One Piece Episode 1044, titled “Clutch! A Demon Incarnate, Robin,” aired on December 4, 2022, and what a fantastic episode it was.
After Robin used her Gigante Fleur in One Piece Episode 1043, the real battle between Robin and Black maria starts in this episode.
Fans have been waiting for a Robin 1v1 fight for so long, and finally, we have it.
Robin vs Black Maria
Black Maria uses Mari-Apprehend to counter Robin’s Sea Serpent. A web is released from Maria’s fingertips that captures the arms of Robin of Robin’s Gigante Fleur form. She puts on her knuckle dusters and pounces on top of giant Robin.
She starts ferociously punching Robin’s face. And of course, Robin’s real body also takes the damage that the giant form takes. After badly injuring her face, Robin undoes her Gigante Fleur and gets away from Maria.
Robin then uses her Sea Serpent Snapdragon to attack Maria, but her attack is blocked by Maria’s Mari-Cade. Maria then uses Mari-Arson to create a sea of flames and challenges Robin to try and bloom more limbs.
Flashback time, Robin remembers her time with the Revolutionary Army and her training with Koala and Sabo. She then uses what they taught her — Mil Fleur: Fishman Karate Giganteum. She uses this palm strike not to strike Maria but rather on the roof to collapse it and extinguish the fire.
But to be honest, the best thing about this flashback was that they gave Robin bangs!
And this is when we see it.
Robin’s demon form
We see Robin use Demonio Fleur for the first time, and what an incredible form this is. She appears completely black from head to toe and with devil horns, wings, and teeth.
We have seen Robin looking like an angel multiple times when she uses her ability to create angelic wings, but now with this form, she looks like a true demon. They called her a demon child, so she became one.
Toei nailed the animation in this episode, and it was also beautifully directed. The whole transformation scene was really well done.
She uses Grand Jacuzzi Clutch to defeat Black Maria. It was so exciting to see Robin snap. I can’t say I understand what her form is. Is that Armament Haki? Or maybe Conquerors like Zoro’s Ashura? Whatever it is, I’m impressed.
As Robin defeats Black Maria, Brook also rounds up her subordinates using Phrase d’armes Orchestra.
Momonosuke’s request
At the end of the episode, we see Momonosuke requesting Shinobu to use her Ripe-Ripe Fruit powers and turn him older. He wants to be able to turn into a big dragon to fly Luffy up to Onigashima.
Even though Shinobu warns Momonosuke that he will never be able to revert back to his original age, he looks determined to go through with it. What would adult Momonosuke look like? I can’t wait to find out.
For those who don’t know, One Piece anime will be taking a break. Check out the anime episode release schedule here.
You can watch the latest One Piece episodes every week on Crunchyroll.