The One Piece anime is about to reach its most special episode yet: Episode 1071. In the previous episode 1070, we caught a glimpse of a dying Luffy starting to unveil the awakening of his Devil Fruit power. However, in the upcoming episode, we will finally witness him transforming into the God of Sun Nika, revealing his Gear Fifth form.
The moment was spectacular in the manga and has already started to go viral with the new character image. But now, as it’s about to be animated, which is what most One Piece fans are looking forward to, the excitement has reached a new peak. Toei Animation is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it turns out well and has assembled the best animators from the studio, as reported by @BigNewsOP.
Director
The most valuable asset here is undoubtedly the episode director, Tatsuya Nagamine. Nagamine has been involved in One Piece since the Dressrosa arc, where he started animating some of the episodes. However, his biggest success came with Film Z, one of the best One Piece movies, which he directed himself.
But that’s not all. Nagamine also directed Dragon Ball Super: Broly, the 2018 Dragon Ball movie that achieved unprecedented success. It’s clear, considering these recent examples, that his dynamic style will fit perfectly with the upcoming episode.
Animation directors
Naganime brings along two splendid animation directors: Midori Matsuda and Keita Saito. Both have been working on One Piece for quite some time, and Matsuda has even served as a character designer for some manga adaptations.
Both of them have been behind some of the most important episodes in recent times, especially directing battles involving Zoro. Considering that Zoro is the most challenging (and fun) character to animate, it’s clear that they are the crème de la crème.
The animators
The majority of the animation talent is concentrated in the “foot soldiers” of this chapter. The selected animators to bring Luffy’s transformation into Nika to life are incredible.
Interestingly, this episode marks the anime debut of Jayudesu, an ultra-fan of One Piece whose artistry earned him a place at Toei, and they have trusted him to make a remarkable entrance. But alongside him are many more experienced animators, such as Chris (YenBM), in charge of an epic moment in the battle between Zoro and King.
The lineup also includes Takashi Kojima, Weiling Zhang (responsible for the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke in the anime), Fasto, Shotaru Ban, the renowned Masayuki Sato, Vincent Chansard, and Naotoshi Shida, the highest-rated animator for his work on Dragon Ball Super: Broly’s action sequences.
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