WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ONE PIECE EGGHEAD ISLAND ARC

Dr.Vegapunk may have created One Piece‘s strongest living weapons with the Seraphim, but Egghead Island’s controversial pacing has failed to make them fearsome enough, something the anime can and has improved upon. When they first appeared, the Pacifista presented a horrific challenge to Luffy and the Pirate World. Now that One Piece is nearing its final arcs, Seraphim were introduced as the series “Strongest Form Of Humanity” and a much more significant threat, even if the manga has done a poor job proving that.

After Wano concluded, many fans were unsure how the following arc would be able to measure up to the previous one, which saw two powerhouse Emperors of the Sea defeated and the awakening of Luffy’s Mythical Sun God Devil Fruit. Fears were quickly dashed after the Egghead Island arc took little time to introduce new intimidating threats, surprises to plot points that have been lingering for years, and Dr. Vegapunk’s collection of seemingly unstoppable Seraphim.

The Seraphim are some of the most durable and strongest threats that One Piece has ever presented. After the Seven Warlords were disbanded, the vacancy for the World Government’s ultimate enforcers was quickly filled by Dr.Vegapunks Seraphim. They are technically clones of the recently fired first batch of prominent One Piece antagonists, the Warlords of the Sea, but they are much more. The manga’s extreme pacing could have done a better job of giving the Seraphim time to shine to make them more intimidating, something the anime has the perfect opportunity to remedy and already has to an extent.

The Seraphim Are Among The Worlds Most Powerful Beings

The One Piece Manga Has Introduced Seven Seraphim So Far

One Piece‘s world may contain the Ancient Weapons that are said to be capable of mass destruction, but the world’s most brilliant man crafted his group of ultimate living weapons with a deadly combination of science and Devil Fruit magic. The Seraphim gained extremely durable bodies thanks to the manipulation and copying of aspects of the nearly invulnerable Lunarian race, a people whom even Zoro had a hard time cutting. The DNA of former Warlords and a brilliant customization of Devil Fruit powers make the Seraphim virtually unstoppable to 99% of the planet’s population.

The Egghead Island arc has provided several scenes with the Seraphim in action against powerful pirates renowned the world over for their destructive capabilities. Characters like Blackbeard and Zoro have clashed against Dr.Vegapunk’s ultimate lifeforms, but because there are so many vital and fast-moving plot lines in the arc, those climatic battles were incredibly brief. And it only got worse with certain struggles between fan-favorite characters happening off-screen in the manga.

The Strongest Forms Of Humanity Should Be Off-Screened No Longer

One Piece’s Skipped Egghead Battle Left Robin and Kaku Injured

According to the hierarchy of people that can control the Seraphim, Dr.Vegapunk, and his satellites have authority above agents of CP-0 but less than the rulers of One Piece‘s world, the Five Elders. Since there were no Elders on Egghead Island, nearly everyone was caught off guard when the fearsome creations started to attack the heroes. While some of their short battles are shown in the manga, a jarring jump ahead in chapter #1089 skips the battle that saw the Straw Hats and CP-0 subdue the Seraphim and defeat the Egghead traitor.

A shocking amount of One Piece‘s story develops in the Egghead arc away from the titular island. Kid’s battle against Shanks, Garp’s rescue of Coby, and the true events of The Reverie between Imu and Sabo all begin to unfold after Luffy and Lucci’s forces start to battle the Seraphim. While each of those moments will undoubtedly be a thrill to watch animated, the anime has the chance to fill in those gaps by showing how York and the Seraphim were bested.

One Piece’s Anime Has Improved Upon The Manga Before And Can Do It Again

The Blackbeard Pirates Assault On Whole Cake Island Was Barely In The Manga

A battle royale is the best way to describe what the chaos on Egghead Island evolves into. Heartbreaking emotions and intense confrontations involving Kuma and Bonnie’s backstory, the Five Elders, the Marines, and Dr.Vegapunk’s creations keep the series exciting after the wildly entertaining Wano arc. There is no shortage of large-scale battles in the arc that many anime fans are waiting to be adapted, but One Piece‘s anime has the chance to show more battles that the manga did not.

One Piece‘s anime-only scenes have previously done a phenomenal job of showing fans events that the manga barely touched on, often with jaw-dropping animation and direction. One recent example was the chilling defeat of Big Mom’s son, Charlotte Cracker, and the abduction of the Poneglyph-reading Charlotte Pudding. The anime-original scene showed off the fearsome combined powers of Blackbeard Pirates, Van Augur, and the former icy Admiral Kuzan as they obliterated Cracker’s tough Biscuit Soldiers and froze over an entire city to get what they wanted.

The haunting confrontation between Kuzan and Cracker was only barely touched on in the manga’s cover stories, something the reclamation of Egghead Island didn’t even receive. However, the anime adaptation of the Egghead arc has surprised fans with extended scenes like Gear 5 Luffy versus Awakened Lucci and the Seraphim’s first assault against Punk Records. The incredible preview posted on One Piece‘s YouTube channel for episode #1109 hinted that the next battle against Seraphim S-Hawk and S-Bear could again surpass what was in the manga.

The Seraphim Are About To Become Scarier Than Ever

One Piece’s Anime Can Change How Fans See The Seraphim

With so much going on during the Egghead Island arc, it’s understandable that Eiichiro Oda did not spend more time showing how intimidating the Seraphim can be. Thankfully, One Piece‘s anime has the gift of hindsight from the manga’s events and can devote the resources and planning to fill out exciting moments more thoroughly. Judging by the preview for episode #1109, the team-up between Luffy, Zoro, Kaku, and Lucci against the Seraphim based on Hawkeye and Kuma will be getting extra attention thanks to some of the most talented animators working at Toei.

The extra time and resources devoted to animating moments like Luffy versus Lucci and the upcoming clash against Dr.Vegapunk’s so-called “Strongest Forms of Humanity” can help build excitement and padding for the manga. There are likely many fans who’d rather see more expanded fight scenes than hastily cut-together flashback episodes. However, it takes a lot more work to create the flashy fight scenes than some viewers realize, but One Piece‘s anime has the chance to improve how fans look at the Seraphim and include off-screen battles to show off how far the heroes have come.

Source: ONE PIECE Official YouTube Channel/YouTube