If you know anything about anime, you must know about one piece. Being one of the anime of “The Big Three” of anime (One piece, Naruto, Bleach), One piece is loved by millions of anime lovers across the globe. The series has been airing since 1999( more than 23 years), and a new episode is still airing every Sunday. With more than a thousand manga chapters and anime episodes, the series has brought fans countless rich and complex worlds filled with unforgettable characters, epic battles, and emotional moments in different sagas and arcs.
We have looked at the best One Piece arcs, from the early adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates to their most recent exploits, and put them together in a list of the best. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer to the series, join us as we delve into the world of One Piece and discover some of its most thrilling and impactful story arcs.
These are the best One Piece Arcs in 2023
Wano Kuni Arc
As of now, the Wano country arc is currently airing and has been delivering action of that scale of Marine Ford for over 100 episodes non-stop. The arc has plenty of top-tier fights sprinkled throughout it, and the epic story is accompanied by a shift in an art style that reflects the traditional Japanese setting beautifully. Straw Hat’s battle with the strongest emperor Kaido is much awaited and is currently happening on a full scale as we write this.
The Wano Country arc in One Piece tells the captivating story of the Straw Hat Pirates aiding the samurai in a raid on Onigashima while exploring the incredible life and connections of the legendary samurai, Oden. Wano arc has become the longest arc in one-piece anime, overthrowing the Dressrosa Arc. Jinbe finally joins the crew, and each straw hat has a key fight in this arc which will develop their character even more. The long-awaited Gear 5 transformation of Luffy will also be animated in this arc, sending fans into frenzies.
- Episodes: 890-894, 897-906, 908-1028, 1051-ongoing
- Manga Chapters: 909-1057
- Saga: Wano Country Saga
Marineford War
The Marineford War is the product of all the hype and build-up of the last 400 episodes and delivered way too hard. Almost literally everyone we’ve met in the last 400 episodes was present in this war. The earth-shaking plot turns and builds up to a profound tragedy that resonates through one piece’s entire world on both geopolitical and deeply personal levels, making this one of the best One Piece arcs.
We witness the peak of one piece, with the clash between Whitebeard Pirates and the world government. And to top it all off, Shank’s entrance was also one of the memorable moments of the arc. The arc also laid the foundation for the second half of one piece and the start of the New world journey. The summit war is a feat utterly unmatched by any other shonen manga storytelling in part because you’d need over a decade of build-up. After making Marine Ford, Oda truly had nothing left to prove is a mangaka.
- Episodes: 457-489
- Manga Chapters: 550-580
- Saga: Summit War Saga
Post-War Arc
In third place is the post-war arc, with its story based on grief and startling revelations about Luffy’s past with Ace. The arc is compelling on so many different levels, from the fascinating world-building of the goa kingdom in which they grew up to the complex. The society level and discrimination which lower level people faces. Sabo’s mutual brotherly love is an absolute tearjerker and one of the hardest-hitting moments in all of one piece.
The Post War arc was a calm and emotional arc after all the chaos that ensued in the Marineford war. The arc felt like a prequel to the anime itself since it’s a backstory about our Main Character Luffy.
- Episodes: 490-491, 493-516
- Manga Chapters: 581-597
- Saga: Summit War Saga
Whole Cake Island
The Whole Cake Island arc is a Sanji storyline where we get our first taste of what an emperor’s (Big Mom) full power looks like. This arc takes the cartoon logic of one piece’s action to a whole new level of extreme intensity and is the peak of comedy in the series. Sanji’s backstory and his connections with the Germa 66 introduce a new power ranger like Sanji which seems like a really weird combination.
The straw Hats try to prevent Sanji’s departure while escaping Big Mom’s clutches and fighting the Sweet Three Commanders. The Whole Cake Island arc included many surprising moments, such as the Luffy vs Sanji fight and stealing a copy of the poneglyph. We are treated to Luffy Vs Katakuri, one of the best fights of OP and Luffy’s new transformation Gear 4 Snakeman. Overall Whole cake Island arc is a complete package of tragedy and comedy.
- Episodes: 490-491, 493-516
- Manga Chapters: 581-597
- Saga: Summit War Saga
Ennies Lobby
Ennies Lobby is the extended climax of water 7, but the world-building surrounding the cipher pole and the navy’s court system combined make the story unique. with the emotional drama of scrambling to reach and rescue robin from cipher-pol and herself and all the banger fights that happen along the way, from the train heist to Rob Lucci and Luffy’s fight, this arc was an emotional rollercoaster.
This arc showed the lengths to which the Straw Hat crew would go to save their Nakama(member). We also learned about the origins of Nico Robin and Ohara and heard about the void century for the first time. The Straw Hat declared war against the world government when Ussop, no! Sogeking set the world government flag on fire. This was one of the most memorable scenes from the arc, along with Luffy’s first gear transformation(Gear 2), and is set in the mind of every One Piece fan.
- Episodes: 264-290, 293-302, 304-312 episode
- Manga Chapters: 375-430,
- Saga: Water 7 Saga
Water 7
Few arcs have more fundamentally changed the shape of what one piece can be, but water seven is definitely one of them. Nico robin’s been traveling with the crew for a while now, but by the end of this arc, she finally truly joins them. Usopp, who’s been wrestling with his own relative weakness since Going Merry broke down, breaks away from his friends. But later, he returns to prove to his crew and, more importantly, himself, why he belongs on the crew.
The arc offers fascinating insights into the vital industries of sailing ships and the talented craftsmen who make sailing its dangerous waters possible. Through the city’s backstory, we see how the shadowy overreach of the world government continuously threatens their vital work. The infinitely lovable Frankie joins our Straw Hats crew, and they give chase to the government goons who took Robin. The shocking plot twist that introduced Chiper Pol and the infamous Buster Call all made up for an interesting story build-up.
- Episodes: 229-264,
- Manga Chapters: 322-374,
- Saga: Water 7 Saga
Dressrosa
Dressrosa is basically a dark what-if version of Arabasta. What if no one had stopped Crocodile? What would a warlord of the sea do with the stolen power of a king? How would his people suffer? How would he keep them in line? That’s what Shichibukai Doflamigo succeeded in doing to the kingdom of Dressrosa. Those who defy Don Quixote Doflamingo become living toy slaves, their existence erased from their memories.
The Arc shows Luffy rolling up the hill from its gladiatorial arena all the way to the final battle with Doflamingo, where Luffy’s new form, Gear 4, is revealed. At the same time, Usopp absolutely shines among the tiny folk, and God Ussop is introduced. The people who are willing to follow Luffy into the jaws of death become huge, and after this, the straw hats aren’t a crew anymore they’re a whole fleet. Though the Arc is lengthy, the epic battles, emotional backstories, and amazing plot all makeup for it.
- Episodes: 629–747,
- Manga Chapters: 700-802
- Saga: Dressrosa Saga
Arabasta
Alabasta Arc is circled around the Shichibukai of the desert, Crocodile. The arc takes place in desert-bound Alabasta, political intrigue based on an Egyptophile fantasy adventure. The arc is the culmination of 100 chapters worth of build-up and 200 chapters of character development. Straw Hats take responsibility for saving princess Vivi and her country from the evil clutches of Crocodile.
Each Straw Hat member faces a formidable foe from the Baroque work organization, and their powers are put to an extreme test. This is also the arc where we are introduced to a new Straw Hat member Nico Robin, Portagas D Ace, and the destructive Ancient Weapons. We got a taste of what world government power looked like on Drum island and of the shichibukai’s power back on Baratie. The straw hats are hit time and again with a growing sense that the world they’re sailing into is much bigger than the one they knew back in east blue.
- Episodes: 92-130,
- Manga Chapters: 155-217
- Saga: Arabasta Saga
Thriller Bark
Thriller Bark Arc takes place right after the epicness of Ennies Lobby. The Thriller bark perfects the one-piece action adventure fun formula as it escalates from scooby-doo shenanigans to chaotic monster fight and mayhem to the biggest brawl with Oars in the series to date. This all takes place in the hideout of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria.
Gecko Moria and his goons, Perona and Hogback, had one of the funniest and most memorable laughs in one piece. The spooky mystery vibes paired with a more heavily shaded cartoon horror art style unique to the arc gives that perfectly tuned default plotline, a bold and unmistakable sense of identity and atmosphere. We are also introduced to our beloved Soul king Brook and his connection to the whale (Laboon) that helped Straw Hats when they first crossed the Redline.
- Episodes: 337- 381,
- Manga Chapters: 442-489
- Saga: Florian Triangle Saga
Impel Down
At 10th place on the list of best One Piece Arcs, we have Impel Down. One piece has its own prison break series and its Impel Down. Luffy barges into the most secure prison in the OP world to save his brother Ace from being executed. The non-stop escalation of action as Luffy charges recklessly downward to his brother’s cell is the most intense one-piece ever. The Impel Down prison warden Hannibal and Magellan make for one of the funniest and deadliest villain pairs in the entire series.
What makes this arc so good is how it brings back some of the best minor and big threats from past arcs like Crocodile, Buggy, and members of Baroque Works. But the real MVP of this arc is Mr 2( Bon Clay). Mr 2 turned out to be one of Luffy’s greatest Allie, and his sacrifice led to the events of the Marineford War. Also, This arc was where Blackbeard recruited vile prisoners to join his crew and walked on a path to become one of the Emperors of the Seas.
- Episodes: 422-425, 430-452
- Manga Chapters: 525-549
- Saga: Summit War Saga
Arlong Park
Arlong Park is another arc where Luffy spends a long time winding up a long punch to finish up the bad guys. A Fishman pirate crew led by Arlong has been terrorizing a peaceful village(Cocoyashi) that never did anything to hurt nobody. This act is denoted as revenge, as Humans have always looked down on Fishman. This village where Fishman has taken hostage is Nami’s village, and we get to see Nami’s backstory, which is truly emotional.
These Fishman make Nami cry; nobody makes Luffy’s friend cry and gets away with it. This is the arc where the straw hats finally truly come together as a real crew, and an unbreakable trust in one another is forged. It’s also the culmination of many interesting threads left dangling throughout the rest of east blue. It accomplishes all that while being utterly thrilling, an unstoppable snowball of increasingly chaotic action from beginning to end.
- Episodes: 31-45
- Manga Chapters: 69-95
- Saga: The East Blue Saga
Sabaody Archipelago
One-piece villains might be pretty cool, and at least they can walk for themselves, Unlike the useless rulers of the one-piece world, Celestial Dragons. This arc is circled around Charlos'( Celestial Dragon) ensuing demonstration of why giving him what he always had come for was such a bad idea. Straw Hats realizes they need to get way stronger if they’re ever going to write the inherent injustice of charlos and people like him exist or make it more than five minutes in the new world.
The demonstration of the power of Admiral Kizaru and Pacifista in Sabaody was the wake-up call that shows our Straw Hat Pirates exactly how much more they have left to grow. The arc also introduces “The Worst Generation Pirates” into the story, who are similarly searching for the One Piece as the Straw Hat crew. But the most satisfying part of this arc must be Luffy punching Charlos straight in the face.
- Episodes: 385-405
- Manga Chapters: 490-513
- Saga: Summit War Saga
