Reverse Mountain Arc

The Reverse Mountain Arc, also referred to as the Laboon Arc, is the seventh story arc of the anime and manga series, One Piece, and the first in the Alabasta Saga. The episodes concerning the arc were heavily edited, and much of the arc was completely omitted in the 4Kids dub. In this arc, the Straw Hat Pirates make their way to Reverse Mountain, and begin the perilous task of scaling its tricky rapids in order to enter the Grand Line. As they descend the mountain, they find that something huge is blocking the entrance. This arc also sets up a plot line for a new Straw Hat member in the far future.

A Giant Whale and a Mysterious Duo


The arc begins with the Straw Hats arriving at Reverse Mountain through the storm after fleeing Loguetown. They are nearly blown off course and into the Calm Belt, but eventually reach the entrance of Reverse Mountain and manage to climb its uphill rapids despite some tricky close calls. As they come down, they hear a noise and notice something is blocking their path. They identify the blockage as a huge whale which is threatening to crush the Going Merry. Monkey D. Luffy manages to keep the ship from crashing into it, but seeing the bow broken off enrages Luffy and he attacks the whale. The whale swallows the Going Merry and her crew except for Luffy, who manages to escape onto the whale's back. Luffy finds an oddly-placed hatch on the creature before it dives, and climbs in.

Inside, the Straw Hats suddenly find themselves in what looks like an outside setting with a house in the middle of the water, where they meet an old man named Crocus. Meanwhile, Luffy finds himself in a series of narrow passages and comes across two mysterious people known only as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, who apparently are plotting to kill the whale. Eventually, Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats reunite, and it is revealed that the strange setting is in fact the whale's stomach. Crocus reveals that the whale's name is Laboon and that he is trying to ram into the mountain. Crocus manages to stop Laboon, and after a brief struggle with the mysterious pair, Crocus begins to explain to the Straw Hats why the whale is covered with scars.

Years ago, Laboon befriended a group of pirates who stopped by the lighthouse where Crocus worked to make repairs on their ship. When they entered the Grand Line, Laboon, then only a very small whale, followed them. Out of fear for the whale's safety, the pirates told Laboon to stay behind with Crocus, promising they would return someday. The pirates apparently fled the Grand Line later and never came back for Laboon, who continues to wait for them, though it has been over fifty years. The reason his head is scarred is that Laboon believes he can break through the mountain to reach his friends. Despite Crocus telling Laboon the truth, he still continues to ram into the mountain as it is the only hope Laboon has.

Crocus helps the Straw Hats out of the whale, and Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday are thrown out to sea and escape. Once Crocus finishes Laboon's tale, Luffy suddenly picks a fight with Laboon again by jamming the Going Merry's mast into his forehead. After a brief scuffle between the whale and Luffy, Luffy claims the match to be a tie, though he tells Laboon they will have a rematch when he and his crew come back from the Grand Line. As an extra precaution to this promise, Luffy paints the Straw Hats' pirate symbol on the whale's forehead, citing that if Laboon rams his head into the mountain it will wash away.



Finally, Crocus explains to the Straw Hats that a regular compass will not work past Reverse Mountain and that they need a Log Pose if they want to travel the Grand Line. Crocus explains how the Log Pose works and mentions the final destination of the Grand Line, Raftel, where One Piece may lay, as the only person to reach there was Gol D. Roger. Luffy reveals a Log Pose he found after they dumped the Mr. 9 pair, but after a petty quarrel between him and Sanji, it is broken, so Crocus loans them his. The Mr. 9 pair spies on the group from afar until they are knocked into the ocean by the Unluckies for failing their mission to kill Laboon. They reacquaint themselves with the Straw Hats again and beg them to take the two to their hometown, Whiskey Peak, to which Luffy agrees. With that they bid Crocus and Laboon farewell and set off.

As he watches them go, Crocus begins to wonder if these are the pirates they have been waiting for, due to their strange atmosphere, and asks if Roger thinks so too.

Story Impact

 * Despite being a mini arc, the Reverse Mountain Arc has a major connection with the future storyline.
 * One of Laboon's Rumbar Pirate friends will later join the Straw Hats: Brook.
 * The crew Crocus was a doctor in for three years are none other than the Roger Pirates, as revealed by Silvers Rayleigh in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc.
 * This arc also marks the first encounter with the Baroque Works agents, as well as an introduction to the Grand Line's unique geography with the Log Pose and the magnetic fields.
 * The Straw Hat Pirates finally enter the Grand Line.

Exiting Laboon
Manga: W hen the Straw Hats manage to reach Laboon's "exit", they simply throw the Mr. 9 pair off the ship, who then wake up in the ocean.

Anime: The Mr. 9 pair manage to escape on their own, without the Straw Hats noticing them.

Warship Island Arc
Manga: After the Straw Hat crew leaves Loguetown, they first reach the Calm Belt, and then head to Reverse Mountain, where they travel up the canal to enter the Grand Line.

Anime: After the Straw Hat crew leaves Loguetown, they find a girl in the ocean and rescue her. They then head to Warship Island.

Discussing Reverse Mountain
Manga: After the Straw Hat pirates leave Loguetown, while passing the lighthouse, they begin to discuss how to enter the Grand Line. During the meeting, the ship drifts out of the storm into the Calm Belt. The weather is stormy and Nami wears her raincoat until after they get to the top of the mountain.

Anime: The whole discussion is moved to the last episode, and there is no drifting into the Calm Belt due to having been shown in the second filler episode. It is not very stormy and Nami is not wearing her raincoat.

Calm Belt
Manga: Nami says it after they see a bunch of Sea Kings and the Going Merry is on a giant Sea King's nose.

Anime: Nami explains the Calm Belt upon reaching it (after the rest of the Straw Hats show that they do not know about it).

Calm Belt 2
Manga: The Calm Belt does not take place during the Warship Island Arc and Apis is not with the pirates. Luffy saves Usopp when he gets tossed off the ship and is about to be eaten by a Sea King.

Anime: The whole Calm Belt situation is moved to the third episode of the Warship Island arc, Apis is with them, and Luffy saves her from the Sea King instead of Usopp.

Steel Cutting
Manga: Zoro is not supposed to be able to cut steel until the Alabasta arc.

Anime: Zoro cuts the steel chain from the Marine ships. He even says "There is nothing I cannot cut". This becomes one of the major plot holes in the anime series.

Note: After Luffy is declared wanted, Zoro is the one who cuts the cannon ball in two fired at them by Fullbody.

Hello Eric
Manga: The Straw Hat Pirates go up Reverse Mountain without anyone interrupting them.

Anime: As the Straw Hat Pirates go up Reverse Mountain, Eric lands on the Going Merry, yet he is later tripped by Nami and falls off the ship into the sea.

Translation and Dub Issues
4Kids has cut and changed much of the arc for unknown reasons, but it may be due to Laboon's scars and Luffy stabbing the Merry's mast into his head. The Straw Hats entering the Grand Line and receiving the Log Pose is rewritten as a result, and shots from other segments of the anime are rearranged to fit the script:


 * Rather than confronting Laboon, the Straw Hats instead encounter an iceberg in their way, which Luffy destroys with the ship's cannon. In the Japanese version, he fires it to slow the Going Merry down and keep it from crashing into Laboon. The removal of Laboon eventually creates a plot hole in the Thriller Bark Arc.
 * The Log Pose suddenly appears onboard the ship, and the explanation of how it works and the physics of the Grand Line are told through flashbacks by the crew when they were children instead of by Crocus, whom they never meet in the 4Kids dub. Yet until the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, we end up learning more about Crocus which creates more problems.
 * Without Crocus, the Straw Hat Pirates never knew anything about Raftel and how this would come to play in the Zou Arc when he gets brought when discussing the island with Zou's rulers
 * The Straw Hats arrive at Whiskey Peak (renamed Misty Peak) on their own rather than being led there by the Mr. 9 pair.

Because of these changes, many fans have expressed outrage and disapproval at 4Kids for creating something that was obviously not part of the author's original canonical storyline, as well as how the American dub will fit Brook into the plot.

However, with the 4Kids dub cancelled and FUNimation now dubbing the series, the Reverse Mountain Arc saw its first English anime release on June 30, 2009 as part of FUNimation's uncut "One Piece Season 2 First Voyage" release.

Trivia

 * This, the Loguetown Arc, and the Return to Sabaody Arc, with five chapters each, are the shortest arcs in the manga.
 * With only two episodes, this is the shortest arc in the anime so far.

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