Out of all the early arcs in One Piece, Water 7 and Enies Lobby combined make for some of the best storytelling in the entire series! It was well written with true exploration into the characters, expansive world building, and each member of the Straw Hats saw themselves pushed physically and emotionally like never before. We were introduced to several new characters, learned so much about characters already present, and overall I finished the saga out with my jaw dropped at how much transpired. This is a saga I hope Tamashii Nations delves into fast and hard in their S.H.Figuarts line, with these upcoming slots my most wanted of the long arc!
5. Aokiji
Introduced early on in the Water 7 saga (prior to the crew's actual arrival in Water 7) is Aokiji, a ruthless marine with powerful Devil Fruit abilities and ties to Robin's past that we learn more about later. His collision with the crew sparks Luffy's drive to become even stronger with how fast Aokiji neutralizes him, and begins Robin down her path of self doubt. His icy abilities would translate well to figure form, especially if he included an alternate iced arm for Luffy, and while I don't think it would happen it would be very funny to get his bicycle for his ocean bike rides.
4. CP9
Prior storylines had dabbled in the idea of giving the various members of the Straw Hats their own foes to take down during the climax, but Enies Lobby really doubled down on it with CP9. Many of which were Galley-La shipwrights revealed to be villains in a twist, and proved to be tough enough to push each crew member to their breaking point. Kaku and Kalifa are obvious two of the more prominent members, being introduced prior to Enies Lobby, but others like Jabra really made their mark once introduced, not to mentioned Spandam and his elephant sword, even if he wasn't the most action oriented character.
3. Franky
The next member of the crew was introduced and finally added by the end of Enies Lobby, that being the loud, obnoxious Franky! Initially presented as an aggressor, things quickly changed as a common threat reared its head with Franky become endeared to the crew and by the crew by the time they went to war in Enies Lobby. His design is one of the most outrageous in the show to this point with lots of loud colors and possible transformations, making him potentially one of the most toy-oriented characters from the whole show.
2. Straw Hat Crew
It is common place that each new arc brings with it new designs for the Star Hat crew; however, the intensity and emotional depth of Enies Lobby really made these designs stand out and make them must have alternate outfits in the line. Luffy in his black shorts, Zoro with his yellow shirt, Nami's outfit which was tackled by S.H.Figuarts years ago and deserves an update, as well as Chopper and his red jacket, Sogeking, and Sanji's which is mighty close to his standard pre-time skip design just without the stripes on his blue shirt.
1. Lucci
I did not mention Lucci earlier when discussing the CP9 members and that is because I was saving him for this top slot on the list. While I don't think he tops either Crocodile or Eneru as Grand Line villains at this point, his threat to the crew and to Luffy made for a paramount battle. The other villains had devil fruit abilities to required Luffy to think on his feet for a workaround to defeat them; however, Lucci was purely a physical obstacle that Luffy had to overcome with sheer strength and endurance. That makes him stand out to me whereas his characterization and singular storyline didn't amount to much more than just a bloodthirsty government agent. While I would take both designs in figure form, his devil fruit powers activation is the preferred for obvious toyetic reasons.
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