The post contains spoilers for One Piece.
Summary
- Sanji needed help handling the Seraphim, sparking controversy within the One Piece community.
- Toei Animation’s unnecessary additions in Episode 1124 made Sanji look weak and affected his character.
- Fans appreciate the high animation quality but are concerned about Toei mixing up manga content, urging the studio to make fewer unnecessary changes.
The One Piece anime returned after a long time, and fans were thrilled to watch their favorites back in action. Instead of releasing a single episode, the anime decided to air two new episodes back to back.
One Piece Episode 1123 was released on April 5, 2025, while Episode 1124 aired on April 6, 2025. The quality of animation in both episodes was phenomenal, but fans did have a few gripes. The biggest problem that fans had in One Piece Episode 1124 was related to Toei Animation’s decision to add a scene that affects Sanji unnecessarily.
Related
Sanji Needed Help To Handle The Seraphim
In One Piece Episode 1124, the Straw Hats subdued York and the Seraphim. The satellite had gone rogue and betrayed Vegapunk in exchange for becoming a Celestial Dragon. She would have gotten away with it if the Straw Hat Pirates had not been on the island.
After York was captured, there was a short sequence that began with Sanji talking about how Nami saved his life from S-Shark, the Seraphim based on Jimbei. This particular scene was not included in the manga, and Toei Animation added it on its own accord. The scene has sparked a massive debate within the One Piece community, with some fans calling it highly unnecessary and contradictory.
The Problems Associated With The Changes
There are quite a few problems with the way Toei Animation has handled the adaptation. Firstly, it contradicts Oda’s work. In one of the earlier episodes, Sanji took a punch from S-Shark to his face and was perfectly fine. But in Episode 1124, the flashback showed Sanji on his knees and holding his left shoulder. This would mean that the Seraphim somehow found a way to hurt Sanji and overwhelm the pirate.
Secondly, the scene makes Sanji look extremely weak, especially when Zoro took down two Seraphim alone. In the manga, Zoro struggled against the Seraphim, while Sanji barely took any damage from S-Shark’s attack. If anything, it should have been Sanji who won his fight handsomely.
And Nami-san saved me too. —Sanji
Finally, the flashback was just unnecessary. Toei Animation had no real reason to add the scene to the episode unless it wanted to show that Nami was more useful in the arc. However, this could have been done in a better way. Stepping on Sanji to promote Nami will only adversely affect the latter’s popularity and confuse the audience.
- Sanji was removed entirely from a scene
- Sanji and Bonney’s unwarranted interaction
Unfortunately, Toei Animation made other errors in the new episodes. Aside from showing Sanji as a weakling, the studio completely removed the Straw Hat from the scene where the heroes are standing triumphant over York. There is zero reason for Toei to exclude Sanji, particularly when he played a crucial role in the victory.
If this wasn’t enough, Toei Animation decided to add two more highly controversial moments. The studio included a short sequence where Sanji followed Nami like a dog. Again, this did not happen in the manga, so Toei did it out of its own free will.
Last but not least, the studio added a situation where Sanji was looking at Jewelry Bonney, and his eyes turned into hearts, which is a sign of him fawning over her. Once again, this makes Sanji look bad to anime viewers. Bonney is 12 years old, and Sanji having this kind of attitude towards her makes him look like a creep.
One could dismiss all these changes as an honest mistake, but Toei needs to stop adding such moments, especially when they’re not needed. Extending parts of a fight is one thing, but the staff members need to put more thought into adding scenarios that affect a character.
Fans Shouldn’t Attack The Studio Or The Staff
Berating The Staff Is Not The Way To Handle The Issue
While some of Toei Animation’s decisions are questionable, fans cannot question the level of animation. Ever since the Wano Country arc, the studio has maintained a high level of animation, and fans have been in love with the quality. The studio stepped up its efforts in the Egghead arc, and it led to One Piece reaching an even bigger audience. Hopefully, Toei Animation will continue this particular trend and stop making too many unnecessary changes.
