Key Takeaways
- Impel Down Arc: Luffy faces high stakes while trying to infiltrate, survive, and escape a maximum-security prison to save his brother Ace.
- Thriller Bark Arc: The crew risks losing the ability to live under sunlight if they fail to defeat Moria and retrieve their stolen shadows.
- Wano Country Arc: Luffy aims to save the suffering people of Wano from the tyrannical Kaido and prevent a potential global catastrophe.
✕ Remove Ads
As a series that has been going strong for nearly three decades, One Piece has created so many great and iconic story arcs. Some are quite short, like the Loguetown arc (7 episodes) or the Return to Sabaody arc (6 episodes), while others are quite long, such as the Skypiea arc (43 episodes) or the Wano Country arc (191 episodes).
Related The Different Kinds of Pirates in One Piece
One Piece is made up of all sorts of Pirates, each with their own motivations. Here’s a closer look at the kinds of people sailing the Blue Sea.
Posts
But no matter how long the story arcs may be, every single one of them presents a challenge – a stake, if you will – that the heroes have to overcome. With that in mind, these are some of One Piece’s story arcs with the highest stakes.
10 Impel Down Arc
Infiltrate, Surviving, And Escape From The Impel Down Prison
- Saga: Summit War Saga
- Chapters: 25 (525-549)
- Episodes: 27 (422-425 and 430-452)
✕ Remove Ads
Apart from the Marineford arc, the Impel Down arc is the most exciting story arc in the Summit War Saga. In this arc, Luffy has to infiltrate the legendary Impel Down prison to save his brother, Portgas D. Ace, from execution. But he soon finds out that just surviving alone is already difficult in this maximum-security prison, much less trying to escape with other people.
At first glance, the stake in this arc is only Ace’s freedom. After all, had Luffy succeeded in breaking Ace free from the deepest level of Impel Down, Ace would be a free man and still very much alive right now. But considering all the harsh conditions and obstacles that Luffy encounters while trying to descend the prison, it’s clear that Luffy’s own life and freedom are at stake as well.
9 Thriller Bark Arc
Losing the Ability to Live Under the Sun
- Saga: Thriller Bark Saga
- Chapters: 48 (442-489)
- Episodes: 45 (337-381)
✕ Remove Ads
Thriller Bark arc is arguably one of the most, if not the most, underrated story arcs in One Piece. Most people only remember Thriller Bark as the place where Brook becomes the official member of the Straw Hats. However, this arc is actually a lot more eventful and has much higher stakes than one might think.
What makes the stakes so high is the fact that Gecko Moria, at the time one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, steals the shadows of several Straw Hats members. As it turns out, Moria has stolen hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s shadows. Unless they get their shadows back, they won’t be able to live under the sunlight for the rest of their life. Luffy and his crews must beat Moria and get their shadows back. Otherwise, they can say goodbye to their dream voyage.
8 Whole Cake Island Arc
Losing Sanji And War With Big Mom
✕ Remove Ads
- Saga: Whole Cake Island Saga
- Chapters: 78 (825-902)
- Episodes: 95 (783-877)
At first, the biggest stake in the Whole Cake Island arc for the Straw Hats is the possibility of losing Sanji. Needless to say, this is something that our heroes want to avoid at all costs. After all, he is the only chef on board, he is one of the strongest fighters in the crew, and he is part of the original members. Sanji is undoubtedly an irreplicable existence to the Straw Hats.
Related One Piece Film Red Ending, Explained
This article provides a breakdown and explanations of what actually happened at the end of One Piece Film: Red
Posts2
However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that freeing Sanji means declaring war on the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, and the numerous pirates who sail under her banner. One wrong move and the Straw Hats Pirates will cease to exist. Additionally, Big Mom’s hungry fit at the end also endangers the lives of the countless people who live on the island. So yes, it is quite a high-stakes story arc indeed.
✕ Remove Ads
7 Egghead Arc
Finding Out the Secret of the World and Surviving the Five Elders
- Saga: Final Saga
- Chapters: 68 (1058-1125)
- Episodes: 37 (1086-Present)
The Straw Hats never really have any intention to visit Egghead Island. They merely stumble upon this futuristic island that turns out to be the HQ of the greatest inventor in history, Dr. Vegapunk. As such, there’s really no stake in this journey other than the usual risk of exploring a new territory. At least that’s how it is at the beginning.
As the story progresses, however, they find themselves in the middle of a government conspiracy, assassination attempts, and the revelation of huge secrets that the World Government tries so hard to hide. As if that’s not enough, things quickly escalate to the point that the Straw Hats now have to survive the attacks of the CP0, the Five Elders, and a Marine fleet that is ready to initiate a Buster Call on the island.
✕ Remove Ads
6 Enies Lobby Arc
Losing Two Members and Declaring War on the World Government
- Saga: Arabasta Saga
- Chapters: 63 (155-217)
- Episodes: 39 (92-130)
In a grand scheme of things, Enies Lobby might not affect the lives of regular people in the world, but it is definitely one the most important arcs in the story of the Straw Hats pirates. In terms of personal risk, the stakes in this arc are incredibly high. Had anything going wrong in this arc, it’s not an exaggeration to say that there wouldn’t be any Straw Hat pirates left.
Let’s list some of the things that happened to the Straw Hats in this arc. They lost their ship, they were hunted for the assassination attempt on the Water 7’s mayor, they became the World Government’s No. 1 enemy, they could’ve been decimated by the Buster Call, they nearly lost their life to the CP9, they could’ve lost two of their members, and crucially, the Straw Hats Pirates could be disbanded right there and then.
✕ Remove Ads
5 Skypiea Arc
Stopping a Civil War and a Tyrannical Leader
- Saga: Sky Island Saga
- Chapters: 6 (237-302)
- Episodes: 43 (153-195)
From this point forward, we go beyond the personal stakes of the crew and the people around them to the lives of the entire nation. In Skypiea, there’s a bloody civil war that has been going on for hundreds of years between the native people of Shandians and the Sky People who came as settlers hundreds of years ago. However, all of them live under the cruel god “Enel.”
Related One Piece: The Golden Age of Pirates, Explained
The Golden Age of Pirates changed the One Piece world forever. Here’s a closer look at what happened.
Posts
The Straw Hats pirates found themselves stuck in the middle of that three-way conflict. They come to the Sky Island with the spirit of exploration, but everything quickly devolves into non-stop combat and survival of the fittest. Luffy knows that the cruel god is at the center of the conflict so the fastest way to bring everything to a halt is to take down Enel. The outcome of their battle will determine the fate of the people of the Sky Islands.
✕ Remove Ads
4 Arabasta Arc
Stopping the Rebellion and Taking Down an Evil Organization
- Saga: Arabasta Saga
- Chapters: 63 (155-217)
- Episodes: 39 (92-130)
Arabasta is in a similar condition to Skypiea. But unlike the bloody civil war that has been going on for a long time in Skypiea, what happened in Arabasta is a rebellion. The people who have to endure increasingly harsh conditions are revolting against King Nerfertari Cobra who they consider an unjust and tyrannical king. As a response, the royal guards also begin to exert their strength over the people.
What the people don’t realize, however, is the fact that all of this chaos, violence, and tragedy is actually orchestrated by a secret organization called the Baroque Works, under the leadership of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Things would’ve gone swimmingly for him if only Princess Vivi hadn’t come back to Arabasta with his friends, the Straw Hats, to ruin Chrocodile’s plan. Similar to Skypiea, the outcome of Straw Hats vs Baroque Works will determine the fate of the people of Arabasta.
✕ Remove Ads
3 Dressrosa Arc
Saving the People of Dressrosa from Their False King
- Saga: Whole Cake Island Saga
- Chapters: 23 (802-824)
- Episodes: 29 (751-779)
Similar to Arabasta, Dressrosa is also under the control of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, an eccentric man named Donquixote Doflamingo. Unlike in Arabasta, however, Doflamingo took over Dressrosa from its rightful ruler using deceptions and manipulations. And now, he is the de facto leader of Dressrosa, and anybody who dares to question his command will be turned into a doll and be forever erased from the memory of their loved ones.
✕ Remove Ads
Enter the Straw Hat Pirates. From the get-go, they do try to take on Doflamingo as per the agreement between Straw Hat Pirates and Trafalgar Law of the Heart Pirates. But things quickly spiral out of control when they find out the truth about the people of Dressrosa, when some of their members turn into dolls, when Luffy finds out that Ace’s devil fruit is the prize for a gladiator fight, when it’s clear that Doflamingo providing weapons for various famous criminals, and when the Revolutionary Army involved. So, as fans can see, a lot is at stake in the fight between Luffy and Doflamingo.
2 Wano Country Arc
Saving the People of Wano and War with Kaido
- Saga: Wano Country Saga
- Chapters: 149 (909-1057)
- Episodes: 191 (890-1085)
Wano country is like Dressrosa but everything is turned up to eleven. There is a shogun to lead the country, but everybody knows that the true leader of Wano is Kaido, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. He uses the country’s resources to produce weapons and train soldiers for his army. The citizens are forced to work in horrible conditions in his factory and anybody who dares to challenge him will be thrown into a massive concentration camp where they will be tortured every day.
✕ Remove Ads
Related One Piece: The Roles of the Five Elders in the World Government, Explained
The Five Elders each play an important role in running the World Government. Here’s a closer look at what they do.
Posts
Similar to Dressrosa, Luffy, along with the other members of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance, comes to Wano intending to bring Kaido down. The more they see the suffering in Wano, the more determined they become. It is later revealed that Kaido intends to use the weapons and the artificial devil fruits that he shoves into his soldiers to wage war against the World Government. So if Luffy fails to defeat Kaido, the misery that they encounter in Wano will be spread to the rest of the world.
1 Marineford Arc
Losing Ace and Surviving an Open War
- Saga: Summit War Saga
- Chapters: 31 (550-580)
- Episodes: 33 (457-489)
✕ Remove Ads
Some might think that the stake in the Marineford arc is only about Ace’s life. It’s actually far more than that. People who care deeply about Ace are indeed ready to take up arms to save him, but the World Government won’t go out of its way to do a public execution that is broadcast all over the world just for a young pirate. They do so because Ace means a lot more to them.
First of all, Ace is the Whitebeard Pirates’ 2nd Division Commander, which means executing him in public is akin to humiliating Whitebeard while crippling his force at the same time. Ace is also the son of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, which means ending his life is akin to the World Government declaring the end of Roger’s dream and ambition. Ace is also the sworn brother of Luffy, a pirate who’s been making a name for himself and humiliating the Marines numerous times. Killing Ace is akin to showing Luffy and other newcomers what will happen to them if they dare to oppose the Marines and the World Government.
✕ Remove Ads
In other words, executing Ace is the same as Marines and the World Government declaring triumph against pirates. This signals to the whole world that they can put their implicit trust in the World Government and boost their spirit to stand up and fight against the criminals known as pirates. This will also lift the morale of every marine around the globe and inspire them to work harder to catch pirates. If Ace died, life would become infinitely harder for every pirate in the world, and that is precisely what happened. The World Government didn’t just kill a man that day. They extinguish a symbol.
Your Rating
10 stars9 stars8 stars7 stars6 star5 stars4 stars3 stars2 stars1 star Rate Now 0/10
Your comment has not been saved
35 9.7/10 One Piece ActionAdventureComedyFantasy
Release Date October 20, 1999 Studio Toei Animation Number of Episodes 1116+
Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
