Despite Aokiji’s chilling reveal in the Foxy’s Return Arc, this was the worst filler arc in the history of One Piece due to this one pirate crew.

SUMMARY

The treatment of Long Ring Long Land Arc in the anime as compared to the manga exposes how many unnecessary changes Toei makes.
Foxy and his crew return in Foxy’s Return Arc, the 7th filler arc, where Aokiji’s important introduction was saved for.
The return of the Foxy Pirates was unnecessary and a huge mistake from Toei Animation’s side.

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is one of the top 3 anime in history but even a series this perfect has its flaws. One of the main complaints that hold people back from starting One Piece is the slow pace and the misconception of how many filler episodes are in it. Despite only taking up ten percent of the overall series so far, some of these arcs are downright painful to get through. One of the most notorious terrible filler arcs is Foxy’s Return Arc.

Foxy from Long Ring Long Land Arc in One Piece. [Credit: Toei Animation]

The Long Ring Long Land Arc, which takes place before Foxy’s Return, introduces one of the most useless antagonists in the series, the Foxy Pirates and their trickster captain. The entire arc revolves around him being a nuisance to the Straw Hat Pirates and the extended Davy Back Fight that made fans yawn. While Foxy’s Return Arc in the anime did reveal one of the biggest characters in One Piece, there’s no reason why it had to be so dragged out.

One Piece’s Foxy’s Return Arc is Forgettable If Not For Aokiji

Aokiji’s first appearance in One Piece. [Credit: Toei Animation]

The Foxy Pirates are one of the most annoying crews in One Piece’s history. The captain, Foxy the Silver Fox, is a liar who blatantly cheats to get his way in the Davy Back Fight he challenged the Straw Hats to. Most fans despise Long Ring Long Land Arc solely due to his character, but for him to return once again in a filler arc that extended the manga’s single arc was the tipping point. Nobody needed more of Foxy nor did they need another Davy Back Fight.

The extension of Long Ring Long Land Arc’s events into the Foxy’s Return Arc was one of the most unnecessary changes ever made by Toei Animation. This decision ended up saving Aokiji’s introduction to the filler arc rather than the main one. The Marine-turned-Blackbeard Pirate is one of the most important and nuanced characters in One Piece. He was the first person we’ve seen Nico Robin scared of. To save it for a filler arc was a huge mistake by Toei Animation, not Eiichiro Oda, who only kept Foxy limited to that one arc.

If it wasn’t for Aokiji’s introduction and the foreshadowing of Robin’s tragic past, Foxy’s Return Arc would be an unforgivable filler arc. However, some fans have given it grace due to some comical moments between the Straw Hats and the impending Water 7 Saga.

Toei Needs to Relax on the Filler Arcs of One Piece

The remaining Foxy Pirates in Foxy’s Return Arc of One Piece. [Credit: Toei Animation]

The Long Ring Long Land and Foxy’s Return arcs’ repetitive nature made One Piece notorious for slow pacing and incorrigible fillers. Foxy never needed to return but Toei Animation decided otherwise for reasons beyond our comprehension. Fans could’ve also missed Aokiji’s introduction if they chose to skip the filler episodes.

It created a reputation of being boring and repetitive for One Piece that never would’ve existed if the studio followed the manga’s storyline rather than diverging on its own for the anime adaptation and milking the series. Foxy Pirates are irrelevant to the story and will remain so. Let’s hope the remake, The One Piece, will fix this problem once and for all.