In Episode 1129 of the popular anime One Piece, titled “Kuma's Past - Better Off Dead in This World,” viewers were taken deep into the harrowing childhood of Kuma. Airing on May 18 on Fuji TV, the episode has stirred strong emotional responses online, with many fans calling it “too painful” and “the most brutal flashback arc yet.”

The story sheds light on the traumatic fate that befell young Kuma and his kind-hearted parents. The addition of voice acting only intensified the heartbreak for viewers, with reactions like: “It was already tough in the manga, but hearing the voices made it unbearable,” and “This might be the most disturbing backstory in all of One Piece.” Social media was flooded with comments such as, “I was completely speechless,” “I can’t handle it if this is just the beginning,” and “The Celestial Dragons are absolute scum.”

Some even compared the emotional weight of the scenes to other iconic tragic moments in anime, saying, “It felt just as heartless as the ‘Yeah!’ followed by the gunshot in Gojo’s Past Arc from Jujutsu Kaisen.” The phrase “a world better off dead” used in the episode, and scenes involving Kuma’s parents being shot, sparked outrage and disbelief, with viewers questioning how such a segment could ever be considered for a Sunday morning broadcast.

About One Piece

One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda, began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump on July 22, 1997. The story follows Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who gains rubber-like powers after eating the Gum-Gum Fruit. Forming the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy sets off on a grand journey to find the legendary treasure known as the “One Piece,” left behind by Pirate King Gol D. Roger.

The series has become one of the most successful manga of all time, with over 510 million copies in circulation worldwide. The TV anime adaptation has been airing since 1999, and the 2022 film One Piece Film Red was a massive hit, earning over 20.34 billion yen at the Japanese box office and becoming a cultural phenomenon.

Source : ORICON NEWS