Summary
TheOne Pieceanime has over 1100 episodes that are all part of the same interconnected storyline. Since this is one of the most popular shonen franchises in the world, a lot of people want to catch up with this world-changing series before it reaches its inevitable conclusion in the future.
Do those people have to watch every single one of those episodes, or is there an arc that can be skipped? Of course there is, since Toei Animation hasadded a lot of filler scenes, episodes, and even entire arcsthat were not part of Eiichiro Oda’s original work and, therefore, do not affect the main plot. These are some examples ofOne Piecearcs that can be skipped.
Updated June 17, 2025 by Julián Fernández Loyarte:Needless to say, the One Piece anime is still growing in both popularity and length and has now reached over 1120 episodes in total. As a result, many new viewers are trying to watch this massive series in its entirety, so this list was updated once again to help them as much as possible.
It now has three new entries covering three filler arcs that can be easily skipped: The Straw Hat Recap Arc aired in the middle of the Enies Lobby Arc, the Little East Blue Arc that served as a prologue to the movie Strong World, and the Silver Mine Arc, set between the Dressrosa and Zou arcs.
54 to 61
Released
2001
Toei was forced to make a difficult decision in 2001: They had to create some filler episodes in order to prevent their anime adaptation from catching up with theOne Piecemanga. The result was theWarship Island Arc, which is well-known for being the very first filler arc created for this anime.
This is a harmless arc, but it’s also nothing special since it introduces abunch of generic charactersthat are never seen again after it’s over. To make things even worse, the Warship Island Arc contradicts events that happen in later canonical arcs, like Zoro nonchalantly cutting through steel chains,something that he actually has to learn to do during theArabasta Arc.
131 to 135
2002
It’s evident that the animated adaptation of the Arabasta Arc was quite ambitious and overwhelming, so it seems that Toei Animation needed to produce a breather in the form of a small but insignificant filler arc immediately after it. Appropriately named thePost-Arabasta Arc, this is a harmless but uninteresting arc that should definitely be skipped.
It’s made up of 5 episodes, each one centered around a different member of the Straw Hat Pirates (except for Luffy and Robin, weirdly enough), and each one of them feels like an average and genericOne Pieceendeavor,with the occasional flashbackthat reminds viewers what the motivations of each main character are.
136 to 138
The name says it all: TheGoat Island Arctells the story ofZenny, an old man stuck on an island that is filled to the brim with goats. This character always had the dream of becoming a pirate alongside them. So, the Straw Hat Pirates help him accomplish this dream before he passes.
This may be a short arc, but it features a heartwarming story aboutsomeone trying to accomplish their dream, which is truly whatOne Pieceis all about. However, it is still justanother side-mission for the main cast, and Zenny’s story haszero impact on the rest of the anime’s plot.
139 to 143
2003
Toei Animation always had a disadvantage when it came to coming up with plots for filler arcs since it’s almost impossible to match Eiichiro Oda’s creativity and clever writing. As a consequence, some of their original arcs can feel quite generic and forgettable, and theRuluka Island Arcis one of them.
This is far from a bad story, as the concept of the mysteriousRainbow Mistis truly fascinating, but most of the characters inthis arc feel extremely generic, even byOne Piecestandards. Not to mention that neither they nor the Rainbow Mist are ever mentioned again, so it’s not essential viewing.
207 to 219
2004
TheLong Ring Long Land Arcis divisive amongOne Piecefans, as the game ofDavy Back Fightagainst the Foxy Pirates is extremely goofy and funny, but it doesn’t seem like it has any true impact on the overall story of the series. Nevertheless, this is still a hilarious arc, andFoxyhimself is one ofthe most entertaining antagonistsin the series.
As if this wasn’t already a lighthearted enough arc in the manga, Toei Animation made some big changes that made it even less relevant and more disconnected from the rest of the plot. Not only was the Day Back Fight extended with a few additional games - which are nowhere near as fun as the canonical ones - but the climactic encounter withAdmiral Aokijiat the end was completely removed from the anime adaptation, and it was relegated to being part of an entirely different filler arc instead. This means that there’s no real reason to watch the Long Ring Long Land Arc, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great time.
220-224
2005
In 2003,Bandai Namcoreleased the video gameOne Piece: Ocean’s Dream!for the original PlayStation. Like any othergame that is based on a pre-existing series, it features a brand-new story that is mostly disconnected from its source material, so it can exist by itself without continuity problems.
Two years later, Toei Animation decided to adapt the plot of this game into an anime-original arc, known as theOcean’s Dream Arc. This story is fascinating, as it explores the minds and backstories of the Straw Hat Pirates after their memories get stolen (with the only exception beingNico Robin). Though it is a fun and moving arc, it is ultimately irrelevant because of the context in which it was created.
225 to 228 / 382 to 384
2005, 2008
Even ifFoxywas originally created as a canonical villain for the manga, it seems that Eiichiro Oda didn’t have many plans for him, so he let Toei Animation reuse him and his crew as many times as they wanted. As a result, he became a recurring character in the anime, even though he has been absent from the manga for over 21 years (until recently).
Foxy, Hamburg, and Porche star in bothFoxy’s ReturnandSpa IslandArcs, and they are responsible for some hilarious and lighthearted moments that mostOne Piecefans are going to enjoy. ButFoxy is a character that doesn’t really work welloutside the original context he was created for. So, regardless of how entertaining they can be,neither of these arcs is mandatory material for viewers who want to catch up with this long story.
279 to 283
2006
This isn’t technically a concrete story arc, since it doesn’t even have an official name. But it is still a collection of five episodes aired right next to each other that are connected by a shared common theme.
Because episodes 279 to 283 function as a bunch of clip shows that recap the individual stories of each member of the Straw Hat Pirates, this filler arc is known as theStraw Hat Recap Arc. These recaps may have been more useful for Japanese TV viewers back in the mid-2000s, but the internet has now made them obtrusive and unnecessary.These five episodes also feature brief comedic skits, known as the Straw Hat Theaterand, while they are very funny, they can be very easily found by themselves on the internet, so the arc should definitely be skipped.
326 to 335
2007
At first glance, theIce Hunter Arcmay seem like any other traditionalOne Piecearc: TheAccino Familyis a group of odd yet entertaining villains who are surprisingly strong (and their patriarch even has Devil Fruit powers). This arc features some really interesting battles, and it’s even set in the unique location of Hyokaido.
Most viewers are initially tricked by the surprising quality of this arc, as it’s 100% filler and nothing that happens in it has any impact on future events of the show. What’s even weirder is thatDon Accino’sDevil Fruit, the Atsu Atsu no Mi, is extremely similar tothe Netsu Netsu no Mi that was eaten byCharlotte Oven, a canonical character who would be introduced eleven years later.
426 to 429
2009
Around the end of the pre-timeskip era, Toei Animation began introducing many filler arcs that are directly connected to many of theirOne Piecemovies. And, since all these films are non-canon and have barely any connection to the rest of the series, the same happened with the anime arcs that preceded them. The very first one the studio made was theLittle East Blue Arc, which serves as the prologue forOne Piece Film: Strong World.
As amazing as that movie is, the same can’t be said for this arc, which just feels boring, bland, and uninspired, with a duo of absurd, non-threatening antagonists named Largo and Corto. Not to mention that the events of the Little East Blue Arc are never mentioned in all ofStrong World, so it doesn’t even have an impact on the movie that it’s supposed to set up.
