The Straw Hat's Separation Serial is a set of Cover Stories ranging from the 11th to the 18th, created as a side story on the title pages of each One Piece chapter. It is divided into stories of each crew member of the Straw Hat Pirates apart from Luffy after the crew was separated at the Sabaody Archipelago by Bartholomew Kuma. In the manga, each story runs through two cover pages per member, and they all take place during the arcs where Luffy was separated from them. In the anime, they were shown during Luffy's travel from Impel Down to Marineford.
(サンジの地獄よりお気を確かに Sanji no Kamabakka yori oki o tashikani VIZ: "Sanji's Kamabakka Hell Insanity")
Short Summary: Sanji was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Kamabakka Kingdom, where he was trying to escape the nightmare which he calls 'Hell'. However, he seems to have been turned into one of the island's okamas.
Adventures on the Isle of No Escape
Maidens Through and Through
12. Robin's "How Terrible You People Are"[]
(ロビンのひどい事するわ Robin no hidoi koto suru wa VIZ: "Robin's "They Do Such Terrible Things"")
Short Summary: Robin was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Tequila Wolf, where she was trying to escape the place. Luckily for her, the place is soon liberated by the Revolutionaries.
Adventure in the Country of Labor
The Liberators of Slaves - The Revolutionary Army Comes
13. Franky's "This Week's Me is No Good"[]
(フランキーの今週のおれダメだ Furankī no konshū no ore dame da VIZ: "Franky's "I'm No Good This Week"")
Short Summary: Franky was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Karakuri Island, where he is chased by wild cyborg animals. There, he happens to stumble across the house where Vegapunk was born.
Wild Cyborg Animals
The House Where Dr. Vegapunk Was Born
14. Usopp's "I'll-Die-If-I'm-On-My-Own Disease"[]
(ウソップの一人じゃ死ぬ病 Usoppu no hitori ja shinu byō VIZ: "Usopp's "I'll Die If I'm Alone Disease"")
Short Summary: Usopp was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to the Boin Archipelago. There, he and his companion, Heracles, find a forest full of food, resulting in Usopp getting very fat.
The Boin Archipelago: A Forest of Gluttony
Usopp Gets Fat
15. Chopper's "I'm Not Food You Assholes"[]
(チョッパーの食いモンじゃねェぞ コノヤロー Choppā no kuimon janēzo konoyarō VIZ: "Chopper's "I'm Not Food, You Jerks!!"")
Short Summary: Chopper was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Torino Kingdom. There, he narrowly escapes the natives who were trying to make him into stew, just before the natives get attacked by gigantic birds.
Tanuki Stew on the Run
Humans and Birds in Battle
16. Nami's "Weather Report"[]
(ナミのウェザーリポート Nami no Wezā Ripōto VIZ: "Nami's Weather Report")
Short Summary: Nami was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Weatheria, a small sky island where the scientific study of weather is conducted. There, the scientists hold a meeting and Nami is impressed with their ability to control the weather.
Business at Weatheria, the Legendary Sky Island
Weather Science on Weatheria
17. Brook's "Lodgings and Panties Repayment"[]
(ブルックの一宿一パンツのご恩返し Burukku no isshuku ippantsu no go'ongaeshi VIZ: "Brook's "Repayment For A Night's Stay And Underwear"")
Short Summary: Brook was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Namakura Island. Just as Brook is about to see a girl's panties, she is kidnapped by members of the Longarms, and Brook is surprised that none of the villagers are willing to go after her. He then sits down to write a song.
People Who Don't Fight
Satan Composes A Melody
18. Zoro's "Where the Hell Are They? What a Pain in the Ass"[]
(ゾロのあいつらどこだ世話がやける Zoro no aitsura doko da sewa ga yakeru VIZ: "Zolo's "Where Are They? What A Pain"")
Short Summary: Zoro was sent by Bartholomew Kuma to Kuraigana Island, the same location that Perona had been sent to. After being bandaged and healed by the former enemy, the two seemed to be wary of each other. However, some brand of trust seems to have grown between them, as Perona returned Zoro's swords and the two casually wander through the ruins of the island. Later, he encounters an unknown being carrying a sword.
The Giant Gravestone Outside the Ruins
A Shadow Draws Near
Anime and Manga Differences[]
In the anime, the cover stories were animated with varying differences to their manga counterparts.
With Nami, the anime version of her cover story differed very little from the manga, with some slight interactions and antics added to the plot.
With Franky, the anime version of his cover story was covered with filler content from Episode 418. Having been installed with Darjeeling Tea due to no cola available, Franky continues acting like a gentleman. Kitton, Franky's child host, tries to get Franky back to his wild nature by dumping him deep in a forest filled with cyborg animals. The plan backfires, but fortunately Franky reverts to his former self momentarily to save Kitton. Out of fuel, the two enter Vegapunk's lab in hopes of finding cola. In the manga, however he finds the lab while escaping from the cyborg animals and it is unknown if Kitton was with him in that moment.[2]
With Sanji, the anime version of his cover story was expanded a bit by giving an explanation as to why Sanji is dressed and acting like an Okama. In the anime, Sanji was explained by the substitute Queen of Kamabakka, Caroline, that in order to be set free from the island, he would have to fight the Queen and win. To do this however, he would have to don the "traditional fighting outfit" as part of Kamabakka customs. In reality, this was just a ruse in order to get Sanji to open up his "inner maiden". But this was proven wrong in the manga, where Sanji was forced to wear it. In the anime, Sanji returns to his former self after seeing the news about Ace's death, saying that he will never wear maiden clothes again.
With Chopper, the anime version of his cover story was handled a bit differently. While the main plot points of his cover story were covered briefly, it was expanded upon with a filler plot. Basically, the filler was about Chopper helping a wounded chick of the giant birds and getting the idea of using the bird to fly back to Sabaody. Unfortunately, he did not take into account how long it would take the chick to reach maturity. Later in the manga, he is able to actually leave the island by riding an adult giant bird (not the one he was taking care of in the anime).[3]
With Robin, the anime version of her cover story was changed with content from Episode 420 added. The sequence of her cover story basically had her freed by the revolutionaries rather than her temporarily escaping from the guards before meeting up with them.
With Usopp, the anime version of his cover story was expanded a bit with some scenes. Along with some antics with Heracles, it showed that the islands that Usopp was on were some type of island-sized carnivorous plants. The fact that the islands were plants was actually originally revealed much later in the story.[4][5]
With Zoro, the anime version of his cover story was added with bits of antics and filler. His cover story in the anime starts with some antics involving Perona and his lack of direction. After the two of them explore the ruins, the coverstory then ends with the mysterious figure not only attacking Zoro but alongside several other mysterious figures. This figure and the others were most notably presented to be very ape-like in the anime. This is actually a fact supported by the manga which revealed much later in the story that the ruins that Zoro explored are inhabited by weapon wielding Humandrills.[6]
With Brook, the anime version of his cover story differed only a little bit. Along with some added slight antics, the explanation of why the villagers summoned "Satan" was all that was added.[7]
Sanji's serial finale in the anime.
Robin's serial finale in the anime.
Franky's serial finale in the anime.
Usopp's serial finale in the anime.
Chopper's serial finale in the anime.
Nami's serial finale in the anime.
Brook's serial finale in the anime.
Zoro's serial finale in the anime.
Trivia[]
This is the third cover story to be animated.
It is the longest of the animated cover stories, consisting of eight episodes.
This is the last cover story set before the timeskip.
This is the shortest cover story as well as the first to begin and end in a single arc.