Despite being released between 2005 and 2006 for the manga and 2006 and 2007 for the anime, in terms of emotional depth and overall ratings, the Enies Lobby arc of the One Piece series is one of the most beloved to this day. Enies Lobby as an arc focused on the backstory of Nico Robin as she struggled to find her place in the world, while the Straw Hats, a small and seemingly irrelevant crew, declared war against the World Government for her.

While Enies Lobby might have aired long ago, the significance of events that occurred during the arc set the stage for many more events in One Piece, such as the destruction of Pluton’s blueprints and the iconic battle between Luffy and Rob Lucci.

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Setting The Stage: Events Leading to Enies Lobby

Pre-Enies Lobby Was A Whirlwind Of Events

After landing on Water 7 and getting a shipwright to take a look at their damaged ship, the Straw Hats received bad news as the Galley-La Company declared their ship irreparable. Amidst this, Usopp got jumped by the Franky family, and the 300,000,000 berries of the Straw Hats were taken from him. Moreover, Luffy then concluded that they wouldn't be able to continue sailing on the Going Merry. As Usopp was overly attached to the ship, he refused to accept Luffy’s decision, and a rift formed between the duo, with Usopp getting kicked out of the crew.

Apart from the tension that spread among the crew because of the battle between Luffy and Usopp, Robin suddenly disappeared. The Straw Hats then discover that Robin had gone with the World Government, apparently to rescue them. With Luffy and the Straw Hats being overly protective of their nakama, they quickly embark on a journey to get her back, even before they find out about her past and ties with the World Government.

Straw Hat Pirates' Mission: Rescuing Nico Robin

A Nakama Was In Trouble

The Straw Hats rush to Enies Lobby to save Robin, whom CP9 took to be prosecuted. Even after the Straw Hats got to Enies Lobby, Spandam, the then boss of CP9 still refused to see them as threats and ordered the thousands of marines upon the island to halt their advance. Unfortunately for CP9, the soldiers could not stop Luffy’s rampage, and he and the rest of the Straw Hats continued onward till they came across CP9. In the past, Blueno and CP9 proved stronger than Luffy; however, Luffy then revealed his newly developed technique: Gear Second, in an iconic way that had fans boiling with excitement.

Luffy’s abilities went up a notch with gear second, and with it, he became stronger than Blueno, dispatching the CP9 agent. Shortly after, the rest of the Straw Hats joined Luffy at the top of the courthouse. It was at this moment that Spandam truly began to feel threatened. Interestingly, even after the Straw Hats got to talk to Robin, she didn’t want to follow them back, as she felt she would only be a burden to them. To show that he wasn’t afraid of the danger that came with her being his nakama, Luffy had Sogeking shoot down the World Government's flag. A move that greatly shocked Spandam, CP9 and all Marines present. This moment had even fans amazed at the decisiveness of the Straw Hat captain. At that moment, Robin finally gave in and shouted out the tear-jerking and iconic statement, “I want to live.” With this statement, the Straw Hats burst into action to save Robin and get the keys for her prison stone cuffs.

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Major Battles And Plot Points

Each Battle Had Its Significance

Some iconic plot points in the Enies Lobby arc include Robin’s declaration of wanting to live, Luffy’s unveiling of Gear Second, and Sogeking’s burning of the World Government's flag. While these moments were iconic and legendary, the Enies Lobby arc still had more to offer as the one-on-one battle between the Straw Hats and CP9 finally began. With each Straw Hat taking on opponents stronger than themselves, they had to evolve to surpass their previous selves and become stronger. To combat Rob Lucci, Luffy employed Gear Second and eventually unveiled Gear Third. Meanwhile, the other Straw Hats—Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Franky (not a Straw Hat at this point)—faced Kaku, Jabra, Kalifa, Kumadori, and Fukurou, respectively. Usopp didn’t have any particular opponent; however, he played a major role by buying time for the Straw Hats to defeat their respective opponents as he prevented Spandam from taking Robin away.

Aftermath And Impact Of The Enies Lobby Arc

Franky Made A Huge Bet On The Straw Hat Pirates

With the moment portrayed in Enies Lobby, fans truly began to uphold the One Piece manga and anime series as legendary. After the Enies Lobby incident, the World Government began to regard the Straw Hats as a threat as all members of the crew got bounties. Moreover, while not spoken about enough, Franky made a major bet during the Enies Lobby arc by burning the blueprints of the ancient weapon Pluton. According to Franky, Pluton’s blueprints existed as a way to develop a weapon to combat Pluton if it ever fell into the wrong hands, i.e., Spandam or the World Government. By burning it, Franky kept the world at a huge risk, as if the World Government got a hold of Nico Robin, they would have had the ancient weapons at their grasp and ready to be used with no other weapon capable of challenging it. Thankfully, Franky's trust in the Straw Hats paid off; however, whether or not the burnt blueprints will play a role in future arcs is unknown, but the prospect has fans excited.

One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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One Piece (1999)

Action

Adventure

Comedy

Fantasy

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of Episodes

1082+

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Netflix , Hulu

See at Hulu