Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackbeard D. Kuma
As for this Impel Down arc so far, I would place it in my top 3 One Piece story arcs. Every single significant character has contributed their fair share towards escaping the gaol, there has been excellent teamwork, Magellan really lived up to his reputation of being the chief warden of the world's most impenetrable fortress, and most importantly, Luffy has advanced a big step in his character development. In addition to all of this, we still have yet to see what Blackbeard and Shiryuu are up to. I know that this arc gets a lot of hate from fans (partially due to the fact that the strawhats are not around), but it has certainly lived up to my expectations.
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Well, to be perfectly frank, the real reason I didn't find this arc to be as good as I'd estimated, or as good as it could have been, or whatever, was really because...
Okay, I'll try to explain it: The Cypher Pol 9 and Enies' Lobby arc was unarguably the most serious, and awesome arc in all of OP, followed, imho, by the Sky Island Arc. Even though the Strawhats went in full blast, and charged a frightfully powerful enemy, the arc still maintained its dignity because of the sheer
prowess the antagonist group displayed.
Although, to be fair, Luffy was extremely serious during this arc. I believe this arc ws probably one of the most amazing ones so far because I saw Luffy grow so many levels, and not just physically, but
Mentally, and
Emotionally, and chronologically overall. It had surprises for everyone, on every character, and in intricate plot focused on development like I've never seen in any other of the "Big Three" anime.
Actually, I wouldn't hesitate to say that the CP9 arc in OP is the
best arc to debut from all three of the big league manga so far.
And don't even begin to talk about the planetary warps that Usopp underwent in terms of growth. Amazing.
Wherever the SH crew took the seriousness of the situation for granted, it was completely overshadowed by the purely incomprehensible threat that Lucci and Kaku presented. Even the Franky family, who managed to miraculously survive (I think they should have died...honestly...), didn't even bother me. The arc was just pure and total
WIN.
In keeping with the Enies' Lobby standard, and seeing as Impel Down is linked to Enies Lobby, and holds the world's most dangerous criminals, I expected a standard as good as, or higher than Enies' Lobby.
I did NOT expect the ENTIRE prison to all be barely held together by only ONE man. Throughout this whole arc he was the only one who was competent among the Impel Down staff.
So the laissez-fair stuff is really piercing through now, seeing as there's no real shadow looming over.
Luffy was breaking into a stronghold of people in their
own turf. It's ridiculous for him to find a group of transvestites sandwiched between the floors and motivate them to get themselves killed in order to give him a chance to escape.
The arc is lacking the
Enforcer. The character who holds a
death grip over them all, and whom, while all is being said and done, is, although with-held, a given, who pervades every phase of protagonist operations. Magellan is pulling the whole prison's weight. And managing it well, but he needs...assistance. A bit more clout to wield.
So far Shiryuu has been a
waste. Hannyabal was nothing short of disappointing (amusing, but less than I expected), and Sadi-chan, although hard-set and determined to do well, has yet to show that the beasts are of any use to anyone.
All in all, a good arc, but lack of
CRUCIAL plot characters who should have been there to guide things along makes it void of real impact.
And forever, Enies Lobby will stand out as being awesomely fear-instilling...but the next tool in the World Government's chain of intimidation will be remembered as the weak link. It doesn't match up.