With an anime and manga that spansover 1000 chaptersand counting, 15 theatrical films, over 500 million manga sales, and a hit live action Netflix adaptation,One Pieceis by far the most successful anime franchise in history. As of the date of this article, it’s second only toSupermanin terms of all-time comic book sales, and is projected to surpass the Man of Steel by the end of the decade to become the number one best-selling comic book of all time. With decades of charming characters, great humor, heartbreaking drama, and rich world-building that’s easy to get lost in, it’s no wonder the series is as successful as it is.
What’s truly shocking is how it’s managed to continue to keep fans engaged over 1000+ chapters of story without getting stale. It’s only seemingly gotten better over the years, with the most recent concluded arc considered to be one of the best of its entire run. Let’s learn the secrets ofOne Piece’s success as we go over every major story arc in the series, and discuss what makes each of the great.
Romance Dawn
The arc that started it all,Romance Dawncovers a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and is a solid introduction toOne Piece’s world. In just a handful of chapters, it establishes the core characters of Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, while also setting up the rules and concepts of its world for the rest of its thousand plus chapters. It also highlights the core conflict of Pirates vs. Marines, which is the root ofOne Piece’s overall theme of freedom versus authority.
Orange Town
Orange Townis the first real shounen battle of the series, and is the introduction of Buggy the Clown, a devil fruit-user who can split apart and control different pieces of his body individually. Being the first battle between two devil fruit-users, Luffy’s fight with Buggy sets the stage for how the rest of theOne Piecebattles could play out in the future, while setting up the fan favorite clown for future interactions. While the battle itself is fun, and sets a baseline for every battle after it, this arc lacks the rich world building, and heartfelt storylines that the series would later become known for.
Syrup Village
TheSyrup Villagearc is the introduction of the Straw Hats' cowardly liar Usopp, and is also the origin of the Straw Hats' beloved ship, The Going Merry. The arc does a great job of showing us what Usopp is all about, and his relationship with his sick friend Kaya and the village children is really heartwarming. It also gave usOne Piece’s first truly menacing villain in Kuro, a sinister Pirate with finger swords who plans to take Kaya’s fortune by slowly killing her.
While this arc does a good job of endearing us to Usopp as a character, it doesn’t do much to show why he’s a valuable asset to Luffy’s crew. Thankfully his resourcefulness shines through in later arcs, and his insecurities over not pulling his weight becomes a great source of conflict later in the series.
Baratie is a massive floating Restaurant in the middle of the ocean, and is the home of the Straw Hat’s fiery ladies man chef, Sanji. Throughout the arc, we learn about his moral code to feed anyone who is hungry, and witness the reason in a tragic childhood flashback to when he was stranded on an Island. This arc also does a good job of setting up elements ofOne Piece’s massive world with the introduction of one of the seven warlords Mihawk, whose fight with zoro reveals just how much of a power gap there is between the straw hats and the world’s most powerful figures.
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Arlong Park
Arlong Parkmarks the moment the Straw Hats officially became a crew. After Nami Betrays them, and is revealed to be working for the villainous Arlong Pirates, Luffy fights to save her from Arlongs control, and liberates her village in the process. Luffy’s actions earns Nami’s trust, and she becomes a permanent member of the Straw Hats. Nami’s journey from Arlong to Straw Hat was the first deeply emotional arc in One Piece. The moment Luffy puts his hat on Nami’s head becoming the first iconic moment for the series.
Drum Island
Drum Islandis the introduction of the adorable reindeer, and doctor of the Straw Hat Crew, Toni Toni Chopper. After Nami falls sick, the crew is desperate for doctor to save her life, and search for one in the snowy mountains of Drum Island. While there, they get caught up in a political conflict against the island’s leader Wapol. Like manyOne Piececharacters, Chopper has a tragic backstory told through flashbacks, and his in particular is one of the saddest in the whole series.
For many fans,Alabastamarks the moment the series went from good to great. It follows the Straw Hats as they liberate a desert kingdom from the hands of its ruthless leader Crocodile. Taking down fascist rulers and giving power back to the people is something that Luffy would continue to do many more times throughout the series, and is arguably the backbone of whatOne Pieceis about.
Alabastamarks a shift in scale and ambition inOne Piecearcs that would follow the ones that came after it, as the conflict to save Alabasta and help their friend Vivi feel truly epic in scale. It also introduces the crew’s archeologist Nico Robin, who’d get fleshed out much more in later arcs.
Skypiea is a mythical islandin the sky that nobody believed existed till the Straw Hats managed to make it there, and their journey there feels like a truly grand adventure comparable to the likes of Indiana Jones or Nathan Drake. It’s full of gorgeous imagery of ancient ruins overtaken by jungle fauna that makes for some of the best artwork in the entire series. Its main villain Eneru is a literal god who rules over the sky people as their diety, which makes the moment Luffy takes him down feel truly mythical.
Long Ring Long Land
Easily the Wackiest and funniest arc in all ofOne Piece,Long Ring Long LandputsOne Piece’s goofy sense of humor to the forefront. The arc follows the Straw Hats and the bizarre Foxy Pirates as they get caught up in a Davy Back fight, a variety contest against Pirate crews in which the winner gets to take crew members from the losing team as their own. What results is an incredibly fun series of competitions that feel more like a tribute to Hanna Barbara cartoons than a shounen anime. It’s a nice break in tension before things get serious in the next arc.
Water 7 / Enies Lobby Arc
These could be considered separate arcs, but they blend together so seamlessly that it makes more sense to combine them.Water 7andEnies Lobbymark true high points in the series, and some consider it to be the best arcs in all ofOne Piece. The story up to this point is still great, but it’s the events of this arc that cementedOne Pieceas a true masterpiece.
Tensions among the crew explode, as we’re given the first real internal conflict among the Straw Hat crew. Usopp’s insecurities over not pulling his weight bubble to the surface after he and Luffy can’t agree about what to do with their dying ship the going Merry. It ends in shockingly brutal and heartbreaking battle between Luffy and Usopp, resulting with him leaving the crew.
Things only get worse after Robin betrays the crew to strike out on her own, and gets captured by the Navy to be executed. The crews desperate attempt to save her results in a bombastic climax. One that ends with the Straw Hats declaring war against the entire world government in one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the entireOne PieceSaga. This arc also gave us the crew’s awesome cola-powered cyborg, Franky.
