The Best One Piece Arcs, According To Reddit - Looper (2024)

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ByRussell MurraySept. 22, 2023 9:00 pm EST

"One Piece" is by many metrics the biggest TV series in the world — and with Netflix's recent live-action adaptation, there are more people than ever itching to join the Straw Hat Pirates.

When some new fans disembark to watch the anime, they'll almost certainly take notice of its daunting length. As of writing, there are over 1,000 episodes of "One Piece,"which may make binge-watching a bit of a terrifying task. What they probably don't realize is that the series is split into story arcs that turn what might have been an unimaginable forward slog toward a singular endpoint into a well-paced epic adventure that provides many satisfying payoffs and narrative climaxes throughout.

Fans of the "One Piece" anime and manga love this about the long-running series. With each arc often featuring vastly different enemies, environments, and conflicts, it always feels as though there's a fresh surprise waiting beyond the next few episodes. These arcs have become so distinct in the minds of the "One Piece" audience that almost all of them have strong opinions about which story reigns supreme. Thankfully, the members of the r/OnePiece subreddit have shared the five arcs that stand out among the rest.

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In response to a post on the r/OnePiece subreddit asking its members to share which arcs they loved most and why, u/WonkyDonky21 praised the Dressrosa arc — despite a few notable flaws. "My favorite is Dressrosa," they wrote, "while I do feel like it got a little bloated it introduced us to so many cool and unique characters and had what I consider to be the best villain we have seen so far in the story."

That villain is King Donquixote Doflamingo, a large, pink-and-white-clad warlord who has remained a fan-favorite "One Piece" antagonist hundreds of episodes after his introduction. Some consider him to be the best "One Piece" villain of all time.

u/Over-Analyzed agreed, further outlining the other high points of the Dressrosa arc, including the introduction of Marine Admiral Fujitora and Usopp's "best" feat — undoubtedly referring to his game-changing snipe of Doflamingo's terrifyingly powerful soldier Sugar. This act is often regarded as Usopp's greatest accomplishment in the entire series.

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u/CoylerProductions offered the Skypeia arc as the greatest "One Piece" has to offer, specifically for its ability to balance awe-inspiring concepts and visuals with some of the best comedy the series has to offer. They elaborated, "I especially love Zoro's Tarzan yell, and the scene at the end of the arc when [they steal] all the gold they were about to be given anyway always makes me laugh since it's one of the very rare [times] the [Straw Hats] actually act like legitimate pirates instead of being good guys that are [labeled] criminals because of semantics."

u/VooDooDarkMagic added that it was also arguably the first arc wherein archaeologist Nico Robin had "a proper adventure" with the crew she joined at the end of the Arabasta arc. Despite being the fourth best "One Piece" arc according to this Reddit thread, it proves to be rather divisive in the wider series dialogue, with many fans either regarding it as an unparalleled achievement or an inconsequential filler sequence that can — and should — be skipped entirely.

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The most ringing endorsem*nt is often the simplest, which may be true in the case of the Amazon Lily arc. This storyline — which ranked third in terms of upvotes in this Reddit thread — received no specific praise either from its parent poster u/AFineDayForScience or their sole respondent. Yet, while there's nothing to relay from this thread, it's an arc that has been debated and discussed at length in the r/OnePiece subreddit.

One user posted a full review of the Amazon Lily arc years ago, in which they described it as "definitely underrated." While noting the general perception of the arc as being mediocre (possibly due to its relatively forgettable setting and its purpose as what some may call a glorified interlude), the user praised the pacing, humor, and buoyant mood compared to the intense severity of other storylines. Several commenters agreed, though there was some discussion of whether or not one would have a better experience with the Amazon Lily arc in either the anime or the original manga.

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"[Sabaody] was perfect," wrote u/Slight_Mastodon. "Plot, characters, worldbuilding, emotion, fights and most of all ... the end." Interestingly enough, though many users hailed the ending of the Sabaody Archipelago arc as one of the best "One Piece" moments of all time, it also stands as one of its most devastating. During an encounter with the immensely powerful self-proclaimed tyrant (and Pacifista) named Kuma, the Straw Hats are absolutely demolished. This arc's final episode ends with a bleak proclamation of this fact. In 2022, Looper listed this episode as the greatest episode of the "One Piece" anime.

The Sabaody arc also received praise for the characters and concepts it introduced, including Law and Worst Gen. However, one user (who still expressed their admiration for the arc, which they called "amazing") lambasted the alterations made to one of the series' core characters. "[S]omething I can never forgive this arc for doing was it being the start of the [F]landerization of Chopper's character," they write. "From there and onwards, Chopper became the 'cute mascot,' becoming smaller and worse looking while also newly being [a part] of the coward trio. And that honestly was one of the worst changes Oda has ever made." Ouch.

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Earning more than triple the upvotes of any other answer listed, the Enies Lobby arc was by far the most lauded here. Almost everyone discussing its merits agreed that the primary among them was how it changed the direction of the series for good.

"It's when they really get serious about fighting [an] overwhelming force, the world government," wrote u/Amanda-sb. "I've always felt like Enies Lobby was a turning point for 'One Piece,'" agreed u/Vorstar92, "when I think of early 'One Piece' I feel like the divide starts at Enies Lobby and everything just keeps going upwards in terms of quality ... better plot, better characters, the SH's now having some cool a** abilities ... then leading into Thriller Bark and finally completing the full crew (until Jinbe) and of course the insanity that is Sabaody onwards." u/Connor15790 concurred, "Yep, every arc before that ranged from mediocre to good, but Enies Lobby was GOOD good."

The taste of these Redditors is pretty much in step with the wider critical community. Enies Lobby is commonly regarded as one of, if not the best "One Piece" arc ever. It is also widely beloved among the greater "One Piece" fan base (not just the subreddit), ranking high on user polls determining the anime's best arcs.