SUMMARY
The Seraphim attack on the Straw Hats was skipped in the manga in favor of other events.
The anime can expand on what happened during this gap in the Straw Hats’ story with a semi-canon filler arc.
Adding filler would enhance the fan experience and give the anime a chance to get some better pacing.
A certain plot has recently gotten underway in the One Piece anime. The Seraphim have begun attacking the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies, and they won’t listen to commands from Dr. Vegapunk’s Satellites to stop. This, combined with Stella’s disappearance and Jewelry Bonney sealing herself in the PAW Room, should lead to a complex and action-packed series of events. However, manga readers know something else is happening. After the mastermind is revealed, the series will cut away from Egghead to focus on other stories. By the time the Straw Hats’ tale resumes, their crisis will have been averted. What happened to them in this mysterious gap in time is anyone’s guess.
The anime has a chance to provide its interpretation of what happened. It could take a few episodes to flesh out the fights, the scheme, and how everything was resolved in ways Oda never did. Of course, some things must remain open-ended for future plot twists, including the conclusion of this arc. This would be a semi-canon filler arc and the longest one the anime has had in years. It has several potential benefits for the audience and the anime in the long run. Oda might have left out the details of this time gap, but he did leave enough clues throughout the rest of the One Piece narrative to suggest what could have happened.
What Happened to One Piece Filler?
Traditional filler episodes and arcs have been gradually phased out of the One Piece anime. Originally, such filler was placed between the series canon arcs, or at least during points in those arcs where the stakes were relatively low. Most arcs lasted anywhere from three to 11 episodes. These arcs were devoid of canon content, and could, therefore be skipped without losing track of the overarching story. This deliberate deceleration of the anime’s pace served as breaks that provided fans with never-before-seen material as Toei Animation plotted their course for the content from the manga. It also lets the anime stay safely behind the manga storywise.
The last Filler arc like this was the Marine Rookie Arc released in 2017 between the Zou Arc and the Whole Cake Island Arc. The only fillers released since then have been one episode based on Oda’s Romance Dawn one-shot and a couple of two-parters tying into the then-upcoming films. Every other episode released in the last seven years has had enough manga-based content to warrant watching. They may sneak the occasional filler character here and there to pad the runtime (the Organ Dealing Assassination Group, Bearman, etc.). Regardless, most modern episodes have too much canon content to consider skipping.
Now, Toei animation uses different strategies for staying behind the manga. Most infamously, it’s slowed its rate of adapting manga material to as little as less than one chapter per episode. Its strategies for padding the runtime of each episode have been treated differently depending on how they’re handled. For example, a fight dragged out with a needlessly drawn-out clash of attacks will be met with contempt. However, adding fluid animation, unique direction, or anything else that would enhance that same fight will be met with praise by the fans.
The same goes for non-action scenes. Taking longer to cover canon story beats can be justified through substantial content Oda may have overlooked. In the Wano Country Arc, for example, the anime provided manga readers with several scenes they wished were covered more thoroughly in the manga, including how Zoro was convicted at the start of the arc, the Straw Hats’ adventures in Wano before leaving, and a scene of the Straw Hats giving Carrot a formal goodbye.
This expansion of details not covered in the manga is important for informing how Toei Animation could and should cover what happens in Egghead’s Labophase. Besides this, the time between new canon episodes will be further stretched out by recap segments and special episodes, which is only justified by the presence of higher-quality animation recently completed or expected shortly.
The Egghead Arc’s Time Gap
Chapter 1078, “Escape Limit,” left readers on several cliffhangers, starting with the various battles against the Seraphim. Luffy and Lucci were battling S-Bear. Zoro and Kaku were chasing S-Hawk to prevent him from picking off weaker opponents. Sanji was styling on S-Shark while protecting Nami, Edison, and Brook (who was preparing to look for Stella in his soul form). S-Snake left Lilith and Usopp petrified, Franky partially petrified, and Pythagoras dead. The only way to stop these advanced Pacifistas was to destroy them or find the traitor among the Vegapunks and get them to call them off.
Speaking of traitors, Chapter 1078 was a slow buildup to the reveal that York the Greedy set everything up in an elaborate plan to become a Celestial Dragon. She revealed herself to the captured Stella after shooting Shaka dead (though, given One Piece’s proclivity for fake-out deaths, readers weren’t ready to believe this until further evidence was presented). This part of the story happened in a hidden room, which Chopper, Robin, and Atlas were presumably headed toward; Atlas mentioned a sealed-off room, but it was never confirmed which room she was talking about.
Jimbei and Stussy were also on the move, but the chapter ended before revealing where they were going. Finally, Bonney was still in the PAW Room reviewing Kuma’s memories. Oda even established everyone’s locations on the Labophase map as though it would be relevant in the next chapter. However, Chapter 1079, “The Emperor’s Crew,” begins with a brief flashback of York going over the plan with the Seraphim, including faking her death and another mystery room (presumably the Mother Flame Power Plant) not to be touched.
The only shot from the present was of S-Snake flying through the halls of the Labophase. After this, Oda took a ten-chapter break from the Straw Hats’ story to cover events from other parts of the One Piece world, including Eustass Kid confronting Shanks, Blackbeard ambushing Trafalgar Law, Vice Admiral Garp saving Captain Koby from the Blackbeard Pirates, and the aftermath of Lulusia’s disappearance. By the time the Straw Hats’ story resumed in Chapter 1089, “Hostage Situation,” all of the big cliffhangers had been resolved.
York was captured, the petrified characters were moving again, the Seraphim were imprisoned, Stella was free, Bonney was finished looking at Kuma’s memories, and everyone alive by the end of Chapter 1078 was still alive if a little scuffed up (especially Robin and Kaku). Even if this were a foregone conclusion, the audience might have been more entertained seeing what happened rather than inferring it. However, the potential to infer what happened, coupled with some details revealed in later chapters, leaves Toei Animation plenty of material to fill this gap in One Piece lore.
What Can Be Assumed About the Egghead Time Gap?
Everyone’s Placement Matters (Kind of)
Plotting a Labophase mini-arc would require a thorough understanding of everyone’s location by the end of Chapter 1078. Despite the complex being divided into three buildings, two of them only had two groups in them. Building C’s third floor is where Franky’s group (Usopp, Lilith, and what’s left of Pythagoras) fell to S-Snake. Building B’s second floor is where Jimbei and Stussy were; it’s also where Vegapunk was working on developing weapons, and the Mother Flame Power Plant was one floor down.
While Jimbei and Stussy are headed for everyone else’s location, the anime would have to skip their trek through the first floor to preserve this twist for the appropriate time, like when the Mother Flame is revealed in Chapter 1114, “The Wings of Icarus.” Most of the action was consolidated in Building A. Luffy and Lucci stood their ground against S-Bear in Floor 4’s Control Room. Zoro and Kaku were traveling between Floors 4 and 3 to intercept S-Hawk; if they didn’t stop him in time, they would have all ended up on the third floor with Sanji’s group (Nami, Edison, and Brook) and S-Shark. Chopper, Robin, and Atlas were on the second floor, presumably heading underground to the old Devil Fruit Research Lab where they could find Shaka’s corpse, York, and Stella.
It’s also worth noting how long it takes to get from one area to the next. If the floors can be read like spaces on a grid, then, at the fastest, characters like York and Sanji can move as far as four spaces within two chapters, this could be caused by their familiarity with where they’re going and drive to save Nami, respectively (the latter of which is a comedic outlier). The slower end of the spectrum has groups like Robin’s and Jimbei’s that were on the same floor by Chapter 1078 as they were before the fighting started. Of course, there’s also the possibility that characters will reach new locations whenever the writer wants them to.
Everyone’s Battle Damage Reveales More About the Story
Another important factor in figuring out what happened is observing everyone’s battle damage by the end of Chapter 1089. Nearly everyone has a few more cuts, bruises, or bandages than before the fighting broke out. Some of these people’s condition implies what events occurred in which order. For example, Edison’s missing antenna (which he still had by the end of Chapter 1078), combined with Lilith’s assumption that he died, implies that he was attacked and, possibly, mortally wounded by the Seraphim or York during the fighting.
Usopp and Lilith’s scrapes imply that S-Snake undid their petrification. It was revealed in Chapter 1090, “Kizaru,” that Luffy convinced S-Snake to change them back to normal. However, if Usopp and Lilith were hurt after S-Snake did this, the fight must have been ongoing, and the Seraphim were still under York’s orders; this says a lot about the Seraphim’s potential to develop free will. On another note, Luffy and S-Snake were both injured when they met, So S-Snake must have entered the fray in Building A before this encounter.
Luffy must have somehow made it through the chaos in Building A, found out about his petrified friends (either by going to Building C himself or hearing the news from someone else), got S-Snake alone, requested she undo her spell, and, in all likelihood, resumed fighting. Such events and the extenuating circumstances that led to them might be enough to fill an episode lengthwise.
Bonney’s bruises imply she got involved in the fighting after her time in the PAW Room was complete. However, Chapter 1103, “I’m Sorry, Daddy,” confirmed that the first thing she did after leaving that room was reconcile Stella, which means he was freed from his imprisonment while the fight was ongoing and York was still on the loose. This would mean York avoided a confrontation with Chopper, Robin, and Atlas (at least temporarily) by leaving the Research Lab before they arrived.
In any case, Stella feeling safe enough to take a moment to have a casual conversation with Bonney must mean the Paw Room was far from the ongoing battle. That or Stella realized the Seraphim were explicitly ordered not to attack him, so he casually excused himself from the battle. Regardless, he appeared in Chapter 1089 with some extra scrapes and frays in his clothes, so he must have gotten caught in the crossfire. He and the other non-traitor Vegapunks might have stayed close to the fighting in case they found an opportunity to call off the Seraphim.
Even if they weren’t, they were likely in plenty of danger simply avoiding the Pacifistas. Besides all this, there are a few more things that could be inferred from everyone’s damage. Franky was notably devoid of battle damage, or at least of any markings that would indicate he was attacked; this could have been an oversight, or he might have stayed away from the fighting to focus on another task, like looking for York.
Speaking of York, her damage, combined with her being a self-proclaimed noncombatant (despite her use of firearms) suggests she was roughed up by whoever found her; they might have even knocked her out so command of the Seraphim would go to one of the surviving Vegapunks. Most importantly, this fight led Robin and Kaku to be so badly injured that they’re virtually out of commission for the rest of the Egghead Arc; there’s still some time left in the arc for the manga, so one or both of them might unexpectedly push themselves to keep fighting.
The fact that even the Monster Trio and the Seraphim were scuffed up (including Sanji, who directly proved his invulnerability against S-Shark) must mean the fighting got relatively intense, which, again, might have been a treat for fans to witness firsthand.
Other Things That Could Have Happened in the Labophase
A few more plot points and scenes could unfold in a potential Labophase filler arc. There could be a scene of York passing some targets who don’t yet know she’s a traitor and acting her way around them, like Robin’s group; of course, she’d have to explain why she didn’t return with Franky and the others. Lilith might have come across Pythagoras and Shaka’s remains if she was ready to assume the worst happened to Edison as she did in Chapter 1090. Jimbei and Stussy could pass the Power Plant, but not go into it.
Another scene could involve Vegapunk separating from the group (ideally, while York and the Seraphim’s locations are accounted for) to find Bonney; it might be his priority after he’s freed. Of course, his interaction with Bonney would have to be saved for after the Kuma flashback. This arc would have to show what happened to Robin and Kaku as it’s relevant for the rest of its overarching story. This arc would also provide a more opportune time to reveal the details of York’s plan.
For example, many fans wondered how she kept her plans secret if the Vegapunks were supposed to synchronize their memories daily. Many readers correctly surmised that she must have stopped syncing her memories, but that wasn’t confirmed until Chapter 1116, “Inner Conflict” By this point, the Straw Hats had already moved on to their next big conflict. Hearing more about York’s master plan while it’s relevant to the ongoing action might be more appropriate.
This mini-arc would have to end with York defeated but not captured. It’s the only way to maintain the plot twist of Chapter 1089 where she’s both. It might be amusing to see at least one scene where she’s knocked around by the people she’s wronged. Since Luffy is the protagonist and needs to be challenged (that is, portrayed like he’s struggling to earn his wins), he might even confront this mini-arc’s central antagonist directly; there could be a sequence of him throwing Gum-Gum Pistols out at York as she rockets away with her DOM Shoes and fires back with her bazooka revealed later (or something similarly action-packed. This is a battle Shonen, after all). In any case, showing a little of York getting roughed up could satisfy those who wanted to see the rogue Vegapunk get what’s coming to her before the plot shifted gears in Chapter 1078.
With all that covered and the audience satisfied, the anime could end this mini-arc on the appropriate cliffhanger. This would include York being on the loose, and the Seraphim continuing to rampage under her orders. Since Chapter 1091 shows the Seraphim trapped in bubbles, that might be how the main characters won before capturing York. However, before that’s shown, the arc could conclude with them taking one last stand as the plot boils down to an all-out battle royale with everyone present in Building A. With no more story to tell besides who won (and how), viewers could be content yet on the edge of their seats as the story makes its canonical transition to other parts of the One Piece world.
By the end of a Labophase filler arc, several things will have been accomplished. Both anime-only fans and manga readers can be entertained by the new, semi-canon content that serves to flesh out the One Piece grand narrative. Second, the anime will allow the anime to distance itself from the manga. This will also buy it time to plot the next canon story with acceptable pacing; they wouldn’t need to rely on recap specials or slowing the series down to one chapter per episode if that. If such an arc is successful, it could pave the way for more of its kind.
