Reasons people should NOT skip the first few arcs (Spoilers)

[Masaki]

A number of times I have heard people constantly say something like "Oh, the first arcs suck. Just skip to the Arlong Arc, that's where it gets good."

Personally, this really gets me. The first few arcs give huge development to the plot, and would cause major confusion if skipped. So, here's why they should not be skipped:


- Luffy's discussion about his hat would be missed
- People wouldn't have a clue about what's going on when Alvidia and Buggy reappear.
- Zoro's history and his fight with Mihawk would be missed.
- The introduction to Nami's greed would be missed.
- People would wonder why Sanji doesn't use his hands.
- They'd miss the description about Devil's Fruits.
- They wouldn't know Yasopp is in Shanks's crew.

- When the non-Buchi cat guy from Kuro's crew steals Zoro's swords, Zoro realizes he needs to practice 1 and 2 sword attacks, such as the attack he used to finish Mr. 1 and 36 Pound Cannon.
- People wouldn't understand what's going on when Jango and Full Body reappear.
- People wouldn't understand why Luffy doesn't fight Bellamy until after hearing Montblanc Cricket's gold was stolen.

- People wouldn't understand Usopp's pain of getting rid of the Going Merry.
- People wouldn't really understand much with the Luffy vs Usopp flashbacks

[Anemone]

they shouldn't skip it simply because it's good! but yes, I agree with you

[Level 70 Orc Ninja]

Reason why people should not skip the first few arcs:

Captain Kuro.

Personally, if I have to watch/read something, I read it all. It's like skipping a few chapters of a book and although they may not relate, it comes back to hit skippers (like how the Straw Hat is important to Luffy etc.)

[underdogdlx]

all those reasons are good, but also think of the funny moments you'd miss. :laugh this is one piece: miss an epsiode = miss a joke (almost always)

[Suzumebachi]

Another reason to not skip the first arcs: THATS NOT HOW YOU READ A STORY!!!!

[underdogdlx]

but it reads 'backwards' anyway, maybe someone might get confused? :P

... i'm sorry, pls ignore this post. I R Tired.:P

[RockLee]

Not really, since it has nothing to do with that.

I agree, the first arcs set up a lot of stuff, so plow through it. I highly recommend reading the first 7 or 8 volumes at your local bookstore. Then DL the rest, but also purchase them!

[d.Lughie]

Yeah.. actually the first few arcs.. is also important to the story.. but people couldn't get through it.. that's the sad part.. >.<.. I personally like the Luffy's flashback.. and also buggy arc.. Buggy possibly is quite an important character...

[azuken]

The whole mihawk thing is borderline godly. And any time with chopper would throw up a WTF flag.

[underdogdlx]

ahh yes. it's a frickin crime to miss the scene where Zoro's chest pwns Mihawk's sword. and the touching dialouge following said scene.

[RockLee]

How could anyone purposely miss Zolo's backstory? That stuff brought tears to my eyes.

[crazymtf]

^Yeah one of my fav parts so far.

[underdogdlx]

well, i enjoyed zoro's flashback. not sure who this zolo guy is :P i still think the zoro vs mihawk fight is the main reason not to skip the first arcs.

[Ai_Kotobuki]

very good points listed there, and yes; fools to zoLo. those are all important eps, and sticking through them all makes you love the series even more than just picking up from somewhere

[vanh]

How could anyone purposely miss Zolo's backstory? That stuff brought tears to my eyes.

agreed . It made me feel emo :arg One of the favourite moments. It was also sad when Sanji left the restaurant :cry so damn sad .

[Ai_Kotobuki]

well its always sad to see someone so accustomed to their lifestyle have to leave to join up, adding that along with their backstory and such makes the experiences so worthwhile (with a few exceptions :P)

[Molekage]

man... i wonder where zoro would be if kuina didn't die. or how good she'd be. man... oh man, i'll bet they could have taken on mihawk together

[Kisame]

we need an auto spell corrector that slaps you when you put ZORO with an L


and I agree with all your points.

[Seany]

I don't know why people would skip them, they would have no clue what's going on:oh
Well i love the first arcs so far(only just started to read =D)

[Lord Yu]

I wonder if I had anything to do withthis thread. Dont skip kids. If you skip you miss some Zoro and you dont want that.

[graysocks]

Why would people skip the first few arcs? Thats silly! Those were my favorites. Nami and Sanjis flashbacks, Shanks, and well everything really. It was my favorite part of the series.

[hakke]

people tell other to skip arcs because OP is not as easy to pick up as other series...

[Freija]

.........1 reason is enough..........you miss plot....

[Nihonjin]

Skipping the first Arc is like starting in the middle of a movie....why would anyone do that -_-'?

[Aman]

I agree with your point, though there are some things that they know anyway since it was said again, like why Sanji doesn't use his hands while fighting.

[Nihonjin]

How about....how the hell Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Ussop & Nami met in the first place :o
The first Arcs are just as much part of the story as any Arc...
Skipping it = retarded :\

[Seitoukaichou]

The most fun part of an Anime, is when the Crew/Mainchars got together, forming a team/party or whatever. Why should you skip those . It's like starting to watch Naruto After the Chunin Exam at the beginning of the war oO"

[Wrath]

we need an auto spell corrector that slaps you when you put ZORO with an LThat's possible, actually. Not the slap thing, but you can put in filters to automatically change text. Most frequently used to remove swear words. Like "Zolo".

[Tsuuga]

You know, I'm watching these first episodes again, and they're better than I remember.

[Jin22]

I qualify as one those who started on One Piece past the beginning arcs. Although I became instantly hooked then, I did eventually go back checking the others out in the process.

Kudos on this topic.

[Masaki]

Bumping this thread due to the people recently who decided episode 1 isn't a good place to start.

[Saya]

How could anyone purposely miss Zolo's backstory? That stuff brought tears to my eyes.

Z-Zolo? D:

Anyways, good reasons. :)

[Broleta]

Remember kids - watch from the beggining, all the cool kids are doing it.
Skipping arcs is just plain silly, you'd be so confused :/

[Zephos]

Say what you will, but I still reccomend people skip the Buggy arc on thier firt read through.
To this day I think its crap.

[BrianTheGoldfish]

Arlong may be the first truly awesome arc, but without the emotional connections between the characters that are established before that, you lose half the impact. I don't really see why you'd want to skip the introduction to a story anyway, it's just inviting confusion. >_o

[Masaki]

Say what you will, but I still reccomend people skip the Buggy arc on thier firt read through.
To this day I think its crap.

What, and miss immensely important backstory for Buggy and Shanks? Not to mention Luffy's development? And Nami's introduction? And Zoro's first real fight? And Luffy's ideals regarding people's treasures?

If the guy NEVER appeared again, you may have a case. But probably not.

[Master Bait]

You shouldn't skip the first few episodes in order to avoid confusions and
besides, those episodes are enjoyable.

[Zephos]

What, and miss immensely important backstory for Buggy and Shanks? Not to mention Luffy's development? And Nami's introduction? And Zoro's first real fight? And Luffy's ideals regarding people's treasures?

If the guy NEVER appeared again, you may have a case. But probably not.

I said first read through.
Not "NEVER EVER".
I'm saying this based off the immense amount of people Iv'e seen deflected from reading on because of it. It only helps that I myself agree that the arc is garbage.

And that flashback is not immensly important.

[Darkened_Uchihaz]

Wow, it's a good thing I didn't skip them. I just realized now how bad it would've been if I had..o__O

[Masaki]

I said first read through.
Not "NEVER EVER".
I'm saying this based off the immense amount of people Iv'e seen deflected from reading on because of it. It only helps that I myself agree that the arc is garbage.

And that flashback is not immensly important.

Then what, when they do get further they'll be immensely confused?

You read a story from beginning to end. Doing otherwise is stupid.

[Zephos]

Then what, when they do get further they'll be immensely confused?

You read a story from beginning to end. Doing otherwise is stupid.

And again, this is an alternative to them not READING AT ALL.

[Masaki]

And again, this is an alternative to them not READING AT ALL.

The Buggy arc takes no time at all. If they don't read it, they will be confused.

And hell, if Buggy is a reason not to read the manga, then people will quit at Loguetown.

[Sena Kobayakawa]

Before I started One Piece, I didnt want to the start at the beginning but it is actually very worth it.

[Zephos]

The Buggy arc takes no time at all. If they don't read it, they will be confused.

And hell, if Buggy is a reason not to read the manga, then people will quit at Loguetown.

What part of
ALTERNATIVE TO THEM NOT READING IT AT ALL
is so goddamned hard to understand?

[X]

I'd say you shouldn't skip anything, especially the beginning. If you wanna who Shanks is that is. :P

[Archtyrant]

One Piece is sorta like Bleach to me. It builds up after the 20th episode or so, but without the first 20 episodes to begin, we wouldn't feel the emotional bond to the characters which would make the episodes after the first 20 be so endearing.

Kudos to the thread starter =)

[ElementalShinobi]

I agree but you shouldn't skip because it is a good read and action packed.

[The Faint Smile]

Dude, Captain fucking Kuro and Mihawk! What other reason do people need?

[leafoutlines]

I started reading from the beginning just a few days ago. Even though I'm not a big fan of Buggy (clowns just creep me out), he's an amazingly original character. The way he sections himself is just outrageous. In my opinion, the genius of One Piece is in the visual vigor and creativity, and Buggy is really a great example of that.

Also, I'm one of those people who thinks that the most fun part of any story is when we meet the characters and the adventure is just beginning. I'm now at the beginning of the Sky Island arc, and the story's all about fighting and powering up. I love unconventional fights that aren't all about power, and I think I saw more of those at the beginning, for instance, with Ms. Golden Week's emotion painting technique.

[uzumakinaruto215]

Anybody that skips One Piece introduction should just die, my friend tried to watch the recent episodes and he didn't even watch any of the other 200 or something episodes, I threatened to use one of Zoro techniques with one of my swords I got.

[p0ltergeist]

I agree totally. Zoro's past: The anime turned a rather mundane 3 pages in the manga into a masterpiece of an episode. Kuro arc: Felt a bit long, but had a brilliant ending. At least three things here are crucial later on... Arlong Park: The first truly great arc in the story. This is where most people get hooked. Loguetown: HUGELY important. The manga readers know what I'm talking about ;)

In short: Don't skip arcs (except maybe filler). You'll just have to come back to watch them anyway, because they are all important for some reason or another.

EDIT: Even the events in the first three episodes weren't forgotten by Oda, and have an impact (much) later on.