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Yesterday I finished off the Skypiea arc and the available Funimation dub episodes along with it. I'm now either going to watch the short filler arc of 7-10 episodes or just skip ahead, haven't decided yet.
The adventure in Skypiea was a bit boring to me, not nearly as strong as in Alabasta, up until the final finish of Enel when he was KO'd by Luffy via Gum Gum Rifle special attack with golden ball. That was an excellent moment, the lead-up and music to it was perfect.
The rest was meh, unfortunately. I was annoyed when the Indian guy (or w/e One Piece is pretending to call these guys, the entire arc is clearly modeled on White People vs Native Americans) owned Enel with that sea rock that blocks out devil fruit powers, but then they all quietly sat about 10m away and watched for 30 sec as Enel slowly restarted his heart immediately afterwards. How about go back with the sea stone, touch it to him, and drive a spear through Enel's head, killing him? This was the first big flaw I've noticed in One Piece in which it doesn't seem to be realistic in terms of good guys being absolutely stupid where they shouldn't. This is, of course, a basic constant in Bleach and was something I enjoyed missing when watching One Piece. Another disappointed and what appears to be a pattern in One Piece is bringing back key dead characters at the end of the arc. That blonde girls' father comes back at the end, despite having been "killed" by Enel. His death made the arc much more emotional and stronger, and its just a cheap move that hurts the story by bringing him back. Let there be some loss from developed characters, please, don't go the Bleach way of nobody good every permanently dying. This also happened in Alabasta, where the guy who turned into a bird to carry the nuke-cannonball somehow miraculously survived. Let them die, it makes for a better story.
Cute note from the dub, the last words that Luffy says before the golden ball hits the bell is "Let it ring!" which instantly reminded me of MLK and his "Let freedom ring from..." phrase he used in his "I have a Dream" speech. I also thought there was a lot of symbolism with respect to Enel's giant black exploding spherical cloud-bombs going off like nuclear weapons - that there was two and the way they exploded, along with how the Japanese view their history of being nuked twice can't just be coincidence. Consciously or unconsciously, it was a great way for the author to really demonize Enel to Japanese audiences and reinforce the "Japanese as victims in ww2" view the majority seem to have, what with the pious and weak people being smashed to pieces by lightning and then two giant exploding sphere clouds going off over populated areas, destroying the land forever.
Anyway, symbolism and underlying themes and motifs aside I have to rate the Alabasta arc as my favorite so far, followed by Arlong, then Skypiea. I am getting closer to that arc that everyone has been hyping as the best though, Enies Lobby. According to the list I consult to avoid fillers I have the short Davy Back arc and then the longer Water 7 arc first. Looking forward to seeing Smoker and others again (smoker is my fav character).
Oh and I suppose Enel will be making a comeback sooner or later, seeing how not only was he not dead but he seemed to be fine and his ship in order at the end of this arc. Bit of a plot-hole there, I suppose, what with Enel being able to just take an hour or so to fly his ship back around to high altitude out of even Luffy's range and just smash up Skypiea. On the other hand he did want to go to the land of Endless Vearth (dub terms), so maybe he didn't care anymore or was rattled and just wanted to gtfo away from Luffy.
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Even though enel's supposed to be immortal I'd think he'd die of lack of oxygen O.O
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On April 18 2010 06:57 Nub4ever wrote:
Even though enel's supposed to be immortal I'd think he'd die of lack of oxygen O.O
I don't think he's any more immortal than any other Logia type person like Ace, Smoker or Crocodile. They can all transform into something outside of their bodies, but it appears that Enel could be killed by Luffy (or at least badly beaten) and he definitely could be killed once his ability was taken away via that sea rock thing.
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Wow, I assume you haven't catched on to the comic undtil recently or either it's delayed in Australia. But I think I started to read about Enel... about... 2-3 years ago?
Then again you might have meant the movie...
Okay, back on topic. Nice to see that someone is still reading One Piece, if I were you I'd look forward to Water Seven because for me has been the funniest one so far. Even though I don't think alot about symbolism.
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On April 18 2010 07:11 Iplaythings wrote:
Wow, I assume you haven't catched on to the comic undtil recently or either it's delayed in Australia. But I think I started to read about Enel... about... 2-3 years ago?
Then again you might have meant the movie...
Okay, back on topic. Nice to see that someone is still reading One Piece, if I were you I'd look forward to Water Seven because for me has been the funniest one so far. Even though I don't think alot about symbolism.
He's watching the anime.
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The anime really drags out Ernies Lobby, thus it does get a bit boring at times. Shabody is my favorite anime arc by FAR as it is the one that finally introduces every important character and pushes the plot.
You are still in the character development phase of the story, which is really boring imo, I can't even describe in words how great the manga story is right now, when you get their, expect lots of orgasms!
On Enel: He is probably one of the strongest Logia's we have met so far, but in my opinion all the Logia's are limited in strength. Paramecias and non devil fruit users will probably be the top tier by the end of the story.
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You guys are scaring me. I'm starting Water 7 arc and it's only about halfway to the most recent episode out( 446?) If that one and Skypea were your favorite arcs in the series - it's definitely less than I've anticipated from reading all the comments. I wouldn't claim it to be better than Naruto. It's not crazy funny either, just mildly amusing. I like it but Naruto has a vastly superior plot, at least so far. And with the recent development there the gap is increasing.
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I really disliked the Skypea ark, so boring. The coming episodes are much better IMO.
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The skypiea arc kinda dragged for me just because it didn't advance the story at all. The only good part was at the end when we learned that Roger and his pirates had been there.
All of the arcs in general have been good though because Oda is a good writer. I don't know about the anime though.. haven't watched it. Only heard good things about OP anime though in general... although you're watching the dubs IIRC.
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10387 Posts
I liked the Skypeia arc and I really liked the back story behind the "God's Island"
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+ Show Spoiler [semi-spoiler about Enel's fate] +The anime didn't expound on Enel's fate IIRC, but the manga, via the 1 page title pages, shows Enel going to the moon and "conquering" it. It's kinda silly, but there it is.
I actually do want Enel to come back at some point though. He was a good villain. His resurrection being untouched can be explained by surprise though. I'm sure none of them expected him to restart his own goddamn heart.
Yeah, One Piece characters don't die, unless you are some random marine or citizen, at which point you can die in droves apparently. This will change in a big way later though.
I personally didn't like Water 7/Enies Lobby all that much. The manga version is ok, but the anime version drags out too much. There are a few pretty sick fights though.
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On April 18 2010 10:26 Conquest101 wrote:+ Show Spoiler [semi-spoiler about Enel's fate] +The anime didn't expound on Enel's fate IIRC, but the manga, via the 1 page title pages, shows Enel going to the moon and "conquering" it. It's kinda silly, but there it is. I actually do want Enel to come back at some point though. He was a good villain. His resurrection being untouched can be explained by surprise though. I'm sure none of them expected him to restart his own goddamn heart. Yeah, One Piece characters don't die, unless you are some random marine or citizen, at which point you can die in droves apparently. This will change in a big way later though. I personally didn't like Water 7/Enies Lobby all that much. The manga version is ok, but the anime version drags out too much. There are a few pretty sick fights though.
He starts restarting his heart, then about 10-15 seconds later Nami mentions that is what is happening, then 30-60 seconds later he actually regains consciousness. They had a ton of time to easily finish him but didn't - he was within 5-10m of them. It's a bad plot hole of Bleach proportions.
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On April 18 2010 11:00 cz wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2010 10:26 Conquest101 wrote:+ Show Spoiler [semi-spoiler about Enel's fate] +The anime didn't expound on Enel's fate IIRC, but the manga, via the 1 page title pages, shows Enel going to the moon and "conquering" it. It's kinda silly, but there it is. I actually do want Enel to come back at some point though. He was a good villain. His resurrection being untouched can be explained by surprise though. I'm sure none of them expected him to restart his own goddamn heart. Yeah, One Piece characters don't die, unless you are some random marine or citizen, at which point you can die in droves apparently. This will change in a big way later though. I personally didn't like Water 7/Enies Lobby all that much. The manga version is ok, but the anime version drags out too much. There are a few pretty sick fights though. He starts restarting his heart, then about 10-15 seconds later Nami mentions that is what is happening, then 30-60 seconds later he actually regains consciousness. They had a ton of time to easily finish him but didn't - he was within 5-10m of them. It's a bad plot hole of Bleach proportions.
Meh, was it that long? In the manga it was like 1 frame and he's up.
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On April 18 2010 06:30 cz wrote:
This also happened in Alabasta, where the guy who turned into a bird to carry the nuke-cannonball somehow miraculously survived. Let them die, it makes for a better story
afaik that only happens in the anime, in the manga he's gone for good =)
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On April 18 2010 11:00 cz wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2010 10:26 Conquest101 wrote:+ Show Spoiler [semi-spoiler about Enel's fate] +The anime didn't expound on Enel's fate IIRC, but the manga, via the 1 page title pages, shows Enel going to the moon and "conquering" it. It's kinda silly, but there it is. I actually do want Enel to come back at some point though. He was a good villain. His resurrection being untouched can be explained by surprise though. I'm sure none of them expected him to restart his own goddamn heart. Yeah, One Piece characters don't die, unless you are some random marine or citizen, at which point you can die in droves apparently. This will change in a big way later though. I personally didn't like Water 7/Enies Lobby all that much. The manga version is ok, but the anime version drags out too much. There are a few pretty sick fights though. He starts restarting his heart, then about 10-15 seconds later Nami mentions that is what is happening, then 30-60 seconds later he actually regains consciousness. They had a ton of time to easily finish him but didn't - he was within 5-10m of them. It's a bad plot hole of Bleach proportions.
If anything OP had those from the beginning. It bothered me a lot, but I learned to not get annoyed. In the end, it's not that great.
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On April 18 2010 11:48 nbtnbt5 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2010 06:30 cz wrote:
This also happened in Alabasta, where the guy who turned into a bird to carry the nuke-cannonball somehow miraculously survived. Let them die, it makes for a better story afaik that only happens in the anime, in the manga he's gone for good =)
Nope, he's saved in the manga too.
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Just reviewed the manga and there indeed Enel instantly restarts his heart. In the anime its really drawn out and is a plot hole.
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Enies Lobby is drawn out in parts. But alot of that can be avoid since they have already airred, and he can just skip those boring recap episodes when he gets there. But it definitely isn't bad, I really enjoyed that part of the anime.
The Filler Arc you are getting to, the G-8 Arc I think (that starts immediately after Skypeia) is actually a pretty good filler arc. You should watch it IMO.
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On April 18 2010 12:55 Sentenal wrote:
Enies Lobby is drawn out in parts. But alot of that can be avoid since they have already airred, and he can just skip those boring recap episodes when he gets there. But it definitely isn't bad, I really enjoyed that part of the anime.
The Filler Arc you are getting to, the G-8 Arc I think (that starts immediately after Skypeia) is actually a pretty good filler arc. You should watch it IMO.
Hey, maybe you can explain. How come G-8 is a filler while "Foxy Pirates" is not? I watched every bit of the first one but I couldn't make myself sit through the second. Yet it isn't a "filler"?
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On April 18 2010 13:14 condoriano wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2010 12:55 Sentenal wrote:
Enies Lobby is drawn out in parts. But alot of that can be avoid since they have already airred, and he can just skip those boring recap episodes when he gets there. But it definitely isn't bad, I really enjoyed that part of the anime.
The Filler Arc you are getting to, the G-8 Arc I think (that starts immediately after Skypeia) is actually a pretty good filler arc. You should watch it IMO. Hey, maybe you can explain. How come G-8 is a filler while "Foxy Pirates" is not? I watched every bit of the first one but I couldn't make myself sit through the second. Yet it isn't a "spoiler"?
G-8 wasn't in manga. Foxy Pirates stuff continued in spoilers:
+ Show Spoiler +Foxy Pirates were in the manga. That said, the entire Foxy arc in the anime did have an ass load of filler. Apparently in the Manga, there was only 1 Davy Back Battle, with 3 competitions total. There was that boat race (I think), Zoro/Sanji vs those 3 big guys (again, I think), and the Captains battle. For some reason, in the anime they decided to double the length of of that arc, by adding another fight (and 3 more competitions). And after the actual Foxy Arc, there was another few episodes with Foxy that was entirely filler.
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On April 18 2010 11:57 Conquest101 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 18 2010 11:48 nbtnbt5 wrote:On April 18 2010 06:30 cz wrote:
This also happened in Alabasta, where the guy who turned into a bird to carry the nuke-cannonball somehow miraculously survived. Let them die, it makes for a better story afaik that only happens in the anime, in the manga he's gone for good =) Nope, he's saved in the manga too.
I really hated that shit T__T stupid bird
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cz where are you watching your dubbed episodes from?
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Hmm i thought the Enies Lobby arc was pretty cool. Really good fight scenes. However the arc where the anime is at right now is pretty damn sick ! 
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I'm about 2/3 of the way through Enies Lobby right now and loving it. There are certain episodes where I feel like the anime is frustrating dragging things out but it's not as bad as Skypea. I liked Skypea but it took forever. The huge gaps with Luffy doing nothing were so annoying.
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EPT
