Written by: Tiffany Greshler and Tom Hyndman
Directed by: Emma Sullivan
Usopp struggles to find help to stop Kuro’s schemes, while Zoro is stranded in a well, remembering his past.
- Arcs incorporated into the episode: Kuro Arc/Syrup Village Arc, Romance Dawn Arc, and Return To Water Seven/Post Enies Lobby Arc
Tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: Kuina gives her full name—Shimotsuki Kuina—in Zoro's flashback. In the manga, her surname was only confirmed in an SBS of her and Zoro's family tree, decades after her debut.
- Adaptational Context Change:
- Originally, Going Merry was the name given the Straw Hats' ship by Merry. In this continuity, Luffy names it that in Merry's memory, since the masthead—what will become his "special seat"—looks like him.
- Usopp was originally planning on leaving on his own when Luffy invited him to join the Straw Hats. In this version, he actually wanted to stay in Syrup Village to watch over Kaya. Kaya urges him to go follow his dreams, and says it's time she took care of herself. But instead of this being a Just Friends declaration, Kaya tells him she hopes they meet again, and that he will then have real adventures to tell her about, before giving him The Big Damn Kiss.
- Adaptational Location Change: The climatic battle is moved from the shore line to Kaya's house.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Before setting of on his journey, Kaya gives Usopp a goodbye kiss confirming the mutual feelings the two have had for each other for years.
- Corrupted Contingency: Before their deaths, Kaya's parents had security shutters installed in their homes in case the town was attacked by pirates. In a cruel twist of irony, Kuro and his minions use these same shutters to keep Kaya inside the house so they can kill her without outside interference.
- Couch Gag: Zoro's jolly roger replaces Luffy's in the title shot.
- Covered in Gunge: As Luffy comes to after eating an entire pot of poisoned soup, Helmeppo gets closer to try and hear what he's mumbling... only to get blue puke all over the front of his uniform.
- Destination Defenestration: Luffy defeats Kuro this time around by throwing him out a window with his Gum-Gum Bell technique.
- Hope Spot: Usopp gains Koby as an ally to rescue Kaya from Kuro. However, Kuro is able to use Usopp's history of lying to discredit his claims, and with no hard evidence to substantiate the accusations against Kuro, the Marines are forced to walk away from the situation.
- Humble Pie: As a young trainee, Zoro was arrogant and undisciplined. It takes getting thoroughly beaten in a real duel by his rival Kuina for him to accept he can only become the world's greatest swordsman with years of training.
- Motive Rant: During his fight with Luffy, Kuro rants about how the paranoia of constantly being under threat from the Marines, other pirates, and even his own crewmen drove him to fake his death and embark on his current plan.
- Mythology Gag:
- When Zoro thinks he's returning to the mansion, he goes the opposite way and finds Marines and Luffy. This is a nod to him chronically getting lost in the manga.
- When the Straw Hats first set sail in the Going Merry, an instrumental version of the anime's first OP, "We Are", is heard playing in the background.
- Oh, Crap!: Kuro is left shocked when Luffy catches both of his arms and pulls them aside so he can finish him off with Gum Gum Bell.
- Out-of-Genre Experience: The sequence of Kuro hunting down Kaya, Usopp, and Nami is shot like a Slasher Movie, down to the creepy mansion setting and the ominous taunting from the killer.
- The Reveal: The other characters (and viewers unfamilar with the manga and the anime) learn why Garp was after Luffy. He is Luffy's grandfather.
- Secret Underground Passage: Usopp and Nami take Kaya through the servant's tunnel behind the walls of the mansion to escape from Kuro. It is downplayed because Kuro knows about them too, he just doesn't know Kaya is in them until she coughs on some dust.
- Sinister Scraping Sound: One is heard when Kuro scrapes his blades along the wall while hunting Kaya.
- The Starscream: Not presently affecting Kuro, but he notes in his rant that he had to deal with some of his own crew looking to betray him more than once and disposed of them before they could get him.
- Tempting Fate: At the end of the episode, just as Luffy has the new ship they came for, the latter says from this point forward everything should be "smooth sailing". Then they are attacked by the marines.
- Use Your Head: Luffy finishes off Kuro with a Gum Gum enhanced head slam by sending his head back several feet and snapping it back into Kuro's head.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Helmeppo really shouldn't have stood so close to Luffy as he came out of his poison-induced episode. His uniform might have survived Luffy barfing up the remains of that soup.
- Wham Line:
- After defeating Kuro and his minions, the Straw Hats have a new dilemma: the Marines are right there, and they need to get going. However...Luffy: Where are we gonna go? We don't have a ship!
Kaya: Yes. You do. - When Luffy looks through a telescope and sees who's firing at the Going Merry:Luffy: Grandpa!?
Zoro, Nami, and Usopp: "Grandpa"!?
- After defeating Kuro and his minions, the Straw Hats have a new dilemma: the Marines are right there, and they need to get going. However...
- Xanatos Gambit: Garp reveals to Koby he has been playing one in the past two episodes. If Koby succeeds in grabbing Luffy, all is good. If Koby fails, the presence of the Marines will likely push Luffy's crew into parting from the island to avoid further entanglements, where Garp's ship will be waiting. Garp is quite pleased when the latter gambit pays off and he sees the Going Merry leaving the island.
- You're Just Jealous: Koby accuses Helmeppo of this when the latter says that Garp is simply using him due to his friendship with Luffy, not that he sees potential in him. Helmeppo doesn't deny being jealous, but he says that it doesn't make him wrong.
