Arlong Park is one of the best arcs in One Piece. The arc is focused on Nami and her recruitment. Nami stole the Going Merry and Luffy and co. were surprised to see Nami behaving in such a way. They followed Nami to her home, which was Cocoyasi village.
Cocoyasi village was being ruled by Arlong, who was a tyrannical fish-man. Arlong and his crew had a great deal of hatred towards humans. Nami was forced to work for them in order to protect her village. The arc stretches from episode 31 to episode 44. In this post, we will be ranking the best episodes of the arc based on IMDb ratings.
10 Episode 33: Usopp's Death?! Luffy - Yet To Land? (7.7)
This episode left fans perplexed. Nami had helped Zoro escape from Arlong Park. In the meantime, Usopp was caught by the fish-men. In order to prove her loyalty to the Arlong Pirates Nami was forced to "kill" Usopp.
It is obvious that she wasn't going to him, so he conjured up a cunning plan to save him.
9 Episode 35: The Hidden Past! Female Fighter Bell-mère! (7.7)
Nojiko talked about the past and her childhood with Nami. Both the girls were adopted by Bell-mère, who was a Marine officer. They barely had any money for themselves and they worked really hard to support each other.
They weren't even related by blood, but they loved each other a lot. However, things changed when Arlong Pirates came to their village and ruined everything.
8 Episode 39: Luffy Drowning! Zoro vs Octopus Hatchan! (7.9)
Luffy was clearly struggling to hold his breath underwater. He knew that in order to defeat Arlong, he must break free. On the land, Hatchi, one of Arlong's top fighters, was engaged in a duel with Roronoa Zoro.
Zoro was struggling to fight Hatchi as he had just one sword and he also had trouble with the wound on his chest. Zoro asked Johnny and Yosaku for their swords and they give it to him. After an intense fight, Zoro managed to beat Hatchi.
7 Episode 40: Proud, Tall Warriors! Dramatic Battle of Sanji and Usopp! (7.9)
This episode focuses on the fight between the remaining Kuroobi and Sanji and also Chew versus Usopp. After Sanji went underwater, Kuroobi followed him. Kuroobi knew that he had a clear advantage underwater and it would be impossible for Sanji to beat him. Sanji was almost done for when Kuroobi grabbed him, but he managed to conjure up a plan to escape to the surface.
Sanji challenged Kuroobi to fight him on land and he accepted. Sanji demolished Kuroobi easily on land. Usopp, on the other hand, was just regretting his decision to fight a fish-man, but he manned up and fought Chew to the best of his abilities. Somehow Usopp managed to beat Chew with his hammer.
6 Episode 41: Luffy's Best! Nami's Courage and the Straw Hat (7.9)
Arlong was left in awe after Zoro and Sanji managed to beat Kuroobi and Hatchan. At one point, it seemed that Sanji and Zoro might put up a decent fight against Arlong.
However, Arlong easily overpowered them, especially in their current state. Zoro was keeping Arlong busy and in the meantime, Sanji dived into the sea to save Luffy before he died. After a lot of struggling, Luffy was finally freed and then he began his onslaught.
5 Episode 42: Bursting Out! Fish-Man Arlong, Fearsome Attack From The Sea! (7.9)
Arlong was very confident in his strength as a fish-man. He ensured that he would boast about his superior strength after every five minutes. Arlong was powerful no doubt, but he was too annoying.
Arlong was clearly mad at Luffy's antics and he couldn't believe that Luffy was dodging most of his attacks. Luffy was enjoying himself out there, but Arlong just seemed to get madder by the minute. As the fight dragged on, Luffy entered a room that Nami recognized.
4 Episode 36: Survive! The Mother Bell-mère and Nami's Family! (8)
Nojiko reveals the past of her family. She reveals the life their family was going great until the Arlong Pirates came to the village. Arlong and his crew had come to the village in order to extort money from the villagers. Due to not having enough money, Belle-mère sacrificed her life so that her daughters might live.
It was a very emotional episode and it showed the love Bell-mère had for Nami and Nojiko even though they weren't her own daughters, but she would gladly die for their sake. This is without a doubt one of the best episodes in the series and one that is remembered by every One Piece fan.
3 Episode 38: Luffy in Trouble! Fish-Men vs. Luffy Pirates! (8)
The Straw Hat Pirates finally reached Arlong Park and they already started beating up Fish-Men. The fodder Fish-Men are easily defeated by Luffy and co. Luffy wanted to know who Arlong was and once Arlong confirmed his identity, Luffy landed a punch on him that sent him flying.
Due to being overzealous, Luffy gets his foot trapped and becomes an easy target for Arlong. Arlong casually throws Luffy into the sea. Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp immediately realize that they need to beat Arlong's goons as quickly as possible in order to save Luffy.
2 Episode 43: The End of the Fish-Man Empire! Nami is My Friend! (8)
Luffy and Arlong continued their fight in the same room where Nami had been forced to draw maps for Arlong. Arlong never had any intention of leaving Nami and her village alone. He would have made her work tirelessly until she probably died.
Luffy's anger was slowly building as he thought of Nami's suffering. He proceeds to destroy the entire room with his attacks, in order to ease the suffering of Nami. He finally beat Arlong with his attack, which brought down the entire Arlong Park. Nami was moved after seeing the crew go so far for her.
1 Episode 37: Luffy Stands Up! End of a Broken Promise! (8.2)
Nami had been working for so many years in order to gather her treasure so that she could free her village. Arlong never had any intention of freeing the village, so he sent the Marines to confiscate her treasure. When Nami confronted Arlong, she soon realized that she had been played and with no other option, she returned back to the village.
Every villager had reached the boiling point and they decided to fight Arlong and his crew. Luffy saw Nami's plight and he knew what to do. He entrusted his straw hat to her. Luffy along with Sanji, Zoro, Usopp finally reach Arlong Park to fight the Fish-Men.