The Paramount War, also known as Marineford, is quite easily one of the best arcs, not just in One Piece, but in all of anime and manga. This arc saw One Piece’s popularity explode all over the world and gave it a legendary status. Marineford is an incredible arc, full of tense moments that see Luffy try his best to rescue his brother from the clutches of the Government. The incredible drama of this arc, along with the chaos that it brings, makes it one of the very best in the series, but Oda has more incredible arcs under his belt than just Marineford. In fact, there are quite a lot of One Piece arcs that go on to rival it and some that are arguably even superior.
Skypiea
- Chapter Count: 66 Chapters
While the Marineford arc excels when it comes to chaotic battles, the Skypiea arc of One Piece excels when it comes to incredible backstories and lore. It can be argued that Skypiea is one of the most lore-heavy arcs of One Piece, with massive implications for some of the current events in the story. At its core, One Piece is an adventure story, and this arc epitomizes that to the absolute fullest.
Skypiea is also a mirror of One Piece’s actual theme of Luffy going up against the Gods of the world and crushing them. Above all, Skypiea is a story of freedom and liberation, and is everything that One Piece truly represents, condensed in a small arc. While it might not have the flashy rescue battles and the best villain in the story, it is still an absolutely incredible story arc that excels even over Marineford in a multitude of ways.
Arlong Park
- Chapter Count: 27 Chapters
Arlong Park might not be the arc with the best battles or the most in-depth story writing, but it is one that most fans hold incredibly close to their heart because it is what made them fall in love with the series. Up until Arlong Park, most fans consider One Piece to be a decent story, but this arc changes their perspective on it completely.
Arlong Park is spectacular from start to finish, and the emotional weight that this arc carries is absolutely immense. For all these reasons, Arlong Park goes on to rival even Marineford for many fans and earns an easy 10/10 from most watchers.
GameRant Quiz
Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)
Arabasta
- Chapter Count: 63 Chapters
At the core of One Piece is Luffy’s adventure, throughout which he does his best to aid his friends and, at the same time, plays his role as the warrior of liberation. Knowingly or unknowingly, Luffy always liberates people, and Arabasta was the perfect example of this. This arc sees Luffy travel with Vivi to the desert kingdom and prevent it from a civil war by crushing the Baroque Works and their leader, Sir Crocodile. It also turns up the heat when it comes to the danger level, given that it is the first dangerous country that the Straw Hats visit in the Grand Line.
The story writing for Arabasta is certainly incredibly deep, and it gives one a new perspective as to what a true leader should be like. On top of that, this arc opens up the idea of the true history of the world to the fans and lets Nico Robin join the crew, which is something that carries immense significance in the grand scheme of things. Arabasta might not be the best One Piece arc, but most fans consider its story to be S-tier and, at the same time, Crocodile to be arguably the best villain that the series has produced.
8 One Piece Arcs With The Best Stories, Ranked
One Piece has some incredible story arcs in its expansive history, with these examples being the best of the bunch.
Whole Cake Island
- Chapter Count: 78 Chapters
Whole Cake Island is an absolutely brilliant story arc that stands as one of Oda’s best in the entire series. This arc focuses on Luffy’s incredible bond with Sanji as he heads deep into the territory of Yonko Big Mom for his rescue. It blends some of the most incredible notes of the story together, all like a musical/tea party theme. Not only does this arc show the deep connection between Luffy and his crew, but at the same time it also shows what the true threat of a Yonko is.
At the same time, it also gives the fan some of the best battles, such as Luffy’s clash against Cracker and, later down the line, Luffy versus Katakuri, which many consider to be one of the best fights in the story. At the same time, the conclusion to Whole Cake Island is one of the best endings to any arc in One Piece, with Bad End Musical being an experience that no fan can ever forget.
Elbaf
Elbaf is still ongoing in the One Piece manga, but the number of incredible chapters that it has delivered has reached a point where it is already one of the best arcs in the story. The lore that Elbaf has delivered through mural and the Harley already eclipses the vast majority of the series, and that alone makes it an incredible story.
On top of that, it has introduced the fans to Prince Loki, one of the best modern characters in One Piece, and shown the threat of Imu for the very first time. Elbaf brings a sense of doom not just for the Straw Hat Pirates, but for the whole world. It marks the prelude to the Great War and sets a very dark tone for the future to come. Elbaf also gave the fans a look at the past of the One Piece world, which brought to life the adventure of Rocks D. Xebec and his eventual fall. For all these reasons, it is easily an arc that rivals Marineford, and some would say it even surpasses it.
Enies Lobby
- Chapter Count: 56 Chapters
If there is one arc in the story that many fans argue is on par with Marineford, it is the Enies Lobby arc. This arc is a classic rescue mission that sees the Straw Hat Pirates head to the judicial island of the World Government, Enies Lobby, in order to rescue their friend Nico Robin from the clutches of the Government. In doing so, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates clash against CP9, known to be one of the most powerful forces on the seas.
Luffy and the crew put their lives on the line to rescue their friend, and it shows what this crew is all about. Enies Lobby does not even have one weak moment, and from the beginning to the end, it is incredibly strong. For all these reasons, it is easily an arc that rivals and potentially even surpasses Marineford.
Wano Country
- Chapter Count: 149 Chapters
If there’s one One Piece arc that stands head and shoulders above the rest, it is Wano Country. This arc sees Oda bring the brilliant culture of Japan to life in the manga, but at the same time, deliver an incredible story of oppression, colonization, war, and resistance. With Wano colonized by the Beast Pirates and completely crushed for over two decades, the country is in deep turmoil, turning into a land where children eat and drink poisoned food to survive and quench their hunger. This arc sees Luffy’s role as the Sun God Nika especially highlighted, and that is largely because he truly flourishes as the Warrior of Liberation here as he beats Yonko Kaido and frees the country from the twenty years of oppressive rule.
Luffy breaks the chains of all the slaves in the country, and for the first time in 800 years, the Sun God Nika emerges once again. More than that, the lore implications of this arc are absolutely immense, and it also delivers the best flashback in the entire story, that being the Oden flashback.
The Onigashima stretch of the Wano Country Arc is absolutely spectacular, delivering high-level combat, such as the battle on the rooftop, Luffy versus Kaido, Law and Kid versus Big Mom, Zoro versus King, and Sanji versus Queen, among other fights. The intricate way in which Oda weaves this story around the oppression of people and the resistance of Wano makes it the undisputed best One Piece arc to date.
One Piece Manga is available to read on Manga Plus.
One Piece
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
