Episode #1061 of the One Piece anime decided to make a small but significant change to the Sanji vs Queen battle compared to the manga.
Warning: SPOILERS for episode #1061 of One Piece
One of the most important battles in One Piece, Sanji vs Queen, has finally been adapted into the anime, and while the quality of the episode is spectacular as usual, the anime has made some changes that won’t necessarily be appreciated by fans.
Episode #1061 of One Piece, “The Strike of an Ifrit! Sanji vs. Queen“, shows the outcome of one of the four major battles taking place in Onigashima during the raid of the Straw Hat Pirates alliance against Kaido and his Beasts Pirates. Sanji is facing one of Kaido’s lieutenants, Queen the Plague, a powerful individual who combines scientific weapons, cyborg modifications, and the power of his Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit to deadly effect. During the fight, Queen uses his tech to become invisible, which is quickly mirrored by Sanji, who uses his superhuman speed to obtain the same effect. While the manga clearly showed Sanji’s invisibility and his ability to float in the air using his powerful kicks, the anime changed that sequence significantly.
The One Piece Anime Changed Sanji’s ‘Invisible’ Technique
In the anime, Sanji still uses his Sky Walk technique to evade Queen, but he doesn’t appear to be truly invisible. The manga, on the other hand, clearly shows Sanji using his new abilities to fully disappear (for both Queen and the readers), because he’s moving too fast for the eye to see. The animators, instead, decided to make this sequence clearer to viewers, showing Sanji almost teleporting around. However, becoming functionally invisible has actually greater meaning for Sanji. Not only this was always his dream ability (so that he could spy on women), but it’s also the power granted by his Germa Raid Suit.
The One Piece anime is doing a fantastic job of adapting one of the most epic parts of the manga, the conclusion of the Wano Country arc. The animation quality keeps improving every week and fans’ response has been overwhelmingly positive. There is nothing wrong in changing some details of a sequence, and Sanji vs Queen battle remains incredibly exciting. In fact, the anime even improved it by adding meaningful sequences that show Sanji’s inner thoughts regarding the legacy of his despised family, making his moment of full emancipation even more emotional.
However, it must be said that Sanji turning invisible during his fight with Queen was also a meaningful moment from the manga that the anime was not able to fully capture. The raid suit that Sanji destroyed was the symbol of his family’s inheritance, and being able to use the same power without submitting to the Germa’s will is the perfect symbol of Sanji’s worth. The One Piece anime decided to make this small but significant change to the Sanji vs Queen battle compared to the manga, and it’s up to the fans to decide which versions they prefer.
