You know, I actually haven't watched that for whatever reason.
Just gonna recycle this:
Unsurprisingly, this very lengthy arc plays out a lot better when you don't have to wait weekly for a chapter. This in turn made my few pacing grievances (which was really just Bellamy fighting Luffy when you rather see him fight Doffy, as well as Luffy's 10 minute Haki recovery) pretty much dissipate completely.
The arc is also arguably just better when reread IMO, at the very least when it comes to the Grand Fleet members. While Ch. 800-801 does make it clear why Oda gave them such a pronounced focus to begin with, the previous chapters were still you viewing them through the lens of them being the usual temporary allies. Maybe it even goes a step further with you being annoyed that Oda's spending so much time on them or something, I dunno. Anyways, my point is that a reread was really neat, if only because knowing that they're going to form a fleet makes them that much more enjoyable to watch and pay more attention to their antics. For example, Sai. We all know his memorable feat in defeating Lao G, but I had totally forgotten that even before that, Oda had portrayed him as actually being pretty strong. (In hindsight, it makes sense I forgot when Luffy just brushes him off from the tournament like it's nothing lol) Barto and Cavendish certainly stand out regardless, but it was nice rereading this arc with a bigger appreciation for the other members.
Another thing the reread afforded me was more clarity regarding Fujitora's motivations. As I said earlier, I remembered the gist of it, but admittedly it was somewhat hazy concerning the specifics, like why he didn't do this, or why didn't he do that. As I went through the arc, it's actually damn near hammered repeatedly as to how Fujitora clearly sees this as being a huge gamble, that he doesn't see the Marines as being Dressrosa's "god", Sabo helping him stall, and so on. Again, I chalk the forgetfulness up to the arc just being really long lol
Best part of the arc was definitely the Law bits, especially the Corazon backstory. Law really did soak up the screentime in this arc, not that I'm upset over that, dude is beloved for a reason. And while it's impossible to recapture the sheer hype of experiencing moments like Gear 4 and Sabo's reappearance for the first time, they're still amazing nonetheless. Doflamingo in turn is of course a fantastic villain, still my favorite one in the series (Katakuri is an antagonist), and a big part of that is due to his fascinating backstory. As for his crew, I still stand by saying that Doffy definitely is the main one holding this arc up as far as the villainy goes. (Though shoutout to Senor Pink!) His crew is just very underwhelming, even more so due to his most intriguing assets in Monet and Vergo unfortunately not being a part of this arc. That said, remembering how they were in the flashback did remind me what I did like about them. Same goes for when Doffy was speaking to them all in the castle. There's a distinct, complex comaderie there where he does seem to genuinely like his crew, but at the same time has no qualms over using them for his own ends. Anyways, the most disappointing member is still easily Trebol. I mean, the dude is effectively responsible for what Doffy grew up to be, and yet that isn't reflected very well in the present day when I look at their dynamic. He doesn't get a proper fight either. And on a lesser note, he's super gross to look at. At the end of the day, I guess I just wish Doffy got more moments with his crew. Like, it's all the more glaring how much they fall short after seeing Big Mom's crew.
I got several complaints, but as for the worst part of the arc, well, that's still Rebecca, who I would still say is the most disappointing character in the series. Unsurprisingly, a reread did very little to warm me up more to her character arc. Though at least this time, I was able to read through the arc without being butthurt that my personal expectations weren't met. When I first saw Rebecca's whole shtick of being averse to violence, I really thought that Oda was planning on subverting it, where it'd be a Rurouni Kenshin kind of thing where Rebecca becomes really dangerous when she actually wants to hurt to you. But nah, he played completely straight, to my disappointment. This time around, I'm a bit more understanding of her intense pacifism at the very least I suppose. Between her grandfather Riku being known for making sure Dressrosa stays out of wars no matter what, or Kyros's own issues with his violent past and feeling corrupted that make him not want to see Rebecca go down that path in any capacity, I get it. I don't like it, like at all, but I get it. That said, It's just really hard to not to see Kyros fighting Diamante, and wonder why Rebecca (or Robin goddamn it) couldn't help out. And speaking of Kyros, while I do get his whole thing, he gets really, really annoying with how adamant he is about Rebecca never fighting again, to the point where he comes off as being ignorant, and even a bit of a hypocrite. Just kind of feels like salt in the wound, that we went from a gladiator who could take care of herself to a degree, to... all of that, where now everyone is obsessed with protecting her. And then to top off, that dress... It's not even like Rebecca's pacifism is particularly interesting or engaging, even more so after already experiencing a fantastic pacifist in Queen Otohime. I think what ends up stinging the most is realizing that Rebecca really won't ever get a real chance at "redeeming" herself, because as far as I can tell, she has no importance outside of this arc moving forward. You look at Vivi, Shirahoshi (who I actually liked a lot), Pudding, and even if you disliked any of them (Though you're weird if you dislike Vivi tbh), they'll all surely have additional opportunities to warm you up to them. Especially Shirahoshi, the 2nd most divisive princess (and has a much better context for her crybaby nature), who is freaking Poseidon. Rebecca sadly does not seem to have anything notable to look forward to. Hell, she ain't even a princess anymore.
The whole fighting aspect aside, I do like her dynamic with her father and how that whole story ends, who is very much her better half. I rarely desire to make big changes to the story, but I would've preferred if Oda had streamlined the whole thing and gave more focus on Kyros instead. Oh well. Honestly, seeing Rebecca again in the Reverie arc (in an non-awful outfit) honestly did a better job of making me be able to like her again.
