One Piece: The parallels between Arabasta and Dressrosa, explained

A hallmark of One Piece is the pattern that sees the Straw Hat Pirates splitting up and then reuniting to fight some oppressive villain, freeing a land while racing against time. Granted, this is not a strict formula as things get mixed up. Every arc has its unique features, and the protagonists continue their journey as the world itself evolves around them, which builds up an entangled narrative.

That said, this pattern is so recurrent that some One Piece arcs look like updated duplicates of the previous ones, with just a few shifts here and there. For example, due to the many similarities between them, the arc set in Dressrosa can be seen as the post-timeskip version of the one set long before in Arabasta.

Both arcs revolve around a chaotic conflict in a country seized by villains, who have usurped the legitimate royal family. The Straw Hats save the day as the Navy witnesses the situation without taking direct action. Of course, the final climax can’t prescind a countdown to the destruction that can only be averted by Luffy’s victory over the villain.

Every analogy between One Piece’s Arabasta and Dressrosa stories

A summary of the Arabasta Arc

The Arabasta Arc in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

After crossing over Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line, the Straw Hat Pirates first faced the Baroque Works in Whisky Peak. They then visited Little Garden and Drum Island before finally arriving in Arabasta, determined to help Princess Nefertari Vivi defend her homeland from Crocodile’s schemes.

Crocodile aimed to start a civil war in Arabasta to overthrow the land’s legitimate king, Nefertari Cobra, and seize the Ancient Weapon Pluton, which he believed was hidden somewhere in the country. After a brief meeting with Luffy’s sworn brother, Portgas D. Ace, the Straw Hats head to Alubarna, the capital city of Arabasta.

With the town transformed into a chaotic battlefield, the Straw Hat Pirates and the members of Baroque Works clash fiercely as Vivi tries to dissuade her compatriots from killing each other. Zoro defeats the highly dangerous Mr 1 in one of the franchise’s most iconic battles, while Luffy goes beyond his limits to finally beat Crocodile.

The rest of the Straw Hats also win their individual battles against the Baroque Works agents. Thus, all that remains to be done is to stop a bomb hidden in Alubarna from destroying the city. Following his defeat, Crocodile gets deprived of his Warlord title. Crocodile’s former subordinate Nico Robin decides to join the Straw Hat Pirates, while Vivi bids her comrades farewell as they leave Arabasta for a new adventure.

A summary of the Dressrosa Arc

The Dressrosa Arc in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

The Straw Hat crew’s adventures in the New World begin in Punk Hazard, where they befriend Luffy and Zoro’s fellow Worst Generation member Trafalgar Law and a Wano-native samurai named Kinemon. Together with Law, Kinemon, and the evil scientist Caesar Clown – whom they have taken hostage – the Straw Hats head for Dressrosa.

They infiltrate the country to overthrow Donquixote Doflamingo, a Warlord who has seized it. Law’s terrible past, Doflamingo’s origins as a Celestial Dragon, and the history of Dressrosa are revealed as the Straw Hat Pirates split up into two sub-groups to deal with multiple different situations.

Luffy meets his sworn brother Sabo, who eats the Flame-Flame Fruit to carry on Ace’s legacy. Law challenges Doflamingo, but his efforts are in vain as he gets brutally defeated by the evil Warlord. Meanwhile, Zoro defeats the gigantic-sized Pica. The remaining Straw Hats and their newfound allies also take down the rest of Doflamingo’s subordinates.

Luffy unleashes his Gear 4 transformation and overpowers Doflamingo, putting an end to his reign of terror over Dressrosa. Defeated by Luffy and stripped of his Warlord title by the World Government, Doflamingo is arrested by the Marines. After assisting the Straw Hats during the conflict, seven pirate crews pledge their loyalty to Luffy, establishing the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.

Crocodile and Doflamingo in One Piece

Crocodile in One Piece's Arabasta Arc (Image via Toei Animation)

Both the conflicts in Arabasta and Dressrosa forced the Straw Hats to deal – albeit indirectly – with matters of global political importance, but the greatest similarity between the two arcs lay in their arch-villains. In both cases, a Warlord has set his sights on an island, using cruel methods to turn the residents against their rightful ruler.

Crocodile and Doflamingo are similar and different at the same time. Both stand out as the first major antagonists that the Straw Hat Pirates have to face as they enter a different section of the Grand Line, the Paradise, and, respectively, the New World.

While Crocodile was still in the process of taking over Arabasta, Doflamingo had already gained control of Dressrosa several years before the present One Piece narration. Crocodile tried to pass himself off as Arabasta’s benefactor, while Doflamingo simply returned to the country that his ancestors had ruled over before leaving it to become Celestial Dragons based in Mary Geoise.

Both Warlords have a good reputation among the people of their respective countries but have actually caused terrible events in these places, causing the legitimate monarchs to fall into disgrace.

Doflamingo in One Piece's Dressrosa Arc (Image via Toei Animation)

The Arabasta Arc shows a villain – Crocodile – trying to take over a country, while the Dressrosa Arc shows another one – Doflamingo – having completed and implemented his plan. It’s probably no coincidence that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has Crocodile and Doflamingo interact with each other as soon as they meet in Marineford.

Crocodile worked in the shadows to carry out his plan, hiding his identity, while Doflamingo considered himself above everyone and spent his time looking down upon others from his throne. In a sort of poetic justice, Luffy defeated Crocodile by throwing the malicious schemer into the sky, exposing him for all to see, and beat Doflamingo by smashing the haughty noble from the heavens to the earth, dropping him down as low as the ground.

Metaphorically speaking, Luffy’s final blows made Crocodile visible to all and brought Doflamingo down to everyone else’s level. The mirrored fates of the two Warlords emphasize how the Dressrosa Arc is meant to be an upside down version of the Arabasta Arc.

Baroque Works and Donquixote Pirates

The Baroque Works as seen in the One Piece manga (Image via Shueisha)

Both Doflamingo's Family and Crocodile's Baroque Works are self-established organizations with several strong individuals. However, Baroque Works is a secret organization whose members have no connection, with most of them not even knowing their superiors, let alone the group’s supreme leader. Doflamingo’s family was together by a genuine attachment.

Likewise, Baroque Works members posed a remarkable challenge to the Straw Hats. Nami and Sanji struggled against Miss Doublefinger and Mr 2, and so did Chopper and Usopp against Mr 4 and Miss Merry Christmas. Zoro was pushed to his limits by Mr 1, having to evolve his strength by learning a new power to finally defeat Crocodile's strongest subordinate.

As for Doflamingo’s subordinates, his strongest man in Dressrosa was by far Pica, who only lasted a bit against Zoro because he spent the entire fight running away. As soon as they clashed directly, Zoro easily crushed Pica, overpowering both his gigantic-sized stone golem and his full-body Haki. Pica was a joke to Zoro, and Trebol’s fate against Trafalgar Law was the same, if not worse.

Doflamingo's Family as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Franky nerfed himself to fight Senor Pink on equal terms and still won the battle. Apart from Nami and Brook, who struggled with Giolla’s weird Devil Fruit, the only ones to have any trouble with the Donquixote Family members were Bartolomeo, Hajrudin, and the others, none of whom were full-fledged Straw Hats.

This also applies to the main villains. Before losing the third battle, Crocodile handed two crushing defeats on Luffy, while Doflamingo didn’t cause the young pirate quite as much trouble. As soon as Luffy revealed his real strength by activating Gear 4, Doflamingo was the one backed into a corner. Luffy’s lack of stamina with Gear 4 dragged the fight on, rather than Doflamingo’s skills.

Also, Crocodile was portrayed as a proactive character, capable of adapting to any development to throw obstacles in the Straw Hat crew’s way, forcing them into a desperate race to keep up and stay ahead. Doflamingo’s intimidating aura was awesome, but he was largely a spectator of the events as they unfolded.

Crocodile and Doflamingo getting defeated in One Piece (Image via Shueisha)

In Arabasta the stakes felt real, whereas in Dressrosa there was no actual sense of danger. No one else but Luffy – with some massive help from the plot – could have stopped Crocodile in Arabasta. In Dressrosa, if Luffy failed to beat Doflamingo, a relatively fresh Zoro would have been more than capable of defeating the Warlord worn out by Luffy's Gear 4.

Sabo was there too, and after eating the Flame-Flame Fruit he was more than a match for Doflamingo. That's not even considering Admiral Fujitora, who would have never allowed Doflamingo to prevail. Essentially, the Donquixote Pirates never stood a chance. Law lost his struggle against Doflamingo, but that meant little in the grand scheme of things.

Dressrosa mirrors Arabasta

One Piece featured Smoker in Arabasta and Fujitora in Dressrosa (Image via Toei Animation)

Some of Doflamingo’s subordinates possess Devil Fruits that are incredibly similar to those of certain Baroque Works members. There are slight differences, but both groups include a member who can change their weight, one with art-based powers, one with explosive powers, and one who can move underground.

In Arabasta, the Straw Hat Pirates operated secretly to stop a rebellion triggered by a Warlord who aimed to seize the country. The scenario was reversed in Dressrosa, where they had to start a rebellion to dethrone a Warlord who had already taken over the country. To do this, the Straw Hats act openly, teaming up with several factions, including Luffy’s former opponents in the Corrida Colosseum.

One Piece featured Ace in Arabasta and Sabo in Dressrosa (Image via Toei Animation)

While everything that happened in Arabasta was covered up by the World Government, in Dressrosa things went the other way around as Fujitora deliberately let the events be exposed to the general public. Notably, both arcs feature the appearance of one of Luffy’s sworn brothers, respectively Ace in Arabasta and Sabo in Dressrosa.

The parallel deepens as both Ace and Sabo are revealed to be prominent members of major groups – the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army – and both use the Flame-Flame Fruit to fight a strong Marine – Smoker and Fujitora – who aim to abolish the Warlord system. Ace and Sabo eventually meet Zoro and give Luffy a piece of their Vivre Card.

The bomb in Arabasta and Doflamingo’s Birdcage technique in Dressrosa act as countdowns that force everyone to race against the clock to stop the kingdom's destruction. Another shared trope is the princess who asks for help to protect her country, with Dressrosa’s Rebecca being a callback to Arabasta’s Vivi.

One Piece used similar Devil Fruits for Arabasta and Dressrosa's characters (Image via Shueisha)

The trope was somewhat expanded in Dressrosa. Trafalgar Law – who is emotionally involved with Doflamingo – leads the Straw Hats to the island where the decisive conflict takes place, much like Vivi did. Viola infiltrates the villain’s organization, once again much like Vivi did when she joined Baroque Works to get information.

The Navy also plays a similar role in both Arabasta and Dressrosa. There are some differences, but ultimately both Smoker and Fujitora end up aiding the Straw Hat Pirates rather than capturing them. The similarities continue as in both arcs a female member of the enemy group betrays the villain to join the Straw Hats' side. The only difference is that Miss All Sunday – or rather, Nico Robin – plays a much greater role in the Arabasta Arc than Baby 5 does in the Dressrosa Arc.