One Piece: Pre-Timeskip Vs Post-Timeskip – Which Is Better?
The Post Timeskip holds its ground when it comes to being compared to One Piece’s Pre timeskip.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Final Saga of One Piece promises to reach its peak post-timeskip, bringing fans to the edge of their seats.
Pre-timeskip showcases Luffy’s adventures in Paradise, setting the stage for the New World with incredible consistency and quality.
Post-timeskip sees Luffy and crew return stronger after training, facing off against powerful enemies and leading to the final exciting saga.
One Piece is in the Final Saga right now, and it is here that the story is finally going to reach the peak of the post-timeskip. Everything that happened in the story after the 2 years that the Straw Hat Pirates spent training during the timeskip has led to this point, and from here onwards, it is going to be incredibly exciting for the fans to witness what Oda has to offer in the saga that he has been itching to draw the most of all.
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Of course, throughout its run, One Piece’s post-timeskip has often been compared to the pre-timeskip in terms of quality. While many believe the pre-timeskip to be the superior half of the journey, others think the post-timeskip has much more to offer.
Luffy’s Journey Before The Timeskip
Luffy Conquered The Paradise Half Of Grand Line Easily
The pre-timeskip of One Piece sees Luffy set out on his journey to becoming a pirate. In the East Blue saga, Luffy acquires a powerful crew, and from there onwards, he sets out for the Grand Line. The Grand Line is the goal in the beginning section of the pre-timeskip of One Piece. The entirety of the pre-timeskip is set in the Paradise half of the Grand Line. As explained after the events of the Enies Lobby arc, the Grand Line itself is divided into two parts. The first part is called Paradise, which is the easy half of the Grand Line, and the other half, which lies on the other side of the Red Line, is called the New World. The New World is where the strongest of the pirates rule, such as the Yonko. The pre-timeskip of One Piece is set entirely in Paradise, and it serves as a buildup to the subsequent arc in the New World.
In the pre-timeskip of One Piece, Luffy sails to Paradise through Reverse Mountain, heads to Arabasta, quells a civil war there, then journey to the sky island of Skypiea here, and of course, even invades the Government stronghold of Enies Lobby, securing the bounty of 300 million berries in the process. Luffy crushes several Warlords, such as Crocodile, Gecko Moria, and even trades blows with the likes of Rob Lucci. On the island of Sabaody, things start to unravel for the Straw Hat Pirates, as they are completely and utterly destroyed, being separated in the process.
Luffy then attempts to rescue his brother, after finding out about his eventual execution. This leads fans to the conclusion of the pre-timeskip of One Piece, where Luffy invades not one but two Government strongholds, in Impel Down as well as Marineford. Luffy takes part in the Paramount War, where he witnesses his brother die, and this serves as the basis for him to grow stronger, train in the ways of Haki, and be better prepared for the dangers that he would face ahead in the New World.
The Post-Timeskip Of One Piece
Luffy And The Crew Meet On Sabaody And Begin The Journey To The New World
When it comes to the post-timeskip of One Piece, fans see Luffy return after his two years of Haki training, much stronger than ever before. Luffy reunites with his crew on Sabaody, and then heads to Fishman Island. Just like Luffy, every single member of the Straw Hat Pirates gets considerably stronger during their two-year training. All of them come back much stronger than before, and ready to tackle the threat of the New World. In the New World, the Straw Hat Pirates go off course to Punk Hazard, which eventually leads them to the island of Dressrosa, where Luffy battles the Shichibukai, Doflamingo. Luffy even goes to Big Mom’s own territory and defeats two of her Generals, and later down the line, visits the land of Wano, where he fights his biggest war to date.
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In the post-timeskip of One Piece, Luffy even manages to crush Kaido, becoming one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, which is an incredible feat, and in the process, he acquires a bounty of 3 billion berries. One Piece then heads into the final saga, where Luffy is going to be up against Shanks, Buggy, and Blackbeard, in the quest for the One Piece itself. At the same time, the Marines, the Five Elders, and every single major force in the One Piece world are now on the move, which makes the final saga more interesting than anything the fans have seen before.
Why Pre-Timeskip One Piece Is Loved More
Pre-timeskip One Piece Holds A Special Place In The Hearts Of Fans
Often, the pre-timeskip of One Piece is held in a different light when compared to the post-timeskip by the fans. There are many reasons for this, and one of them is that the pre-timeskip of One Piece has incredible quality, and amazing consistency. Speaking of the manga itself, the art and paneling of the story is much better, which makes it objectively better than the post-timeskip, at least in that department.
However, a lot of the popularity for the pre-time skip of One Piece also stems from the fact that those who grew up watching One Piece get a lot of nostalgia from it. Furthermore, even among the new watchers, the pre-timeskip of One Piece feels more like an adventure, and is more lighthearted in nature. At the same time, it is a complete story, which means that fans tend to gravitate towards it more. Judging the post-time skip in a similar way is impossible, given that it is still not done and the Final Saga still looms large. Still, it would be disingenuous to say that the pre-timeskip doesn’t do some things better than the post-timeskip. Some of the story arcs, both in terms of length and pacing are much better in the pre-timeskip and, at the same time, the scale of the threat is often portrayed incredibly well in this half of the story. Some would even argue the storytelling of certain arcs is impeccable across the board, with post-timeskip having many arcs where the story simply did not stick.
Is Pre-Timeskip One Piece Really Better Than Post-Timeskip
One Piece’s Post Timeskip Is Underrated
There is no definitive answer as to whether the pre-timeskip of One Piece is better than the post-timeskip. This is a subjective discussion point, where opinions are obviously going to split. While many fans would argue that pre-timeskip is better, others would say that post-timeskip has more value. However, the idea that the post-timeskip of One Piece is far inferior to the pre-timeskip is simply absurd. The post-timeskip of One Piece actually has some of the highest moments in the entire series.
In fact, overall, the post-timeskip of One Piece has much better moments in comparison, be it from a storytelling point of view, or when people compare fights. The Wano Country arc itself delivers an incredible tale that Oda weaved into the story over the course of a decade, and that is certainly beautiful. The payoff in the post-timeskip of One Piece is absolutely immense. While the art paneling in post-timeskip does suffer, everything else, from incredible storylines to mind-blowing action, can arguably be called better in the post-timeskip of the story.
One Piece’s post-time skip is much bigger than the pre-timeskip. It is far from over and, already, it is the same length as the pre-timeskip. This is where many fans find the pre-timeskip to be better. Given that its beginning is more concise and is paced much better, it is easier to go through. Comparatively, the post-timeskip of One Piece has arcs such as Punk Hazard in between, which, understandably, don’t kick things off at a high tempo. Setting that individual arc aside, every single arc that Oda has delivered in the post-time skip has been absolutely sensational.
Dressrosa, aside from its incredibly exhausting pacing, is a beautiful story. Whole Cake Island is believed to be one of the best arcs and One Piece overall, while Wano can be considered to be the very best arc in the entire series. There are many fans who already consider Egghead to be the best arc, and the Final Saga to be the most exciting the series has ever been. The post-timeskip of One Piece gets all this praise without even diving into the meaty parts that Oda himself stated that he is the most excited to draw.
The post-timeskip of One Piece cannot be judged fully yet, however, what it has delivered so far is incredible. It might not be objectively better than the pre-timeskip, however, it is also not worse by any metric.
