Will There Be An Impel Down Part 2?

Impel Down has always been a unique arc in the story of One Piece. For Luffy, this arc represented the first major challenge the Straw Hat Captain had to face without the rest of his crew by his side, leaving him with a series of new allies. However, the arc itself also represents a shift in One Piece, marking the beginning of a change in stakes for the series that would continue in Marineford.

With so many huge events occurring now in One Piece’s Final Saga, some fans believe that it may be time for another trip back to Impel Down. Now, instead of being an arc that brings One Piece to the Paramount War, potentially, it could bring the series to the massive final war. Plus, with a few characters still in Impel Down that could be released, an Impel Down Arc Part 2 doesn’t seem too unlikely in One Piece.

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Impel Down Was An Important Arc For Marineford In One Piece

Noteworthy Characters Are Still In The Prison

The original Impel Down Arc in One Piece occurred soon after Luffy’s adventures on Amazon Lily when the Straw Hat Captain was separated from the rest of his crew. Looking to break his brother, Ace, out of prison, Luffy stormed the massive Navy fortress, teaming up with former inmates, and causing a huge prison break. Although he wasn’t successful at his task, the freed prisoners, including characters like Buggy, Jinbe, and Crocodile, would eventually make a large impact on the Marineford war in One Piece.

However, despite having a massive prison break, Impel Down is still used frequently in One Piece and holds some important characters. Bon Clay, Luffy’s ally and former Baroque Works member, sacrificed himself at the end of the original Impel Down Arc and currently lives on level 5.5 of the prison. On top of this, the former Warlord, Doflamingo, after being defeated by Luffy, was brought to Impel Down and is currently being held there.

Will There Be An Impel Down Part 2?

Doflamingo’s Prison Break Could Be An Arc

• Doflamingo Might Escape Leading To Important Plot Moments
• This Could Set Up The Next War Arc

Due to Doflamingo’s presence in the prison, many fans believe that the former underworld leader in One Piece will eventually use his connections to break out. This breakout could be the subject of its own arc in the series, albeit a fairly small one. Whether this links up with other characters, like the fan-favorite character, Bon Clay, or not is still unknown, but Doflamingo’s potential escape from prison could be the subject matter of a second Impel Down Arc.

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At the same time, with Impel Down occurring before the first major war arc in One Piece, it would make sense if another were to occur before the next war in One Piece’s Final Saga. With the former Impel Down being a clever writing tactic to reintroduce older characters back into the story, the second Impel Down could accomplish a similar goal. Mainly, this new Impel Down Arc could bring Doflamingo, Bon Clay, Magellan, and a few other important characters to the final battle.

There May Not Be Time For Impel Down Part 2

The Final Saga Shouldn’t Be Too Bloated

Still, despite being a good chance to reintroduce many characters, without having a strong opportunity to feature Luffy and the Straw Hats, this arc would be better if it was kept to be fairly short and sweet. On top of this, in reality, something like this could likely happen off-screen as well, only being briefly mentioned as Doflamingo returns to the series. Although this would be a huge disappointment to fans, who already hate seeing important plot elements happen off-screen, it would reduce the amount of story bloat in the Final Saga.

In the end, while something will happen with Impel Down in the Final Saga of One Piece, whether there is an Impel Down Part 2 or not is still up in the air. While it would be interesting to see a massive escape coordinated by Doflamingo, One Piece may already be a bit too long for moments like these. No matter what happens, however, hopefully, the interesting prison of Impel Down, and its inmates will play a role at the end of One Piece.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)