@Sephi:
Tell that to Legend of Korra. It's fans will laugh at you. That's the thing, Legend of Korra has the same target audience as One Piece and it not only portrays women better, it STARS one. (Korra herself)
What does this even mean?
You have Korra, who acts like a male most of the time, and Asami, who's pretty much useless through most of the series, and is forced into a relationship at the end to gain significance. Other than that you have mostly male protagonists and antagonists.
The state of the world makes it easier to incorporate female characters as well. And do you think anyone would've watched Korra, if she was like Asami? I don't think so at least.
Additionally this was meant for a western target audience, which makes the series harder to compare.
@Verus:
Actually, you don't even have to go that far. There are numerous Shonen manga that portray women better than One Piece.
To say this is just part of the of comics aimed at that demographic is just silly.
Give some popular examples then.. This is the most successfull manga in history, so obviously it is doing something right.
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@King:
Uh, his assistants are the ones who draw the backgrounds, nowadays. Oda mostly draws moving things.
He has 3-4 assistants, if I'm not mistaken. I really hope you weren't thinking he does everything alone.
I remember reading somewhere he did it all alone. But then again, I know nothing abut drawing manga. But still, with how many breaks he takes, and how little he sleeps, it looks like he could use some more help. But I don't know if that would mess up the consistency of the backgrounds.