One Piece (ワンピース) is the epic pirate themed shonen battle anime based on the manga of the same name by Oda Eiichiro. The thirteenth story arc of the series, Impel Down, originally aired between October of 2009 and June of 2010 for a total of 35 episodes, between 422 and 456.
Luffy crashes on a jungle island, the home of the ferocious amazon tribe. After being brought into the city, mistaken for a woman, his true nature is revealed and his life is forfeit. He escapes the women, only to return to the village in search of a ship. Their leader, Boa Hancock, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has returned with their one and only pirate ship. He seeks her out to get help in reuniting with his crew. After surviving another execution attempt by the women, he wins over the hearts of the tribe and Hancock, trough severe love sickness agrees to help him. Instead of trying to find his scattered crew though, they are on their way to the infamous prison Impel Down, where his brother Fire-fist Ace is set to executed.
Luffy is hidden inside of Hancocks guest quarters onboard the navy ship, as they make their way to Impel Down, preparing to face the full power of White Beards pirates if and when they attempt to rescue Ace from execution. Hancock continues to petrify any Marines that get close to revealing the stowaway. Before its too late they arrive at the prison, which is already heavily guarded. There is a day and a half left until Ace is to be executed at the prison. Hancock makes a request to talk with Ace before she joins the rest of the Warlords of the Sea. The request is granted but she must first undergo a strip search, threatening to reveal Luffy. Before anything can happen, Hancock petrifies the woman conducting the search and freezes the cameras in the room. Luffy is able to hide himself in the ceiling and when the woman is revived its as if nothing unusual had happened, so far so good.
Meanwhile, pirate captain Buggy, who had been captured while attempting to find the lost treasure of Captain John, see's his opportunity and uses his chop chop fruit powers to finally escape from his cell on the first level of the prison, the area reserved for the least important criminals. His escape is noticed and the the first level goes on alert, with guards being sent to recapture of kill him if necessary. Buggy's untimely escape blows Luffy's stealthy infiltration and the two have to team up to evade the pursuing soldiers. Luffy isn't sure where his brother is being held in the massive complex, but some of the other prisoners have suggested he is on level 5. He forces Buggy to help him get there, in exchange for the armband he's wearing. Buggy lets it slip that the trinket is a map to where Captain Johns treasure is. Luffy is more than willing to exchange it for help getting to Ace, but Buggy will take the earliest opportunity to leave him and resume his escape.
The two pirates destroy their way through the first level, crashing through guard houses and prison cells alike. hey find themselves in the torture area of the level, the Crimson Forest, where the trees are razors and the grass is spikes. Using Buggy's powers they easily traverse the hellish landscape and reach an access pit to the second floor. Luffy jumps down without a second though. Buggy is about to leave him but is distracted by an attack from a guard which causes his body to fall into the pit as well. Facing no choice but to follow, he too plummets down to the second floor, the floor of wild beasts. They soon face the fearsome guards of the second level but they end up being more bark than bite and Luffy easily defeats them. In a prison brake, orchestrated by Buggy to improve his standing among the other pirates, Luffy reunites with Mr. 3 from the long disbanded Baroque Works (see arc two and four). He tells them he will be willing to show them the way to level three.
In preparation for the release of the One Piece movie, Strong World, the story is paused for a four part filler arc that ties in with the events of the movie. The movie deals with the only pirate at the time to have successfully escaped Impel Down, Golden Lion Shiki, who has cut off his own legs to facilitate his escape. This small side story takes place after Thriller Bark and finds the Straw Hats landing on an island of friendly inhabitants who are ex-patriots of the East Blue. Over time they have built their village to be a replica of famous sites in the East Blue...mostly sites important to the origins of the Straw Hats themselves. They are welcomed like kings and celebrated. Meanwhile a pirate crew has been instructed by Shiki to retrieve a large beetle named Boss, who is a member of the village. His capture is payment for them being accepted into his coalition of pirates.
Luffy and crew are not willing to let their new friends happiness be trampled on by these new pirates and throw everything they have at them to protect the little East Blue. While at first the pirate captains net making devil fruit power proves too strong for Luffy, Sanji and Zoro, the villagers gain the courage to also fight the invaders. The beetle, Boss, also arrives after only partially recovering from the fight with Luffy to defend his home as well. In an moment where the beetle chooses his own sacrifice for their safety, Luffy knocks sense into him and the Straw Hats escape, ready to fight even stronger than before. The invasive pirates are quickly dispatched and peace is once again restored to this hidden monument to the most infamous rookie pirates from the East Blue.
We return to the prison break and Mr. 3 has joined Buggy and Luffy. They find themselves being chased by the revived monsters guarding level two until Luffy gets tired of running and beats them all into submission. Mr. 3 and Buggy plan to use Luffy as bait and make their way to the exit. Instead, Luffy and the biggest monster on the floor crash through the ceiling of level 3, dragging the other pirates with them. The three amigos find themselves wandering the deadly heat of this floor, looking for the way down to the fourth floor. There is little relief from the oppressive heat and before they can make much progress the guards, on high alert no, capture them.
All three of them are bound in a net with the Level 2 boss, Minotaurus, surrounded by guard captain Saldeth and a group of guards. The group breaks free of their bounds and flees again, with the revived Minotaurus hot on their heals. In their escape, Buggy and Mr. 3 abandon Luffy again, planning to make their way to the surface. They encounter Baroque Works Mr.2, Bon Clay. They tell him what Luffy is planning and free him as they try to make their way out. Luffy is attacked by Saldeth as he nears the stairs, Bon arrives in time to offer his aid, as he wants to continue to support him in his efforts. At this time Hancock has finally reached Ace and tells him in secret what Luffy is planning to do, bringing the older brother to shock and dismay.
Luffy and Bon reach Level 4, noticing the boiling vat of blood and the extreme heat. The warden of the prison, Magellan, finally done with escorting Hancock, can turn his attention to the rapidly growing problems of the prisoner riot on 2 and Luffy's decent towards his brother. He has amassed the strongest guards on Level 4 and is charging his vice-warden with guarding the entrance to Level 5. Luffy runs into the dangerous warden soon enough and chooses to face off against him, ignoring Bon's protests. The warden has the devil fruit power of poison and quickly subdues Luffy who relies on physically touching his opponents. In the confusion, Buggy and Mr. 3 attempt to escape at the stairs but are stopped by vice-warden Hannybal. Bon flees in terror, abandoning Luffy once he realizes their death is at hand.
Luffy is beaten by the overwhelming power of Magellan's poison and is dragged off to a cell on Level 5, were he is left to die. Bon defeats Hannybal and steals his identity, hoping to rescue Luffy to make up for abandoning him earlier. Level 5 is a frozen hell and Bon pushes himself to near death trying to save his dying friend. He is frantically searching for a prisoner who disappeared from their cell years earlier and had been spotted wandering the forests of Level 5. The next thing he knows is waking up in a strange space and finding a group of people enjoying themselves, a far cry from being prisoners. His questions are answered when the leader of the group appears and gives a performance explaining their hideouts. It is none other than the person he is searching for, Emporio Ivonkov. The enclave of escaped prisoners exists in the hidden spaces of Impel Down and provides refuge for those who find it. Ivonkov, which their devil fruit powers has made the space a sanctuary for anyone seeking freedom from the constraints of society regarding their gender identity or sexual orientation. These efforts are enhanced by their ability to change someones hormones, sometimes instigating a gender reassignment.
Ivonkov has taken in Bon and Luffy at Luffy's request to save the dying Bon, even with his own fatal condition. Ivonkov agreed to care for Bon as well as Luffy but is uncertain if the treatment will help save him. Luffy is bound in a sealed room and has spent the past ten hours in agony, screaming in his unconscious state. Ivonkov imbued him with a potential path to survival, at the cost of shortening his life. The rest is up to Luffy' body to fight the infection. Bon is unwilling to leave his side and shouts encouragements at the sealed room until his is spitting blood. His dedication to his friend inspires the residents of the enclave, who join in the chant. The support works and Luffy overcomes the poison much faster than anticipated. He is ready to continue, as time is running out for his brother. He lets is slip that his father is the infamous rebel Dragon, a man Ivonkov is close to. This makes them choose to aid Luffy any way they can and the fight is one to Level 6, where Ace is being help.
The trio of Luffy, Ivonkov and another man reach Level 6 too late though, as Ace is on his way to be transferred to the Marines. Magellan knows they are there and sets traps to seal them into the Level while he heads to the surface. The man who shared a cell with Luffy asks him to free him and he will help him get to his brother. The man is the disgraced ex-warlord fishman Jimbei. He was stripped of his title and thrown in jail because he opposed the plan to execute Ace. He wishes to help Luffy free the man he calls friend. Before they can leave another prisoner asks to be released to help with the struggle. Another ex-warlord, Crocodile. Luffy does not want to free him but Ivonkov convinces him to do so, based on secret information they can use against him is he decides to betray them. Now with their number increased to five, they head off to catch up with Ace. On their way to Level 5 they regroup with Bon and the rest of the enclave, who join the mission to reach the surface. It is time for the hidden prisoners to make their move and fight for real freedom.
The group easily makes it to Level 4, where they begin to release prisoners, in order to create more confusion and increase their strength. At the same time Buggy and Mr. 2 are releasing prisoners on Level 2 for a very similar reason. Everyone's efforts may be in vein as Ace is placed on a Marine ship and sets off for Marine Headquarters. After his ship leaves another arrives, unannounced, containing Black Beard and his crew. Given the sudden chaos in the prison, the warden elects to release a dangerous prisoner, the ex-prison manager who had been lock up for murdering prisoners, Shinryu. Magellan tasks him with confronting the warlord and stopping him if necessary.
Luffy and the rest reach Level 2 where they encounter the demon guards, defeating them, easily. Shinryu joins Black Beards forces instead of stopping them as the warlord proceeds unopposed with his plan. Meanwhile vice-warden Hannyabal tries to stop Luffy but only succeeds in delaying him. In a last ditch effort Hannyabal uses the last of his energy to attack Luffy but is stopped by the arrival of Black Beard. This is the first time Luffy meets Black Beard since he went to Sky Island. Black Beard tells him the original plan was to capture Luffy and offer him up to the World Government in hopes of being made Crocodiles replacement. Instead he was able to defeat Ace first for the same result. Having achieved his goals, he has no desire to fight Luffy and lets him continue with his prison break.
Buggy and Mr. 3 reach the first level, followed by an army of escapees. Luffy and his party are stopped by Magellan, who finally catches up to them. Two other stay behind to give Luffy and the rest the time they need to keep going, stalling the Warden long enough with their defeat. They soon meet up with Buggy and Mr. 3 who are trying to plan their next step. Before they can figure out where to go from there, Magellan arrives, confirming for Luffy that his new friends lost. While they turn to face the Warden, Jimbei is able to float a door to carry he, Buggy, Crocodile and Mr. 1 out to the Marine flotilla, in order to procure a ship. The fight with the poison spewing Warden seems impossible. Ivonkov arrives, after recovering from the beating he took earlier and lends all the power they can to stall Magellan even a little bit. Time is running out and the ship isn't arriving as fast as they need. in a last ditch effort, Ivonkov uses one of their attacks to propel the group of escapees out to sea, attempting to bridge the gap from the prison dock to the ship.
The brazen plan works, and everyone lands on the deck of the stolen Marine ship. Unfortunately they face the next obstacle. The Gates of Justice, the gateway to lead them out of the prison, are closed and will require someone to authorize them being opened. There is little chance of that now, given the situation at the prison is well known by those in charge. When all hope is thought lost, the gates begin to open, allowing the ship to escape. Other Marine vessels are chasing after them but find their way blocked when the gates immediately close again. They have done it! They have successfully escaped Impel Down and are once again on track to attempt to rescue Fire-fist Ace. Before we see the arrival of the pirate army to Marineford, we are updated on the status of the scattered Straw Hat pirates. None of them know the incredible event unfolding at the center of the world government, an event that was started by their captain in order to save his brother.
The culminating story line continues to develop at a steady pace. While much of the success the pirates see is due to plot armor, it doesn't detract from the quality story in general. Everything is coming to a head and the world will be a completely different place when the dust settles. Luffy, only focused on saving his brother, doesn't even understand what his actions are doing. He has no care for making an impact on the world around him or changing things. Right now his only concern is to save Ace. He isn't even aware of what his actions are doing to reshape everything around him. This entire sequence of events cements Luffy's personality. He has little concern for anything outside of protecting those he cares about. It's difficult to even fathom why he wants to claim the title of King of the Pirates, when he clearly has little interest in actively being a figure of change. He doesn't consider the consequences of his actions not does he approach anything with long term goals in mind. He lets his current situation guide him through his responses with little forethought.
In general I wasn't a fan of the members of Baroque Works. Particularly the debacle that was the series of events leading up to the Straw Hats landing on Alabasta, but the inclusion of a few key top members of Baroque Works as central figured in the Impel Down arc worked really well. It was quite amusing to watch Buggy work so hard to set himself up as a heroic pirate, attempting to put himself in a better position once he makes it back to sea. The introduction of Jimbei and Ivonkov set up Luffy to get closer to meeting his father, the leader of the rebel faction. Things are beginning to coalesce quite well around the Straw Hats being at the front lines of the new era in the world and its being done in a way that doesn't feel forces. Sure they are being introduced to key characters which will help realize that future goal, but its done with a guiding hand instead of a forced narrative. It will be really interesting to see what all of the set up that has been building since at least the Sky Island arc will lead to. When we started this journey all we knew was Luffy needed to get to the Grand Line in order to begin searching for the One Piece. When he got there he seemed to meander about without a clear goal, letting the winds push him aimlessly towards his incorporeal goal. Slowly things began to reveal themselves for a grander plot, particularly when people began to tell them about the New World, something none of the Straw Hats had even been aware of. Its fun that the Grand Line represents a barrier of entry to far greater things and acts as a barrier for knowledge as well. Those that are bound to the lands of their isolated areas only know that the Grand Line is a place of danger and mystery, but understand little about what actually exists there. Then you ave all of the people who just happen to live in the Grand Line and they don't even know about the things beyond it. All of the power players in the world are heading into the New World, chasing after glory and adventure, unsure about what is actually there.
I say it at the end of each arc review, this story has consistently been amazing since the terrible Foxy Pirate segment. With each new development the struggle for survival grows by leaps and bounds. In a short period Luffy and the rest have found themselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation and they are all essentially still children! It feels like we are coming to a point of no return where everything will climax incredibly then pull back to a baseline of normalcy before diving headlong into the next long reaching arc. Luffy is about to throw himself into the lions mouth to try and save his brother. He will survive...as the show has gone on for almost 1100 episodes at this point, but he won't be able to escape unharmed. I know there is a time skip in the near future and it feels natural to occur following the end of the Marineford arc. Spending time to search for his lost crew mates would be a terribly boring waste of narration since the scale of the story has escalated so much at this point. The trick will be to resume the story and keep up a respectable pace of threat and danger. There is no way the next few arcs will be as threatening as what is currently going on, but they will still need to be ones where it is hard for the pirates to truly feel safe. From here on out, once they rejoin their docked ship, they will be heading into continuously dangerous waters. I can't wait to see how things unfold and what moving into the New World will mean for their story.
Up next though, we still have to see how the raid on Marineford transpires and if Luffy and his new collection of companions will be able to accomplish, versus the full strength of the World Government.
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