One Piece fans criticize Toei for prolonging Sanji’s humiliating encounter with Stussy

On June 2, 2024, One Piece episode 1107 was released, sparking criticism from Sanji fans who felt that Toei once again failed to do justice to their beloved character. This issue had also been raised a few episodes prior, as viewers were disappointed with the slow pace of the Straw Hat Pirates’ cook.

The Straw Hats continued their journey on Egghead Island, searching for Vegapunk who had mysteriously disappeared. Meanwhile, Bonney accompanied him as they delved into the memories of his father, who had been climbing the Red Line in pursuit of reaching the Holy Lands of Mariejois.

Despite the focus of the episode being on Bonney’s exploration of her father’s difficult past, for a certain group of fans, the most significant moment was the cook of the Straw Hats risking everything and even referring to himself as a “dog”for the sake of a girl.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article contain potential spoilers from One Piece episode 1107 and are solely those of the author.

One Piece episode 1107: Sanji’s awkward moment sparks social media reactions

The title of One Piece episode 1107 was A Shudder! An Evil Hand Creeping Up The Laboratory! The episode opened with Bonney being deeply affected by the painful memories of Kuma, causing her to lose hope. However, after seeing a vision of her father, she mustered the courage to delve back into his memories.

The focus of the chapter then turned to the Straw Hats and their search for the missing Vegapunk Stella. The group split into different teams and scoured the area, determined to find any clues or leads regarding her whereabouts.

While in a room, Vegapunk Pythagoras was attacked by a creature. Vegapunk Shaka also saw the silhouette of this creature as it incapacitated all the Transponder Snails on Egghead Island.

A trio comprised of Sanji (the Straw Hats’ cook), Jinbe, and Stussy, who had recently joined the crew after dealing with Lucci and Kaku, made up one group. As befitting of a chef, Sanji was taken with Stussy’s beauty and asked her to refer to him as her devoted dog.

The Sanji-Stussy scene as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Stussy kindly dismissed the cook by playfully calling him a silly boy and directed him to seek out Vegapunk Stella. This sparked a newfound energy within the cook, causing him to act like an eager puppy. He even playfully barked in response to Stussy’s warning not to get lost and to follow her.

In this scene from the manga series, the Straw Hats’ cook was simply admiring Stussy’s beauty in a single panel, without any barking or overdramatic actions.

After this disrespect to their character, as anticipated, the cook’s fans came forward and accused the animation studio of doing their character a disservice.

Fan Reactions to the Sanji-Stussy Scene

Sanji as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Initially, the fans placed the blame on the animation studio for the cringe-worthy moment, rather than on Eiichiro Oda, the author, since the manga series did not include the scene with barking.

Additionally, a fan revisited a previous argument and asserted that the Straw Hats’ cook would never unlock his Conqueror’s Haki if the current situation remained unchanged.

“BRO ITS THE ANIMATION STUDIO, NOT ODA”a fan claimed

“Unfair Studio hating yet again every week”another fan claimed

“Nasty work. Bro has 0% chance of being a conqueror user.”another one claimed

Zoro getting lost as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Conversely, some members of the fandom did not find this scene offensive, as they pointed out that the manga had also referred to him as a ‘dog’, making the barking scene more understandable.

Finally, a fan bravely acknowledged the obvious and pointed out that the animation studio has frequently used Zoro’s tendency to get lost for comedic effect, which has been well-received by fans. Similarly, Sanji’s character also suffers from this predicament, but his fans tend to voice their dissatisfaction.

“And yet fans still defend this dude”a fan said

“Well he was calling himself a loyal dog in manga as well. The Studio just made him one”another fan said

“Toei just extended his gag though? Do fans just not like his down bad gag? Like the studio can add as many scenes of Zoro getting lost as they want. I would actually enjoy them not hate the studio for giving me more of his gag.”another one said

Final Thoughts

Similarly to episode 1105, fans continue to strongly believe that the animation studio has a bias against their favorite character. However, as stated previously, there is no evidence to support such a claim.

Despite being a professional animation studio, Toei Animation respects individual views and ensures that they are not compromised. Therefore, fans of the Straw Hat Pirates’ cook should also be able to appreciate the portrayal of their character, just like the loyal supporters of Zoro.