One Piece puts the resolve of the strongest into battle in Zoro vs King

Episode 1062 brought the Zoro vs King fight to its end. The animation was spectacular and is gathering a good deal of praise.

What made the fight so fun to see is the two strong characters who were in the middle of it all. All through the episode we get to see the parallels between Zoro and King by the mentions of instances from their past and present. 

There was some fan criticism about the fight not being ideological enough compared to Sanji vs Queen and fighting for the sake of fighting. But these criticisms are missing the point of the entire fight. Similar to Sanji, Zoro also fought an internal battle as well as an external battle. Zoro evolved a lot throughout the fight. He knew if he didn’t, Enma will devour him.

In a nutshell, the fight was a barrage of flashy attacks such as King of Hell, Three-Sword Serpent: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation, and Extra Large Imperial Flaming Wings. The fight and the glorious visuals were holding the reins of the episode. The display of their strengths wasn’t limited to the attacks or the visuals but was backed by the resolves of the strongest commanders of both crews.

Similarities between Zoro and King 

You can account for the tied King at the beginning of the flashback as a mere coincidence but considering Oda and his love for connecting loose ends, it was referencing to how Luffy found Zoro. Both the characters were saved by their captain in a similar situation. They had one goal in common which was to see their captain as the pirate king. The characters were shown to be very similar. 

Their resolves 

Zoro and King had the same goal with different approaches to those goals. King wanted to make his captain the pirate king, but Zoro already knew that his captain will become the pirate king. Zoro was fighting for himself while King was fighting for Kaido. 

King put himself in a very important position in the journey toward Kaido’s goal. His main goal was to make Kaido the Pirate King; whereas Zoro had a dream of his own, to become the strongest swordsman alongside Luffy becoming the pirate king.

The individual goal that Zoro held in his heart helped him become strong during the fight, unlike King. He used the supreme king’s haki or conqueror’s haki making himself the supreme king.

Near the end, King mentions how Zoro is incapable of defeating him citing the biological difference which was a reference to a similar excuse made by Kuina.

Conclusion 

 Zoro had an individual dream. He knew where his strength was coming from, he knew exactly where he wanted to lead it. He was in touch with himself and his goal which made his resolve stronger than that of King’s.

King made Kaido’s goal his everything and that essentially became his sole driving force. Zoro’s resolve stood victorious at the end of the Zoro vs King battle getting him a new theme sound as a reward (what a banger!).