One Piece episode 1136 becomes its highest-rated anime episode, and it deserves every bit of it

One Piece episode 1136 has truly earned its acclaim as the best in the series to date. The episode features the tragic story of Bartholomew Kuma and his love for his daughter. The animation, emotional voice acting, and direction all brought Kuma's story and relationship to life in a way that takes your breath away.

It has struck a chord with the fans, reaching an amazing 9.9 rating on IMDb—becoming the highest‑rated One Piece episode to date and the highest-rated anime episode of 2025 thus far. A victory so well deserved for emotion and storytelling.

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Kuma’s tragic backstory made One Piece deliver the highest-rated anime episode of 2025

Bartholomew Kuma, the stoic Warlord of the Sea, is transformed into a deeply sympathetic character with a tragic eight‑episode flashback story that ends with episode 1136, named Kuma's Life.

The episode does a masterful job of untangling Kuma's history—his youth in the Sorbet Kingdom, family tragedy at the hands of Celestial Dragons, losing his love Ginny, and becoming the adoptive parent of their child Bonney—showing him away from being unsympathetic even in the darkest of moments.

What truly stands out is the emotional depth in every scene. Director Tatsuya Nagamine and Toei Animation take the story to new heights with awe-inspiring visuals: soft pastels in flashbacks turning to cold, sterile colors during Kuma's transformation, highlighting his sacrifice.

Kuma as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Micro-expressions—the minute quiver in his eyes when he talks of Bonney's birthday—infuse raw humanity into his last moments. Voice acting and sound design also have crucial roles to play. The subtle acting by Kuma and Vegapunk and the memorable score heighten the emotional resonance as Kuma selflessly sacrifices his own identity to rescue his daughter.

Viewers on every social media platform attested to this intensity—most reported sobbing uncontrollably, their breath taken away by the emotional story.

"Easily Koyama’s best work to date, I don’t think the Kuma run sequence could’ve been done more perfectly," a fan mentioned. "Finally we've an episode that the whole community likes and it's not just action and animation," one fan exclaimed. "Absolute cinema,couldnt have been better episode for this chapter then this," a fan said.

Recognizing this profound reception, IMDb viewers gave episode 1136 a virtual-perfect 9.9 rating, placing it not only as One Piece's highest-rated episode in existence, but also the highest-rated anime episode of 2025.

It outpaced the previous number one—Episode 337—backed by the beloved Zoro scene, and it did so by weaving emotional tension and narrative resolution in a manner that few other episodes had.

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Final thoughts

One Piece episode 1136 is truly the best-rated anime episode of 2025, as it brings Bartholomew Kuma's heartbreaking history to life with incredible depth of feeling. In a flawless flashback, audiences see Kuma's heartache, sacrifices, and unrelenting devotion to Bonney, making him go from stoic warlord to a genuinely sympathetic character.

Beautiful cinematography enhances every scene. Fans complimented its storytelling as well as direction, which gave the episode a near-perfect 9.9 IMDb score and bettered other fan favorites.

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• This One Piece panel easily shows why Whitebeard is one of the most beloved characters in the series

Edited by Tiasha