The 5 Best One Piece Arcs Ranked
It is hard to boil down an entire medium to a single piece of art. Sure, you could, in theory, boil down all of painting to the Mona Lisa, but all of cinema? All of music? Still, as hard as it is to pick just one movie to represent an entire genre, let alone a medium, when it comes to manga, things are a bit easier.
Indeed, there are not many arguments against choosing Eiichiro Oda's record-breaking, culture-shaping, industry-game-changing saga "One Piece" to be the manga title that represents the best the medium has to offer. There's a reason this manga holds the record for most copies published for the same manga. There's a reason it's lasted for over 26 years and more than 100 volumes and has never faltered in popularity or quality — in no small part thanks to Oda's harrowing process for coming up with new ideas.
Now that the live-action "One Piece" is out and proved to be a rather good adaptation, and probably the best introduction to "One Piece," you might wonder what might be next for this darker adaptation. More specifically, you might wonder what the best parts of the story are from the manga.
So here's a ranked list of the five best arcs of "One Piece" to hype you up for the future of the show, or if you simply want to go back and re-read or re-watch the best fights and moments of Eiichiro Oda's legendary series — even if they end up being changed in the live-action adaptation.
Bonus: Long Ring Long Land / Thriller Bark
Frist, two bonus arcs, because even if they are not the best, they offer some of the best moments in the entire series so far: "Long Ring Long Land" and "Thriller Bark."
When it comes to the former, it rules for a simple reason: it is the last time we have the entire Straw Hat crew together for the entire arc doing nothing but crew shenanigans. Sure, it doesn't have any big lore reveals, nor some poignant political angle or sad flashbacks, but it does have the best Zoro/Sanji dynamic, and it has Nico Robin becoming a fully-fledged member of the crew (right before the tragedy of "Water 7"). Most importantly, however, it has Afro Luffy. It is one of the silliest, dumbest gags in the entire story of "One Piece," and that's why it is such a good representation of what makes this tale so endearing. Luffy literally becomes strong enough to beat some guy thanks to an afro wig, and it rules.
Similarly, "Thriller Bark" is all-round the funniest arc in the entirety of "One Piece," and just a fun gothic horror story. Luffy pushing a zombie back into the ground is not only the funniest gag in the manga and anime and the show's biggest meme, but a perfect encapsulation of Luffy's character. The aesthetic is great, the monsters are cool — the entire crew fights a giant zombie Luffy! — and we get one of the best and saddest flashbacks in the show during Brook's flashbacks, which also introduces us to the "One Piece" anthem, "Bink's Brew."
5. Alabasta
The Alabasta arc marks a turning point in the story of the Straw Hats. It is their first real adventure in the Grand Line, showing that this is not just a joyride, but a dangerous place with strange islands and powerful and deadly enemies. The story of Vivi trying to reclaim her homeland from a corrupt and evil crime syndicate is thrilling, while still containing plenty of fun moments of levity — Luffy recruiting Kung Fu Dugongs as his apprentices.
In a way, this is the quintessential arc of "One Piece," with iconic moments, friendships that last forever, a fascinating villain, and our first proper look at Oda's phenomenal world-building, with many concepts being introduced here even if you don't notice. It is also in this episode that we first properly see Luffy and the Straw Hats — whether they mean it or not — as a force of good in the world. They may not be heroes, but they always help. Plus, the final goodbye with Vivi, when they all reveal their X marks, never fails to bring in the tears. Other arcs may be more action-packed, or better animated, or have bigger emotional moments, but this is the arc that showed the potential for "One Piece" to be more than a cool little show about pirates looking for adventure, but an epic saga that could sustain dozens of arcs and hundreds of chapters.
4. Marineford
The reason why this arc is in this list is the same reason why it isn't higher — "Marineford" is arguably the most important arc for the world at large in "One Piece," and a pivotal moment in the show's history, but it is also an arc without most of the crew.
Indeed, this is the arc where Luffy takes the biggest step back and lets others take the spotlight — mostly Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard. Whitebeard is one of the coolest and most badass characters in the entire story, and our time with him here is nothing short of epic, in every sense of the world. The fight at the Marine Headquarters and the race-against-the-clock to save Luffy's brother Ace feels like the culmination of everything we've seen up to this point in terms of world-building and power escalation. Every major player of every faction we've met converges — the most powerful fighters in the world are all here to either prevent Ace's death, or ensure it happens.
Indeed, this arc shows Oda's worldbuilding skills, bringing every aspect of the world, every side story, and every background event we've been hearing about for years to a cataclysmic climax. The fantastic ensemble of characters makes up for the lack of Straw Hats, with not only Whitebeard, but the Warlords and the three admirals providing big personalities and cool and memorable character moments. Any story that can make a character like Little Oars Jr. so memorable in just 20 minutes is already a masterpiece. Plus, the tragic events that mark the end of this arc shows "One Piece" can carry a dramatic and emotional gut punch not just in flashbacks, but the main story. Nothing was ever the same after this arc.
3. Impel Down
Before "Marineford" turned a thrilling fight into tragedy, "Impel Down" delivered some of the most exhilarating fun in all of "One Piece." This arc is essentially just a big prison break-in and out, with Luffy breaking into the most secure prison in the world looking for his brother Ace. The arc is memorable for its varied set pieces, with each level of the underwater prison offering a new level of hell with its own climate and monsters, and for bringing back many familiar villains.
Indeed, it is this last part that makes this such a fun arc, with "Impel Down" turning villains into allies, like Mr. 3, Crocodile, Buggy the Clown and even the greatest hero who ever lived, Mr. 2 Bon Clay. Watching Buggy begrudgingly going along with Luffy's plans and inadvertently becoming a revolutionary leader during the breakout is absolutely hilarious, while Bon Clay becoming the personification of the power of friendship and making the ultimate sacrifice in the most heroic moment ever in an anime is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. After hundreds of chapters and episodes of Luffy beating up villain after villain, seeing them all return and help Luffy (for selfish reasons, but still) was pure joy.
And this arc also has one of the best examples of queer representation in all of anime, with Bon Clay and Emporio Ivankov and their army of gender-fluid pirates. For an action shonen meant for kids, Ivankov and the citizens of their New Kama Land get rather nuanced portrayals of queerness and gender-fluidity, while being fantastic characters in their own right. Right before the epic tragedy of "Marineford," this arc is a fantastic, rousing, entertaining arc that shows Oda's ability to create memorable characters.
2. Skypiea
This might be controversial, but hear me out, "Skypiea" is one of the best things to ever happen on "One Piece," and the main reason is a simple one — it is the Straw Hats doing "Indiana Jones." Really, the arc is all about the Straw Hats finding a mythical land, exploring ruins, and reaching a legendary city of gold and coming back home with a big treasure after beating a fascistic bad guy.
The arc has some of Oda's best world-building, with an island in the actual clouds, oceans in the sky, weird creatures and politics of imperialism and colonialism! Plus, the villain is literally a god, like an actual god. And what is an arrogant god's weakness? Our violent protagonist's rubber fist, of course! Seeing Luffy punch Enel for the first time and the extremely goofy face the god makes is stupidly funny in a way only "One Piece" is capable of. This is also the arc where Nico Robin finally becomes a member of the crew and starts to care about them, which makes her next arc all the more heartbreaking and tragic.
"Skypiea" is a hugely important arc for the larger story, introducing everything from a new race of people, a new haki (and naming it, too), revealing more about the Poneglyphs and the Will of D, and much more. This is an arc that marks the end of an era for "One Piece," where the story goes from a hang-out story to and epic tale, which makes this even more memorable. Plus, the story of Noland Montblanc and Kalgara is beautifully told, and the cathartic moment where Luffy punches the hell out of Enel and finally rings the golden bell after so many years, is one of the most emotional moments in the franchise.
1. Enies Lobby
"Enies Lobby" (and by extension, "Water 7") is the pinnacle of "One Piece," the arc that encapsulates why this story changed everything. This arc has some rather poignant politics about unions, and it gives us the first actual conflict amongst crewmembers, first with Luffy forced to take some hard decisions as a captain in his fight with Usopp, and then with Nico Robin leaving the team and (briefly) betraying them.
The arc has the Straw Hats and an army of allies invade Enis Lobby, the judicial seat of power for the World Government, in order to rescue Nico Robin and see if she's actually betraying them. After learning to care about Robin, her leaving the crew and working with the Marines is devastating, but not nearly as much as her backstory. This arc gives us some of the best character work in the entire story, and makes Nico Robin one of the more nuanced characters in "One Piece." And all this while also delivering thrilling action moments, with the siege of Enies Lobby providing plenty of badass fights, the reveal of not just one but two new powers for Luffy, and the introduction of one of the series' best characters — Sniper King. Still, it is not without humor, like seeing Zoro literally stuck in a chimney.
Seeing the Straw Hats declare war on the World Government, and Robin tearfully cry out that she does want to live and she does want to be a part of the crew is both epic and heartwrenching, a pivotal moment for "One Piece." And, of course, the arc ends with the most tragic death in anime, with the Viking funeral for the Going Merry. This is an important arc, it is a fun arc, it is the perfect "One Piece" arc.
The new, live-action "One Piece" adaptation is available to stream in its entirety on Netflix.