Episode 1,136 of One Piece has emerged as the highest-rated anime episode of 2025 with a staggering 9.9 rating on IMDb, as per data available on the entertainment data tracking platform.
The latest episode, released on July 13, wrapped up the story of the father-daughter duo Kuma and Bonney with a perfect conclusion that left fans in tears.
Episode 1,136, which brought Kuma’s backstory to an end after eight episodes, was filled with a chain of flashbacks that tugged at the heartstrings.
In One Piece episode 1,136, titled ‘Kuma’s Life’, Bonney sets out to find her father, Kuma, hoping that if she becomes popular as a Supernova, she will be able to locate him. The episode then shifts to Kuma’s perspective, revealing how he had watched Luffy from the moment he received his first bounty, believing he carried the will of Nika.
The flashbacks take fans to the moment Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon, the climax of the Sabaody Archipelagos arc and the Paramount War — all of which involved Kuma watching over Luffy and enabling the Straw Hats to become stronger.
The heartwrenching episode left fans emotional, with some calling it director Yasunori Koyama’s best work till date. “I haven’t cried this hard in a while, this episode destroyed me,” one of them tweeted.
“This was able to evoke emotions in me that I didn't know I was capable of, I was crying my eyes out for half the episode and felt like I couldn't breathe, Koyama's direction and the OST was out of this world. I love Kuma and Bonney man,” another fan shared on X.
Last year, One Piece topped the IMDb list of Top 10 highest-rated TV shows in the first half of 2024 based on user ratings, beating popular live-action shows like The Bear, House of the Dragon and The Boys.
Set in the world of pirates, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who sets sail with his wacky crew on a perilous journey across the Grand Line to find the legendary treasure One Piece and become the Pirate King. In his quest to achieve freedom in its truest sense, Luffy overcomes formidable enemies, forges meaningful friendships and unravels the world’s secrets.
One Piece will take a one-week break and return with episode 1,137 on July 27 on Crunchyroll.