Some of it is filler (all of 98). Luffy and the crew's airheadedness is still present in the manga, but it got turned up in the anime. I agree the moment with Rasa was great though. Alabasta is long; it's been setup since we got to the grand line, and we're still not done with the setup. Stay strong : ) it's worth it!
jahschwa
2024-02-04 21:36:42 +0000 UTC
Things seem stretched with consequence put on pause because they are. This episode is filler. Also, 99, most of 101(what is canon will be obvious in hindsight), and 102. Hang in there.