#{it's great!}

By and large it is still just same arc as in the manga: following the explosion of emotion and intensity that was Arlong Park, the gang stop in Loguetown, the fabled birthplace (and eventual death site) of the Pirate King, Gold Roger. It's a pretty lax arc for the most part, really just focusing on the gang recouping, save for the encounter with Buggy and Alvida at the end. We establish Smoker and Tashigi as some of the more prominent Marine characters, and we get the iconic scene of Luffy laughing in the face of his eventual demise. If you read the three or so chapters Loguetown consists of, you know what happens in episode one.

That said, there are some differences. The action actually begins in Shelltown, where Miss Valentine, Mr. 5, and Ro—Miss All-Sunday discover the corpse of Mr. 7, who Zoro had killed way back in season one. Great way to tie that plot thread here and re-establish Baroque Works as the main antagonists of this season. We also get a great showcase of the Flower-Flower Fruit in that hallway scene, and we even get subtle hints at Valentine's and 5's powers (5 walking out from smoke, Valentine taking out a Marine by just stomping on them). Very strong start.

All the good scenes are hit: Zoro in the sword shop, the execution platform, Usopp getting his new goggles, what you expect. They added a lot of good new scenes, too, like Nami deciding to get the atlas, Usopp calling Kaiya one last time, and Sanji finding out Zeff added his dish to the menu at Baratie. Loguetown lives on its character moments, and they added a lot of good ones.

Continued character rehab too! On top of Nami being an active fighter still with her staff, Alvida is here, NOT RANDOMLY SLIMMED DOWN (tho she does wear a corset), and her Slip-Slip Fruit powers have ACTUAL function. Turns out, the ability to be frictionless can have use in battle, imagine! We actually get to see her take down Luffy here! Buggy is also here, and you can just tell Jeff Ward is having the time of his life as this clown, he continues to delight.

Speaking of character, I can def feel the cast being more comfortable in their roles here. The dynamics and individual traits feel a lot stronger, they're starting to feel more like their characters. Iñaki Godoy is still Luffy incarnate naturally, Mackenyu really nails the max bravado, zero brains charm of Zoro pre-timeskip, and Emily Rudd has improved significantly as Nami! A lot more emotive and dynamic, which I suppose fits for a post-Arlong Nami, so I'll give her credit there. Jacob Gibson and Taz Skylar are also fab as Usopp and Sanji, respectively, though both really nailed both the roles out the gate, I'd say. Rest of the cast is very good; Tashigi has a really good actress, Smoker felt a lil flat but still delivered, and it's so good to finally see the actor playing Dragon, here

In terms of what they added...well, let's address the elephant in the room: BARTOLAMEO!! The goat himself appearing six HUNDRED chapters early before his given debut in Dressrosa, and like...this was absolute genius. Phenomenal choice that really shows the creatives care for this series. Showing what Barto was like initially, and seeing him develop his fanatical love for Luffy? Oh, it's perfect. I think Barto being there at Loguetown was canon, but was added retroactively, so seeing it be actively applied in the live action is great. The voice was a little not-what-I-was-expecting, but I still enjoyed it; had a lot of physical presence and the costume work was spot on. Kinda lame they announced his inclusion prior to the show's release, but eh. It was still nice to see him here.

And here's the REAL wild card tho: SABO! Like...huh!?! We're seeing Sabo before ACE!?! (Granted, they included a new scene where Roger says he has a son and wants Garp to look after him; this son is Ace but we don't know that yet) Granted it was very brief and in the background, but...yeah nah, that was Sabo! Nearly five hundred chapters before he is retconned at Luffy and Ace's sibling, he shows up for a cameo alongside Dragon! Also, what was it Dragon did to Smoker there to free Luffy? That was weird...eh, whatever.