Eiichiro Oda’sOne Pieceis filled with great arcs full of adventure and incredible storytelling. From the likes ofArlong Park to Enies Lobby, Marineford, and even Wano,One Piecefeatures story arcs that are truly magnificent in terms of writing and can easily be considered to be some of the best arcs in all of manga. While there is no denying that these arcs hold tremendous importance to the plot, there is one arc in particular that holds even greater importance to the overarching plot of the entire story, perhaps more than any other arc – Fish-Man Island.
The Straw Hat Pirates planned to visit Fish-Man Island after their adventure on Water 7 finally ended. However, the many detours they took ended up pushing this journey to after the two-year time skip. Once the crew reunited, they set sail towards the island and thus Oda kicked start an arc that is laden with clues about the end of One Piece and the final war that will eventually split the seas apart.
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What Makes Fish-Man Island Special
On the surface, Fish-Man Island seems just likeyour averageOne Piecearcwhere Luffy fights a strong tyrant and liberates the island, however, there is much more to the arc than just that. Among the many races of theOne Pieceworld, Oda chose to focus on Fishmen quite a lot and the heavy persecution that they faced at the hands of the humans from centuries ago made them crucial to the overarching story. Fish-Man Island gave fans a look at the prejudice that humans have towards a race that’s different from them and in a beautiful manner, Oda shatters the walls that separate the two races through Luffy and Jinbe. By sharing each other’s blood, Oda showcases how Luffy will bring about the change in the world ofOne Pieceand the same time, passes on a powerful message of everyone being the same, no matter the race.
While this is, indeed, a great message to pass on to the fans, it’s not the only reason why Fish-Man Island is a specialOne Piecearc. The most important part of Fish-Man Island came towards the end of the arc whenthe name of Joy Boy was mentionedfor the very first time. On a Poneglyph in the Sea Forest, Nico Robin found an apology written by a man named Joy Boy who lived in the Void Century. According to Robin, Joy Boy broke a promise of theirs but due to some reason, he couldn’t keep the promise.
Joy Boy planned to take all the Fishmen to the surface to live under the same sun as him. Once again, Oda introduced someone just like Luffy who was willing to ensure that the Fishmen breathe the same air as them, live under the same sun as them, and explore the same world them. To accomplish this, Joy Boy wanted to guide the mermaid princess and the second most important character in Fish-Man Island, Poseidon. Making use of her power, the giant ark, Noah, was to be used to take the Fishmen to the surface.
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Unfortunately, Joy Boy failed, but his will was passed down and eventually reached the protagonist of our story, Monkey D. Luffy. It is no surprise that Luffy is the next Joy Boy and Shirahoshi, the daughter of King Neptune and Queen Otohime, is Poseidon, one of the Three Ancient Weapons. Fish-Man Island essentially introduced fans to the two of the most important characters in the entire story and gave the fans an idea of what Joy Boy was like. At the same time, fans got a glimpse of what the consequences of the Great War that took place long ago in theOne Pieceworld were. Furthermore, the arc set up future events for when both Luffy and Shirahoshi are ready as well.
What Fish-Man Island Means For The Future Of One Piece
The plot points that Eiichiro Oda established in the Fish-Man Island arc will come into play towards the end of the series once again and be of huge relevance to the story. As the previous Joy Boy failed to fulfill his promise, Luffy, the next Joy Boy will complete it in his stead. As soon asLuffy finds the treasure known as the One Piece, it is believed that a massive war will eventually break out and this ties directly to Fish-Man Island. Just as Madam Shyarly foresaw, Luffy will one day destroy Fish-Man Island completely. Although on the surface that looks like a villainous act, when taking into consideration Joy Boy’s promise, it makes perfect sense.
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Once the war breaks out, Luffy will most certainly guide Shirahoshi to use her power to lift the Noah and take all the Fishmen and the Merfolk to the surface. At the same time, the Red Line, which is what divides the world, is most certainly going to fall, possibly using the power of the Ancient Weapon called Pluton. Coincidentally, Fish-Man Island happens to be right under the Red Line, meaning if Luffy destroys it, the debris from the falling wall is going to crush the island, hence fulfilling the prophecy. With the people of Fish-Man Island having already left to live on the surface, the island would no longer be needed. At the same time, destroying the Red Line would, in turn, unite the four blues with the Grand Line, possibly creating what is known as the All Blue.
Fish-Man Island has already foreshadowed quite a lot of things about the future of the story and, having an Ancient Weapon and a message from Joy Boy, the arc holds tremendous importance in the storyline of One Piece. While it might not have been the most intense of arcs from an action standpoint,Fish-Man Island is up there with Skypieaand Wano as the most important arcs in the story when it comes to foreshadowing and adding to the lore of the series.
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