Short Summary
Following his battle with Luffy, Buggy attempts to regain his crew and get his revenge.
Main Summary
Buggy has been stranded on a deserted island without his chest, which he lost during his battle with Luffy. He manages to escape the deserted island he was launched onto, only to end up on another one. Desperate for food, he attempts to catch a small bird for a meal, only to end up being hunted by its MUCH larger parent. Buggy tries to catch it with a trap, but the giant bird sees through it and has Buggy for lunch, only to decide that Buggy tastes bad and spits him out.Buggy finds himself on another island, this time with strange creatures on it. Gaimon appears and the two end up fighting each other. They end up becoming friends through the fact they're both weird, and Buggy departs on another raft, but once again ends up in trouble. He's saved from the giant crab attacking him by a beautiful, mysterious woman. Finding out that she's also looking for Luffy, the two join forces.
Meanwhile, the rest of Buggy's crew, after collecting the rest of his body parts and being chased out of Orange Town, regroup on another island. After holding a service for their captain, Mohji and Cabaji duel for the position of new leader. The two are so evenly matched that the fight goes on into the night as the other Buggy pirates sleep. Richie has a dream where he's a sea captain fighting a monster, and knocks out Mohji and Cabaji while sleepwalking. When the lion wakes up he finds that he's been named captain of Richie's pirate crew. Unfortunately, the pirates, minus the out-cold Mohji and Cabaji, are quickly captured by the island's natives, the Kumate Tribe.
At this time, Buggy and the mystery beauty spot Buggy's ship Big Top. Landing on the island, the duo find the unconscious Mohji and Cabaji. Meanwhile, the Kumate Tribe prepare to cook the Richie Pirates and wonder what to do with the 'spare parts' (Buggy's). The body parts suddenly spring to life and begin to attack the natives. Is it a miracle? Sort of. It's Buggy, now complete, his revived officers, and the mystery woman! The four easily beat the Kumate Tribe and the Buggy Pirates are restored.
Buggy's Crew: After the Battle has the following tropes:
- Achievements in Ignorance: Richie, while sleep-walking, manages to defeat Mohji and Cabaji and become the crew's next leader.
- Adaptation Expansion: One of the only cover stories to get animated.
- Captured by Cannibals: The 'Richie Pirates', when encountering the Kumate Tribe.
- Character Development: Over the course of his adventures, Buggy becomes a slightly better person who actually cares for his crew's wellbeing.
- Continuity Nod: Episode 45 of the anime gives us updates on how almost every named character is doing, and how they react to the news that Luffy has a bounty of 30 million berries on his head. There's also flash backs, including one to Usopp visiting Kaya. The only notable characters missing, are in the next 2 episodes.
- Decapitated Army: Without their beloved captain, Buggy's crew don't even try to fight back as Orange Town runs them out.
- Foreshadowing: The entire arc nicely foreshadows not only Buggy's return as a villain, but Alvida's as well, beginning a series-long tradition of characters returning later on after their initial arcs with the Straw Hats have already run their course.
- Giant Enemy Crab: One of the many, many critters that Buggy runs into. Who says the Grand Line's got a monopoly on man-eating monsters?
- He's Back!: After having been send flying by Luffy at the end of his introductory arc, Buggy begins his misadventure with most of his body missing and desperately trying to survive on his own with nothing but a small raft. By the end of the mini arc he's reassembled his body, reunited with his crew, and joined forces with a powerful new ally, and is now ready to get his revenge...
- Irony: In the anime, while the two are bonding, Gaimon and Buggy reminisce about an encounter they had with a strange young man that either impacted them positively (in Gaimon's case) or negatively (in Buggy's), completely unaware that the boy they're talking about is the same person; Luffy. Bonus points for Gaimon saying that Buggy would probably like Luffy if he meet him.
- Took a Level in Badass: Mohji, apparently. Whereas Cabaji previously used him and Richie as punching bags, in this arc he manages to fight Cabaji to a standstill, without even needing Richie as backup. Then again, Cabaji suffered much worse wounds from the Straw Hats; at the very start of the arc you can still see him struggling to keep the stitches on his gut together as the Buggy Pirates are fleeing Orange Town.
- Rescue Introduction: A rare villain-saves-villain instance - Alvida saves Buggy from the aforementioned Giant Enemy Crab, leading to a...
- Villain Team-Up: Seeing they have a common enemy with Luffy, Alvida and Buggy decide to team up (as of this writing it still hasn't been explained how Alvida found Buggy or how she knew who he was).
- Wimp Fight: Chibi Buggy Vs Gaimon.
Story Impact
- Buggy reunites with his crew and plots his revenge against the Straw Hats.
- Buggy forms an alliance with a female pirate, who is also after Luffy. It is later revealed during the Loguetown Arc that she is Alvida, the first pirate Luffy came across on his journey.
- The first of numerous cover arcs that depict what happens to characters the Straw Hats have encountered after they've left.
