Summary
- Epic moments in One Piece, such as the crew's walk to Arlong Park, are impactful and memorable.
- Luffy facing three Admirals at Marineford showcases unexpected yet epic moments in the series.
- Zoro sacrificing himself to protect Luffy and the crew against Kuma demonstrates loyalty and badassery.
While One Piece can be funny, dark, serious, and even scary when it wants to be, it can also be downright epic. Whether it's a character making a final stand against a powerful foe, a breathtaking attack unleashed by a Yonko, or even just a character's introduction to the story, there have been plenty of epic scenes over the course of Luffy and the Straw Hats' grand adventure.
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These tend to also be some of the most memorable moments, considering they had everyone's jaw on the floor upon watching or reading them for the first time. Since One Piece has been running for over two decades by this point, it means there's been a plethora of epic scenes that are looked back on fondly by fans, too many to fit into one list, but when push comes to shove, these are among the very best of the bunch in terms of impact and memorability.
8 The Walk To Arlong Park
Luffy And The Guys Take Matters Into Their Own Hands
- Episode: 37
Arlong Park is an area explored very early on in the story, and as a result, the crew aren't exactly completely loyal to one another by that point. After Nami steals the Straw Hats' treasure to try and buy back her village from the dangerous Arlong, she finds herself distraught and alone after he goes back on his promise. Thankfully, Luffy and the others show up just in time to help, and although they could easily have abandoned Nami considering she just betrayed them, instead, they decided to take on Arlong head-on.
While the actual battle between Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro against the Arlong Pirates is awesome to watch, what most people remember this sequence for is the walk. With their fists clenched and deadly serious looks on their faces, the four crewmates stomp their way toward Arlong's base of operations with the bombastic Overhaul track blasting every step of the way, preparing fans for the beatdown that they are about to witness.
7 Luffy Faces The Admirals
Luffy Finds Himself Face To Face With Three Immensly Powerful Admirals
- Episode: 469
When Luffy hears that Ace is being put up for execution, he does all he can to reach Marineford in order to break him free. This is all despite Ace actually begging Luffy to stay away, since he doesn't want his younger brother to end up getting hurt for his sake. Thanks to his Devil Fruit abilities, and the help of Whitebeard and his crew, Luffy is able to make it pretty far, until eventually, he finds himself face to face with not one, two, but three Admirals.
Considering even one Admiral is considered a huge threat, seeing the three of them line up, and Luffy giving them a mean scowl in response, is a real standout moment from this iconic story arc. There are many incredible scenes from Marineford, but this one is a real show-stopper because of how sudden, unexpected, and epic it is.
6 Sanji Stands Up To Enel
The Fearless Cook Of The Straw Hats Steps Up To A Self-Proclaimed God To Protect His Crew
- Episode: 181
It's made clear pretty early on in the Skypiea arc that Enel, the self-proclaimed god of the Sky Islands who is able to control lightning, is not someone to be messed with. This was a time when the Straw Hats were still fairly weak in the grand scheme of things, which is why it was such a shocking moment when Sanji, without anyone backing him up, decided to stand his ground against Enel, so that Usopp and Nami could get away.
Not only does he take a giant lightning blast, but he manages to stay standing after the attack, and even mocks Enel by telling him that he was just about to grab a light for his cigarette. Sanji's body may have taken a beating from Enel, but seeing the chef defy a god made for his most badass moment in the series.
5 The Straw Hats Save Robin
Luffy And The Crew Declare War On The World Government To Save Their Nakama
- Episode: 278
As one of the only people to survive the destruction of Ohara at the hands of the Marines, Robin was labeled as being a "Devil Child" for much of her life. As a result, she would come to think very little of herself, and once she was inevitably captured by CP9, she was fully expecting to be killed for her crime of being alive.
The good news is, Luffy and the Straw Hats would never turn their backs on a crewmate. In fact, the Straw Hats would officially declare war on the World Government by shooting down one of their flags, marking an epic moment in the series that showcased just how fearless the Straw Hats can be when they put their heads together — and how far they would go to save one of their own.
4 "One Piece...Is Real"
Whitebeard Defies The Government One Final Time Before Losing His Life
- Episode: 485
To say Whitebeard gets severely wounded during the mission to save Ace in Marineford would be putting it lightly. By the end of the conflict, the Yonko has multiple bullet holes in his chest, sword slashes covering his entire body, and in the manga, half of his face blown off. Despite all that, though, Whitebeard makes one final proclamation before bowing out of the story for good when he screams at the top of his lungs that the One Piece treasure is, in fact, real.
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The moments of silence that follow this line, alongside the scenes of people around the world reacting to the event with their jaws wide open, really emphasize just how important and epic this moment really is. In all honesty, there's not much that Whitebeard does in the story that isn't epic, but his final moments specifically are some of his most badass.
3 The Drums Of Liberation
The Sound That Marks The Birth Of A New Era
- Episode: 1070
Despite all his training in Wano, and even after learning how to infuse Conqueror's Haki into his attacks, Luffy is, once again, bested by the mighty Kaido. Not long after, though, the sound of drums can be heard faintly in the distance, getting louder and louder and building suspense for what's to come. As smoke pours out from Luffy's mouth, a giant smile covers his face as none other than the elephant Zinusha announces the arrival of Joy Boy.
Seeing Luffy awaken the true potential of his Devil Fruit, especially when accompanied by the grand music, makes this an epic power-up to behold. Though the origins of the Gomu Gomu fruit are revealed slightly earlier on thanks to Who's Who, seeing the fruit in action, and the brimming confidence that it instills in Luffy, makes for a moment no fan will ever be able to forget.
2 Nothing Happened
Zoro Proves Just How Much He's Willing To Put Himself Through To Protect His Captain
- Episode: 377
When Kuma randomly shows up at the end of the Thiller Bark arc, his initial aim is to eliminate Luffy — until Sanji decides to step in, that is. Not willing to let Sanji throw his life away, Zoro knocks his rival unconscious, agreeing with Kuma that, if he can take the brunt of his attack, the Shichibukai will leave the crew alone.
Kuma transplants all of Luffy's pain into Zoro, which leaves him near death, but the reason this scene is so memorable is what comes after. A few hours later, the Straw Hats ask Zoro what on earth happened, since they weren't there to witness it, only for Zoro to claim "nothing happened," despite dripping blood and barely standing. The fact Zoro is unwilling to take any credit or acknowledgment for the act shows just how little he cares about earning brownie points to look good; he is simply a swordsman who will protect his crew at all costs.
1 Whitebeard And Roger Clash
Without Even Touching, Whitebeard And Roger's Attacks Almost Destroy An Entire Island
- Episode: 965
The epic duel between Whitebeard and Roger, which is shown through a flashback, actually isn't the first time fans got to see two Yonko go at it in a fight, as there's been a few times it has happened. Early on in the series, Shanks and Whitebeard would clash swords, which was already strong enough to split the sky. The reason this particular moment stands out, though, is that it involves the two most legendary pirates in the series in their prime. Needless to say, their confrontation ended up almost destroying the entire island, but the fact their blades weren't even touching one another is what makes this so mindblowing.
It's revealed not long after by Kaido that those who possess enough strength can infuse their Conqueror's Haki into their attacks, essentially allowing them to deal damage without even making physical contact with the target. This makes sense why this clash was so destructive, since the absurd amount of power being put on display was literally too much for the island, the crewmates, and the fans to handle.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
- Seasons
- 21
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Based On
- Manga
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
