Twitter incensed at Toei for Zoro scene in One Piece Episode 1018

A video clip and subsequent images of Roronoa Zoro slashing Wano Arc villain Kaidou in Toei's One Piece Episode 1018 have some Twitter fans incensed for various reasons.

With several fans decrying the animation quality and a "Dragon Ball Z" aura matching Kaidou's dragon form as "laziness," there have been several calls for One Piece to go seasonal, among other reactions. The episode in question is 1018, recently released on May 22, 2022.

Likewise, the backlash to the backlash has recently been joined by fans who are upset at angry One Piece fans and what they perceive as too much hatred against Toei to warrant entire screeds on Twitter.

Note: The following article will contain spoilers from the recently released One Piece 1018.

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Twitter erupts at Toei for the handling of Zoro in One Piece Episode 1018

The animated scene in question shows Zoro going all out against the villainous Kaidou, who had Luffy in his jaws. Zoro powers up with his Haki manifesting a golden aura, then a purple dragon that grows to Kaidou's height.

As Kaidou became briefly distracted by memories of Kozuki Oden, the daimyo that gave him so much grief years before, Zoro launched into his Black Rope Dragon Twister attack.

The attack caused a massive tornado, leading to a giant gash in Kaidou's scales and skin, to the utter surprise of Big Mom and especially Kaidou himself. It also caused Kaidou to drop Luffy out of his jaw and, therefore, out of danger.

Some fans expressed extreme pleasure and catharsis as the previously invincible Kaidou finally took damage and permanent damage in One Piece Episode 1018.

Other fans may have liked the buildup, with the golden aura reminding them of Toei's other property, Dragon Ball Z's Super Saiyan state, but faulted Toei for its execution.

Fans were also entirely negative about the length of the attack, the perceived elongated stretch for action that happens in one or two manga panels, the long reaction shots, and other criticisms brought to the table.

Some fans even stated that they wished as of One Piece Episode 1018 that One Piece went seasonal or was given to a different studio altogether.

Other fans took issue with fans taking issue with Toei's animation dropping, especially after the prior One Piece episodes like 1015 and others, and the inevitable backlash to the backlash began in earnest.

Many people cited Toei's extreme work culture as causing delays which cause animation problems, giving them the benefit of the doubt and saying waiting a week is nothing in the span of an over 1,000 episode anime.

Likewise, taking issue with perceived temper flareups over the animation quality and the unrealistic expectations of giving One Piece to a completely different studio.

There's certainly something to be said for how passionate fans are over animation quality, pacing, and story beats.

Plenty of fans from various anime have taken to Twitter before to express their outrage and ire over details that other fans find innocuous or otherwise not worth their time. One Piece Episode 1018 isn't an outlier for this type of behavior.

Social media and the recent phenomena of parasocial relationships between fans, authors, and even animation companies often mean that the level of access given to fans is plenty more than what it used to be.

However, as others have pointed out on Twitter and elsewhere, that doesn't necessarily mean that an animation company like Toei can make something like One Piece Episode 1018 a masterpiece of animation catering to those fans.

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