Top 10 One Piece Moments That Broke the Internet

The Egghead arc goes hard with its animation, even in relatively minor fights! Zoro, Luffy, and CP0 agents Lucci and Kaku are attacked by the Seraphim, altered clones of the former Warlords. These include S-Hawk, a fiery, giant child version of Zoro’s archrival, Mihawk. Oh, and he has Mr. 1’s blade powers. This short sequence sees Zoro evade S-Hawk’s rapid strikes, while juggling a restrained Kaku. The fluid animation, which changes styles several times and gives Zoro flashbacks of his Mr. 1 fight, is spectacular throughout! The animators didn’t need to go this hard for this fight, but the internet loved how much they spiced up the sequence!

Luffy’s fight against Big Mom’s right-hand son lasts a long time, but it’s the finale that got everyone talking and coming back for more! After Luffy develops a new Gear 4th form, Snakeman, that increases his speed, he finally gets Katakuri on the ropes by quickly changing the direction of his attacks. Their final clash sends shockwaves through the mirror world and the whole battle made waves across the internet with how well-animated it is! The speed of the blows, the crazy directions Luffy’s attacks move in, and Katakuri’s incredible flexibility help make this a triumph all “One Piece” fans wanted to share in.

Zoro’s victories always bring the hype, but his battle against Kaido’s commander King took things to a new level! King sends flaming attacks shaped like dragons at Zoro, who cuts through them all with his swords surrounded by green Haki as he leaps towards the dark angel-like swordsman. The animation team go all out on this whole fight, particularly their final exchange, as fiery red meets green in a clash that leaves King crashing - and down a wing. After all, what’s a fallen angel compared to the future King of Hell?

Every episode set in Marineford has some huge new development that sent the internet talking, but its climax sees several that made it explode! Whitebeard confronts Blackbeard, his former subordinate, who kills his ex-captain with help from his new crew. Although Whitebeard dying standing up and without any wounds of retreat is badass and worthy enough of discussion, it’s his final words that turned the world upside down. His confirmation that Roger’s treasure, the One Piece, is indeed real got not only in-world pirates talking, it also broke the internet in our world. Of course, the fact that it became a meme probably had something to do with it. “Can we get much higher?” Yes, yes we can.

Fans have waited decades to see Luffy’s idol Shanks in action, and somehow the moment it finally happened actually lived up to the hype! Faced with Kid, whose cocky, violent attitude and railgun attack could spell doom for Shanks’ fleet, the red-haired Emperor springs into action. Leaping from ship to ship, Shanks hits Kid with a monumentally powerful single swing of his sword - wrecking Kid, his first mate, and causing explosions on Kid’s ship! The phenomenal animation and peak execution of the scene left the internet much like Kid’s crew - in danger of drowning! Though in our case, it was in hype instead of water.

Marineford really did change everything! Luffy and the Whitebeard Pirates’ attempts to rescue Ace are seemingly rewarded. However, Ace’s pride and his need to protect Luffy, ultimately lead to tragedy. His fire is unable to withstand Akainu’s magma, and he steps in to save Luffy from being killed by the hot-blooded Admiral, taking the blow himself. Ace’s tearful final words are certainly heartbreaking enough that the death got fans talking (and spoiling). But Ace’s death was a truly game changing moment. Before he died, basically no one in “One Piece” died outside flashbacks! The idea that no one was safe anymore sent the internet theory machine into overdrive!

The “One Piece” animators have been going off lately, and they really went ham on this moment! After Koby is captured by the Blackbeard Pirates, Garp and the members of SWORD decide to rescue him. And they arrive in style by Garp launching their ship into the middle of the island! With Conqueror’s Haki coming off him, Garp throws a punch so powerful it levels buildings around the plaza! The animators reached a new level with this attack, incorporating 3D and 2D animation and turning Garp’s shockwave punch into something as extra as the old man himself! If this is Garp’s strength in his old age, seeing him in his prime will probably do to the internet what he did to the plaza!

From the very beginning of “One Piece,” we’re told that Gol D. Roger obtained “wealth, fame, and power.” But it took nearly 1000 episodes before we got to see the Pirate King in action! Whitebeard’s samurai commander Oden leaps at the chance to fight Roger, but the man who would be Pirate King sends him flying. Enter Whitebeard, whose powerful Haki, and impressive mustache, are more than a match for Roger’s! Their clash is so strong, their blades don’t even touch and the shockwaves bend trees across the island! Seeing these two titans of “One Piece” finally fight blew everyone away just as hard!

Most of the time, when Luffy defeats someone, he doesn’t really fight them again after defeating them. That alone would have made his second fight with Lucci noteworthy, but Luffy busting out Gear 5th takes this match up to transcendent heights! Luffy’s transformation is epic and kind of terrifying! Lucci’s newly awakened form is fantastic too! Plus, Luffy’s wacky, reality warping moves are both figuratively and literally off the wall! It’s clear that the animators are having as much fun with the fight as Luffy is! Well, almost. Any time Gear 5th has been involved thus far, it’s been the talk of the internet! Speaking of which…

People theorized it was possible before it happened. The community blew up when it happened in manga! But when Luffy’s awakened transformation debuted in the anime, the internet went crazy! After a near death experience, Luffy comes back and is wilder and freer than ever before! In his white, rubbery new form, he brings a little more cartoon into his anime, using his ability to warp reality to knock around Kaido of the Four Emperors - bouncing attacks back, popping his eyes out of his head, and generally weaponizing goofiness! Gear 5th broke the internet by combining epic action with Luffy’s child-like silliness. It’d probably take the discovery of the One Piece itself to top this!


Is there a viral “One Piece” moment that didn’t break our list? Break it to us gently in the comments!