I hated the timeskip in Dragonball. It completely changed the tone and feel of the series instantly.
Timeskip Predictions
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@robbybedfart:
I hated the timeskip in Dragonball. It completely changed the tone and feel of the series instantly.
Which one? Because there were several timeskips in Dragonball.
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I say that there doesn't necessarily have to be a skip. It could just be leading up to some epic training arcs.
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@robbybedfart:
I hated the timeskip in Dragonball. It completely changed the tone and feel of the series instantly.
I had heard that that was because of pressure from the editor to bring the series ina different direction. I get the feeling that Oda's editor wants Oda to keep doing what he's been doing. Also, DB had been gradually transforming from it's fun adventures to serious action throughout the King Piccollo saga.
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Damn, I'm one of those who didn't quite agree with the time skip but looks like it's inevitable now. Please Oda, if there should be a time skip, make a good one.
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Wait… do we have people against the timeskip... or people still doesn't believe there will be a timeskip?
@robbybedfart:
I hated the timeskip in Dragonball. It completely changed the tone and feel of the series instantly.
Well… get ready to hate "One Piece: New World" or "One Piece Z".
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Wait… do we have people against the timeskip... or people still doesn't believe there will be a timeskip?
Well, it seems that some still don't believe.
@KomeSwallow:Well… get ready to hate "One Piece: New World" or "One Piece Z".
One Piece Shipuuden and One Piece GT too.
@robbybedfart:
I hated the timeskip in Dragonball. It completely changed the tone and feel of the series instantly.
Same here.
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A joke stops being funny when you have to explain it.
Oh well, the target audience got it, I'm sure.
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Who cares about a time skip. If Oda keeps his writing style, it'll still be an amazing read.
It's not like the timeskip is what hurt Naruto, but the way some of the arcs later on played out.
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@Sea:
Well, it seems that some still don't believe.
Ahaha!
Okay.
I guess Chopper forgot something and busted a bitch to read like what? 10,000 books under five minutes and go back to Sabaody.
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And he sent Usopp to Boin Archipelago because Usopp looks malnourished, and he figured Luffy would enjoy a harem so he sent him to Amazon Lily. Kuma really knows his stuff, man.
It's just coincidence in my opinion. Mostly because, how could he have known that Sanji was a cook when no one even knows who Sanji really is? Also, how could he know that Chopper was a doctor and Brook a musician? As far as I can tell, he would only know about Luffy, Zoro, Robin, and he could tell that Franky was a cyborg. All the others were just coincidence.
well lets say kuma is all knowing about the crew and knows sanji cooks, and kicks.
knows the franky is a cybrog and built himself
knows that chopper is animal/human and a doctor
knows that usopp needs curouge and ect. for all crewi'll be fine accepting that, but then how the hell did he know the PERFECT place for them. LIke sanji lands on an island that they are strong warriors that use thier feet and also have some secret recipe. how did he know that these people on choppers island were awesome doctors and there was great new plants there. ect. to all. I mean he just seemed to send each unique person to the most perfect place in teh entire world.
so kuma not only knows the crew better or as good as us, he also knows every island in the world perfectly as well
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Hey don't usually post on here but for those who think that there not going to be a time skip is only fooling yourselves. There a lot of evidence that proves there's going be a time skip but i doubt that its going to be 2 or 3 year time skip most likely it will be a couple of months or up to a year depending on how long the straw hats need to train to become stronger. Oda never really show the training arcs he usually skips it and explains how they got stronger during there fight with a strong enemy so why would he change his approach on training arcs now? Without a time skip it will take longer for straw hats to get back together, so im guessing that the time skip will probably happen next chapter or chapter after that then they will show the straw hats heading to meet up at SA and by chapter 600 they will be back together. Also I find it interesting that Kuma just happen to send each straw hat to the place that there going to get stronger at. He obviously sent them there for a reason and Rayleigh figure it out which is why he wants them to stay where they are for a little while longer. If the time skip is longer then a year then i would like for him to tweak there designs to make the straw hats look older but i doubt that its going to be longer then a year this isn't Naruto where they use the time skip to make them older and they had no other story's to tell why they with younger. Oda already setting things up for a post time skip so his time skip is to just skip over the training arc so yea it wont be a long time skip like Naruto was.
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Except it is. All opinions don't hold the same weight child, that's the very basis of arguments.
What is the argument that makes a complete time skip more likely than just increasing the pace of time? Either a time skip or a montage seem equally like and both will have the same result.
And the basis of argument is support, not weight. An opinion that can be supported holds weight over one that is just stated.
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I am really waiting to see the 99 fights Sanji will have to do. This will be great and definitely not monotonous.
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I am really waiting to see the 99 fights Sanji will have to do. This will be great and definitely not monotonous.
I hope you are being sarcastic.
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@Sea:
I hope you are being sarcastic.
Of course I am. But I understand why you ask. There is so much stupidity around here. I can't believe some people still think there won't be a timeskip.
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I haven't been following this thread, so are there any smart people that still don't believe there will be a timeskip? I know Deicide was against it a while ago.
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@Robo:
I haven't been following this thread, so are there any smart people that still don't believe there will be a timeskip? I know Deicide was against it a while ago.
I started to type up a huge post to explain how it's still unlikely but logically possible just to play devil's advocate, then I realized that it isn't possible at all unless Oda has a sudden heart attack and his work is continued by someone else who doesn't know what's up.
If there isn't a timeskip then both Perona and Akainu will join the crew, Ace will be revived by Marco's tears, and Hancock will decide that Luffy is actually not attractive.
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What is the argument that makes a complete time skip more likely than just increasing the pace of time? Either a time skip or a montage seem equally like and both will have the same result.
And the basis of argument is support, not weight. An opinion that can be supported holds weight over one that is just stated.
Exactly. You're argument's been pretty thoroughly demolished in Zephos's last few posts and a number of other posts scattered throughout the thread. If you think your opinion is equally valid then answer them properly.
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What's considered a time skip? A week? A Month? Couple Months? A year? More?
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What's considered a time skip? A week? A Month? Couple Months? A year? More?
All of the above.
Typically, if there's a little message saying "1 month later…" or some such, that's considered a timeskip. It can be anything from 10 years to 10 minutes, but most people at this point have accepted that One Piece will probably have a more significant timeskip than just a few weeks.
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All of the above.
Typically, if there's a little message saying "1 month later…" or some such, that's considered a timeskip. It can be anything from 10 years to 10 minutes, but most people at this point have accepted that One Piece will probably have a more significant timeskip than just a few weeks.
well people must consider it to be at least a year
we have had day skips, and a few week skips now and no one is even batting an eye saying they are time skips
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well people must consider it to be at least a year
we have had day skips, and a few week skips now and no one is even batting an eye saying they are time skips
Many people think it'll only be a few months, myself included. Not saying I would mind if it were more, but it doesn't seem necessary for the Straw Hats to spend that much time training. They haven't been sailing together for a year yet, why would they need a year to power up? No, my take on the timeskip is that it will either be a few months by default or will last until the new year, which obviously has to be less than a year.
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well people must consider it to be at least a year
we have had day skips, and a few week skips now and no one is even batting an eye saying they are time skips
I don't think the length of time matters as much as the idea that all the characters will be different on the other side. This, to me, is different from previous skips where all that happened is traveling or healing.
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What's considered a time skip? A week? A Month? Couple Months? A year? More?
@JERK:
And seriously, "a few weeks" is not a time skip, so if you think that's the case just answer "no".
Look no further than the first post of this thread. The poll questions should clear up any other confusion.
We have had day skips, and a few week skips now and no one is even batting an eye saying they are time skips.
Generally speaking, the term refers to significant jumps in time, which is why these week skips don't count. The skips in time were necessary travel and recovery times that allowed one event to reach the next, with little to nothing else transpiring in the between. A real skip would allow larger developments to take place and would prepare the story without wading through the tedious and unnecessary details. That said, excluding the technical timeskip from Chapter 1, I think the longest narrative change in time we have seen has been "several days", "one week", and "ten days", but I could be forgetting a time or two that was longer.
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Small timeskip. A month or less I'd say
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I don't think the length of time matters as much as the idea that all the characters will be different on the other side. This, to me, is different from previous skips where all that happened is traveling or healing.
Probably the best way to put it.
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First off, my explanation of Luffy's Message from that topic … I posted this after last week's chapter:
"
So, I've been thinking a lot about what Luffy's message might mean...and I've got a theory.First let's look at what we KNOW
-Luffy sailed around the island, signifying a burial at sea
-He held a silent prayer, mourning a death
-He rang the Ox Bell 16 times. 2 times would signify a death. 16 times means the end of the year or the end of an era metaphorically at least according to Killer
-This was a message Rayleigh intended to reach the other Straw Hats
-This plan was born from Rayleigh's fear that the crew reuniting now would mean their certain death because of what happened at Sabaody ArchipelagoNow, as you may know, I believe a time skip is coming. I approached deciphering this message from the standpoint that Luffy is trying to convey to his crew that they should not reunite immediately.
I believe that this message was intended for his crew and could easily be veiled to deceive the rest of the world.
Luffy was indeed mourning a loss, a death, but it was not Ace's.
Luffy was mourning his own death and the death of the Straw Hat Pirates.
On Sabaody Archipelago, the crew faced, for the first time, complete and utter defeat at the hands of Pacafista and Sentomaru. They faced certain death. If not for the protection of Silvers Rayleigh and Bartholomew Kuma, they would have been killed without question by Admiral Kizaru or even Sentomaru and the Pacafista. Kizaru is one thing...few people could face him...but the crew was too weak to even run away from a few Pacafista.
In a sense, seeing each of his crew members disappear right before his eyes...they were symbolically dying to Luffy.
The Straw Hat Pirates were not only defeated on Sabaody...they died there. If anything had even gone just a little bit differently, not one of them would have been alive. If Kuma's lobotomy had come just a week sooner, they'd be dead. If Rayleigh were a few minutes later, they'd be dead. If Kuma was hostile, they'd be dead. They're too weak to avoid this truth.
Luffy was telling them not to reunite now. They're not strong enough. They're not alive. The rest of the world does not know this, they only know the events of Marineford. Even Kizaru who was present at the crew's defeat would be deceived into thinking Luffy was mourning the death of Ace and Whitebeard. After all, the Straw Hats are only symbolically dead, not physically dead. The much more obvious interpretation would be that Luffy was mourning Ace and Whitebeard or even the Marines killed at the battle.
Why the crew will understand this message rather than the one that Luffy is mourning Ace? They know it comes from Rayleigh rather than Luffy. They know Rayleigh witnessed their defeat. Nami calls Luffy selfish...this statement makes sense if this is the interpretation we are to understand.
Why 16 rings instead of 2 then? Well it is not as Killer says. While Blackbeard is so arrogant as to declare the passage of Whitebeard's age and the beginning of his own at Marineford, this does not seem much like Luffy...and I highly doubt Rayleigh would want Luffy to declare this either. We must keep in mind this message was Rayleigh's idea. 16 rings signifies the beginning of a new age, a new start, a new beginning, or a rebirth...for the Straw Hat Pirates. When they reunite, they're starting over and they have to be stronger. They "died" at Sabaody, and they will be reborn, better and stronger than ever when they reunite...but knowing that they "died" and that Luffy is mourning their death, the crew will not be so hasty as to reunite right away.
This will convey to them Rayleigh's message, his fear that they will only face the same exact fate as what they faced on Sabaody if they reunite right now.
So that's my best explanation of Luffy's message!"
Moving on, I want to address a few things.
NEXT! I do NOT feel Blackbeard will be the final villain. It's been my belief that the World Government themselves would be the final villain since about the Drum Island arc when it was revealed that Dragon was a revolutionary...Dragon held the same beliefs as Roger evidenced from his first appearance in Chapter 100, so I've felt Luffy would become Dragon's ally ever since this point in the story.
Ever since then, evidence has only been building. The existence of CP9, the Celestial Dragons, the death of Sabo, the Ohara Incident, covering up escape of Level 6 criminals, Mercilessly killing unborn babies because they could be the son of Roger.Biggest evidence came in two chapter:
"Roger & Rayleigh" and "The Great Pirate Edward Newgate"In the first, we learn that Roger had turned himself in because he was already a dying man...then turns around and makes a final statement that sends the world into the Great Era of Piracy. It is heavily implied that this was intentional. Roger crafted his final words for the specific purpose of inspiring a successor. The most logical explanation of this being that he was dying and thus unable to accomplish something specific on his own. What was that task? Well, let's look at some context clues. In this same chapter Robin questions Rayleigh about whether they learned the True History. Indeed Rayleigh confirms this, but tells the Straw Hats they're not ready. He'd consent to telling them if they really wanted to know, but Robin declined. What harm could learning history do? Well, let's look at more context clues...right after this, the Straw Hats face "death" at the hands of Kizaru, Sentomaru, Pacafista, and Kuma thus proving they are not yet ready to take on the World Government. Couldn't this be evidence that the True History is so infuriating it would lead the Straw Hats to do just that?
Now as for why Impel Down / Marineford are different from Enies Lobby or Alabasta, it's Luffy's role in the story.
We had a long debate about this recently on my other One Piece site, but it concerns the Straw Hats role in the story. Are they heroes, anti-heroes, or villains? What it comes down to is that some people feel they are more anti-heroes or villains. However, I believe they are heroes. The reason being, they have never done something with malicious intent (eliminating villain as a possibility). They are not indifferent either and when they get involved it is purely with the intent to help those they're protecting. Saving Alabasta from Sir Crocodile or Nico Robin from Enies Lobby were surely acts of heroism. We must not look at things as "well they defied the gov. that means they're anti-heroes"...forget titles. Robin was mercilessly hunted from the young age of 8 for the crime of being able to read Phoneglyphs, blackmailed by the World Government, accused of crimes she did not commit, watched her entire island burned to the ground and her mother killed for the sake of covering up history, and then was finally captured by CP9, an organization with a license to kill whatever innocent civilian stands in their way. Regardless of their title as pirates, saving Robin from this terrible fate was an act of heroism. The typical anti-hero is someone whose actions are on the side of the hero, but have their own more selfish motives.
As evidenced by the fact that they saved Alabasta from Crocodile, Robin from the clutches of CP9, etc. The Straw Hats have not acted on a purely self-serving basis. To be a hero, it is not necessary that a character have the dream of going to save the world. The term hero describes characters who stand up for what is right. Naruto was the hero of his story even though he didn't pick up that "save the ninja world" schtick until he fought Pain which was like 45 volumes into the story. Kenshin is the hero of RuroKen even though he only wants to protect those within his reach.So how is all this relevant? Well for the first time, Luffy's motives moved closer to that of an anti-hero in recent events (I don't think this will stick). He knew nothing about the WG hunting babies or their desire to kill Ace just because he was Roger's son. Luffy only knew that Ace was his brother and he wanted to save him. True enough Luffy does not think through things all the way and it was his intention to simply quitely enter ID, free Ace, and leave. However, in breaking out of the World's greatest prison Luffy freed none other than Sir Crocodile... while Luffy can't be blamed for Buggy, Ivankov, and others freeing other dangerous criminals, Luffy freed this one. He didn't do it for justice...he did it for himself and for Ace.
At the battle of Marineford, he didn't really think through consequences or meaning of battling the Marines. After all, though the WG may be villainous, not all Marines are this way. Smoker, Garp, Aokiji, etc. are more fitting of the role "hero" while Akainu fits the role of "villain" quite nicely. Though he's just "doing his duty for the sake of justice" his actions such as killing Ohara civilians are certainly villainous. Heavy handed justice can be evil.It's not all that relevant to a time skip, but the question was raised how Impel Down / Marineford were different from Alabasta and Enies Lobby. I think it's mostly Luffy's role in the story. Luffy was not acting as a hero or a champion of justice in these two arcs unlike previous adventures in the story. I do not expect this trend to continue.
Getting back to evidence that Blackbeard is not the final villain but (my theory anyway) the final villain BEFORE Luffy becomes Pirate king, we have chapter 576 "The Great Pirate Edward Newgate"....in his final moments Whitebeard recounts a meeting with Roger before he died where Roger tells him about the Will of D. After declaring Blackbeard is not one of them, he declares that a world conflict is coming that will engulf the Marines, the World Government...everyone. His final words serve the same purpose as Roger's..."ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS!" He purposely sends people towards the end of the Grand Line, inspiring a successor for Roger. Whitebeard, a pirate who was all about morality knew all the secrets of what Roger's crew learned...and he too sought to set up a new Pirate King to carry out what Roger could not finish.
The best thing we have to estimate what Roger's true goal was....Chapter 100, "The Legend Begins" where we see Roger's quote about world freedom along with the introduction of Monkey D. Dragon the Revolutionary Leader.
Some questioned whether Dragon and the Revolutionaries would be villainous...but at this point there seems to be enough evidence to the contrary. Robin is now with the Revolutionaries and given Chopper and Sanji's actions this chapter, is likely to go meet Dragon himself. Dragon saved the people of the Grey Terminal, Kuma saved the Straw Hats, Ivankov and Inazuma acted to save Luffy at Impel Down and Marineford. Dragon sympathizing with Sabo in the Goa Kingdom and stating that he doesn't yet have the power to correct these injustices, the minds of the Nobles and the Celestial dragons...very much an indicator of what is to come.
Blackbeard is likely Luffy's greatest rival for title of Pirate King and I certainly see their battle being the one right before Luffy finds One Piece. I think if any other character has a chance of landing on Raftel, it is Blackbeard.
But think about when a true World Engulfing conflict, a battle with the dark and mysterious power that is the World Government, could come...it requires knowledge of the True History...located on Raftel. For this to occur, Luffy must already find One Piece. This battle, the biggest in the story, and likely the largest arc (Oda has clearly said the final arc of One Piece is going to be the biggest / best of the series; At least that's his intention) will revolve around this conflict. Obviously the details are uncertain, but such a story could certainly last much longer than the recent events involving the World Gov. (extending from volume 50 - 61+) and could easily incoprorate many of the characters we've seen throughout the story.
As has been stated, these recent events, this current arc, are moving at this frantic speed because it is the closing of the first act of the story. We can expect the New World to be filled with big long arcs more along the lines of Water Seven, Baroque Works, Skypiea, etc. but really I would not expect all the story's mysteries to be revealed now. We're in the part of the story (like the part after Jaya and again after Enies Lobby) where new characters are introduced, only hinting at things to come later in the story. Oda will reveal the full details of the changing world events, and new characters introduced far later. At this point, he's setting up so much, I can easily see this story lasting 1200 - 1500 chapters.
Now as for WHY this time skip will not be a few months. As I stated in the beginning of this long winded post, I feel the message was to stay put. Chopper is clearly settling in for the long haul. He's got an entire freakin' library to study. I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't do that in a few months. Heck, I took 2 months to learn just organic chemistry this summer (orgo I and II...took engineering statics too though). Anyone who's worked in a lab knows how time consuming it is to run experiments. Chopper's got to spend more than a few weeks or a few months reading over some books. In depth research and studying takes years. Similarly, Sanji isn't going to go beat down 99 "maidens" in a few weeks then master a new art of cooking in a short period of time. We already know Usopp and Zoro's situations are quite perilous. Zoro is essentially about to undergo the same training as Mihawk in his formative years. Usopp needs to get stronger if he ever hopes to escape the Boin Archipelago. It was clearly stated the further out you go from the center of the island, the sttronger the monsters get. Usopp is struggling at the center of the island...he's not leaving for a long while.
As has also been stated, this will not disrupt the flow of the story. The part about Luffy's role as a hero / anti-hero was really a sidebar. I simply felt it distinguishes Luffy's role in the current arc from his role in Alabasta and Enies Lobby. I don't believe Luffy was on the wrong side in the war, just that his motive was "save Ace" and nothing more. He still has the noble attributes of a hero in that he personally didn't free any criminals beyond Sir Crocodile. We see that even as a child when he, Ace, and Sabo were skipping out on the bill at restaurants, Luffy left IOU (treasure)'s and we can all say that, knowing his character, he completely intended to pay them back.
The importance of freedom has increasingly become a prominent theme in the story. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo wanted freedom more than anything else in the world. So far, it's gotten Sabo (presumably...I find it questionable whether or not he's truly dead given Dragon's presence on the island and the fact that Luffy and Ace heard of his death secondhand) and Ace killed. They may have been pirates, but what they desired was freedom, not pillaging and plundering.
Just as the Marines can be broken down into True Justice, Absolute Justice, and the majority that fall somewhere in the middle, we've seen Pirates who believe in dreams, adventure, and freedom....Pirates who believe in pillaging, plundering, and conquering as much as possible (Blackbeard), the New Age Pirates (Doflamingo) whose ideas are not fully explored yet, and the majority that fall somewhere in between.
Roger, constantly compared to Luffy, seems quite obviously to be the former. Way back in chapter 100, a quote from Roger was given that stated as long as the world hungered for freedom these things would exist. I'd say, ever since Enies Lobby, we've seen this as a growing theme in the story.
Both from the story itself and many of the other symbols we're seeing, it's quite clear Oda is building the World government up as an evil oppressive force.
I've already given a lot of this evidence already (Dragon, the Revolutionaries, the True history, CP9, Akainu, etc.)
Looking at a few more recent ways this has been brought up:
-Boa Hancock and her sisters; They were kept as slaves by the Celestial Dragons
-The Sunny Pirates and treatment of Fishmen
-Kuma, a revolutionary, lost his "freedom" and eventually his entire conscious due to government experiments
-Ivankov, Inazuma, and the Newkamaers imprisonment as revolutionaries
-The entire Impel Down / Marineford arc was built on the theme of freeing Ace from his bondage by the World Government. This distinguishes it from other arcs where characters are "saved" from a specific fate. This wasn't about just saving Ace from death, it was about his freedom. He's never been free from this fate. The Government intended his death from the time he was born.We've even gotten hints this chapter that Jewelry Bonney has been running from the World Government.
The thing about this type of story is, it takes time to build up. A time skip is perfect because it re-establishes equilibrium. As has been stated, no one has found One Piece in 22 years and given Whitebeard's final statement, he felt it was necessary to light a fire under the new generation to go in search of Roger's treasure again. The supernovas aren't exactly having an easy time in the New World. Even Kidd, Hawkins, and Drake are likely in for some rough times ahead.
The New World is in chaos right now...Law is smart enough not to sail right into that storm. We already saw Luffy, "an ant diving into a hurricane" come out alive. He's the "gift for a new era" and his survival "changes the fate of the world" according to Shank". He's intended for great things in the future...but as Rayleigh says, they're not yet ready. They can't take on the world and win.
After a time skip, they won't be anywhere near the level of fighting admirals yet. They'll just be at the level where they can sail into the New World and not die at the hands (or tusks) of wild boars.
Zoro isn't going to be at the "Spar with Mihawk" level in a few years...he'll be at the "I can undrgo the same training that a young Mihawk underwent" level.
The Straw Hats will be sailing into the New World the same way they sailed into the Grand Line complete rookies who have to fight their way up the ladder.
I truly believe the Straw Hats have been at sea for longer than 3 - 4 months, the minimum time for their adventure. If one person were to spring out of the East Blue, take down two warlords, bring down Enies Lobby, Impel Down, and attack Marineford (the three biggest government facilities in the first half of the Grand Line), I'd say the Governemnt would be a heck of a lot more worried about this kind of meteoric rise.
Luffy rising over a longer period of time is less concerning. Rapid growth would be a bigger indicator that he could become another "Blackbeard" level threat. I think the fact that they've been so chill about pursuing the Straw Hats despite the magnitude of their actions would indicate a bigger amount of time between adventures. I like to look at some of the color spreads as some of the exotic places they've been where nothing major happens....just their little pit stops along the way. Obviously this can't work for all of them, but I think it's interesting to imagine these are the types of things they do when we're not reading. I mean, I think their adventure is bigger and more grand than even we the readers have seen.
Once again, a speed-up is a GOOD thing for us readers. It re-establishes a ton of the mystery in the story. Story-wise and geography wise, we're about halfway through the story...knowing Oda I think we're less than halfway. Would it really make sense to show us the abilities of all the world's greatest forces in one big battle only halfway through if he didn't have some kind of plan? Seeing all three Admirals, all the Seven Warlords, and their abilities...wouldn't this remove a lot of the big reveals from the end of the story? Well this is Oda we're talking about so OF COURSE NOT! I thought it strange that the World Government would expend all its resources to combat a single Emperor when they must still worry about Kaidou, Shanks, Big Mom, and of course Dragon. HOwever, as evidenced by the mysterious superior of Doflamingo (who did not flinch at his threat of leaving the Warlords) and Commander-in-Chief Kong, we've got a lot to learn about the infrastructure of those under direct "World Government" authority rather than Marine authority. Looking at those arms, I'd say Kong is still quite the formidable opponent. Mysterious superior of Doflamingo didn't have any problem yelling at him and wasn't scared by his threats, so I'd say he's pretty powerful as well. I believe the Government themselves have powerful people under their control to match or even trump the powers of Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru. It was only stated the Admirals were the strongest in the Marines (presumably under Sengoku). The Gov. would need to have some direct control over powerful subordinates who would carry out their more shady practices...and of course their must be those who fully know the depth of the Governments evil and the True History...the will of D. There's a whole lot more going on behind the scenes in the World. Gov.
We the readers are once again presented with a situation where we know little of the outside world.
If it's not obvious by now, I don't know when it will be. I point all these things because Oda is hitting the reset button on One Piece. Everything we thought we knew is being turned upside down.
We had essentially learned a good chunk of the things to know about One Piece, halfway through or less. A few mysteries persist like the nature of the True History, the identity of One Piece, the two remaining Emperors, and Dragon...but those things don't seem as big anymore in light of having so many characters fleshed out and so many powers / faces revealed since Thriller Bark to the present.
This is all turned upside down.
We thought we had learned all there was to know about the World Government, it's infrastructure, the highest military power the Marines, and the world's highest authority. We saw the abilities of all 3 admirals, the Celestial Dragons, and the Five Elders...
now we learn of Kong, of mysterious world gov. officials, that the Marines are not the end all be all of Government might and that the depth of their evil and extent of their influence may be far greater than we realize at this point. Up until recently we had no idea for example that Goa Kingdom was like a microcosm of the World Gov. nobles.
We had seen all 7 warlords. Even beyond this, we saw all seven (besides Doflamingo) play a central role in an arc or two...now we have 3 kicked out and the possibility for 3 new ones. We have those kicked out essentially "reborn" as new characters with new motives even if their personalities remain unchanged. Crocodile, Moria, etc. will be put back into use in new ways, in completely new roles. We as the readers are entering "Part II" in the dark as to their whereabouts and motives. They're almost like completely new characters.
We thought we knew everything about the Straw Hats...until we see a 10 chapter flashback of Luffy showing how little we know even of the main character. In truth we've only seen a flashback of a single incident in each of their lives. We now know they'll get even stronger, not just in terms of physical strength. Their growth is a new mystery, their new techniques a mystery we'll learn as we travel with them again.
The equilibirum of the world was exposed. There were 3 big forces involved in maintaining balance on the seas, the Seven Warlords, the Four emperors, and the Marines. That's all changing. I find it interesting the Revolutionaries are not mentioned as part of this equilibrium. We know the Marines combat Pirates...but the fact that Revolutionaries are considered separate implies the Gov. has other forces in reserve to directly combat the Revs. This is further evidence that their is military might beyond what we've seen. Again, further mystery, turning things upside down.
We know one emperor has fallen. This is not an official title...there can also be just Three Emperors, there can be Five Emperors...it's up to how many powerful pirates there are out there. Blackbeard's rising in power. The Supernovas are seeing various degrees of success. The Marines are struggling to keep up. The Revoltuionaries are getting stronger, and seemingly the World Government has more miliatary force beyond the scope of what we've seen in CP9, the Marines, etc.
We thought we knew everything about the True History, that it exposes details of a lost civilization, the WG rise to prominence, and information about the Will of D. Some might venture to guess it is so simple that the World Gov. wiped out an ancient civilzation, warships were involved, and D's are people who carry on the legacy of that lost race. However, this is Oda....I doubt it's so transparent. Seeing the mysteries of the World Government growing, the cryptic message that Blackbeard is not one of them, the fact that Whitebeard says confidently a world engulfing conflict IS coming...leads me to believe this is a mystery far deeper than we've been lead to believe. It's something far more unpredictable that will turn the world of One Piece completely upside down, that will show the depth and complexity of the World Gov. as villains to an extent we have yet to see.
We thought we had seen the extent of the bizarre locations Oda could come up with. An island in the sky, a desert kingdom, an underwater paradise, what else could be left?
We've seen just a few glimpses of what oda's still got in store for One Piece...the weirdness factor of the New World has certainly been turned up a few notches. Oda's showing us we're just scratching the surface of the crazy locales that the One Piece world has to offer. The Straw Hats will explore even more perilous islands than we've ever seen before!
We thought we knew everything about One Piece. We thought wrong. Oda is using a time skip to hit reset on the story. We're plunged back into the dark. A new equilibrium will be reached and as the readers we discovery these new things along with the Straw Hats. Without this, it's hard to imagine how things could have just continued. Oda just revealed the abilities and powers of all major players (or so we thought)...revealing these new mysteries, new characters, to make the story even more intricate and detailed requires the time to set them up. A time skip is not only fitting at this point, it's crucial if One Piece is to remain the same type of story until the very end.
If things continued as some people desire, just along the same path, sure enough we'd get some big adventures like Skypiea and the reveal of some of the current mysteries would pay off, but it would soon turn into a big brawl in the New World...without mysterious characters out there, without the sense that there's a whole heck of a lot of stuff we don't know yet, it comes down to what characters will be battling on the next island. Oda has deftly avoided that pitfall for shonen series with this well-timed time skip....at least that is my opinion as a dedicated reader of One Piece for 7 years now! I feel this will serve to reinvigorate a series that is already on fire! It'll take the intensity of the current arc and turn One Piece into a story far beyond what we've been reading up to this point.
We're about to witness the rebirth of a series that is awesome as-is. A "Part II", a second act where the Straw Hats age and change a bit in physical appearance is a very good way to emphasize this transition into the New World where once again mysteries far bigger than those we've known to date abound, where both new and familiar characters are waiting in the wings to play crucial roles in the story, where the locations they explore will be even more creative and exotic, and of course the battles and adventures will be even more entertaining as we rediscover the Straw Hats fighting abilities and observe their characters in greater depth.
I'm excited about a time skip in case you can't tell from this insanely long wall of text. I just feel people don't fully grasp how this is needed from a story telling perspective if One Piece is going to continue as long as some of us hope. What we've just witnessed could serve as the climax for most manga or stories, but for Oda, this is like the big cliffhanger before intermission....think about it, if the kind of stuff we've seen over the past 10 volumes is what Oda is willing to show us (possibly less than) halfway through the series, what mysteries does he still have waiting? What huge revelations are forthcoming? What of the characters he has yet to reveal? The world of One Piece is always changing for us readers with the introduction of new organizations and characters we didn't know existed yet...oda has emphasized that to a greater degree recently, showing brief hints that there's a whole lot more coming up int he New World. Just sit tight and trust that a time skip is EXACTLY what One Piece needs right now.
If you read all this, you might not be as crazy as me for typing all this, but you're certainly crazy =P
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i hope 99. master is Ivankov. Go Sanji
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Mini Novel
Fuck you, man. I'm not reading that. Where's the tl;dr?
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Bloody hell that must have taken some willpower to type,I gave up reading when Naruto was mentioned…...
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Moving on, I want to address a few things.
FIRST! Naruto was NOT the first work of fiction to incorporate a time skip. Moreover, Naruto is not that bad of a manga. It's far better than Bleach, Reborn!, etc. and has gotten back to Part I quality. The flashback about his parents was probably one of my favorite parts of the story…it's gotten nothing but positive reception recently on the other One Piece site I visit...moderate. That's just my personal opinion though. I think we're basing way too much of our opinion of Naruto Part II on the Sasuke arc, which was admittedly pretty poorly told...but it did have the nice highlight of Jiraiya vs. Pain right in the middle of its worst arc.
I stopped reading right here. Your opinion is now invalid.
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I would had stopped at "Moreover, Naruto is not that bad of a manga"
Holy piss yo!
Spoiler tag that shit or something Stephen King.
Poor Page Down button. I'm sorry… :(
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Fuck you, man. I'm not reading that. Where's the tl;dr?
Lmao! I scrolled down through that looking for the tl;dr at the end.
There's no way I'm reading all of that.
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I phrased it my own way. tl;dr is boring…I said you might not be as crazy as me for typing all of it, but you are crazy if you read it all =P
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i started reading it and then after a while i was like, how long is this and scrolled down and kept scrolling down and more scrolling down and was like holy hell i'm done reading
i do agree with is beginning though in the symbol
i believe it is the 16 rings. luffy has 8 crewmates, 2 rings means a death. he rang is 16 times to signify 8 deaths. this was his way of telling the crew that he lost them all at shabondy because we were all too weak.
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
7000 word Master Thesis on Timeskips
What the hell. I've seen you write some long responses, but damn. This would make AGOG cower in fear.
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lol it just built up….wasn't reading One Piece for like 4 months until 2 weeks ago thanks to Orgo all summer XD
Also, it's 5,000 words =P
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I actually read it and thought it was very good.
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jesus christ that read is just too long. where's the sparknotes?
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I've written serious projects with less words than that. Make a shortened version or no one will ever be able to understand what you're trying to convey.
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Wow it seems like nobody has any fucking patience anymore.
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Wow it seems like nobody has any fucking patience anymore.
When someone is trying to make a point in an argument, it's not effective for them to post a giant wall of text, mostly because we'll forget what was at the beginning by the time we get to the end, and it's rather annoying to read through something if you're only half-interested. In professional debates, you have a time limit for your rebuttals and for any statement you make. Is that because the debaters are impatient?
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Wow it seems like nobody has any fucking patience anymore.
well its not so much patience as just the topic
why does someone need 5000 words to explain what the ringing of the bells mean?
if it was someone theory on say hidden history, or why can't reach raftel, or ect. then i would probably read it all. but 5000 words to explain why they think a time skip is happening?
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5000 word theories on ANYTHING about a children's comic isn't a matter of patience. It's a matter of not being worth the time investment. Hence people wanting a shortened version, because while we recognize there might be some good points hidden in there, none of us want to waste a few minutes reading what's JUST A THEORY about a CHILDREN'S comic. It's asinine to say this is a matter of patience. It's a matter of the subject matter not warranting that much attention and time. Furthermore, with the timeskip all but confirmed, why bother with a theory on that subject as opposed to something bigger and more mysterious?
tl;dr: 5000 word essay on children's comic theory = not problem with patience, problem with not being worth the timeEdit: Also "brevity is the soul of wit"
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5000 words when it's so easy to say that 2x8=16
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
Back to Part I quality
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah