Toei's treatment of Sanji in episode 1140 once again confuses One Piece fans

One Piece episode 1140 confused a lot of fans due to how much it differs from Eiichiro Oda’s original work rendering of Sanji. In the manga, Sanji was shown being able to deflect Kizaru’s laser attack. This is a powerful display of extreme agility and combat perception. But in the anime, this time, fans see Sanji recklessly rushing in at Kizaru and not deflecting Kizaru's laser.

This overall change to this scene completely undermines the tone of their encounter and hints that Sanji's strength and intelligence are off balance. This clash of styles sets up many confusing discrepancies between the two media, and several viewers have questioned Toei's approach and presentation of the story, and the key moment with Sanji.

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Toei's decision to remove Sanji deflecting Kizaru's laser in One Piece episode 1140 confused fans

BlueLeg🔥🇵🇸

@Khaled71697

#ONEPIECE1140 They removed the scene of Sanji deflecting Kizaru's laser but added a scene of him attacking Kizaru instead 🧐

During episode 1140 of One Piece, Toei Animation changed one important moment of the manga in such a manner that it rekindled fan frustration and confusion. In the original content, Sanji beautifully dodges Kizaru's laser. This was an impressive feat of speed and accuracy. But in the anime, that entire moment was dropped.

In this instance, Sanji is shown as charging towards Kizaru and launching an attack on him. This changes the tone of the scene completely and saps the original description of its nuance and elegance, leaving fans baffled as to why this defining accomplishment of Sanji's was omitted.

Sanji deflecting Kizaru's attack in One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

This is not an isolated example either. People are starting to notice a trend in adaptations of various formats where Sanji's strengths are weakly presented or overshadowed entirely. In an example from the Egghead arc, while the manga shows Sanji hurt, but still standing and kicking, the animation depicts Sanji kneeling.

In another episode, Sanji is left out of a group shot honoring the crew, despite the manga featuring him prominently. Additionally, his womanizing is exaggerated to unnecessary extremes, sometimes bordering on an uncomfortable frequency, especially in scenes not included in the long-running manga.

"I don’t understand why they don’t just stick to the source material. This change has no reason to exist," a fan mentioned.

"It WAS a huge thing that BASE HAKILESS SANJI deflected Kizaru’s light speed laser beam while also getting pierced by one but shrugging it off instantly all still in base, no regen ot anything," someone explained.

"Kizaru being able to do this is consistent to the strength of the characters Toei aint breaking continuity no genuine Sanji fan would tell you Kizaru cant dodge this basic kick," someone said.

"Bro the laser deflecting scene was one of his best egghead moments too," a fan mentioned.

This continuation of frustrations has been made public in various forms, including forums and social media. Many fans have seen these changes as a disrespect to Sanji's character, while also a dishonor to the originally planned Oda character. Further, fans have maintained that perhaps the reasons for these changes were from plot devices, simply narrative shortcuts, or runtime padding.

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Final thoughts

Sanji attacking Kizaru in One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Toei's representation of Sanji in episode 1140 has highlighted a repeating problem that the One Piece community has expressed concern about. By omitting his manga feat of blocking Kizaru's laser, the anime diminishes Sanji's speed and composure, offering viewers a moment of far less consequence in return.

In addition to all of the prior alterations that have diminished Sanji in an increasingly accepted sense, fans feel that Sanji's character is being undermined further. Regardless of whether it is an intentional or unintentional decision, they continue to frustrate fans as they are left arguing about Sanji's portrayal in the anime.

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