One Piece's Gear 5 episode earns award from Fuji TV

One Piece episode 1071, which was the anime's introduction to Luffy's Gear 5 transformation, has recently received an award from Fuji TV, one of the most prominent platforms for the medium in Japan. Part of the recognition came out because the episode ranked first in views for eight consecutive days after initially airing a few months ago.

The Gear 5 transformation is arguably one of the most important moments in the One Piece series, even to the point of being divisive to a lot of people. It cements a massive change to the character of Luffy in terms of his Devil Fruit and his role in the series, which author Eiichiro Oda has developed in recent arcs as well.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

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One Piece's Gear 5 episode in the anime has received an award

Fuji TV is one of the most prominent anime platforms in Japan and has rewarded the Gear 5 episode with a "special award" because of the success that it had when it first aired a few months ago. It was episode 1071 of the anime adaptation by Toei Animation and came out on August 3, 2023. The episode went as far as being in first place in terms of views during the eight days after the distribution began.

To celebrate this accomplishment, Fuji TV will air episode 1071 on its platforms once more in the coming days, although there is no specific release date at the moment. While there were discussions on whether this episode "broke the internet" or not when it first came out, there is no denying that it had a lot of popularity and was well-received by the fandom.

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The transformation and its impact on the story

Luffy's transformation in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

This transformation was a watershed moment for the One Piece franchise because it fundamentally changed Luffy's abilities and even his origin, to some degree. During the fight with Kaido in the Wano Arc, Luffy's Devil Fruit awakened and it was revealed that it was the Nika Devil Fruit, that of the legendary figure Joy Boy, and that the Straw Hats captain had been chosen by it.

Nika is the series' great liberator and has the power of imagination and laughter, which leads to changing Luffy's powers from rubber to that of Nika. It was a significant moment in the manga and has discussions even to this very day, with some loving the twist and others feeling that it undermines Luffy's character and freedom.

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