One Piece Arc Review/Rating thread

[Captain Cadaver]

Skypiea Arc Mean Score - 3.5/10

Now, the CP9 Arc.
This arc is one of the most well praised amongst the fanbase and for that very reason, is easily the most overrated arc in the series. I'll first list off the positives before going over all the glaring flaws. Robin's development within the arc was good, the twist of Lucci and his allies being the true enemy was one of the series best twists with good, subtle set up, Oimo and Kashi tying in to the plot of Little Garden was a nice connection and the emotional tension and conflict between characters with moments such as Usopp VS Luffy and Robin's "I want to live!" moment being excellent.

However, the arc had some definite problems. Going back to Robin, it's main focus, waiting this long to flesh her out just seemed a bit unnatural to me. This may be considered more a flaw with the Skypiea Arc not giving her enough focus, but it's still worth noting here. On the subject of Skypiea, the scale it set made both it and this arc feel out of place compared to each other. Going from a God who could oneshot everyone who wasn't Luffy to a team of assassins who's top 3 can transform into animals felt more like a downgrade in scale if anything. This wouldn't be so if we were to actually get the evidence that these guys were professional assassins that the Straw Hats couldn't mess around with and whilst the events in Water 7 present them as such, CP9 starts to fall apart in Enies Lobby when the Straw Hats have time to have monologues and gag scenes whilst facing them, as well as some of the CP9 such as Fukuro and Kumadori acting overly goofy for elite assassins. Weird personality quirks were fine with previous villains as they were brigand pirates and motley crews without total uniformity that only needed to get their job done when required. When what were seemingly top level government assassins start acting like idiots, it's far harder to sell me on them. Only Lucci, Kaku and maybe Blueno struck me as professional enough to find interesting, yet Lucci still didn't have many layers beyond having a more Machiavellian view of justice, Kaku's attitude in the fight with Zoro made him seem pretty incompetent and Blueno was pretty bland overall.

However, those were nitpicks compared to the major flaws I had with the arc. For instance, it went back to having formulaic tropes such as a flashback to signal both Robin and Franky would inevitably, permanently join the Straw Hats and the Monster Trio being pitted against the top 3 of CP9. The Monster Trio also gained asspull power ups not foreshadowed in the slightest or explained beyond pretty weak explanations afterwards, plus only Luffy's was used for more than just a finishing blow. The Klabautermann/Merry's soul was also a pretty jarring and childish concept that seems out of place in a universe where there's at least some level of psuedo-science behind most fantastical things such as Devil Fruits, Kairoseki, Log Poses, etc. It felt far more like I was reading a children's fairy tale during these events than an action/adventure battle Shonen. I wouldn't be so bothered by this if not for the fact that it acted as pure plot armour with Merry saving the Straw Hats out of nowhere because it cared so much for them. It's even more jarring when you see how such convenience is never shown from other ships that've likely been with their crew for far longer. Whitebeard was on the Moby Dick for decades, yet you didn't see it talking to him or willing itself to do one last push when it was burning down.

The biggest flaw to the entire arc though is how Usopp and Luffy's dynamic was by the end of the arc. With their fight and all Usopp had been through, you'd think this is where he'd develop as a character and become more independent. If he were to join the Straw Hats, you'd expect him to not be treat friendly by the rest of the crew, especially Luffy, until he'd proven his worth. Had this been the case, his role in the following arc would've been ten times better than it was. Instead, we have his character regressing, Luffy accepting him back with open arms and everyone acting as though their fight never happened after this. Clearly, this prevented either Usopp or Luffy from developing and considering all Usopp had been through in this arc, damaged his character permanently. It also doesn't help that Luffy was made even less interesting in this arc with the revelations of both his grandfather being a top tier legend amongst the Marines and his father being the world's most wanted man.

All that said though, I still found the arc to at least have more positives and material of engagement than Skypiea, but the flaws that is has can't be overlooked and the claims of it being one of the best arcs in the series clearly don't hold up when looked through a critical lense.

4.5/10

 

[SSJ2]

For the sake of moving on I will give a short answer for CP9. Until I read CC's review on this arc I thought it was easily 8-9/10 quality. Needless to say his post has changed my opinion, and I'm really not sure what to say about the arc now if being honest.

That being said, I still think there was a lot done well in this arc. For the first time in One Piece we saw max tension between the crew. I kind of enjoyed seeing Luffy vs Usopp, and just the crew fighting/bickering with one another. Everything had kind of been sunshine and rainbows for the StrawHats, at least in terms of their personal relationships with one another, so it was a nice change to see them not get along. However as CC mentioned, this kind of got ruined by the shitty way that Usopp was brought back at the end of it, however I kind of disagree with you on that. Iirc Luffy only accepted him back once he realized his own faults, and I think he genuinely did understand how serious his offense was. However, Oda ruined even this by having everyone get on like best buddies the instant Usopp did come back.

As for CP9 themselves, I didn't mind most of the villains. I don't have much to say about them individually but they were alright. As CC pointed out, the plot twist that they were the true enemies in Water 7 was one that I appreciated, as it took me completely by surprise.

Robin's story/development was the highlight of the arc for me. The entire rescue mission was done incredibly well, even though it's incredibly unrealistic that the SHC pulled it off, it was still entertaining to read.


7/10 for now

 

[Captain Cadaver]

CP9 Arc Mean Score - 5.75/10

Now, the Thriller Bark Arc.
This arc tends to not be favoured too much by the majority of fans, but I never found it to actually be bad. It didn't have anything as egregious as Pell's plot armour in Alabasta or the Merry's magical abilities in CP9. I can see it as being considered somewhat standard and not quite as bombastic as the tone of the previous arc, but it was by no means bad.

For one, it tied up previous plot threads such as Laboon's past fairly well with the introduction of Brook. The villains were also distinct enough to keep the audience engaged. For instance, Moria's introduction as casually sleeping in the midst of the Straw Hats invasion was one of the best antagonist intros in OP due to how it sets him up as being very confident in his victory and rightfully so given his abilities. Moria's past and knowledge of the true scale of the New World and knowing Luffy's futility in his arrogance were appealing in much the same way as Crocodile. He wasn't as good as Crocodile due to not having some long thought out master plan, but I never found him a bad villain or annoying as many fans claim (at least not until Marineford). The other henchmen such as Absalom, Perona and Hogback, whilst not being very unique in their concepts, were all colourful enough in their personalities and distinct enough from previous villains to be enjoyable. The only problems I had with them was Hogback's evil motives being pretty obvious just by looking at the guy and Cindry returning to her true personality through willpower being a generic trope.

Moreover, the teamwork of the Straw Hats against Oars/Moria and the great involvement each member had made for what is in my opinion the best fight in the series (or at least top 3 material). I wasn't too fond on Nightmare Luffy due to it being the Shonen protagonist being handed a power up, but it at least was a temporary one and contributed towards Oars' defeat. Going on from the previous point about teamwork, this arc did a better job at making all the crew seem relevant than any arc since Alabasta due to them having moments to shine beyond being given some psuedo boss to fight like in Enies Lobby. Brook using salt to take down many Zombies, Usopp's negativity overload making for a good reason to face Perona and offering him a strength the other Straw Hats didn't possess, Franky's carpentry coming into use with his bridge making and most of all, perhaps the coolest moment in the entire series with Zoro's "nothing happened" scene.

Following on from Zoro's durability, however, I concede that the arc did have one highly egregious flaw in just how plot armoured the Straw Hats were. Even the likes of Usopp and Nami were capable of surviving hits from Oars when realistically they should've been instantly killed, plus it got even harder to ignore when fodder characters were constantly praising the Straw Hats as having godlike durability. I don't believe it was enough to make this a bad arc, but it does push it down from decent to average.

Overall, Thriller Bark certainly wasn't a great arc, but whilst it was pretty typical in it's structure, I fail to see why it's considered one of the worst arcs of the series when it's execution of it's better aspects lead to some of the best moments in the series.

5/10

 

[SSJ2]

"Thriller" Bark is 1/10 to me.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Explain yourself, boy.

 

[SSJ2]

It's based around the title of the arc containing the word thriller, but nothing within the arc thrilled me. 1/10

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Need moar detail than that.

 

[SSJ2]

It was so bad that my brain subconsciously forgot all about the arc, so I just know it was bad.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Meh. We'll move on.

Thriller Bark Mean Score - 3/10

Now, the Whitebeard War Arc.

After many arcs of One Piece gaining a predictable formula, this arc decides to subvert all expectations as best it could by having the Straw Hats divided by Kuma, as well as utterly stomped by he, Sentoumaru and Kizaru, before having Luffy's story of losing one of the people he cared most deeply for. I wouldn't exactly call this a deconstruction or anything of the sort, seeing as how many series have an arc of a darker tone before the heroics of the next act such as those that follow the 3-act dramatic structure (eg. The Empire Strikes Back in Star Wars), plus there was some foreshadowing for Ace's death being inevitable. However, it's execution was a brilliant way to keep readers engaged. It did come with the flaw, however, of putting into perspective how plot armoured almost every character was beforehand, seeing as how we had to wait this long to see two named characters die in something that wasn't a flashback.

The arc also did well in reintroducing some of the more interesting characters such as Crocodile, Doflamingo or Aokiji and introducing some decent new faces such as Law, Magellan, Jimbei and the best additions, Whitebeard and Akainu. Whitebeard was one of the best characters in the series, with his strong care for his family combined with his willingness to crush his enemies like a beast helping highlight that moral greyness with the idea of pirates in OP to some extent. It also helps that he was the most manly badass in the entire series, with almost every one of his actions being of epic proportions from blowing the heat of one of Akainu's meteors away with his breath, his DF cracking the sky or the sheer amount of physical punishment he took before dying standing. Akainu also presented a Machiavellian view of justice similar to Lucci's dark justice, helping make him seem like a misguided yet well meaning antagonist in the long run, as well as pretty smart with his manipulation of Squardo.
Doflamingo's speech about the ideas of justice was one of the best monologues in the series and helped provide interest for his character. However, all these points go into the arc providing one of the major flaws to itself and One Piece as a whole being a lack of true moral ambiguity. For an arc that tries to push the idea of whether or not Pirates or the Marines are good/bad as a whole, it does a poor job at making things seem balanced by constantly presenting the pirates on Luffy/Whitebeard's side as heroic in their endeavour and the Marines as villainous, so Doflamingo's speech can be seen as somewhat pretentious to hint at clear grey morality in a series with a clear black-white divide.

On the subject of characters, not all of them were well handled. For instance Hancock was one of the most annoying characters in the series and the whole Amazon Lily segment was a pretty annoying attempt at trying to present female characters as "strong" when physical strength is their only plus in that regard. Starting off as a self-centred bitch, she quickly became an annoying fangirl to Luffy over whatever he did all because he was immune to her DF. Ivankov was also a character who quickly got old as whilst having a hyperbolic, flamboyant personality to be entertaining, it was pretty much his only trait. There were also some returning ones that weren't handled too well, such as Moria having gone from an interesting veteran to an idiotic jobber. Also, whilst I liked Blackbeard's role and his plan to release the Level 6 prisoners, it relied too heavily on luck for him to pull it off. Not only would he have been killed by Magellan if not for Shiryu, an unplanned factor, but there didn't seem to be anything close to a backup plan in case one stage went wrong. On the subject of Blackbeard, it's also always dumbfounded me how he got someone as large as Sanjuan Wolf on a ship, or how Wolf was able to hide for such a significant amount of time at Marineford.
With the large amount of characters, it also didn't help that to keep the pacing decent, most of the interactions of support characters such as the Whitebeard Commanders tended to just be a few lines before a short inconclusive fight with a significant character and nowhere near enough screen time to flesh any of them out properly. On the subject of groups of characters, it also didn't help that Mihawk's thoughts on Luffy's charisma and ability to sway many people to his side as his greatest ability was presented in such a manner that it came off as stupid use of such a Shonen trope.

Another flaw to the arc was how it's quality hinged on how it's events would contribute to later arcs due to how much time was dedicated to building up future events. This is a negative as thus far, most of what it built up has been a massive disappointment. For instance, the end of the arc would suggest Luffy had gained enough of a realisation to take a different approach to the arrogant, thoughtless way he was treating piracy, yet all this is gone by the next arc with him making the same dumb decisions as always. All the intrigue set up with Doflamingo's character was also wasted in Dressrosa with him being presented as a less engaging version of Crocodile and Mr. 2's sacrifice was made meaningless as he somehow survived against Magellan, despite Ivankov not being there to heal him making his survival inconceivable.

Overall, the Whitebeard War provided some of the best moments, characters, twists and ideas of the series, but had too many flaws such as a handful of bad characters, sub-par theme exploration and disappointing continuity for me to say it stands out as the undisputed pinnacle of the series or anything close to a masterpiece. In my opinion, it's quality is inferior to that of Baroque Works and more or less on par with East Blue. However, it is at least worth noting that this is one of the two peaks of the series' quality as of yet, which gives a good idea of how it's mainly downhill for here.

6.5/10

 

[Kyo]

(Edit: Also I apologize for jumping in despite having not participated in any of the previous arcs before. I dunno if that skews the average somehow or if that's something you're worried about? You can ignore me if you want. I just wanted to add to this one, and in my defense I haven't had my password for a while and for some reason this site takes like 5 minutes to email you after you say that you forgot your password so when I first tried it I just assumed that I'd forgotten the email I used for this site as I didn't wait long enough to receive a message. It wasn't my main email so it was a few days before I went back and realized, as it's not an account I check regularly.)

I'm on board with like 80% of CC's thoughts so not much to add

Here are a few little things:

At Impel Down, Hannyabal (sp?) seemed to be immune to Hancock's charms, and yet was easily seduced by Mr. 2 Nami edition. I think most would disagree with me or at least let this slide, but I'm not a fan. He claims that Nami is his type which would simply imply that Hancock wasn't his type, but I don't buy that. You would think that his resistance to the most beautiful woman on the planet who is capable of charming just about anyone would be indicative of his ability to keep a relatively clear state of mind, and yet the dumb classic way he falls for Nami goes contrary to his otherwise serious emotional state. It's just irritating. It's typical and convenient.

Sanjuan Wolf may be like a pufferfish type of Fishman, I don't know if anything post-TS would dispute that since I haven't read very far. But the logistics around that are pretty weird nonetheless.

About the luck involved with Blackbeard's plan at Impel Down, I take some issue with it as well -- mostly out of principle -- but ultimately don't think it's a huge deal as it may have been had it occurred in another series, or even to another character within this series for that matter. The dialogue surrounding the event suggests that Oda is fully aware of the luck involved, and I believe that the scene is meant to highlight Blackbeard's (fucked up?) parallels to Luffy as a character, insofar as how they will charge headlong into whatever they're doing in pursuit of some vague goal like having the most freedom on the sea. He is a lot like Luffy but also contrasts with him in many ways (for example he is still a schemer despite what I just wrote above; he is deceptive unlike Luffy, his desire to become Pirate King stems from greed unlike Luffy, and so on and so forth). It is corny but I honestly think Blackbeard's character is handled well enough in a story like this for me to let it pass, to some extent.

Regarding the Marineford battle itself, I have an issue that I've largely forgotten the specifics of so it's not something I can discuss in detail, but I remember taking issue with this and I also remember seeking out an answer for it several times without being satisfied: I don't think Moriah's powers should have worked during the battle. If I'm right then that's just a straight up plot hole in an otherwise pretty internally consistent series.

I have little issue with Moriah jobbing this arc -- it had already been established several times that he had grown complacent and had weakened as a result, iirc. I do not think that this takes away anything from the character established in Thriller Bark, and it's on Oda now to handle his character in a meaningful way going forward should he choose to bring him back, which he surely will. If he's handled poorly then you could look to this arc as the start of his downfall as a character, perhaps. Doflamingo casting Moriah away exhibits a mildly interesting side of the World Government to me, that being their desire to preserve an image of strength through the Shichibukai.

I think you could also talk about how Crocodile's strength seems to have changed in this arc. I have some things to say about that, based on some dialogue towards the end of the arc as well as some things said way back in Alabasta, but my memory on the issue is hazy at best.

On the subject of this arc's quality hinging on future events, there's also the matter of Blackbeard having 2 devil fruit powers. I wouldn't know if this has been addressed ever since, and if it hasn't then I can't say anything definitive about it. It was implied that there was a reason for it, so fine, but if that reason is stupid then it's stupid. Rather, it sullies that otherwise cool/epic/other-bombastic-adjective moment in this arc.

I guess I'd give the arc a 7 or 7.5 or so. The Sabaody section is pretty top-notch, I take little issue with it. Amazon Lily was whatever, but it fleshed out the universe more and brings value to the series as a result regardless. Impel Down and the subsequent Marineford battle form an epic arc in shounen manga and that quality, in my opinion, is what every mangaka writing their own run-of-the-mill, standard battle shounen should strive for. Or they could strive to be more ambitious, but that tends to end badly 99% of the time or so.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I have little issue with Moriah jobbing this arc -- it had already been established several times that he had grown complacent and had weakened as a result, iirc. I do not think that this takes away anything from the character established in Thriller Bark, and it's on Oda now to handle his character in a meaningful way going forward should he choose to bring him back, which he surely will. If he's handled poorly then you could look to this arc as the start of his downfall as a character, perhaps. Doflamingo casting Moriah away exhibits a mildly interesting side of the World Government to me, that being their desire to preserve an image of strength through the Shichibukai.

I have no problem with Moria being a jobber in the arc. My disdain of it lies in how most of his defeats hinged more on idiocy. Despite Thriller Bark presenting him as clearly knowing his limits and falling back behind his troops when necessary, the guy decided to openly confront and talk smack to both a Whitebeard Commander and Jimbei. As you already mentioned, his powers shouldn't have been able to work there either, at least not fully, so that too goes against his character.

I think you could also talk about how Crocodile's strength seems to have changed in this arc. I have some things to say about that, based on some dialogue towards the end of the arc as well as some things said way back in Alabasta, but my memory on the issue is hazy at best.

I already made note of this in the Baroque Works review and thought bringing it up again would be pointless when the majority of OP fans here are aware of this flaw.

On the subject of this arc's quality hinging on future events, there's also the matter of Blackbeard having 2 devil fruit powers. I wouldn't know if this has been addressed ever since, and if it hasn't then I can't say anything definitive about it. It was implied that there was a reason for it, so fine, but if that reason is stupid then it's stupid. Rather, it sullies that otherwise cool/epic/other-bombastic-adjective moment in this arc.

I decided to not mention it since this, along with the hype of a war that'd be far larger and cooler than Marineford, are just speculation at the moment, so no need to critique it until it's either proven or disproven to be worth the wait.

 

[Kyo]

> his defeats hinged more on idiocy

Yeah that’s fair enough, I can see that.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

SSJ2, you going to add your review, or shall we move on?

 

[SSJ2]

I'll try to get one done this evening if I can get my brain to turn the fuck on.

 

[SSJ2]

Sorry man, I can't think of a single thing to say. :/

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Guess we'll move on then.

Whitebeard War Arc Mean Score - 6.75/10

Now, Fishman Island.
This is in my opinion (and the majority of fans'), the worst arc of the series as of yet, failing both as it's own story and as an extension of previous material. Like usual, I'll list the positives before I dissect the flaws. Whilst the themes of racism and drug abuse were very basic, their existence provides more consistent thematic qualities to the arc than of any since CP9. The handling of humour in the arc broke away from being mainly a repetition of tired running gags, even if some were still there, so that was a plus. The level of world building and mystery was also increased as you'd expect, with things such as Fishman Island's history being fleshed out more and Joy Boy possibly being the most crucial element to OP's endgame.

However, the mountain of flaws is undeniable. For one, despite One Piece having a repetitive structure in many arcs, this is the only arc other than Dressrosa that seemed like an outright ripoff, being Arlong Park 2.0. To summarise a few key similarities, both arcs have Luffy beat up a sea monster in their early stages (the same one at that), both obviously feature one-dimensional Fishmen as their villains, both feature the Straw Hats storming the enemy territory in a dramatic way and both have the destruction of some sort of Vessel result in the defeat of the main villain (Luffy destroying Arlong Park whilst KOing Arlong and Luffy attempting to destroy the Noah whilst KOing Hody). However, everything felt like a step down in quality. For one, the arc makes it apparent that the Straw Hats made their opponents look like nothing. Whilst I can find some praise in it being different from the typical structure and being a payoff for the suffering they went through in the previous arc, the arc feels pointless when it's extended for half a dozen volumes only for the Straw Hats to stomp their opponents. Luffy's main threat in the climax being to do with being bitten once by Hody and the Noah's fall rather than the battle with Hody itself can seem like a nice change of pace, but overall felt the main conflict seem worthless, especially when in retrospect, Luffy could've saved himself a lot of trouble and perhaps sealed the wound by going Gear 4th. It also repeats such plot lines of other arcs such as the inhabitants vilifying the Straw Hats just like in Water 7, or Jimbei's flashback making it obvious he'd become a Straw Hat or permanent ally. Going back to my thoughts on Thriller Bark, I liked how Brook wasn't given a complete flashback until after the battle iirc. Here, we get the same kind of predictable factor that CP9 had in it's implementation of flashbacks.

On the subject of worthlessness and repetition, the potential for development amongst the Straw Hats was wasted by them changing in nothing but appearance and power. Zoro seemed to get slightly more serious and abandon the getting lost gag, as well as Robin seeming to become far more of a motherly figure (though her character's been handled so loosely and with such little focus in Part 2 it's hard to say if she's actually developed), but the rest of the cast are acting the same as usual, which is especially damaging for Luffy when the message of the last arc was that he needed to take the journey more seriously and not make the same mistakes. Here, he does the typical mistake of splitting the crew up only for them to get captured because of this, as well as him acting like his typical idiotic self. Rest of the crew was acting the same, which whilst not being damaging to their character as with Luffy, did make them feel very bland and not engaging. The princes were also bland personalities and their sister Shirahoshi was pretty annoying until the last segment, and just as she becomes somewhat tolerable, she's revealed to be a massive plot device.
On the subject of poor characterisation, we can't avoid talking about how terrible the villains were. Whilst some had enough quirks to be memorable such as Ikaros, none of them felt unique enough to be anything beyond easy victories on the Straw Hats' records. Hody is also one of the most poorly constructed villains in Shonen, and that's saying a lot. I liked how his reasoning for his goals, or lack thereof, displayed the themes of racism developing through herd mentality and child indoctrination, but the handling of it was very poor. Rather than offering some depth to his character, it just makes Hody a one-dimensional villain who founded his crusade against humans on blind hypocrisy.

I also felt that power-wise, Jimbei was heavily misused. Marineford implied he'd be a high tier character that could at least put up resistance against top dogs, yet he ties with Gear 2nd Luffy and is just given an opponent he and Sanji have no reverence for, rather than maybe subverting things by having Jimbei be the one to defeat Hody. Much like my complaint of Chopper not defeating Wapol, this is another clear case of a character's development being tarnished by their conflict and experiences being given for Luffy to conclude rather than allowing them to overcome their own challenges.

So, overall the arc was a complete disappointment in handling previous plot points, characterisation, theme exploration and pacing, with what little good I had to say about it being the only thing not making it completely bottom tier.

1.5/10

 

[SSJ2]

Fuckman Island is a complete abomination that is an utter embarrassment to the series. Old Man Hody Jones is with out a doubt the worst main villain in OP. He had literally no character to him, he was just some slum goon who was inspired by bitch Arlong, that started doing vast amounts of roids. Every single fight in the arc was trash. Outside the introduction to Little Mom and that box they gave her, the arc was near fucking pointless. There was some world history bullshit iirc, but nobody cares about that. Arc was aids, 1/10, would go down to 0/10 if possible.

1/0

 

[Captain Cadaver]

he was just some slum goon who was inspired by bitch Arlong

Bitch Arlong should be a filter to replace his actual name.

Fuckmeng Fishman Island Arc Mean Score - 1.25/10 ( )

Now, the Pirate Alliance Arc
Focusing first on the Punk Hazard section, there was barely anything good to offer. It's message of drugs being bad was already done explicitly in the previous arc and none of the battles felt too engaging with the knowledge that Luffy could probably end each one with Gear 3rd in an instant should he choose to get so involved. Smoker was also highly disappointing, being presented as a complete jobber through most of the arc, as was Sanji against Vergo. The comedy was pretty good and Caesar's Gas gave some level of tension to the climax, but other than setting up for the arc's main segment, there was little to like from this.

Moving onto Dressrosa and we see a few problems. Whilst this section was still far more engaging than Punk Hazard, it just felt like retreading of past material like Fishman Island was. It's similarities to Baroque Works from a Shichibukai controlling a Kingdom, a princess aiding the Straw Hats to restore her father's power and even some of the Devil Fruits such as the Ton Ton fruit just being an upgraded Kilo Kilo Fruit, Gladion's fruit being a better version of Mr. 5's and Sugar's being vaguely similar to Miss Goldenweek's, are all undeniable. What's more, all these retreads felt like a downgrade. Crocodile was far more interesting than Doflamingo as whilst the former was creating a master plan to gain control of a kingdom and the hearts of it's people through appearing as it's saviour, Doflamingo just took it through brute force and tyrannical rule. You could argue that Dressrosa is used as a what-if of sorts to show how things could turn out if one such as Crocodile won, but doing so is still a celebration of past ideas rather than creation of unique, original content. Doffy was still engaging with his genuine care of his family, his interesting backstory and the possibilities his knowledge and ambition of what lies in Mariejois being integral to One Piece's endgame, but the lack of subtlety to him and the cheap way he was defeated hinder his character. Sanji was also highly misused here, as whilst being a cunning deceiver that saved the Straw Hats several times from Baroque Works, here all he does is get stomped by Doflamingo.

There was indeed a lot of payoffs, such as Sabo's return, the reveal of Fujitora, Law's backstory and Kairos' badass character in general. Fujitora in particular was interesting in how he perceived justice compared to his peers, being the only Admiral vocal on his disdain in the Shichibukai system and even bowing in apology to King Riku, sacrificing his pride as a pillar of the Marines and World Government.
However, even in those payoffs there were some notable negatives. For instance, Sabo's reasoning for not showing up earlier being amnesia of all tired tropes only for his memories to be restored by Ace's death seemed ridiculously contrived and weakens Sabo's character a lot. Law's backstory, whilst good, seemed somewhat over the top in it's presentation compared to other Straw Hat backstories to the point of seeming somewhat edgy. On the subject of characters, there's also Usopp being ruined even further by his retreat only to conveniently awaken Kenbunshoku Haki when the plot suited him and becoming Buggy 2.0. in terms of the godlike praise his actions received, though considering how it already reached rock bottom with his regression at the end of the CP9 Arc, it's not a major factor.
It also doesn't help that most of the new characters were given so little screentime and characterisation that a lot of the battles involving those who'd join the Straw Hat Grand Fleet felt like filler, much like with a lot of Marineford's battles.

However, the thing that really brings this arc's quality down is both Luffy VS Doflamingo and Gear 4th in general. Yet again, we have a personal grudge held by a character towards the main villain (Law to Doflamingo), only for Luffy to limit their development by taking care of their problem like in almost every other arc. Not only that, but he does so through an asspulled form which it made no sense for him to only bring about now. Why didn't he use this to destroy the Noah when he seemed fine with using Gear 3rd until it sent him unconscious? The limitation of him using up his Haki to the point he has 0 means nothing either, seeing as how with about 1 minute's rest he's able to fully recharge it and spam the form again. Almost seems like ToP Goku's been taking a page from Luffy's book.

So all that considered, the Pirate Alliance Arc, whilst offering a few good merits for the story moving forward, was very poor in it's execution of most ideas.

Punk Hazard - 1.5/10
Dressrosa - 2.5/10
Overall - 2/10

 

[ahill1]

Crocodile was far more interesting than Doflamingo as whilst the former was creating a master plan to gain control of a kingdom and the hearts of it's people through appearing as it's saviour, Doflamingo just took it through brute force and tyrannical rule. 

Wow, Doflamingo seemed always way more interesting to me than Crocodile, that wasn't even a contest in my mind. I honestly didn't find Crocodile too interesting since besides being known for making really smart plans and strategies to get ahold of the kingdom and a potentially strong enemy without fighting, his personality didn't seem too engaging, as he seemed to be like that muddy character, with the usual angry face and reacting towards a beatdown like most enemies would -- getting angry, annoyed and so on. Doflamingo seemed more interested to me by his general demeanor, always laughing and not taking things, generally, too serious, which triggered my interest to what could possibly annoy him, what could make him go full ape like most villains generally do.

Even though Doflamingo obviously made use of brute force to take out Dressrosa, I think it's disingenuous to think Doflamingo didn't outline anything to accomplish such, as he obviously made use of his parasito power to lead everyone to think Riku was the one responsible for all the tragedy, and then made himself appear as a hero for taking the false-monstrous Riku down, as well as the former royal guards. Not only this, but he knew Sugar's power of turning everyone into dolls would come into play there, as not only would be him writing off those who opposed him, but there wouldn't be the risk of their friends missing them and possibly figuring out there was something obscure happening. Granted that it did seem like Croc's way of attempting to take out Arabasta, in which both ruined the former king's image as a way to appear as a hero, but to think sheer strength was the only factor on Doffy's successfully taking out Dressrosa doesn't make much sense imo.

But all in all, I agree with your analysis... Dressrosa felt like an Arabsta 2.0 in a lot of ways, and most of the fights preceding the main one seemed always kind of boring to watch since we know everyone of Doffy's family would be taken down by the Coliseum fighters and by Zoro, with Doffy being the last one to fall, which was the most awaited moment since Oda could have made a better final suitting Law being the one to take down him, as he is, for obvious reasons, the one who had a real thing with Doffy. I think Oda tried to keep Law as present in the fight as possible, with him refusing to be kept too far away from Luffy and insisting for them to let him there as he was the one who dragged Luffy into the fight and that he has lived to take down Doffy, but I think having maybe Doffy being eliminated by the Gamma Knife would have been a more suited ending...

... but it may be worth adding that Oda would still have revealed Luffy's new form in the next arc -- the Gear 4th -- so having Doffy being taken down without having the opportunity to have an all out fight against Luffy at his utmost capabilities would be unsatisfying for a lot of fans imo, who would likely constantly bogger Oda about an all out Luffy vs Doffy fight. Or say that Doffy was taken down by a cheap way...

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Wow, Doflamingo seemed always way more interesting to me than Crocodile, that wasn't even a contest in my mind. I honestly didn't find Crocodile too interesting since besides being known for making really smart plans and strategies to get ahold of the kingdom and a potentially strong enemy without fighting, his personality didn't seem too engaging, as he seemed to be like that muddy character, with the usual angry face and reacting towards a beatdown like most enemies would -- getting angry, annoyed and so on. Doflamingo seemed more interested to me by his general demeanor, always laughing and not taking things, generally, too serious, which triggered my interest to what could possibly annoy him, what could make him go full ape like most villains generally do.

I believe Crocodile presented more depth than just that. His talk of calling out Luffy's arrogance and telling him his dreams would be crushed, coupled with his dream being revealed in the Goldenweek cover arc helped present him as an experienced man who's ambitions were crushed. His defeat against Luffy caused him to reawaken his ambition and change his perspective on several things such as the importance of allies, thus giving him more character development than Doflamingo has received thus far.

Moreover, as a tool to the plot and the climax of their respective arcs, I found Crocodile far more enjoyable. Along with the more strategic approach Croc had and him easily defeating Luffy in their first battle having far more impact than Doffy stomping Law, the way Crocodile was defeated was far more engaging. Luffy had to use actual strategy to overcome him, whilst he just needed an asspull power up to take out Doflamingo.

Even though Doflamingo obviously made use of brute force to take out Dressrosa, I think it's disingenuous to think Doflamingo didn't outline anything to accomplish such, as he obviously made use of his parasito power to lead everyone to think Riku was the one responsible for all the tragedy, and then made himself appear as a hero for taking the false-monstrous Riku down, as well as the former royal guards. Not only this, but he knew Sugar's power of turning everyone into dolls would come into play there, as not only would be him writing off those who opposed him, but there wouldn't be the risk of their friends missing them and possibly figuring out there was something obscure happening. Granted that it did seem like Croc's way of attempting to take out Arabasta, in which both ruined the former king's image as a way to appear as a hero, but to think sheer strength was the only factor on Doffy's successfully taking out Dressrosa doesn't make much sense imo.

Whilst that's true, his facade wasn't long lasting, considering how quickly his true nature became apparent. That and as you alluded to, Crocodile's plan was far more intricate and interesting.

I concede that Doffy had far more potential as a good villain, but the decisions taken with the cheap writing of the arc severely limited his overall character.

... but it may be worth adding that Oda would still have revealed Luffy's new form in the next arc -- the Gear 4th -- so having Doffy being taken down without having the opportunity to have an all out fight against Luffy at his utmost capabilities would be unsatisfying for a lot of fans imo, who would likely constantly bogger Oda about an all out Luffy vs Doffy fight. Or say that Doffy was taken down by a cheap way...

It would've still made far more sense for it to be something Luffy developed to adapt to the escalation in scale through his current experiences like his other Gears, rather than causing previous arcs and events of this arc to retroactively have their logic called into question when we have the knowledge Luffy could've easily destroyed Noah or taken out Doflamingo as soon as he arrived to fight him. It also doesn't help that it's utilisation in the next arc is even worse due to what limitations it had seeming almost non-existent.

I agree that many fans would've been salty, but the fans who would be would simply be ousting themselves as Shonentards who prefer to have the same tropes repeated endlessly rather than have originality and proper twists.