Episode 8: Who Will Win? Showdown Between the True Powers of the Devil!
Air Date: 1999-12-29
Opening: We Are! (1st Opening)
Ending: Memories (1st Ending)
Short Summary
Buggy tells Luffy of his past with Shanks, how he and Shanks were crewmates together on a ship and Buggy despised Shanks. Luffy becomes furious and continues battling Buggy, defeating him by turning Buggy's Bara Bara powers against him. The town turns angry, though, and Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are forced to flee together.
In-Depth Summary
The episode opens with Buggy claiming he can call Shanks whatever he wants. His flashback begins with a young Buggy and Shanks in an argument. After being separated by the captain, their pirate ship attacks another vessel. Buggy cuts down one of the people aboard the vessel and finds a treasure map in his shirt, and he keeps the map a secret. Later, after a party, Shanks and Buggy sit together, and Shanks mentions how he will start his own pirate crew. He then tells Buggy about the Devil Fruit and its value, so Buggy plans to steal it. Buggy eats a fake Devil Fruit in front of everyone, while keeping the real one hidden so he can sell it for 100 million berries. However, Shanks finds him and surprises Buggy, so Buggy jams the Devil Fruit in hi mouth. After being surprised again he accidentally swallows it.
Buggy is livid about swallowing the fruit, and as he yells at Shanks, his map flutters into the water. Buggy dives in after it but cannot swim, so Shanks saves him. Present-day Luffy says that Shanks saved Buggy's life, but Buggy refuses to accept it, and says his plan was delayed ten years. His upper body then separates and rises up, and he spots Nami stealing his treasure. He goes after her, but Luffy kicks Buggy's lower body in the groin. Buggy collapses, and even more frustrated, he uses Bara Bara Festival, his body parts flying around everywhere. Luffy grabs one of his feet and tickles it, pulling on it, really messing Buggy up. When Buggy attempts to rejoin with the rest of his body, his head, feet, and hands come together, but the rest of his body parts are tied up by Nami. Luffy then uses Gomu Gomu no Bazooka to send Buggy flying, and he is defeated.
The townspeople come and find much of the town in ruins, and the mayor unconscious, so they turn on Luffy, Nami, and Zoro. Luffy mentions that they're pirates, so the townspeople chase after them. However, when running down an alleyway, Shu Shu stops the townspeople by barking at them. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro come up to their boat and Nami's stolen ship, and the three Buggy Pirates from before emerge from the ship. When seeing Zoro, however, they flee. Nami jumps into her stolen ship while Luffy and Zoro get into their boat, and they sail away as a new crew. As they're leaving, the mayor comes to, scolding the townspeople for chasing away Luffy and his friends, and he yells thanks to them. Nami then becomes angry with Luffy when she finds out he left behind half of her treasure to help pay for the town's repairs. Zoro laughs it off, and in another location, we see a familiar long-nosed young man as the episode ends.
Mumbo230's Thoughts
Buggy meets his demise in this episode, but he will show up again in Episode 46. His side-story is the first side-story of the series, and it's a good one. This episode aired with episodes 6 and 7 on the same day.
