The One Piece anime is riding a massive wave of momentum right now, with its newest episode landing an eye-popping 9.7/10 rating on IMDb — a score that instantly puts it in “all-timer” territory for long-running weekly series.
The Episode That’s Setting the Internet on Fire
The episode in question is Episode 1152, titled “Her Father and Mother’s Legacy! Bonney’s Nika Punch,” which aired on December 7, 2025.
According to IMDb’s listing and ratings page, the episode is currently sitting at 9.7/10 (with IMDb noting the score is weighted to help maintain reliability).
Even in a franchise with over a thousand episodes, that kind of rating doesn’t happen by accident — it typically signals a perfect storm of major character payoffs, emotional impact, and standout production quality.
The God Valley Arc Has Taken Over the Fandom
While the anime continues to deliver big moments in its current storyline, the One Piece fandom is also being consumed by the God Valley Incident discourse — a flashback saga that feels like an epic historical event unfolding in real time. The sheer gravity of seeing legendary figures collide, and the way Oda threads “true history” into the modern story, has made this arc feel less like a detour and more like the core of what fans have waited decades to learn.
In other words: the community isn’t just hyped — it’s locked in.
Fans Don’t Want to Return to the Straw Hats Yet
One of the most interesting side effects of the God Valley obsession is how many readers are openly saying they’re not ready to “wake up” and go back to the present timeline. Across social media, the sentiment keeps repeating: this flashback feels too important, too intense, and too revealing to leave behind right now.
That’s rare for any long-running series. Most stories rely on their main cast to keep the engine running — but One Piece is in a moment where its past is so explosive that it’s rivaling (and sometimes overshadowing) the present.
A Testament to Oda’s Storytelling and Legacy
Between the anime dropping a top-tier episode that’s scoring among the best on IMDb, and the manga’s lore-heavy God Valley revelations dominating conversations, it’s becoming clear that One Piece is operating like a franchise at its peak — not one coasting on nostalgia.
And with the next episode already lined up for this weekend on Crunchyroll (Episode 1153, scheduled for December 14, 2025), the series doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon.
