I finished the Alabasta arc of One Piece and it was PEAK. PEEEEEEAK.
Nearly every character got a chance to shine in a way that spoke to their strengths, and it was made all the better by Oda genuinely allowing them the space to solve problems on their own without the aid of Luffy. This was not the kind of anime arc where all the characters simply stall for time until the main character comes to save the day, this was a test of the whole cast's abilities that let each of them make a genuine impact in their ultimate success.
I was particularly captivated by Zoro's fight with Mr. 1 and his leveling up as a swordsman as a result. The breathing of the environment, the quiet contemplation before Zoro's finishing blow - a gorgeous way to depict his heightening attunement with his swordsmanship.
Vivi is also worth special mention as she was essentially the glue holding this arc together and I ended up really really liking her. She went through such a realistic journey of emotions throughout the entirety of the arc, and it came through astonishingly well how much she really cares for the citizens of Alabasta, and now the members of the straw hat crew as well. (I can only imagine there are thousands of people out there with that "X" as a tattoo on their arm.)
On Luffy himself, I found his development in this arc interesting as well, because for all intents and purposes, this is the lowest point we've ever seen him. At all previous points, even when the odds were stacked against him, even when he was beaten down and intimidated and put against increasingly threatening foes, there was never a doubt that he would succeed with flying colors. Now, for the first time in the series, Luffy is completely and utterly defeated by Crocodile before having to crawl his way back to victory. His initial defeat sticks in my mind so clearly, as Crocodile held him in the palm of his hand, and Luffy was helpless to do anything but beg and plead that Crocodile stop hurting him - that he stop hurting everybody. Luffy has never once been brought to this level of desperation, so it felt very significant. Because of his overwhelming natural strength, it's easy to forget that Luffy isn't a superhero, but a random teenage boy with a dream, but that moment brought that reality into clear focus. It sets a precedent going forward that Luffy may need more than just bravery and ambition to take on these more powerful foes.
The last thing I want to bring up for now is the sheer scale of this arc's story, because it is bigger - and feels bigger - than ever before. Oda uses a lot of clever devices to continuously remind the audience that this is a city-wide battle, and a kingdom-wide conflict. Whether it was the frequent switches in perspective, the maps and diagrams to contextualize the site of battles, or the constant murmurs of war depicted even when the source of the fighting was far off-screen, it was clear throughout just how big of a deal this battle was to an entire civilization of people, and the commitment to that adequately set the stakes and made me want to see an end to the bloodshed just as Vivi.
With excellent paneling and art, great comedy, and an engaging pace on top of everything else, Alabasta came together in a way that was absolutely awesome and sits as undoubtedly my favorite section of the story thus far. Oda is absolutely cooking and I can't wait to see where things go from here. I'm particularly interested in Nico Robin. What's her deal?? We know almost nothing about her but she's been super cool in battle and very mysterious in her motivations so far so I can't wait to learn more. Will update some time soon with more progress.
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