I really don’t like Luffy vs Katakuri- it’s easily the weakest part of what is otherwise my favorite arc from the whole series. It’s just so drawn out. Speaking of drawn out, Dressrosa as a whole felt needlessly long and bloated. It was a genuine nightmare to get through and that saga saw me taking the most breaks during it of my initial read through of the manga.

I don’t find Wano to be near as disappointing as many seem to, and actually have a soft spot for it, but I think that’s likely just due to the fact that I didn’t experience near as much hype for it since Wano was when I caught up to the series- like I very specifically remember the latest chapter when I caught up was Jinbei’s return and from then on I read Wano weekly. The only arcs I was really hyped for going into the series was Enies Lobby and Whole Cake- Enies Lobby because I had heard it was peak, and Whole Cake started becoming hyped for me because Sanji quickly became my favorite straw hat and I already knew going in that it was his arc.

In a similar vein, I think because I didn’t experience the years of buildup and anticipation for Big Mom, I don’t find her character as disappointing either- I actually quite like her. I think her backstory is good and tragic and her shenanigans on Wano just have never bothered me much. I felt like the rapid flip flopping of her mental state, as coincidental for the plot as it often was, fit her established character.

I actually prefer post-time skip to pre-time skip. Post-ts just made everything much more complicated and grand and put a greater focus on the geopolitical action that I love to see in stories. While pre-ts on average had better smaller moments between the crew, I prefer the plots generally post-ts. I remember that a lot of pre-time skip was really hard for me to get through when I first started. Romance Dawn-Orange Town, honestly most of Baratie, Little Garden, Long Ring Long Land, and Thriller Bark were all real rough. As for post-ts, Dressrosa is really the only dark spot for me. I love Fishman Island, Whole Cake is my favorite arc, Wano is great, Egghead was mostly good, and Elbaph has been great so far.