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One Piece: Alabasta Saga Review

The second One Piece saga is called Alabasta Saga. It consists of five arcs, two seasons and 84 episodes in total. It’s another stellar saga.

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“Weakness is a sin“

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Reverse Mountain Arc consists of just two whale-centered, ‘Pinocchio’-inspired episodes whereas the second arc Whisky Peak Arc is also not as memorable, though the idea of the island’s residents not being what they seem is well executed.

Little Garden Arc is where the saga has become excellent. As the crew reaches a prehistoric island, they have to fight not only the Baroque Works officers, but also two giants who are at war with one another. The former are a stupid, clumsy bunch who were the consistent source of laughter throughout this sage while the latter were very amusing. The arc benefits from strong animation and a greatly utilized prehistoric setting with dinosaurs being present.

The fourth arc is Drum Island Arc and it’s actually my favorite of the five arcs. I know I am in the minority, but this was the highest point of this saga as it was both very memorable and highly adventurous. Following the crew on this snowy, dangerous mountain was a lot of fun and the setting is quite different from all their previous sea adventures.

Nami got sick so they needed to save her, but when they reached the end of the mountain, they got introduced to Dr. Kureha. She is this over-the-top, competent and crazy doctor who always manages to cure her every patient. She’s a lot of fun for sure.

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But the most important character has to be Tony Tony Chopper. Chopper is this reindeer doctor who is brave and caring while still being a kid at heart. His transformation into a full-on adult reindeer is cool while his initial kid version is just so cute. He got a terrific, very moving backstory with those episodes being the most emotional of the bunch. And simply speaking, he is one of the greatest One Piece characters of them all, an instant classic addition to the team and a wonderful, adorable little guy.

The fifth and final arc is the most important titular saga arc called Alabasta Arc. The Straw Hats finally reach the desert kingdom of Alabasta and begin their race across the land to reach Alubarna before a massive war breaks out between the kingdom’s royal guards and the rebels. This desert kingdom is beautifully explored, the world building continues to be excellent on the show and we got to some some new fight moves and greatly utilized sand into the action scenes.

Obviously the highlight of this arc is Crocodile. Being the most powerful villain of them all so far on the show, Crocodile is imposing, cool and extremely tough. He’s got some instantly memorable moves and techniques, and all of the fights that Luffy and him had were great. I found all of the episodes with him terrific, and it was funny how Luffy just could not beat him.

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The whole backstories and histories of the characters and towns and islands they visit could get overwhelming per usual for anime shows, but most serve their purpose and are quite moving. The main characters are also great here with Luffy and Nami being the most memorable ones, though Usopp is somewhat sidelined this time around. The second opening is probably as great as the first as it’s so catchy, but the third one is much weaker. The fillers are sometimes great, but some are definitely annoying.

Overall, Alabasta Saga is another terrific One Piece saga that benefits from excellent world building, continued terrific humor and character dynamic and a couple of great villains. The highlights are the last two wonderful arcs.

Worst Arc: Reverse Mountain Arc.

Best Arc: Drum Island Arc.

Worst Episodes: An Inevitable Melee! and And So, The Legend Begins!

Best Episodes: Bad Girls and His Fatal Flaw.