Wow, this came along much quicker than anime fans must have expected. The Monsters series, based on a prequel to One Piece written by Eiichiro Oda, premiered on Netflix with a somewhat quiet drop all things considered. The first episode absolutely delivers though, with a twenty-four-minute runtime that packs in some great pacing and explosive action to set things off to a fantastic start. So, with the long title Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation Episode 1 Review, is it a good watch for your regular One Piece fans?
This article contains light spoilers for One Piece and Monsters. Catch up on Viz or Netflix before continuing further!
What Happens in Monsters Episode 1?
In a nice touch without being too much of a clue as to its One Piece ties, the opening scene is narrated by Zoro’s voice actor. While he tells a history involving fierce dragons and brave swordsmen, it doesn’t quite go into that kind of intensity immediately. Instead, the episode segues over to Ryuma, broke and hungry outside a small diner in a forest village. Ryuma is broke, with next to nothing except his sword to call his own. He’s damn proud of that sword though, and immediately picks a fight with Shirano, another swordsman who bumps his scabbard.
Although he and Shirano have a slight argument there, the two settle it rather quickly thanks to local interference. When Ryuma steps outside though, he runs into a strange man named DR who accuses Ryuma of attacking him. He goes crazy, blowing what’s called a Dragon Horn which summons a massive dragon. This same horn was responsible for summoning a dragon seven years ago, which destroyed the home of young waitress Flair. Ryuma, despite everything, manages to stick around the town while all the citizens flee in fear, sticking around with Flair who blames him for the mess.
Shirano was supposed to stay behind in the town to fight the dragon, offering his life in return to help the townspeople. Turns out he’s actually full of crap, and he and DR rob the town blind before the dragon shows up to burn it all down. Ryuma fights all three off with little effort, saving the town single-handedly before marching off to his next destination.
Ryuma
Ryuma is a swordsman of legend in the world of One Piece, known for slaying dragons during his life. By the time that the main story of One Piece comes around, of course, he’s long dead and gone as a hero of Wano. Unfortunately, he’s not allowed to rest in peace, as the Warlord Gecko Moria appears to steal his body a few years before the main story begins. Ryuma’s body is dug up from the frost in Wano, surprisingly preserved by the icy cold, and Gecko Moria finally finds the perfect shadow for it in the Humming Swordsman, Brook of the Rumbar Pirates.
The Ryuma that the Straw Hats meet ends up with some of Brook’s more… odd tendencies thanks to the shadow. The samurai of Monsters is a goofy idiot though, always on the hunt for his next meal and very frequently hungry. He’s also usually broke, leading to a lot of issues securing those next meals he loves so much. This Ryuma certainly doesn’t give off the stone-cold badass that the legend of Wano is supposed to be, but by the end of the episode, he shows why he earns the title. Ryuma’s swordsmanship is second to none, and he takes out the dragon at the end of the episode with a single slice through the neck.
Shirano the Master Swordsman
It’s kind of funny that Ryuma is a distant ancestor of Zoro. Meanwhile Shirano resembles Zoro’s eternal rival Dracule ‘Hawkeye’ Mihawk. It’s a great bit at the beginning of the episode too to play Shirano off as this noble hero. Supposedlythe only survivor other than Flair of the horrific incident seven years before. A surprise dragon attack destroys a small village, and Shirano is the only one to walk out. He’s also holding a little girl that he ‘saved’ during the chaos. Turns out, Shirano is actually a horrible human. Although the Dragon lit the fire, he did a lot of the killing.
Shirano and DR travel from place to place. DR calls in dragons with the horn while Shirano tells the citizens to flee. When everyone is gone from the town, they rob the place blind and then disappear, assumed dead in the fighting. Turns out, the dragon is even in on it. He frequently just hangs around while the other two gather up treasure in the flames. Oh, and it turns out that Shirano didn’t save Flair. Nope, she asked him for help rescuing her parents before passing out. Then, Shirano killed her parents himself. What a jerk!
Dragons
The dragons of Monsters are a bit different than the kind we see to in the world of One Piece. They’re obviously a thing of the past at this point in the main pirate story. But still, they used to be a major problem apparently. This first dragon isn’t the only one to create chaos. There were murmurs among the crowd after DR blows the horn that there were numerous around. It’s not going to be the last one that Ryuma manages to slay before this short series is over.
Instead of the serpentine dragons like Kaido’s Zoan form in One Piece, these are more Western-themed fantasy dragons. Four legs, massive wings, and a terrifyingly long neck with sharp jaws round out the look, and horns bestow the dragon’s head. They can breathe fire from the sky, laying waste to anyone below them. When the dragon first enters the town, it honestly looks like things are going to be lost in moments. Then when it touches down, Flair goes to confront it before Ryuma steps in.
Ryuma the King
Ryuma jumping right in and slicing both Shirano and DR in half before they could even react was badass. He jumps around, climbing a dragon as it flew into the sky, nimbly running along its back. All before delivering one slice to the head, was even more badass. He made it seem like Shirano had an advantage over him earlier in the episode. Now he manages to jump to it with little effort and straight up cut the dragon down. Its one of the coolest ways to show that the goofy laid-back swordsman was much more than he let on.
First pulling out his sword in the diner was another fine touch for him to show his strength. Even though Shirano kept him at swordpoint (though Ryuma was playing weak) he still made a show. Ryuma impressed everyone by cutting that statue clear in half. The others in the restaurant are even questioning what his sword is since the statue is solid stone. It’s no surprise though, because the legendary blade Shusui has one hell of a reputation. Both in the Grand Line and beyond.
One Piece Prequel
This brings the end of the episode around, with a flash forward a few centuries. Ryuma stands atop a dark tower, slash marks scoring the entire length of it. He throws his sword down to someone below. The swordsman is now an old, withered corpse of a man. Now with no semblance of his past self other than his sword Shusui. Knowing he’s the loser by a young upstart swordsman with green hair, Ryuma makes his final move.
This single scene with Zoro calling him a swordsman of Wano will immediately clear it up for anyone. This is a One Piecer prequel through and through, even if nobody realized it at first going in. The story of Ryuma may not have a whole lot of sway over the current events of the story. Still, he’s a historical figure who’s integral to the world of One Piece as a whole. With his terrifying swordsmanship and legendary blade Shusui he strikes fear into the hearts of dragons. All while he becomes a legendary hero of Wano.
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation isn’t notably a prequel at first, giving few hints to the One Piece leanings. By the end though, it’s pretty obvious just how much this series will connect with everyone’s favorite pirate adventure. The swordsman Ryuma is just at the beginning of his journey, even though he already has the title of king. In time, he’ll perfect his style, and in generations through One Piece, Zoro will come about to do the same thing as his ancestor in Monsters.
