Clouds Like Straw Hats - Skypiea One Piece

 

Having an immensely popular anime air for years will eventually open it to criticism. Even with no ending yet. As the stories start to outdo themselves every season, the cracks in the weaker plotlines begin to show. In this case, I’m talking about One Piece, which I thought of originally as almost untouchable. However, the consensus from enough of the fanbase is to skip Skypiea. I started watching One Piece a few months ago, and as I came face to face with the first episode of Skypiea, I had a lot of feelings. Then the show moved on, and I had even more feelings. Skypiea isn’t bad, but I get it.

Skypiea pulls viewers in with a mystery when an ancient boat falls from the sky, nearly crushing the Straw Hat crew. The log pose is pointed up, and a choice is presented: keep pushing forward or follow the idea of a fairy tale. Luffy, not one to shy away from the possibility of a grand adventure, investigates the story of the mythical city of Skypiea.

This season is the first time I believe we see a divide between pirate generations with the introduction of the ideals of the New Age and the Age of Dreams. They are lightly touched upon; the New Age is pirates looking for power and gold, while the Age of Dreamers is out looking for Gol D. Roger's treasure or fictional lands in the sky. The shift in pirate ideals is that instead of becoming a pirate for the sense of adventure, it’s for profit. There are some other plot points that are brought up to set the stage for later seasons that don’t mean much at the time, like a brief meeting of the Warlords.

With Robin joining the crew, this season was built to help her character stand out. Without her, this adventure to the sky may not have happened. Robin's knowledge of archaeology helps her tell how old the boat that fell out of the sky was. She also has a base knowledge of Skypiea from her own personal research. Once in the sky, Robin finds ruins and slowly pieces together the mystery of Jaya and Upper Yard. Showcasing her passion for the past, we see Robin fight to protect the ruins from enemies who only have their eyes forward to the future. The fight also puts her devil fruit on display, and she’s no damsel in distress, taking hits and serving punishing blows. You can see why Crocodile took her on as his right-hand woman.

If you’re like me and didn’t want to miss an episode even after hearing the criticism on Skypiea, which I will be sharing my own later, you can at least look forward to it being funny. There’s good humor and funny moments, especially with Chopper, as he’s left on his own for the first time to defend himself. Usopp also shines, as per usual, with his schemes. All the character chemistry is just right for funny moments. We get some unique pairings when the strawhat crew splits up, like Sanji, Luffy, and Usopp. Also: Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Robin. Robin even has some good quips. There’s a scene where the crew parties with Wolves; it’s pretty great. Choppers, translating voice for animals, is one of my favorite bits.

On a less fun note, the Skypiea arc suffers from some glaring pacing issues; mostly for me, it’s Luffy being stuck in a snake for ages because, with his crew, he could take out the main villain in no time. They had to take out Sanji, Zoro, and Robin. We also get fights that feel like they’re over in no time with very low stakes to make up time for some of the other pacing issues. We are introduced to four priests and their ordeals or trials. While two of the priests put up a good fight, the other two are hardly on screen to put up any kind of fight. Blink, and their fights are over. Still more and more foes seem to come out of the woodwork to slow down the straw hats, yet they quickly bowl through them. Some are not even defeated by the Straw Hat crew, but other warriors on the island.

The Straw Hats also seem to be caught in the middle of a squabble that is not meant for them, which is nothing out of the ordinary for our crew. Unlike the plot line of Alabasta, the Straw Hats are not invited to help but end up fighting both warring sides. Their adventure turned into a rescue mission, and they can’t seem to get back together. This season goes on as long as it does because everyone keeps getting separated from each other. Personally, for me, it took a bit before I understood Mantra and the reason for Enerus’ grand plan.

All together, Skypiea may not be the most grand or beloved arc, but it’s not a painful watch. If you’re going in for the journey, or maybe you’ve skipped it before but are thinking of giving it a shot with all the new fans, I say, go for it. It gets a little long in the tooth, but if nothing else, it’s fun. There is rarely a dull moment with the straw hats! You can also share the fun fact that the start of the Skypiea arc is the end of the original 4kids original One Piece run. When that boat fell from the sky, it killed our original straw hats. Just some trivia.