Summary
TheOne Pieceanime is quite divisive because, even though getting to see Eiichiro Oda’s magnificent story in animated form is undoubtedly wonderful, Toei Animation has made some questionable decisions that resulted in many fans seeing the anime as the inferior version of this lengthy pirate adventure.
Naturally, the fights are a big part ofOne Piecethat were made worse by the anime’s many flaws, as some of them suffer from tedious pacing, extensive durations, repetitive uses of flashbacks, and more. This has led many fans toprefer the manga versions of these battles, with the following six being some of the most outrageous examples.
6Luffy Vs Foxy
It’s A Lot Less Annoying Without All The Needless Filler That Came Before It
The Long Ring Long Land Arc is already quite controversial among fansfor a number of reasons, and the anime version certainly didn’t improve its reputation. By adding filler episodes and removing the most important parts (like Admiral Aokiji’s sudden appearance at the very end), the anime made it all the more tedious and irritating to watch, and the final matchbetweenMonkey D. LuffyandFoxywas the climax of this unappealing arc.
However, their battle just works better in the manga, not only because it lacks all the unnecessary filler that was added in the anime, but also because Oda’s style of comedy just works better with his particular art and paneling. On top of that, Foxy disappeared from the manga for over 20 years after his initial defeat, whereas the anime kept featuring him in boring filler arcs almost immediately after the Long Ring Long Land Arc came to a close.
5Luffy Vs Doflamingo
The Glorious Ending Of This Important Fight Was Completely Ruined In The Anime
The animated adaptation of the Dressrossa Arc is infamousfor its multiple stretched-out scenes and slow pacing, and it’s even considered the breaking point for many fans who decided to switch from the anime to the manga afterwards. The climax of the entire arc,the intense battle between Luffyand Donquixote Doflamingo,suffered the most from these glaring issues.
The entire encounter is brimming with slow scenes, annoying recycled flashbacks, and even some lackluster animation,but the worst part was Luffy’s finisher: his King Kong Gun. What, in the manga, was a powerful final attack meant to illustrate how Luffy was much stronger than Doflamingo, was turned into a bizarre and unnecessary power struggle in the anime. This not only undermined the original purpose of this epic scene, but also made the ending of the fight much less interesting to watch.
4Luffy Vs Charlotte Katakuri
The Animated Version Is Just Way Too Long
There’s no denying thatLuffyvs.Charlotte Katakuriis one of the most legendary fights in all ofOne Piece, to the point that it’s extremely exciting in both the manga and the anime. Unfortunately, Toei’s common weaknesses made the animated version of their clash a tad less engaging than the original illustrated one.
The animation and music are of a high quality, but it all comes down to its excruciating length. This battle just goes on for way too long and, as expected, it was artificially extended by repetitive flashbacks, filler content, and the occasional tediously paced scene. The manga version of Luffy and Katakuri’s encounter was already quite lengthy, but Toei took it to a whole new level and made the fight longer to an unnecessary extent.
3Luffy Vs Kaido (Kuri)
The first timeLuffyandKaidoclashed during The Wano Country Arc was a heartbreaking moment in theOne Piecemanga. After so much buildup, the Strongest Creature managed to defeat the protagonist with one quick but ruthless Raimei Hakke attack, proving that they were at completely different levels of power. This was a tough but necessary moment that set up Luffy’s future development for the rest of the arc.
However,the anime completely butchered the core aspects of Luffy and Kaido’s initial fightto extend its length. From showing the audience how Luffy ran up to Kaido’s location (and thus, removing the impact of his first surprise attack) to extending the length of the Raimei Hakke and making it seem that Luffy had a small chance of resisting this devastating attack that would ultimately render him unconscious, the anime removed a lot of what makes this fight significant to the overall story.
2Luffy Vs Kaido (Onigashima)
One Of Luffy’s Most Important Moments Was Covered In Shining Lights
LuffyandKaidofought several times during the Wano Country Arc,and some of these battles were quite good, while others left much to be desired. One of these clashes resulted in one of Luffy’s biggest character moments:after training and learning to use Conqueror’s Hakithroughout the entire arc, he finally figured out how to infuse his attacks with it to deal some major damage to Kaido.
This was a monumental moment in the manga, especially because Oda’s impeccable art managed to convey how powerful and satisfying each one of Luffy’s punches was. Unfortunately, the anime ruined this epic moment by using unnecessary particle effects to portray Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki, which resulted in bright lights that blocked out the action. This was both frustrating and disappointing, and not even the use of the classic song “We Are” as the background music of this fight was enough to save it.
1Kozuki Momonosuke Vs Kaido
An Epic Clash Between Two Dragons Was Brought Down By Lackluster CGI Animation
Kaido’s dragon form is as majestic as it is intimidating, so it makes sense that it might not be easy to animate. That’s why the animators at Toei occasionally used alternate techniques to bring him to life during the extensive Wano Country Arc, like using a 3D model. This isn’t a problem when it’s utilized sparsely, but it ended up looking atrocious when it was the main focus of an entire fight.
This is what unfortunately happened when the anime adaptedthe fight between Kaido andKozuki Momonosukein their dragon forms. Most of the time, both of them were portrayed via ecstatic 3D models that not only looked bad, but also didn’t properly convey the emotions of these two characters' intense rivalry. This was extremely disappointing because this battle was a real treat in the manga, where getting to see these two legendary titans clashing with impressive attacks was satisfying and exciting.
