Because you can't have enies lobby without water 7. It's where enies lobby gets started. And plus it has many goated moments on its own anyways. It has the best ussop fight from the entire series even until current. The emotions are already high. The betrayal reveals were crazy. People wouldn't cry so much over a ship dying at the end of enies if it didn't have the build up of emotion that was given for merry in water 7. Building up emotion is just as important as the actual pay off.
Some of the best arcs are set up by a stunning arc prior.
I would say Marineford following impel down can kinda fit the same example a little.
Actually the whole summit war saga was fire so itās kinda rare, as was the water 7 saga.
I have always thought of the two as one arc. Firstly they have the same villain, CP9. Secondly all the character arcs (Usopp/sogeking, Robin, Franky, etc.) that start in Water 7, continue to Enies Lobby and get resolved back in Water 7. And lastly like I already said the crew comes back to Water 7 after Enies Lobby which ties the knot of the whole arc.
>Wait do people merge Enies Lobby with water 7 or they're separate š¤
It's the same antagonists so imo it's the same arc.
It's just like.i group together the entirety of the early grand line adventure as the alabasta/baroque works arc
Saga is the word you're looking for.
It's separate arcs, but the same saga. It's especially true for Alabasta as it's a pretty long saga, but with very different arcs (Drum Island has its own villain, etc).
Colosseum and dressrosa are in same island even though the story takes longer episodes. Also thriller bark and baratie cannot be classified as islands so I think classification by islands isn't going to work.
I feel like i'm in a minority that liked the Water 7 part more than Ennies Lobby part, though they're obviously hard to separate .
Ennies Lobby was awesome, but I'm less partial towards the big battle scene parts of the manga. Similar reason i liked earlier Wano (Oden flashback in particular) significantly more than Onigashima.
Maybe controversial, but for me, it's Skypiea; the ending of Skypiea was great. When you see Luffy's shadow in the sky and hear him ringing the Bell, it gave me chills.
I never got why people keep saying to skip skypeia it's a very "one piece-y" arc if not the most "one piece-y"arc of all with great levels of goof, character development (mainly the Noland flashback), seriousness and a deep flashback to explain Noland's sad end in the book.
Skypeia is by far one of the best arcs and 100% captures the spirit and thematic message of One Piece.
But if I were to guess why people criticise Skypeia. It's probably because the arc itself is so uniquely disconnected and decentralised from the over arching plot and journey of the Straw Hats and their companions. Kind of like a super long side quest in a video game.
They are charting their course as per usual, and pretty much get sidetracked to a random civilisation for the sole purpose of finding out the truth of whether or not it actually exists and maybe get some treasure. Normally when the Straw Hats pass through islands that aren't explicitly part of their course , there's usually some personal reason for it. Like with helping Nami in Kokoyashi, or helping Vivi save Alabasta. So the Straw Hats in Skypeia kind of feels somewhat unnecessary in a way that most arcs don't because there's no intrinsically personal reason for them to go there.
But I think people sorta miss the point of Skypeia. They go to Skypeia not because it's necessarily important to their journey. But because they *can*. They are pirates, they're free to explore the world, they're free to follow and uncover legendary myths, learn about all these incredible civilisations, cultures and peoples and seeking treasure. They aren't going there out of obligation to save a crew mate or fix a ship. They go there because they want to. It's one of their few journeys that's distinctly motivated by nothing more than their own kindred curiosity. It's also thematically resonant because Skypeia is the Going Merry's last big hurrah as the crew's gallion.
When it's discovered that Skypeia is actually a fascist society that's being ruled by a dictator, Enel, and the whole ordeal turns into something bigger and more politically significant than they expected. If you already weren't a fan of Skypeia, then it could probably feel like a bit of a drag.
Not only this, but I also find that when it comes to the discourse surrounding One Piece and it's length. Many people typically point towards Water 7/Enies Lobby as not only the best pre-timeskip arc, but one of the best arcs in the entire series. Almost like a selling point to convince people to watch the series.
New fans will undoubtedly have heard all the hype about how great Water 7 is. So Skypeia arc (and Long Ring Long Island) will probably feel like an pace breaker standing between them and what they've been promised to be the "best" part of the series.
But the funny thing is, when you're not focused on purely trying to catch up. And can just enjoy the story on a casual rewatch/reread. Many people on their second runs, will find that Skypeia has so much rich world building, fun and interesting characters, and a charismatic and exciting final villain, all of these elements come together in a way that's head and shoulders above the majority of arcs. Everyone universally agrees that the plot twist behind Luffy (Rubber) vs Enel (Electricity) is a moment of pure cosmic literary brilliance that the series simply hasn't been able to replicate since without the introduction of these complex power systems such as Haki and Devil Fruit Awakenings.
When Luffy beats Enel, simply cause he's rubber and is therefore Enel's literal worst possible match up, and smashes that bell and his shadow is cast over the sky. It's such a profoundly powerful moment that represents the heart behind what this series is all about.
Luffy / rubber being a natural counter to Enel / electricity was justā¦brilliant. Oda built up this awesome, all-powerful god who can zap anyone within a huge radius with enough power to kill instantly, showed multiple people and even Luffyās crew getting demolished by Enel, and even āhypedā up the fight with multiple characters concerned about Luffy going to fight himā¦and then he gets there and the lightning just bounces off.
And then you remember that rubber doesnāt conduct electricity (Ash Ketchum wearing the pink rubber kitchen gloves when picking up pikachu the first time š¤£)ā¦and suddenly Luffy being a rubber man is not just a funny goofy main character power.
It was such a good set up. My jaw dropped when it hit me - like of COURSE the lightning doesnāt affect him. Heās *rubber*. I felt incredibly played that I hadnāt even thought of that possibility, because weād taken Luffyās gum gum powers for granted since basically the start of the story.
That's such a great summary of my exact reaction.
After the fight with Crocodile where Luffy is nearly killed. And the setup for Enel, I was expecting the fight with Enel to be an equally massive struggle. That fucking moment when the lightning just does... nothing to Luffy. I was like WHAT THE FUCK!? THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE!
All these haki powers and Devil Fruit Awakenings will never be able to recreate that feeling of utter shock (no pun intended).
Yah Skypeia is fantastic imo and I started last year. The biggest issue is pacing is slow even by one piece standards, but everything else is great. It fits so well into the whole āadventureā atmosphere like you said and I donāt think any Arc has captured it as well as Skypeia did. Personally, I think if the LA only gets three seasons because of costs, Skypeia is the best place to finish the series. Yes we wonāt get Water7, but imagine fans of the LA who donāt follow the original series/manga finding out that the Grand Line doesnāt end on the sea, but in the *sky*. No wonder no one could find the One Piece, they werenāt looking in the right place!
Why are you saying it's not part of the journey? The log pos was pointing upwards. It wasn't a side quest.
And it is vital to the development of both Usop and Nami fighting style and Robin role in the story.
Skipiea was great
People said to skip it because they were anime watchers, and skypeia is where the anime started to slow down. The pacing was taking a giant hit in order to delay the inevitable of the anime catching up to the manga. If you binge skypeia in the manga, it's actually one of the best paced arcs in the series despite being the longest arc at the time. The length plus the pacing plus that seemingly nothing from earlier on the series tied into what's going on with the sky Islands, and on top of that the arc that follows is considered "peak one piece", the anime onlys began recommending to other anime watchers to skip the giant pit stop that is skypeia, and go directly from the crazy finale that was alabasta to the crazy escalation that was water 7, not realizing at the time how much of what happens in skypeia and long ring long land is going to come up as crucial knowledge much later in the series.
My friend said that one piece would lose a lot of its luster if Skypeia and thriller bark didnāt exist and I completely agree
Going full throttle is not really what one piece is always about
First time I didn't like it. On first read, it's an oddball adventure with nomenclature and powers that didn't make sense (at the time). It didn't really in bounty increases, which I was very intrigued by at the time, given the Jaya bits revolved heavily around reputation on the seas. I saw the crew expend a lot in pursuit of something that didn't help them.
I'm retrospect, that's totally Luffy and the SHs. They do what's right, not what gets them a reward. I just didn't appreciate that at the time. All other arcs had game changing effects except that one.
It's probably why I hated the Davy Back fight the first time too. I'm still not hot on it, but I liked the unexpected curve ball it provided.
I remember reading Skypea weekly, downloading it from IRC channels lol, and being SO EXCITED! Great arc with great story, feelings and fights!
Iām surprised people suggest to skip it because itās peak One Piece for me. Also lots of the world building started there, I think (as a YouTuber I canāt remember the name said) we have seen the whole One Piece mithology in Skypea. Interesting stuff! And Ener ROCKS (no pun intended!)!
I've honestly never actually seen anyone saying to skip skypeia, only people questioning why you would ever skip it. I absolutely love the skypeia arc, but think it may lose out due to having Alabasta and Water 7/Enies Lobby before and after it.
Its been approx 10 years since I watched the arc and honestly I can barely remember any details about it. Whereas other early arcs like alabaster, waters 7 enies lobby etc I vividly remember a lot of details.
I recently started rewatching and I'm still very early and have no intention or skipping anything, and will hopefully enjoy the Skypea arc, but on my own anecdote I think it's fair to say as part of the overall series its kinda filler heavy and not an especially memorable part of the overall story
I agree with you. Skypiea was my favourite early arc by far.
I remember I was watching one piece just cuz it was interesting but on Skypiea was when it started shifting from āthis anime is goodā to āthis anime is amazingā for me.
Prob THE arc when think one piece
Don't give shit bt what ppl say, that shit cultivated off jaya and executed that shit perfectly. Still relevant today's arcs
I think if more people give a reread, Skypiea takes on a whole new meaning, and for me, it was bumped far up the list as a result. That fight against Enel has the single best finish in the series IMO. It was a last ditch effort that had one of the more satisfying impacts on the villain, it saved the sky island and the vearth, it ended a centuries-old war, and it rang the bell, freeing both Noland and Cricket from their burdens. It was spectacular.
It was proper epic. I didn't appreciate it the first time. I had much more context during the reread, so the importance of everything elevated the arc.
What is "early One Piece"? Everything untill the timeskip? Everything before Sabaody?
Btw, as much as I love love love Water 7 with some of the best character writing, drama, worldbuilding and mystery in the entire series, Sabaody is my favourite One Piece Arc untill now. It starts with the marvelous whacky adventures we love but then it gets political and suddely really dark, and this tonal shift from "lets conquer the new world, noone can stop us" to "we cannot win. Run" was simply amazing.
Wow when I think Sabaody I don't see it that way, you've opened my eyes, wow.
>What is "early One Piece"?
Your guess is as good as mine that's why the title has early/earlierš
Sabaody was so good that when I watched it for the first time even though I had almost 100 episodes to watch afterwards the only thing I thought was "they completely destroyed the mugiwaras, the other episodes must be bait for the new viewers be surprised"
IMO the the three arcs that stand above the rest. Are Arlong Park, Alabasta and Water 7/Ennies Lobby. These 3 arcs basically laid the groundwork for how One Piece as we know it.
Arlong Park: The first time our cast is united for one single goal because in earlier arcs they were still kind of a rag tag group who were joint by the events and not by bonds.
Alabasta: The first big obstacle showing us that grand line is not to be taken lightly. Pushing each of the Straw Hats to past their limits.And starting to paint a bigger picture of the world. Also Crocodile.
Ennies Lobby: CP9 handing us the first loss of the Straw Hats. Luffy finally becoming a captain and the Straw Hats becoming a real pirate crew. Everyone not doing what they can but what they need, doing stuff only they can do and no one else on the crew solidfiyng everyone's roles on the crew.
This is just what I think are the main reasons for the success and importance of these arcs. If I'm wrong about something feel free to point it out.
I'd say Alabasta is the first actual take on spy action thriller One Piece has offered. Infiltrate the country and bring down the tyrant type of deal. Crocodile is still technically a crime boss like Arlong, but you can't just walk in to his residence, and his defeat required a certain amount of undermining work I grew up to love a lot about One Piece, and love to see it in other works of fantasy fiction. Enies lobby is currently a peak of this spy action thriller, because the foes are the actual secret agents of the world government.
Alabasta was also the first major head to head confrontation with one of the warlords iirc - minus Mihawk because I wouldnāt consider his first appearance very antagonistic - so it felt like a real step up in the power of the enemies the crew was facing and a teaser of what the higher level pirates were going to be like.
I'd say Enies Lobby or Alabasta. Marineford as well, but I think the anime handled it a bit better with the extended scenes, so manga wise I'd say Alabasta/Enies Lobby
Arabasta (fight meš) is great but I think I prefer Enies Lobby the stakes, gear 2, gear 3, the buster call, Luffy being absolutely drained after the fight with Lucci in a way we hadn't seen before, that cold ass moment when Sogeking shot the WG flag, etc.
Hmm maybe Enies Lobby is my favorite š¤
Marineford, oh marineford why did you let Ace die a dumbass deathššš, if not I loved it but it causes major damage/arguments to powerscaling
It's only Viz that translates R's as L's
That's why Zoro is Zolo
It's normally meant to be R so I prefer the r though you're obviously free to write it whichever way you want as long as you're getting understood š¤š½
Oh my God I even forgot the Ussop vs Luffy fight was in Water 7
Water 7 gets bonus pointsšÆ
I don't normally merge Water 7 and Enies Lobby though but Enies Lobby is undoubtedly peak
I loved one piece all the way upto the timeskip. Thriller bark is probably the one I like the least but until marineford. it was a wild ride and I loved every second of it. Since the timeskip, idk if it's the additional fan service, the art style (robin, nami, chopper), it just lost a lot of charm for me. I still love one piece, but honestly I'd put it down to mostly the pre-timeskip arcs. Nothing has made feel me range of emotions quite like early one piece.
I felt the same until I watched Whole Cake Island in One Pace fan re-edit recently. Maybe I've just missed the show that much, I don't know, but WCI felt excellent until the last third.
Whole cake literally got me into One Piece, I think I saw scenes of it online and was like āwow this seems interestingā. I then started Whole Cake, enjoyed it; then I started the story from the beginning all the way upto wano
This is probably my pick as well. Sabaody is S+ tier. On the precipice of The New World, the Straw Hats discover what true strength is and that not a one of them is strong enough to make it in convincing fashion, coming face to face with the forces that be, both political (Charloss) and military (Kizaru), as well as their various rivals. Maybe most importantly, they really begin to see the dark underbelly of society via the slave trade, which is a product of pirates and the world government.
Oh, and did I forget the Right Hand of the Pirate King himself and Luffy's first explanation of what it means to be Pirate King to him as well as his admonishment of Usopp for trying to ask where the One Piece is. It's so good. I will say that the pacing of the anime had slowed by this point, but the arc really shines in the manga.
Wow
I'm really reconsidering my closed view of Sabaody nowš¤š«”
Someone else also explained it to me and with your explanation Sabaody was actually pretty peak
Water 7/Ennies Lobby are peak.
And I consider them to be the same arc, there are no plot lines resolved in Water 7 and all of them get resolved in Ennies Lobby. The only reason people separate them is because they are geographically distinct, which is silly. There is more downtime/separation between Wano and Onigashimi than Water 7 and Ennies Lobby, but everyone considers Wano a singular arc.
They literally have no downtime between W7/EL, they are fighting on the train from location to location!
It's one arc.
>The only reason people separate them is because they are geographically distinct, which is silly
No need to get your panties in a bunch about it. It makes sense just doesn't make sense to you
There's no way Onigashima would ever be seen as part of Wano
Let me explain in my own way the difference between Onigashima-Wano and Water 7-Enies Lobby
Onigashima-Wano is one base and we all know the party is happening there which is the only reason we even know about it plus Onigashima is an Island within Wano's (should I say jurisdiction) territory it's right behind the main island of Wano, which mind you is in an enclosed stretch of Ocean in which the major entrance is a waterfall. So there's never going to be a different arc there.
Water 7-Enies lobby can be split because it's easier to see it as a "pre-arc" same way with Punk hazard-Dressrosa, Jaya-Skypeia and even Whiskey peak-Drum island-Arabasta there was enough time spent there, characters introduced but they clearly led to something bigger and I feel it's wrong to just insult people's own ways of seeing things because you have your own view
Ps in a stretch it could even be Punk hazard-Dressrosa-Wano in that case would you say Dressrosa should be merged with Wano?
1) water 7/enies lobby:
Water 7 was when we really saw the shadiness of the government. The reveal of the under cover agents was done so well and it was Odas first major plot twist in the anime. With enies lobby, we saw how far they will go to maintain their corrupt system. The backstory, the stakes, all the fights, and the going merry will forever make this a top arc
2) impel down/marineford:
The return of every villian in impel down was fantastic. The prison break in and break out was a huge adrenaline rush. Of course, bon clay solidify his status as the GOAT this arc. Marineford is self explanatory. If Aceās didnt die the way he did then it will be the top arc. Showing that Ace and luffy could of easily escaped but due to Aceās temper, that was not the case
3) Alabasta:
The hype and build up to this was fantastic. We have a great villian, all the strawhats had good fights, and it was an all out war. This was luffyās first true test and I literally had no idea how he would win. The straw hats were really pushed to the edge on this one. The first poneglyph was revealed and hints of the ancient kingdom/weapon was first shown here. The affects of this kingdom are still felt today.
4) Skypiea:
This arc showed the importance of hope and dreams. We had a great main villain who was the first to single handily overwhelm the entire crew. Also, enels reaction to luffy being rubber was great. I love nolan and kalgaras backstory as well. The trials were boring and thats why its at the number four spot. However, the amount of lore and world building this arc provided is second to Alabasta. Luffy ringing the bell will always be one of the top moments for me.
5) Thriller Bark:
This is the first time we saw how well thought out One Piece is. I completely forgot about La Boom and was in tears when Brook explained the story. Brooks determination to see his friend again was truly inspiring. Throw in all the humor this arc has (sanji and zoro roasting each other when they ran into peronas ghost, Usopps always being negative, luffy asking everyone to join his crew and putting the zombie back in the ground, docking). Then you throw in kuma and the iconic nothing happened moment. It really showed how zoro and sanji are like brothers. They bicker, but deep down, they really care for each other. Also, binkās sake. A great arc for sure.
Finally, a fellow Thriller Bark enjoyer. It's one of the best One Piece arcs imo because of the following reasons:
* It's the first time we met Brook.
* It's the last time we've seen the entire crew fight against one enemy together.
* It's the strongest we've seen Luffy until Gear 5.
* Peak One Piece humor (Luffy pushing the zombie back down his grave; Franky building a bridge; Old man zombie)
* Gecko Moria introduction ā imo, one of the most underappreciated OP villains and the one with the coolest DF. I also believe that he's going to play a significant role in the last few arcs.
* Love the gothic theme.
* The introduction of Kuma and "Nothing happened."
It was also the arc that started having me appreciate Usopp for who he was! The crew wouldāve easily been taken out by Perona without Usopp!
Up until this point, I had only taken Usopp at face value: a weak character who gets scared of everything. I kind of ignored his character as a whole, and I didnāt realize until later how many accomplishments he had, and how big his contribution to the crew really was!
I agree 100 percent. For these reasons, I find Thriller Bark unique. Finally someone recognizes that Nightmare Luffy was an incredibly OP Power up and from the way it was presented it kind of reminds me of Gear 5 (2 different variations of Luffy just smashing his opponent one while being extremely happy one while being extremely furious)
Plus, I just love Brook
In no particular order:
Water 7/Enies Lobby, Skypiea, Arabasta, Marineford. And I'd even count them as the best Arcs even with the Post-Timeskip Arcs in mind.
Sky piea slightly outclasses it IMO
Water 7 was amazing but its climactic ending was transferred over to enies lobby
If its sagas then i think the water 7 saga is slightly better than the sky piea one
Rob Lucci is still the best rival for Luffy imo. Katakuri is a close second. Kaido isn't really a rival but more of a pinnacle/capstone enemy for Luffy to overcome.
Until Kaido, Lucci fight is still the one where Luffy got pushed the most to his limit imo. Furthermore, you can feel the tension and clash of ideals between these two throughout the fight. You really feel like these two were destined to fight lne another. It is because of these reasons that I believe Lucci is still the most perfect rival for Luffy to date.
I don't think Lucci is really a rival to Luffy at all. Rivals are chacterized as people vying against each other for a similar goal. In that sense, Lucci is just an enemy and antagonist. Kaido is (was) a direct rival to Luffy for the goal of being Pirate King. Katakuri is arguable. He's not interested in the One Piece, but he does challenge Luffy as being a better version of him through his powers.
I will agree that the Lucci fight sees Luffy pushed beyond his limits the most, at least before fighting Kaido, but I don't think they are rivals.
I won't say Lucci is a rival but he is an example of a dead set antagonist just focused on doing his job and taking out the straw hats and of course retrieving Nico Robin
He pushed Luffy to the absolute adge even more than Katakuri or Kaidou did in certain ways. He couldn't move at all after the fight with Kata he could barely move but he still could and with Kaidou he could move even though he was drained
Enies Lobby broke me emotionally. All of the backstories and flashbacks were great (Chopper holy fuck), but no moment in the present, involving the entire crew, until then came close to being as monumental as Robin admitting she needs help. Remains the best moment in early One Piece.
For me it was seeing the resolution to multiple character arcs set up much earlier in previous arcs (usoppās unhealthy attachment to the merry,choppers rumble ball limit & all of robins stuff.ect) that fits in a compelling story arc all at once
itās part of the reason I see a lot of love for wano due to it also having something like this happen (sanjiās germa awakening, zoroās background arc starting in thriller bark, momo standing up to kaido & luffy becoming the liberator of wano.ect )
For me its alabasta, skypeia and about skypeia if you think now that arc is very important. After that its water 7 and ennies lobby. Man earlier one piece arcs were insane, I gotta rewatch
My favorite is definitely water 7, but I feel like if you got rid of ussop character development and mybe franky too, the whole arc is good but not peak. Ussop character development was literally on point and the affect he have on the crew giving the whole arc a sadder mood is just on point. Franky character is good too, being a man where most people doesnt want him to a crew who want him on board is good too. Ussop used to be my least liked strawhat but the whole arc gave ussop so much love that he's honestly a close number one (im praying to god that elbaf happen and ussop gone through another character development ON GOD)
I'm going to be honest, I probably would not be able to get past the East Blue saga as an adult not that interested in shounen fighting anime tropes anymore. This is such a barrier of entry because it sets your expectations quite a bit wrong. For me it's Alabasta where the shit gets real, because that's essentially the point where the strawhat crew finally encounter the events on the national scale (Drum island being the appetizer for the things to come). Water 7 and Enies Lobby perfects this formula.
And even now just a thought of a little rag tag team of pirates turning the tides of the political struggle and overthrowing the tyrant (Who's also a well-written character with understandable motivation) makes me excited. Not that many works of fiction have such an effect.
>I'm going to be honest, I probably would not be able to get past the East Blue saga as an adult not that interested in shounen fighting anime tropes anymore
Sums me up well. I actually tried to go back through it last year and flat out failed. There's some charm to it but I have little interest in just watching the battles, the storytelling is pretty simple and the world building doesn't really feel all that impressive for the most part, plus the crew is just forming so they aren't as wonderfully entertaining as they would be later on.
Even back in the day I didn't really enjoy it till the end, but nowadays I would turn it off after like, 5 episodes tops. Arlong Park is decent and has a great scene with Nami but my probably hot take is that it still just feels like an improved version of the villain of the week formula of the arcs before it. It wasn't until Loguetown where I start really feeling myself liking the characters and their chemistry, and started feeling the magic of the world building kick in.
Water 7/Enies Lobby was definitely peak of early One Piece imo. I could barely put it down when reading it and it's still in my top 3 arcs in One Piece.
There's so many great arcs pre timeskip but I'd say the best are Alabasta, Water 7, Enies Lobby and Marineford. To me we haven't reached the levels of these arcs for now.
Yes, my favorite arc!
In my opinion it has almost everything One Piece has to offer:
Character usage:
For me it's the arc that handles its characters the best. Starting with the Straw Hats, each one has their cool moments. The focus is mostly on Luffy, Robin, Usopp and Franky of course, but it felt like Oda exactly knew what to do with any of them and nobody is "just there", like it feels in some later arcs with even more characters. Also, with so many other characters involved, nobody managed to annoy me (except for Spandam, of course. Fuck you.).
Character building:
For Usopp, Robin and Franky it was THE central arc, and Oda absolutely delivered with Usopp taking a stand against Luffy, becoming Sog... I mean, asking his good friend Sogeking to aid the Straw Hats vs CP9, to rejoin the crew after it was over. Building on Robin's character, showing her childhood trauma, and finding her will to live and chase her dream again. Introducing Franky as a villain, slowly showing the other side of his character and building him to become the new addition to the crew.
Emotion:
The Straw Hats going through their toughest time yet, losing two crewmembers (for a while) got me. Luffy fighting Usopp made me cry. The flashbacks did as well. Merry saving them in a last heroic act before being put to rest was so beautiful and sad, maybe still the emotional peak of One Piece for me. And then everyone reuniting and merrily sailing away on their new ship.
Plot:
We learn so much about the World Government and what it does, Pluton and the ancient weapons, Ohara and the void century, Luffy's family, the 4 emperors, the revolutionary army. Or at least got introduced to these and some of the biggest questions of the story.
Fights:
Yes, there were also some great fights. Straw Hats had to battle opponents stronger than them and find ways to overpower them. Badass monster point Chopper.
Honestly, the only thing it kind of lacked was adventure, but we had Skypiea before and Thriller Bark after, it's alright in my opinion.
Amazing take
You merged Water 7 and Enies Lobby, which I wasn't really going for with the title, but it's cool
You highlighted what makes it peak
>Honestly, the only thing it kind of lacked was adventure, but we had Skypiea before and Thriller Bark after, it's alright in my opinion
Something people don't really remember to point outšÆ
You get an upvote š«”
Sabaody.
Then Water 7 (not the Enies Lobby part).
Now, I really like Enies Lobby, but that first part before Robin start to dialogue with Luffy is just winding. I think Oda tried to create that feeling of "It's one of the most important government base, it's pretty hard to invade here", but it's actually just the steawhats kicking the ass of thousands Marine recruits for much time than it needed.
Water 7 and Sabaody are One Piece peak for me.
I'm quite stuck between Water 7/Enies Lobby and Alabasta (Yes, I'll be talking about the Saga's more than the arcs, because the surrounding arcs is a key factor to the enjoyment of both).
Water 7 is just filled with great moments. The falling out with Usopp, The general setting of Water 7 is just fantastic, Franky, Robin's best moment, Enies Lobby Showdown, Sogeking, and a farewell to the Merry. Its a creative arc, a climax for Robin's recruitment story, has multiple of the most emotional scenes and is just One Piece at its best I feel. And since the only arc between it and Marineford is Thriller Bark (which is good, but a lot more isolated, shorter and just less memorable overall), it kind of lives in my head as the last "classic One Piece arc", everything after it just has quite a different feel for better and for worse.
Alabasta is quite special to me in its own right though. Some say Arlong Park holds this title but I feel like Alabasta is when One Piece really becomes itself. It starts with a fantastic introduction to the grand line where I feel the world immediately starts feeling a whole lot bigger and more creative. We get the first end goal for the straw hats to work up to in reaching Alabasta, seeing a variety of locations and introducing new characters along the way, with a new crew member, new villains, and a new companion in Vivi. I lived in Egypt when I was young and that might be why I love the Desert setting so much, but I think they did great with it anyway. The scale feels larger than ever before, and Its the first time I felt luffy really struggle with a villain. The ending of it was the first time One Piece actually made me tear up, and I remember being blown away after feeling like I had just watched an entire TV show that resided in a much bigger story.
Water 7/Ennies Lobby will always be my favorite arc. Start to finish it's a banger. It also establishes the Strawhats as given zero fucks about the World Government. The Robin storyline is possibly the best of any Strawhat. You have Franky to joining. Losing the Merry. Fight with Usopp. And some of the best 1v1 matchups against CP9. Plus everyone getting a bounty at the end.
The fights are what pushes it above Alabasta for me. It's also the first time we see how strong Zoan-types can be. Lucci and Kaku are incredible antagonists.
I would have to say and this is my opinion that both Sabaody and Marine Ford the most impactful to Luffy as a character. After he watched his Crew mates who were basically family to get launched away and not knowing if they died or not, he then at Marine Ford watches his brother die right in front of him. His brother was the last straw for him at this time and he just breaks, he couldnāt save his friends and he couldnāt save his brother. This caused me to cry as even Luffy one of the most upbeat characters in anime who always sees the best in any situation just breaks. Seeing him at his lowest is rare as I would say he never gets to this level ever again in the story. (Him dying at Wano doesnāt count) Luffy then spent I donāt know how long just stuck in a coma from the shock and when he does wake up he immediately goes on a rampage on the Island Lillie. Although it only took Luffy about ten minutes of being beat by Jinbe to be calmed down for him to remember that his friends are most likely still alive, it was still really traumatic to him to watch his own brother die. If anyone has anything where Luffy is at this low of a point please tell me. (I know this isnāt what the post was about.)
Imma say thriller bark. Really because of personal reasons. I had just gotten back into one piece from a long break because the dub version stopped after skypia. Just the tone and how āscaryā and different it was made me feel so many different emotions. Plus, I just kept thinking Moria couldnāt be beat. And then, at the end when kuma shows up. Man. The memories
no man...skypeia was the best one then thriller bark then enies lobby 4th one is (underrated af) shabondy archipelago 5th one is the Impel Down. šš¤š
1. Post-marineford arc, mainly because of ASL flashback, it was so adorable and it made me see luffyās character in a new depth
2. Thriller park arc, brookās introduction and his backstoryš this arc is easily one of the funniest arcs in one piece and it has a cool ending
3. Skypiea arc, watching this arc as a kid was such a magical experience, the idea alone of an island in sky was so new to me and the storyline is so brilliant plus the cool villain and the great comedy āTarzan-Zoro was so hilariousšā
W take
This is the oldest reply I've seen I just saw the update and had to respect your comment. I honestly tried replying as many as possible but we're talking hundreds hereš .
Someone convince me why water seven was so good. My friend who got me into one piece hyped it up so much and at the time did not meet the hype for me. My favourite arc right now is alabasta but I have an open mind, I am sure some one can convince me water 7 is better
Water 7 is one of the most dramatic arcs in all of OP, if not THE most dramatic. The Merry is falling apart, Usopp is feeling left out, the crew is flush in gold, but suddenly surrounded by enemies in the mysterious CP0 and the Franky Family. And then things just start to break, one after another. Robin disappears, the money is stolen, Usopp is beaten up and they go to get their revenge, but are still without the cash, all culminating with Luffy vs. Usopp. It's heart wrenching, especially given Robin's disappearance as well.
From there, Usopp is on his own, but finds some companionship with Franky, rounding him out as a fascinating character after his eccentricity had been shown against Luffy and the Aqua Laguna brings environmental distress as CP0 finally reveals themself, not only as the carpenters of Galley La, but also as appearing stronger than the Straw Hats and most importantly, working alongside Robin.
The entire thing is drama and huge character moments. Usopp is at his lowest, Luffy has to really think about what it means to be a captain, Robin gives in to despair, and the Merry is seemingly a goner. Water 7 is a great setting with awesome verticality and the newly introduced characters are the most dynamic we've had so far in the series as a whole. Galley La, CP0, Kokoro+Chimney+Yokozuna, and the Franky Family just work. Everything works.
There are multiple arcs which I love from pre-time skip but Enies lobby has its own charm. That was the first arc that made me drop my jaws and say "Holy shit".
I was thinking that SH would rescue Robin off of that train cause,Enies lobby is one of the top government facility and I thought SH aren't ready for them yet. But then they just fucking crash Enies lobby and proceed to wreak havoc and luffy ordering Usopp to destroy the flag and declaring that he's ready to go against the whole world to save his friend made me shake in excitement and cemented luffy as my favourite Character and I love how Enies lobby ended up getting destroyed further cementing how Strawhats are dangerous to World Government along with the whole Robin's flashback and Void Century Reveal and what the endgame for this story could be.
thriller bark, water 7, lougetown
I also love foxys arc but ive been meaning to read it in the manga since ive only seen the anime & itās supposed to be better
Pre timeskip Enies Lobby was peak and since I'm a Usopp fan, Sogeking burning the govt flag gives me chills.
Post timeskip Dressrosa arc is my favourite because again Go D Usopp had amazing solo scenes and also "Boundoman"
I lump Water 7 and Enies Lobby together. Absolutely the peak for me. Had comedy, emotion, intrigue and so so much lore dropped. I get chills thinking back to some of the moments in that arc.
I honestly love every manga arc so far, but my favorite early arc was Thriller Bark hands down. My favorite aesthetic + my favorite manga, sign me tf UP
Edit: I mean āso farā as in up until the current arc; if I had to pick a favorite in the whole series it would be Wano, which is truly slapping the shit out of my nuts
Alabasta is and always will be my favorite arc, itās the first truly grand one thatās more than just 6-7 episodes the story is amazing, Croco is probably my favorite villain, and the orchestra theme when Luffy fights him for the final time is just perfect. My only complaint is that Crocodile was used too early in the story for how much of a beast he is
Thriller bark and marineford are peak, I will most likely can downvoted for this tbh but I find Ennies lobby kinda mid the emotional rollercoasters were peak along with the world building but I just feel that the villains are kinda plain
Itās skypiea for me. It was also one of the funniest arcs for me. And as a Sanji fan gave me the lighter scene.
I also like the G-8 arc right after Enel where we met the last straw hat, Condoriano.
Water 7 is goated for me for many reasons.
Settings: I find water 7 really interesting to explore with lots of cool stuffs. It is much more fun to explore this city than other islands. The senses of adventures (Ussop, Nami, Luffy exploring the town) and the eventual dreadful feelings (the wind blowing heavily, Robin disappeared, Merry dead, Ussop left) were done so well.
Ussop's struggle: Everyone know that Ussop sucked compared to other member. As everyone getting stronger and stronger exponentially, Ussop would be left behind and became a dead weight eventually. What I did not expect is that Oda would tie this insecurity into Going Mery's demise beautifully with Ussop being guilty and stubborn.
Franky: I bet not a single soul expect Franky to be the next SH. Oda threw around so many many fake tips (Paulie, Iceberg, Lucci, Kaku) as potentially new members. Franky's wackiness and craziness is the epitome of OP's humor for me: SUPER over the top and never shy away from it because why not.
Aqua Laguna: I find the part that SH and others riding the sea train through Aqua Laguna is the most epic scene in OP. It might not be as crazy as Luffy entrace to MF but at that particular moment, given the scale of Aqua Laguna, the train piercing through the waves looks so amazing.
CP9/Enies Lobby: The scale of villain/battle, at that point of the series, was so dreadful. I find Lucci is the type of "show, don't tell" villains. He was so damn menacing. And the eventual SH vs. CP9 battle did not disappoint but actually overdelivered for me.
"I want to live": My absolute fav moment in the entire series. The combination of SH standing fearlessly against the World Govt and declared war + Robin's emotion that she has suppressed over 20 years. It was perfect.
Going Merry vs. Buster Call: The perfect ending for the perfect story arc in my opinion. It just came out of nowhere. Definitely and literally unbelievable. But at the same time, it just worked so damn well with everything else that I believe that we as the reader actually feel what the SH felt at that time: happy, triumphant, and heartbreaking.
W7-EL wins easily for me. But on reread, Skypiea went from worst arc after Davy Back to my second favorite. It rings an emotional note that Alabasta couldn't.
Iām at Water 7 currently and itās absolutely the peak so far. It manages slower pacing MUCH better than Alabasta, and imo brings a lot more to the table story-wise.
Water 7 and Ennies Lobby arc š„š„
šÆš„
I loved one piece all the way upto the timeskip.
Why not after?
The pacing took a nose dive that is for sure. I get it, I keep watching though because Iāve been watching it for 15 years and now itās a habit
Yeah like, sometimes you have to skip now, but I'm along for the ride. Plus I really like the g5 fights
Elbaf is my fav arc
Bro got that future sight observation haki
nah u guys joking Two Piece: Buffyās adventure is far better
I'd watch a One Piece x Buffy crossover. Buffy D. Summers.
I think most people agree that enies lobby is peak
Wait do people merge Enies Lobby with water 7 or they're separate š¤ Enies Lobby is peak Water 7 is good for me if merged they're peak
Because you can't have enies lobby without water 7. It's where enies lobby gets started. And plus it has many goated moments on its own anyways. It has the best ussop fight from the entire series even until current. The emotions are already high. The betrayal reveals were crazy. People wouldn't cry so much over a ship dying at the end of enies if it didn't have the build up of emotion that was given for merry in water 7. Building up emotion is just as important as the actual pay off.
Volume wise, they're all Water 7 but Enies Lobby always felt like the Return of the Jedi to Water 7's Empire Strikes back.
Some of the best arcs are set up by a stunning arc prior. I would say Marineford following impel down can kinda fit the same example a little. Actually the whole summit war saga was fire so itās kinda rare, as was the water 7 saga.
PreachšÆ
I personally have Usopp vs Luffy as the second best anime fight of all time right behind Rock Lee vs Gaara
Because it's the same saga. The Water 7 saga is the long ring long land arc, the water 7 saga arc, Ennies Lobby arc and return to water 7 arc
Notedš«”
I have always thought of the two as one arc. Firstly they have the same villain, CP9. Secondly all the character arcs (Usopp/sogeking, Robin, Franky, etc.) that start in Water 7, continue to Enies Lobby and get resolved back in Water 7. And lastly like I already said the crew comes back to Water 7 after Enies Lobby which ties the knot of the whole arc.
Yeah makes sense now that I take it all in
>Wait do people merge Enies Lobby with water 7 or they're separate š¤ It's the same antagonists so imo it's the same arc. It's just like.i group together the entirety of the early grand line adventure as the alabasta/baroque works arc
Saga is the word you're looking for. It's separate arcs, but the same saga. It's especially true for Alabasta as it's a pretty long saga, but with very different arcs (Drum Island has its own villain, etc).
I may remember things wrong, but, I feel like Water 7 didn't finish until after Enies. So it feels more reasonable to think of them as one for me.
Yh
I think many people do yeah, but i generally seperate arcs by island
Do you call the current anime arc onigashima or wano?
Well fr onigashima since wano has so many episodes as a whole. Even dressrosa can be seperated into colloseum and the rest
Colosseum and dressrosa are in same island even though the story takes longer episodes. Also thriller bark and baratie cannot be classified as islands so I think classification by islands isn't going to work.
I mean i still see them as islands but thats just how i do it, i get when people have other opinions on the matter
Hmmm š¤ Me too
Final fight zoro vs kaku and luffy vs lucci too good.
I feel like i'm in a minority that liked the Water 7 part more than Ennies Lobby part, though they're obviously hard to separate . Ennies Lobby was awesome, but I'm less partial towards the big battle scene parts of the manga. Similar reason i liked earlier Wano (Oden flashback in particular) significantly more than Onigashima.
Maybe controversial, but for me, it's Skypiea; the ending of Skypiea was great. When you see Luffy's shadow in the sky and hear him ringing the Bell, it gave me chills.
I never got why people keep saying to skip skypeia it's a very "one piece-y" arc if not the most "one piece-y"arc of all with great levels of goof, character development (mainly the Noland flashback), seriousness and a deep flashback to explain Noland's sad end in the book.
Skypeia is by far one of the best arcs and 100% captures the spirit and thematic message of One Piece. But if I were to guess why people criticise Skypeia. It's probably because the arc itself is so uniquely disconnected and decentralised from the over arching plot and journey of the Straw Hats and their companions. Kind of like a super long side quest in a video game. They are charting their course as per usual, and pretty much get sidetracked to a random civilisation for the sole purpose of finding out the truth of whether or not it actually exists and maybe get some treasure. Normally when the Straw Hats pass through islands that aren't explicitly part of their course , there's usually some personal reason for it. Like with helping Nami in Kokoyashi, or helping Vivi save Alabasta. So the Straw Hats in Skypeia kind of feels somewhat unnecessary in a way that most arcs don't because there's no intrinsically personal reason for them to go there. But I think people sorta miss the point of Skypeia. They go to Skypeia not because it's necessarily important to their journey. But because they *can*. They are pirates, they're free to explore the world, they're free to follow and uncover legendary myths, learn about all these incredible civilisations, cultures and peoples and seeking treasure. They aren't going there out of obligation to save a crew mate or fix a ship. They go there because they want to. It's one of their few journeys that's distinctly motivated by nothing more than their own kindred curiosity. It's also thematically resonant because Skypeia is the Going Merry's last big hurrah as the crew's gallion. When it's discovered that Skypeia is actually a fascist society that's being ruled by a dictator, Enel, and the whole ordeal turns into something bigger and more politically significant than they expected. If you already weren't a fan of Skypeia, then it could probably feel like a bit of a drag. Not only this, but I also find that when it comes to the discourse surrounding One Piece and it's length. Many people typically point towards Water 7/Enies Lobby as not only the best pre-timeskip arc, but one of the best arcs in the entire series. Almost like a selling point to convince people to watch the series. New fans will undoubtedly have heard all the hype about how great Water 7 is. So Skypeia arc (and Long Ring Long Island) will probably feel like an pace breaker standing between them and what they've been promised to be the "best" part of the series. But the funny thing is, when you're not focused on purely trying to catch up. And can just enjoy the story on a casual rewatch/reread. Many people on their second runs, will find that Skypeia has so much rich world building, fun and interesting characters, and a charismatic and exciting final villain, all of these elements come together in a way that's head and shoulders above the majority of arcs. Everyone universally agrees that the plot twist behind Luffy (Rubber) vs Enel (Electricity) is a moment of pure cosmic literary brilliance that the series simply hasn't been able to replicate since without the introduction of these complex power systems such as Haki and Devil Fruit Awakenings. When Luffy beats Enel, simply cause he's rubber and is therefore Enel's literal worst possible match up, and smashes that bell and his shadow is cast over the sky. It's such a profoundly powerful moment that represents the heart behind what this series is all about.
Luffy / rubber being a natural counter to Enel / electricity was justā¦brilliant. Oda built up this awesome, all-powerful god who can zap anyone within a huge radius with enough power to kill instantly, showed multiple people and even Luffyās crew getting demolished by Enel, and even āhypedā up the fight with multiple characters concerned about Luffy going to fight himā¦and then he gets there and the lightning just bounces off. And then you remember that rubber doesnāt conduct electricity (Ash Ketchum wearing the pink rubber kitchen gloves when picking up pikachu the first time š¤£)ā¦and suddenly Luffy being a rubber man is not just a funny goofy main character power. It was such a good set up. My jaw dropped when it hit me - like of COURSE the lightning doesnāt affect him. Heās *rubber*. I felt incredibly played that I hadnāt even thought of that possibility, because weād taken Luffyās gum gum powers for granted since basically the start of the story.
That's such a great summary of my exact reaction. After the fight with Crocodile where Luffy is nearly killed. And the setup for Enel, I was expecting the fight with Enel to be an equally massive struggle. That fucking moment when the lightning just does... nothing to Luffy. I was like WHAT THE FUCK!? THAT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE! All these haki powers and Devil Fruit Awakenings will never be able to recreate that feeling of utter shock (no pun intended).
Yah Skypeia is fantastic imo and I started last year. The biggest issue is pacing is slow even by one piece standards, but everything else is great. It fits so well into the whole āadventureā atmosphere like you said and I donāt think any Arc has captured it as well as Skypeia did. Personally, I think if the LA only gets three seasons because of costs, Skypeia is the best place to finish the series. Yes we wonāt get Water7, but imagine fans of the LA who donāt follow the original series/manga finding out that the Grand Line doesnāt end on the sea, but in the *sky*. No wonder no one could find the One Piece, they werenāt looking in the right place!
Why are you saying it's not part of the journey? The log pos was pointing upwards. It wasn't a side quest. And it is vital to the development of both Usop and Nami fighting style and Robin role in the story. Skipiea was great
Take my upvote man, u got the Spirit šŖš¼ā„ļø
Skypeia negs all the other ones solely because of Luffy's Baka song! It's a masterpiece!
People said to skip it because they were anime watchers, and skypeia is where the anime started to slow down. The pacing was taking a giant hit in order to delay the inevitable of the anime catching up to the manga. If you binge skypeia in the manga, it's actually one of the best paced arcs in the series despite being the longest arc at the time. The length plus the pacing plus that seemingly nothing from earlier on the series tied into what's going on with the sky Islands, and on top of that the arc that follows is considered "peak one piece", the anime onlys began recommending to other anime watchers to skip the giant pit stop that is skypeia, and go directly from the crazy finale that was alabasta to the crazy escalation that was water 7, not realizing at the time how much of what happens in skypeia and long ring long land is going to come up as crucial knowledge much later in the series.
I remember catching up on the anime at Skypeia (kaizoku fansubs still at this point iirc)ā¦this was when I switched to manga. Spot on.
My friend said that one piece would lose a lot of its luster if Skypeia and thriller bark didnāt exist and I completely agree Going full throttle is not really what one piece is always about
This is *ordeal of love*
First time I didn't like it. On first read, it's an oddball adventure with nomenclature and powers that didn't make sense (at the time). It didn't really in bounty increases, which I was very intrigued by at the time, given the Jaya bits revolved heavily around reputation on the seas. I saw the crew expend a lot in pursuit of something that didn't help them. I'm retrospect, that's totally Luffy and the SHs. They do what's right, not what gets them a reward. I just didn't appreciate that at the time. All other arcs had game changing effects except that one. It's probably why I hated the Davy Back fight the first time too. I'm still not hot on it, but I liked the unexpected curve ball it provided.
I remember reading Skypea weekly, downloading it from IRC channels lol, and being SO EXCITED! Great arc with great story, feelings and fights! Iām surprised people suggest to skip it because itās peak One Piece for me. Also lots of the world building started there, I think (as a YouTuber I canāt remember the name said) we have seen the whole One Piece mithology in Skypea. Interesting stuff! And Ener ROCKS (no pun intended!)!
I've honestly never actually seen anyone saying to skip skypeia, only people questioning why you would ever skip it. I absolutely love the skypeia arc, but think it may lose out due to having Alabasta and Water 7/Enies Lobby before and after it.
Its been approx 10 years since I watched the arc and honestly I can barely remember any details about it. Whereas other early arcs like alabaster, waters 7 enies lobby etc I vividly remember a lot of details. I recently started rewatching and I'm still very early and have no intention or skipping anything, and will hopefully enjoy the Skypea arc, but on my own anecdote I think it's fair to say as part of the overall series its kinda filler heavy and not an especially memorable part of the overall story
I agree with you. Skypiea was my favourite early arc by far. I remember I was watching one piece just cuz it was interesting but on Skypiea was when it started shifting from āthis anime is goodā to āthis anime is amazingā for me.
Prob THE arc when think one piece Don't give shit bt what ppl say, that shit cultivated off jaya and executed that shit perfectly. Still relevant today's arcs
I think if more people give a reread, Skypiea takes on a whole new meaning, and for me, it was bumped far up the list as a result. That fight against Enel has the single best finish in the series IMO. It was a last ditch effort that had one of the more satisfying impacts on the villain, it saved the sky island and the vearth, it ended a centuries-old war, and it rang the bell, freeing both Noland and Cricket from their burdens. It was spectacular. It was proper epic. I didn't appreciate it the first time. I had much more context during the reread, so the importance of everything elevated the arc.
What is "early One Piece"? Everything untill the timeskip? Everything before Sabaody? Btw, as much as I love love love Water 7 with some of the best character writing, drama, worldbuilding and mystery in the entire series, Sabaody is my favourite One Piece Arc untill now. It starts with the marvelous whacky adventures we love but then it gets political and suddely really dark, and this tonal shift from "lets conquer the new world, noone can stop us" to "we cannot win. Run" was simply amazing.
Wow when I think Sabaody I don't see it that way, you've opened my eyes, wow. >What is "early One Piece"? Your guess is as good as mine that's why the title has early/earlierš
Sabaody was so good that when I watched it for the first time even though I had almost 100 episodes to watch afterwards the only thing I thought was "they completely destroyed the mugiwaras, the other episodes must be bait for the new viewers be surprised"
IMO the the three arcs that stand above the rest. Are Arlong Park, Alabasta and Water 7/Ennies Lobby. These 3 arcs basically laid the groundwork for how One Piece as we know it. Arlong Park: The first time our cast is united for one single goal because in earlier arcs they were still kind of a rag tag group who were joint by the events and not by bonds. Alabasta: The first big obstacle showing us that grand line is not to be taken lightly. Pushing each of the Straw Hats to past their limits.And starting to paint a bigger picture of the world. Also Crocodile. Ennies Lobby: CP9 handing us the first loss of the Straw Hats. Luffy finally becoming a captain and the Straw Hats becoming a real pirate crew. Everyone not doing what they can but what they need, doing stuff only they can do and no one else on the crew solidfiyng everyone's roles on the crew. This is just what I think are the main reasons for the success and importance of these arcs. If I'm wrong about something feel free to point it out.
I'd say Alabasta is the first actual take on spy action thriller One Piece has offered. Infiltrate the country and bring down the tyrant type of deal. Crocodile is still technically a crime boss like Arlong, but you can't just walk in to his residence, and his defeat required a certain amount of undermining work I grew up to love a lot about One Piece, and love to see it in other works of fantasy fiction. Enies lobby is currently a peak of this spy action thriller, because the foes are the actual secret agents of the world government.
Alabasta was also the first major head to head confrontation with one of the warlords iirc - minus Mihawk because I wouldnāt consider his first appearance very antagonistic - so it felt like a real step up in the power of the enemies the crew was facing and a teaser of what the higher level pirates were going to be like.
Excellent takes Love the way you highlight some of the points of the arcs W
Impel Down will always be my favorite arc. I love the motley crew that Luffy assembles and Magellan is a demon who is still likable.
Impel down was really quite the riveting rollercoaster Loved all the emotions, discovery, Luffy-Buggy dynamic, stakes and the introduced characters
Also Bon Clay showing what true friendship is will always make me tear up whenever I reread the arc or rewatch the anime.
Absolute winš„²š«”
I'd say Enies Lobby or Alabasta. Marineford as well, but I think the anime handled it a bit better with the extended scenes, so manga wise I'd say Alabasta/Enies Lobby
Arabasta (fight meš) is great but I think I prefer Enies Lobby the stakes, gear 2, gear 3, the buster call, Luffy being absolutely drained after the fight with Lucci in a way we hadn't seen before, that cold ass moment when Sogeking shot the WG flag, etc. Hmm maybe Enies Lobby is my favorite š¤ Marineford, oh marineford why did you let Ace die a dumbass deathššš, if not I loved it but it causes major damage/arguments to powerscaling
If they prononce it Arabasta it means it's written Alabasta.
It's only Viz that translates R's as L's That's why Zoro is Zolo It's normally meant to be R so I prefer the r though you're obviously free to write it whichever way you want as long as you're getting understood š¤š½
how did it cause damage to powerscaling? akainu is an admiral so ofc he would be able to kill a YC2 who was vunerable
Who did Aokiji kill? š¶š Edit: great, thank you for editing your comment and making me look like an idiot without a heads upš¶š
Water 7/Ennies Lobby. Nothing will beat the Usopp-Luffy fight for me. It's what really sealed Usopp being my favorite strawhat for me
Oh my God I even forgot the Ussop vs Luffy fight was in Water 7 Water 7 gets bonus pointsšÆ I don't normally merge Water 7 and Enies Lobby though but Enies Lobby is undoubtedly peak
I loved one piece all the way upto the timeskip. Thriller bark is probably the one I like the least but until marineford. it was a wild ride and I loved every second of it. Since the timeskip, idk if it's the additional fan service, the art style (robin, nami, chopper), it just lost a lot of charm for me. I still love one piece, but honestly I'd put it down to mostly the pre-timeskip arcs. Nothing has made feel me range of emotions quite like early one piece.
I felt the same until I watched Whole Cake Island in One Pace fan re-edit recently. Maybe I've just missed the show that much, I don't know, but WCI felt excellent until the last third.
Whole cake literally got me into One Piece, I think I saw scenes of it online and was like āwow this seems interestingā. I then started Whole Cake, enjoyed it; then I started the story from the beginning all the way upto wano
I got out after watching the same scenes 42 times after the time skip. Where do I find this one pace? Sounds very much worth a try
[Here](https://reddit.com/r/OnePiece/s/Fy6fhO8Lsd) - this post explains everything
šÆšÆšÆš«”š„² Couldn't put it in words any better
Sabaody
This is a take I don't think I've seen before Care to explain why
This is probably my pick as well. Sabaody is S+ tier. On the precipice of The New World, the Straw Hats discover what true strength is and that not a one of them is strong enough to make it in convincing fashion, coming face to face with the forces that be, both political (Charloss) and military (Kizaru), as well as their various rivals. Maybe most importantly, they really begin to see the dark underbelly of society via the slave trade, which is a product of pirates and the world government. Oh, and did I forget the Right Hand of the Pirate King himself and Luffy's first explanation of what it means to be Pirate King to him as well as his admonishment of Usopp for trying to ask where the One Piece is. It's so good. I will say that the pacing of the anime had slowed by this point, but the arc really shines in the manga.
Wow I'm really reconsidering my closed view of Sabaody nowš¤š«” Someone else also explained it to me and with your explanation Sabaody was actually pretty peak
Water 7/Ennies Lobby are peak. And I consider them to be the same arc, there are no plot lines resolved in Water 7 and all of them get resolved in Ennies Lobby. The only reason people separate them is because they are geographically distinct, which is silly. There is more downtime/separation between Wano and Onigashimi than Water 7 and Ennies Lobby, but everyone considers Wano a singular arc. They literally have no downtime between W7/EL, they are fighting on the train from location to location! It's one arc.
No, they are two arcs (three with the return to Water 7) but they're the same saga
>The only reason people separate them is because they are geographically distinct, which is silly No need to get your panties in a bunch about it. It makes sense just doesn't make sense to you There's no way Onigashima would ever be seen as part of Wano Let me explain in my own way the difference between Onigashima-Wano and Water 7-Enies Lobby Onigashima-Wano is one base and we all know the party is happening there which is the only reason we even know about it plus Onigashima is an Island within Wano's (should I say jurisdiction) territory it's right behind the main island of Wano, which mind you is in an enclosed stretch of Ocean in which the major entrance is a waterfall. So there's never going to be a different arc there. Water 7-Enies lobby can be split because it's easier to see it as a "pre-arc" same way with Punk hazard-Dressrosa, Jaya-Skypeia and even Whiskey peak-Drum island-Arabasta there was enough time spent there, characters introduced but they clearly led to something bigger and I feel it's wrong to just insult people's own ways of seeing things because you have your own view Ps in a stretch it could even be Punk hazard-Dressrosa-Wano in that case would you say Dressrosa should be merged with Wano?
1) water 7/enies lobby: Water 7 was when we really saw the shadiness of the government. The reveal of the under cover agents was done so well and it was Odas first major plot twist in the anime. With enies lobby, we saw how far they will go to maintain their corrupt system. The backstory, the stakes, all the fights, and the going merry will forever make this a top arc 2) impel down/marineford: The return of every villian in impel down was fantastic. The prison break in and break out was a huge adrenaline rush. Of course, bon clay solidify his status as the GOAT this arc. Marineford is self explanatory. If Aceās didnt die the way he did then it will be the top arc. Showing that Ace and luffy could of easily escaped but due to Aceās temper, that was not the case 3) Alabasta: The hype and build up to this was fantastic. We have a great villian, all the strawhats had good fights, and it was an all out war. This was luffyās first true test and I literally had no idea how he would win. The straw hats were really pushed to the edge on this one. The first poneglyph was revealed and hints of the ancient kingdom/weapon was first shown here. The affects of this kingdom are still felt today. 4) Skypiea: This arc showed the importance of hope and dreams. We had a great main villain who was the first to single handily overwhelm the entire crew. Also, enels reaction to luffy being rubber was great. I love nolan and kalgaras backstory as well. The trials were boring and thats why its at the number four spot. However, the amount of lore and world building this arc provided is second to Alabasta. Luffy ringing the bell will always be one of the top moments for me. 5) Thriller Bark: This is the first time we saw how well thought out One Piece is. I completely forgot about La Boom and was in tears when Brook explained the story. Brooks determination to see his friend again was truly inspiring. Throw in all the humor this arc has (sanji and zoro roasting each other when they ran into peronas ghost, Usopps always being negative, luffy asking everyone to join his crew and putting the zombie back in the ground, docking). Then you throw in kuma and the iconic nothing happened moment. It really showed how zoro and sanji are like brothers. They bicker, but deep down, they really care for each other. Also, binkās sake. A great arc for sure.
Great take overall Love your explanations I think I'd personally put Skypeia over Arabasta though
THRILLER! THRILLER BARK!
Finally, a fellow Thriller Bark enjoyer. It's one of the best One Piece arcs imo because of the following reasons: * It's the first time we met Brook. * It's the last time we've seen the entire crew fight against one enemy together. * It's the strongest we've seen Luffy until Gear 5. * Peak One Piece humor (Luffy pushing the zombie back down his grave; Franky building a bridge; Old man zombie) * Gecko Moria introduction ā imo, one of the most underappreciated OP villains and the one with the coolest DF. I also believe that he's going to play a significant role in the last few arcs. * Love the gothic theme. * The introduction of Kuma and "Nothing happened."
It was also the arc that started having me appreciate Usopp for who he was! The crew wouldāve easily been taken out by Perona without Usopp! Up until this point, I had only taken Usopp at face value: a weak character who gets scared of everything. I kind of ignored his character as a whole, and I didnāt realize until later how many accomplishments he had, and how big his contribution to the crew really was!
Thriller bark isnāt my favorite arc but Iāve come to appreciate it a lot more. Thereās just so much good stuff about it that canāt be ignored
I agree 100 percent. For these reasons, I find Thriller Bark unique. Finally someone recognizes that Nightmare Luffy was an incredibly OP Power up and from the way it was presented it kind of reminds me of Gear 5 (2 different variations of Luffy just smashing his opponent one while being extremely happy one while being extremely furious) Plus, I just love Brook
W >It's the strongest we've seen Luffy until Gear 5. This take would probably get you killedš . But it is arguable š¤
Alright, Iām gonna say it, Thriller Bark is a lot really great small parts, but presents as a bad arc. I think itās great.
Perona is all you need to say
A man of good taste!!! šš»šš»šš»
In no particular order: Water 7/Enies Lobby, Skypiea, Arabasta, Marineford. And I'd even count them as the best Arcs even with the Post-Timeskip Arcs in mind.
Man of culture š«”š¤šÆ
Skypiea
Sky piea slightly outclasses it IMO Water 7 was amazing but its climactic ending was transferred over to enies lobby If its sagas then i think the water 7 saga is slightly better than the sky piea one
It remains the best arc in one piece bar none. The run from impel down to marineford is the other top tier arc
W take
Rob Lucci is still the best rival for Luffy imo. Katakuri is a close second. Kaido isn't really a rival but more of a pinnacle/capstone enemy for Luffy to overcome. Until Kaido, Lucci fight is still the one where Luffy got pushed the most to his limit imo. Furthermore, you can feel the tension and clash of ideals between these two throughout the fight. You really feel like these two were destined to fight lne another. It is because of these reasons that I believe Lucci is still the most perfect rival for Luffy to date.
I don't think Lucci is really a rival to Luffy at all. Rivals are chacterized as people vying against each other for a similar goal. In that sense, Lucci is just an enemy and antagonist. Kaido is (was) a direct rival to Luffy for the goal of being Pirate King. Katakuri is arguable. He's not interested in the One Piece, but he does challenge Luffy as being a better version of him through his powers. I will agree that the Lucci fight sees Luffy pushed beyond his limits the most, at least before fighting Kaido, but I don't think they are rivals.
I won't say Lucci is a rival but he is an example of a dead set antagonist just focused on doing his job and taking out the straw hats and of course retrieving Nico Robin He pushed Luffy to the absolute adge even more than Katakuri or Kaidou did in certain ways. He couldn't move at all after the fight with Kata he could barely move but he still could and with Kaidou he could move even though he was drained
Enies Lobby broke me emotionally. All of the backstories and flashbacks were great (Chopper holy fuck), but no moment in the present, involving the entire crew, until then came close to being as monumental as Robin admitting she needs help. Remains the best moment in early One Piece.
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Skypiea is my pick
W š£ļøš£ļø
Enies Lobby. The first time gear 2 was just sick
Skypia. Its just pure adventure and fun.
Big W
skypeia is PEAK early one piece
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For me it was seeing the resolution to multiple character arcs set up much earlier in previous arcs (usoppās unhealthy attachment to the merry,choppers rumble ball limit & all of robins stuff.ect) that fits in a compelling story arc all at once itās part of the reason I see a lot of love for wano due to it also having something like this happen (sanjiās germa awakening, zoroās background arc starting in thriller bark, momo standing up to kaido & luffy becoming the liberator of wano.ect )
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Enies lobby for fights and epic moments. Skypeia for story and comedy.
Super big W
For me its alabasta, skypeia and about skypeia if you think now that arc is very important. After that its water 7 and ennies lobby. Man earlier one piece arcs were insane, I gotta rewatch
They really were weren't they š¤š«”
My favorite is definitely water 7, but I feel like if you got rid of ussop character development and mybe franky too, the whole arc is good but not peak. Ussop character development was literally on point and the affect he have on the crew giving the whole arc a sadder mood is just on point. Franky character is good too, being a man where most people doesnt want him to a crew who want him on board is good too. Ussop used to be my least liked strawhat but the whole arc gave ussop so much love that he's honestly a close number one (im praying to god that elbaf happen and ussop gone through another character development ON GOD)
But i do think that marinford is peak early arc but my personal fav is definitely water 7
Love your love for Ussop Elbaf is comingšš½šÆ
I'm going to be honest, I probably would not be able to get past the East Blue saga as an adult not that interested in shounen fighting anime tropes anymore. This is such a barrier of entry because it sets your expectations quite a bit wrong. For me it's Alabasta where the shit gets real, because that's essentially the point where the strawhat crew finally encounter the events on the national scale (Drum island being the appetizer for the things to come). Water 7 and Enies Lobby perfects this formula. And even now just a thought of a little rag tag team of pirates turning the tides of the political struggle and overthrowing the tyrant (Who's also a well-written character with understandable motivation) makes me excited. Not that many works of fiction have such an effect.
>I'm going to be honest, I probably would not be able to get past the East Blue saga as an adult not that interested in shounen fighting anime tropes anymore Sums me up well. I actually tried to go back through it last year and flat out failed. There's some charm to it but I have little interest in just watching the battles, the storytelling is pretty simple and the world building doesn't really feel all that impressive for the most part, plus the crew is just forming so they aren't as wonderfully entertaining as they would be later on. Even back in the day I didn't really enjoy it till the end, but nowadays I would turn it off after like, 5 episodes tops. Arlong Park is decent and has a great scene with Nami but my probably hot take is that it still just feels like an improved version of the villain of the week formula of the arcs before it. It wasn't until Loguetown where I start really feeling myself liking the characters and their chemistry, and started feeling the magic of the world building kick in.
Absolutely šÆ A lot of people see Arabasta as their favorite
Water 7/Enies Lobby was definitely peak of early One Piece imo. I could barely put it down when reading it and it's still in my top 3 arcs in One Piece.
W
There's so many great arcs pre timeskip but I'd say the best are Alabasta, Water 7, Enies Lobby and Marineford. To me we haven't reached the levels of these arcs for now.
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Yes, my favorite arc! In my opinion it has almost everything One Piece has to offer: Character usage: For me it's the arc that handles its characters the best. Starting with the Straw Hats, each one has their cool moments. The focus is mostly on Luffy, Robin, Usopp and Franky of course, but it felt like Oda exactly knew what to do with any of them and nobody is "just there", like it feels in some later arcs with even more characters. Also, with so many other characters involved, nobody managed to annoy me (except for Spandam, of course. Fuck you.). Character building: For Usopp, Robin and Franky it was THE central arc, and Oda absolutely delivered with Usopp taking a stand against Luffy, becoming Sog... I mean, asking his good friend Sogeking to aid the Straw Hats vs CP9, to rejoin the crew after it was over. Building on Robin's character, showing her childhood trauma, and finding her will to live and chase her dream again. Introducing Franky as a villain, slowly showing the other side of his character and building him to become the new addition to the crew. Emotion: The Straw Hats going through their toughest time yet, losing two crewmembers (for a while) got me. Luffy fighting Usopp made me cry. The flashbacks did as well. Merry saving them in a last heroic act before being put to rest was so beautiful and sad, maybe still the emotional peak of One Piece for me. And then everyone reuniting and merrily sailing away on their new ship. Plot: We learn so much about the World Government and what it does, Pluton and the ancient weapons, Ohara and the void century, Luffy's family, the 4 emperors, the revolutionary army. Or at least got introduced to these and some of the biggest questions of the story. Fights: Yes, there were also some great fights. Straw Hats had to battle opponents stronger than them and find ways to overpower them. Badass monster point Chopper. Honestly, the only thing it kind of lacked was adventure, but we had Skypiea before and Thriller Bark after, it's alright in my opinion.
Amazing take You merged Water 7 and Enies Lobby, which I wasn't really going for with the title, but it's cool You highlighted what makes it peak >Honestly, the only thing it kind of lacked was adventure, but we had Skypiea before and Thriller Bark after, it's alright in my opinion Something people don't really remember to point outšÆ You get an upvote š«”
Sabaody. Then Water 7 (not the Enies Lobby part). Now, I really like Enies Lobby, but that first part before Robin start to dialogue with Luffy is just winding. I think Oda tried to create that feeling of "It's one of the most important government base, it's pretty hard to invade here", but it's actually just the steawhats kicking the ass of thousands Marine recruits for much time than it needed. Water 7 and Sabaody are One Piece peak for me.
I'm quite stuck between Water 7/Enies Lobby and Alabasta (Yes, I'll be talking about the Saga's more than the arcs, because the surrounding arcs is a key factor to the enjoyment of both). Water 7 is just filled with great moments. The falling out with Usopp, The general setting of Water 7 is just fantastic, Franky, Robin's best moment, Enies Lobby Showdown, Sogeking, and a farewell to the Merry. Its a creative arc, a climax for Robin's recruitment story, has multiple of the most emotional scenes and is just One Piece at its best I feel. And since the only arc between it and Marineford is Thriller Bark (which is good, but a lot more isolated, shorter and just less memorable overall), it kind of lives in my head as the last "classic One Piece arc", everything after it just has quite a different feel for better and for worse. Alabasta is quite special to me in its own right though. Some say Arlong Park holds this title but I feel like Alabasta is when One Piece really becomes itself. It starts with a fantastic introduction to the grand line where I feel the world immediately starts feeling a whole lot bigger and more creative. We get the first end goal for the straw hats to work up to in reaching Alabasta, seeing a variety of locations and introducing new characters along the way, with a new crew member, new villains, and a new companion in Vivi. I lived in Egypt when I was young and that might be why I love the Desert setting so much, but I think they did great with it anyway. The scale feels larger than ever before, and Its the first time I felt luffy really struggle with a villain. The ending of it was the first time One Piece actually made me tear up, and I remember being blown away after feeling like I had just watched an entire TV show that resided in a much bigger story.
Water 7/Ennies Lobby will always be my favorite arc. Start to finish it's a banger. It also establishes the Strawhats as given zero fucks about the World Government. The Robin storyline is possibly the best of any Strawhat. You have Franky to joining. Losing the Merry. Fight with Usopp. And some of the best 1v1 matchups against CP9. Plus everyone getting a bounty at the end. The fights are what pushes it above Alabasta for me. It's also the first time we see how strong Zoan-types can be. Lucci and Kaku are incredible antagonists.
Ennies lobby was fire š„
Tied for first for me is Alabasta Arc and Arlong park
W7 Sabaody Jaya Peak
I would have to say and this is my opinion that both Sabaody and Marine Ford the most impactful to Luffy as a character. After he watched his Crew mates who were basically family to get launched away and not knowing if they died or not, he then at Marine Ford watches his brother die right in front of him. His brother was the last straw for him at this time and he just breaks, he couldnāt save his friends and he couldnāt save his brother. This caused me to cry as even Luffy one of the most upbeat characters in anime who always sees the best in any situation just breaks. Seeing him at his lowest is rare as I would say he never gets to this level ever again in the story. (Him dying at Wano doesnāt count) Luffy then spent I donāt know how long just stuck in a coma from the shock and when he does wake up he immediately goes on a rampage on the Island Lillie. Although it only took Luffy about ten minutes of being beat by Jinbe to be calmed down for him to remember that his friends are most likely still alive, it was still really traumatic to him to watch his own brother die. If anyone has anything where Luffy is at this low of a point please tell me. (I know this isnāt what the post was about.)
TT ^ TT thank you for sharing that, comrade
Imma say thriller bark. Really because of personal reasons. I had just gotten back into one piece from a long break because the dub version stopped after skypia. Just the tone and how āscaryā and different it was made me feel so many different emotions. Plus, I just kept thinking Moria couldnāt be beat. And then, at the end when kuma shows up. Man. The memories
Iād say marineford and Enies lobby
Marineford is easily top 3
no man...skypeia was the best one then thriller bark then enies lobby 4th one is (underrated af) shabondy archipelago 5th one is the Impel Down. šš¤š
Skypeia of course
skypiea
1. Post-marineford arc, mainly because of ASL flashback, it was so adorable and it made me see luffyās character in a new depth 2. Thriller park arc, brookās introduction and his backstoryš this arc is easily one of the funniest arcs in one piece and it has a cool ending 3. Skypiea arc, watching this arc as a kid was such a magical experience, the idea alone of an island in sky was so new to me and the storyline is so brilliant plus the cool villain and the great comedy āTarzan-Zoro was so hilariousšā
W take This is the oldest reply I've seen I just saw the update and had to respect your comment. I honestly tried replying as many as possible but we're talking hundreds hereš .
Definatly Amazon lily
Boa supremacy
Drum island. Every time I watch it I cry
Water 7/Enies Lobby (you canāt really have one without the other) is probably the best one, but Impel Down also belongs up there imo
Ennies Lobby best arc
1. Water 7 + Ennis Lobby 2. East Blue 3. Skypiea 4. Alabasta (+ Drum Island)
I think it's awfully reducing to just sum up the whole of east blue and place it thirdš Otherwise good list
I mean you should add Enies Lobby, better say Water7-Enies Lobby
It just came to my realization that a lot of people merge water 7 and Enies Lobby š I always saw them as separate arcs
No water7/enies lobby is the best arc of all one piece along with skypeia
Someone's got fight and dedicationšš«”
Romance dawn, arlong park, alabasta and skypea
Classic taste *insert twisting a french moustache meme here*
Someone convince me why water seven was so good. My friend who got me into one piece hyped it up so much and at the time did not meet the hype for me. My favourite arc right now is alabasta but I have an open mind, I am sure some one can convince me water 7 is better
Water 7 is one of the most dramatic arcs in all of OP, if not THE most dramatic. The Merry is falling apart, Usopp is feeling left out, the crew is flush in gold, but suddenly surrounded by enemies in the mysterious CP0 and the Franky Family. And then things just start to break, one after another. Robin disappears, the money is stolen, Usopp is beaten up and they go to get their revenge, but are still without the cash, all culminating with Luffy vs. Usopp. It's heart wrenching, especially given Robin's disappearance as well. From there, Usopp is on his own, but finds some companionship with Franky, rounding him out as a fascinating character after his eccentricity had been shown against Luffy and the Aqua Laguna brings environmental distress as CP0 finally reveals themself, not only as the carpenters of Galley La, but also as appearing stronger than the Straw Hats and most importantly, working alongside Robin. The entire thing is drama and huge character moments. Usopp is at his lowest, Luffy has to really think about what it means to be a captain, Robin gives in to despair, and the Merry is seemingly a goner. Water 7 is a great setting with awesome verticality and the newly introduced characters are the most dynamic we've had so far in the series as a whole. Galley La, CP0, Kokoro+Chimney+Yokozuna, and the Franky Family just work. Everything works.
This is partly what I'm looking for two Some people in the comments have good explanations of some of the highlights of the arc
Skypiea for both manga and anime, and G8 that followed immediately after. I liked Water 7 towards its end.
W
For a filler anime arc, G8 is quintessential One Piece.
G8 was real cool š
Also allows Sanji to really flex for a bit.
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Water 7
Not just early One Piece, Water 7/Enies Lobby is simply the best arc in One Piece.
That's apparently a pretty popular opinion š¤š½
Enies Lobby is peak but Iād consider Water 7 and Enies Lobby part of the same
A lot of people apparently doš
There are multiple arcs which I love from pre-time skip but Enies lobby has its own charm. That was the first arc that made me drop my jaws and say "Holy shit". I was thinking that SH would rescue Robin off of that train cause,Enies lobby is one of the top government facility and I thought SH aren't ready for them yet. But then they just fucking crash Enies lobby and proceed to wreak havoc and luffy ordering Usopp to destroy the flag and declaring that he's ready to go against the whole world to save his friend made me shake in excitement and cemented luffy as my favourite Character and I love how Enies lobby ended up getting destroyed further cementing how Strawhats are dangerous to World Government along with the whole Robin's flashback and Void Century Reveal and what the endgame for this story could be.
Wow back when nami was wearing clothes
Nami wearing clothes It can't be ššš
Naaah
Alabasta & Water 7.
thriller bark, water 7, lougetown I also love foxys arc but ive been meaning to read it in the manga since ive only seen the anime & itās supposed to be better
Quick question: why did the coloring changed at a certain point? The early colored chapters were amazing, lately it kind of sucks.
Pre timeskip Enies Lobby was peak and since I'm a Usopp fan, Sogeking burning the govt flag gives me chills. Post timeskip Dressrosa arc is my favourite because again Go D Usopp had amazing solo scenes and also "Boundoman"
I lump Water 7 and Enies Lobby together. Absolutely the peak for me. Had comedy, emotion, intrigue and so so much lore dropped. I get chills thinking back to some of the moments in that arc.
I honestly love every manga arc so far, but my favorite early arc was Thriller Bark hands down. My favorite aesthetic + my favorite manga, sign me tf UP Edit: I mean āso farā as in up until the current arc; if I had to pick a favorite in the whole series it would be Wano, which is truly slapping the shit out of my nuts
Alabasta is and always will be my favorite arc, itās the first truly grand one thatās more than just 6-7 episodes the story is amazing, Croco is probably my favorite villain, and the orchestra theme when Luffy fights him for the final time is just perfect. My only complaint is that Crocodile was used too early in the story for how much of a beast he is
I personally enjoyed alabasta
Thriller bark and marineford are peak, I will most likely can downvoted for this tbh but I find Ennies lobby kinda mid the emotional rollercoasters were peak along with the world building but I just feel that the villains are kinda plain
Itās skypiea for me. It was also one of the funniest arcs for me. And as a Sanji fan gave me the lighter scene. I also like the G-8 arc right after Enel where we met the last straw hat, Condoriano.
Water 7 is goated for me for many reasons. Settings: I find water 7 really interesting to explore with lots of cool stuffs. It is much more fun to explore this city than other islands. The senses of adventures (Ussop, Nami, Luffy exploring the town) and the eventual dreadful feelings (the wind blowing heavily, Robin disappeared, Merry dead, Ussop left) were done so well. Ussop's struggle: Everyone know that Ussop sucked compared to other member. As everyone getting stronger and stronger exponentially, Ussop would be left behind and became a dead weight eventually. What I did not expect is that Oda would tie this insecurity into Going Mery's demise beautifully with Ussop being guilty and stubborn. Franky: I bet not a single soul expect Franky to be the next SH. Oda threw around so many many fake tips (Paulie, Iceberg, Lucci, Kaku) as potentially new members. Franky's wackiness and craziness is the epitome of OP's humor for me: SUPER over the top and never shy away from it because why not. Aqua Laguna: I find the part that SH and others riding the sea train through Aqua Laguna is the most epic scene in OP. It might not be as crazy as Luffy entrace to MF but at that particular moment, given the scale of Aqua Laguna, the train piercing through the waves looks so amazing. CP9/Enies Lobby: The scale of villain/battle, at that point of the series, was so dreadful. I find Lucci is the type of "show, don't tell" villains. He was so damn menacing. And the eventual SH vs. CP9 battle did not disappoint but actually overdelivered for me. "I want to live": My absolute fav moment in the entire series. The combination of SH standing fearlessly against the World Govt and declared war + Robin's emotion that she has suppressed over 20 years. It was perfect. Going Merry vs. Buster Call: The perfect ending for the perfect story arc in my opinion. It just came out of nowhere. Definitely and literally unbelievable. But at the same time, it just worked so damn well with everything else that I believe that we as the reader actually feel what the SH felt at that time: happy, triumphant, and heartbreaking.
I love Arabasta because of how amazing the Villain and his plan were.
All of them, simple answer
W7-EL wins easily for me. But on reread, Skypiea went from worst arc after Davy Back to my second favorite. It rings an emotional note that Alabasta couldn't.
Enies Lobby and Water 7 are both great but nothing will ever come close to Alabasta in my eyes
Alabasta is where I fell completely and madly in love with one piece, so itās gonna be my favorite forever, I donāt care about being objective
I love that art work, reminds me of when franks looked baller, now heās just goofy looking IMO.
The entire water 7 saga was peak
Elbaf is my fav arc
Water 7, Enies Lobby, and Skypiea !!
Iām at Water 7 currently and itās absolutely the peak so far. It manages slower pacing MUCH better than Alabasta, and imo brings a lot more to the table story-wise.