The One Piece manga began serializing in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga in 1997, and two years later, Toei Animation released an anime adaptation on a weekly schedule. Older anime series used to have the same weekly schedule as the manga, despite adapting more chapters per episode. This is why many studios adopted the concept of non-canon filler arcs, which served as buffers while allowing the manga to release more chapters so that the anime could catch up to them. Compared to Naruto and Bleach, One Piece had considerably fewer fillers since the studio preferred to have slower pacing while blending anime-original scenes in between canon episodes.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Although One Piece’s anime doesn’t release filler arcs anymore, the pre-time skip era featured some of the best fillers of all time, out of which, the G-8 Arc is easily the best of them. Despite being a non-canon arc, it has a special place among fans who love how it captured the true essence of the story while featuring a brief adventure right after the Straw Hats return from Sky Island. Even now, hardly any One Piece moments come as close to being this organic and hilarious that it would be difficult to believe it’s not part of the main story.
G-8 Arc Is the Perfect Break Between One Piece’s Sky Island Water 7 Saga
Continuing from Episodes 196 to 206, the G-8 Arc takes place after the Straw Hats land in the enclosed and heavily fortified waters of a Marine base. The transition from the Skypiea Arc is smooth enough to make you forget that the events taking place are not mentioned in the original manga. Additionally, it also serves as a perfect buffer before the intense Water 7 Saga that sets up a major fight against CP9 and the World Government. After landing at the Marine base, Luffy and the others try their best to escape without catching the attention of the Navy soldiers.
Of course, considering how chaotic the group is, nothing is ever expected to go smoothly when they are involved. The Straw Hat Pirates even blend in with them by posing as Marines in an attempt to reclaim their ship. However, considering how Luffy became famous after the Alabasta Saga, the Marines finally recognize him, but they’re still unable to catch him thanks to Usopp’s quick thinking of using the speed dials he brought back with him from Skypiea. The crew then leaves for Water 7, where they must repair the Going Merry, which has taken quite the damage from the brutal journey.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
