The Wano Country arc is, undoubtedly, one of One Piece's most important arcs. Having been teased way before the timeskip, it was pretty apparent that Wano would be a very important place for the Straw Hat Pirates to visit. Once the crew went through their two-year training and set foot in the New World, Wano was the place where every fan's eyes went immediately.

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Finally, One Piece entered its Wano Country arc in 2018 and, since then, this arc has well become its longest yet. With chapter 1057, One Piece finally concluded its Wano Country arc and now, fans can fully judge the arc and see where it ranks among the series' very best.

The Story

Momonosuke and Nine Red Scabbards One Piece 1052

Wano's story is quite possibly the darkest seen in One Piece so far. With Oda hinting at it as early as the Punk Hazard and Zou arcs, it was apparent that Wano would be a masterpiece from a storytelling perspective. Once Wano began, Oda made sure to live up to these expectations. It wasn't hard to see that Oda had put extra care into this arc. Having teased this arc over a decade before finally starting it and, at the same time, tying the entirety of the post-timeskip of the story to this arc, Wano was special indeed. The arc was filled with despair, yet at its core were mighty samurai who held out hope for a better tomorrow. While Orochi and Kaido tried their best to run the country into the ground, the samurai held hope in their hearts. Loyalty was one of the main themes of the arc and the samurai had it in abundance, which was certainly unmatched. Crossing 20 years in time, the samurai accumulated capable allies, including Luffy, who ended up paving way for the freedom of the country.

At one point, the people of the country starved to a degree that they considered death to be better. Luffy made it so that they never had to beg for food again. In doing so, Luffy fulfilled the task that Oden failed to accomplish. As such, his will was, in a way, inherited by the Straw Hat pirate, along with the mighty samurai. At its core, Wano had everything that One Piece is loved in the fandom for. A tale of despair, a ray of hope, and dawn that lit up the whole country in the end, with Luffy being its very bringer.

The Action

One Piece Luffy Vs Kaido

As with every arc in One Piece, Wano had tremendous action as well. This arc was the stage for Luffy to go from being a veteran pirate to a great one and, as such, the action here was expected to be top-notch. It is safe to say that Wano delivered on this front as well, with some of the very best fights in the story resulting from this arc. Not only that fans get to see the Samurai fight with their lives on the line, but also the Straw Hat Pirates in full-blown action for the very first time since Enies Lobby arc. Wano was laden with incredible power-ups and nerve-wracking tension that only kept increasing with each passing chapter. Unfortunately, due to the sheer scale of the arc, some fights were not as good as the others, however, the major ones all delivered.

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The likes of Robin, Zoro, and Sanji were treated with some of the most beautiful fights that progressed their characters even further. Most importantly, Luffy's fight against Kaido was easily established as his very best in the story so far. It goes without saying that due to the lack of time, the choreography for the fight was certainly not as great as it could've been. However, despite that, this fight proved to be Luffy's most important one in the series so far. Not only did it see him become a Yonko, but it also saw him rise as Nika, the Warrior of Liberation.

The Conclusion

One Piece 1057 Wano Ends

Wano's conclusion certainly lived up to the expectations. Luffy defeated Kaido in an extremely satisfying manner and, at the same time, every single member of the crew united to face their biggest adversary so far. The unity of the crew and their faith in Luffy was tested time and again and it was rewarded when Luffy used every bit of his power to send Kaido crashing into the earth. The plot for the Samurai was wrapped up in a perfect manner with Dawn finally coming to the country and the tyranny of Kurozumi Orochi ending side-by-side with Kaido's fall from grace. Not every member of the Nine Red Scabbards survived and Wano uncertainly did pay the price as well, however, it was the brave warriors who carried hope in their hearts who emerged victorious at the end of the day. While once, a challenge such as facing a Yonko would have seen the crew get decimated, this time, things were different.

Wano's ending was perfect and gave Luffy the platform to launch himself into the top tier of the One Piece world as a Yonko. As for Wano, the country bloomed once again, with clean air to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink for everyone. The promise to Kozuki Oden was carried out beautifully in a tale of despair, loyalty, hope, and unwavering determination. Wano has certainly earned the right to stand alongside One Piece's very best, such as Alabasta, Marineford, and Enies Lobby, among many others that are masterfully written by Oda.

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