Highlights
- One Piece fans have noticed strong parallels between pre-timeskip and post-timeskip arcs, as the series often introduces similar themes, settings, and villains.
- The current Egghead Island Arc shares similarities with the pre-timeskip Sabaody Arc, including the presence of key characters and the introduction of important concepts.
- These parallels might indicate future events in the One Piece endgame, potentially involving Luffy breaking into Hachinosu to save his captured grandfather and leading to a major showdown that changes the power balance in the series.
One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy as he follows his dreams to find the One Piece treasure and become Pirate King. To do so, he has to travel through the Grand Line and reach the mysterious Laugh Tale, facing foes and challenges along the way. With each new arc, a new setting and cast of characters is introduced, and this ever-expanding universe is one the series’ strongest selling points, celebrated by fans for its detail, size and variety.
Of the antagonists, his strongest opponents inhabit the New World, home to the Yonko and separated from the first half of the Grand Line by the Red Line. This is where, ever since the timeskip, Luffy has been taking the world by storm, rapidly making a name for himself, and achieving status and recognition beyond everybody’s expectations. Though to a lesser degree, this is similar to what happened in the first half of the story, and in time, fans have realized that One Piece draws parallels between the events that took place pre-timeskip, and the events that took place post-timeskip. In fact, this could even mean that Oda has already foreshadowed the One Piece endgame with the events that took place at Marineford.
Do One Piece Arcs Parallel Each Other?
Any fan who has spent some time on One Piece Reddit is acquainted with the theory that the post-timeskip narrative arcs parallel the pre-timeskip ones. Though just a theory, there are many factors in the story that validate it, and by this point it is considered almost a given. From antagonists to settings and themes, the series has both direct parallels and narrative inversions, and a lot of One Piece theorists take advantage of this, using it to help predict the endgame events.
One example of an obvious One Piece parallel is between the Arabasta arc and the Dressrosa arc. Both arcs feature a villain from the Seven Warlords who has taken over a country and supressed the citizen’s freedom. Though there are some differences, such as how Crocodile did so in the shadows whilst Donquixote Doflamingo is very publicly ruling Dressrosa, fans have realized how Doflamingo and Crocodile’s plans to take over were virtually identical, with Doflamingo succeeding where Crocodile failed due to Luffy’s intervention.
What One Piece Arc Parallels The Current Egghead Island Arc?
Though One Piece’s Egghead Island Arc features new characters and settings, there is one pre-timeskip arc it shares a lot in common with. In fact, the community was quick to realize that due to there being many of the same characters, the most similar arc would be pre-timeskip Sabaody. Of course, the parallels are less direct than in other cases, but it is important to remember that pre-timeskip Sabaody was where the Science Division and the Pacifista were first introduced, such as Egghead is where fans finall met Vegapunk and were introduced to the Seraphims.
Alongside the focus on the Marine SSG Unit, other elements from the original Sabaody Arc have taken a central role, such as Sentomaru’s guard and the Luffy and Kizaru matchup. Bartholomew Kuma is also likely making his way towards Egghead, and a popular theory states that as Kuma’s use of the Nikyu Nikyu No Mi saved the Straw Hats from annihilation during Luffy’s first battle against Kizaru, the same may happen if he arrives and intervenes in the fight against the Gorosei Saturn.
What Do These Parallels Mean For Endgame One Piece?
The last saga in pre-timeskip One Piece has Luffy recruiting allies as he breaks into Impel Down and participates in the Summit War, as he attempts to save his brother Ace. As his grandfather Garp has currently been captured by Blackbeard, and he intends to hand him off to the World Nobles in exchange for something, some fans believe that the One Piece endgame may have him breaking into Hachinosu to try and prevent the hand-off, just as was the case with Ace being delivered to his execution.
If the parallels continue, this would imply that, after failing to free Garp, Luffy would go to Mariejois. Here, many characters from the series will likely come together to participate in a major showdown that will probably forever change the balance of power in the One Piece world, such as was the case with the fallout from the events at the Summit War. This could even be where the members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet come together once more, and cause the major incident that Oda foreshadowed at the end of the Dressrosa arc.
Though there are undoubtedly parallels in the One Piece arcs, Oda’s creativity makes it very hard to predict how they will play out. Only time will tell how the One Piece endgame will be structured, but as Oda has already promised so, fans can rest assured that it will feature a grand scale battle the likes of which the series has never seen before, capable of outclassing even Marineford.
One Piece is available to stream on Prime Video.
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