All Main One Piece Arcs & Sagas, Ranked from Worst to Finest

Since launching in 1997, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has turn into an enormous success, with a ton of various tales and arcs releasing through the years. As such, we’ve ranked each One Piece arc from worst to greatest.

Earlier than we do a deep dive into the world of One Piece, it’s essential to recollect there are an absurd variety of story arcs in One Piece, and never all of them are created equal. Whereas some final a number of volumes and embody climactic moments, others are solely a handful of chapters. As such, we’ll be rating the main arcs of One Piece, also called the sagas. Every saga can embody a number of arcs, however they normally have an total aim and goal, whether or not that be to defeat a notable enemy, save an individual, or enact a serious plan to reshape the inspiration of the world.

These standards go away us with ten arcs and sagas of One Piece for this ranked listing, as for the reason that Ultimate Saga is underway, we gained’t embody that right here. So, with that in thoughts, right here is our rating of the main arcs in One Piece, from worst to greatest! 

All Main One Piece Arcs & Sagas, Ranked from Worst to Finest

10) Return to Sabaody Arc to Fish-Man Island Arc (Fish-Man Island Saga)

Usually, placing an arc because the worst on the listing is simply normal process for a rating, however I don’t assume I’m alone in saying that the Fish-Man Island Saga might be the weakest One Piece has been for some time. After a serious time-skip, we’re reunited with the Straw Hat Pirates as they’ve turn into a lot stronger and are persevering with on their journey by touring to the underwater kingdom of Fish-Man Island. Upon arrival, they get caught up in a rise up by extremist pirates and need to defend the nation from them, successfully showcasing simply how a lot stronger they’ve turn into.

The issue comes from simply how little of the arc truly focuses on them. Whereas most of the greatest One Piece arcs characteristic the crew as observers of the place they simply arrived at, right here, they consider so little. As a substitute, a whole lot of the time is devoted to fleshing out the racism and slavery metaphors already nicely established with the Fish-Males. When the combating does happen, the stakes are so low as a result of Hody Jones, the antagonist of the arc, is a poor villain and simply exists to be a punching bag to point out how robust everybody has turn into. The arc vegetation a number of seeds for future developments, however which One Piece arc doesn’t do this? I gained’t name the Fish-Man Island Saga dangerous, nevertheless it will get nearer than every other One Piece arc to being dangerous.

9) Jaya Arc to Sky Island Arc (Sky Island Saga)

The Sky Island Saga is bizarre simply due to how far eliminated it’s from all the pieces else in One Piece. It’s an remoted journey the place the Straw Hat Crew hears rumors a couple of treasure floating on an island within the sky and tries to sail as much as it, getting concerned in a sport between a bunch of guerilla warriors and a despotic ruler with a god complicated. The arc is inconsequential at factors, and even now, firstly of the Ultimate Saga, it doesn’t consider closely to what’s occurring. There are some nice fights, just like the battle between Luffy and the Lightning-Consumer Eneru, in addition to most likely the most effective moments of catharsis the sequence has had up till this level, nevertheless it simply sort of exists with out doing something both wonderful or horrible.

8) Thriller Bark Arc (Thriller Bark Saga)

Thriller Bark is One Piece distilled to its most elementary parts. In contrast to most main sagas, Thriller Bark is definitely only a single arc, albeit one which’s fleshed out for a full 5 volumes. In it, the Straw Hat Pirates dock on the island-sized ship Thriller Bark, a horror-themed land the place the captain, Gecko Moria, is creating a military of zombies to make an invincible crew.

The fights on this arc are a delight, together with the one combat within the sequence to this point that has your complete Straw Hat Crew crew as much as defeat a single enemy. What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for with leisure worth, as seeing the ghostly aesthetic utilized in such a lighthearted journey sequence offers the arc some distinction when in comparison with its friends. If you wish to perceive the attraction of One Piece in a single, five-volume arc, Thriller Bark is the place to look.

7) Romance Daybreak Arc to Logue City Arc (East Blue Saga)

The saga that began all of it – the varied arcs that embody the East Blue Saga set the stage for all the pieces to come back in One Piece. In it, we witness the primary adventures of our crew and the way all of them met one another. There’s a better sense of comedy in these earlier bits than later, with these arcs establishing that Luffy and his buddies are small potatoes in a world the place fearsome pirates rule the seas.

The East Blue Saga does a whole lot of heavy lifting in organising forces that can turn into the inspiration of the sequence, in addition to the dynamics between the primary 5 members of the Straw Hat Pirates. However the greatest energy of those arcs is how nicely they reveal the characters of Nami, Zoro, and Sanji. That’s to not diss Luffy and Usopp and their experiences within the East Blue Saga, however the moments that occur to these three and the threats they face hit you laborious and make you understand very early on that One Piece isn’t like different manga. Nonetheless, when in comparison with the sheer scale and spectacle of later arcs, it may be a bit deflating coming again and seeing simply how low-stakes all the pieces was. However I wouldn’t have it every other manner.

6) Zou Arc to Levely Arc (Complete Cake Island Saga)

I agonized over the place to place the Complete Cake Island Saga, if solely as a result of whereas the start of it’s pretty normal, I completely love the ending. The premise is that Sanji, the ship’s cook dinner, has willingly gone to see one of many deadliest pirates on the earth, Huge Mother, to marry certainly one of her daughters. The explanations for his departure are unknown, however Luffy gained’t enable Sanji to depart and heads to Huge Mother’s stronghold on Complete Cake Island to rescue him.

With the opening components being sluggish as we set up this new island and uncover the explanations Sanji left the crew — together with a heated battle between Sanji and Luffy — the primary half comes throughout as unfocused, with too many issues occurring without delay. There are the requisite combat scenes, introducing Huge Mother as a reputable menace, world-building, alliances, and many others. There’s simply an excessive amount of. However when the rescue mission is underway, it’s a fascinating, white-knuckle thrill experience. The crew doesn’t even combat Huge Mother. She’s portrayed as being omnipotent, so the rescue operation turns into a chase over a number of islands, as all of the crew can do is run from Huge Mother and mitigate the destruction left in her wake. In fact, there are nonetheless large battles to behold, however the distinctive ending of the arc and its execution are sufficient to make this certainly one of my private favorites regardless of the failings.

Associated: When Will One Piece Finish?

5) Wano Nation Arc (Wano Nation Saga)

The problem of putting the Wano arc is usually as a result of sheer enormity of it and the way it serves because the climax for a multi-year storyline. Wano is nearly all motion, with the combat going down on the finish of the arc involving a ton of facet characters and nearly each member of the Straw Hat Pirates combating in opposition to some unimaginable foe. It’s peak Shonen motion and a pleasure to learn. It’s simply that the story is so bloated it strikes at a glacial tempo.

Whereas the arc has nice moments that drive dwelling simply how robust the Straw Hat Pirates have turn into, over half of it is only one huge combat and nothing else. The set-up that takes place within the first 30-40% of what’s One Piece’s greatest arc thus far is stable, establishing the stakes and portray an image of simply how royally screwed Wano as a rustic is, nevertheless it’s shortly drowned out by the continuous motion between antagonists who, for essentially the most half, come throughout as one other villain of the day to the crew. To place issues into perspective, the climax of the arc took over two years to be printed within the manga. It’s bizarre to criticize a Shonen motion manga for an excessive amount of combating, however after some time, Wano simply turns into exhausting, regardless of how good the motion is.

4) Punk Hazard Arc to Dressrosa Arc (Dressrosa Saga)

Dressrosa, for my part, is what you get when you’ve gotten a extra restrained Wano. When it comes to construction, the primary half of this saga is all about set-up and ensuring we’re conscious of who the central antagonist, Donquixote Doflamingo, is and why he’s so despicable. After which, as soon as all the pieces has been established on the midway level, all hell breaks free in a battle royale to the loss of life. In contrast to with Wano, nevertheless, the powers on show by all sides are enjoyable, and there’s a good stability between modern-day motion and backstory for Dressrosa as a rustic and Trafalgar Legislation, a one-time ally of Luffy throughout this arc. Plus, it strikes at a reasonably brisk tempo!

The arc simply does an exquisite job at exhibiting as soon as once more how this nation is in a dire place however is made extra entertaining by the thriller surrounding it. Whereas Wano was simply common despair in a samurai-themed land, Dressrosa is a Spanish-inspired land of affection and toys the place the individuals love Doflamingo regardless of the atrocities he commits. It poses a number of inquiries to the reader that assist get them invested within the arc as they be taught increasingly more in regards to the solutions to them. For its higher execution, I’ve to offer the nod to Dressrosa over Wano on this rating.

3) Reverse Mountain Arc to Alabasta Arc (Alabasta Saga)

Each Shonen sequence has that arc. The arc that defines a whole lot of the sequence and informal manga followers will deliver up when describing a number of the all-time basic manga arcs. Bleach has the Soul Society Arc. Dragon Ball Z has the Namek Saga. Yu Yu Hakusho has the Darkish Match Arc. And One Piece has Alabasta. Instantly following the East Blue Saga, our crew is now formally able to tackle the world, and their first opponent is an notorious pirate who secretly runs a felony group set on overthrowing a kingdom. Later arcs would draw a parallel from this arc to Dressrosa, however there’s one thing compelling about simply how a lot the chances are stacked in opposition to the crew in Alabasta.

Alabasta is an actual problem for our heroes, as they need to tackle the nefarious Baroque Works and their shady chief, Mr. 0, who will ship different assassins and criminals to assault our heroes irrespective of the place they’re. The fights right here showcase precisely how inventive One Piece could be, and all construct to a civil struggle to find out the destiny of a rustic as 5 totally different sides battle it out. It’s an exquisite arc that has the entire dramatic rigidity you’ll count on from one thing as grand as this, giving us the most effective arcs in your complete sequence.

2) Lengthy Ring Lengthy Land Arc to Submit-Enies Foyer Arc (Water 7 Saga)

Whereas I’m certain many followers can have nostalgia for Alabasta, Water 7 is one thing totally totally different. It bucks a whole lot of the sequence’ expectations. As a substitute of an notorious pirate, the central antagonists are an elite group of Marines who’re keen to kill anybody who will get in the way in which of their objectives. Not solely that, however the Straw Hat Pirates need to rescue certainly one of their crew members, Nico Robin, who willingly went over to the Marines for some mysterious purpose. Once more, there are similarities between this arc and one other later arc, Complete Cake Island, however Water 7 is healthier for 2 major causes: Robin and Usopp.

Neither Robin nor Usopp ever actually obtained any growth till this level, and Water 7 makes it some extent to flesh out each characters in some {powerful} methods. From Usopp’s battle with Luffy to Robin’s declaration of desirous to stay, Water 7 arguably has essentially the most {powerful} moments and a number of the greatest fights in all of One Piece. We’re at some extent the place every character doesn’t really feel too overpowered or weak. They’re on equal footing with their foes, resulting in entertaining fights that might lead to victory or defeat. There’s little or no to criticize about this arc, making it a straightforward alternative so near the highest.

1) Sabaody Archipelago Arc to Submit-Battle Arc (Summit Battle Saga)

The perfect arc of One Piece ought to come as no shock to longtime followers. The Summit Battle Saga serves because the climax of the primary half of the sequence, starting with a hopeless battle in opposition to the Marines that ends in catastrophic defeat for Luffy and his crew, forcing them to separate. We then be taught that Luffy’s brother, Ace, goes to be executed, and Luffy has to save lots of him, leading to Luffy making an attempt to infiltrate the jail the place Ace is being held after which escaping that jail to go to the general public execution the place Ace is about to die, solely to get entangled with an enormous struggle between the Marines and Ace’s crew. It’s chaos and is an absolute delight to witness.

This was the arc that rocked the boat. Our heroes had been fully defeated, and a number of the most unimaginable feats inside the sequence had been achieved by the antagonists. All we had been left with was carnage and a looming sense that the world would by no means be the identical. This arc modified the aim of One Piece and fully redefined the world, for higher or worse. It’s an arc that deserves the entire reward that it will get for the way a lot it obliterates the established order and takes main dangers. And for that, it’s simple to name the Summit Battle Saga the perfect one in every of of One Piece. 

And that was our rating of the entire main One Piece arcs.

One Piece is offered to learn on-line in English via Viz Media and different companies.

The above article was up to date on 4/15/2024 by Escapist Editorial to make clear details about One Piece.