Summary
Nearly two years after it commenced in Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piecemanga,the Egghead Arc has been packedto the brim with mystery, tragedy, incredible revelations, and some of the most absurd fights seen in the series so far. After a few introductory chapters, the arc kicked things up a notch with events around the New World, before returning to the Future Island with a battle of insane proportions.
It goes without saying thatEgghead has continued the momentum built bythe climax of the Wano Country Arc, and turned it up to eleven, with several groundbreaking developments that no one would have anticipated. Compared to previous narrative segments covering Luffy and his crew’s journey in the New World, is Egghead the best post-time skip arc inOne Piecearc so far?
Examining Post Time Skip One Piece Arcs
Since the Straw Hat Pirates reunited on Sabaody Archipelago after spending two years training at various locations, the second leg of their journey in the Grand Line has taken them to a number of different locations where they have made new allies or encountered old foes. Focusing on the story’s pacing prior toOne Piece’stime skip, most sagas consisted of 2–4 story arcs, with the sole exception ofthe relatively brief Thriller Bark Saga, which only had a single arc.
Conversely, after the Fish-Man Island Saga in the post-time skip era ofOne Piece, every saga has consistently exceeded 100 chapters or anime episodes, with only 2–3 story arcs constituting them. The Wano Country Arc is an exception to this, where it featured a single story arc split into three acts. A lot of this can be attributed to the enhanced scale of the conflicts in the New World, coupled with the extended build-upof antagonists such as Donquixote Doflamingo, Big Mom, and Kaido, who have starred in three of the four completed sagas so far.
That being said, such complexity and scale have also been issues for the series at times, with some narrative segments such as the Dressrosa Arc, andthe third act of the Wano Country Arcspending over 100 chapters in a single location. When compared to pre-time skip arcs, where battles were more concise and locations changed every 60–70 chapters inOne Piece, there is a clear trend in how the act of enhancing the sense of scale has slowed down the pace of certain arcs.
However, this is also quite perplexing given how the entire Summit War Saga from the Sabaody Archipelago Arc until the Post-War Arc was wrapped up in 108 chapters, whereas both the Dressrosa Saga, and the Wano Country Saga exceeded 140 chapters. By comparison, it is incredible tothink that the entire Marineford Arcwas only 30 chapters long. Although this expansion in length is not exactly grounds for criticism or concern, given the merits of both post-time skip arcs, it does provoke curiosity about why sagas have become so long.
A Recurring Theme In The New World
With the amount of build up involved in each post-time skip story arc, coupled with their extended lengths, it is not hard to observe that conflicts and important moments are more spread out. Due to this, it takes a great deal of time for an arc to set its battlesand important story beats in motion. Moreover, battles themselves have become far more drawn out, although this is to be expected with the power levels of the antagonists who are now featured inOne Piece.
For instance, Luffy’s final fights in Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and Wano Country all consisted of multiple rounds against his opponents, where each one eventually devolved into a battle of attrition thatwas decided due to Luffy’s tenacity. In the New World, the climax of each arc is generally a monumental battle with many concurrent fights, due to the new additions to the Straw Hat Pirates' membership, the alliances they have formed during their journey, and the larger pirate crews they have to overcome. Naturally, this slows down the momentum of the story considerably, even in moments where there is a lot happening on multiple fronts.
Unlike most of its post-time skip predecessors, Egghead’s pacing is much faster and more concise, even though its battles are as numerous and gargantuan in scale. Considering that it is the start ofOne Piece’sFinal Saga, this arc had huge expectationslooming over it, and it would be safe to say that it has more than delivered on most, if not all of them.
Starting with thelong-awaited introduction of Dr. Vegapunk, the Egghead Arc has gradually teased and revealed many answers to longstanding questions about his role in the World Government, which yielded even more queries in the process. Alongside this, several prominent characters like Monkey D. Garp, Shanks, and even the Five Elders, have finally begun to get involved in the series' major developments after their abilities and influence were only hinted at for hundreds of chapters.
Additionally, this arc also saw the debut of the Seraphim, one of the many reasons behind the dissolution of the Seven Warlords of the Sea inOne Piece. With this, Oda also incorporated Vegapunk’sresearch and theories on Devil Fruits, through the use of Green Blood and the genius scientist’s ideas on the origin of the series' unique power system. Vegapunk even revealed more about the aftermath of the Ohara Incident, the events of the Void Century, the truth behind the currentOne Pieceworld, and more information about the legendary figure, Joy Boy.
Finally, perhaps the most important revelation in this arcstems from Bartholomew Kuma’s past, as seen through the eyes of his daughter, Jewelry Bonney. Starting with his Buccaneer heritage, to his role in the God Valley Incident, time with the Revolutionary Army, the secrets behind Bonney’s birth, and Kuma’s eventual reason for becoming a cyborg, this arc illuminated many of the former Warlord’s actions throughout the first half of the story through a lengthy flashback that easily ranks among the most tragic in all ofOne Piece.
It goes without saying that Egghead has been a step-up after Wano Country in many respects, even if its narrative, thematic significance, and build up were not as epic or grand in scale. Without a doubt, this arc is still only a set-up forOne Piece’sfinal climax,which Oda has touted as a battleof magnitude beyond anything depicted in the series so far. There may still be some time for this cataclysmic event to take place, although it seems that Oda has already laid out some of the triggers that could eventually spark the flames of war.
Relentless Action And Intense Escalation
Besides the Egghead Incident itself, the arc’s focus has also shifted to events across the New World, ranging from Blackbeard’s battle with Trafalgar Law and Shanks' confrontation with theKid Pirates on the shores of Elbaf, to Monkey D. Garp’s rescue operation on Hachinosu. All of these battles were nothing short of astounding, demonstrating the caliber of combatants that will feature in this Final Saga ofOne Piecewhile also setting up important plot threads for things still yet to come.
To boot, Oda managed to weave all these events together concisely without making the story feel rushed or spread too thin. In fact, there is a clear sense of escalation and mounting tension at everystep throughout the Egghead Arc, which is now reaching its crescendo in spectacular fashion, defying all expectations of what the series' fan base may have originally envisioned. In this regard, Egghead has thrown out the traditional formula for post-time skip arcs, since the end goal of this arc has fully come to light, and its main antagonists were not revealed until the very end.
As the arc is still clearly in its climax, it might be a bit hasty to dub it the bestOne Piecearc in the post-time skip era so far, but there is clear cause to consider doing so when looking at whathas transpired in the mangaover the past two years. With earth-shattering revelations coming thick and fast, sandwiched between battles that hold great narrative and emotional weight in the overarching story ofOne Piece, it is not hard to see why this has been such an enjoyable segment to start the Final Saga.
Depending on how things are eventually resolved, it may not be too long before judgment is passed on this arc, especially with the Straw Hats' highly anticipated journey to Elbaf expected to follow very soon. There is no doubt that the home of the giants will have even more important moments in store, whether itpertains to Luffy’s reunion with Shanks, or the mysteries behind Elbaf’s connection to Joy Boy and Sun God Nika. Needless to say, the Final Saga ofOne Piecehas gotten off to a rousing start, and if things continue as they are, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Luffy’s journey could end on a soaring high worthy of everything he and his allies have gone through over the last three decades.
