Ishitani Has Created Another Masterpiece

The post has spoilers for One Piece Fan Letter.

Key Takeaways

• One Piece anime on break till 2025, airing remastered Fish-Man arc in 21 episodes.
• One Piece Fan Letter special episode features two compelling storylines.
• Episode showcases parallels between Luffy and brother dynamics, with emotional impact.

The One Piece anime announced it would take a prolonged break till 2025. The anime will return in April 2025 with new episodes from the Egghead arc. This was harrowing news for some fans, as they looked forward to new episodes every week. However, the series announced that it would air a remastered version of the Fish-Man Island arc to fill the void created by the hiatus.

The Fish-Man arc will be condensed to 21 episodes, making sure that it has better pacing. Aside from the remastered version, the anime also released a special episode called One Piece Fan Letter. It was released on October 19, 2024, and it was quite literally the best thing the anime has produced all year.

The Two Stories In One Piece Fan Letter

One Piece Fan Letter focuses on two stories.

• The first is about a young girl who wants to deliver a letter to Nami.
• The second is about two brothers who serve in the Navy.

The storyline concerning the two brothers is presented in such an outstanding manner that one can’t help but applaud the effort of everyone involved with the project. While the episode pays attention to both brothers, the focus is on the elder one. The younger brother is smarter, so he climbs through the ranks easily, and he makes sure to poke fun at his older brother.

This has been a regular occurrence since the two were nothing but kids. Over the years, being subjected to his younger brother’s mockery made the elder one despise him. However, he never outwardly expressed his dissatisfaction. The brothers fought in the Summit War, but it was clear that they were out of their depth.

Even when they were engaged in combat, the younger brother didn’t hold back and made sure to mock his elder sibling. This was the final straw, and the latter realized that he loathed him. When the younger brother was trapped under rubble, he repeatedly called out for help. Initially, his elder brother ran towards him but decided to leave him behind after seeing lasers and remembering his behavior.

Parallels With Monkey D. Luffy And Portgas D. Ace

As the older brother was running away, he heard Luffy screaming Ace’s name and, for that second, time stood still. It perfectly highlighted the difference in the mentality of the two brothers. Luffy was fighting against much stronger opponents to rescue his brother. He was willing to lay down his life to protect Ace.

This was an incredible parallel to the situation of the two Marine brothers. The elder brother was running away while the younger one remained trapped. But seeing Luffy’s determination changed his mind, and he went back to save his younger brother. This moment had a huge impact on the older brother’s mind. The staff working on One Piece Fan Letter did a phenomenal job of using the visuals and music to show the inner conflict in his mind.

Nami’s Biggest Fan Does Her Best

The other storyline in the episode involved a young girl with orange hair. A person could easily mistake her for a young Nami. This young girl lacked the physical strength or a Devil Fruit to coerce others into doing what she wanted. However, she was intelligent and knew how to get out of tricky situations. Seeing Nami become one of the most popular pirates in the world made her believe that she could also live freely unfettered by external forces.

I still want to struggle, run, and live as freely as I can.

The young girl even managed to decipher Luffy’s 3D2Y message, so she knew when the Straw Hats would gather again on Sabaody Archipelago. She was waiting for the right moment, and when the day finally came, she wasted no time in heading towards the location. But fate had other plans for her. She constantly bumped into obstacles, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams. She wanted to deliver the letter to Nami at all costs. Towards the end, she felt that she was going to fail.

One Last Piece Of The Puzzle

However, she gathered her strength to do the Straw Hat Pirates one big favor. She rushed towards the younger of the Marine brothers, who had her letter and the key to a weapon that could destroy the Thousand Sunny. Like a nimble thief, she stole the envelope and tore it in front of the Marines. All of them were shocked, and they watched helplessly as the Straw Hats made their getaway.

After the Straw Hat Pirates escaped, the Marines decided to punish the young girl for impeding justice. However, the young girl revealed that she had only torn her letter, once again dazzling the Marines. The weapon’s key was still intact, but it was already too late to use it. As the ship sailed away, the young girl caught a glimpse of Nami, and deep down, she knew that the navigator would be proud of her.

Overall, the One Piece Fan Letter was excellent. Not only did it have a high level of animation, but the storyboard was exquisite as well. Viewers could easily understand the emotions of each character without having to pay too much attention to them. Every single animator working on the project deserves a ton of praise, along with Megumi Ishitani, who spearheaded it. The director once again proved why she is one of the best in business. There is hardly anything bad about One Piece Fan Letter, so it deserves a rating of 9.75 out of 10.