One Piece Episode 653

MID

50%

of 2 scoutsrecommend

Review Summary

Save your time and skip this episode; Giolla's encounter with the Straw Hats is a widely considered 'mid' moment lacking impact.

Animation & Style

Character Writing & Lore

Pacing

World Building & Setting

👀 SPOILER-FREE SUMMARY

One Piece delivers one of its more inventive mid-arc battles here, pitting the Straw Hats against Giolla and her bizarre art-based Devil Fruit powers. Expect a creative clash that leans heavily into the series' signature blend of absurd humor and genuine stakes — objects and people warped into abstract art make for both comedic and tense visuals. Brook, Nami, Chopper, and Momonosuke take center stage, giving the non-Monster Trio crew members a chance to flex their resourcefulness and teamwork. The pacing keeps things moving with sharp back-and-forth momentum between comedic beats and strategic problem-solving. This is classic One Piece at its most playful yet purposeful, where an unconventional enemy forces the crew to think outside brute strength. A fun, character-driven action episode that rewards patience with clever payoffs.

🔥 KEY MOMENTS

⚠️ Spoiler Alert!

Sunny Turned to Abstract Art

Giolla unleashes her Devil Fruit powers on the Thousand Sunny itself, warping the ship and the crew into grotesque abstract art forms, leaving them completely helpless and unable to fight back.

Doflamingo's Royal Revelation

Doflamingo drops a bombshell on Law, revealing the deep historical connection between the Donquixote Family and Dressrosa's royal bloodline — framing his takeover of the kingdom as a reclamation, not a conquest.

Zoro Meets Bartolomeo

While searching for a way into the Colosseum with Kin'emon, Zoro crosses paths with Bartolomeo, adding another wildcard to the already chaotic Dressrosa situation.

Brook's Counterplay

Brook steps up as the unlikely strategist, devising a plan to exploit a weakness in Giolla's art-based abilities and reverse the transformations afflicting the crew and the Sunny.

The Crew Fights Back

With Brook's scheme in motion, the Straw Hats rally to confront Giolla directly, turning the tide on the Sunny and reclaiming their ship from her surreal artistic grip.

📍 ARC CONTEXT

Sitting deep within the sprawling Dressrosa arc, this episode pivots away from the colosseum's Block D battle introduced in Episode 652 to spotlight the Straw Hats' simultaneous struggle against the Donquixote Pirates' forces. It reinforces the multi-front nature of the Dressrosa conflict and establishes key character dynamics that feed into the arc's escalating stakes. The confrontation with Giolla serves as a building block toward the larger showdowns with the Donquixote Family that define the episodes ahead.

⚡ ALL REVIEWS

AnimeOshi.com refers to anime titles, character names, logos, and other trademarked or copyrighted materials to identify and describe the works being reviewed, discussed, ranked or otherwise referenced on this site. This usage is believed to be nominative fair use or non-infringing and is not intended to imply any affiliation with the respective rights holders.

All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their owners. If you are a rights holder and have concerns about any content on this site, please contact us at legal@animeoshi.com