Let’s just go ahead and answer the big question up front, yes, I thought One Piece was worth reading, but you may not end up feeling the same way. Now, to start things off, if you’re anything like me, One Piece is a lot of fun to talk about. That’s one of the large benefits of having caught up with the series, I think, because One Piece discourse is awesome.
An unfortunate side effect of why it’s so interesting to talk about, however, is that this was not a consistent experience. If you want me to compare it to the rest of the “big three”, Naruto peaked early and then dropped off, and Bleach... was bad, but One Piece is a series of high points and low points.
The funny thing is, I found that those high and low points pretty much consistently ended up right next to each other. And this doesn’t just apply to the arcs themselves, even within the same arc there can be vast spikes in quality from one chapter to the next.
The experience was still a positive one overall, don’t get me wrong, but if I hadn’t forced myself to finish the series, there were multiple points where I probably would have dropped it.
East Blue
Chapters: 1-100 (100)
Romance Dawn
Romance Dawn gives the series a solid first impression. Now, right off the bat, I don't agree with this notion that Romance Dawn is the start of a grand adventure, when in actuality it’s the definition of humble beginnings. But even without the high stakes or crazy fights, Romance Dawn has a certain charm to it that gets me excited to sail the seas and learn more about the world.
Romance Dawn is such a short arc, and as a result Higuma and Captain Morgan both come across as extremely lackluster, but it succeeds where it needs to, by building upon Luffy’s character. His flashback teaches him the difference between fighting just to save face, and being brave for the ones who matter, it’s a characteristic that helps him recruit the rest of his crew.
I also strongly disagree with the notion that Zoro’s backstory is bad because it’s simple and to the point, much like Zoro himself. His is probably my favourite actually, it contrasts with the romanticized way death is typically portrayed in shonen, with something very real and more relatable.
Actually, let’s talk about Zoro for a bit. There’s a perception that Zoro is just this brooding badass, but he actually isn’t, especially not at the beginning. Zoro has comedy but he doesn’t really quip too much, he likes to eat just as much as Luffy does, super strong, but pretty dumb, he doesn’t know his left from right, he’s essentially got all the himbo but minus the everlasting optimism.
Zoro is the one companion who can truly be on the same wavelength as Luffy when it comes to their fundamental perspectives of the world. Zoro feeds into Luffy’s character, with Luffy soaring towards the top, and Zoro is pushing at his side to get him there.
Now, overall, Koby also made perfect sense as the audience point of view character. And even though I said that the villains were lackluster, right now they’re just supposed to give us a taste of what’s to come, a brutal pirate, a corrupt marine, and a spoiled brat. Combine that with some strong, touching moments, and it’s not a bad start!
Final Ranking: B+
Orange Town
There’s a certain consensus that the earlier arcs of One Piece are quite boring up until they reach a certain point, and I do somewhat agree with that, at least when it comes to Orange Town. That’s not to say Orange Town is bad necessarily, but if we’re comparing it to everything else One Piece has to offer, then Orange Town would end up at the fucking bottom.
I definitely enjoyed the introductions to both Nami and Buggy, but the payoff for both of those characters won’t come until way later. Buggy doesn’t work as a menacing villain at all, but he does shine as a goofy villain, and the fight between Luffy and Buggy is quite funny. One Piece has the ability to incorporate humour into almost every aspect of the story, and those tend to be some of my favourite moments.
The best part about the arc was the cute little dog protecting what’s important to him, as it gives the arc a central theme and a real emotional through-line, defining in the series what treasure actually means. But that can also be a problem, as the most meaningful thing about the arc was the pace-killing distraction from the actual story.
Now is as good of a time as any to talk about Nami. She is the necessary polar opposite to Luffy in that she actually thinks things through, pointing his dreams in the right direction. She prevents him from going off the rails, and she is the one who constantly talks some sense into him, providing a voice of reason.
Think about it. Zoro’s worst skill is Nami’s best skill, and Nami’s worst skill is Zoro’s best skill. They each provide the opposite value for Luffy in his journey. Zoro thinks much like Luffy does and can exist on the same wavelength as him, but Nami thinks the opposite of how he does and grounds his thinking to provide the logic and rational that he lacks.
Now, overall, I think there was a lot of wasted potential here, and while I don't mind simplicity, the end result still isn’t very substantive.
Final Ranking: E
Syrup Village
Here’s something you’ll notice more and more over time with media in general, but people don’t like complicated characters. People like charming characters, they like characters that they can simp over, but when it comes to depth, apparently that belongs to the villains.
I don’t like that. People want complicated villains, when they really should be fishing for complicated protagonists. This is something, thankfully, that East Blue has understood and has been it’s greatest strength.
Now, Syrup Village is probably a bit too long and could have been condensed down a bit, but not too much, primarily because of how much development Usopp got. You get to learn every intricate part about his character, from him lying, to why he lies, to his relationship with Kaya, and even a little bit about who his father is.
Compare that to the last three characters, which were very minimal and is touched upon a lot more over the course of the story, and while I enjoy how much depth Usopp got right from the start, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that Usopp could have gotten a similar treatment.
It’s time to talk about Usopp. Zoro and Nami were crafted specifically to be the perfect counterparts to the protagonist, but Usopp... is the true protagonist, and the closest character to a “first mate” for Luffy.
Usopp is meant to represent the “every man” of the crew, he is the one who is meant to be the most relatable, especially in terms of his feelings of inadequacy, and a desire to keep up. He’s the guy who holds Luffy on a pedestal, and is overall just the regular dude who has to grow the most.
Now, as a villain, Captain Kuro makes sense, helping to define what bravery and honour truly means, but I don’t think he was as entertaining to watch as Buggy the Clown. He was very bland, and his goals and aspirations were very mundane. He just didn’t have any qualities to him that made me like his character, unlike Jango, who’s at least got swag.
Regardless, this is still going up for me, as it did have some charming side characters, and I felt that it did an excellent job of focusing on and defining Usopp’s character right from the start.
Final Ranking: A
Baratie
Let’s not waste any time, we’re introduced to Mihawk, who still to this day is one of my favourites, and has one of the best character entrances in the series. His reasoning is he was just killing time, and is quickly challenged by Zoro to a duel, where he completely dismantled him with a butter knife.
Sanji’s backstory was my least favourite, but it’s intense, and it changed my whole perspective on Zeff and Sanji‘s relationship. The reason it’s my least favourite is because we don’t get to learn more about Sanji necessarily, even if it does establish his values and his dream, and why he feels so passionately about it.
It’s time to talk about Sanji. Sanji is the opposite to Usopp, the Lisa Simpson to his Bart Simpson. Sanji’s dream may as well be “find the One Piece”, let's be real. That doesn’t necessarily constitute a character arc, or conflict that he needs to overcome, or any sort of achievement that he brings to the table that has value for the end game. The creation of the All Blue would be a very happy moment for him, sure, but it would also be a very passive moment.
The reason this is worrying is because this is not a character who is being primed for much development. Sanji's is going to be a story about coming to terms with who they already are, and his seemingly unreasonable values, both as a chef and as a man. Those ideals would get challenged, thus reaffirming that’s it’s okay to be himself, presumably for thousands of chapters straight.
Outside of whether or not he can stick to his values, I don’t think there’s anything that desperately needs to be resolved for his character, other than to find out his true backstory, and see the All Blue.
Now, overall, while Baratie was more intense than Syrup Village, I also found that it had very similar strengths and weaknesses. I like them both equally.
Final Ranking: A
Arlong Park
This is where we finally get to experience Nami’s arc, and see the heights of Eiichiro Oda’s writing capabilities. This isn’t just because of Arlong Park, it all culminated from the past arcs building up the climax of the East Blue saga. It has some of the most memorable moments in the series because of that.
The scene with Nami breaking down after 8 long years of holding it in, makes me cry every time. I’m left speechless and covered in goosebumps.
I think a part of the reason why Arlong Park still holds so much value after all this time, is because of how focused it is. There’s not too much to distract from Nami’s story, and pretty much every main character gets their chance to shine. You could argue that Arlong Park does a lot of things right that certain arcs in the future just don’t do, and it will continue to hold value because of that.
Final Ranking: SS
Loguetown
This arc didn’t have any crazy or hype moments, but I just straight up enjoyed it. It has a lot of little moments that were really fun and enjoyable. Zoro testing his luck against a cured blade, Luffy getting to reenact what Gold Roger did on the same execution platform, and even the shenanigans with Buggy and Alvida. I even enjoyed the little interactions with Smoker and Tashigi, even if they don’t matter all too much in the future.
Lougetown doesn’t excel at anything other than the fact that it was solid and enjoyable, but for an arc like this, that’s all it needed to be.
Final Ranking: C+
Baroque Works
Chapters: 101-217 (117)
Reverse Mountain
Okay, so one of the things about Loguetown was that it really made you think things were picking up steam and the story was really going somewhere, only for it to slow back down again. The whole Baroque Works saga starts off really slow, similarly to the East Blue saga.
The most interesting thing about Reverse Mountain was the world building and learning more about the Grand Line, and that’s pretty much it. The backstory with Laboon was touching and heartbreaking, but you won’t get the payoff until much later, and not much else peaked my interest.
Overall, Reverse Mountain has some good moments, but only enough to make it slightly better than Orange Town.
Final Ranking: E
Whisky Peak
Holy smokes, finally we’re getting the ball rolling. This arc was kind of fun, but also kind of dumb in a way. It does a good job of setting up everything that we need to know for Alabasta, and it was a lot of fun getting to see Zoro take out a huge crowd of Bounty Hunters.
I felt that getting to see Luffy and Zoro square off was a missed opportunity, as this would have been a great moment to start a real character arc for Luffy, needing to grow as a captain. As a result, it just ends up feeling stupid and out of character.
The introduction of Vivi felt a little whiplash inducing, as this was clearly just made up on the spot, but that’s a small nitpick if anything, I’m fine with it. The ending was phenomenal however, with the introduction of Miss All Sunday.
Well, even though this arc was really messy, I also had a lot of fun with it, so I’m more forgiving of it than most.
Final Ranking: C
Little Garden
It’s here where we learn that the islands each have different cultures because of how unstable the climate and weather is. It’s funny I say that because this was something that didn’t need to be explained and is never mentioned again, it’s just an excuse to explain why the islands are all so different.
I thought the giants were phenomenal and I loved their whole backstory, and how it was revealed to us by referencing the rivalry between Zoro and Sanji. They also played a big part in Usopp’s character development, which I appreciated.
Where this arc fucking dies is when Mr. 3 comes into the picture. He eventually grew on me when he was reintroduced as a goofy side character way down the line, but here it just comes across as a boring waste of time.
Final Ranking: C
Drum Island
Drum Island has absolutely nothing to do with the Baroque Works saga, but it also happened to be the best arc out of the four, so that that for what you will. The only thing that brings this arc down is Wapol, both him and Don Krieg are the worst villains in the entire series in my opinion.
This is Chopper’s introduction arc, and it is by far one of the best. His whole backstory with him being an outcast because of his appearance and then finally finding someone who accepts him, is heartwarming. Hiriluk also really stole the show, giving us one of the best quotes in all of One Piece.
Final Ranking: A
Alabasta
Now, in the moment I ended up being very critical of Alabasta for being kind of messy, but One Piece never stops being kind of messy, so in hindsight this ended up as one of the series’s best arcs for me. Alabasta has really grown on me over time.
This arc has one of the best villains that we have seen so far, so good job, that is now 3 decent villains. Sir Crocodile was introduced in a way that made you feel his imposing presence, just the way he carries himself, and how he was manipulating everything behind the scenes in order to take over Alabasta. He made me feel that Luffy was in legitimate danger for the first time ever.
Something important that I like about these earlier arcs was how everyone gets to have their moments. This can be Princess Vivi with her efforts to stop her own country from initiating a civil war, or all of the Straw Hats getting their time to shine with a respective Baroque Works agent.
I don’t like too many of the Baroque Works agents outside of Miss All Sunday and Mr. 0 if we're being totally honest, except for Mr. 2, they're a lot of fun and they're a goddamn legend.
Alabasta adds in a lot of foreshadowing without us even realizing, and the ending is phenomenal. In the end, I think it was able to outshine any flaws that it happened to have.
Final Ranking: S
Skypeia
Chapters: 218-302 (85)
Jaya
This might come as a surprise to some of you, but I don’t really care about Jaya all that much. Luffy defeats a guy with one punch, and gets to meet Blackbeard. I don’t know what else to say, it’s one of those, it’s just setting up for Skypeia.
Final Ranking: E
Skypeia
I was really excited to get to Skypeia, if for no other reason because there seems to be no actual consensus on it, so I really wanted to form my own opinion. I will say that it definitely has it’s fans, and I think you could count me as one of them. I don’t know, it may have been because I had been reading the manga, and it’s possible that this is where the anime really starts to slow down.
I really liked Enel in this arc. You could argue his design is a little distracting, like he was clearly based off Eminem, but sometimes a sense of humour is allowed and this is one of them. After all, who is the first white guy you can think of to put in your story about colonialism?
A part of what makes him so funny is he feels so overwhelmingly powerful, it’s like we just jumped from a ten to a thousand over the course of just one arc. He was imposing, literally playing the role of god ruling over everyone on Skypeia, and if anyone opposed him he would eviscerate them, striking them down with lightning.
I really liked the role Robin got to play here, as it’s her first showcase as a Straw Hat. There’s also the golden bell scene, and there was a lot of spectacle to how this arc ends.
Skypeia may not have reached the same heights that Alabasta did, but it was a lot more consistent in terms of pace and quality. This is as consistent as One Piece has ever been up until this point.
Final Ranking: A
Water 7
Chapters: 303-441 (139)
Long Ring Long Land
Long Ring Long Land is probably the most filler, but it’s actually in the manga types of arcs that I ever read in my entire life. However, I also felt that it was perfectly paced and never overstayed it’s welcome. I also really liked Foxy, he’s probably the best “dumb” villain that has been introduced to us thus far.
Overall, I have very little to complain about. This is the perfect middle of the road kind of arc.
Final Ranking: C+
Water 7
There are very few times when I watch an anime or read a manga, and I’m left speechless by the end of it. Water 7 has mystery, heartbreak, and everything else in-between.
To speak of the fight between Usopp and Luffy, you never would have thought that the Straw Hats would ever have a massive argument, much less a real, serious fight between each other. It felt like I was a part of the crew, standing next to everyone on the ship, seeing two of my best friends beat each other up.
Now, overall, Water 7 was tense and unpredictable in a way that One Piece just hadn’t been up until this point. It does get a bit cluttered and awkward near the end, but pretty much every arc has a section that’s cluttered and awkward, so that’s nothing new. It also does a great job of leading us into the next arc...
Final Ranking: S
Enies Lobby
Enies Lobby isn’t as story driven as Water 7, but it excels at... well, literally everything. This is another example of an arc that knows how to stay focused, the main objective of saving Robin stayed at the forefront, with everything else becoming secondary to the Straw Hats.
The entire lead up to Robin’s rescue was phenomenal, be that the events that unfolded on the Sea Train, to after it bursts through the gates to start the raid on Enies Lobby, to ultimately facing the CP9 in an all-out war. Every fight that occurred was top notch, and with Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all receiving power-ups on top of that.
All of this culminates in one of the most emotional, and impactful moments in all of One Piece. And another one. And then another one. Never have I cried to the death of a ship...
Final Ranking: SS
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Thriller Bark
Chapters: 442-489 (48)
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Paramount War
Chapters: 490-597 (108)
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In conclusion...
Okay... let’s just breathe for a second.
To recap, One Piece started off as a mixed bag with humble beginnings, then it starts to get a lot more consistent at around Alabasta or Skypeia, and then with the Water 7 Saga and the Paramount War Saga mostly being outstanding... and also Thriller Bark is there to be really long and boring, to balance it all out.
9: Brook
Brook is a charming enough character on paper, and he has a very heartbreaking backstory with the sad whale we met back at Reverse Mountain, but his execution on Thriller Bark left much to be desired.
Brook was a comparatively late addition to the crew, before they were all separated at Sabaody Archipelago. And then that's it, that's Brook for you!
One of the big problems with Brook is his sense of humour. He’s got skeleton jokes, and fart jokes! He’s also got that lazy, copy-paste, safe perverted shonen humour that we’re all sick of by now, where he asks to see a woman’s panties. Daring today, aren’t we?
8: Sanji
It’s actually kind of shocking how low Sanji ended up on this list. In the beginning, Sanji was always going off on his own little adventures. He got to have some cool surprise moments, like on Alabasta.
I think the big problem with Sanji is that this isn’t the type of character who’s really primed for development. With a character like this, his arc should be about coming to terms with who he already is, his values, both as a chef and as a man. In other words, you are Lisa Simpson. That might be a little too sophisticated for One Piece, so instead, he just became a walking joke.
The final nail in the coffin for me was when he got sent off to be harassed by gay people on an island for two years. It’s like, all right, we’re done with you.
7: Luffy
The thing about One Piece as a series is that it starts out small and simple, and then it builds, and builds, and builds, more and more over time. However, Luffy as the main character doesn’t really do that, never growing, and never thinking.
Luffy is stupid, and then he’s hungry, and then he fights. I think this is what Japan always does when they don’t know what personality to give to a character, just make it so the joke is that he eats.
Don’t get me wrong, Luffy is a lot of fun and inherently so, but he’s all fun, and no substance. He has a lot of room to mature in the New World, but we’ll see.
6: Franky
I terms of inherent fun, Franky’s my kinda guy. I think he benefits by being really balanced, where he can be really silly, but he also takes things seriously.
I don’t think he gets like a main story all to himself or anything, but he gets a lot of time in the spotlight regardless. He’s always involved in what’s going on, and is shown to be a really dependable guy.
If Franky keeps getting a lot to do in the New World, he could crawl up on this list, you never know.
5: Tony Tony Chopper
I’m surprised at how high Chopper ended up on this list, but he gets by on having grown up a lot throughout the series. He proved himself useful on Skypeia, was willing to turn himself into a monster on Enies Lobby, all the way to Thriller Bark where he stands up to Doctor Hogback.
There was just so much to Chopper that I wasn’t expecting, for what appeared to be a cute little mascot character on the surface.
4: Nami
Nami was the most difficult character for me to rank because her showing during East Blue was so incredibly strong, serving as the emotional climax for that entire saga.
Of course, she goes on to grow more as a character after that. Acquiring the clima-tact on Alabasta, standing up to Enel on Skypeia, as well as her determination to help save Robin on Enies Lobby.
Her only real snag was getting sexually assaulted in the shower on Thriller Bark, and being treated like a damsel in distress before the final battle. I also felt that she got over her trauma pretty quickly on Sabaody Archipelago, which is fine, but I don’t know, maybe that would have been interesting? Still, overall, not a bad showing from Nami.
3: Zoro
The reason Zoro ended up beating Nami in the rankings is because he remains consistently good throughout. He’s given so much to do, and there’s always a good sense of progression with him.
Unlike Sanji, I feel like his humour meshes very well with him, instead of just defaulting to copy-paste, safe perverted shonen jokes again. He’s kind of a meat head, and the gag where he gets lost all the time never gets old. Overall, Zoro is just incredibly solid.
2: Usopp
Usopp was my biggest surprise going into this series. This is a character who’s supposed to be like you, the audience, the one who’s the most relatable in terms of his feelings of inadequacy. Usopp is the every-man who has to grow the most, and as such, Usopp almost feels more like a main character than the actual main character.
I felt that Usopp was pretty well established in Syrup Village, same with Little Garden, and then after Water 7, Usopp becomes the best character in the entirety of One Piece. His cowardly fights were always my favourite, they were so much fun, and you're always rooting for Usopp.
1: Nico Robin
You know that feeling after you've escaped your 20's, having finally overcome your long fought battle with depression? That's how Robin feels to me. Robin felt incredibly validating, especially as someone around my age that I can identify with.
I loved her dry and dark sense of humour. She has weird tastes sometimes and she likes "cute" things, having a childlike imagination. And these are all things you can relate to if you were a trauma baby yourself.
I thought her whole backstory was the absolute best, and overall in the forefront of my mind, Robin *is* One Piece to me.