One Piece's 10 best chapters
After 25 years of serialization and over one thousand issues published, One Piece has become synonymous with some of manga’s highest peaks. Series author, Eiichiro Oda, has masterfully crafted his story since day one, with seemingly throwaway lines from the debut issue proving their relevance, literally, a thousand chapters later.
With so many memorable and impactful chapters, a heavy topic of discussion within the community is which chapters reign supreme. While, to many, the recent chapter 1044 stands above all else, many chapters have also held that title over the years.
Here are One Piece’s ten best chapters, ranked in no particular order
Latest issue is one of many One Piece chapters to hold the title of "best"
1) One Piece Chapter 430, “A Light Snow of Reminiscence Falls”
Beginning the list is chapter 430, which sees the Straw Hats reunite with the Going Merry for the final time. She also speaks to them all here, whereas only Usopp was able to hear her Klabautermann up to this point.
The viking funeral for the ship is incredibly tearful, with nearly every Straw Hat and fan tearing up at having to say their final goodbyes to a very dear friend.
2) One Piece Chapter 1000, “Straw Hat Luffy”
Chapter 1000 sees the wrap up to Yamato’s flashback with Ace, as well as the establishment that the arrival of Luffy and his Worst Generation cohorts was prophesied. More significantly, however, is the beginning of the Supernovas versus Yonko fight.
The colloquially dubbed “Roof Piece” is one of the Onigashima Raid’s highlights, and arguably the beginning of its climactic approach. While chapter 1000 only begins the fight, it does so in tremendous fashion, with Luffy directly telling both Kaido and Big Mom that he’ll be King of the Pirates, not them.
3) One Piece Chapter 844, “Luffy vs. Sanji”
Chapter 884 is an incredibly emotional chapter, primarily for the eponymous fight it portrays. Here, Sanji tries to literally kick Luffy out of the way, in order to ensure the safety of his dearest friends and former crewmates.
He eventually knocks his captain out, who refuses to fight back since he knows each kick hurts Sanji more than it does himself.
4) One Piece Chapter 590, “My Little Brother”
Like many issues on this list, chapter 590 is an incredibly emotional chapter, dealing with the Monkey family’s handling of Ace’s death. Garp is berated by Dadan, who raised Ace herself, while Shanks visits the graves of Ace and Whitebeard.
Luffy, meanwhile, is in extreme emotional pain on Amazon Lily, which translates into him hurting himself for his failure. Eventually, Jinbe calms him down and makes him remember that he still has his crew and friends to live for. The chapter is certainly a tearjerker, arguably one of the most fitting for that title in One Piece.
5) One Piece Chapter 895, “Luffy the Pirate vs. General Katakuri”
Unlike previous entries, chapter 895 has very little emotional depth associated with its events. Fans praise it for being the debut of Snakeman, beginning the climax of one of Luffy’s best fights so far. Katakuri seems an impossible opponent before the form's debut, and it’s incredibly exciting to watch him overcome his biggest roadblock yet.
6) One Piece Chapter 398, “Declaration of War”
Chapter 398 sees the end of Robin’s flashback, which she tries to use to explain to her then-former crewmates why they should give up on her. In true Luffy fashion, however, he instead decides to declare war on the World Government, meaning they’re their enemies whether Robin is with them or not.
The scene only becomes more emotional as he tells Robin that he wants to hear her say she wants to live. She relives her life-long emotional struggle in this moment, questioning whether she really deserves to say it.
In a beautifully gut-wrenching panel, she announces to the world that she wants to live, prompting the Straw Hats to formally begin their rescue operation.
7) One Piece Chapter 967, “Roger’s Adventure”
Chapter 967 sees Oden’s flashback of Gol D. Roger’s adventure reach its climax, with the crew traveling through Fishman Island and reaching Laugh Tale. Infamous shipwright Tom and a young Franky also appear early on in the chapter, during the Roger Pirates’ brief stop at Water 7.
A brief explanation of Road versus Real Poneglyphs is also given here, with important lore such as this always being welcome. The true highlight of this One Piece issue is its final pages, which see the Roger pirates learn Joy Boy’s tale in tremendous fashion, being unable to do anything but laugh. For many, this felt like the perfect, tiny glimpse into Roger’s amazing journey.
8) One Piece Chapter 784, “Gear Four”
Chapter 784 sees the debut of Luffy’s now infamous Gear Fourth form, with the Boundman technique being featured. His fight with Doflamingo after activating the form is truly incredible, showcasing a level of power and ingenuity he’d yet to display.
The fight only gets better as it goes, with powers like elastic propulsion and spring-loaded punches superseding the one used before.
9) One Piece Chapter 513, “Beyond Rescue!!!”
Chapter 513 is both incredibly emotional and logically shocking, subverting reader’s expectations in nearly every way. The issue sees the Straw Hat crew utterly and hopelessly defeated, sent away one-by-one by Bartholomew Kuma.
While his reasons for this and its benefits would become clear later on, the experience was incredibly saddening and shocking for Luffy, as well as every One Piece fan.
10) One Piece Chapter 1044, “Warrior of Liberation"
Last, but certainly not least, the recently unofficially released chapter 1044 has taken both the series and the general anime communities by storm. Its plethora of reveals are the result of over 20 years of storytelling, from the true name of Luffy’s Fruit to teasing his role in the grand scheme of the story.
While other events such as Hiyori Kozuki’s revenge are also engaging, they simply feel overshadowed by the Luffy-centric events that take place. Even before its official release, many are calling this issue the series’ best yet, a title which it will likely hold for quite some time.
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Sijo Samuel Paul