01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
One Piece animator calls for ‘immediate firing' of entire sound team, blasts ‘unprofessional' work; here's why
After constant complaints from fans about the 'awful' sound effects in One Piece, it seems one animator has finally taken note. Sota Shigetsugu, one of the animators behind the globally successful anime, recently blasted the Toei Animation sound team for their 'unprofessional' work (though he didn't get into specifics) and even called for immediate action to fire the entire team. Although the tweet was later deleted, it sparked a wild debate among fans and industry professionals about the show's sound effects. Many agreed that the show has been struggling with poor sound quality for months, with the main issue being the reuse of old sound effects, some of which date back to other popular shows like Dragon Ball. Fans had pointed this out frequently, but this was likely the first time someone from inside the team took charge and called out the subpar work.
One Piece animator calls out the 'unprofessional work'
Sota Shigetsugu, the animator known for his work on popular anime franchises like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, took to his X post and wrote, 'Toei should urgently fire the sound team for One Piece. That's not the work of professionals.' The frustration likely comes from the fact that Toei has not updated its sound design to match the evolving animation and direction. As anime quality improves over time, these outdated sounds feel lazy and disconnected from the high-quality sound production viewers now expect.
Take One Piece Episode 1,127, for example. According to Dexerto, the episode titled Luffy vs. Kizaru! A Fierce Kaleidoscopic Battle was praised for its impressive animation and fight scenes, but the excitement quickly vanished when the sound effects kicked in. Fans have shared multiple clips to back up Sota's frustration, especially from a fight scene between Zoro and Lucci. The sounds used in these battle scenes, like the sound of a sword swinging, are repeated over and over without any variation. One fan expressed their annoyance, saying, 'In one of the more recent fights, there's a sword being swung at Luffy. And it has swung at least 10 times. And each time it is the EXACT same sound with ZERO change. It's f*cking grating and loud.'
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Some even pointed out how the anime took a six-month hiatus just to upgrade their sound system and FX, and came back with absolutely nothing to show for it. 'Remember when they said they were upgrading their SFX during the 6-month hiatus?…liars,' one X user commented. 'He's not wrong re re-used sfx for 20 years being a billion dollar company is criminal,' another added.
But not every One Piece fan is convinced by the idea of sound upgradation. Some are defending Toei and the old sound effects. They argue that these familiar sounds are a part of the show's charm and nostalgia. For them, changing these sounds would erase a piece of anime history that's been around for decades. 'What's wrong with the sound, it's not bad, right?' a social media user commented on Sota's now deleted tweet. 'The sound was fine. It's literally the sounds associated with One Piece. Like imagine if they changed the sound of the chidori to the kamameha sound effect because people bitched for 'better sound effect' i care for sound identity the effects are nice & have been around for ages,' another said. This debate has divided the fanbase. Some feel the criticism is harsh and uncalled for, while others see it as an opportunity for Toei to improve the show. For a globally famous title like One Piece, fans believe that studios like Toei should not only improve the animation but also step up their sound design to meet modern expectations.
