After some trouble, the Straw Hat Pirates are finally on Egghead Island in One Piece episode 1090! The only problem is, they’re a little split up now. This newest episode of One Piece has some surprisingly good pacing and a surprise follow-up with some characters not seen in a long time. A lot is happening, and even more brewing in the background, so time to get into One Piece episode 1090!
This article has heavy spoilers for One Piece! Catch up on Crunchyroll or Viz before continuing further!
What Happens in One Piece Episode 1090?
Episode 1090 starts off with a quick recap of what happened in the last episode, showing the Lulusia Kingdom destroyed. From there it picks up with the Straw Hats off the coast of Egghead Island. Luffy, Chopper, and Jewelry Bonney see Sunny almost get swallowed by the giant mecha shark underwater. Thankfully, Jimbei’s helmsman skills save them just in time. When the three Devil Fruit users fall into the waves though, Jimbei has to hand the helm over to Franky and jump in.
The Thousand Sunny, meanwhile, is capsized by freakin’ torpedoes from the mecha shark, with Franky struggling to get away. After the Sunny is set to go down, with the rest of the crew hanging on desperately, the shark goes after Jimbei. When he fires torpedoes at them, they barely manage to avoid it by going deeper into the seas. By the end, they end up on Egghead, while the Straw Hats are saved at the last second by a massive robot! Even more surprising, a woman steps out of the robot and proclaims herself to be Dr. Vegapunk!
Straw Hats in Trouble
Things are grim when the Straw Hats re-enter the picture at the beginning of the episode. Luffy, Chopper, and Bonney are high in the air, held up by Luffy who is keeping a tight grip on both. Unfortunately from their vantage point, they can see that the Thousand Sunny is in major trouble, with a giant creature getting ready to swallow it from underneath. Thankfully the monster takes a moment to actually close its mouth, allowing Jimbei to steer them to safety. He hands the wheel over to Franky before jumping in after Luffy and the others who have now fallen beneath the waves.
While Jimbei finds them quickly, it’s not long before he loses track of the Thousand Sunny. Now the ship is being dragged along with the current, with non-Devil Fruit users desperately trying to hold onto the ones who can’t swim. Meanwhile, the mecha shark chases down Jimbei, firing two more cannonballs at them. While they dive to the depths to avoid the blast, it’s not quite enough to remain unharmed. Jimbei begins to sink down, with the other three alongside him.
Tashigi
So naturally it’s a good point to cut away from the Straw Hat Pirates and see what Tashigi has been up to. There’s a pretty solid recap on her last appearance, showing that she’s still in charge of the Punk Hazard kids now. Thankfully there was a whole flashback explanation because in the anime it’s been nearly ten years since the Punk Hazard arc. It turns out they’re still in charge of the various kids that Caesar Clown was enlarging, but they’re being given medicine to treat the condition.
The other issue that Tashigi is brought to attention is from Vice-Admiral Doll. She informs Tashigi that Helmeppo is begging relentlessly for her help in rescuing Koby. When he was on Amazon Lily, Koby was taken captive by Blackbeard, and now he’s being held on Fullalead Island. It’s going to take some major force to get him back, too. The forces of an Emperor aren’t something anyone can just go against from the Marines, and require an Admiral’s approval to even engage.
Operation: Rescue Koby!
While Vice-Admiral Doll is speaking with Tashigi, Helmeppo, and Hibari are begging for help elsewhere. This time from Prince Grus, a new member of the Marines’ SWORD Unit. His powers will be explored later, but as of right now, he’s not very hopeful about the chances of Koby’s rescue. Hibari is a new character as well, but she seems to have a pretty profound amount of care and affection for Koby based on her begging for help here.
Manga readers will know that the Koby operation shapes up in coming chapters, but there are still others that need recruiting first. This is building up to one of the big high points of this arc, and there are going to be quite a few moments to remember… Koby’s rescue will also have a couple of unexpected tagalongs, with Charlotte Pudding being abducted by the Blackbeard Pirates during a cover story during Wano. It’s going to bring some big fights though, and hopefully, the pacing here indicates they’re working on having good fight pacing.
“He’s an Emperor?”
Flash back over to Egghead Island where Jimbei has brought the three Devil Fruit users to safety. Everyone is safe, though completely soaked through. Toei animators definitely took their time with keeping shirtless Bonney on the screen, which is going to make her later reveal even weirder. It’s hilarious to see her reaction to how Luffy leads and the fact that Jimbei is there with them though. She knows the reputation he holds, and the simple reaction of “He’s an Emperor?” after seeing Luffy goofing around is just gold.
There are also some signs that will play in later, like Bonney asking him about the white hair on Luffy’s bounty poster. Luffy’s little dance here is expanded from the manga, and gives him a pretty funny little bounce that’s going to hold up as a big sign of his role as Joyboy. Bonney just doesn’t realize who he is yet, though she does know of Nika as far as the Sun God. Finishing off with them by showing how hungry everyone is, considering the current situation, is also just classic One Piece. Bonney will fit right in with her massive appetite.
That’s Vegapunk?!
Back at the Thousand Sunny, everyone is finally up above the water as the giant robot carries the ship along. Zoro and Sanji are ready to fight, and Nami is surprised, meanwhile, Robin and Brook are still recovering after their weakness. Usopp and Franky though, are in total adoration of the massive mecha towering above them, carrying their ship along. It’s like their dream come true, and Franky is probably thinking over all the ways he can incorporate these ideas into his own designs.
Everyone is more taken aback when the hatch in the middle opens though. The woman who steps out is explaining that the shark was only supposed to do recon, wondering where her experiment went wrong. Nobody realizes until she introduces herself though- the one and only Dr. Vegapunk. This character has been built up for years in One Piece, with everyone usually referring to them as an older man. So imagine this character bouncing out of a mech, with some of Oda’s horniest character design ever, suddenly declaring themselves Vegapunk. Pretty big shocker for all involved.
The episode leaves off there, but that’s just the beginning of their adventures on Egghead. There are about to be massive lore bombs dropped all over this series. Characters will be shown in a whole new light, while some One Piece secrets will come out. Things are only heating up in Egghead Island as Episode 1090 ends, with One Piece going into one of the best arcs yet with a damn good start.
