Well then, its been so long since I read it so this'll be from memory
Pros As an introductionary arc, I think it did fine. I still LOVE that Coby of all people was the first to meet Luffy. Not Nami, not Zoro, but Coby. It adds a special kind fo sentimental touch, somehow, and secures his place in the story as somebody important. Because even if he's not all that active, he was amongst the first characters we readers met, and that is enough to make him memorable. Same goes for Alvida.
Speaking of the Iron Club, Alvida was one of the first characters that really stood out for me when I started reading. Back when I still hadn't gotten used to Oda's style, she was one of the stranger characters. Its a shame we haven't seen more of her (granted, I'm glad she reappeared at all).
Then there is of course also the matter of Luffy's introduction. I could go on about different ways to make the beginning, but starting a story is really, really hard and Oda did an excellent take on it. Especially the moment with Shanks putting the hat on Luffy, thats legendary. Zoro was also fun. By todays standards he would probably seem a little shallow back then - his flashback didn't even last a chapter, did it? But at the same time, I kinda like that not everything was revealed at once. His character wasn't done and over, it was only beginning.
Lastly, Helmeppo was like the protoype Spandam and did a fine job. Morgan was a little boring, but for such a short arc that works well.
Cons
Its hard to rat on this arc since it is the first. Back then we didn't have any expectations, we didn't know the characters… the world was vast and open and its hard to judge the series based on what little we knew. Granted, it could maybe have been a little more exciting, but I find it hard to do that without taking away from the overall story.
Favorite Moments
- The very first page with Roger's Speech
- Shanks giving Luffy his hat
- Luffy and his barrel
- Zoro eating the crushed Rice Balls
- Luffy ruining Morgan's Statue
- The revelation of Zoro's fighting style
- The marines celebrating Morgan's fall
- The salute for the straw hats
Final Thoughts
- It was nice going through the arc again, if only for how lighthearted it was
- Love how it so easily set the tone for the rest of the series and the grey line between good and evil.
- Back when three swords was the coolest thing I had ever seen…
- …and when I was still weirded out by Luffy's powers. Good times.