User blog comment:Monkey.D.Me/Finally! Some Action/@comment-3125914-20130319183526

The Arena fight idea appears in older anime like Yu Yu Hakusho. Guess that's the starting point. Anyway, it's still a great idea for an action anime and it suits the environment, Dressrosa being based on Spain (well, it would have been even better if it was Italy, but Spain is also a Latin country). I'm expecting the classic kind of tournament between 5-member teams. Hopefully there will be some worthy opponents for the Straw Hats until they get to face the Doflamingo Pirates Team.