One Piece fans are now celebrating the pre-time skip era

One Piece fans have always loved the pre-time skip era, even after so many years – and they reveal why that’s the case.

The first half of One Piece is covered in the pre-time skip era, while the second half happens two years after the original timeline. Ace’s tragic death in the Summit War is the main turning point in the story.

One Piece is one of the few long-running series that has maintained its hype even after more than decades.  However, fans always argue about why a pre-time skip is better than a post-time skip arc.

Both halves of the series are incredible, but as the intensity of the show increases after the time skip, fans can’t help but compare the two. As it turns out, a majority of One Piece fans love the pre-time skip era way more. One Reddit user asks fans why the pre-time skip era is so beloved among One Piece fans.

“For me, pre-time skip felt more wholesome and warm. Also, the pacing was much better pre-timeskip,” commented one fan.

Another fan shared: “The arcs were shorter. The anime was goofier. Things naturally get more serious as they face stronger enemies. One piece is very serious nowadays.”

One fan explained: “It starts slow, finds a really solid flow, then after the time skip, the arcs get extended more and more, partially due to the anime starting to catch up and partially due to the studio simply extending boss fights.

“Pacing is off in most anime that are based on long-running manga. There’s either too much material to get through or it catches up and has to add a lot of filler, slow down the pacing, or take a hiatus.

“OP, in general, has a slower start with getting the initial crew together, but after they get to the grand line, it’s fantastic. Alabasta is longer than anything previous because it’s the first major arc.”

Pacing has been an issue in the anime for a while now. The main reason is that the anime doesn’t have a lot of fillers, and it will catch up with the manga in no time. Hence, to slow down the story, the anime now adapts one or one and a half chapters per episode.

An average anime episode ideally adapts 3-4 chapters instead. Therefore, apart from the story getting too serious, the pacing is also one of the reasons fans prefer the older episodes.

For more from the Straw Hats, check out our One Piece filler guide and our look at who is the strongest One Piece character.