Post-War:
Widespread interest in Luffy's next move from surrounding characters, as could be expected since he was the most invested in the Ace situation; not to mention he was on the higher ups' radar prior. Seeing Luffy in a structured training camp switches things up from merely finding out about his unseen efforts during a transformation reveal. Rayleigh also seemed to view Luffy as the flag-bearer of his generation, so all in all, it appears to be a sensible partnership. Zoro also had a grand opportunity to elevate his training, stumbling upon Mihawk on Gloom Island. It seems like there's untapped story potential in terms of swordsman exploration. We're told where Mihawk stands, but what's the mount rushmore, and how far or near is Zoro to the others? Luffy's progression seems more tangible and cohesive in comparison.
Return to Sabaody:
Notable air of confidence exuded from the Straw Hats, especially by post-training Luffy and Zoro. Having them battle a Pacifista again acts as a suitable reference point to see where they're at compared to their pre-timeskip selves.
Fish-Man Island:
It gave a framework for the fish world, with characters like Fisher Tiger and Otohime and their separate plights. Although Hody is essentially just a stronger Arlong, who himself was a run-of-the-mill villain.
Toriko Crossover:
Just a basic narrative that takes up space. Reinforces what you can expect of a team bond, with the Straw Hats tending to Chopper during his sickness. And of course Toriko and his crew will follow suit since they have previous history with the Straw Hats from the previous Toriko special.
Z's Ambition:
Temporary giant Luffy form that takes down a typical power-hungry villain.
Punk Hazard:
Essentially a gateway to wider conflicts. Caesar Clown wasn't necessarily intimidating; more like a Moria figure, where he's a goofball but takes advantage of his unique devil fruit powers, and causes legitimate trouble while it lasts. Most of the antagonists were disposable, although Vergo made the narrative more interesting to an extent. They could've explored the Akainu/Kuzan battle in more depth, and made further use of the magma/ice terrain for strategy-based fighting as opposed to large swathes of time being spent running through corridors and lab rooms. The body-swap gag outstayed its usage and got old fairly quickly. With Doflamingo being thrown into the mix, as well as Law's suggestion to take on the "strongest creature in the world" Kaido, there's at least something meaningful to think about as you head into the next story.
Toriko & Dragon Ball Crossover:
Not much to take away from it. A couple of decent fight scenes.
Caesar Retrieval:
I guess it's mildly interesting to see Law in a more rugged brawl by having him fight a controlled version of Luffy. That's about it.
Dressrosa:
Further exposition about the Celestial Dragon lore through Doflamingo, as well as context surrounding him and Law's background via the childhood flashbacks. They tried to flesh out Sabo a bit more, but he comes across as more of a placeholder character, of which his existence could've been scrapped without it being a big deal. The colosseum battle event was largely underwhelming; they ought to have priotisized the main event (battle against Doflamingo) instead. As chaotic as Doflamingo is, there's still a sense that he plans things at a granular level given how the toy nation actually worked. Luffy's gear transformations so far are kind of like weaponry upgrades, given the attacks / attack names.
Silver Mine / Zou / Marine Rookie:
Can't say the momentum from Dressrosa was maintained... you're just left wondering when the major conflicts will resume.
Whole Cake Island:
More insight into Sanji's backstory, plus brief -- but heated -- brawls between Luffy and himself in the modern day. You can tell that Linlin was a trainwreck waiting to happen, and her rampage reinforced that. The escape scene could have been significantly condensed. Sanji's cake-making process was focused on more than it needed to be. Decent scrap between Katakuri and Luffy; the latter's resilience is reminiscent of the Lucci fight. Although the structure was questionable with how much it bounced between different scenes before the fight reached its conclusion.
Levely:
Some lore-padding with the hidden figure on the throne, indicating plans to shake up the perceived hierarchy.
Wano Country:
Embodies the feudal aesthetic; while previously used in side stories, this time it's being used within a major plot. The execution held back the concepts the story was trying to portray. It's primarily supposed to be about how the Straw Hats -- in their partnership with Law -- take down Kaido, but a lot of the core characters seemed to get sidelined in exchange for characters with abrupt debuts and association. A lot of repetitive skirmishes got wedged in, and a notable amount of the fatal-looking fight outcomes were misleading. Regarding the final Yonko fights; main takeaway is that the "worst generation" are here to stay; a serious grind with Luffy getting cracked multiple times before evolving to Gear 5 to take out Kaido. Kid and Law did their thing against Linlin as well.
Cidre Guild / Romance Dawn Special / Uta's Past:
These side stories are more like interruptions rather than something the audience would be gunning for in the midst of the Wano narrative.
Egghead:
A pivot to the retro sci-fi style, and exploration of Kuma's life prior -- and leading up to -- his cyborg alterations. Dr. Vegapunk was referenced a fair amount of times in the past, but this arc provides the opportunity to see what he's involved with more directly. Similar to Smoker's past troubles vs an ever-growing, younger standout fighter (in his case, Law), Lucci's in a similar spot vs a version of Luffy vastly more improved than before. Even Kizaru can't bully Luffy anymore. It appears the fights aren't intended to be super clean or decisive, and a collective Straw Hat focus wasn't quite there. But the arc shed light on the previously obscured Void Century lore.
Elbaph (so far):
The concept of a Sun God was touched on in Skypiea, but this time there's an individual tied to it through Elbaph's history. The storytelling can be clunky at times, but the leading factor is that ancient secrets continue to unfold, with the Holy Knights acting as the antithesis to that by trying to destroy things. The manga offers more insight into the royal family and Imu's impact and capability, which gives you stuff to ruminate over as the story continues to build.
I think I'll finish this thread here since I've achieved my catchup target.
