We Finally Arrive at the End of This Massive Voyage
We are finally here at the end of this of journey exploring One Piece and its legendary first half. For the last two weeks I have been sharing my favorite arcs of Eichiro Oda’s masterpiece that I’ve read so far, and it has been a wild ride. From the early outset of the East Blue to the most impactful islands of the Grand Line, I have tackled each story with a newfound love for the franchise, leading me to this moment.
In the previous outing I talked about establishing the middle of the pack was agonizing because the material I was presented with was so strong. In hindsight, I wish i could tell my past self how stupid he was as this was the real challenge. Trying to create a top 3 with a story this large and one that I’ve come to love over the years is like trying to pick my favorite child. Its part of the reason why this took longer to come out than the last part, mainly to decide the order and put into words why I feel these are my favorites.
3. Arlong Park (Ch. 69-95)
I can’t think of a better way to start than with the first arc that showed me why One Piece is special. Arlong Park acts as the immediate follow-up to Baratie, with Nami stealing the Going Merry and with Usopp and an injured Zoro in pursuit with Luffy and new crew mate Sanji not long after. When we first arrive on Cocoyasi village, we see the elaborate eye-sore that is Arlong Park in full along with it’s terrifying master.
With the introduction of the Fish Man Pirates, Oda opens up his world to an even greater level of fantasy, with each of the various Fish Men having unique and striking designs. From Hachi’s more blatant octopus features to Kuroobi’s subtle manta-ray influence, plus whatever Chew’s design is, each one stands out from the human characters we have seen. This culminates in the spectacular design of Arlong with his giant square-shaped chin and saw-like nose with a massive frame and blue skin. He easily is the most intimidating physical force in the entirety of the East Blue, and he’s only biding his time before he can conquer it.
More than his physical might, it is his psychological damage to Nami that takes center stage. She was essentially the only character without any real background to speak of amongst the crew, aside from being a thief who stole from pirates, and it's in this arc we learn why she is obsessed with gathering as much treasure as possible. From killing her adoptive mother Belle-mere and subjugation of her village, she has been tormented by this monster and is forced to lie, cheat, and steal to buy her and her villages freedom, leading her to betray her newfound friends.
It's all capped off with all the money Nami had earned being taken by the sleazy Navy officer Nezumi, acting on the behalf of Arlong, and her family and friends in the village seemingly marching to their deaths to fight for her sake. This leads to one of the most iconic climaxes in all of shonen manga, with Nami begging for Luffy’s help with tears in her eyes and he shouts at the tops of his lungs that he will do it, leaving his treasured Straw Hat with her. It’s a powerful moment, and the panel of the crew waiting for their captain's orders as they march to Arlong Park still gives me goosebumps.
This is when One Piece goes to a whole new level in storytelling, as everything continues to ramp up from here. Sanji’s desperate struggle underwater against Kuroobi to save a drowning Luffy, a still injured Zoro's incredible swordplay on display against Hachi and his struggle stalling against Arlong, and a criminally underrated sniper battle between Usopp and Chew that shows the young cowards first steps to becoming a true pirate. They are all great fights that, while overshadowed by future material, still show just how great Oda is at building tension and developing his characters so early on.
This all comes to a head with one of most destructive fights in the series with Luffy taking on Arlong that still stands as one of my favorite One Piece fights. The way that the battle between them continues to escalate, destroying the monument of Nami's sadness, is absolutely incredible. The final emphatic Gum-Gum Battle Axe destroying the chart room and the entirety of Arlong Park is insane, followed by Luffy declaring Nami as his friend and signifying her officially joining the crew.
I feel that the only thing keeping this arc from being higher in the list really comes down to its scale. While this arc makes for a great culmination of the Straw Hats' initial journey in their home ocean, it is still a drop in the water compared to the Grand Line. It is true that information in this arc does play a bigger role later on, like the first mentioning of Jinbei and Luffy earning his bounty, but the arc squarely focuses on a smaller more focused narrative. Still, it is one of Oda’s strongest works, bringing forth an emotionally gripping story and fully realizing Nami’s character before her and her new family's journey on the high seas really begins.
2. Enies Lobby (Ch. 375-430)
Now for an arc that is both similar in some ways and yet almost entirely different from Arlong Park. Enies Lobby is similar in its end goal, this time saving Nico Robin from the secret government organization CP9. If you thought Nami’s backstory and journey to officially join the Straw Hats was filled with tension and tragedy, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Not only are the Straw Hats as a crew finally in direct conflict with the World Government with their attempt to rescue Robin, but we also learn more about her motivation to sacrifice her life to spare the crew. As the lone survivor of Ohara, and only one of very few people in the world who can read the artifacts known as Poneglyphs, Robin is a threat to the government as she can discover the truth of the mysterious Void Century.
We see her being pursued by the government from an early age, being seen as either a monster or a burden throughout her life. She decides to protect the only group of people who seem to truly care for her, but when Luffy actively declares war on the government by ordering Sogeking (aka Usopp) to burn down their flag, it incites the young woman to declare her desire to live.
If you haven’t already experienced it, I highly recommend you watch that moment with Funimation’s English Dub, as Stephanie Young brings a level of desperation and emotion that brings the scene to another level. It actually made me cry when I first watched it, and it still makes me tear up every time I see it.
The fights that follow that spectacular moment are some of the hardest hitting the series has to offer as well. Seeing the immense power that the agents of CP9 have alongside utilizing devil fruit powers against the Straw Hats makes for incredibly imposing obstacles to overcome. They even force some members of the crew, like Luffy and Chopper, to utilize new powers that bring harm to their bodies and even endanger their lives. Every fight is filled with desperation, last minute techniques, and strategies that highlight each member of the crew spectacularly.
Then of course comes the moment everyone remembers, the last minute save by and death of the crew’s ship, the Going Merry. The material prior had been building up the damage on the poor ship, and with its final rescue of the crew , the ship earns a farewell that ranks up there as one of the saddest deaths in the series. Despite the jokes and memes about crying for a boat, it strikes a chord with everyone I’ve met who has experienced this long winding story.
This arc is as close to perfection as a story can get. From it’s emotional moments and fight sequences to the character and world building on display, this arc is a game changer both for One Piece and all of shonen manga as a whole. However there is one arc that I feel that, without it, Enies Lobby wouldn’t have the impact it has.
1. Water Seven (Ch. 322-374)
Water 7 is, in my opinion, the best story arc that Eichiro Oda has ever written and one of the best arcs not only in One Piece, but in the medium of manga. It starts off simply enough with the crew trying to use the treasure they claimed during Skypiea to repair the Going Merry and find a shipwright to join the crew and maintain her. They arrive at the legendary Water 7, an Island full of beautiful canals that thrives on the work of shipbuilding, with a legendary sea train and a cast of eccentric shipwrights that make up the Galley-La Company.
It all seems so straightforward, just like any other arc, but it all changes when the Franky Family arrive. They beat Usopp within an inch of his life not once but twice, first when stealing his portion of the money, and then again when he finds their hideout trying to get it back. Meanwhile, Robin ends up disappearing after an encounter with a masked man, as we begin setting things up for the next arc.
Things only get worseit only when the crew learn that the Merry cannot be fixed and Luffy tells Usopp. The argument they have, with the rest of the crew trying to de-escalate the situation, is one of the best I’ve ever read or watched. The tension keeps building, and you start to feel the stress of the situation, until it culminates with Luffy being cut off from telling Usopp to leave the crew by a swift kick by Sanji. This is another moment that I can also recommend the anime, both subbed and dubbed, so you can experience this moment in full. Sonny Strait, the voice of Usopp in the dub, brings a sense of passion and anger unlike any other voice role he has done and Kappei Yamaguchi brings a cutting and desperate tone that makes his performance break the language barrier.
Keep in mind this is just the argument they have, as I haven’t even gone over their actual fight. It's my favorite in all of One Piece, with Usopp’s skills and strategy on full display, with a tragic end that left me weeping just like Luffy and the crew. This leads to the core reason why I love this arc, it’s characterization of the Straw Hats. Every member deals with these moments in their own way that feels true to how Oda has established their personalities and personal histories. Chopper wants to immediately treat Usopp, Nami struggles with the family she’s formed falling apart, and Zoro has to remind Luffy of his duties as captain.
The arc has so many incredible moments like this, from the reveal of the charismatic cyborg Franky and his story that ties to legendary weapon Pluton, to the core setup of Enies Lobby with Robin’s betrayal and the reveal of CP9. When her true intentions are also revealed and the crew tries to save her from certain death, with Nami’s pleas to Luffy and Sanji's clever infiltration of the sea train, it all works because you've come to love these characters so much. I want them to save Robin after having already lost Usopp and the Merry, and the arc piles on the tragedy to show how crew will decide to overcome these challenges. This all comes with a massive storm that could destroy Water 7 and a race against the clock with multiple fights on the sea train.
Every single aspect that I love about this series is presented here. Arlong Park had emotion, Marineford brought intensity, Sabaody presented tragedy, and Enies Lobby brought the tension and scale, but Water 7 checks all those boxes and then some. In my eyes, this is One Piece at its peak.
With that, the journey is finally over, or at least this leg of it anyway. I’ve been thinking about how much fun I’ve had writing this little minis series that I didn’t want to give up discussing Oda’s masterpiece just yet. So following in the footsteps of the inspiration for this list, TotallyNotMark, I’ve decided that I want to try to tackle the post-time skip material starting with the brief Return to Sabaody arc and the Fish-Man Island Arc. With 56 chapters to read through, however, it might take me a little bit of time to read through. I will do my best to read and share my thoughts on the second leg of the legendary tale.
If by chance you are new here and would like to see the rest of the list, I will put links for Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Also, to get updates on the release of my One Piece reviews, as well as more manga and anime reviews, editorials, list, and other content, be sure to follow the Manga Mind Twitter and Facebook Pages. I will see you guys next time!
