Short Summary
A filler arc set after Goat Island Arc and before the Jaya Arc. After evading some Marines, the crew stop off in a small town with a huge tower, which is also being oppressed by the Mayor whose overtaxing the citizens. But a bigger concern is a nearby mist that prevents anyone who enters it from leaving.
Main Summary
TBARainbow Mist Arc has the following tropes
- Big Bad: Wetton
- Chekhov's Gun: The tower. It's actually used as a bridging point between the between the mist and the island so as to be able to get inside of the mist without being trapped inside. Wetton wants to use it so as to be able to get in and steal all the treasure within Ape's Concert.
- Could Say It, But...: Rapa Nui puts on an over-the-top act that while he would normally have to arrest the Straw Hat crew despite their help, the Marines are so occupied at the moment that it would allow them to easily escape.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: It takes over fifty years for the Pumpkin Pirates to arrest Wetton and bring Henzo closure, who also had to spend fifty years working under Wetton and not knowing the fates of the others.
- End of an Era: This was the last arc that 4Kids would dub for the series before letting their license expire in 2007. Funimation would pick up the series the following year.
- Foreshadowing: The Marine captains that chase the Straw Hats in the beginning.
- Identical Grandson: Wetton's son and grandson, Flip and Lake, look very much like him when he was younger.
- Place Beyond Time: The Rainbow Mist warps space and time. People can come in but can't come out without external help, and aren't guaranteed to come out in the same timeline.
- Rewatch Bonus: Once you realize the story takes place in a Stable Time Loop, the Straw Hats' first encounter with Rapa Nui and the other marines makes a lot more sense, with Isoka saying "You almost missed this historic encounter". She's not overstating the Straw Hats' bounties, the real reason that Rapa Nui and Isoka are so interested is that the Straw Hats are going to set into motion the events that free their child selves from the Rainbow Mists and finally arrest Wetton.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Flip, Lake, and the rest of Wetton's men briefly board the Going Merry to row to the exit. Unfortunately, it doesn't last, with Flip immediately running to Rapa Nui and claiming that the Straw Hats are criminals and stole the mayors' property.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: The Rainbow Mist messing with space-time creates an odd situation. The Pumpkin Pirates are kids (save Henzo) through most of the arc as they were trapped in the Rainbow Mist, though to them it seemed like they were trapped for days when it was really years. At the end of the arc, they sacrifice themselves to help the Going Merry escape, but were blasted further back in time than the Straw Hats were. They were picked up by a Marine ship and have been with them ever since, growing up and working up the ranks, until they finally meet with the Straw Hats again only now much older. Making things more confusing is that Rapanui helped the Straw Hats from the shadows, while part of the crew were trapped in the Rainbow Mist with the Pumpkin Pirates' past selves.
- To Be Lawful or Good: After a tearful reunion between Rapanui and Henzo, Rapanui immediately orders the Straw Hats to be arrested as they are pirates with a bounty, but then quickly puts on that they need to take care of Wetton and his gang first, and by the time Naval assistance arrives, the Straw Hats will already be off.
- Year Outside, Hour Inside: How Henzo theorizes the Rainbow Mist works. The truth is a bit more complicated.
