One Piece Arcs Ranked: 30-26

In celebration of Netflix's live-action adaptation of the anime, I will be ranking most of the many story arcs (fillers included). These are just based on my personal opinion. So, here are arcs 30-26. Also, like with my Fairy Tail rankings, if there are any secondary paragraphs, those will be more spoiler-filled.

30. Reverse Mountain

The introduction to the Grand Line and it starts with a bang as the crew has to sail up a mountain, thanks to Oda's use of 'physics' and 'geography' in his world only to run into the gigantic whale Laboon on the way down. It also introduces Crocus, who proves to have more importance down the line, as well as Mr. 9 and the incredibly important Ms. Wednesday. Laboon's backstory is yet another of tragic backstories that Oda loves to throw in and while at first look, it seems to only be a cautionary tale about the dangers of the Grand Line, Oda always has a plan as he brings it full circle in a truly shocking and heart-warming moment way down the line. This arc is one of the shortest, clocking in at only two episodes, but it has big ramifications for the future and officially starts the Straw Hat's journey across the Grand Line, giving it more credence.

29. Post-Enies Lobby

This arc, taking place after the fantastic and pulse-pounding Enies Lobby arc, serves as sort of a breather that allows the Straw Hats and the audience a moment to relax before the next major arc starts up. The main focus here was to find a new ship, introducing Vice-Admiral Garp, increasing all the crew's bounties, bringing Franky aboard, returning Usopp to the crew, and of course having the fated battle between Ace and Blackbeard. All of these are important moments for the crew and for the future of the series. Garp himself quickly becomes a fan favorite thanks to his eccentric personality. Both Frankly's and Usopp's moments were emotional though did have their humorous side, mostly Franky thanks to Robin. And Sanji's wanted poster will always be hilarious though the world's reactions to all wanted posters was a nice touch. But the final sequence of Ace finally facing off against the man who betrayed him is an epic fight for a non-Straw Hat and has major repercussions for the rest of the story.

While new One Piece fans (thanks to the Netflic series) are already aware of the big Garp reveal of him as Luffy's grandfather, it's still a good shock. The return of Koby and Helmeppo was also a nice touch. It's clear this arc was a big inspiration for the Netflix series.

28. Jaya

This arc is one that just sets things up for the next big arc, in this case that being Skypeia. Still, Oda always loves setting things in motion and while this arc does have a lot of good things going for it already like the tale of Mont-Blanc Noland, Luffy's one-way fight with Bellamy, and the Knock Up Stream, the official introduction to who seems most likely to be Luffy's final enemy or at least one of his greatest in the series: Blackbeard who shares the same dreams and passion as Luffy just with none of his morals or ethics. It is one of the silliest ways to introduce such a powerful foe and yet it works in the end. The whole arc examines who pirates are in this era and what they're supposed to be, highlighting Luffy's lifestyle as an outlier and also how much he doesn't care. For an introductory arc, it did a lot of great stuff.

27. Orange Town

The second arc of the story and the one that contains the Straw Hat's first official challenge as a crew. It also officially introduces Nami who made appearances in previous episodes unnamed. It also features the introduction to one of the most recurring villains in One Piece, Buggy the Clown who, outside of this small arc, isn't much of a threat and is honestly more of a joke. Still, he does test both Zoro and Luffy for a bit and shows some of the future threats they'll have to face. His chop-chop powers are pretty sweet and match his personality. In addition to all that, the moment that highlights this arc the most is Chouchou the dog and his steadfast determination to protect his home from anyone, even a giant lion. It's the small moments coming from side characters that truly make this story great. After the first arc started things off, this one had to keep the ball rolling and it did so very well.

26. Loguetown

The final arc (in canon) of the East Blue Saga and the last stop of the Straw Hats before the Grand Line. The island where Gol D. Roger was executed and the place where the Great Pirate Era began. It's also the island that introduces three key figures: Smoker, Tashigi, and the unnamed cloak man (of course, fans know who it is). At this point, viewers have only really seen the worst of the Marines. Here, we meet Smoker and Tashigi who represent the best of the Marines by actually upholding the law and protecting citizens. Of course, that still makes them enemies of the Straw Hats with Smoker's smoke powers proving too much for Luffy (also the introduction to various Devil Fruit types). Tashigi and Zoro's interactions are pretty funny and set up a good rivalry between the two. The return of Buggy and even Alvida was a nice touch as final antagonists. This arc sends the crew off with a literal bang and major battle with each character getting their moment and in the end all of them proclaiming their dreams to each other as a final scene.

And there's the next batch. Thanks for reading and check back soon for 25-21 which should come sooner than this one.