While Buggy was pretty fun in Orange Town, I’d argue the best thing about the arc was how the theme of Treasure was portrayed specifically with Luffy, Buggy, and especially Chouchou
Reverse Mountain - Grandiose. One of my favorite moments in the series are when the strawhats encounter something so outer worldly it leaves you in awe. Think going up the knock up stream and landing in a sea of clouds. Reverse Mountain is the first arc to hit that level of wonder in the series. Starting off with accidentally entering the calm belt and encountering the sea kings of magnificent scale. Then traversing up an enormous mountain where luffy sees the peak and declares that this is the grand sea of adventure. Then the moment they arrive they see a huge whale right in front of them. We take it for granted since we're so used to it, but at the time, we have never seen anything at this scale.
Yea you guys are joking right?! Reverse mountain has one of the absolute best scenes of the series. When they were approaching the mountain and they all put their foot on the barrel confessing there goals to each-other and promising to achieve them is literally the biggest theme of the story. I actually have that barrel tattooed on my body.
yea no this guy was fucking bugging reverse mountain had the barrel scene and also introduced the first of the remnants of rogers crew; crocus. a very important arc
@@maxk.4212 the barrel scene is in loguetown and crocus being in rogers crew wasnt important and even if u think it is, that reveal did not come for another like 800 chapters...
Oda might have been foreshadowing, but I feel the true strength of Skypeia is it’s sense of true adventure. Going somewhere you didn’t even think existed and learning about a whole new culture with the beautiful scenery of sky islands created a sense of adventure that feels like the heart of what this story is.
It’s my favorite arc for this reason. A lot of One Piece fans seem to still undervalue it. It distills the spirit of the series perfectly. Also I think it’s worth pairing with Jaya as they’re clearly intrinsically linked. If Water 7 and Ennies Lobby are functionally the same storyline-then Jaya and Skypiea absolutely are as well.
I feel it was tension. It was a super tense arc with a massive feeling of an overwhelming god looming from above. Don't forget Enel covered the entire sky islands in lightning all on his own, could hear and murder his subjects miles away at a whim, and was winning against Luffy in a 1v1 even though Luffy's immune to his df. It truly felt like any strawhat and any civilian could die at any moment.
@@HeyFellasorry but water 7 and enies lobby have almost the exact same characters and the exact same goals, jaya only sets up skypiea. Just like punk hazard set up dressrosa
@@2late383 Meanwhile everyone when looking at Laughtale and Luffy Gear 5: *"Oh fk oh fk! I have to watch Skypeaia Arc now! I can't believe I skipped clues to One Piece! "*
Since he didn’t give an actual answer for Amazon Lily: I think it was a fantastic way to showcase the heart of who Luffy is right at the beginning of Luffy’s solo storyline without his crew. It shows Luffy’s selfless and caring nature of how he’ll prioritize another’s safety over his own goals (the Marigold vs getting a ship scene) since the strawhat’s goals of taking down an island’s big boss usually just naturally coincides with helping those around them. Him choosing to protect the snake sister’s secret on their back even after they try to kill him is also an outstanding and underrated moment. It feels like a reintroduction to Luffy in a way before he’s put through the ringer in the Marineford saga
Honorable mention: I also really enjoyed how lost he was at the beginning of the arc by himself. Him trying to build a bad raft without Franky, him getting lost without Nami. Really shows how much Luffy relies on his crew and it’s a message that goes around full circle at the end of the saga
@@Problemsolver434 Morj was really lazy in this video when it came to amazon lily and reverse mountain. Story was more important in amazon lily than fanservice.
wasnt amazon lily the first time luffy used conquerors? I think that arc did a good job of introducing that there is a power system besides devil fruits without revealing too much
Damn, skipping over Amazon Lilly completely? You have Luffy's first true showing of Conquerer's Haki and revelation of the World Government's slavery in Boa's backstory. The scene where Luffy covers up their markings despite not knowing what it means is one of his best character moments to date. The humility it takes to defend your enemy's honor is what makes Luffy an amazing main character.
yeah besides the fanservice the arc has pretty good moments, the first real use of conquerors is a legend, also there`s the surprise element where at first we thought luffy would definitely end the arc defeating hancock (she seemed like a villain, luffy was immune to her powers) but then the fight never happened when we only get him vs the sisters (the reson becames clear in marineford when we see she was actually way stronger than luffy)
I’m actually surprised you dismissed Amazon Lily. It has some of the greatest characterization for Luffy as well as fully debut’s his Conqueror’s Haki. The moments where he saves Margaret and then guards the snake sister’s back from being exposed are incredibly profound and have always stuck with me.
Honestly, I am not sure how a weekly reader would have felt about reverse mountain, that said if you were binging it, it was a particularly surprising arc. We had just entered the grandline and the straw hats crash into a whale, that then eats them. A lot of random stuff happens that arc, and Crocus's involvement is just the cherry on top.
Yea Reverse Mountain sets up the Grand Line as a fantastical place, beginning with the Calm Belt. It’s most important in driving home the geography of the One Piece world, using Laboon to show that the Red Line literally divides the world to a degree that even a massive whale cannot do anything.
I think reverse mountain’s draw was it’s worldbuilding expectation. It’s the first time we here of raftale/laugh tale and it gives us a clear goal of where we could be going and making us excited for the future
Also, we are introduced to a mirrored concept, one side of it being the Log Pose mechanics (it's the only thing you can really trust in the sea), and the other being Luffy's judgement of character. Luffy is always right about whom to trust, like Vivi as Mrs. Wednesday.
I think Amazon Lily really showcases Luffy's heart and emotional intelligence. Him showing no hesitation when bowing to Boa, being compassionate when hearing her backstory and protecting those who saved him.
Morj downgrading it to fanservice is very weird when it really was the first arc we got to experience luffy solo again and how he navigates problems like the boa sisters without his crew for hundreds of chapters. Also like you said her backstory that ties to the overall events of slavery in the OP world.
I totally agree with this. It really showed how even in the midst of such a dire situation of being separated from his friends/crew, he was still more concerned with saving the people who had just done so much to help him. Also it’s when he first uses conquerors haki and that scene is incredible.
I would say that Reverse Mountain’s greatest strength is how it establishes the Grand Line. At the very entrance to the Grand Line we’re greeted by the largest creature in the series up to that point setting the tone for what kind of crazy monsters we could see going forward. It also establishes the unique geography and navigational challenges that would be important going forward. And it basically gives us a rough outline of how the Blount for the One Piece is going to work.
I would actually argue that, what stands out the most from Orange Town is the Character Chouchou.... From his simple introduction to his simple yet elegant backstory, and ofcourse the exploration of the idea of treasure with him; I always felt that was the first instance that Oda showed us he could made us feel for practically any Character.
Luffy: idk, Gear 5th? There's too many Zoro: I should have one here, but nothing happens during it Nami: Either saying Luffy will be PK or "Save me" Usopp: Fight with Luffy Sanji: Take your pick from WCI Chopper: Making sakura bloom in Drum Mountain Robin: Do I even need to say it? Franky: idk, unveiling the General Franky, there's not a lot of singular standout moments Brook: Bink's Sake Jinbe: Blood transfusion
@@samt3412 My fav Jinbei moment is when he called Luffy the future pirate king right in front of big mom and even called her a mere emperor of the sea.
The thing I liked about Jaya was the introduction of blackbeard because it felt so innocuous at first but showed how blackbeard and luffy were the perfect foils for each other
I feels as if Baratie is where OP gets amazing. I'm confused why everyone says get to Arlong Park when Baratie basically is the set up to Arlong Park and it's also the most hype arc and has the best action in the east blue portion of the story
@@jjba_goat no one is denying Baratie being a great arc but Arlong Park is just much much better in my eyes at least. Arlong Park started the whole “Luffy helping a future crewmate” thing and Arlong as a villain is just much much better than Don Krieg. Not to mention the tragic backstory of Nami losing her mother figure. Sanji’s backstory was quite sad as well but he didn’t lose someone like Nami did which becomes a trend with Chopper, Robin, Franky and so on moving forward. Arlong Park truly is where One Piece becomes amazing.
I agree with these. I’d say the other huge strength of Whole Cake was Oda not being afraid to be aggressive with his exploration of themes. Not a lot of mangaka would be as willing and able to so wonderfully portray the good and bad aspects of family the way Oda does here, making it clear that sometimes your real family isn’t who shares blood but instead who shares your heart and values. Showing Big Mom and Judge being awful terrible parents and contrasting them with Pound, Zef, etc was a wonderful way to take on a really tough theme. Sanji never feels the need to apologize for not bringing Germa back into his life just because they’re related, and I love that.
Orange Towns highlight is clearly Chouchou, the dedication to protecting his owner's shop, and Luffy saving a bag of dog food showing for the first time Luffy's sense for protecting the weak. It was thanks to this scene that Nami was actually able to call for Luffy's help in Arlong Park.
I think Amazon Lily is a great arc. It shows exactly how much Luffy has grown as he showcases everything he has learned up until now because he doesn't have his crew to fall back on. It shows his improved problem solving skills as well as his improved level of empathy, as the Luffy at the beginning of the story, a guy who punched his way out of most of his problems, wouldn't have been able to deal with the very strong but also very stern people of Amazon Lily. While there is plenty of fighting in the arc, the big ending to it isn't some big flashy attack or the defeat of Boa Hancock, but instead a showing of humility by Luffy and a lesson to the reader that not every fight needs to end violently.
In Amazon Lily, I loved how Luffy convinced Hancock to trust him, a man, after she had very bad experiences with the Celestial Dragons. I really liked the moment when Luffy selflessly wants to rescue the stoned women despite losing the chance to get a boat and go off the island.
For me the Dog’s back story was the best part of orange town, it was the first part of the story to have a strong emotional core and to show Luffy’s hidden deep emotional intelligence, which has got him to where he is today. Gaining friends through compassion and righteous furry.
The disrespect to Amazon Lily was steep. There's more fanservice in the Nami vs Kalifa fight than in all Amazon Lily rolled together. It's a short and pretty simple arc, but I think it is a great link to future events (Sun Pirates, slavery and the Celestial Dragons, Luffy's two years of training) and a pretty good kickstarter for Luffy's solo adventure, which still today feels like one of Oda's biggest ballsy moves, staying away from the Strawhats for so long and focusing on Luffy completely alone for so long, exploring his big heart and empathy (Amazon Lily), charisma and strength (Impel Down), and his first big defeat in a world that proved too big for him (Marineford). Also, no Reverie? That's surprising!
Exactly. I would argue that this is Odas best character writing in the entire series. Not just Sanji, literally every character shown. Top 3 arc for me
@Chris yep that honestly made sanji my favourite character by far because it puts do much stuff earlier in a whole new light for sanji. Like sanji telling ussop what he can to be useful because sanji used to feel useful as a kid. Or the fact sanji has always been about protecting people weaker then him to the point of taking damage or trying sacrificing himself because deep down he didn't truly value his own life because of his family.
The Laboon and Crocus Arc strength imo is creating this parallel atmosphere between new pirate king crew vs roger's crew by perspective of a Roger's OG. It is the first time we hear about "Laftel" (That became Laugh Tale) and in the end we have Crocus saying those words "maybe this is the man we were expecting... Roger?" Epic!
Reverse mountain introduces the log poses and really primed readers about how whacky the grandline could get. Personally, I was a bit anxious when choosing which route the crew was going take because it looked like one wrong choice could spell serious trouble. Plus it was hilarious and showed Luffy's kindness is so ingrained in him it applies to animals as well
I'd also say that WCI does a great job with the themes of family. The arc is very hyper focused on Sanji and his bio family, but also on Big Mom's family.
I'd argue Sanji's Baratie backstory is the first proper OP backstory. Nami's is 2nd. Also, you cannot mention Post War without the emotional impact of "I still have my crew."
As an animal lover. I cared about Laboon. He lost his friends forever and got separated from his whale family. And them he hurt himself for so long before Luffy finally saved him.
@@tenkenrooAlso knowing about Brook and Laboon's connection now. The fact that the people who Laboon was waiting for was emphasized in that arc, gave us a foreshadowing of the strawhat meeting said crew/crewmate who took care of Laboon.
I cared too! I have a weak spot for sad animal stories. I cared a lot more about ChouChou the dog in Orange Town than about Buggy or anything else too 😅
Amazon Lily had a core character moment. The decision between getting off the island and sailing away that he was showed to be desperate to do at that point or repaying a new friend and turning her back from stone. Luffy with no hesitation picking the unselfish option shocked that whole nation’s ideology.
Amazon Lily excels in the fact that it's the first Luffy centric arc and it focuses on his character development and introspection for the first time in the series
If you want a deeper dive into each arc's themes and storytelling strengths, I would watch Merphy Napier's One Piece arc reviews. She has a very good understanding of literature and storytelling. A case in point is amazon lily arc. There is much more to it than just fan-service.
I must stand up for Amazon Lily, and I disagree on Skypeia. The best part of Skypeia is inherited will. Wyper and Cricket are the driving force behind this arc and it concludes with both of their dreams achieved (and the actual best flashback in One Piece). Amazon Lily shows us Luffy at his core. When he take Boa up on her offer to save Margaret's life, that is who Luffy is. He just wants to protect those that help him and that he cares for.
Whiskey Peak does an excellent job of introducing us to the Grand Line with it giving us the Calm Belt, the Log Pose, the idea of the islands magnetisms and the different paths, and name dropping Raftel for the first time, giving us our end goal. A giant cyborg whale with an island inside is also way wackier than anything that came before it and really gives the sense that thing's are going to get a lot wilder going forward, like you said for Little Garden. Other arcs beat it in overall worldbuilding but Reverse Mountain does a lot of the heavy lifting of introducing some of the most important concepts in the series.
For Reverse mountain I would say that it was the first glimpse to how the One piece world is structure with the map and explanation of how to get to Raftel (with the red line having a meaning besides its physical structure, it’s a narrative wall and a thematic wall as to what would happen in the future) For Amazon Lily, I wouldn’t say fan service, but rather the feeling of actually seeing Luffy alone after so long, in a way that showed how much he needs his friends
1:23 Orange Town Strength: First tragic character (Chouchou) 9:11 Skypiea I would have liked to see a strength named that didn't need more arcs to really become a strength. But in general: Great observations!
Wait, wasnt Amazon Lily the arc where Oda finally started to work out haki more and lay the seeds for Luffy to be a haki man. In particular a conquerors haki man. I know that we were introduced to haki very loosley throughout the series, before presumably Oda himself was convinced of what haki would become. Enel with mantra, Dorry and Brogy using Hakoku Sovereignty and Rayleigh breaking Camies cuffs, but Amazon Lilly had a bigger emphasis on it. Also to me that arc displayed the fundamental nature of haki, the clash of wills but not through a direct haki clash. Instead with Luffy and Boa clashing over their values and ending with Luffy symbolizing his will through his 1st instance of COC. Basically the strenght of that arc is to expand the world of One Piece yet again. Correct me if I am wrong tho.
the thing i believe reverse mountain did the best was the building of the stakes in the story. when luffy starts to lose, we think, he cant lose, he must see laboon again! and the thing that amazon lily did the best was world building and the world moving around luffy as a living part of the story, as we hear things happening with ace, blackbeard and the world government.
common consensus about reverse moutain strength is it grandoise and taste of what the grandline is as we see the enormous sea kings and laboon with how hard it was to scale the river to the grandline. We also get the first real map of how the grandline works from crocus and the logpose and how crocus hints to the SHs maybe being the one roger was waiting for.
@@tomgu2285 Every other arc has strengths that outweigh their comedy, Reverse Mountain does not. Obviously other arcs have better villains than Buggy, that’s not how the video was categorizing them
Ik I'm not alone in this, but for me Orange Town is where Oda truly defined what "treasure" means to characters. Buggy is the antithesis to Luffy, as Luffy doesn't value true treasure whereas Buggy does. It is also very fitting Nami is introduced here as well. Chouchou may be a minor character, but it showed how Far Luffy was willing to go to protect *someone else's* treasure as fervently as he would protect his own. Also, Reverse Mountain disrespect is reaaal lmfao, Crocus is great and we learned how large the GL truly was, RM was a significant world building chapter.
The best thing about reverse mountain was introducing log pose and telling us how hard it was to even navigate the grand line(not too much but it's something)/ Also funny interaction with crocus.
It’s wild to just dismiss Laboon as some random whale and say Reverse Mountain has nothing compelling as if his backstory wasn’t a pretty decent way to get us attached to the Straw Hats collective journey. Now they all have a goal and a reason to stay alive as a team outside of their own ambitions.
To me, One piece strength lies in its themes, and Orange Town was the arc that introduced us to the idea that 'Treasure' is not necessarily Gold & money. With a story about finding the greatest treasure One piece world has to offer & with just 2nd arc showing 'No, money & gold are NOT treasure', its actually could be a town for mayor, a shop for a dog, a hat for Luffy, it clearly states in our faces don't expect One piece treasure to be typical gold. And when you connect 2 ideas, One piece is the greatest treasure for the 'Whole One piece world(not just humans, but every race including animals)' & 'Gold is not treasure' it simply means One piece is way greater idea than money, but it could be no hunger for everyone, peace for everyone, freedom, happiness, friendship etc
I'd say the strength of Reverse Mountain is '' Promess '' And what it means to make one to a friend, the consequences and what it means to hold onto that Laboon was in despair because of a promess from his old friends And found Hope in a new one At the same time Luffy has now the responsibility to guarantee hell come back for Laboon Like Brook said '' Death doesn't count as an apology ''
Also the arc establishes how the world of the grand line works and what to expect Honestly i'm surprised Morj thinks there's nothing to say about it Same for Amazon Lily
100 percent agree, one of my favourite arcs, never laughed so hard in my life. it introduced the goat Brook, Kuma's annihilation on the straw hats showing how weak they really are and also how nothing happened to Zoro. Also usopp's fight against Perona is awesome. I'm probably missing other stuff but it's still an awesome arc.😊
the great thing about reverse mountain is not the arc itself but what came just prior to it : the climbing of the mountain. This was epic and introduces the concept of crazy "sea"... before that everything was normal, but with grand line, everything changes : stream, meteo, going under the sea, in the sky, and the first event of that, is reverse mountain... It is really an epic introduction to one piece geography...
To me something that always stood out about orange town was the first glimpse of how a conflict can effect the people actually living in that location. It’s not on the scale of something like arlong park but for some reason Mayor Boodle always remained in my memory. The small flashbacks of the residents building the town themselves and Boodle getting ready to stand up to Buggy to reclaim it stand out to me for some reason. And of course Chouchou’s story but that goes without saying.
Good video, but I think Amazon Lilly has a lot of great focus on Luffy's character. The way he impressed the whole tribe with both his physical strength and strength of character isn't reflected that often in other arcs.
You did Amazon Lilly dirty. It's strongest feat is showing Luffy has learned and grown and preparing us for a segment of him cut off from the crew. 1. How he knows what skills of the straw hats he misses 2. How we see his Conqueror's Haki 3. How he bows (learned from Vivi) without hesitation in spite of his kingly disposition
Orange Town: Chouchou. Just giving heart to a mere dog we see from the start and sets up things like Nami's tragedy and beyond. Reverse Mountain: I would say setting up expectations. The stories not just of Laboon but also of setting up where the Grand Line leads by a member of Roger's crew in Crocus just feels perfect in my opinion. Amazon Lily: I think it was a perfect repositioning of events: Luffy was on his own, his crew was who knows where, and he was on this strange island of women with powers that weren't quite what he was used to yet he would soon come to know by way of the Haki system finally being rolled out, bringing everything together as we approach the finale. In a way it was a new beginning, maybe a beginning to "speed run" to building that new crew through Impel Down that would ultimately take him to Marineford. I like the way that it's presented honestly.
Thriller Barke's biggest strength is comedy. Luffy putting the zombie back into the ground, the strawhat docking manouver, Usopp vs Perona, Oars jumping around like Luffy or even simple things like Franky building a bridge while others talk. It also has the best teamwork between strawhats. Without Kuma TB would still be a great arc, it's really slept upon.
The disrespect for Reverse Mountain was kinda wild so here's my take on the arc. Reverse Mountain Probably has one of the greatest intros to an arc seeing laboon for the first time was shocking for me and really built up the grand line.
I think the biggest strength of Reverse Mountain was Broadening the Scope of the world. I remember how shocked I was when first reading that arc because of how large the whale was with Crocus not seaming to care or be too troubled by living inside. It was a great setup for Little Garden too, and Vivi not being a villain was a big subversion(yes I know it was retconned but still).
you really feel that way about amazon lily? did it not act as a clear cut example of luffy's fortitude and unwavering determination right after losing his entire crew? The same fortitude and determination that makes the next two arcs he goes through all the more impactful when it's shattered in front of luffy and the audiences faces? I admit I might of gotten baited, but morj of all people to throw that arc away is kinda nuts.
I gave two shits about Laboon since I like animals, and Crocus was funny af and wholesome for taking care of Laboon. Seeing Laboon happy after Luffy’s promise was sweet. I also agree with other comments on how it set up the Grand Line as a new level of wonder and scale we had not seen before. (Now we’re accustomed to it but it was great at the time)
im not sure if this is technically part of logue town or reverse mountain, since it takes place ON reverse mountain, but on the last episode / chapter of the east blue saga. the crew first entering the grand line when they reach the peak of the mountain was cool to see first time around. it made me feel, like most others, like everything was about to change, and that's about it. by that point, you already know that you should have no expectations for what comes next in one piece. however, rewatching the series (this time in dub, just cause why not), I was watching with my girlfriend and was actually fighting back tears for a second, because I realized that she is going to go through every high and low that I went through reading and watching the series. also, I was kinda putting myself in the crew and thinking "damn these silly kid pirates have no idea what the hell they are about to go through in the next few minutes, in the next few hours, in the next few months and years of their adventure". it almost made me feel guilty for not being as excited the first time around.
For reverse mountain, there are two things I can think of: 1. It introduced Laugh Tale to us, which established a solid end for Luffy’s goal. 2. Laboon was kind of a good showing of how crazy the world can get. The sea kings were technically first the “mythical beasts” in the series, but they were basically just water serpents. Laboon, as a living creature, was way more crazy than the sea beasts. Like, he was this skyscraper whale
I found the reverse mountain arc to have a nice moment in Luffy drawing his botched pirate flag on Laboon. Consider it as the first thing everyone sees while entering the Grand Line and it's like Luffy already claims it as his own xD
The strength of reverse mountain is the impact of foreshadowing and a connected world. It’s the first big look that the world turns and develops whether we follow our main characters or not. That there is a connectedness among people on other sides of the world, different trails blazed. Not to mention that things as early as first entering the grand line don’t get forgotten and have a pay off over 100 episodes later. It’s one of the coolest things about one piece, that seemingly little things have more relevance than we initially think.
I would say the best part of reverse mountain and laboon was the foreshadowing in that arc. My god it took long but it set the standard for Oda’s longstanding pay offs. To realise by the end of the first half of the story that that random whale and old guy are actually Brookes nakama and a crew mate of the pirate king is top grade oda sewing seeds that you didnt know were gonna pay off
I personally add the Reverie: "plot twist". Its something nuclear that in a few chapters we see so many strong twist: -Mjosgard (a change of morals of a Tenryuubito) -Shanks with the gorosei -A giant straw hat not only surprises, but also changes our perception of the history of the past -The revolutionary army declaring war to WG -Luffy as "fifth emperor" -At that moment, Big Mom going to wano was totally crazy -for me, the second biggest one (after G5): Imu. Its clear that the genre demands this final figure, but cant deny no one was suspecting of this before it happens. Like, with all the characters we had + gorosei being so misterious, we kind of omitted the "final boss law" (or had it in other characters) So I would change the strength of Sabaody, but definitely what I feel about that one wasnt because of the plot twists. Greetings morj!
I genuinely think Reverse mountain is the moment where i really started to want to know more about the world of one piece. The fact that there was an odd reverse waterfall, the different seas and the introduction of the grandline... Followed by a whale who has a docter living inside of him?! It did much for creating intrigue and a sense of wonder. It was the tease where i thought, what a whacky, lovable world.
bruh what's up with the amazon lilly disrespect? It has the first time luffy uses haki on people, fast but perfect pacing. (no unnecessary fluff, like most other arcs.) It has a short but satisfying mystery with the slave mark on boa's back. and the explanation of the sun tattoo on fish man.
On Reverse Mountain, its strength is actually a promise--not Brook's promise to Laboon per se, but the promise of scale that Laboon represents and Luffy's meeting with the island whale himself. The most of danger that the crew ever faced in East Blue were the Lord of the Coast, and Momoo, who were both fairly unthreatening after they were dealt with. And we see the consequences of trying cross the Grandline, where the Strawhats narrowly escape the Sea Kings living there. I forget whether they encounter it before or after Reverse Mountain, but in any case, the crew still escape and run away from dangers clearly out of their league. They all represent the dangers of opposition and the encounters they are bound to face on their travels thru the open waters Laboon, like the Calm Belt Sea Kings, represent gargantuan obstacles that are nigh forces of nature the crew will eventually find no escape from, and Luffy's bull-headed course of action to high-5 Laboon in the eye assures us that rather than be sensible and turn tail, Luffy will always run head long into the trials ahead. It's a reaffirmation of his character in the face of the dangers of the Grand Line and his bullish will to dive into it all head strong. Upon reaching Whiskey Peak, which is the 1st start to long format plot threads and where Luffy agrees to help Vivi no question in spite of the dangers of Baroque Works, the promise made in Reverse Mountain is immediately followed up.
YES! i agree, the idea of reverse mountain introducing a clear promise to the readers 'yes we will be coming back to this much later' is just an incredible feeling
Reverse Island's strength was establishing the terms of the journey via the introduction of the log pose system. Navigating the Grand Line is such an important aspect of the journey that started with the exposition Crocus provided us.
I agree the most with the ones for Romance Dawn, Loguetown, Jaya, and Marineford b/c they gave us some of the most iconic moments in the series (and some of my favorites as well). For Romance Dawn, it's when Shanks gives Luffy his straw hat, the beginning of this entire story in Chapter 1 is so good. For Loguetown, it was the scene showing Gol D. Roger's execution they did in the anime exclusively; that scene might be only anime-original, but I loved how they captured the feeling you get from when you see the image of him being executed on the VERY FIRST PAGE of the manga and at the very beginning of Opening 1. For Jaya, it was Blackbeard's "dreams never die" speech b/c of how it gave us hints that Blackbeard might be more than just another typical One Piece villain with him dropping eye-opening wisdom. Lastly, for Marineford, it was Whitebeard's death b/c of how his last words foreshadowed the final war and confirmed that the One Piece itself exists; personally that has to be the single GREATEST moment in the entire series for me, only to be topped by the ACTUAL final war itself. (Also he forgot to do the Reverie, so i'll tell you what I think the best thing about it is: revelations. In particular, the reveal of Imu b/c of how we went nearly 900 chapters/episodes thinking the Gorosei ruled the world only to learn there's someone above even them)
You are so wrong about Laboon. Introduced us to the Grand Line and gave us something to look forward to when we make it all the way around. And also a warning about the perilousness of the Grand Line.
Absolutely spitting about Dressrosa. Is it a perfect are? No. It has its sloggish parts. But it resolves everything it set up and leaves you satisfied at the end. I wish I could say the same about Wano.
Why exactly do ppl hate Wano (besides the fake outouts and shit)? There’s such a big divide when it comes to that arc. I agree the structure is very messy when it comes to the raid and everything could have flowed so much better with some questionable writing choices. But overall I was satisfied and thought Oda left a lot open on purpose
Nah best part of wano was either the pure hype of shanks in post wano or sanjis dilemma. For as well as g5 works for luffy thematically its just so bad for the overall story. I want to go back to days like luffy vs lucci or marineford where the big final climax makes you hold your breath. Gear 5's thematic relevance doesnt negate how bad it was for Kaido being the big bad weve been leading up to all post timeskip just for the fight to be a tensionless joke
Morj just doesn't make any sense. Morj criticizes the lack of tension in the Wano arc yet believes Gear 5 was the best thing of Wano even though it prevented all the possible tension that usually occurs at that point of an arc.
Romance Dawn: Luffy introduction Orange Town: Nami saving Luffy Syrup Village: Strawhats vs the Black Cat Pirates Baratie: Zoro vs Mihawk Arlong Park: Luffy giving Nami the strawhat Lougetown: Dragon saving Luffy Reverse Mountain: Strawhats goals scene Whisky Peak: Zoro vs 100 Baroque works agents Little Garden: Sanji clutch moment Drum Island: Choppers backstory Alabasta: The strawhats vs Baroque works agents (My favorites were Nami and Zoro) Jaya: Luffy one shots Bellamy Skypiea: Strawhats vs the trial keeper people. (Choppers fight was the best) Long Ring Long Land: Luffy vs Aokiji Water 7: Luffy vs Ussop Ennis Lobby: Strawhats vs CP0 (Cant pick between Chopper, Sanji, and Zoros) Post Ennis Lobby: Wanted posters or Luffys heritage idk Thriller Bark: Nothing happened Sabaody: Strawhats vs Kuma Amazon Lily: Luffys conquerors haki Impel down: Bon Clay Marineford: Whitebeard Post Marineford: Luffy training arc Sabaody return: Strawhats introduction Fishmen island: Strawhats new powers showcase, or Big Moms introduction Punk Hazard: Chopper saving the kids Dressrosa: Gear 4 Zou - Raizo is alive Wholecake: Brook, or Luffy vs Katakuri Wano: Gear 5
The biggest strenggth of reverse mountain was the nature/environment, its not like atmosphere, whuch was logue town’s strength, its the environment. The whole idea of a reverse mountain gave us a hint at how ridiculous the grandline is, and that is just the mere entrance, and to Top of All off There was a HUGE whale the size of a hill casually at the bottom of the mountain. We even get a bigger surprise from crocus chilling inside, its just back to back surprises all in such a short arc which gives us a taste at how shocking the grandline can be
I think one thing that was good about the reverse mountain arc is the introduction to the log pose and the fact the man that was taking care of laboon was apart of rodgers crew and it was also the introduction to vivi Also amazon lily wasn’t just fan service as it gave us the most terrifying backstory through Hancock’s and it also dropped the name of fisher tiger and it showed how cruel the celestial dragons are
Reverse Mountain Makes me cry. When all the characters say their dream and Usopp hesitates and says.. a brave warrior of the sea... i felt that was forshadowing for the arc to come.
While Buggy was pretty fun in Orange Town, I’d argue the best thing about the arc was how the theme of Treasure was portrayed specifically with Luffy, Buggy, and especially Chouchou
Ya I liked how luffy knew that bag would be important to Chou chou. Shows luffy is kind hearted
@@tenkenroo yup! :)
Also the old man who treasured the town
and nami's introduction fits with that theme so much
My favorite part of Orange Town is when Luffy breaks Nami’s prejudiced view of pirates.
Reverse Mountain - Grandiose. One of my favorite moments in the series are when the strawhats encounter something so outer worldly it leaves you in awe. Think going up the knock up stream and landing in a sea of clouds. Reverse Mountain is the first arc to hit that level of wonder in the series. Starting off with accidentally entering the calm belt and encountering the sea kings of magnificent scale. Then traversing up an enormous mountain where luffy sees the peak and declares that this is the grand sea of adventure. Then the moment they arrive they see a huge whale right in front of them. We take it for granted since we're so used to it, but at the time, we have never seen anything at this scale.
Don Krieg's ship was the closest thing, I was like ''oh shit, this guy is a PIRATE'', and seeing Luffy beat him was amazing.
Agree, I think it’s such a solid & quick kickoff to the grandline. Otherworldly and whimsical.
+they met Crocus there 😅
It's great world building too. It introduces log pose and the red line as an indestructible wall
@@CaioGuerra19 imagine if the Netflix live action they manage to actually get a shot of a real whale instead of cgi a big whale to end season 1
Yea you guys are joking right?! Reverse mountain has one of the absolute best scenes of the series. When they were approaching the mountain and they all put their foot on the barrel confessing there goals to each-other and promising to achieve them is literally the biggest theme of the story. I actually have that barrel tattooed on my body.
thats sick
yea no this guy was fucking bugging reverse mountain had the barrel scene and also introduced the first of the remnants of rogers crew; crocus. a very important arc
Loguetown counts as the barrel scene u donuts
@@maxk.4212 the barrel scene is in loguetown and crocus being in rogers crew wasnt important and even if u think it is, that reveal did not come for another like 800 chapters...
@greatvictory9243 why? what's wrong with that?
Oda might have been foreshadowing, but I feel the true strength of Skypeia is it’s sense of true adventure. Going somewhere you didn’t even think existed and learning about a whole new culture with the beautiful scenery of sky islands created a sense of adventure that feels like the heart of what this story is.
it was like finding another world ! it introduced their version of haki and had some really good humor and suspense
It’s my favorite arc for this reason. A lot of One Piece fans seem to still undervalue it. It distills the spirit of the series perfectly. Also I think it’s worth pairing with Jaya as they’re clearly intrinsically linked. If Water 7 and Ennies Lobby are functionally the same storyline-then Jaya and Skypiea absolutely are as well.
I feel it was tension. It was a super tense arc with a massive feeling of an overwhelming god looming from above. Don't forget Enel covered the entire sky islands in lightning all on his own, could hear and murder his subjects miles away at a whim, and was winning against Luffy in a 1v1 even though Luffy's immune to his df. It truly felt like any strawhat and any civilian could die at any moment.
@@HeyFellasorry but water 7 and enies lobby have almost the exact same characters and the exact same goals, jaya only sets up skypiea. Just like punk hazard set up dressrosa
@@2late383 Meanwhile everyone when looking at Laughtale and Luffy Gear 5: *"Oh fk oh fk! I have to watch Skypeaia Arc now! I can't believe I skipped clues to One Piece! "*
Since he didn’t give an actual answer for Amazon Lily: I think it was a fantastic way to showcase the heart of who Luffy is right at the beginning of Luffy’s solo storyline without his crew. It shows Luffy’s selfless and caring nature of how he’ll prioritize another’s safety over his own goals (the Marigold vs getting a ship scene) since the strawhat’s goals of taking down an island’s big boss usually just naturally coincides with helping those around them. Him choosing to protect the snake sister’s secret on their back even after they try to kill him is also an outstanding and underrated moment. It feels like a reintroduction to Luffy in a way before he’s put through the ringer in the Marineford saga
Honorable mention: I also really enjoyed how lost he was at the beginning of the arc by himself. Him trying to build a bad raft without Franky, him getting lost without Nami. Really shows how much Luffy relies on his crew and it’s a message that goes around full circle at the end of the saga
I was surprised that all he could say about it was fanservice
@@Problemsolver434 Morj was really lazy in this video when it came to amazon lily and reverse mountain. Story was more important in amazon lily than fanservice.
wasnt amazon lily the first time luffy used conquerors? I think that arc did a good job of introducing that there is a power system besides devil fruits without revealing too much
@@user-dl9vc7hv3z he knocked out Duval's bull before sabaody
Damn, skipping over Amazon Lilly completely? You have Luffy's first true showing of Conquerer's Haki and revelation of the World Government's slavery in Boa's backstory. The scene where Luffy covers up their markings despite not knowing what it means is one of his best character moments to date. The humility it takes to defend your enemy's honor is what makes Luffy an amazing main character.
yeah besides the fanservice the arc has pretty good moments, the first real use of conquerors is a legend, also there`s the surprise element where at first we thought luffy would definitely end the arc defeating hancock (she seemed like a villain, luffy was immune to her powers) but then the fight never happened when we only get him vs the sisters (the reson becames clear in marineford when we see she was actually way stronger than luffy)
I think the best part of Amazon Lilly is Boa explaining her Celestial Dragon brand.
Honestly, the best moment for me. Is when Luffy is given the ultimatum of sailing away or saving a new friend?
all that you´re saying it´s fanservice man
Bruh, I thought that was hella rude lol. Morj bro 😮💨
I’m actually surprised you dismissed Amazon Lily. It has some of the greatest characterization for Luffy as well as fully debut’s his Conqueror’s Haki. The moments where he saves Margaret and then guards the snake sister’s back from being exposed are incredibly profound and have always stuck with me.
I think atleast in the anime that arc was Luffy at his most expressive by far
That moment made luffy one of my favorite characters in fiction. His selflessness is inspiring.
His first conquerors was on the bull in sabaody
Kintama
it's hot trash
As we all know, the best part of Wano was the raid failing and the subsequent regrouping of the Strawhat alliance!!
Don't forget zorro killing kaido
Nah best part was watching the ZKK crowd go straight into the dirt 😂😂😂
I just watched a 2 year old morj vid and the top comment was also a random joke about the raid failing.
Fun thing is raid did fail multiple times, and regrouping too though not as we imagined
Honestly, I am not sure how a weekly reader would have felt about reverse mountain, that said if you were binging it, it was a particularly surprising arc. We had just entered the grandline and the straw hats crash into a whale, that then eats them. A lot of random stuff happens that arc, and Crocus's involvement is just the cherry on top.
exactly reverse mountain was the first real sighting about how ridiculous the grandline is, a giant whale just crashing itself into the grandline.
@@TyRendition Honestly, I made my comment to early, it pales in comparison to what he said about Amazon Lily.
Yea Reverse Mountain sets up the Grand Line as a fantastical place, beginning with the Calm Belt. It’s most important in driving home the geography of the One Piece world, using Laboon to show that the Red Line literally divides the world to a degree that even a massive whale cannot do anything.
I think reverse mountain’s draw was it’s worldbuilding expectation. It’s the first time we here of raftale/laugh tale and it gives us a clear goal of where we could be going and making us excited for the future
Also, we are introduced to a mirrored concept, one side of it being the Log Pose mechanics (it's the only thing you can really trust in the sea), and the other being Luffy's judgement of character. Luffy is always right about whom to trust, like Vivi as Mrs. Wednesday.
I think Amazon Lily really showcases Luffy's heart and emotional intelligence. Him showing no hesitation when bowing to Boa, being compassionate when hearing her backstory and protecting those who saved him.
It actually shows his character growth cause luffy learned that quality from Vivi
To showcase luffy's heart and emotions oda already pummeled mohji the lion in begining for the sake of a small dog.
Morj downgrading it to fanservice is very weird when it really was the first arc we got to experience luffy solo again and how he navigates problems like the boa sisters without his crew for hundreds of chapters. Also like you said her backstory that ties to the overall events of slavery in the OP world.
I totally agree with this. It really showed how even in the midst of such a dire situation of being separated from his friends/crew, he was still more concerned with saving the people who had just done so much to help him. Also it’s when he first uses conquerors haki and that scene is incredible.
Also, isn't Amazon Lily the first time we see Luffy accidentally do conquerer's haki? I was super hyped at that part
I would say that Reverse Mountain’s greatest strength is how it establishes the Grand Line. At the very entrance to the Grand Line we’re greeted by the largest creature in the series up to that point setting the tone for what kind of crazy monsters we could see going forward. It also establishes the unique geography and navigational challenges that would be important going forward. And it basically gives us a rough outline of how the Blount for the One Piece is going to work.
The log pose and its mechanics are masterful world building / lore
I would actually argue that, what stands out the most from Orange Town is the Character Chouchou.... From his simple introduction to his simple yet elegant backstory, and ofcourse the exploration of the idea of treasure with him; I always felt that was the first instance that Oda showed us he could made us feel for practically any Character.
A video of "Each Straw Hat's Best Moment" would be very interesting as some don't have many while others have dozens.
Luffy: idk, Gear 5th? There's too many
Zoro: I should have one here, but nothing happens during it
Nami: Either saying Luffy will be PK or "Save me"
Usopp: Fight with Luffy
Sanji: Take your pick from WCI
Chopper: Making sakura bloom in Drum Mountain
Robin: Do I even need to say it?
Franky: idk, unveiling the General Franky, there's not a lot of singular standout moments
Brook: Bink's Sake
Jinbe: Blood transfusion
@@samt3412 Franky: Burning the Pluton blueprints, Running over Big Mom with a motorcycle, Trying to stop the Water 7 train, etc...
@truck-kun8648 yeah, burning the blueprints or trying to stop the Puffing Tom are probably the best moments
@@samt3412 My favourite Jinbei moment was "what is it that you still have!?"
@@samt3412 My fav Jinbei moment is when he called Luffy the future pirate king right in front of big mom and even called her a mere emperor of the sea.
The thing I liked about Jaya was the introduction of blackbeard because it felt so innocuous at first but showed how blackbeard and luffy were the perfect foils for each other
I enjoyed the start of one piece but Arlong Park is the arc that hooked me. The “Luffy help me” scene hit so hard and still does to this day
I feels as if Baratie is where OP gets amazing. I'm confused why everyone says get to Arlong Park when Baratie basically is the set up to Arlong Park and it's also the most hype arc and has the best action in the east blue portion of the story
@@jjba_goat no one is denying Baratie being a great arc but Arlong Park is just much much better in my eyes at least. Arlong Park started the whole “Luffy helping a future crewmate” thing and Arlong as a villain is just much much better than Don Krieg. Not to mention the tragic backstory of Nami losing her mother figure. Sanji’s backstory was quite sad as well but he didn’t lose someone like Nami did which becomes a trend with Chopper, Robin, Franky and so on moving forward. Arlong Park truly is where One Piece becomes amazing.
I agree with these. I’d say the other huge strength of Whole Cake was Oda not being afraid to be aggressive with his exploration of themes. Not a lot of mangaka would be as willing and able to so wonderfully portray the good and bad aspects of family the way Oda does here, making it clear that sometimes your real family isn’t who shares blood but instead who shares your heart and values. Showing Big Mom and Judge being awful terrible parents and contrasting them with Pound, Zef, etc was a wonderful way to take on a really tough theme. Sanji never feels the need to apologize for not bringing Germa back into his life just because they’re related, and I love that.
Orange Towns highlight is clearly Chouchou, the dedication to protecting his owner's shop, and Luffy saving a bag of dog food showing for the first time Luffy's sense for protecting the weak. It was thanks to this scene that Nami was actually able to call for Luffy's help in Arlong Park.
I think Amazon Lily is a great arc. It shows exactly how much Luffy has grown as he showcases everything he has learned up until now because he doesn't have his crew to fall back on. It shows his improved problem solving skills as well as his improved level of empathy, as the Luffy at the beginning of the story, a guy who punched his way out of most of his problems, wouldn't have been able to deal with the very strong but also very stern people of Amazon Lily. While there is plenty of fighting in the arc, the big ending to it isn't some big flashy attack or the defeat of Boa Hancock, but instead a showing of humility by Luffy and a lesson to the reader that not every fight needs to end violently.
Morj Morj Morj.
Buggy wasn't "reduced" to a gag character, he ascended.
That's only recently
In Amazon Lily, I loved how Luffy convinced Hancock to trust him, a man, after she had very bad experiences with the Celestial Dragons. I really liked the moment when Luffy selflessly wants to rescue the stoned women despite losing the chance to get a boat and go off the island.
*the women turned into stone or the petrified women
For me the Dog’s back story was the best part of orange town, it was the first part of the story to have a strong emotional core and to show Luffy’s hidden deep emotional intelligence, which has got him to where he is today. Gaining friends through compassion and righteous furry.
The disrespect to Amazon Lily was steep. There's more fanservice in the Nami vs Kalifa fight than in all Amazon Lily rolled together. It's a short and pretty simple arc, but I think it is a great link to future events (Sun Pirates, slavery and the Celestial Dragons, Luffy's two years of training) and a pretty good kickstarter for Luffy's solo adventure, which still today feels like one of Oda's biggest ballsy moves, staying away from the Strawhats for so long and focusing on Luffy completely alone for so long, exploring his big heart and empathy (Amazon Lily), charisma and strength (Impel Down), and his first big defeat in a world that proved too big for him (Marineford).
Also, no Reverie? That's surprising!
I think the greatest part of whole cake by far is sanji's character arc and backstory.
Exactly. I would argue that this is Odas best character writing in the entire series. Not just Sanji, literally every character shown. Top 3 arc for me
@Chris yep that honestly made sanji my favourite character by far because it puts do much stuff earlier in a whole new light for sanji. Like sanji telling ussop what he can to be useful because sanji used to feel useful as a kid. Or the fact sanji has always been about protecting people weaker then him to the point of taking damage or trying sacrificing himself because deep down he didn't truly value his own life because of his family.
The Laboon and Crocus Arc strength imo is creating this parallel atmosphere between new pirate king crew vs roger's crew by perspective of a Roger's OG. It is the first time we hear about "Laftel" (That became Laugh Tale) and in the end we have Crocus saying those words "maybe this is the man we were expecting... Roger?"
Epic!
Reverse mountain introduces the log poses and really primed readers about how whacky the grandline could get.
Personally, I was a bit anxious when choosing which route the crew was going take because it looked like one wrong choice could spell serious trouble.
Plus it was hilarious and showed Luffy's kindness is so ingrained in him it applies to animals as well
I mean wasn't it 1 or 3 chapters lol
I'd also say that WCI does a great job with the themes of family. The arc is very hyper focused on Sanji and his bio family, but also on Big Mom's family.
I'd argue Sanji's Baratie backstory is the first proper OP backstory. Nami's is 2nd. Also, you cannot mention Post War without the emotional impact of "I still have my crew."
Bro's trying to convince himself not to drop the series after the ending of Wano 💀
😂😂😂
As an animal lover. I cared about Laboon. He lost his friends forever and got separated from his whale family. And them he hurt himself for so long before Luffy finally saved him.
I think it says a lot that luffy treated laboon with respect like a person not thinking him as a dumb animal
@@tenkenrooAlso knowing about Brook and Laboon's connection now. The fact that the people who Laboon was waiting for was emphasized in that arc, gave us a foreshadowing of the strawhat meeting said crew/crewmate who took care of Laboon.
I cared too! I have a weak spot for sad animal stories.
I cared a lot more about ChouChou the dog in Orange Town than about Buggy or anything else too 😅
Amazon Lily had a core character moment. The decision between getting off the island and sailing away that he was showed to be desperate to do at that point or repaying a new friend and turning her back from stone. Luffy with no hesitation picking the unselfish option shocked that whole nation’s ideology.
Amazon Lily excels in the fact that it's the first Luffy centric arc and it focuses on his character development and introspection for the first time in the series
Good point 👏👏
If you want a deeper dive into each arc's themes and storytelling strengths, I would watch Merphy Napier's One Piece arc reviews. She has a very good understanding of literature and storytelling. A case in point is amazon lily arc. There is much more to it than just fan-service.
I must stand up for Amazon Lily, and I disagree on Skypeia.
The best part of Skypeia is inherited will. Wyper and Cricket are the driving force behind this arc and it concludes with both of their dreams achieved (and the actual best flashback in One Piece).
Amazon Lily shows us Luffy at his core. When he take Boa up on her offer to save Margaret's life, that is who Luffy is. He just wants to protect those that help him and that he cares for.
Whiskey Peak does an excellent job of introducing us to the Grand Line with it giving us the Calm Belt, the Log Pose, the idea of the islands magnetisms and the different paths, and name dropping Raftel for the first time, giving us our end goal. A giant cyborg whale with an island inside is also way wackier than anything that came before it and really gives the sense that thing's are going to get a lot wilder going forward, like you said for Little Garden. Other arcs beat it in overall worldbuilding but Reverse Mountain does a lot of the heavy lifting of introducing some of the most important concepts in the series.
Reverse mountain for me was sense of wonder. When I saw how huge the whale was I knew things would go crazy in the future
For Reverse mountain I would say that it was the first glimpse to how the One piece world is structure with the map and explanation of how to get to Raftel (with the red line having a meaning besides its physical structure, it’s a narrative wall and a thematic wall as to what would happen in the future)
For Amazon Lily, I wouldn’t say fan service, but rather the feeling of actually seeing Luffy alone after so long, in a way that showed how much he needs his friends
1:23 Orange Town
Strength: First tragic character (Chouchou)
9:11 Skypiea
I would have liked to see a strength named that didn't need more arcs to really become a strength.
But in general: Great observations!
Wait, wasnt Amazon Lily the arc where Oda finally started to work out haki more and lay the seeds for Luffy to be a haki man. In particular a conquerors haki man. I know that we were introduced to haki very loosley throughout the series, before presumably Oda himself was convinced of what haki would become. Enel with mantra, Dorry and Brogy using Hakoku Sovereignty and Rayleigh breaking Camies cuffs, but Amazon Lilly had a bigger emphasis on it. Also to me that arc displayed the fundamental nature of haki, the clash of wills but not through a direct haki clash. Instead with Luffy and Boa clashing over their values and ending with Luffy symbolizing his will through his 1st instance of COC. Basically the strenght of that arc is to expand the world of One Piece yet again. Correct me if I am wrong tho.
Amazon Lily: An arc about the oppression of slavery and PTSD.
Morj: *The best thing was the fan service.*
the thing i believe reverse mountain did the best was the building of the stakes in the story. when luffy starts to lose, we think, he cant lose, he must see laboon again! and the thing that amazon lily did the best was world building and the world moving around luffy as a living part of the story, as we hear things happening with ace, blackbeard and the world government.
The only strength I can really think of for Reverse Mountain is its humor, that initial introduction to Crocus is hysterical
legit one of the most funny shit in all of one piece - especially the anime adaptation
common consensus about reverse moutain strength is it grandoise and taste of what the grandline is as we see the enormous sea kings and laboon with how hard it was to scale the river to the grandline. We also get the first real map of how the grandline works from crocus and the logpose and how crocus hints to the SHs maybe being the one roger was waiting for.
Nah other arcs are much funnier
@@tomgu2285 Every other arc has strengths that outweigh their comedy, Reverse Mountain does not. Obviously other arcs have better villains than Buggy, that’s not how the video was categorizing them
Ik I'm not alone in this, but for me Orange Town is where Oda truly defined what "treasure" means to characters. Buggy is the antithesis to Luffy, as Luffy doesn't value true treasure whereas Buggy does. It is also very fitting Nami is introduced here as well. Chouchou may be a minor character, but it showed how Far Luffy was willing to go to protect *someone else's* treasure as fervently as he would protect his own.
Also, Reverse Mountain disrespect is reaaal lmfao, Crocus is great and we learned how large the GL truly was, RM was a significant world building chapter.
The best thing about reverse mountain was introducing log pose and telling us how hard it was to even navigate the grand line(not too much but it's something)/ Also funny interaction with crocus.
For me, the best part about wano was the "Thank you, daddy" lantern. I know it's a small thing, but Oda got me with that one.
That made me tear up so much man, I love the Otoko storyline.
Luffy watching how momo handles Ryokugyu.... priceless
It’s wild to just dismiss Laboon as some random whale and say Reverse Mountain has nothing compelling as if his backstory wasn’t a pretty decent way to get us attached to the Straw Hats collective journey. Now they all have a goal and a reason to stay alive as a team outside of their own ambitions.
To me, One piece strength lies in its themes, and Orange Town was the arc that introduced us to the idea that 'Treasure' is not necessarily Gold & money. With a story about finding the greatest treasure One piece world has to offer & with just 2nd arc showing 'No, money & gold are NOT treasure', its actually could be a town for mayor, a shop for a dog, a hat for Luffy, it clearly states in our faces don't expect One piece treasure to be typical gold.
And when you connect 2 ideas, One piece is the greatest treasure for the 'Whole One piece world(not just humans, but every race including animals)' & 'Gold is not treasure' it simply means One piece is way greater idea than money, but it could be no hunger for everyone, peace for everyone, freedom, happiness, friendship etc
I'd say the strength of Reverse Mountain is '' Promess ''
And what it means to make one to a friend, the consequences and what it means to hold onto that
Laboon was in despair because of a promess from his old friends
And found Hope in a new one
At the same time Luffy has now the responsibility to guarantee hell come back for Laboon
Like Brook said '' Death doesn't count as an apology ''
Also the arc establishes how the world of the grand line works and what to expect
Honestly i'm surprised Morj thinks there's nothing to say about it
Same for Amazon Lily
Thriller Bark is Criminally underrated
100 percent agree, one of my favourite arcs, never laughed so hard in my life. it introduced the goat Brook, Kuma's annihilation on the straw hats showing how weak they really are and also how nothing happened to Zoro. Also usopp's fight against Perona is awesome. I'm probably missing other stuff but it's still an awesome arc.😊
Laboon was the first challenge the straw hats faced in the Grand Line! Respect him!
the great thing about reverse mountain is not the arc itself but what came just prior to it : the climbing of the mountain. This was epic and introduces the concept of crazy "sea"... before that everything was normal, but with grand line, everything changes : stream, meteo, going under the sea, in the sky, and the first event of that, is reverse mountain... It is really an epic introduction to one piece geography...
To me something that always stood out about orange town was the first glimpse of how a conflict can effect the people actually living in that location. It’s not on the scale of something like arlong park but for some reason Mayor Boodle always remained in my memory. The small flashbacks of the residents building the town themselves and Boodle getting ready to stand up to Buggy to reclaim it stand out to me for some reason. And of course Chouchou’s story but that goes without saying.
Reverse Mountain - Crocus’ stare was epic! Introduced a fun Pirate King crew
Good video, but I think Amazon Lilly has a lot of great focus on Luffy's character. The way he impressed the whole tribe with both his physical strength and strength of character isn't reflected that often in other arcs.
You did Amazon Lilly dirty. It's strongest feat is showing Luffy has learned and grown and preparing us for a segment of him cut off from the crew.
1. How he knows what skills of the straw hats he misses
2. How we see his Conqueror's Haki
3. How he bows (learned from Vivi) without hesitation in spite of his kingly disposition
Orange Town: Chouchou. Just giving heart to a mere dog we see from the start and sets up things like Nami's tragedy and beyond.
Reverse Mountain: I would say setting up expectations. The stories not just of Laboon but also of setting up where the Grand Line leads by a member of Roger's crew in Crocus just feels perfect in my opinion.
Amazon Lily: I think it was a perfect repositioning of events: Luffy was on his own, his crew was who knows where, and he was on this strange island of women with powers that weren't quite what he was used to yet he would soon come to know by way of the Haki system finally being rolled out, bringing everything together as we approach the finale. In a way it was a new beginning, maybe a beginning to "speed run" to building that new crew through Impel Down that would ultimately take him to Marineford. I like the way that it's presented honestly.
Thriller Barke's biggest strength is comedy. Luffy putting the zombie back into the ground, the strawhat docking manouver, Usopp vs Perona, Oars jumping around like Luffy or even simple things like Franky building a bridge while others talk. It also has the best teamwork between strawhats.
Without Kuma TB would still be a great arc, it's really slept upon.
The disrespect for Reverse Mountain was kinda wild so here's my take on the arc. Reverse Mountain Probably has one of the greatest intros to an arc seeing laboon for the first time was shocking for me and really built up the grand line.
I think the biggest strength of Reverse Mountain was Broadening the Scope of the world. I remember how shocked I was when first reading that arc because of how large the whale was with Crocus not seaming to care or be too troubled by living inside. It was a great setup for Little Garden too, and Vivi not being a villain was a big subversion(yes I know it was retconned but still).
you really feel that way about amazon lily? did it not act as a clear cut example of luffy's fortitude and unwavering determination right after losing his entire crew? The same fortitude and determination that makes the next two arcs he goes through all the more impactful when it's shattered in front of luffy and the audiences faces? I admit I might of gotten baited, but morj of all people to throw that arc away is kinda nuts.
I gave two shits about Laboon since I like animals, and Crocus was funny af and wholesome for taking care of Laboon. Seeing Laboon happy after Luffy’s promise was sweet. I also agree with other comments on how it set up the Grand Line as a new level of wonder and scale we had not seen before. (Now we’re accustomed to it but it was great at the time)
Crocus gags are so good, peak op comedy
im not sure if this is technically part of logue town or reverse mountain, since it takes place ON reverse mountain, but on the last episode / chapter of the east blue saga. the crew first entering the grand line when they reach the peak of the mountain was cool to see first time around. it made me feel, like most others, like everything was about to change, and that's about it. by that point, you already know that you should have no expectations for what comes next in one piece. however, rewatching the series (this time in dub, just cause why not), I was watching with my girlfriend and was actually fighting back tears for a second, because I realized that she is going to go through every high and low that I went through reading and watching the series. also, I was kinda putting myself in the crew and thinking "damn these silly kid pirates have no idea what the hell they are about to go through in the next few minutes, in the next few hours, in the next few months and years of their adventure". it almost made me feel guilty for not being as excited the first time around.
For reverse mountain, there are two things I can think of:
1. It introduced Laugh Tale to us, which established a solid end for Luffy’s goal.
2. Laboon was kind of a good showing of how crazy the world can get. The sea kings were technically first the “mythical beasts” in the series, but they were basically just water serpents. Laboon, as a living creature, was way more crazy than the sea beasts. Like, he was this skyscraper whale
I found the reverse mountain arc to have a nice moment in Luffy drawing his botched pirate flag on Laboon. Consider it as the first thing everyone sees while entering the Grand Line and it's like Luffy already claims it as his own xD
The strength of reverse mountain is the impact of foreshadowing and a connected world. It’s the first big look that the world turns and develops whether we follow our main characters or not. That there is a connectedness among people on other sides of the world, different trails blazed. Not to mention that things as early as first entering the grand line don’t get forgotten and have a pay off over 100 episodes later. It’s one of the coolest things about one piece, that seemingly little things have more relevance than we initially think.
I would say the best part of reverse mountain and laboon was the foreshadowing in that arc. My god it took long but it set the standard for Oda’s longstanding pay offs. To realise by the end of the first half of the story that that random whale and old guy are actually Brookes nakama and a crew mate of the pirate king is top grade oda sewing seeds that you didnt know were gonna pay off
I personally add the Reverie: "plot twist".
Its something nuclear that in a few chapters we see so many strong twist:
-Mjosgard (a change of morals of a Tenryuubito)
-Shanks with the gorosei
-A giant straw hat not only surprises, but also changes our perception of the history of the past
-The revolutionary army declaring war to WG
-Luffy as "fifth emperor"
-At that moment, Big Mom going to wano was totally crazy
-for me, the second biggest one (after G5): Imu. Its clear that the genre demands this final figure, but cant deny no one was suspecting of this before it happens. Like, with all the characters we had + gorosei being so misterious, we kind of omitted the "final boss law" (or had it in other characters)
So I would change the strength of Sabaody, but definitely what I feel about that one wasnt because of the plot twists.
Greetings morj!
Morj, thanks for the video and timestamps!
I genuinely think Reverse mountain is the moment where i really started to want to know more about the world of one piece. The fact that there was an odd reverse waterfall, the different seas and the introduction of the grandline... Followed by a whale who has a docter living inside of him?! It did much for creating intrigue and a sense of wonder. It was the tease where i thought, what a whacky, lovable world.
Amazon Lily's strength: introduction of Haki, a very important/underrated plot strength
bruh what's up with the amazon lilly disrespect?
It has the first time luffy uses haki on people,
fast but perfect pacing. (no unnecessary fluff, like most other arcs.)
It has a short but satisfying mystery with the slave mark on boa's back. and the explanation of the sun tattoo on fish man.
On Reverse Mountain, its strength is actually a promise--not Brook's promise to Laboon per se, but the promise of scale that Laboon represents and Luffy's meeting with the island whale himself.
The most of danger that the crew ever faced in East Blue were the Lord of the Coast, and Momoo, who were both fairly unthreatening after they were dealt with. And we see the consequences of trying cross the Grandline, where the Strawhats narrowly escape the Sea Kings living there. I forget whether they encounter it before or after Reverse Mountain, but in any case, the crew still escape and run away from dangers clearly out of their league. They all represent the dangers of opposition and the encounters they are bound to face on their travels thru the open waters
Laboon, like the Calm Belt Sea Kings, represent gargantuan obstacles that are nigh forces of nature the crew will eventually find no escape from, and Luffy's bull-headed course of action to high-5 Laboon in the eye assures us that rather than be sensible and turn tail, Luffy will always run head long into the trials ahead. It's a reaffirmation of his character in the face of the dangers of the Grand Line and his bullish will to dive into it all head strong. Upon reaching Whiskey Peak, which is the 1st start to long format plot threads and where Luffy agrees to help Vivi no question in spite of the dangers of Baroque Works, the promise made in Reverse Mountain is immediately followed up.
YES! i agree, the idea of reverse mountain introducing a clear promise to the readers 'yes we will be coming back to this much later' is just an incredible feeling
The log pose got introduced at Reverse Mountain, I personally found the concept of that really interesting. Other than that Lor, I concur ❤
Luffy punching Laboon's eye was the best part or all those different shots of Crocus in the anime.
Reverse mountain: BEST = Crocus intro gag
The best part about Orange Town is probably the dog Chou-Chou
Reverse Island's strength was establishing the terms of the journey via the introduction of the log pose system. Navigating the Grand Line is such an important aspect of the journey that started with the exposition Crocus provided us.
Thriller bark's biggest strenght imo is it's humor.
Reverse mountain's greatest strength is the infamous Crocus gag
YOU WATCH YOUR TONE AROUND LABOON. THE BEST OF BOYS
Concerning Reverse Mountain: How can you not remember the legendary trolling moment of Crocus? ;-)
Reverse mountain was fucking dope
Literal introduction about the log pose and navigation of the One Piece world
I agree the most with the ones for Romance Dawn, Loguetown, Jaya, and Marineford b/c they gave us some of the most iconic moments in the series (and some of my favorites as well). For Romance Dawn, it's when Shanks gives Luffy his straw hat, the beginning of this entire story in Chapter 1 is so good. For Loguetown, it was the scene showing Gol D. Roger's execution they did in the anime exclusively; that scene might be only anime-original, but I loved how they captured the feeling you get from when you see the image of him being executed on the VERY FIRST PAGE of the manga and at the very beginning of Opening 1. For Jaya, it was Blackbeard's "dreams never die" speech b/c of how it gave us hints that Blackbeard might be more than just another typical One Piece villain with him dropping eye-opening wisdom. Lastly, for Marineford, it was Whitebeard's death b/c of how his last words foreshadowed the final war and confirmed that the One Piece itself exists; personally that has to be the single GREATEST moment in the entire series for me, only to be topped by the ACTUAL final war itself. (Also he forgot to do the Reverie, so i'll tell you what I think the best thing about it is: revelations. In particular, the reveal of Imu b/c of how we went nearly 900 chapters/episodes thinking the Gorosei ruled the world only to learn there's someone above even them)
Bruh, Amazon Lily was the confirmation of Conqueror's Haki for Luffy wasnt it?
You are so wrong about Laboon. Introduced us to the Grand Line and gave us something to look forward to when we make it all the way around. And also a warning about the perilousness of the Grand Line.
Reverse mountain introduces you to how the grand line operates, log poses, and the journey ahead.
Absolutely spitting about Dressrosa. Is it a perfect are? No. It has its sloggish parts. But it resolves everything it set up and leaves you satisfied at the end. I wish I could say the same about Wano.
Why exactly do ppl hate Wano (besides the fake outouts and shit)? There’s such a big divide when it comes to that arc. I agree the structure is very messy when it comes to the raid and everything could have flowed so much better with some questionable writing choices. But overall I was satisfied and thought Oda left a lot open on purpose
Nah best part of wano was either the pure hype of shanks in post wano or sanjis dilemma. For as well as g5 works for luffy thematically its just so bad for the overall story. I want to go back to days like luffy vs lucci or marineford where the big final climax makes you hold your breath. Gear 5's thematic relevance doesnt negate how bad it was for Kaido being the big bad weve been leading up to all post timeskip just for the fight to be a tensionless joke
Morj just doesn't make any sense. Morj criticizes the lack of tension in the Wano arc yet believes Gear 5 was the best thing of Wano even though it prevented all the possible tension that usually occurs at that point of an arc.
Romance Dawn: Luffy introduction
Orange Town: Nami saving Luffy
Syrup Village: Strawhats vs the Black Cat Pirates
Baratie: Zoro vs Mihawk
Arlong Park: Luffy giving Nami the strawhat
Lougetown: Dragon saving Luffy
Reverse Mountain: Strawhats goals scene
Whisky Peak: Zoro vs 100 Baroque works agents
Little Garden: Sanji clutch moment
Drum Island: Choppers backstory
Alabasta: The strawhats vs Baroque works agents (My favorites were Nami and Zoro)
Jaya: Luffy one shots Bellamy
Skypiea: Strawhats vs the trial keeper people. (Choppers fight was the best)
Long Ring Long Land: Luffy vs Aokiji
Water 7: Luffy vs Ussop
Ennis Lobby: Strawhats vs CP0 (Cant pick between Chopper, Sanji, and Zoros)
Post Ennis Lobby: Wanted posters or Luffys heritage idk
Thriller Bark: Nothing happened
Sabaody: Strawhats vs Kuma
Amazon Lily: Luffys conquerors haki
Impel down: Bon Clay
Marineford: Whitebeard
Post Marineford: Luffy training arc
Sabaody return: Strawhats introduction
Fishmen island: Strawhats new powers showcase, or Big Moms introduction
Punk Hazard: Chopper saving the kids
Dressrosa: Gear 4
Zou - Raizo is alive
Wholecake: Brook, or Luffy vs Katakuri
Wano: Gear 5
Crocus first's appearance gag makes the whole Reverse Mountain Arc worth it, easily one of the funniest encounter in the manga/anime imo
Corazon is definitely my favourite backstory character
The biggest strenggth of reverse mountain was the nature/environment, its not like atmosphere, whuch was logue town’s strength, its the environment. The whole idea of a reverse mountain gave us a hint at how ridiculous the grandline is, and that is just the mere entrance, and to
Top of
All off
There was a HUGE whale the size of a hill casually at the bottom of the mountain.
We even get a bigger surprise from crocus chilling inside, its just back to back surprises all in such a short arc which gives us a taste at how shocking the grandline can be
Reverse mount ion best aspect was comedy as Crocus was hilarious
I love reverse mountain, it's the perfect introduction to grandline with it's crazy fantastical geography and fauna + lore about laughtale and roger
5:20 well Reverse Mountain does have that hilarious scene with Crocus and Sanji 😭😭😭
7:35 "with his speach about when a man truely dies" *heavy breathing*. *holding in the tears*
I think one thing that was good about the reverse mountain arc is the introduction to the log pose and the fact the man that was taking care of laboon was apart of rodgers crew and it was also the introduction to vivi
Also amazon lily wasn’t just fan service as it gave us the most terrifying backstory through Hancock’s and it also dropped the name of fisher tiger and it showed how cruel the celestial dragons are
I think you could argue that reverse mountain has world building like with gold ridges old doc right after loge town
Reverse Mountain Makes me cry. When all the characters say their dream and Usopp hesitates and says.. a brave warrior of the sea... i felt that was forshadowing for the arc to come.
“Raizo is safe.” The single one sentence I needed to read while reading that chapter at 3AM after work. I was legit BLOWN AWAY.