The fandom was riding high with the Egghead arc adaptation in the One Piece anime in 2024. This was undoubtedly the pinnacle year for fans as Toei Animation delivered some incredible animation in episodes weekly. The surreal quality challenged the quality of seasonal anime that are coming out these days. With the Egghead arc underway, the One Piece anime was off the charts this year having numerous high-rated anime episodes under its belt. I enjoyed every second of it, but since the anime is currently on break and I’m missing Luffy and my dear Straw Hats, I decided to list the One Piece episodes I enjoyed watching the most in 2024.
Spoilers Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers about the Egghead arc of One Piece. Make sure to watch up to the latest episode to avoid ruinig your intended experience.
5. Law vs Blackbeard Episode
- Episode Number: 1093
- IMDb Rating: 9.4
Blackbeard was actively hunting for powerful new devil fruits and Road Poneglyphs to become the front runner in the final race to the One Piece treasure. The Heart Pirates, who departed from the Wano Country, chanced upon the vicious Blackbeard Pirates on the way. Thus, the very first fight broke out at the start of the Egghead arc, with Trafalgar Law facing Marshall D. Teach.
It was a fantastic episode where the animators showed off their skills by playing with animation styles when it came to the powers of Ope Ope no Mi, Yami Yami no Mi, and the Gura Gura no Mi devil fruits.
This showdown effortlessly raised the bars for me and left me wanting more action, which was delivered in the upcoming episodes of the Egghead arc.
4. Imu Erases Lulusia Kingdom
- Episode Number: 1089
- IMDb Rating: 9.6
The inaugural episode of One Piece in 2024 commenced the final saga of the series on a high note. On one hand, the Straw Hats were sailing to the futuristic Egghead Island, which raised the stakes for everyone. On the other side, I was at the edge of my seat witnessing the world-ending power of Imu for the first time in One Piece history.
The erasure of the Lulusia Kingdom was excellently executed in the anime with scintillating visuals combined with a blistering soundtrack. The chills I had while watching this scene the first time were something else. Inarguably, it was one of the best scenes in the anime, and I would absolutely prefer this over the manga any day.
3. Luffy vs Lucci Rematch Episodes
- Episode Numbers: 1100 & 1101
- IMDb Rating: 9.6 & 9.5
Having read the manga beforehand, the rematch between Luffy vs Lucci was the one thing I eagerly awaited this year. I have to say my expectations were sky-high, but the production team effortlessly surpassed them with their unreal quality in this episode. Ever since the debut of Luffy’s Gear 5 form, his freedom has been portrayed flawlessly in the anime.
In these episodes, the CP0 agents witnessed how far Luffy had grown in terms of power. The new techniques of Gear 5 were impeccably put into effect here. So, it was a feast to watch back-to-back episodes of Luffy annihilating Rob Lucci who thought he stood a chance against Sun God Nika (LOL).
2. Garp vs Blackbeard Episodes
- Episode Numbers: 1114, 1115, 1121, and 1122
- IMDb Rating: 9.6, 9.6, 9.3, and 9.6
Anime-only One Piece fans haven’t seen the Hero of the Marines in action up until recent episodes. Yet some of them have always thought the old man was a ridiculously overhyped character, just like how the Blackbeard Pirates must have thought before this fight. So, I was patiently waiting for the day this timeless showdown would get animated in the anime.
And oh boy! It was so fun watching these fans in disbelief who always mistook Gard the Fist for a fragile old-timer. The animation team was unstoppable and helped Garp flex his glorious power in not just one but four different episodes in the Egghead arc.
Toei Animation has outdone its quality with each episode, and I was satisfied with watching Garp butt heads with his ex-pupil, Aokiji, to save Koby. Not to forget the anime entered the break phase after delivering Koby’s Honesty Impact as the final punch.
1. Clash! Shanks vs Eustass Kid
- Episode Number: 1112
- IMDb Rating: 9.7
I didn’t expect Eustass Kid to go against the Red Hair Pirates to settle the score for what they did to his hand in their first encounter. Eustass Kid awakened his devil fruit, Jiki Jiki no Mi, and just took down Big Mom, one of the emperors of the seas. Hence, fans had big hopes for him to give a tough challenge to our favorite Akagami Shanks. To everyone’s surprise, the fight just ended with a single attack from Shanks.
So, I was excited to see how the animators were going to bring the Kamusari aka Divine Departure into action in the anime. This legendary fight was perfectly staged in the anime with the cinematic shots providing a whole different vibe. Now, even though the action involved a single attack, it was choreographed sublimely to make this the best episode of 2024 for me.
One Piece fans had been waiting for years to watch why Shanks is in a league of his own and stands tall against every other pirate. The animators nailed every aspect of this episode, which made fans behold Shanks at play against the Kid Pirates. In the end, Shanks wiping off Kid and his crew gave me unreal goosebumps and turned out to be the greatest One Piece episode for me this year.
A total of 33 One Piece episodes were aired in 2024. The production team brought in many talented animation artists from around the world to work on some of the most anticipated episodes. While we watched a short amount of episodes unlike in the past, every episode was brilliantly animated, elevating the action sequences to levels we hadn’t witnessed before. Toei Animation finally listened to the queries of the fans and these episodes are a testament to it.
One Piece anime has undergone a six-month break to keep pushing the boundaries of the already stellar animation quality. When the anime returns next year, it’s going to be a completely different experience.
That said, what is your favorite episode of One Piece in 2024? Let us know in the comments below.
