One Piece’s Egghead Arc Brings Back Filler in the Worst Way

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As seen in the preview at the end of Episode 1141, the next episode of One Piece will be yet another installment of Dr. Chopper’s Adventure Checkup, this time focused on the Giant Pirates and the Straw Hats’ history with them. From meeting Dorry and Brogy at Little Garden to turning Oimo and Kashi over to their side at Enies Lobby, the next episode is set to recap everything fans know about the Giant Pirates so far, with Chopper and Carrot as the recap’s hosts. However, these recap specials have been poorly received so far, even becoming One Piece’s worst-rated episodes as of late, proving the series needs to change its approach to filler, and maybe even go back to its old style of full-fledged filler arcs with their own self-contained plots.

One Piece’s Recap Filler Episodes Are Getting Annoying

With all the anticipation surrounding the upcoming episodes of the Egghead Arc and the big introductions and battles to come, fans are less than thrilled at the prospect of having to wait another whole week for a new episode and having to sit through yet another filler episode, and a recap at that. Part one of the Egghead Arc already had five recap episodes, which were brought back in part two with commentary from Chopper and Carrot.

As much as fans love and adore Chopper as well as Carrot, every recap special so far has gotten an abysmal reception from fans, becoming the only black mark in the series’ otherwise long record of highly rated episodes. While it is understandable that the anime’s creators may need some more time in between episodes, the bulk of fans’ frustration stems from the fact that, despite the anime taking a six-month hiatus, these filler episodes continue to get more frequent. The upcoming special episode will already be the third installment of the Dr. Chopper’s Adventure Checkup series, and will likely be met with just as much criticism.

One Piece Needs To Go Back To Making Filler Like It Used To

Toei Animation

Instead of these dull recaps, it would arguably be much better if One Piece went back to making entire filler arcs like it used to. For most of its run, One Piece has been known for having short and mostly enjoyable filler, with the G-8 Arc being a shining example of just how well the series used to do filler arcs. These filler arcs were usually self-contained adventures that took place between canon story arcs with completely original plotlines ranging from hilarious to nostalgic.

In fact, despite the criticism about the series’ agonising pacing, the one thing that One Piece always had going for it was its low percentage of filler content, especially in comparison to other big shonen series like Naruto and Bleach. Even the longest filler arc in One Piece is only eleven episodes long, and just so happens to be the G-8 Arc, one of the most widely loved arcs in the series.

Even more recently, One Piece Fan Letter has proved just how refreshing original stories can be, even if they are technically not canon. In fact, One Piece Fan Letter continues to find new avenues of success with even the recently released guidebook completely selling out and needing a reprint. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a full-fledged filler arc like this in the anime since the Marine Rookie Arc back during the Wholecake Island Arc, as both the Cider Guild Arc and the Uta’s Past Arc were meant to tie in with Stampede and Film: Red, respectively. All this goes to say that instead of recaps, perhaps it would be best if One Piece gave fans a good old filler arc, if not now, then at least before the Elbaf Arc.

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Would you change anything about One Piece’s approach to filler? Let us know in the comments below!