You can really see how much heart Oda put into writing the character. MF was perhaps my favourite portrayal of Luffy’s character and determination.įinally, Whitebeard was the ultimate MVP of the arc and it’s main protagonist. How about the more emotional character arcs? Whitebeard’s relationship with Ace and his crew? Garp’s emotional conflict throughout the war? Coby’s first experience on a battlefield and turmoil? Ace’s answer to his lifelong question? Crocodile being a magnificent bastard? Jimbei’s sense of honour? Doflamingo’s mystery? Iva & Kuma? Oda was juggling plenty of plot threads, and he made them work and resonate. Shanks’ big moment of stepping into the Summit and stopping the war? The power of the WSM? Check. Teach’s ascension and big power play to cap off the arc? Check. Akainu as the ruthless, unstoppable, enforcer and main villain? Check. Most of the wider world characters became much more fleshed out than our first impressions of them, and some of them were maximised in roles to the fullest. As other posters like Canute & Convict have already mentioned, there was also tension and a sense of danger unique from previous arcs. The Summit War Saga remains the pinnacle of storytelling and some of Oda’s best writing in One Piece so far. Hell, Oda sowed the seeds when Ace talked about meeting Luffy again on the “Summit”. It shifted the focus away from Luffy as main character, placing a more balanced and equal pov on all of the war’s participants.
It was a fine and perfect middle-point of the series: following a break to the epic journey our Main characters have taken to this point, and giving us a view of the “true world“ they’re up against, with a climax arc that is filled with captivating characters and heavy themes which are unique and separate from the Straw Hats’ adventures. The pieces and the foundation were already being placed on the board since the Post-EL arc. It was a culmination of build up from several sagas. Wano shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as Marineford.