User blog:Fusionater/The Top 10 Arcs of One Piece

Howdy One Piece Community, and am here at the behest of our mighty leader Kaido King of the Beasts, who demands that there be more blogs in this little section of the community, in response to that, they really need to make this blog section more visible, like maybe putting it in the top bar, I didn't know this section existed for the longest time, and I'm one of those hardcore fans who takes whatever he gets interested in WAAAAAY to seriously. ;)

It's not like there's a shortage of One Piece fans to write blogs, we just need to point them here.

Onto the meat of this thing, I have chosen the topic of top 10 arcs for 2 simple reasons,

1. I write blogs very infrequently, so keeping things simple is the easiest way to write someothing that will actually be finished.

2. I tend to have a slightly varied opinion as to my favorite arcs on this show as compared to what I consider average.

Before I get started, I would like to note, this is based on the anime, I have read the manga, but I have not read the whole thing, so I can't be certain if my opinion carries over, the only rule will be that I won't list filler arcs....which doesn't matter....since none of them would make the list anyway. :p

Let's stop wasting time and get this started.

Number 10: Water 7 Arc



Looking back at the Water 7 Arc, it's one of the best arcs for character development that we've had, I mean think about it,

Luffy gets gear 2nd, a game changer at the time

Usopp leaves the crew

Robin also leaves(though it is more expanded upon during the Enies Lobby Arc)

Franky joins the crew, complete with trajic backstory

That's a lot of stuff for one arc. This arc starts probably as strong as any other arc in this list, with the first half being filled with interesting events, like Franky being built up as a pretty bad ass villain, after stealing the money from Usopp, all while Robin goes missing.

The biggest problem with this arc is the side characters. Outside of Rob Lucci, none of the characters really did it for me, Iceberg, Kokoro, Franky's crew, and the majority of the other CP9 agents were just uninteresting(and sometimes annoying) characters.

Number 9: Dressrosa Arc



This one just FINALLY ended, so my opinion of it might change as time goes on, but regardless of my several issues with the arc, there are still some damn good things about it, enough to earn the number 9 spot. What this arc did so well was the confrontation, this was the best batch of antagonists we've had in a while, Doflamingo, Sugar, Fugitora, and a lot more. It reminds me of the Alabasta Saga, the last saga with so many interesting antagonists. It's not just the baddies that were done well, but also the side characters, the ones that would eventually become a part of the Straw Hat Grant Fleet(I hope we get to see more of the Funk Brothers)

The only real problem with the arc is also a part of it's biggest strength....there are WAY TOO MANY CHARACTERS IN THIS ARC. I mean seriously, this was just too much(not to mention the pacing being hurt terribly by the anime). It had to be done, but it was still a major downside.

Number 8: Arlong Park Arc



I think some people tend to forget some of the earlier arcs of this series, and just how good they were. This was the arc where we finally got to learn who Nami was, that orange haired thief who stole the Going Merry after pretending to join the Straw Hat Pirates. This is one of the better structured arcs in the manga, I think where many later arcs suffer is in just how much information it has to get across to the viewer. This smaller scale event was more focused then say, the Thriller Bark Arc, which could hav been so much better if the fat was cut down, did we really need Hogback? I mean, if Moriah was just going to go all retcon and be able to summon zombies later anyway, what was his purpose!? What about the pervert lion guy???? Did he really add anything to the story??? The whole thing came down to a fight with Luffy/Oarz anyway....Seriously...But I digress....The Arlong Park Arc had great villains, good writing, and for the first time, Usopp was kind of useful. A shock at the time. :p

Number 7: Sabaody Archipelago Arc



This is the final arc of pre-timeskip One Piece. The rest is just the Luffy/Ace Sunday show(For kids!). This arc introduced us to the worst generation, the only large group of fictional characters that has a 100% interesting cast. We also are introduced to the World Nobles, one of the many fictional groups that has a 0% interesting cast. We also meet the former first mate of Gol D. Roger's ship, Silvers Rayleigh, the first informative gaze into the history of the show since the loguetown arc. We even get to meet an admiral! This admiral is not quite as chill as the last one we met, if you know what I mean. ;) Couple that with the epic battle leading to the utter "demise" of the Straw Hat Pirates, and you have a fantastic ride, beginning to end.

Number 6: Romance Dawn Arc



The arc that started it all...kind of...this one is confusing. The anime flips it around a bit, having Luffy's backstory happen during the Orange Town Arc, which I think is better, but it does force me to clarify that I mean the anime here.

This is just the perfect beginning to the story of One Piece, we get to know and like Luffy, a character who if introduced porrly, could come off as beligerant and stupid, instead of our beloved protagonist. We get a solid introduction to the major concepts of the world, Devil Fruits, Marines(good and evil), pirates(good and evil), and best of all, we meet Roronoa Zoro. There is simply nothing significantly problematic with this arc, it's the perfect introduction to this series.

Number 5: Marineford Arc



Marineford could have suffered the same problem as Dressrosa, way to many characters. thankfully, Oda took the axe to 90% of the main cast so that they wouldn't be part of the story for a while...uh...I mean....the Straw Hats were tragically seperated from their beloved captain. Really, this arc was a game changer, for one, somebody died, something One Piece is not exceptionally well known for having happen. For another, almost the entire thing is a battle, this is like the Battle of Blackwater Bay in Game of Thrones, except this time, we're rooting for the "bad guys". All the fights are interesting, we get to see some characters who ordinarily don't get any time to shine, like Sengoku or Mihawk. The only problem with the arc is that it did lack focus at times, but when it was good, it was real good.

Number 4: Punk Hazard Arc



I think we can all agree that for the past 2 years this whole think has been the Trafalgar Law Show, put up the graphic,

http://i781.photobucket.com/albums/yy98/fusionater/law3_zpsgjjsyfs4.png

That was a good joke. Damn I'm good.

I mean, don't get me wrong, Law is a great character, and is probably tied for the most badass character in One Piece(Zoro has some competition). Aside from Law, this arc was just all around awesome, good characters, a fun story, great setup for Dressrosa, more Smoker, more everything. This arc was basically the big comeback of the Straw Hats, Fishman Island be damned. :p We also got to meat the 2 samurais of the group, who I can't wait to learn more about when we get to Wano. :D

It is also the arc that gave us this image,



That image along is enough for this arc to make the top 10.

Number 3: Skypiea Arc



I know a lot of people have issues with this arc, it's too long, it has nothing to do with the rest of the story, no one seems to like the villains....Welll....I'm not those people. I love the villains, I don't care that it has nothing to do with the rest of the story, I did think it was to long but then Dressrosa came along and we all know how that went down. Honestly, the top 3 here were tough to order, but I figured it out. Enel is my absolute favorite villain in One Piece, for his intelligence, grandiose behaviour, and his kickass devil fruit. His minions were also awesome, and helped introduce us to Haki, long before it would actually matter to the story. :p

Most of the fights in this arc weren't as great as some other arcs, but it makes up for it in characters, plot, and it's my list so shut up.

Number 2: Whiskey Peak Arc



This Arc appearing might come as a surprise to some, but I think I can justify it. The characters of Nami and Zoro get to just flaunt their intelligence in this arc, gaining renewed respect from me for their characters, we get introduced to the lower levels of Baroque Works. And, by the way, Zoro's battle against the 100 Bounty Hunters of Baroque Works is the single greatest fight in the series. No contest, it was well animated, showed off awesome stunts, was well paced, and ended even better then it started, a battle between Luffy and Zoro, we also learn Vivi's backstory, and still, despite all the amazing things that happened in this arc, it was all only build up to.....

Number 1: Alabasta Arc



Yep. I couldn't do it, I couldn't not put this arc in the number 1 spot, it's just that good. Baroque works is the greatest group of villains One Piece has had, the plot is intelligent and engaging, with every Straw Hat getting a chance to shine as part of this grand and concise design that simply hasn't been topped. Everyone gets a moment. Even the camel. The fucking camel gets time to shine. The fights are stupendous, Usopp and Chopper(They should team up for more fights) vs. Mr. 4 and Ms. Merry Christmas. Zoro vs. Mr 1. Sanji vs. Mr. 2. Even Nami gets her first one on one against Ms. Doublefinger. And that's not even mention the 3. THREE. Great fights we get between Luffy and Crocodile. All while a major revolution is occuring in the background, the army of which is about to get superbombed by a clock(Maybe some kid built it. #politicalhumor). This is the perfect arc, you just can't hate it.

And that's my list. If you liked it, I'm glad, if you like writing non One Piece Blogs, you can stop by Manic Expression

I and some other great producers like to hang out there when we're not getting angry at the new episode of My Little Pony.

I hope you're happy Kaido.