One Piece 1061 takes Sanji's popularity to the next level with good reason

One Piece 1061 was released today, Sunday, May 7, 2023, at 9.30 AM JST, much to the hype and excitement of fans worldwide. In the episode, Sanji can be seen finally pushing past his limits and using his Ifrit Jambe to defeat the Queen of the Beasts Pirates once and for all.

Following the release of One Piece 1061, the popularity of Sanji has been elevated to the next level. Fans are praising Sanji for the character development that he received in this episode, as he came to terms with his Germa background while also appreciating the family he received in the form of Zeff and the Straw Hats.

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Fans on Twitter appreciate Sanji's character development in One Piece 1061

One Piece 1061 has been lauded by critics and fans alike for handling Sanji's fight against Queen with the utmost care, delivering a well-animated and well-paced ending to their fight while also emphasizing his character development. Twitter has been flooded with pro-Sanji sentiment posts, with his popularity having elevated to a whole new level with episode 1061's release.

In episode 1061, we see Sanji facing off against Queen after destroying his Raid Suit. Throughout the fight, Queen provokes Sanji by bringing up his Germa roots and taunting him for destroying the Raid Suit. Furthermore, Queen also reveals his various cyborg abilities, putting Sanji on the backfoot.

Sanji, however, quickly recovers and uses his powerful kicks to disorient Queen while also coming to terms with his Germa past and appreciating the new identity he found with Zeff and the Straw Hats. With this, he accepts his genetic gifts and combines them with his Diable Jambe to create a technique called Ifrit Jambe.

Sanji formulates this technique by combining his exoskeleton with Armament Haki to produce hotter blue flames, using enhanced speed and weight behind his kicks. This makes the kicks much stronger and leads to Queen being unable to counter or handle them, receiving a thorough beatdown, and Sanji finally winning the fight.

One Piece 1061 is primarily a fighting episode, but the parts where Sanji reflects on the past and considers the future are what fans find so special. Sanji's rejection as a cold-blooded scientific monster demonstrates that, despite everything, he was born with a kind heart and will never lose it.

Episode 1061 also saw him announce that no matter what his past was, he would carve his future with his own hands and legs. He cherished his identity as a cook and a pirate, separating himself from his Germa past and appreciating his identity as Black Leg Sanji of the Straw Hats.

Fans on Twitter can't get over this profound character development and are happy that Toei did justice to Sanji's character. The scene where Zeff encourages him to chase his dreams and go with the Straw Hats has received a lot of love, with fans all over the world being happy to see Sanji smile once again and be himself.

The aforementioned tweets perfectly encapsulate how fans feel about One Piece 1061 and the major Sanji hype it's responsible for. Twitter accounts worldwide are fawning over the animation, storytelling, and emotion depicted by the episode and hyping Sanji to be one of the most well-written characters in anime.

According to fans, everything from his fight with Queen to his emotional flashback in episode 1061 was pitch-perfect and gave Sanji the much-needed redemption he deserved following his bleak development throughout the Wano arc. With this new episode, Sanji now once again sits in the upper echelon of One Piece characters and commands the love and respect of fans worldwide.