Kuma's punch in One Piece episode 1137 leaves fans divided

During the screening of the One Piece episode 1137 on Sunday, July 27, 2025, the fans finally witnessed the highly anticipated sequence of Kuma punching Saturn. After a sequence of Kuma's flashbacks, the scene carried a great emotional and impactful weight, making it prominent.

While many One Piece fans, who were waiting in anticipation, thoroughly enjoyed the entire scene, a few expressed their disagreement. A few fans who have compared the scene with the manga panel have divided themselves in terms of opinion within the fandom.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece episode 1137.

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One Piece episode 1137— Kuma's punch divides the fandom

While the series is producing some of the best animations in the Egghead Island arc, the One Piece episode 1137 is being considered as "absolute cinema" by several fans. TOEI Animation has been building up Kuma's character with flashbacks from his past with quite a few episodes lately, and they concluded it with a satisfying punch from him to the Celestial Dragon, Saturn.

While several fans enjoyed the sequence and felt satisfied as the episode concluded, some manga fans stood up and claimed that the whole sequence was ruined by TOEI in the anime. They claimed that the sequence lacked the impact that was originally portrayed in the manga, due to TOEI trying to drag it out more.

While TOEI Animation did do a fantastic job in building up and executing the sequence in the animation, they somehow made it too dramatic for the One Piece manga fans' taste, who were looking for a more impactful scene. Additionally, the transition into soft music might have also triggered the negative responses.

Unlike the anime sequence, the manga panels by Eiichiro Oda were more compact and to the point, not dragging it out too much. What TOEI Animation essentially tried to do was emphasize more on the relationship depth between Bonney and Kuma, which made the scene lose focus on the impact department.

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Fans' reaction to the One Piece episode 1137 Kuma scene

Kuma punching Saturn in the One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

As mentioned in this article, TOEI Animation's work on the One Piece episode 1137 has created a division in the fandom, with many fans appreciating the animation work and others criticizing it for being too dramatic for their taste. The divide in the fandom can be evident from the comments on several social media platforms by the fans.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARDWORK, TOEI!!!" exclaimed one fan. "You know you about to get fuqqed up when the scene goes manga color," added another. "We love you KUMA, after all flashback, we could see the SATISFYING PUNCH!!" added a third fan.

While these were all the positive reactions to the animation work done by TOEI, many fans were critical of all the choices the animation studio made that changed the mood of the scene from the One Piece episode 1137.

"The pacing was totally bad. They turned a raw rage-filled scene into dramatic mess," said one fan. "This is why everyone hates the anime pacing. The punch is so absurdly drawn out that by the time it finally lands it loses all emotional impact," added another. "How do you Mfs watch this he took a minute and a half to throw one punch man.." claimed a third. "Damn, I was waiting for this specific moment in the anime but it wasn't as epic as in the manga, in the manga felt more powerful, they should don't like in the manga, starting the punch here, and finishing in the next episode," concluded a fourth.

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What are your opinions on the Kuma's punch scene from the One Piece episode 1137? Let us know in the comments below. Follow us for more anime/manga news, updates, and stories.

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Also read:

• One Piece episode 1138: Release date and time
• One Piece's manga sales give fans hope of a feat no manga has ever achieved
• One Piece's Hachinosu: What is Rocks D. Xebec's Pirate Paradise?

Edited by Tiasha