Out of all the anime out there,One Piececontinues to be one of the most popular even after twenty years. While the anime is incredible, it is based on a best-selling manga that is also one of the greatest of all time. However, many fans have debated about which is better, with many claiming the manga is superior and vice versa. Regardless of what fans think, each form succeeds in different areas, with the manga being the definitive way to view certain arcs.
Many fans will say every arc in the manga is better, but these ten prove more so than the others that they are vastly superior. Whether it bebetter pacing, no censorship, less filler, or more consistent quality, the manga versions of these arcs offer a better reading experience. Both versions are excellent, and fans should indulge in both to experience the incredible story and gorgeous animation, butsometimes the manga is definitively better.
10Marineford
Chapters 550-580
Widely regarded as one of thebest arcs in anime history, Marineford is the epic culmination of the previous fewOne Piecearcs. In it, Luffy attempts to free his brother Ace. Luffy, Whitebeard, and his extensive fleet all go to war against the Marines, resulting in an epic large-scale battle that would change the tide of the world forever. Because the arc is so incredible, fans can’t go wrong watching or reading it; doing both might be the best option.
No matter which form fans use, the hype and story are still there, butthe manga barely outperforms the animebecause of itsbetter pacing and increased impact. The anime is known for its poor pacing, and while Marineford’s isn’t egregious, it still has some issues. The beautiful art helps the reading experience greatly, making every moment seem more impactful. Another bonus is the lack of censorship, with the true horrors of war being shown, whilethe anime cut out a few scenes and censored some key moments.
Chapters 42-68
The anime had much better pacing during the early arcs, making it a better viewing than the manga. However, sometimes issues still arise, such as the Baratie arc. This arc is the earliest on this list, as most entries are post-time-skip arcs. After being drawn in by a delicious smell, Luffy and his crew encounter multiple threats, including Dracule Mihawk and Don Krieg, the latter of who wassidelined in Netflix’s live-actionOne Piece.
While the anime has better pacing than the manga, itsuffers from censorship and poor animation. Luffy vs. Don Krieg was pretty boring in the anime, with the reading experience going by much faster. However, one of the greatest moments in the manga is when Zeff eats his leg. Unfortunately,they changed this in the anime so that he only cutsit off, lessening the impact significantly and making the manga a better read.
8Whole Cake Island
Chapters 825-902
After the shocking reveal in Zou, the Strawhats split up, with one group heading over to Wano to enact their plan and the other half entering Big Mom’s territory to retrieve Sanji. However, it isn’t going to be easy since Big Mom has one of thestrongest crews inOne Piece. From retrieving Sanji, defeating Katakuri, and stealing a road poneglyph, Whole Cake Island was full of massive events.
Whilethe fight animation in this arc is fantasticand easily worth a watch, that is the only better aspect of the anime. Everything else in the manga is better, specifically the pacing, a constant problem that worsened in all the post-time-skip arcs. With repeated musical numbers and an overly long and tedious journey through the twisted woods,the anime spread Whole Cake Island thin with filler and stretched-out scenes.
Chapters 802-824
Setting up the Whole Cake Island arc, Zou is pivotal in the future of the series and has many entertaining moments. After a split-up crew escaped Dressrosa, Kinnemon told them to meet up at Zou, a giant elephant constantly moving with a civilization of minks living atop its back. As one of thebest arcs inOne Piece, it features shocking moments from Jack’s attack to the minks' reveal of Raizo.
In the manga, Zou served as a transitional period between Dressorsa and Whole Cake Island, even if it did include many phenomenal moments. However, the anime made it feel like a typical, fully fledged arc, increasing its length bystretching out scenes, adding filler, and ruining the pacing overall. The anime never adds anything special that the manga doesn’t, making it the definitive form for the Zou arc.
Chapters 237-302
Hearing about an old tale of Noland and the city of gold, Luffy’s curiosity drives him to explore the skies. The Strawhats encounter a jungle world sitting atop the clouds with multiple civilizations. However, this unique land has its share of trouble in the form of a land dispute with the Skypieans, Shandians, and Enel, wielder ofone of the strongest devil fruits. The crew enters this war hoping to settle this dispute and take down the tyrannical Enel.
Skypiea is already a very polarizing arc, with some fans finding it boring and others fascinated by its continuous relevance and comedy. However, these complaints grow even more in the anime, which drags the events out longer, making it even more boring. Those who don’t enjoy the political disputes will hate how the anime extends these scenes. Some fans don’t notice the pacing, butthere isn’t much about the anime that justifies it over the manga.
5Punk Hazard
Chapters 654-699
The first journey the Strawhats embarked on in the New World was to the Pokeball-shaped island Punk Hazard. Previously a scientific base, the fierce battle between Akainu and Aokiji destroyed it. But after the crew finds a distress call from the island, they learn that some powerful figures are still using it. Caesar Clown is undergoing unethical experiments on children, prompting the Strawhats into action to end his cruelty.
The manga made Punk Hazard much tighter and more hype, making it easily the best version.
At this point, fans realized the anime’s pacing would be an issue for the rest of the New World. Punk Hazard features some underrated moments and fights, including Law and Smoker vs. Vergo, one of thestrongest vice-admirals inOne Piece. However, this arc also featuredhorrible pacing, dull moments, and inconsistent animation. The manga, on the other hand, made this experience much tighter and more hype, making it easily the best version.
4Fishman Island
Chapters 603-653
Reuniting after two years, Fishman Island was the border for them to enter the New World and start their search for the One Piece. However, like all of the Strawhat’s adventures, this one would become a long fight against a presence threatening the kingdom. A radical group of Fishmen plan on taking over the kingdom, unhappy with its ties to humans. The crew must fight against this group and keep the island’s peace.
The New World changed a lot of things. Unfortunately, the biggest was the pacing, which drastically decreased, making much of the anime unwatchable. Fishman Island was already a polarizing arc, but the horrible pacing made the anime version nearly unwatchable and one of the worst arcs of the series. The manga arc is decent, butbetter just because of how bad the anime is. However, withOne Pieceon hiatus, they are editing this arc in the anime, potentially making the anime version better.
3Long Ring Long Land
Chapters 303-321
One of the mostforgotten arcs inOne Pieceis Long Ring Long Land, which acts as a stop-gap between Skypiea and Water 7. After a brief, overwhelming defeat by Aokiji, the Strawhats encounter the Foxy Pirates on the island, who challenge them to a Davy Back Fight. Competing is a series of games; the Foxy Pirates win Chopper on their crew, prompting another intense and goofy between the crews.
Fans already view Long Ring Long Land as one of the worst arcs in the series, mainly because of its lack of relevance, uninteresting villains, and overly goofy nature. If that wasn’t bad enough,the anime added an egregious amount of filler and extra scenes, prolonging the arc much longer than fans would have liked. Some fans might have enjoyed the fun and unserious additions, butthe majority prefer the quicker version of the manga.
Chapters 903-908
After the big battle on Whole Cake Island, fans were surprised that the next arc didn’t feature any Strawhats. Instead, they were brought to the Reverie, a large-scale meeting between some of the most prominent nations in the world to discuss politics, issues, and possible solutions. Unfortunately, this won’t be a civil discussion, with plenty of mysteries, significant events, and the plot twist introduction of Imu, one of theclosest characters to the elusive One Piece.
The Reverie was a quick five-chapter arcfilled with so many intense reveals in the manga. Butthe anime dragged it out to around ten episodes, adapting half a chapter per episode. The hype of the story was lessened because of how they handled it, adding countless flashbacks that slowed the pacing. The manga is easily better than the anime, delivering a fast-paced thrill ride of revelations that doesn’t dampen the excitement.
1Dressrosa
Chapters 700-801
After Luffy and Trafalgar Law form an alliance on Punk Hazard, their first targets are Doflamingo and Dressrosa. Taking down this warlord of the sea would stop the weapon manufacturing and trading that bolster Kaido’s crew and weaken him for the inevitable battle on Wano. This grand fight involves the Strawhats, Trafalgar Law, the Donquixote Family, a navy admiral, and the countless pirates from the tournament.
With over one hundred chapters, Dressrosa was already an incredibly long arc, but the anime takes it to a new level with over one hundred twenty episodes. As one of thebest arcs for the Strawhats, fans expected better treatment in the anime but were served a tedious slog with pacing issues, inconsistent animation, and filler. The anime does some moments better, butthe manga delivers everything succinctly, elevating the story, moments, and hype,making it the definitive version of Dressrosa.
