Episode 30: Departure! Sea Chef and Luffy Travel Together!
Air Date: 2000-06-28
Opening: We Are! (1st Opening)
Ending: Memories (1st Ending)
Short Summary
With Krieg finally defeated, life aboard Baratie returns to normal. However, Sanji finds himself shunned by the other cooks and learns that they are trying to get him to leave with Luffy. Yosaku arrives on Baratie and tells Luffy about Nami's destination, and so Sanji decides to join Luffy as the three set sail together.
In-Depth Summary
The episode opens with Luffy finally waking up in one of the rooms of Baratie. He looks around frantically for his hat and finds it on the dresser. Sanji tells Luffy that Gin told him he would see him on the Grand Line, as Gin left. Sanji then steps outside and talks to Luffy about All Blue, describing it as the place where the four seas come together and fish from all over swim there. Zeff watches from a balcony as Sanji explains this. Later, Sanji and Luffy step into the dining area for the chefs, where they are all eating soup. There is no room to sit at the table, though, and Sanji must sit on the floor. As Sanji sits down to eat, Patti gets up and demands who made the soup, calling it terrible. Sanji becomes angry, but the other cooks join in, all of them complaining about Sanji's soup. Sanji becomes frustrated, but Zeff calms everyone down, telling them that as cooks of the sea, they can't waste a single drop.
Everyone watches as Zeff eats all of his soup, then smashes the bowl on the floor, calling it terrible. Sanji demands how his soup is any different from Zeff's, but Zeff knocks him to the floor and says that Sanji is one hundred years too young to compare with him. Sanji leaves in a huff, and Luffy claims that the soup is actually quite good, surprised to find out that the cooks agree with him. Zeff explains that they are bad-mouthing Sanji's soup to get him to leave, and he asks Luffy if he needs a cook on board his ship. While going over this, Sanji sits outside the door with his head in his arms, saying how he can hear them. Luffy says no, explaining that he wants Sanji to join his crew, but he knows that Sanji is too set on staying at Baratie and won't leave.
As Sanji sits outside, a black and white shark comes tearing through the water toward Baratie with Yosaku in its mouth. It leaps no deck, bowling over Sanji and plowing through the wall, right into the dining area of the chefs. Luffy is surprised to see Yosaku, who explains that they calculated Nami's destination and learned that it is a very dangerous place. He says they need Luffy's help, so Luffy decides to leave. Before he can go, though, Sanji tells them that he will go with them, because he wants to achieve his dream of finding All Blue. Luffy and Yosaku celebrate while the other cooks try to keep from crying, and Zeff says how he hates kids. In preparation for their departure, Luffy gets some meat loaded up from the kitchen, and Zeff offers him his logbook from the year he spent on the Grand Line. Luffy replies that he doesn't need it, and Zeff understands completely.
Before leaving, Sanji walks through Baratie, reminiscing about his early times there. He remembers being trained by Zeff to become a cook, and remembers when Zeff's leg became caught in a boat and had to use the chain from an anchor to tear it off. Outside, Luffy and Yosaku have climbed into Sanji's small ship, and so Sanji steps out. As he climbs onboard, he begins to cry when Zeff tells him to make sure he doesn't get cold. With tears in their eyes the cooks wave goodbye to Sanji, and so Sanji. Luffy, and Yosaku set off through the water, headed for the same place as Nami. The scene shifts to the flag of the Arlong Pirates flying on the roof of a large tower, and so Nami stands aboard the Going Merry, drawing closer and closer to Arlong Park as the episode draws to a close.
Mumbo230's Notes
With this episode the fifth crew member, Sanji, joins the Straw Hats. The ending is so touching...all of the chefs together, barely able to keep from crying...it's hard to keep from crying when watching this episode. A tearjerker and a nice cap to the end of the series' fourth story arc.