediately.
Luffy points out that Sanji’s food is amazing, and learns that the guy’s dream is to find the All Blue, an unknown location that has rare spices, seaweed and fish that have never been tasted. He wants to cook them up and become world renowned but right now it seems impossible. Luffy though, tells him never to give up.
When a weak pirate shows up, desperate for food, Sanji agrees to feed him and saves his life. Luffy realizes that he’s a good man and offers Sanji a way out and to come and cook as part of his crew. This pirate though happens to be part of a huge armada that was lost on the seas, having been swallowed up by the sea off the back of sailing the Grand Line and trying to find the One Piece. When he hears what Luffy intends to do, he warns that out of 50 ships and 5000 men, he’s the only survivor.
Elsewhere, Nami decides to split and seeks passage to the Conomi Islands from a shady guy at the bar. She offers up the fee of 6000 Berries to pay her way and decides to go alone. She’s told to be ready by dawn at Slip 22. Before she goes though, Nami and Zoro share drinks and feed little nuggets of information to one another.
When Mihawk shows up that night, Zoro challenges him to a duel to the death at dawn. Nami and Usopp are shocked by this play and immediately warn Luffy. Given Mihawk is a warlord of the sea, Nami is worried that Zoro is going to get killed. Given he made a promise to Kuina in the past, he intends to make good on that and try to live up to his dream.
Luffy realizes he can’t stand in the way of his dream and allows him to duel. Nami points out that they’re friends, but Zoro pushes her away, telling the navigator that she has no friends, and said as much herself.
At dawn, Nami heads down to the dock and contemplates leaving but gets cold feet and sticks around after all. Elsewhere, Zoro shows up to fight against Mihawk. The pair trade blows. However, Zoro ends up stabbed in the heart for his efforts. “Why don’t you retreat?” Mihawk asks. “I can’t. Or my dream will be lost forever,” Zoro replies.
Mihawk appreciates Zoro’s courage and decides to bring out his best sword for this. As he does, the pair trade blows again, this time with Zoro losing two of his swords, which are sliced to bits. With Zoro bested, he allows Mihawk to slice him right across his chest and knock him down.
Luffy is angry and vows to become the King of the Pirates. This courage prompts Mihawk walk away, deciding that the world could do with a few more wildcards. He encourages Luffy to come back and find him later on in the game, with Zoro himself passing out on the ground, vowing to never lose again.
The Episode Review
One Piece delivers another good episode, this time managing to exude the charm and feel of the anime. There’s still that edge of comedy that doesn’t quite hit the right marks, but things like showing food being cooked and the comradeship that comes with eating a big meal together, is definitely a nice touch.
Mihawk is a great casting and he looks identical to his manga counterpart too which is excellent to see. His fight with Zoro is certainly emotional and editing that in with shots of Kuina is a nice touch and adds extra depth to the scene.
This fight is far from over though and the ending hints that we’ve got lots more drama to come in the episodes ahead. Bring it on!
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You can look forward to a full season review later this weekend! |
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