The world of One Piece expands yet again in Little Garden, the third arc of the Grand Line! As they sail toward the jungle island, they don’t expect it to be the home of dinosaurs and giants, but that’s what they find. Now, they’re stuck between Baroque Works members and two giants.in a hundred-year grudge match. Will they survive Baroque Works’ latest plan and help the giants of Elbaph, or will Little Garden be a big problem?
As a refresher, the Straw Hats just sailed from Whiskey Peak with Alabasta’s Princess Vivi and her trusty Karoo in tow. Luffy and the crew have been entrusted with her journey home, and subsequently are drawn into the conspiracy by Baroque Works. Now, their next destination is the jungle of Little Garden, just one of many stops on the way to Vivi’s home.
Log Pose Problems
Grand Line navigation is totally different from East Blue navigation. Here a Log Pose is required, which attunes to the natural magnetic field of an island and points the way toward the next. The problem is, a Log Pose takes time to adjust to each island, and it can be anywhere from a few hours to years. For Little Garden, the Log Pose takes a whole year to reset to the next island. It’s not the most time-friendly method of travel, but it works.
More Baroque Works Weirdos
Little Garden gives more Baroque Works members time in the spotlight. This time Mr. Three and Ms. Golden Week are the pair in charge, with powers of the Wax-Wax Fruit for Three and color-based hypnotism for Golden Week. It’s interesting that Golden Week is confirmed as a non-Devil Fruit user considering the scope of her powers. She’s able to paint colors on opponents, which in turn makes them obey whatever the color pertains to. She uses this to make the Straw Hats fight amongst themselves.
Three’s Wax-Wax Powers become kind of a joke in later arcs when he appears. Oh yeah, he pops up way later and even becomes indebted to Luffy for saving him. The Straw Hat captain really has a way of turning enemies into friends, and Three’s powers of wax manipulation help save him in Impel Down.
Usopp’s Dream
Usopp has a dream to become a great warrior like his father Yasopp, but now he has two more examples to strive toward. Dory and Broggy the giants are introduced through battle, and what Usopp witnesses fills him with wonder like none other. He makes an effort to learn everything he can from Dory and Broggy in the short time they have.
What he learns of their homeland Elbaph becomes a part of his dream. He wants to sail to Elbaph, the land of the giants, and show Dory and Broggy the progress he’s made as a warrior. It’s going to take longer than expected since Elbaph is near the end of the New World, but the Straw Hats are closer than ever.
Dory and Broggy
Every arc gets a couple of sympathetic characters to help out the Straw Hats, whether it be a new crew member or just residents of the island. Dory and Broggy are memorable for their attitude and appearance, the first giants seen in One Piece. Their legendary hundred-year grudge match has been fought before Gold Roger was even born!
The backstory reveals Dorry and Broggy’s former crew who will eventually meet the Straw Hats in the New World. Dorry and Broggy had a disagreement at some point as co-captains of the Giant Pirates and decided to battle on Little Garden to settle it. The thing is that they’re both strong warriors, and the battle has raged for a century so far while their crew has become scattered. Hajrudin, one of their former crew, joins the Straw Hat Fleet as an original member.
Elbaph Awaits
The giants are a long way from Elbaph, located near the end of the New World. It’s comical that they offer Nami an Eternal Pose set to Elbaph. which is all the way on the other side of the Grand Line. Now, all these years later, the Straw Hats are still a ways away from Elbaph. It shouldn’t be long though since the Egg Head Island arc wrapped up relatively quickly.
They’re All Idiots
Luffy has proven time and time again that he’s the number one in both crew and stupidity. This arc finally gives the others some of their little quirks that have become commonplace. Zoro gets lost, only for the first time of many. Sanji will chase anything that even resembles a woman, even if they’re made of wax. Usopp plays dead until he’s sure he won’t really die. Nami already has her extortionist ways so that’s nothing new here.
Luffy has his Luffy moments as usual, but the real scene-stealer is Zoro. Naturally, Zoro’s completely lost in the jungle while he and Sanji compete for their next meal. Even better, Mr. 3 captures him so Zolo decides to be a smartass. It’s amazing that Ax-Hand Morgan was able to stand him for three weeks. As the Straw Hats are in the wax fountain, he even makes a pose and insists the others should too.
It’s around this point where Vivi begins to wonder if she’ll die thanks to their stupidity. She even asked Nami how someone as stupid as Luffy made it to the Grand Line. At least she was blunt about it.
New Enemies, Eventual Friends
Mr. Three here is a villain, but that will change as time goes on in both the Alabasta arc and beyond. Ms. Golden Week comes back later as well, but not in nearly as much of a role. She becomes instrumental in the break-out of Baroque Works after the arc is over, though. Three is a great recurring character and his debut here is a lot more devious than those to follow.
Ms. Valentine doesn’t offer much in her return, but Mr. Five gives a pretty good fight to Usopp. There’s a lot that goes on to take Golden Week and Three down, but the Straw Hats pull through and free the giants. Then there’s the matter of Sanji, who finds Three’s wax house and speaks to the man in charge. Sanji throws Croc off the trail for a moment while he also defeats the Unluckies, sent to check in on Three. This battle gains the Straw Hats an Eternal Pose to Alabasta. Hopefully, Luffy doesn’t break this one.
More Devil Fruits
The Wax-Wax Fruit showcased in this arc is stupidly important to later arcs. Luffy and Three will find themselves teamed up later in Impel Down along with Buggy and others. His powers are great as far as espionage goes, with the ability to form keys or make wax statues. He even proves his creativity with the house and wax-mech when he fights Luffy.
Three’s defensive power is way higher than it deserves to be. Thought it’s surprising, he’ll save Luffy’s life with it later in Marineford. Meanwhile, Five and Valentine make their return, with much the same results in battle.
Is There a Doctor in the House?
It’s time for the Straw Hats to learn a hard lesson about the Grand Line, namely why ships have doctors. Nami is bit by a bug in Little Garden, and it’s going to kickstart the next arc before Alabasta. When the fever sets in, the Straw Hats find themselves more in need than ever. They will do anything to save their navigator, even if it means the overthrow of a shadowy dictator.
Koby and Helmeppo
Back in the East Blue, Koby is a new Marine recruit while Helmeppo is a pity hire. Now, they’re chore boys that spend their days cleaning messes and running errands the others don’t want to do. Until Garp enters the scene and saves the two from a pirate attack before he throws cannonballs in retaliation. The two become apprentices of Monkey D Garp, Hero of the Navy!
Important Events
- Mr. Three and Ms. Golden Week debut.
- Broggy and Dorry, Giants Pirates Co-Captains debut.
- Giants debut as part of the Grand Line, with their home island of Elbaph.
- Nami is bit by an unknown bug.
- Sanji and Zoro’s rivalry begins when hunting for dinosaurs.
- Usopp starts to develop his combat style with a slingshot.
- Dorry and Broggy seemingly resolve their feud.
That’s a wrap on One Piece’s Little Garden arc. The Straw Hats now set sail with their new Eternal Pose for Alabasta, the desert kingdom. They’re going to have to prepare if they hope to defeat Crocodile and Baroque works, and need one more crew member to help. Now, it’s time to find a doctor.
One Piece streams on Netflix and Crunchyroll, and the Little Garden arc encompasses episodes 70-77.
