Luffy sans the The Straw Hat Pirates, heads to Impel Down to rescue his big brother Portgas D. Ace from execution, in the prison essentially known as Hell to Pirates. In the Imperial Down arc, Luffy is forced to team up with the likes of Buggy, Mr. 2, and Mr. 3 as they try to rescue Ace and escape the hellish levels of Impel Down in One Piece Season 7, Voyage Five.

One Piece is an 1998 anime and manga franchise created by Eiichiro Oda, It is published by Shueisha and produced by Toei Animation. It is licensed by Funimation, and is currently available on DVD.

Impel Down as it appears in the anime.

The Impel Down arc in One Piece is fairly interesting for canon. For one thing the main focus is the rescue of Portgas D. Ace, and Luffy is attempting his rescue without his pirate crew The Straw Hat Pirates. He traverse the hellish prison Imperial Down, not only crewless, but also with the aide of Bon Clay, Mr. 3, and Buggy.

Bon Clay & Luffy fighting together.

THE GOOD: The Impel Down arc in One Piece is one of the best in the series for several reasons. It’s an strange experiment focusing solely on Luffy as the main character with a strong cast of supporting characters. The lack of the Straw Hat Pirates provided a rare moment for some fan favorite characters like Buggy to get a ton of screen time, and there’s a ton of fun action scenes and comedic sequences.

Magellan vs Luffy

THE BAD: While focusing on Bon Clay, Iva, and Luffy, Buggy and Mr. 3, who were arguably the stars of the arc comically are forgotten about here and there.

Portgas D. Ace captured for execution.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: One Piece: Season 7, Voyage Five features one of the best arcs in One Piece; Impel Down. Some fun action scenes with the main focus being on main character Luffy, and a strong group of supporting characters makes the Impel Down arc an instant fan-favorite. The experimentation of how Luffy would fare without the usual Straw Hat Pirates is an successful one, and something Oda should do as often as he sees fit, as it definitely works as proven by this arc. Buggy and Mr. 3 were perhaps the stars of this arc as comedic relief, so it was disappointing seeing a lack of the two in later episodes. Otaku Dome gives One Piece Season 7: Voyage Five an 92 out of 100.