Now that is good bait. Talk about drumming up conversation with a few chosen words.
Greg: Teacher of SUPER " OP " course !
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Yeah, I don't think focusing on "most interesting" (that is literally the kanji in use so no translation error) is too meaningful. As far as I know there is no Japanese word for saying something like "the hook of the story", I think that's more of what he wanted to convey. The goal sense chapter 1 will be reached but there will still be the fallout after that (i.e. the war at Marine H.Q/Marejois/Fishman Island). Also yeah we're totally over analyzing Shueisha's marketing tactic here.
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I mean again he literally avoided saying that when he could have stated it clearly. Someone should send him some more angry letters for SBS 98.
You are the one who speaks japanese between the two of us, but from what I understood from your own breakdown of the SBS I do feel like my interpretation makes sense.
It comes down to our personal interpretation of what Oda means when he talks about the end of the "monogatari/story of what One Piece is", and to me this is a much more encompassing concept than what you're giving it credit for. You're supporting the idea that this fake "end" is just a stop before the true finish line based on the assumption that discovering the truth about the Void Century and the One Piece will not be the last thing to happen in the series. That's a fine interpretation, but whatever happens after that point is still part of the "monogatari of what OP is", in my opinion.
You argue that Oda didn't need to be so ambiguous and he could have said simply that "the manga will end". Ok, sure, but it's even more contrived to make this weird distinction that Oda is talking about a metaphorical ending before the true final arc. It just makes more sense to follow the consistency and simplicity of the message that OP will end in 5 years, as Oda has been saying for some time now.
And since Oda is starting the great war as soon as Wano is over, then it's even easier to understand that OP could end in 5 years since we're already in the final saga (after Wano).
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I think the only thing which we can really say with confidence is that the scenario where the crew reach Laugh Tale followed by a big war against World Government and Blackbeard won't happen.
That is quite interesting in its own way -
He goes at it vague so he can argue back and have it make sense or pull a reason or two.
The five years were initially for the entire series or was a statement that came off with that intention but I guess after thinking through and with the PR side of things, he had to address that.
Which, in this case while not technically back-pedalling on his words, it still comes off to me as funny because the man had to come out and basically make a PR statement to rectify his other PR statement.
"Yeah, I was right but..yada yada but the important thing is that i will be right and was right.." kind of situation. -
You are the one who speaks japanese between the two of us, but from what I understood from your own breakdown of the SBS I do feel like my interpretation makes sense.
It comes down to our personal interpretation of what Oda means when he talks about the end of the "monogatari/story of what One Piece is", and to me this is a much more encompassing concept than what you're giving it credit for. You're supporting the idea that this fake "end" is just a stop before the true finish line based on the assumption that discovering the truth about the Void Century and the One Piece will not be the last thing to happen in the series. That's a fine interpretation, but whatever happens after that point is still part of the "monogatari of what OP is", in my opinion.
You argue that Oda didn't need to be so ambiguous and he could have said simply that "the manga will end". Ok, sure, but it's even more contrived to make this weird distinction that Oda is talking about a metaphorical ending before the true final arc. It just makes more sense to follow the consistency and simplicity of the message that OP will end in 5 years, as Oda has been saying for some time now.
And since Oda is starting the great war as soon as Wano is over, then it's even easier to understand that OP could end in 5 years since we're already in the final saga (after Wano).
I'm not talking about a metaphorical ending. One Piece is the name of the "treasure" on Laugh Tale and is a physical object. In the SBS when asked if the manga was really ending in five years, Oda specifically stated that the story of what exactly One Piece is will be concluded as a response. Not really sure what is contrived about distinguishing between the object that exists in the story of One Piece and the actual manga series itself. As zeltrax stated above I think he's just kind of backpedaling on what was a marketing attempt on his/Shueisha's part after thinking it through more carefully.
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The last time he said 4.5 years, actually.
Actually he said '4 or 5' years not 4.5 years and that statement wasn't 'last time' as recording for the Arashi interview would have occurred after Vol.97 was submitted for printing.
Regarding 'yameru tte iuka'.
The purpose there is to redefine what the writer suggested. The writer asked are 'you quitting' which is fairly straightforward in English but may have the negative connotation of 'being a quitter' or 'leaving unfinished' in Japanese and Oda intended to make it crystal clear that he's not 'quitting' he will be 'finished'.
Ex:
Q: Are you quitting One Piece?
A: I wouldn't say quitting so much as due to….(Luffy's adventure)....[it's going to/I'll be be] finished.There might have been wiggle room without his definitive use of 'owarimasu'. But it's simply not there.
"But Oda said!"
The mantra one must repeat is, "Oda says a lot of things."
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I love it when you guys fight in Japanese
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Actually he said '4 or 5' years not 4.5 years and that statement wasn't 'last time' as recording for the Arashi interview would have occurred after Vol.97 was submitted for printing.
Regarding 'yameru tte iuka'.
The purpose there is to redefine what the writer suggested. The writer asked are 'you quitting' which is fairly straightforward in English but may have the negative connotation of 'being a quitter' or 'leaving unfinished' in Japanese and Oda intended to make it crystal clear that he's not 'quitting' he will be 'finished'.
Ex:
Q: Are you quitting One Piece?
A: I wouldn't say quitting so much as due to….(Luffy's adventure)....[it's going to/I'll be be] finished.There might have been wiggle room without his definitive use of 'owarimasu'. But it's simply not there.
"But Oda said!"
The mantra one must repeat is, "Oda says a lot of things."
So from your translation, at the least, Oda is saying that finding One Piece is the ending in this volume? Or do you think there is an implication that the war is after finding One Piece? Also, I get that you're saying that Oda says a lot of things that don't come to be, but I'm just more curious about the seeming intention of what is written here.
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Actually he said '4 or 5' years not 4.5 years and that statement wasn't 'last time' as recording for the Arashi interview would have occurred after Vol.97 was submitted for printing.
Regarding 'yameru tte iuka'.
The purpose there is to redefine what the writer suggested. The writer asked are 'you quitting' which is fairly straightforward in English but may have the negative connotation of 'being a quitter' or 'leaving unfinished' in Japanese and Oda intended to make it crystal clear that he's not 'quitting' he will be 'finished'.
Ex:
Q: Are you quitting One Piece?
A: I wouldn't say quitting so much as due to….(Luffy's adventure)....[it's going to/I'll be be] finished.There might have been wiggle room without his definitive use of 'owarimasu'. But it's simply not there.
"But Oda said!"
The mantra one must repeat is, "Oda says a lot of things."
Interesting, I didn't consider the possibility that Oda was rephrasing it from a negative. I still find it odd that he specifies "what One Piece is" before going on to say "will be ending, owarimasu". I suppose he could have just took into account that he would be near the ending either way and decided to go with that phrasing to give himself wiggle room though. Or maybe One Piece could have some twist re-contextualizing the war style ending (seems weird given the foreshadowing). Probably best to just wait and see at this point without worrying too much about random comments in interviews, Gintama missed it's announced ending by a volume last year and that was with way less plot points to juggle and an estimation made way closer to the actual end than Oda currently is.
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I'm not talking about a metaphorical ending. One Piece is the name of the "treasure" on Laugh Tale and is a physical object. In the SBS when asked if the manga was really ending in five years, Oda specifically stated that the story of what exactly One Piece is will be concluded as a response. Not really sure what is contrived about distinguishing between the object that exists in the story of One Piece and the actual manga series itself. As zeltrax stated above I think he's just kind of backpedaling on what was a marketing attempt on his/Shueisha's part after thinking it through more carefully.
I understand what you're saying that One Piece is an object/treasure, but the story of said object is not only its revelation and secrets, but also its consequences, repercussion and debate. The whole manga is about the One Piece since page 1 from chapter 1, and all of the series' trajectory and ending is also the "story of what One Piece is". The final war that will engulf the world is part of that same story since they're connected, so there's no need to separate one from another.
It is contrived since this is such an ambiguous distinction that is completely unnecessary as an answer, especially when you think about the context that originated this question for the SBS. It implies that all of Oda's previous comments about OP ending in 5 years (which were very straighforward) were also secretly layering this sophisticated distinction without ever mentioning it, and that Oda was never actually saying that OP would end in 5 years.
Of course, you're saying that this happened because Oda is backpedaling from his previous comments, and that's also why it sounds so weird, since Oda is finding a loophole to do this backpedaling. That's a possibility, but I don't think it's very likely.
Btw, Greg just said that the Arashi interview happened after volume 97 was submitted for printing, so if Oda was already backpedalling when he answered the SBS, then he wouldn't have said that OP would end in 4 or 5 years in the interview.
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I don't think Oda is back-peddling; I think he Ben Kenobi'd the shit out of his past statements. "What I told you was true, from a certain point of view."
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@Vongola_Boss_XI:
I don't think Oda is back-peddling; I think he Ben Kenobi'd the shit out of his past statements. "What I told you was true, from a certain point of view."
Been saying he's doing something like this for a year and some change. It was interpreted as "you know more about Oda's story than Oda". Never forget lol
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Just going to quote myself from the Vol 97 thread because it seems more relevant here:
@Gia:
Do people not understand how this doesn't make sense? Why are we supposed to find out what the World Government, the great big bad of the series, did during the Void Century AFTER they are defeated in the Final War? Why would we care about the origins of the Ancient Weapons, AFTER they've been used for whatever function necessary in the final war?
Even One Piece has been directly referred to as the catalyst for truly starting said "Grand War". This is directly from Whitebeard's own mouth before he died. Roger himself found One Piece, and ONLY then did he realize he couldn't do anything.
Essentially the point I'm making is, the main characters have to have a motivation, a reason for fighting the World Government. Oda has to entice his readers to feel invested in the same thing. You know those wonderful flashbacks he does virtually every single arc? Tha'ts because he sets the villains up with atrocities so we can feel anger or sadness towards them. The Void Century is virtually One Piece's biggest version of this narrative method, and it has to be used at Laugh Tale, because that is where it is meant to be revealed, just like many other questions.
This doesn't come AFTER the conflict is over, it must come before. One Piece isn't just a treasure, its something the World Government fears. This is extremely important to understand.
It's almost a logical fallacy to expect Laugh Tale, One Piece, The Void Century, The Will of D and the Ancient Weapons to be explored AFTER they are 100% likely to be central topics in the Final War. It almost doesn't make any sense from story perspective. I have, not once, read a mystery or a work of fiction that hides its most interesting plot points to the absolute most end of its story, unless you are trying to make the whole story one giant plot twist (aka, you've been reading or understanding everything wrong now go read it again). It doesn't make sense to not have payoff for a story like this however. "What is the protagonist going to do with this information? How will the story evolve?" Those would be the biggest questions I'd have.
Not only that, but I do in fact expect the War to start prior to this, I just don't expect it to be about One Piece or the WG's national treasure or Joy Boy, etc. I expect it to be simpler at first: Revolutionaries or Alabasta declaring war and rivaling countries starting to escalate conflicts with each other. Maybe Blackbeard did actually find Pluton but he uses it for threats and subjugation, and maybe not its intended usage. But before Luffy becomes PK? I don't see it. It almost doesn't make any sense for the reasons I stated above.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Also, I think the pure fact that Oda didn't just say "The Story is ending in 5 years", instead of "Luffy's Adventure" or the story to "know what One Piece is" is already interesting point of discussion because of Oda's past statements about "Luffy's Adventures"
A few years ago, he called Amazon Lily, Impel Down and Marineford a "side-story", and yet it seems to be one of the most important events in the manga. So its pretty clear to me at least that he refers to this as a "side-story" because it does not advance the physical progress of Luffy's voyage to Laugh Tale and One Piece.
So in that case, if you look back at this SBS question, you can 'sort of' make the same connection (assuming its what Oda is intending here) when he means "Luffy's Adventure" or "knowing what One Piece is", because after this point, Luffy's adventure would be over. The War that (presumably) would follow is not "Luffy's Adventure", its the fallout of the story reaching its conclusion DUE to Luffy's adventure.
Idk, just my 2 cents on it, not that it means anything right now.
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Sweet. Look forward to reading it! We need as much conversation-worthy stuff as possible as we get deeper into the story and the breaks keep coming! :D
A brief preview for the Nico Robin post.
First,
Now reread the scene in the manga.
How are they different from each other?
Also, how do you interpret Nico Robin’s smile in the final panel? Did Toei meet the mark?
“Nico”
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This post is deleted!
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A brief preview for the Nico Robin post.
First,
Now reread the scene in the manga.
How are they different from each other?
Also, how do you interpret Nico Robin’s smile in the final panel? Did Toei meet the mark?
“Nico”
Just checking, does this have something to do with Greg's analysis? If not, I'll ask that this conversation be continued in a different.thread.
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One interpretation I see to the final war thing is that if an actual world war starts after Wano, when the government decides to step in to take advantage of the dethroned yonkou, for example, but that war doesn't end yet. It just starts, as a merely terrotorial thing with no big ideology behind it.
As the war escalates, the strawhats mostly ignore it and continue with their own quest, eventually reaching Laugh Tale. Then they learn about the Void Century and decide to get involved in the war, defending the New World from the government's attack. So what started as a marine vs yonkou war turns into the Final War to bring the Dawn of the world.
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Well, the NW went 'it's free real estate' when Newgate died, so I suppose that's guaranteed to happen again at the very least.
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Best part of these statements, that have gone through a game of online telephone, is that it allows each one reading it to see what they want to see. Like oh if i tilt it this way it plays in to what i think is likely. It's words through a translation filter interpreted by our biases. This is going to be such fun conversation bait, best/worst part is that even if a no doubts clarification is made you pretty much can't correct it retroactively once the ideas have taken root lol, so let the hot takes roll
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I hate the 5 years statement, but it is better than nakamate speculation, “who is going to die, because I don’t like them” speculation.
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I, like some others, would take it as Luffy reaching Laugh Tale in 5 years time. Aftermath follow thenceforth.
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There's really no way to 'take' or 'interpret' it.
Especially not the 'We'll find out OP but the story will go on'.
Given the question, and how Oda definitively approaches it, there's no reason to question his intention and what he meant. The only remotely ambiguous aspect is his first, 'hai' response.
So, Oda's confirming here (for the first time in the manga) that he intends to be finished in 5 years.
And so long as you don't deify Oda, and have been a fan long enough, you shouldn't bat an eye.
Oda said 5 years summer 2019.
Now he's saying 5 years a year later in the manga. On TV, most recently, 4-5 years.Oda teased year of Sanji at Jump Festa.
Didn't get to fully focus on him.Oda teased heading into Wano at Jump Festa.
Didn't get to Wano that year, or the next.Oda teased a crew member dying the next year at Jump Festa.
Didn't get there until four years later.Oda teased Blackbeard showing up at Jump Festa.
Never showed up that year.Oda said OP is half over around vol.24.
Then again around vol.50Oda envisioned OP as five years.
Here we are at year 23.I uh… I dunno what more people are looking for?
Oda statements are determined. There's zero reason to doubt the resolution behind them. But the man gets ideas, wants to do a proper job, and ends up expanding his story. Do people not recognize the pattern here? I think he can absolutely wrap in 5 (or are we holding him to 4 from last year's statement?) if he wants to. No question! But will he? Doubt it. That comes with the caveat, I don't think it will be as long as some optimists project. But OP ending on its 30th anniversary is where I'd be comfy placing my bet now.
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Oda statements are determined. There's zero reason to doubt the resolution behind them. But the man gets ideas, wants to do a proper job, and ends up expanding his story. Do people not recognize the pattern here? I think he can absolutely wrap in 5 (or are we holding him to 4 from last year's statement?) if he wants to. No question! But will he? Doubt it. That comes with the caveat, I don't think it will be as long as some optimists project. But OP ending on its 30th anniversary is where I'd be comfy placing my bet now.
Do you think "years" should be the proper metric regarding how much One Piece is left? I think we should rather be talking about chapters or volumes, especially when we take into account that Oda will probably be taking more breaks from now on. I'd say the ending should be aroung 1300-1400 chapters. If you're talking 7 years more, 39 chapters per year (or how many do you calculate?), it would be 1273 or so, right?
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Always years.
For all the reasons I listed above. There is no chapter or volume goal. Chapter counts are relative to the random factor of author's whims and Jump breaks. Hitting a chap or volume number is playing a 12-digit lottery. Hitting years is hitting a 4-digit lottery.
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There's really no way to 'take' or 'interpret' it.
Factually i'm sure you are right, but tell that to the internet. I'm calling it here, this will be making the rounds for years to come. The new pirate summit is upon us
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If wano lasted 30 chapters only, WCI another 25-30, maybe.
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Before WCI I always paced the series as finishing "in about 10 years around chapter 1200." That was just always the breakdown that seemed about right given the arcs we knew that remained and how long Oda tends to take for a given location if its not a mega-arc and that's been my estimate for a loooong time now.
After WCI ran for two years instead of one, I switched to about 1250-1300. And that still makes sense to me, and that's about 7 years off with 35-40 chapters a year. (Which is about what Oda has doing)
Wano- 1 more year (counting the rest of this year, wrap up after fighting is done, but done before 2022)
Misc-1 year mystery island, revolutionaries, poneglyph, side stuff, Vivi, Vegapunk, Shanks, odds and ends. Can all be included in other stuff
Elbaf- 1 year
Raftel- 1 year (includes flashback)
War finale-3 years (includes year of fighting BB crew and epilogue)I still include mystery island in there because I think it'll be really weird if the guy that always wants to surprise the readers gave us a clear roadmap of everything years and years in advance, and we knew the entire route with no surprises since Punk Hazard, that seems wrong. I feel like there's still got to be a surprise in there. The final island before Laugh Tale, God Valley, or something else, I dunno. But SOMETHING, even if its just a quick 10 chapter thing like Amazon Lilly or something.
Especially if the war actually starts BEFORE One Piece is found as Oda's statements are implying so some of those odds and ends get merged into the other stuff and a lot of those bits go on in the background without Luffy's direct involvement… I can see it being done in 5, especially if Elbaf or Ratel are actually really short, but 7 still seems about right to me. If Oda gets to year six I don't see him resisting getting to the 30th anniversary, even if that means only doing 20 chapters that year.
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So, Oda's confirming here (for the first time in the manga) that he intends to be finished in 5 years.
If that's the case then this is
a) brutally honest
and
b) really, really cruel. Out of character cruel, warping my limited perception of Oda quite a bit.
Like "people are literally crying right now due to the 5 years announcement, so let me double-down on it in the SBS "
There is nothing comforting in his words the way you lay them before us, at least. Not saying you are wrong or that I personally even need some comforting phrases, but it's obvious what kind of role One Piece plays in a lot of people's lifes. He just shoudn't have said anything, really.
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Always years.
For all the reasons I listed above. There is no chapter or volume goal. Chapter counts are relative to the random factor of author's whims and Jump breaks. Hitting a chap or volume number is playing a 12-digit lottery. Hitting years is hitting a 4-digit lottery.
I like this analogy lol.
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Always years.
For all the reasons I listed above. There is no chapter or volume goal. Chapter counts are relative to the random factor of author's whims and Jump breaks. Hitting a chap or volume number is playing a 12-digit lottery. Hitting years is hitting a 4-digit lottery.
I'm not talking about an specific chapter or volume, but a range, for me I think that chapter counts are better because they don't depend on Jump breaks, while year counts do because there might be less chapters in a year because of those breaks.
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If that's the case then this is
a) brutally honest
and
b) really, really cruel. Out of character cruel, warping my limited perception of Oda quite a bit.
Like "people are literally crying right now due to the 5 years announcement, so let me double-down on it in the SBS "
There is nothing comforting in his words the way you lay them before us, at least. Not saying you are wrong or that I personally even need some comforting phrases, but it's obvious what kind of role One Piece plays in a lot of people's lifes. He just shoudn't have said anything, really.
Remember what Greg said in the same post. This is the same man who "teased" a crew member dying the following year, only for it to not happen for 4 years and it ending up being Merry. He does stuff like this so he can go back and say "well, I wasn't lying".
As Greg now puts it I personally can believe the intention of the statement, but should we as fans actually believe that it will happen? I've been just taking this series as I go. There were so many progress comments and arguments even around the Punk Hazard days because of Law's intention to take down a Yonko (people thought it was going to happen WAY faster than it did) and yet here we are 300+ chapters later STILL awaiting that payoff.
And even then, I appreciated that Oda took his time and fleshed everything out. I appreciated a full arc with Doflamingo and Big Mom. I appreciate that he took his time with Wano and we still are in the thick of it. When its all said and done, arc length honestly makes me enjoy the arcs more because I feel more invested on a full reread. So while I want to hope that there is significantly more after Wano, I can at least appreciate what came before that point.
That, yes, we got here and that is an accomplishment. If Oda wants to draw 3 more 80 chapter arcs and a huge 200 chapter finale, all the power to him. I will be there every step of the way (hopefully) enjoying it and I'd love it if it happened.
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[…] wants to do a proper job […]
All I really need to know. Is he still doing his job properly? Is he not getting pressure from third parts? I'm more than good with it.
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If that's the case then this is a) brutally honest and b) really, really cruel. Out of character cruel, warping my limited perception of Oda quite a bit.Like _"people are literally crying right now due to the 5 years announcement, so let me double-down on it in the SBS "_There is nothing comforting in his words the way you lay them before us, at least. Not saying you are wrong or that I personally even need some comforting phrases, but it's obvious what kind of role One Piece plays in a lot of people's lifes. He just shoudn't have said anything, really.
Next we'll be seeing the glorious five year plan blimp.
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I'm not talking about an specific chapter or volume, but a range, for me I think that chapter counts are better because they don't depend on Jump breaks, while year counts do because there might be less chapters in a year because of those breaks.
If Oda paces himself around a given year though, and cuts or streamlines content to hit that mark, that makes more sense than assuming he's going to try really hard to hit a specific chapter.
Its one thing if you have a 13 volume series and each book has 13 chapters, but nothing about manga production lends itself to hitting specific chapter numbers. Full Metal Alchemist managed to clock out at exactly 108 chapters, but it only managed it by having the last chapter be super sized.
Oda likes to do some big things on the chapter 100 anniversaries, and we know he cut a little content to make chapter 100 hit the way he did, and he shoots for wrapping up arcs around those milestones, but he rarely does a completely clean start or stop on a specific chapter so its very unlikely he cares if the final chapter is 1136 or 1274 as long as that's where the story feels right ending. (Obviously he'll care about filling up a full volume so from one volume to the next its going to be a 10 chapter window.) If he's telling himself "five more years" he's probably going to start pacing himself to that mark, wherever he feels that arbitrary line actually starts. Is it in January? Or July when the series started? Where does he put that mark for himself?
Like "people are literally crying right now due to the 5 years announcement, so let me double-down on it in the SBS "
There is nothing comforting in his words the way you lay them before us, at least. Not saying you are wrong or that I personally even need some comforting phrases, but it's obvious what kind of role One Piece plays in a lot of people's lifes. He just shoudn't have said anything, really.
Yeah but… he IS planning to end in that range, so prepare people now? And in theory its supposed to hype the ending. "Oh, this 100+ volume series that has been running as long as I've been alive is reaching its conclusion? I lapsed for a while becaue I grew up but I'll start checking it out again!"
Its a mixed bag and maybe he should have waited till after Wano to make the announcement, since its hard for casual fans to parse just how thats going to all pace out... and said "entering the final arc now... as both Naruto and Bleach did before continuing to run for another 5 years... but you know sales are lagging a bit and Demon Slayer is doing massively well partly because it was known that it was in its final stretch, and its his job to hype things up. "And ending is coming, honest!" seems like a good thing to promise 24 years in when there's still half a decade to go.
Otherwise it'd be easy for people to assume he's going to stretch it out to year 35 or year 40 and that there's just no end ever coming. One Piece's length is great for people that are already fans, but its daunting and ridiculous and impossible to start for anyone that isn't. As much as I love and live and breathe the series I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone new at this point in time, as good as it is its just such a HUGE investment of time.
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@Gia:
Remember what Greg said in the same post. This is the same man who "teased" a crew member dying the following year, only for it to not happen for 4 years and it ending up being Merry. He does stuff like this so he can go back and say "well, I wasn't lying".
Yeah, this is all clear to me personally. But you know, this is the freaking SBS section. Half of the questions are about what happens to someones penis.
Would it have hurt to add one more silly line after doubling down on the 5 years? Like "But I also said that 10 years ago LOL :silly:"
Instead we deal with this somewhat nebulous BS that may or may not need interpretation.
(Again, remember that he answered someone telling him that people literally cried because of this.)
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But you know, this is the freaking SBS section. Half of the questions are about what happens to someones penis.
Has anyone ever asked if a sube sube no mi user can ever get any friction going? Cause that sounds like a bummer
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I don't understand your problem Jabra. It's comforting to know One Piece will end in a controlled manner. Not rushed due to other circumstances Oda can't control.
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That's a very loose reason to call someone cruel just because some readers are so attached to this work of fiction that they can't emotionally deal with its end. It's just a fair dose of truth, although uncalled for. The crying dudes should just accept it and move on, maybe even prepare themselves for the future.
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Yeah but… he IS planning to end in that range, so prepare people now? And in theory its supposed to hype the ending. "Oh, this 100+ volume series that has been running as long as I've been alive is reaching its conclusion? I lapsed for a while becaue I grew up but I'll start checking it out again!"
Its a mixed bag and maybe he should have waited till after Wano to make the announcement, since its hard for casual fans to parse just how thats going to all pace out... and said "entering the final arc now... as both Naruto and Bleach did before continuing to run for another 5 years... but you know sales are lagging a bit and Demon Slayer is doing massively well partly because it was known that it was in its final stretch, and its his job to hype things up. "And ending is coming, honest!" seems like a good thing to promise 24 years in when there's still half a decade to go.
Otherwise it'd be easy for people to assume he's going to stretch it out to year 35 or year 40 and that there's just no end ever coming..
I do wonder if there is a huge difference in these concerns though compared to other manga. One Piece's is story is huge on just this aspect of "geography" playing a role in the story. We know Luffy hasn't gotten the 4th RP, and we know Laugh Tale now isn't at the end of the Grand Line, but then we ALSO haven't seen Elbaf. We ALSO haven't seen Vegapunk's facility, which is supposedly somewhere in the new world and not at New Marineford/Mariejois (which you can tell by Fujitora's predicament and Smoker's absense that its probably not at those 2 places). This all sort of folds onto the idea of the author "promising" what he teases I guess, but when he draws islands like Elbaf, Laugh Tale and God Valley with silhouettes, you almost feel like he eventually wants to show it.
For example, the only truly notable locations already shown that the Strawhats haven't actually been to are New Marineford and Mariejois, and it there are some possible signs that they may serve as the warfront for the Final War considering what may happen to Fishman Island. Every other location teased has been visited (outside of islands that seem to serve a backdrop to scenes like Blackbeard and Beehive, the supernova in the new world pre-timeskip, or Dragon's original base), which leaves things very interesting for Elbaf, Lodestar, Laugh Tale or God Valley, because they have all be moderately teased before.
Anyway, the point I'm making is Naruto and Bleach don't really have or truly had this issue on a fundamental scale. The only thing I recall from Bleach were fans wanting to see every Bankai, something that wasn't really promised by the author anyway.
For One Piece its not only geographical locations, but also the pure fact that the majority of Oda's biggest characters (Im, Blackbeard, Shanks, Dragon, Vegapunk, Akainu, Admirals, Gorosei, etc etc etc) all have barely been touched upon in the overall plot. It took Doflamingo nearly 500 chapters to become relvant from the first time he was shown. It took Kaido and BM over 300 chapters before they were introduced from their original teases. Kuma is only starting to become more "relevant" now after like 700 chapters (he did have some big moments pre-timeskip admittedly). Vegapunk has been repeatedly teased for 500 chapters….you get my point.
Its just that fundamental concern of the question of "Will Oda address everything in his story?", that really digs into people's minds. I feel like a lot of other manga didn't have this problem because they never really went to the same levels of depth that Oda does in terms of building his world.
So its definitely understandable when people, including myself, are concerned about these progress statements sometimes.
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My thoughts summarized:
[
T](
)he end of One Piece will mark the beginning of Romance Dawn (Not suggesting an actual title change)Personally, I feel relieved reading this statement because to me, it signals the fact that the series as a whole is not coming to a close within five years. I was always incredibly skeptical of Oda’s past statements on this topic. Personally, I just don’t see any way he can wrap up everything in such a short amount of time. I guess five years being short is relative, but given the sheer volume of remaining questions and characters whose storylines need to be concluded, it would be a herculean task to say the least. Significantly, I believe there are two major parts of the story remaining and I think that is both clarified and confirmed by volume 97.
) that I believe this conflict between the Worst Generation members; notably Luffy and Blackbeard, as well as Shanks, could come to a head on the lost island of God Valley.
Regardless of the translation, it’s clear that the mystery of ‘what is the One Piece?’ will be answered in five years. Oda refers to this as the most exciting part of Luffy’s adventure. But it’s important to remember the fact that the story must continue beyond the discovery of the treasure which was left behind by Joy Boy 800 years ago to fulfill a very particular purpose.
Roger was a dying man when he reached Laugh Tale and the pieces needed to challenge the world were not yet in place. He thus decided to disband his crew, using his final words to initiate the great pirate era and inspire a successor to inherit his will and re-discover One Piece.
Whitebeard echoed Roger’s words at the Battle of Marineford where he warned that the whole world will be turned upside down when someone who inherits the will of Roger discovers the treasure which will be the catalyst for a war of epic proportion.
It’s important to note that discovery One Piece initiates the final war, so, barring the Straw Hats proceeding directly from Wano to the final island, it’s impossible for this conflict to begin immediately following the current story arc. What Oda’s statement about the greatest war following Wano refers to is likely the battle for supremacy forewarned by Doflamingo after the collapse of his underworld empire. Morgans similarly foreshadows this conflict when he states that one of the worst generation pirates will soon succeed Roger as the next Pirate King. This group includes Luffy, Law, Kid and the other members of the Eleven Supernovas as well as Blackbeard.
At the end of Wano, the Straw Hats will have three of the four Road Poneglyphs needed to reach Laugh Tale. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Army has declared war on the World Government and the Seven Warlords have been disbanded. All of the Worst Generation members aside from Bonney and Urouge have now been present in at least one major story arc. With the fall of Kaido and potentially Big Mom, the only major player left in the New World, and likely the one guarding the final Road Poneglyph and thus the path to One Piece will be Red Haired Shanks.
We will thus likely see a struggle between the Straw Hats and other members of their cohort culminating in the discovery of the treasure, the key to bringing about the Dawn of the New World, by the one destined to inherit Roger and Joy Boy’s will. All the while, the escalating conflict between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government makes waves around the world.
I mentioned in a previous theory video (Shanks - The Mystery of God Valley;
Considering the current saga building to the battle between the Straw Hats, Big Mom, and Kaido began with Punk Hazard in 2012 and is unlikely to conclude for another year, a war among the worst generation for supremacy in the New World, culminating in the coronation of a new Pirate King can easily take five years worth of chapters.
And so as Oda said, in five years, the story of One Piece ends….
But not the publication of the series.
Despite the huge scale of the One Piece world which features hundreds of characters, each with their own story, the central narrative arc, even in its most dramatic moments, has been focused on the Straw Hat Pirates on their epic adventure along the Grand Line in pursuit of the legendary treasure One Piece. Every action taken by Luffy and crew has been in pursuit of that goal. All of the world building has really just been a backdrop for the adventure. And so when the treasure is discovered and Luffy becomes the Pirate King, the narrative will fundamentally be shifted. Once the mystery of One Piece is answered, a new question will be asked. What then must the Pirate King, the person in the world who has maximized freedom then do with the will they have inherited? Luffy’s fun adventure in pursuit of an impossible dream will be complete. Laugh Tale is the point of apotheosis in Luffy’s hero’s journey beyond which, he will need to now shoulder the burden of history, as Whitebeard foretold, and complete that which Roger could not, bringing the light of the New Dawn. The last phase of the mythic hero’s journey is the return voyage from the special world, here rendered as the Grand Line, the world of pirates. The hero who has confronted their own shadow, represented in One Piece by Blackbeard, must then become the master of two worlds and attain the freedom to live if they have completed this voyage successfully. I’m going to tackle this topic in more depth in a future video, but it’s important to note that the hero’s journey is only complete when they take the power or knowledge acquired, the fire of the gods stolen by Prometheus, and return to the ordinary world from which they departed.
In five years, the story of One Piece concludes when Luffy’s fun globetrotting adventure is complete and the mystery of the treasure is revealed. And so begins the story of Romance Dawn, in which Pirate King Luffy, the paragon of freedom, must confront the World Government and the dark forces which presently hold power, bringing about a global restoration. -
@Vongola_Boss_XI:
My thoughts summarized:
Not sure how much I can realistically see this coming into fruition but I think it would be genuinely nuts if One Piece ended in 5 years after defeating Blackbeard and becoming Pirate King, and then got a title change in the form of "Romance Dawn" lol (I know you don't think this will happen). Im just imagining the series ending at like a 120 volumes, but then Oda announces this as a "sequel" series that runs for 20-30 volumes lol. Would be crazy, I'll admit. I do like that hero's journey diagram though.
Anyway, I do agree with the "structure", in terms of changing the world after becoming PK. Whether or not OP lasts for 120 volumes and it doesn't happen as elegantly as people want, or Oda does something ridiculous and ends up at 140-150 volumes because he can't help himself, is going to be fun to think about as time goes on. I don't really believe it'll reach those numbers though, thats a little ridiculousXD
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@Gia:
Not sure how much I can realistically see this coming into fruition but I think it would be genuinely nuts if One Piece ended in 5 years after defeating Blackbeard and becoming Pirate King, and then got a title change in the form of "Romance Dawn" lol (I know you don't think this will happen). Im just imagining the series ending at like a 120 volumes, but then Oda announces this as a "sequel" series that runs for 20-30 volumes lol. Would be crazy, I'll admit. I do like that hero's journey diagram though.
Anyway, I do agree with the "structure", in terms of changing the world after becoming PK. Whether or not OP lasts for 120 volumes and it doesn't happen as eloquently as people want, or Oda does something ridiculous and ends up at 140-150 volumes because he can't help himself, is going to be fun to think about as time goes on. I don't really believe it'll reach those numbers though, thats a little ridiculousXD
lol crazy, but not entirely without precedent; I believe 20th Century Boys changed title to 21st Century Boys for the last 2 volumes, though they were sort of an epilogue… but also still the same story.
I think the structure is the critical part here; It just doesn't make sense given all the things we know for the true final conflict to come before the discovery of One Piece - and the Straw Hats aren't headed for Laugh Tale right after Wano.
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Next we'll be seeing the glorious five year plan blimp.
I might be laughing right now, but I fully reject the idea on every level. I'm not a heartless monster like Eichiiro Oda.
The crying dudes should just accept it and move on, maybe even prepare themselves for the future.
!
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Factually i'm sure you are right, but tell that to the internet. I'm calling it here, this will be making the rounds for years to come. The new pirate summit is upon us
Complete agreement. I just like this space at AP because we can work through those things.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
I'm not talking about an specific chapter or volume, but a range, for me I think that chapter counts are better because they don't depend on Jump breaks, while year counts do because there might be less chapters in a year because of those breaks.
Looking at chaps or volumes is problematic bc it assumes Oda will tell a given percentage of his story within a given limit.
Again, he first thought he was half done around 24. Even assuming that was near right, if you attempted to target volumes left from that figure One Piece would have ended around TB.
Same thing even now.
It's not 'wrong' or anything, but it's far more subject to random factors, namely Oda's ideas and work ethic.
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I thought Jedi stole your work, but you are 1 in the same
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As its being said, and regardless of your opinion, its important to take Oda's intentions as meaningful or serious.
However, like Greg has mentioned with plenty of examples, the man has yet to truly land on his timescale promises, literally ever.
Its an "ill believe it when I see it" type of thing. "I'll start the greatest war in OP after Wano". I'll believe it when I see it. I'd be more surprised of it starting (I mean Luffys participation) right after Wano, over buildup to it.
Like we dont even know when or how Wano will end. We don't know what Arc follows this one. We don't know if that arc will be directly related to the final war or not. We frankly just don't know anything. The good news it its getting to a point where we will eventually know whats at least coming next, whenever Wano or this Act actually finishes
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If it's the third quarter of 2026 and the series isn't over, should I be disappointed in myself or Oda? It's really my fault for taking these comments that way. Oda isn't talking to me with these comments. It's for those with fatigue or the fan in the SBS having a panic attack. They need that comfort. Same if he ends in 2024. I just read the story and look at most of these comments as unnecessary
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Funny that people are taking Oda’s timelines seriously. Have they ever been right? :)
I think we’ll see a part 3. 30-year-old Luffy.
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention the 花/鼻 pun, Greg! Or do you think it wasn’t intentional?
EDIT:
Greg, in your newest column you mentioned “Okay Robin. We’re waiting with bated breath. (Why do I get the feeling I’m going to cry when it hits?)”
Tears of joy? Or…
Also, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on my observations in a prior post in the thread, given this quote from your column:
“Although everyone looks fantastic, I’m most moved by Robin’s smile. There’s a sense of serenity and comfort there that still even after all these years, feels so well earned after the events of Enies Lobby.”
A brief preview for the Nico Robin post.
First,
Now reread the scene in the manga.
How are they different from each other?
Also, how do you interpret Nico Robin’s smile in the final panel? Did Toei meet the mark?
“Nico”
EDIT 2: Come to think of it, why is Robin smiling in the last panel of 989? She’s the only one. :blink: