User blog comment:DancePowderer/Favorite Arc Thematically/@comment-2600:1702:3C50:A6E0:C1A:CAAA:6DB4:6905-20190405025252

A well condensed post, my good sire. I tip my hat to you. I have trouble determining which arcs I like best and least because I like all of them including filler arcs. You seemed to condense the points of these arcs quite well so I will just add a few observations of mine. On Punk Hazard we were indeed directionless up to a certain point and unpredictability was everywhere. As for Caesar, I would say that Oda also builds up the idea of him being untouchable with the knowledge that his boss Doflamingo works for Kaido, one of the Yonko and a being considered invincible. In the same manner that Scotch warned Drake not to anger Kaido by hurting him, Luffy is being warned to not attack Caesar for the same reason. We did build up to the new world which I suppose is appropriate. As for Dressrosa, indeed control like a puppeteer pulling the strings of his puppets was the theme. It is fitting that Doflamingo featured here where is influence is almost invisible, the strings almost unnoticeable. As for his utopia, one of the gladiators said it best, if you cover up the trash then anything will look beautiful. No wonder it reminded Luffy of the Grey Terminal. When he argued with Law in the birdcage he asked what would happen to the country if they didn't do something. I think he was seeing the Grey Terminal all over again and he wanted to stop it this time. fitting that Sabo appeared here as well and the Koala decided to make her appearance in a place ruled by a former Celestial dragon. Ghosts of the past returning to the present. Yes, Doffy fed their darker instincts through his blood sports, he made himself seem like a benevolent king, he gave them a scapegoat to direct their anger upon. As King Riku stated, this birdcage did not appear that day, it was hanging over Dressrosa even since he came. Only now can they see the strings attached to the puppet master, only now can they see the mad joker for the monster he really is. Those he cannot control he destroys, the things he cannot have he destroys, a being whose purpose comes from control and power over others. That is who Doflamingo is. Your point on Pica is interesting, but Sugar is the one that interests me the most. The picture of innocence, she holds the country in her hands. one would think that she is insignificant and yet she fulfilled my expectations of being there for an important reason. Evil has many faces and masks that it wears and none are so dangerous as the mask of innocence, the mask of a smiling child who hides the mind of a monster within. In that way she and Doffy are alike. As you mentioned, he never gave up his country even to the bitter end. While he was willing to destroy the country Doffy believed to the very end that he would never lose to a commoner and even commented that he hated above all else being looked down upon by another. Crocodile was covered up by the government and served as the first act in which the Strawhats truly rocked the boat. Thanks to Fujitora the effects of their exploits in Dressrosa were felt across the entire world. As the fight built up, the author continued to make it clear that even if all the executives were defeated that as long as Doflamingo still stood, Dressrosa and all within it would never be free of him. In his defeat of Doflamingo you summarized it the best; he destroyed an empire, saved a kingdom, and made the entire world shake with the aftereffects of their clash. I hope you found my insights interesting. Sorry if I got carried away, but your post somehow made me want to respond with zeal. These arcs in this anime really were amazing if you look at them in a certain way.