One Piece is a world-famous shonen action series featuring deadly pirates on the high seas, and by now, the voyage spans over 1,000 manga chapters and almost as many anime episodes. Longtime fans have moved on from One Piece's early storylines, but if they return to the East Blue saga, they'll realize what a great start One Piece had.
Every anime needs an introductory saga, and the East Blue saga is One Piece's own. This is the series' equivalent to Naruto's pre-chunin exam storyline and Bleach's substitute Soul Reaper arc, and in many ways, One Piece's introductory saga puts them to shame. Passionate fans could argue that One Piece actually has the best introductory arc overall.
10 Monkey D. Luffy Significantly Grows Up In East Blue
Over the course of any shonen story, the hero will grow up and become more mature, responsible, and skilled. Some anime arcs or time skips age up the hero a few years to quickly show their progress, too. Naruto going from 12 years old to 15 in Shippuden being a classic example.
One Piece's introductory arc aged up Luffy over 10 years as an impactful "before and after" storytelling beat. In just one mini-arc, Luffy went from an insecure, bratty kid to a 17-year-old who was finally ready to sail the high seas. Few, if any other anime introductory arcs did anything like that.
9 East Blue Began With A Life-Changing Accident
Most anime arcs begin with the hero deliberately launching their action/adventure career. Tanjiro Kamado knew what he was doing when he trained to become a demon slayer, and Izuku Midoriya knew what he was in for when he obtained One For All to begin hero training.
Amusingly, and memorably, One Piece's first arc launched Luffy's voyage with an accident. Little Luffy at the Gum-Gum Fruit without realizing what it was, meaning he had to become a great pirate and make use of that power whether he liked it or not.
8 East Blue Established Its Squad While Leaving Room For More
An anime's first handful of episodes will set up the hero's main squad, such as Naruto joining Team 7 or Yuji Itadori teaming up with Nobara and Megumi early on. One Piece's first saga did that too, but with room for expansion later on.
The East Blue saga gave Luffy four crewmates to form a cohesive team for shonen-style adventures, but that was just the start. This team sufficed for East Blue, while the story left room for more cremates later, starting with Tony Tony Chopper in the Drum Island arc.
7 East Blue Foreshadowed Major Story Elements Without Being Distracting
Foreshadowing is one of One Piece's greatest strength, and the East Blue saga reeled in new fans with plenty of cool foreshadowing. The East Blue mainly set up Luffy's main squad, but it also hinted at major elements like the Grand Line and the One Piece itself.
This gave new One Piece fans something to look forward to without disrupting the narrative. One Piece smartly alluded to these things while keeping the narrative focused on more immediate concerns, so fans didn't get distracted wondering what the Grand Line would really be like until later.
6 East Blue Explored Several Unique Settings
One Piece is famous for exploring many colorful settings, from the snowy Drum Island and the prehistoric Little Garden to Whole Cake island and more. The East Blue saga was tame by comparison, but it was an introductory arc, so relatively modest exploration was sufficient.
New One Piece fans traveled with Luffy to explore cool settings like the floating restaurant Baratie, the fearsome and oppressive Arlong Park, the idyllic Syrup Village, and a small Marine base. Naruto and Bleach didn't expand their settings until their own introductory arcs were already over.
5 East Blue Hinted At Cool Characters Like Shanks, Dragon, & Smoker
The East Blue saga efficiently previewed future story events without overshadowing its own storyline, and the East Blue did the same with its characters. Major One Piece characters like Monkey D. Dragon, Captain Smoker, and red-haired Shanks all made an appearance.
None of these powerhouse characters overshadowed the East Blue's main characters, nor did they disrupt the pacing. As an introductory arc, East Blue neatly got fans excited for these cool characters while keeping itself mainly focused on the likes of Captain Kuro, saw-tooth Arlong, and Don Krieg.
4 East Blue Introduces A Ship As A Character
Few anime arcs can treat a vehicle like a beloved character, but One Piece's introductory arc did just that with the Going Merry, a sailing ship. When Luffy's gang defeated Captain Kuro, Luffy was presented with the Going Merry as thanks for saving Syrup Village from doom.
Any introductory arc can throw in a cool or powerful character to mix things up, but the East Blue stands out for doing so with a wooden ship, of all things. One Piece fans soon saw the Going Merry as not just a way to continue the voyage, but as Luffy's new best friend.
3 East Blue Paced Its Character Introductions Well
Any introductory arc in anime will welcome a handful of characters onstage to get the story going, but pacing is essential. Some early anime arcs get awkward when too many new characters appear at once, such as all those characters in Naruto's chunin exam arc or a bunch of Soul Reapers in the Soul Society arc.
One Piece's introductory arc has many characters, but not too many at once. The East Blue saga will smartly introduce a small handful of characters at a time, then will leave most of them behind and rotate in a new group. Usually, this happens when Luffy meets a new potential crewmate to recruit.
2 East Blue Gives Every Hero A Chance To Shine
Often, anime introductory arcs will only make the hero shine, such as Naruto saving the day on Tazuna's bridge or Izuku stealing the spotlight with One For All's immense power. While Luffy the protagonist takes center stage in East Blue, his crewmates get their own chances to show off.
Every time Luffy meets a new crewmate, that person will say and do all kinds of cool things to stand out. The chef Sanji wowed Luffy with his cooking and kick attacks, while Roronoa Zoro stole the show with his ill-fated duel against Dracule Mihawk. Nami and Usopp also found ways to shine, though not as much.
1 East Blue Revealed Everyone's Tragic Backstories In Full Detail
Since the East Blue's main characters are staggered out, One Piece had ample time to explore everyone's tragic backstories in great detail without ruining the pacing. Other introductory arcs give brief flashbacks for supporting characters like Nobara Kugisaki and Orihime Inoue, but One Piece goes bigger.
This introductory arc has such a strong emotional impact because everyone's backstories are explored in more than just a few minutes' time. Sanji's heartbreaking castaway experience with Chef Zeff is a good example, along with Nami's history with Bell-Mere and Usopp's struggle for recognition as the son of a great pirate.