Based on the chapter titled "Monsters" from the manga Wanted, by Eiichiro Oda, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation manages to please, even if minimally, both One Piece fans and those who have never had contact with the work. In ONA we discover more about Ryuma, already introduced in One Piece and having a direct confrontation with Zoro, to whom he is a predecessor in lineage. Following the narrative we understand more why the swordsman is so renowned, we see more of his strength and his much talked about battle against the Dragon. It's 25 minutes with a good production, produced by Estúdio E&H Production. The direction, madeby Seong-Hu Park, is well done, and the Director takes the opportunity to play around by using a reference to Jujutsu Kaisen - another anime he directed. Another highlight for the Director is the scene where we see Cyrano showing his real personality and, at the same time, a flashback of the villagers admiring him. This fact brings a huge contrast and that was a great success. Concluding this topic, the addition of the final scene, where we see Zoro's fight with Ryuma again, brings a nostalgic appeal to the episode that was not included in the original material (even as it was released even before One Piece).
However, in my opinion, the colors in Monsters lacked a little life, everything seemed low in saturation/contrast, which may have been a choice by the Art Direction, but it didn't go down very well. Still on that, the animation style reminded me a little of Devilman Crybaby, and that's a great quality. The improvement in character design compared to the manga is also notable.
As for the narrative, for 25 minutes it is good, as far as possible. However, with little screen time, ONA presents us with a very easy defeat for the Dragon, which is a demerit and is present in the original material.
Even with these drawbacks, relying on nostalgia in the final scene, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is an ONA that is worth giving a chance to watch.
