One Piece's most useless arc might be a hidden gem

Each One Piece arc sees the Straw Hat Pirates explore a different location as they continue their journey in search of Gol D. Roger’s legendary treasure. The franchise’s signature blend of epicness, humor, and mystery makes every arc a unique adventure, adding to the sense of an entangled, ever-evolving world. That said, not every part of the One Piece story enjoys the same appreciation.

Many fans consider the Long Ring Long Land Arc to be a “manga filler,” claiming that it can be skipped without prejudging the overall enjoyment of the series in the slightest. To be fair, this arc offers a refreshing moment of fun between the non-stop emotional swings of Arabasta, Skypiea, and Enies Lobby.

While the anime adaptation lengthened the story unnecessarily, the original manga version of the arc is short and essential, making it a very enjoyable read. One Piece's usual format has the Straw Hats save an oppressed country from evil villains. The Long Ring Long Land Arc abandons this pattern to entertain fans with some funny antics while showing the crew’s teamwork and setting up the next arc’s themes.

One Piece’s Long Ring Long Land Arc is an underrated masterwork

A brief summary of the arc

The Straw Hats in Long Ring Long Land (Image via Toei Animation)

After leaving Skypiea, the Straw Hat Pirates arrive on a bizarre island where they meet the eccentric and yet kind-hearted Tonjit, an old man who lives with his beloved horse Shelly. Suddenly, the Foxy Pirates arrive on the scene and challenge the Straw Hats to the Davy Back Fight.

A pirate game designed to challenge other crews to forcibly coscript their members, the Davy Back Fight pits the two groups against each other in a series of contests governed by precise rules. Even then, the game is blatantly rigged. The Foxy Pirates have the referee on their side, which allows them to use a variety of dirty tricks.

In the end, however, the Straw Hats manage to win the contest. Shortly after, they encounter Marine Admiral Kuzan “Aokiji,” who is soon revealed to be an old acquaintance of Nico Robin. Aokiji uses his Ice-Ice Fruit to help Tonjit, but then sets his sights on the Straw Hats Pirates.

In front of his formidable Logia-based powers, even Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji are helpless. Fortunately, the Admiral spares the Straw Hats as a reward for their actions in Arabasta and because of a certain favor he claims to owe to Luffy’s grandfather. As Aokiji leaves, Luffy and Nico Robin are defrosted, and the crew resumes their journey.

The Long Ring Long Land Arc deserves more credit

The Davy Back Fight's referee (Image via Toei Animation)

There are no major plot developments in the Long Ring Long Land Arc, except for the appearance of Aokiji. The arc also lacks a really moving emotional moment of the type of Nami’s “Help me Luffy,” Zoro’s “Nothing happened,” Luffy ringing Skypiea’s golden bell, and the like.

All the Davy Back Fight’s back-and-forth ultimately matters very little as it doesn’t result in any substantial change for either side. Considering this, the content of the arc may seem trivial. However, while not being as iconic as the arcs set in Arabasta, Enies Lobby, or Wano, the Long Ring Long Land Arc is brilliantly interwoven with the main plot of One Piece.

Aokiji’s appearance introduces the Admirals as the Navy’s greatest military force and foreshadows Nico Robin’s mysterious ties to the World Government. It also sets up Luffy’s first power-up in the series. After being utterly annihilated by Aokiji, Luffy realizes that he can’t go on doing things the way he did before.

Kuzan "Aokiji" in Long Ring Long Land (Image via Toei Animation)

The East Blue villains were too weak to pose a real challenge, and the victories against Crocodile in Arabasta and Enel in Skypiea were the result of a confluence of factors. The crushing defeat suffered against Aokiji forces Luffy to understand that there are obstacles he can’t overcome with just determination and some luck, and that this may cause him to lose at least some of his crewmates.

As a result, Luffy decides to train in order to become more powerful than he is at the moment. Luffy’s fear of losing his crewmates, first highlighted in the Long Ring Long Land Arc, becomes reality in the subsequent One Piece arc. After arriving in Water Seven, the crew quickly falls apart as Usopp and Robin—each for their own reasons—leave the group.

While this was only temporary, it was a dark-toned moment that only makes one appreciate the Long Ring Long Land Arc’s light-hearted silliness. In Water Seven and Enies Lobby the Straw Hats risk their lives to bring back a comrade, while during the Davy Back Fight in Long Ring Long Land that was only done within the context of a game.

Tonjit as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

This arc’s low stakes and hilarious tone serve as an interlude to the much more tense developments that follow in the One Piece story. The Davy Back Fight part may drag on a bit too long, but that’s only because the anime adaptation added many fillers to the original One Piece manga.

The arc sees the Luffy becoming “Afro Luffy” in one of the most surreal transformations ever seen. On the advice of Usopp, Luffy dons a huge afro wig, believing that the item would somehow awaken his latent potential, making him invincible. The grotesque boxing match between Luffy and Foxy is just a consequence of this hilarious setting.

Another nice moment was the team-up between Zoro and Sanji. The Straw Hat crew’s number two and number three put aside their silly bickering to help their comrades. Due to the Davy Back Fight's unique rules, Zoro was unable to use his swords. It’s rare to see Zoro fighting without his swords, and it was cool to see him prove that he is a powerful fighter even without his signature weapons.

Foxy and his men as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

There’s also an unexpectedly nice dynamic between Chopper and Zoro. Chopper is in tears after being seemingly forced to join the Foxy Pirates due to the Davy Back Fight’s outcome, and Zoro yells at him to stop complaining. The green-haired swordsman tells Chopper that no one would respect him for crying and that as a pirate he should “man up” instead. Encouraged by Zoro’s words, Chopper abandons his timorous attitude, which doesn’t happen often in One Piece.

Foxy’s Slow-Slow Fruit could be absolutely dangerous in the hands of a stronger individual, but that’s not to say that he lacks the inventiveness to use it in unexpected ways. In fact, he uses his Devil Fruit quite creatively.

The problem is that he ends up relying on it too much, thereby neglecting his other abilities. This proves that Devil Fruits, no matter how effective they are, can only be one part of a skilled fighter’s arsenal, which exposes the contradictions of these items.

Between past, present, and future

Tonjit explains Long Ring Long Land (Image via Shueisha)

Many elements that are expanded upon later in the series are first mentioned in the Long Ring Long Land Arc. Luffy’s grandfather that Aokiji spoke of is later revealed to be “Marine Hero” Monkey D. Garp. The Pirate Island of Hachinosu, which is referred to as the origin of the Davy Back Fight, is later introduced as the lair of the Blackbeard Pirates.

The peculiar geography of Long Ring Long Land—where ten islands are grouped together in a ring-like shape with a shared land that surfaces only once a year—is linked to one of the One Piece story’s main plot twists. In fact, Long Ring Long Land is not an archipelago but a single ring-shaped island. The high tide normally covers up the lower lands, making the higher ones look like individual islands.

As revealed by Dr. Vegapunk, the man-made cataclysm caused by the Ancient Weapons has caused the sea level to rise 200 meters during the Void Century. This unnatural rise in sea level caused phenomena such as the high tide in Long Ring Long Land. After the World Government used an Ancient Weapon to destroy Lulusia, the resulting rise in sea level became even more evident.

Red Hair Pirates and Straw Hat Pirates as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

The Davy Back Fight may play a pivotal role in One Piece's final saga, leading to the long-awaited confrontation between Straw Hat Pirates and Red Hair Pirates. Given the bond between Luffy and Shanks, there can never be any real hatred between the two crews, making a pirate game the perfect setting for them to compete with each other.

In the Davy Back Fight, everyone can do their part, so even the weaker members of the crew can contribute. A sniping contest would allow Usopp to surpass his father Yasopp despite not really being stronger than him. As for Sanji and Lucky Roux, they can both fight and have a cooking competition.

Straight fighting-oriented characters like Zoro and Benn Beckman would be pitted against each other in a friendly battle between right-hand men, and the same would happen for Luffy and Shanks. The “Red Hair” would have the chance to try out if Luffy has grown enough to be called a great pirate worthy of fulfilling their mutual promise and returning the straw hat.

One Piece's most useless arc might be a hidden gem

One Piece’s Long Ring Long Land Arc is an underrated masterwork

A brief summary of the arc

The Long Ring Long Land Arc deserves more credit

Between past, present, and future

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