Despite the passage of time, there's still that loose end that waits for Luffy and Law after Dressrosa. We don't know if Sanji's group has been captured, if they escaped, or anything.
Simple lack of knowledge does not constitute tension.
Doffy's been gloating and hamming it up ever since Punk Hazard.
Did you think for a moment that Doflamingo wasn't going to defeated in this arc? Even if you know a villain is going to lose, they can still create tension through their actions (Croc, Enel, Lucci are good examples).
I thought he might provide a challenge.
And I agree that villains can create tension through their actions even if they are going to lose.
I disagree with the prediction that Doflamingo will.
We can't be too sure. No one expected Kuma to do what he did in Thriller Bark. What Burgess contributes to this arc is still up in the air.
There are too many fighters on Straw Hats side that are currently unoccupied for it to happen. Kuma did what he did in Thriller Bark, because everyone but fodder was spent after Oars and Moria.
Something like is not possible in Dressrosa. Even if we consider indeed that everyone is going to be spent after their fights, which doesn't seem to be the case, there is still like a half of dozen or more fighters that did not participated in any major fights. Among those, Marine Admiral and Revolutionaries second in command.
I disagree. Were there other methods to obtaining the Mera Mera that Oda could have used? Sure.
Was Sabo appearing and taking over the Lucy role a bad move? No.
The mystery of Sabo's appearance, the involvement of the Revolutionaries, and the moment of eventually obtaining the Mera Mera and inheriting Ace's will and power were all points of creating tension and excitement for the reader.
If by reader you mean yourself, then by all means. I am not above admitting I can't argue with subjective opinions.
For those of us that like our lovely blond sue-in-making, it might have been exciting, but tense? Not in the slightest.
That's disregarding those of us that consider Sabo reappearance and the manner in which he was handled since that bad. And we are legion, if you follow the discussion threads regarding him.
It could have been the fact that they were his family and he didn't want to toy with them.
We only saw a glimpse of a young Doffy murdering his father. Rocinante was his only brother and someone Doffy trusted, and you can tell by his expression leading up to him pulling the trigger that he was dead serious.
He doesn't look like he wasn't treating it seriously when he was going to kill Law.
You can rationalize it however you want. Does not change the fact that Oda's themes have clashed with the story for quite some time now.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Lao:
I didn't think breaks could have such a negative effect on people.
You know why people say this series is better in volume format?
Because when you read it all at once, it's easier to focus on overall plot and ignore the faults.
One Piece is good, but it's hardly flawless.
And if we would consider not living up to the expectations as flaw, then this arc can be counted amongst the worse.