That time I realized I was skipping the filler episode rule on purpose

I've been watching One Piece for about 5 years now and always thought I was being smart by skipping every single filler arc. Last month my buddy asked me how I knew the G-8 arc was filler and I said 'because it's not in the manga.' Then he pointed out that arc is actually one of the most loved by fans because of the comedy and character moments. I spent the whole weekend watching it and felt like an idiot for missing out on 10+ episodes of gold. Has anyone else skipped filler only to find out later it was actually worth watching?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sandra29d agoMost Upvoted

Read somewhere that the G-8 arc was actually written by Oda's assistant based on his notes or something, so it has that real feel. Ended up binging it and yeah, totally worth the time lol.

alicecooper29d agoMost Upvoted

The G-8 arc being written by Oda's assistant explains why it hits different but I think the real hidden gem is how it fixed a big pacing issue from the anime. Before that arc the show was dragging through Skypiea setup and the filler actually gave the crew time to breathe and act like pirates again. That part where they sneak around the marine base feels more like classic One Piece than half the stretched out canon episodes back then. Plus it gave us that moment with the kid showing his drawing to Luffy which is pure Oda style even if an assistant wrote it. Honestly if more filler arcs had that level of care the anime would have been way better off.