Alright, first my views on this episode:
I loved that Usopp got his own fight, and his cowardice was shown. I was worried in the earlier episodes that we weren't going to get one-on-one fights, but they've managed to fit a few in.
The fight with Arlong was condensed, we lost a lot of the iconic details that I still remember from many years ago that I last watched the arc in the anime or read the manga. Like Luffy breaking Arlong's nose. However, they did manage to properly show that Luffy was more destroying Arlong's "dream" than destroying Arlong himself, by Luffy defeating Arlong by destroying the building. Good going on that, it kept the most important detail. And the scene where Luffy rose up from the rubble may not have had the impact of the anime or manga, but good job regardless.
Was there no Hatchan? I couldn't tell if there was a character that was supposed to be him and he just wasn't emphasized. If there was one, they didn't really do a great job of him because I couldn't tell. Either way, given the future plot points with Hatchan, this is a glaring omission. Sadly, it's unlikely this series will make it that far, given it's a Netflix show and we know what happens with Netflix shows. But still... Hatchan should have been there.
Nami hitting Nezumi over the head with her baton was a nice touch, a bit cathartic, even though it was delivered more like a gag.
I liked the bounty poster scene. I liked how they kept the back of Usopp's head in it and Usopp made a big point about that. And the scene where Kaya sees Usopp's head in the bounty poster and smiled was really cute. This is the kind of charm that I enjoyed in the original series and going forward I hope they bring more of it.
Zoro and Sanji already showing animosity towards each other is nice to see. Also I liked that Sanji got in calling Zoro "mosshead" already. lol
Now, in an earlier topic I posted about wondering where they were going with showing Garp, Koby and Helmeppo. I figured that there would have to be some conflict resolution, and now I understand why they did it. Seeing as this is a Netflix seasonal show, they probably figured they'd do that side plot and wrap it up here just in case there was never another season of the show. Whereas the manga has never been written in that way.
I thought the conclusion of that was okay. I just have one thing to say: We all likely knew at this point that Koby would be a light in the marines, that he would be a good guy in an otherwise corrupt military/world government. However, I think that seeing all of these shades of grey so early may take away from the line Smoker makes after Luffy defeats Crocodile. In the manga, that was the first real shades of grey we saw from the marines, and Smoker telling the higher ups to "eat shit" was awesome, and I'm afraid the impact of that may be lost a little.
Overall, I enjoyed this series. I had lots of mixed feelings for many scenes and the way they were handled, but I did feel like there was charm here and I do feel like it was well-done and I'm happy that they made it. I do hope it gets more seasons. I do hope that the Netflix curse is lost and this series continues for a while. I want to see Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brooke. I want to see Enies Lobby! Sadly, I know how unlikely that is and it makes me sad.
I DO miss some of the more cartoony characterizations from the anime and manga.