my second self-declared OP anniversary
So yeah, like I said last year, caught up on the series late Jan. 2013 after several aborted attempts. Almost 800 chapters in, and the darn series has yet to let me down.
(What other series have I followed for this long, length-wise? Detective Conan, which is at 900+ and lends itself to never-ending series format due to its genre and the mostly episodic format. Naruto, which ended at 700 and which I spent hundreds of chapters snarking at. Ditto Bleach, which I just quit at 612. Fairy Tail I think I quit at exactly 400. Kingdom is about the same age/length as Fairy Tail, and will probably last for a while yet. <3 That said, most [non-sports] narrative series seem to cap out naturally at around 200-400... maybe 500 at most. Inuyasha ended at 558 and I skipped probably the last 100 chapters or so, lol.)
I think because I came to the series relatively late (both in terms of MY age as well as the age of the franchise) I have a very different relationship to it than I do with most other series that's hard to quantify. And really it's a strange series itself -- it's the #1 bestselling manga in the world, the most iconic contemporary action shounen series... and yet I don't think it's actually a good example of the shounen category. It does follow A formula, but it really doesn't fit in the power-up formula that I associate with (weekly) shounen, which are often driven by successive antagonists/obstacles more so than by the protagonists. (Not so in One Piece. Luffy does what he wants. And the antagonists aren't ordered by power level. And that active vs. reactive hero makes a HUGE difference in the narrative. It's the villains/antagonists who are forced to react to Luffy's game-changing choices and actions -- and this is just mindblowing sometimes.)
And it's rare for a series to feel so expansive, brimming with potential & excitement for the unknown, especially as it goes on and on. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg at this point, whereas most other series by now are tying up loose ends (or have ended). It is possibly the only series I've ever seen jump back and forth on the scale so deftly -- the world and its corresponding plot grows more and more vast, but the personal stakes haven't been lost or forgotten either. And of course, I've praised Oda's amazing skill at "ripple effect" writing before, where the immediate plot is both affected by things we cannot yet see AND has far-reaching effects at the same time.
Anyway. I think I said at some point that I was eventually planning on typing up a post ranking arcs/sagas. Now seems like a good time, as the current arc hurtles to its climax.
Minimal/very general MANGA spoilers ahead. I'd probably be most wary of the Paramount War saga and beyond.
One Piece is divided into a pre-timeskip and post-timeskip parts, which are then divided into sagas, which are then divided into arcs. I think pre-TS and post-TS are probably ideally discussed separately, but we are only into the second post-TS saga right now!
Here's the official list, taken from the mostly reliable wiki (but I try to use official Viz localizations when I remember what they are, with the exception of "Zolo" and "Navy"):
Sea of Survival: Super Rookies (pre-TS)
1. East Blue: Romance Dawn, Orange Town, Syrup Village, Baratie, Arlong Park, Roguetown
2. Baroque Works: Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, Drum, Alabasta
3. Sky Island: Jaya, Skypiea
4. Water 7: Long Ring Long Land, Water 7, Enies Lobby, post-Enies Lobby
5. Thriller Bark: Thriller Bark
6. Paramount War: Sabaody Archipelago, Amazon Lily, Impel Down, Marineford, Postwar
Final Sea: The New World
7. Fishman (unofficial title): Return to Sabaody, Fishman Island
8. Pirate Alliance (unofficial title): Punk Hazard, Dressrosa
Dressrosa is currently working its way to a climax (after several smaller/"false" climaxes, heh).
My saga ranking:
1. Water 7
2. Baroque Works
3. Paramount War
4. Pirate Alliance
5. East Blue
6. Fishman
7. Sky Island
8. Thriller Bark
Honestly, my top four are kind of interchangeable. Water 7 features oodles of plot and character development (+ Paulie & Iceberg). Baroque Works features my favorite villain, my favorite island, and the Best Fauna Ever (+ Vivi & Kohza & Smoker & Tashigi). Paramount War is (literally :P) earthshaking. And Pirate Alliance is showing the repercussions of the Paramount War in a HUGE way... but until it's complete I hesitate to judge it.
My bottom four are also a difficult pick, to be honest. East Blue is simple -- but charming. And really hits its stride at Baratie. Fishman is thematically powerful (though I wish there had been more exploration). Sky Island was a classic adventure (with a really neat backstory), but I didn't like the sky people (er, liked the Shandians, but not the Skypieans) and some of the worldbuilding and found Enel insanely annoying on first read. It's much improved on reread, and objectively is probably superior to Fishman, but Fishman hits closer to home for me. Thriller Bark -- oh Thriller Bark, it's so hilarious, and has some AMAZING moments, and BROOK, but yeah, having never been a fan of Halloween-themed stuff, this is unfortunately my least favorite saga (which isn't saying much).
East Blue
1. Arlong Park: Easily. Nami's backstory is incredible (Belle-mere is easily the BEST flashback character [okay one character in the most recent flashbacks ties her dammit], and the sisterhood between Nami and Nojiko is PERFECT), and for the first time we really see the core crew starting to act like a team. Also, this is the arc that seeds a lot of what we learn or what happens in the future. And it is amazing.
2. Baratie: The arc that hooked me for good. Sanji's backstory (the original manga version) is stunning -- and the first hint to me that This Manga Is Not Like the Others. It's the first time we see some hint of the greater world beyond our protagonists. It's also imo the first time we really see what conviction means (and what it takes) in this universe -- Zoro vs. Mihawk, Sanji's beliefs about food, and Luffy himself and his intensely clever out-of-the-box thinking. Also, Gin is one of the better early antagonists. And the way the arc leads into Arlong Park is really great.
3. Roguetown: One word -- SMOKER. <3 Yeah and okay okay Dragon mysteriously showing up. And return of Buggy/Alvida -- the first time we see that characters are never really gone for good in this series.
4. Syrup Village: It's clever how Kuro ties back to Morgan. Also, Usopp, hard to like as I find him, is a really well-written character. And Kaya kicks ass -- spoiled (well, it's implied) sickly rich girl who is nonetheless genuinely kind and possesses a helluva backbone and a good head on her shoulders. I casually ship her and Usopp and fully expect Usopp will turn out the better man than his father.
But this is the arc I always tended to stall on before I finally got past and got hooked by Baratie.
5. Romance Dawn: Zoro's backstory left me sooooo conflicted. On one hand, it's perfect. It was one of the things I really appreciated on my earlier aborted attempts at reading the series -- the fact that the series acknowledged the reality of how difficult it would be for Kuina to pursue her dreams... and how sometimes, Life Just Sucks. On the other hand, noooo Kuinaaaaaa. (For the record, IDK how I feel about the suicide theory.)
Also Shanks. <3 (I was surprised by Coby & later by Helmeppo -- in a good way!)
6. Orange Town: Buggy is hilarious and Chouchou is adorbs. Still, this is my least favorite arc in the entire series, and the one I find most skippable.
Baroque Works
1. Alabasta: But of course. Because CROCODILE. <3333 And Kohza~~ Okay no, but seriously, I fucking love Crocodile, and his secret plot is so fucking great (I am a total sucker for schemers). It's a very idealized take on revolution (in the sense that everyone makes up easily at the end), and yet not unrealistic in its sense of chaos, the motivation, the power shifts... Also all the goofy fauna~~~~ And Smoker and Tashigi~~~~~ And GDI Kohza and Vivi~~~~ But mostly fucking Crocodile and his plans within plans. Hahahaha. <3
2. Drum: One word: LAPAHNS. And Kureha is a badass old lady, hahahaha. I also quite liked Dalton, and Wapol and his minions were fun to hate (the contrast between little!Vivi and Wapol was so great), and I have a serious soft spot for the "one of our friends is desperately ill and needs treatment" plotline. Chopper's backstory ranks high for a lot of people -- I'm more ambivalent. It's heartbreaking and has that amazing quote about death and memory and the characterization is spot-on... but I can't fully bring myself to like Hiluluk. (His heart's in the right place, but that's not always a good thing.)
3. Little Garden: Could not. stop. laughing. during the wax battle. Zorooooooo. Also, Miss Goldenweek is one of my favorite Baroque Works agents. (I didn't realize on first readthrough that she doesn't even have a Devil Fruit! Her power is purely skill-based.) And Sanji's Mr. Prince routine, omg... . And the story behind the giants -- what a sense of awe/wonder there.
4. Reverse Mountain: Laboooooooon.
5. Whiskey Peak: Although I actually like the numbered BW members who show up here (and was happy to see what happened to them in the cover arcs later), this wasn't that interesting to me (despite the Vivi reveal). Though this featured the first big party scene in the series, huh? And One Piece parties are always awesome. Wasn't that into Luffy vs. Zoro -- that felt very fanservicey to me -- the only time the series has ever struck me that way.
Sky Island
1. Jaya: Yeah IDK, overall I like Jaya better, although I think the two arcs that make up this saga are harder to consider separately. But Jaya is where we meet Bellamy and Blackbeard and Doflamingo (at the Marine meeting) -- and the contrast between Bellamy and Luffy, and then the parallels between Luffy and Blackbeard, give me serious chills. But yeah, I really like these short little arcs where we see the world beginning to shift.
2. Skypeia: This arc just kinda dragged for me the first time I read. (The trials were frustrating on initial readthrough, somewhat less so on reread.) The weirdly semi-dystopic society on Skypeia was amusing (there are a lot of nice twists regarding "native" status), but made for rather flat characters. Only Gan Fall is of any interest, and I didn't like him much.
Wiper, Kamakiri, and Raki are badass though. And I like that innocent little Aisa is one of the most proficient Mantra users (given the implications this has on later worldbuilding).
I also like the seeds planted re: Going Merry. And I loooove Nola. <333 (and the random sky wolves, LOL, and the south birds too, though my favorite fauna are still in the previous saga.)
Overall, it felt like there was a lot more going on underneath the surface at Alabasta -- Skypeia was more nonstop action. That said, the final payoff (with the flashback reveals and the final climax), plus some earlier epic moments during the survival game, more than make the arc worth it in the end.
Water 7
1. Enies Lobby: It's a close call between this and Water 7, which like the Skypeia arcs are difficult to separate, only even more so IMO. (Can be argued that they're really two halves of a really long arc.)
But a few points weight it in favor of Enies Lobby: Robin, Robin, Robin, Usopp, friendship, teamups, CHOPPER, Namiiiii, Going Merry...
And Spandam is more despicable than Wapol, which is saying something.
2. Water 7: But the plot in Water 7 is for sure more interesting, what with all the shadowy intrigue and backstabbing and all. Also, Paulie and Iceberg and the rest of Galley-La. Oh Paulie. And Franky flashback. And the epic Sea Train (+ most hilarious Sanji battle).
3. post-Enies Lobby: FRANKY. And his fam. And balls. And Garp, and Monkey family revelations (completely took me by surprise!) -- plus Aokiji/Robin resolution, and all the setup for future arcs/worldwide repercussions. Wahhhh.
4. Long Ring Long Land: This arc is so silly, but I don't hate it as much as some fans do. It's a relaxing arc to go to after the endless Skypeia :P -- plus Aokiji more than makes up for it. Also Tonjit's horse. And hilarious teamwork between Zoro and Sanji.
Thriller Bark
Shortest "saga" ever. I wonder if we'll ever see another one-arc saga? Anyway Brook is what makes this entire arc. His backstory is just... all the feels. Also, Zoro gets a Moment.
TBH I was much less annoyed with this arc than Skypeia on first readthrough -- it moves a lot faster and the tiny bit of mystery adds to it. I hated Absalom though... (But Enel was still more annoying)
Paramount War
1. Impel Down: This and Marineford are also difficult to separate plot-wise. But I think Impel Down wins over Marineford for me because of what we begin to understand about Ace and his motivations. :(
Also all the ex-enemies turned allies. <3333333 (ex-BW in particular~~~) And Jinbe. And Ivankov. And Luffy, oh Luffy. (It is in fact part of my headcanon that Croco's poison helped too. :P)
And holy fuck Blackbeard.
And the setup for Buggy's glory, ahahahahaha.
2. Marineford: Ace reveal. Whitebeard. Ace. Ace. Ace. Family, both blood and adopted. Croco's brass balls. (It must be said.) Garp. Ace.
GDI, Ace.
And the world begins to change...
3. Sabaody Archipelago: Supernovas! More plastic surgery! Celestial Dragons! Rayleigh! Fucking Doffy! Kizaru! GDI KUMA!
I liked Law flipping off Kid, for the record. Hahaha.
4. Postwar: Luffy's grief is fucking tangible, and the flashback makes it worse. Ugh.
And all the other repercussions. And everyone else's feelings. The crew's resolve. Ugh.
5. Amazon Lily: I was really ambivalent about Hancock on first readthrough, but she's grown on me, mostly because I realized she's implied to be really fucking strong even without her devil fruit powers. The Fisher Tiger backstory is set up here though, and the eventual payoff is great.
Timeskip so far
1. Dressrosa: where all the repercussions of previous arcs collide in one big clusterfuck of an arc. Hehe. Seriously one of the best arcs ever.
2. Fishman Island: Such a powerful arc, thematically, and also builds on seeds planted hundreds of chapters ago (and developed throughout the series). I only regret that there was minimal exploration in this arc.
3. Punk Hazard: Probably my least favorite lengthy arc. On one hand, there's lots and lots of Smoker & Tashigi (the Marine drama in this arc is excellent), and Law being Law (i.e. bullied by Luffy) + awesome hijinks with his powers. OTOH Kinemon & Momonosuke are annoying and it's unfortunate that they've been hanging around for so long due to Dressrosa.
Basically my least favorite long arcs (i.e. the ones with major bossfights) are Skypeia, Thriller Bark, and Punk Hazard. Buuuut, I don't really have a clear ranking for them. Skypeia has the best sense of adventure and an excellent backstory. Thriller Bark's backstory for Brook is wrenching though, and Zoro's Moment is unspeakably epic. But Punk Hazard has the best supporting cast (Law/Smoker/Tashigi/Monet/Vergo) and is amazing setup for Dressrosa.
4. Return to Sabaody: OMG I was so happy to see Oda address the possibility of fakers. :')
Cover mini-series (Bonus)
One of the fun things about One Piece is that the title pages for every chapter are often part of mini story-arcs. There have been twelve completed arcs so far, not including the two collections of "one-shot" pics checking in on old characters.
The currently running arc I'm pretty neutral about.
But otherwise, in order of my faves:
1. Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works": Duhhh. Actually "plot-wise" there are better mini-arcs, but I just loooooove this arc for the brief insight we get into Crocodile (and his impeccable fashion). Hehe. (And the fact that we get to see BW being cute together. Aww.)
2. Ace's Great Blackbeard Search: Because Ace. (undercover Ace is hilarious.)
3. Jango's Dance Paradise: Broship and Hina. Best.
4. Diary of Coby-Meppo: Broship and coming of age. Cute. (and our first introduction to Garp. Teehee.)
5. CP9's Independent Report: Because I didn't give a shit about CP9 in the main story (aside from feeling bad for Paulie) and it was oddly touching to see them sticking up for each other post-defeat and overall showing a surprisingly human side. Also I love them basically declaring war on Spandam hahaha.
6,7 are tied. Gedatsu's Accidental Blue-Sea Life because we get to see Kohza and Vivi again. <3
and
Enel's Great Space Operations because GDI Enel is just such a fuckwad. But it's admittedly hilarious. And the implied worldbuilding is fascinating.
8. Straw Hat Separation Serial: I wish these little pages had been fleshed out (as the anime did -- but I haven't watched the relevant episodes yet). Well, more than that, I'm hoping we'll get more details in flashback at some point.
(What I want to see in particular: Zoro/Perona/Mihawk hijinks and Robin's experiences)
9. Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll: Hatchan's a sweetheart. I'd sure like some of his takoyaki too -- secret sauce? YUM
10. Caribou's_Kehihihihi_in_the_New_World: Dang this was LONG, and Caribou's a poop. (But it did crack me up the way he ended up trying to help, aww.) And I liked seeing Drake and whatever the heck he's up to.
11. Wapol's Omnivorous Hurrah: I hate Wapol. But this arc managed to make me feel sorry for him. Briefly. I don't expect him to reform at all, but this was at least an interesting way to humanize him, hahahaha.
12. Buggy's Crew: After the Battle!: Buggy is hilarious but I can only take him and his crew in small doses, LOL.
comments at the original Dreamwidth post
(What other series have I followed for this long, length-wise? Detective Conan, which is at 900+ and lends itself to never-ending series format due to its genre and the mostly episodic format. Naruto, which ended at 700 and which I spent hundreds of chapters snarking at. Ditto Bleach, which I just quit at 612. Fairy Tail I think I quit at exactly 400. Kingdom is about the same age/length as Fairy Tail, and will probably last for a while yet. <3 That said, most [non-sports] narrative series seem to cap out naturally at around 200-400... maybe 500 at most. Inuyasha ended at 558 and I skipped probably the last 100 chapters or so, lol.)
I think because I came to the series relatively late (both in terms of MY age as well as the age of the franchise) I have a very different relationship to it than I do with most other series that's hard to quantify. And really it's a strange series itself -- it's the #1 bestselling manga in the world, the most iconic contemporary action shounen series... and yet I don't think it's actually a good example of the shounen category. It does follow A formula, but it really doesn't fit in the power-up formula that I associate with (weekly) shounen, which are often driven by successive antagonists/obstacles more so than by the protagonists. (Not so in One Piece. Luffy does what he wants. And the antagonists aren't ordered by power level. And that active vs. reactive hero makes a HUGE difference in the narrative. It's the villains/antagonists who are forced to react to Luffy's game-changing choices and actions -- and this is just mindblowing sometimes.)
And it's rare for a series to feel so expansive, brimming with potential & excitement for the unknown, especially as it goes on and on. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg at this point, whereas most other series by now are tying up loose ends (or have ended). It is possibly the only series I've ever seen jump back and forth on the scale so deftly -- the world and its corresponding plot grows more and more vast, but the personal stakes haven't been lost or forgotten either. And of course, I've praised Oda's amazing skill at "ripple effect" writing before, where the immediate plot is both affected by things we cannot yet see AND has far-reaching effects at the same time.
Anyway. I think I said at some point that I was eventually planning on typing up a post ranking arcs/sagas. Now seems like a good time, as the current arc hurtles to its climax.
Minimal/very general MANGA spoilers ahead. I'd probably be most wary of the Paramount War saga and beyond.
One Piece is divided into a pre-timeskip and post-timeskip parts, which are then divided into sagas, which are then divided into arcs. I think pre-TS and post-TS are probably ideally discussed separately, but we are only into the second post-TS saga right now!
Here's the official list, taken from the mostly reliable wiki (but I try to use official Viz localizations when I remember what they are, with the exception of "Zolo" and "Navy"):
Sea of Survival: Super Rookies (pre-TS)
1. East Blue: Romance Dawn, Orange Town, Syrup Village, Baratie, Arlong Park, Roguetown
2. Baroque Works: Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, Drum, Alabasta
3. Sky Island: Jaya, Skypiea
4. Water 7: Long Ring Long Land, Water 7, Enies Lobby, post-Enies Lobby
5. Thriller Bark: Thriller Bark
6. Paramount War: Sabaody Archipelago, Amazon Lily, Impel Down, Marineford, Postwar
Final Sea: The New World
7. Fishman (unofficial title): Return to Sabaody, Fishman Island
8. Pirate Alliance (unofficial title): Punk Hazard, Dressrosa
Dressrosa is currently working its way to a climax (after several smaller/"false" climaxes, heh).
My saga ranking:
1. Water 7
2. Baroque Works
3. Paramount War
4. Pirate Alliance
5. East Blue
6. Fishman
7. Sky Island
8. Thriller Bark
Honestly, my top four are kind of interchangeable. Water 7 features oodles of plot and character development (+ Paulie & Iceberg). Baroque Works features my favorite villain, my favorite island, and the Best Fauna Ever (+ Vivi & Kohza & Smoker & Tashigi). Paramount War is (literally :P) earthshaking. And Pirate Alliance is showing the repercussions of the Paramount War in a HUGE way... but until it's complete I hesitate to judge it.
My bottom four are also a difficult pick, to be honest. East Blue is simple -- but charming. And really hits its stride at Baratie. Fishman is thematically powerful (though I wish there had been more exploration). Sky Island was a classic adventure (with a really neat backstory), but I didn't like the sky people (er, liked the Shandians, but not the Skypieans) and some of the worldbuilding and found Enel insanely annoying on first read. It's much improved on reread, and objectively is probably superior to Fishman, but Fishman hits closer to home for me. Thriller Bark -- oh Thriller Bark, it's so hilarious, and has some AMAZING moments, and BROOK, but yeah, having never been a fan of Halloween-themed stuff, this is unfortunately my least favorite saga (which isn't saying much).
East Blue
1. Arlong Park: Easily. Nami's backstory is incredible (Belle-mere is easily the BEST flashback character [okay one character in the most recent flashbacks ties her dammit], and the sisterhood between Nami and Nojiko is PERFECT), and for the first time we really see the core crew starting to act like a team. Also, this is the arc that seeds a lot of what we learn or what happens in the future. And it is amazing.
2. Baratie: The arc that hooked me for good. Sanji's backstory (the original manga version) is stunning -- and the first hint to me that This Manga Is Not Like the Others. It's the first time we see some hint of the greater world beyond our protagonists. It's also imo the first time we really see what conviction means (and what it takes) in this universe -- Zoro vs. Mihawk, Sanji's beliefs about food, and Luffy himself and his intensely clever out-of-the-box thinking. Also, Gin is one of the better early antagonists. And the way the arc leads into Arlong Park is really great.
3. Roguetown: One word -- SMOKER. <3 Yeah and okay okay Dragon mysteriously showing up. And return of Buggy/Alvida -- the first time we see that characters are never really gone for good in this series.
4. Syrup Village: It's clever how Kuro ties back to Morgan. Also, Usopp, hard to like as I find him, is a really well-written character. And Kaya kicks ass -- spoiled (well, it's implied) sickly rich girl who is nonetheless genuinely kind and possesses a helluva backbone and a good head on her shoulders. I casually ship her and Usopp and fully expect Usopp will turn out the better man than his father.
But this is the arc I always tended to stall on before I finally got past and got hooked by Baratie.
5. Romance Dawn: Zoro's backstory left me sooooo conflicted. On one hand, it's perfect. It was one of the things I really appreciated on my earlier aborted attempts at reading the series -- the fact that the series acknowledged the reality of how difficult it would be for Kuina to pursue her dreams... and how sometimes, Life Just Sucks. On the other hand, noooo Kuinaaaaaa. (For the record, IDK how I feel about the suicide theory.)
Also Shanks. <3 (I was surprised by Coby & later by Helmeppo -- in a good way!)
6. Orange Town: Buggy is hilarious and Chouchou is adorbs. Still, this is my least favorite arc in the entire series, and the one I find most skippable.
Baroque Works
1. Alabasta: But of course. Because CROCODILE. <3333 And Kohza~~ Okay no, but seriously, I fucking love Crocodile, and his secret plot is so fucking great (I am a total sucker for schemers). It's a very idealized take on revolution (in the sense that everyone makes up easily at the end), and yet not unrealistic in its sense of chaos, the motivation, the power shifts... Also all the goofy fauna~~~~ And Smoker and Tashigi~~~~~ And GDI Kohza and Vivi~~~~ But mostly fucking Crocodile and his plans within plans. Hahahaha. <3
2. Drum: One word: LAPAHNS. And Kureha is a badass old lady, hahahaha. I also quite liked Dalton, and Wapol and his minions were fun to hate (the contrast between little!Vivi and Wapol was so great), and I have a serious soft spot for the "one of our friends is desperately ill and needs treatment" plotline. Chopper's backstory ranks high for a lot of people -- I'm more ambivalent. It's heartbreaking and has that amazing quote about death and memory and the characterization is spot-on... but I can't fully bring myself to like Hiluluk. (His heart's in the right place, but that's not always a good thing.)
3. Little Garden: Could not. stop. laughing. during the wax battle. Zorooooooo. Also, Miss Goldenweek is one of my favorite Baroque Works agents. (I didn't realize on first readthrough that she doesn't even have a Devil Fruit! Her power is purely skill-based.) And Sanji's Mr. Prince routine, omg... . And the story behind the giants -- what a sense of awe/wonder there.
4. Reverse Mountain: Laboooooooon.
5. Whiskey Peak: Although I actually like the numbered BW members who show up here (and was happy to see what happened to them in the cover arcs later), this wasn't that interesting to me (despite the Vivi reveal). Though this featured the first big party scene in the series, huh? And One Piece parties are always awesome. Wasn't that into Luffy vs. Zoro -- that felt very fanservicey to me -- the only time the series has ever struck me that way.
Sky Island
1. Jaya: Yeah IDK, overall I like Jaya better, although I think the two arcs that make up this saga are harder to consider separately. But Jaya is where we meet Bellamy and Blackbeard and Doflamingo (at the Marine meeting) -- and the contrast between Bellamy and Luffy, and then the parallels between Luffy and Blackbeard, give me serious chills. But yeah, I really like these short little arcs where we see the world beginning to shift.
2. Skypeia: This arc just kinda dragged for me the first time I read. (The trials were frustrating on initial readthrough, somewhat less so on reread.) The weirdly semi-dystopic society on Skypeia was amusing (there are a lot of nice twists regarding "native" status), but made for rather flat characters. Only Gan Fall is of any interest, and I didn't like him much.
Wiper, Kamakiri, and Raki are badass though. And I like that innocent little Aisa is one of the most proficient Mantra users (given the implications this has on later worldbuilding).
I also like the seeds planted re: Going Merry. And I loooove Nola. <333 (and the random sky wolves, LOL, and the south birds too, though my favorite fauna are still in the previous saga.)
Overall, it felt like there was a lot more going on underneath the surface at Alabasta -- Skypeia was more nonstop action. That said, the final payoff (with the flashback reveals and the final climax), plus some earlier epic moments during the survival game, more than make the arc worth it in the end.
Water 7
1. Enies Lobby: It's a close call between this and Water 7, which like the Skypeia arcs are difficult to separate, only even more so IMO. (Can be argued that they're really two halves of a really long arc.)
But a few points weight it in favor of Enies Lobby: Robin, Robin, Robin, Usopp, friendship, teamups, CHOPPER, Namiiiii, Going Merry...
And Spandam is more despicable than Wapol, which is saying something.
2. Water 7: But the plot in Water 7 is for sure more interesting, what with all the shadowy intrigue and backstabbing and all. Also, Paulie and Iceberg and the rest of Galley-La. Oh Paulie. And Franky flashback. And the epic Sea Train (+ most hilarious Sanji battle).
3. post-Enies Lobby: FRANKY. And his fam. And balls. And Garp, and Monkey family revelations (completely took me by surprise!) -- plus Aokiji/Robin resolution, and all the setup for future arcs/worldwide repercussions. Wahhhh.
4. Long Ring Long Land: This arc is so silly, but I don't hate it as much as some fans do. It's a relaxing arc to go to after the endless Skypeia :P -- plus Aokiji more than makes up for it. Also Tonjit's horse. And hilarious teamwork between Zoro and Sanji.
Thriller Bark
Shortest "saga" ever. I wonder if we'll ever see another one-arc saga? Anyway Brook is what makes this entire arc. His backstory is just... all the feels. Also, Zoro gets a Moment.
TBH I was much less annoyed with this arc than Skypeia on first readthrough -- it moves a lot faster and the tiny bit of mystery adds to it. I hated Absalom though... (But Enel was still more annoying)
Paramount War
1. Impel Down: This and Marineford are also difficult to separate plot-wise. But I think Impel Down wins over Marineford for me because of what we begin to understand about Ace and his motivations. :(
Also all the ex-enemies turned allies. <3333333 (ex-BW in particular~~~) And Jinbe. And Ivankov. And Luffy, oh Luffy. (It is in fact part of my headcanon that Croco's poison helped too. :P)
And holy fuck Blackbeard.
And the setup for Buggy's glory, ahahahahaha.
2. Marineford: Ace reveal. Whitebeard. Ace. Ace. Ace. Family, both blood and adopted. Croco's brass balls. (It must be said.) Garp. Ace.
GDI, Ace.
And the world begins to change...
3. Sabaody Archipelago: Supernovas! More plastic surgery! Celestial Dragons! Rayleigh! Fucking Doffy! Kizaru! GDI KUMA!
I liked Law flipping off Kid, for the record. Hahaha.
4. Postwar: Luffy's grief is fucking tangible, and the flashback makes it worse. Ugh.
And all the other repercussions. And everyone else's feelings. The crew's resolve. Ugh.
5. Amazon Lily: I was really ambivalent about Hancock on first readthrough, but she's grown on me, mostly because I realized she's implied to be really fucking strong even without her devil fruit powers. The Fisher Tiger backstory is set up here though, and the eventual payoff is great.
Timeskip so far
1. Dressrosa: where all the repercussions of previous arcs collide in one big clusterfuck of an arc. Hehe. Seriously one of the best arcs ever.
2. Fishman Island: Such a powerful arc, thematically, and also builds on seeds planted hundreds of chapters ago (and developed throughout the series). I only regret that there was minimal exploration in this arc.
3. Punk Hazard: Probably my least favorite lengthy arc. On one hand, there's lots and lots of Smoker & Tashigi (the Marine drama in this arc is excellent), and Law being Law (i.e. bullied by Luffy) + awesome hijinks with his powers. OTOH Kinemon & Momonosuke are annoying and it's unfortunate that they've been hanging around for so long due to Dressrosa.
Basically my least favorite long arcs (i.e. the ones with major bossfights) are Skypeia, Thriller Bark, and Punk Hazard. Buuuut, I don't really have a clear ranking for them. Skypeia has the best sense of adventure and an excellent backstory. Thriller Bark's backstory for Brook is wrenching though, and Zoro's Moment is unspeakably epic. But Punk Hazard has the best supporting cast (Law/Smoker/Tashigi/Monet/Vergo) and is amazing setup for Dressrosa.
4. Return to Sabaody: OMG I was so happy to see Oda address the possibility of fakers. :')
Cover mini-series (Bonus)
One of the fun things about One Piece is that the title pages for every chapter are often part of mini story-arcs. There have been twelve completed arcs so far, not including the two collections of "one-shot" pics checking in on old characters.
The currently running arc I'm pretty neutral about.
But otherwise, in order of my faves:
1. Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works": Duhhh. Actually "plot-wise" there are better mini-arcs, but I just loooooove this arc for the brief insight we get into Crocodile (and his impeccable fashion). Hehe. (And the fact that we get to see BW being cute together. Aww.)
2. Ace's Great Blackbeard Search: Because Ace. (undercover Ace is hilarious.)
3. Jango's Dance Paradise: Broship and Hina. Best.
4. Diary of Coby-Meppo: Broship and coming of age. Cute. (and our first introduction to Garp. Teehee.)
5. CP9's Independent Report: Because I didn't give a shit about CP9 in the main story (aside from feeling bad for Paulie) and it was oddly touching to see them sticking up for each other post-defeat and overall showing a surprisingly human side. Also I love them basically declaring war on Spandam hahaha.
6,7 are tied. Gedatsu's Accidental Blue-Sea Life because we get to see Kohza and Vivi again. <3
and
Enel's Great Space Operations because GDI Enel is just such a fuckwad. But it's admittedly hilarious. And the implied worldbuilding is fascinating.
8. Straw Hat Separation Serial: I wish these little pages had been fleshed out (as the anime did -- but I haven't watched the relevant episodes yet). Well, more than that, I'm hoping we'll get more details in flashback at some point.
(What I want to see in particular: Zoro/Perona/Mihawk hijinks and Robin's experiences)
9. Hatchan's Sea-Floor Stroll: Hatchan's a sweetheart. I'd sure like some of his takoyaki too -- secret sauce? YUM
10. Caribou's_Kehihihihi_in_the_New_World: Dang this was LONG, and Caribou's a poop. (But it did crack me up the way he ended up trying to help, aww.) And I liked seeing Drake and whatever the heck he's up to.
11. Wapol's Omnivorous Hurrah: I hate Wapol. But this arc managed to make me feel sorry for him. Briefly. I don't expect him to reform at all, but this was at least an interesting way to humanize him, hahahaha.
12. Buggy's Crew: After the Battle!: Buggy is hilarious but I can only take him and his crew in small doses, LOL.
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