Yeah!As Seafarer33 said,arc fatigue is real concern here. Actually it is even more than Dressrosa already. In there,once the all out fight started it moved in 'orderly' manner till Dofla was taken out.But we have too much back and forth skirmish happening here.Many of them seem redundant as of now,though only can be properly judged once the arc ends.
Greg: Teacher of SUPER " OP " course !
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I don’t know why Oda is against 2 or 3 chapter long fights in the story but has no problems having 30 chapters of characters running from one place to the next then back again etc.
Indeed. Enies Lobby worked so well because the two parts were separated and you had 2-3 chapters focused on each fight… now it's all a mess, and it doesn't even improve anything.
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Scabbards staying down after the Kaido fight makes no sense. You would have to dismiss the obvious Fukurokuju vs Raizo and Orochi obviously not really being dead. Supernova vs BM/Kaido and Kaido vs Scabbards were grossly dragged out, but the Scabbards staying down after Kaido was not happening.
Consequences of poor sequencing and Oda's checklist. Doubt he would sacrifice any of these. Gotta figure out how to manage them better. 2 full chapters of nothing, but Supernova vs Yonko was the worst. People still cry about Nami not jumping through a ring of lightning to bait Ulti, but ignore this man spamming fanservice like the events below them didn't exist.
- Luffy vs Kaido
- Supernova must show off against Yonko
- Linlin vs Law and Kid
- Scabbard must initiate assault on Kaido
- Wano ninja battle
- Yamato on Momo duty
- Yamato vs Kaido
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Scabbards staying down after the Kaido fight makes no sense. You would have to dismiss the obvious Fukurokuju vs Raizo and Orochi obviously not really being dead. Supernova vs BM/Kaido and Kaido vs Scabbards were grossly dragged out, but the Scabbards staying down after Kaido was not happening.
Consequences of poor sequencing and Oda's checklist. Doubt he would sacrifice any of these. Gotta figure out how to manage them better. 2 full chapters of nothing, but Supernova vs Yonko was the worst. People still cry about Nami not jumping through a ring of lightning to bait Ulti, but ignore this man spamming fanservice like the events below them didn't exist.
The Supernova vs. Emperors was set up and Oda went through it properly. It was fanservice that Oda promised and delivered, since he had stated Luffy would somehow face both Kaido and Big Mom at once.
Ask any casual reader and they will likely say the rooftop battle was the most entertaining part of the arc so far, because everybody involved had an interesting moment or two and there were only a few combatants in a small field, so changing the focus was never a problem, because everybody was near each other.
The problem is that Oda is not doing the same for the other battles down below, so we end up getting disjointed messes with grunts beating each other up as if they mattered.
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I'm not really looking to get into a long drawn-out debate about this, but I find the very notion that the Worst Generation vs The Established Generation is fanservice or drawn-out to be… odd.
It's a conflict that, somewhat unbeknownst to us, has been building since the Sabaody auction trio panel. We didn't know exactly how that would culminate, but it's obvious that the "big moment" it was culminating to is them fighting Yonkou, the new generation trying to overtake the old. With that said and all of this long-built importance on this, a short bout wouldn't have been satisfying. One Piece is already extremely long, we're long past the point of 2 to 3 chapter battles being able to be satisfying for the ones that have been built-up for a long time. I can get that for henchman battles, but I think you'd get one of the largest uproar the fanbase has ever had if Luffy vs Blackbeard is like, 3 chapters. And the Supernovas vs Kaido/Big Mom is just one peg below that on importance.
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1 It's not meant to be the final fight. Kaido vs Luffy is.
2 It took over 2 whole chapters. Not a single panel to show anything else happening anywhere. It's never been this isolated before. Even the final fights (Luffy vs Doffy or Lucci for example) never took up whole chapters.
3 Taking time out to show moves and Zoro going down even tho he's definitely getting back up is the definition of fanservice.
4 Prolonging things that are meant to be is dragging it out. Yamato is meant to fight Kaido and go down memory lane. Luffy is meant to get the final blow, but has to gain experience. Killer and Law are just there save and distract as the Yonko bounce back from attacks.
5 The Scabbards just came from doing the same thing to lesser results, but didn't take up whole chapters.
It was all just so monotonous in nature and Oda does not do this with so much going on in the background. He chose to do it now. With the lackluster Supernova narrative that already exist in this arc. I really wanted to care more about Killer and Kid's situation, but I don't Law loses me when he's not mentioning the meaning of D. His crew was captured and I didn't care. Zoro is probably the only interesting one that was built up and I have my issues with that as well.
All that build up, to just have a meaningless fight filled with fanservice. It felt like 1 of those Toei filler scenes where the animation is cool and everyone shows off an attack. "Oh, look, Killer is slashing Kaido and Luffy is using a new move too. Did you see Zoro cut fire. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet".
Just going over all of it now, makes me worry for when I reread it, yuck. Oda gotta do better. Hopefully Yamato vs Kaido is done with care and the mistake isn't repeated.
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Fan service
I do hear the argument and reckon it is a valid critique.
But, I would still take that confrontation over the second coming of the Scabbards. I'm not saying their first performance was the best it could have been, the opposite in fact. If anything it was hasty maybe precisely because Oda knew they would be back for more.
But, have they really done anything since their comeback that could not have been achieved earlier before they faced Kaido, all the while providing a single, more condensed and impactful Scabbards narrative ? Raido vs Fukurojuku is only interesting if you have any sort of attachment to either of them, which I don't - they're just not developped enough. The bitter confrontation against Kanjuro could have been a single scene and still carry all the emotional weight. The Momo / Kinemon moment is maybe the one part I would save. Other than that ? Jack vs the Duke would have looked much better as a one-time heated battle when the Minks went full Sulong. Catviper is…up to no good with that weird Perospero revenge. Orochi vs Scabbards happened so quickly that it could fit anyhere in the timeline -
I don’t know why Oda is against 2 or 3 chapter long fights in the story but has no problems having 30 chapters of characters running from one place to the next then back again etc.
Because One Piece is not a battle manga, please understand.
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I like that the Scabbards initiated the assault on Kaido. Luffy respected that and it goes with their Lord's wish. The tributes to Oden and their display of abilities held more emotion than the Supernova's attacks.
Scabbards came off as "for Oden" and the Supernova was to show how tough the Yonko were and that the Supernova weren't too far off in comparison. I already had an understanding of the latter. It wouldn't be that tacky if it didn't discontinue the chaos below them for 2 chapters. That is the egregious part.
I believe the writer almost went 3 chapters of this, but he got his shit together and introduced a nice touch to the arc. It doesn't make up for it, but i'm a big fan of the top 3 commentators in the story, CP0. They restored the balance and addressed the war in whole. Taking up multiple chapters in that manner should be reserved for when there isn't a billion battles right under the protagonist feet.
As a Zoro fanboy, I shouldn't even be complaining about fan service. I have every right to. Sanji just got a beautiful arc to himself, while Brook, Jinbe, etc were done right as well. Sanji in WCI arc is the bar. Zoro getting close to it isn't too much to ask. He attempted to do so, but didn't hit for me. I understand exploring Wano, talking to Tenguyama and Yasuie, as well as Onimaru fighting and Hiyori saving. Where is the vulnerability that Sanji went through? The major conflict of burdening yourself and not letting your friends shoulder it with you.
Zoro didn't have a dilemma of that nature or on that level. Zoro was a sight seer and tourist that ended up caring. Oda was able to give Luffy the backseat in a sense to Sanji in WCI arc, but couldn't do the same on the emotional spectrum for Zoro. This is why I feel nothing when Kaido mentions CoC pertaining to Zoro. it's like your partner forgot your anniversary and tried to makeup for it a week later. Leave me alone Oda. You don't care for Zoro as much as I do. Hopefully he makes up for it later, but then that arc could've been for another Straw Hat smh. Can't satisfy everyone.
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Greg is there a chance Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy?
I thought I remembered a chapter that implied Joy Boy would be reborn and that Luffy may be that reincarnation, but I can’t seem to find it
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Greg is there a chance Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy?
I thought I remembered a chapter that implied Joy Boy would be reborn and that Luffy may be that reincarnation, but I can’t seem to find it
You're thinking of the two kings that the Seakings are waiting to be born and to meet up. It was brought up during Oden's flashback, and current theories peg the two as Shira and Momo, Poseidon and Uranus respectively.
IIRC, Joy Boy was only mentioned in relation to inherited will. He made a promise to Fishman Island and couldn't carry it out. But one day someone (not necessarily Joy Boy, and therefore not his reincarnation) will make good on that promise.
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Because One Piece is not a battle manga, please understand.
Yes, One Piece is a manga of running around from point a to b and then from b to a and repeating this 5 times by arc.
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1 It's not meant to be the final fight. Kaido vs Luffy is.
2 It took over 2 whole chapters. Not a single panel to show anything else happening anywhere. It's never been this isolated before. Even the final fights (Luffy vs Doffy or Lucci for example) never took up whole chapters.
3 Taking time out to show moves and Zoro going down even tho he's definitely getting back up is the definition of fanservice.
4 Prolonging things that are meant to be is dragging it out. Yamato is meant to fight Kaido and go down memory lane. Luffy is meant to get the final blow, but has to gain experience. Killer and Law are just there save and distract as the Yonko bounce back from attacks.
5 The Scabbards just came from doing the same thing to lesser results, but didn't take up whole chapters.
It was all just so monotonous in nature and Oda does not do this with so much going on in the background. He chose to do it now. With the lackluster Supernova narrative that already exist in this arc. I really wanted to care more about Killer and Kid's situation, but I don't Law loses me when he's not mentioning the meaning of D. His crew was captured and I didn't care. Zoro is probably the only interesting one that was built up and I have my issues with that as well.
All that build up, to just have a meaningless fight filled with fanservice. It felt like 1 of those Toei filler scenes where the animation is cool and everyone shows off an attack. "Oh, look, Killer is slashing Kaido and Luffy is using a new move too. Did you see Zoro cut fire. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet".
Just going over all of it now, makes me worry for when I reread it, yuck. Oda gotta do better. Hopefully Yamato vs Kaido is done with care and the mistake isn't repeated.
You're clearly in the minority. Those were easily the most well-received chapters in the whole arc.
Exactly because it focused solely on one scene, much like pre-timeskip.
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You're clearly in the minority. Those were easily the most well-received chapters in the whole arc.
Exactly because it focused solely on one scene, much like pre-timeskip.
So you restrict the way you view the story based on how the majority see it? Good to know.
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So you restrict the way you view the story based on how the majority see it? Good to know.
If the vast majority of people liked it, then Oda did something right. That's basic logic.
Especially when the rest of the Onigashima raid has been received endless complaints about being disjointed and messy, akin to Dressrosa.
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Hmmm…
I can't agree with that.
If a majority like something, it just mean Oda did something right...for those people.
Like a Michael Bay movie.
They do incredibly well and of the people who are movie-goers, their success suggests a majority of people likely to go to the movies, purchase those tickets.
...they're still awful movies.
Majority = 'Right' is a limiting way to look at...pretty much anything. As for manga, especially how easily opinion is swayed by a few commentators, it's almost dangerous.
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If the vast majority of people liked it, then Oda did something right. That's basic logic.
Especially when the rest of the Onigashima raid has been received endless complaints about being disjointed and messy, akin to Dressrosa.
The majority of this fandom
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drooled over bounties when Sengoku was giving a glimpse into the members and nature of Rocks
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they went a whole tweet thread, and even this forum, defending misogyny while claiming they aren't misogynist
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claim it's not a personal thing to not use Yamato's proper pronouns when all their reasoning says otherwise
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Oda catered a whole arc to Sanji and referred to 1 of the years as "the year of Sanji" and they acted like it wasn't because "he didn't get his fight". Those same people that are in awe or disagreement with Judge act so much like him concerning Sanji
If the standards of the majority are what you see as "Oda doing right" then you can subscribe to that. I won't.
Critique is to understand the story and judge it from there. Creating rewrites while dismissing or forgetting crucial parts of it is a clear sign of not being able to keep up with the story. Oda is not above criticism.
I did not like the build up of the worst gen. in this arc. Specifically everyone outside of Luffy. There was almost no weight to the Worst Gen vs Yonko. All I see is "the era is slowly changing" and Wano being a proper setting to that because of it's history.
To your other point, I say that is untrue. There has never been a fight like this, that isn't the final one, to take up 2 (almost 3 to be technical) whole chapters while so much is going on right under their feet. Oda literally suspended the story outside of Yonko vs Supernova. Killer being able to attack Kaido is pure fan service. Those 2 seconds he spoke to Hawkins meant way more because it fits. Hawkins betrayed them and they are meant to go at it. Killer showed that he knew his way around Apoo's ability. Hawkins not only holds weight as a Killer opponent, but will be intriguing.
I am not obligated to tuck my feelings for that away because the low standards of the majority are infatuated with meaningless punching that suffocated the story for some time. I'm clearly not a better writer than Oda like some that offer up their own headcanon to please others. I do have every right to dislike how he handled it.
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Hmmm…
I can't agree with that.
If a majority like something, it just mean Oda did something right...for those people.
Like a Michael Bay movie.
They do incredibly well and of the people who are movie-goers, their success suggests a majority of people likely to go to the movies, purchase those tickets.
...they're still awful movies.
Majority = 'Right' is a limiting way to look at...pretty much anything. As for manga, especially how easily opinion is swayed by a few commentators, it's almost dangerous.
Hi Greg, just to grab your ear while you are here. In chapter 1017, Jinbei appears to refer to Armament Haki as Iron Body as he clashes with Who's Who. Would that be an accurate interpretation of that scene.
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Hi Greg, just to grab your ear while you are here. In chapter 1017, Jinbei appears to refer to Armament Haki as Iron Body as he clashes with Who's Who. Would that be an accurate interpretation of that scene.
I personally thought that it was him sarcastically "finishing the sentence" for WW, and showing him that he figured out that he's former government.
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I personally thought that it was him sarcastically "finishing the sentence" for WW, and showing him that he figured out that he's former government.
If it's all the same to you I'd rather look for an informed opinion
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I reckon that unless he prefaces it with Oda told me this over a beer you should probably not ascribe anything he posts any greater weight than you would for any other fans
I personally thought that it was him sarcastically "finishing the sentence" for WW, and showing him that he figured out that he's former government.
That is sort of what i thought when i first read it. But it might turn out that Oda will go down the slippery slope of retconning the six forms to be haki based. I'd rather not see it because for me it shrinks the world by making neat abilities simply be aspects of the same old but eh we'll see
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That is sort of what i thought when i first read it. But it might turn out that Oda will go down the slippery slope of retconning the six forms to be haki based. I'd rather not see it because for me it shrinks the world by making neat abilities simply be aspects of the same old but eh we'll see
It's actually a sick burn if Jinbe really meant it. Like the Cipher Pol stuff is just super basic shit with a fancy name slapped on.
Next Jinbe pulls his belly in and goes "this is LiFe ReTuRn, right?? ".
But yeah, add me to the "What's up with this, Greg?" - list.
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To me, linking rokushiki to haki would make the world building tighter. I always viewed haki as a talent tree rather than a power scale. While you have the generic basic usage, each martial art can incorporate them in different ways.
The original rokushiki we saw in Water 7 would be based on the most basic uses of haki. The variants we are seeing now require more knowledge of haki. In a way, Rokushiki would be "haki for newbies", a way to train fighters to awaken their haki.
I read the scene with Jinbe as he calling his hardening "tekkai". First, because if he were just completing Who's Who's phrase, there were still three other unmentioned techniques: tekkai, kami-e and geppou, and Jinbe only named the first one. Second, because those panels only see Jinbe using a tekkai-like skill, not Who's Who, who is not even hit by an attack in those.
So, I take it as Jinbe saying "and this is 'tekkai', right?" to his ability to shrug off a cutting attack.
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Haki and rokushiki existing in the same setting is weird and probably a result of Oda not thinking about haki early on. But now that they both exist, I think I'd rather have they both keep existing and characters being able to distinguish between them for mysterious reasons, than rokushiki just being forgotten, like it tends to happen in most shonen when new powers are introduced. The former lets us get callbacks like one of the beast pirates being a former CP9 member, and I love that kind of worldbuilding.
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For his final act of world shrinking he could consider making devil fruits just another application of haki. You get a really ambitious giraffe and a banana and squeeze real hard and voila! A devil fruit is born
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Not trying to be aloof, genuinely asking, did readers not think Tekkai was a form of Busoushoku? I pretty much always assumed that was the case. Does that rock some theories or something?
So… Chapter 1017...
Tama. She's uh...probably the physically weakest player on the field... and she just trounced dozens of opponents that far outclass her through unusual means...
Huh... Go figure, yeah?
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Not trying to be aloof, genuinely asking, did readers not think Tekkai was a form of Busoushoku? I pretty much always assumed that was the case. Does that rock some theories or something?
So… Chapter 1017...
I could have sworn you wrote a wall of text at one point, arguing that learning Tekkai makes zero sense if something like CoA exists, especially Government Assassins trained from birth, and that this is the greatest hint that CoA was a late addition and not something planned from the start.
Like it makes no sense to learn a technique that has a heavy downside (standing still, apart from Jabra), if there is another technique doing the same thing just without the downside. If that's not the case and it was someone else, apologies. I was so sure though…So now we have that cleared up, but at the same time it means Lucci couldn't do what even the weakest haki users in the series demonstrated (CoA on the move).
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Not trying to be aloof, genuinely asking, did readers not think Tekkai was a form of Busoushoku? I pretty much always assumed that was the case. Does that rock some theories or something?
So… Chapter 1017...
Tama. She's uh...probably the physically weakest player on the field... and she just trounced dozens of opponents that far outclass her through unusual means...
Huh... Go figure, yeah?
Perhaps consider tweeting your thoughts out. So many refuse to even see this that the Wiki says "Who's Who is usin Tekkai" in their Ch1017 summary
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That is sort of what i thought when i first read it. But it might turn out that Oda will go down the slippery slope of retconning the six forms to be haki based. I'd rather not see it because for me it shrinks the world by making neat abilities simply be aspects of the same old but eh we'll see
God I hope not, that would be terrible.
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I could have sworn you wrote a wall of text at one point, arguing that learning Tekkai makes zero sense if something like CoA exists, especially Government Assassins trained from birth, and that this is the greatest hint that CoA was a late addition and not something planned from the start.
Like it makes no sense to learn a technique that has a heavy downside (standing still, apart from Jabra), if there is another technique doing the same thing just without the downside. If that's not the case and it was someone else, apologies. I was so sure though…So now we have that cleared up, but at the same time it means Lucci couldn't do what even the weakest haki users in the series demonstrated (CoA on the move).
With this reveal, the way I see it is that haki is best trained with real experience, I think Rayleigh mentioned it when he trained Luffy, and the CP9 spend most of their time undercover so they miss out.
We know they trained since they were kids but so did Luffy and Zoro, who could also take out a hundred people on brute force alone.
But the CP9 kids were agents so they were also thaught the basics of haki, the same way you train any other martial art. First you need to be able to stand still while hardning your body before you can move freely like that, first you apply all your energy on the tip of your finger (shigan) then you can do it with the rest of your fingers (Shigan Madara) then with your whole fist (haki punch).But after starting that training they get sent away. Lucci spent a couple of years without a real fight working as a carpenter before Luffy showed up.
Luffy started noticing haki since all he did was fight people and right after that he had an intensive training on it, that we didn't see. -
Gum gum fruit aside, Greg what do you think about Zoro's…. drugs ex machina? Because honestly he doesnt deserve this treatment.
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Jabra, that super sounds like me.
Glad I qualified that with 'pretty much'. I guess after enough time (if I said that years back) I just eventually assumed it was another way of expressing busou.
As for Zoro miracle drug. NO!!!! It's completely awesome and here's why!!!!
It allows Zoio to re-enter the field, do something amazing, and then be realistically nerfed for the fallout of the arc. Let's be honest, unless he isn't taken out of the equation, there's not much that can threaten the crew together at this point. It's a very sly move!
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Greg have you talked to Oda about your disappointment with his handling with Page One and Ulti?
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As for Zoro miracle drug. NO!!!! It's completely awesome and here's why!!!!
It allows Zoio to re-enter the field, do something amazing, and then be realistically nerfed for the fallout of the arc. Let's be honest, unless he isn't taken out of the equation, there's not much that can threaten the crew together at this point. It's a very sly move!
I agree. It is awesome. If Chopper or Marco healed Zoro I feel it could equally be called an asspull. At the end of the day Zoro was going to be healed and come back. I'm just happy to see him back in action soon.
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Greg have you talked to Oda about your disappointment with his handling with Page One and Ulti?
I'm not really disappointed in Page-One. Maybe because he was thoroughly trounced early on so I never really expected Oda to have significant plans for him. Just a case of lowered expectations I guess.
No, I haven't talked to him about it. The latest correspondence we had, I showed him the Cowboy Bebop x OP W7 mashup and he enjoyed it. The reason I haven't discussed heavy topics with him is thus.
The first time I expressed my frustration to Oda with his poor (with OP viewed in a mirror) handling of death (or lack of it) I did so in a handwritten multi-page letter in Japanese. I expressed to him in no uncertain terms how it ruined the enjoyment of his work so much, that it even drove me away from the fandom for a time.
By this time, I had already met him and had been working on the series in a promotional capacity for some time so I felt comfortable that he'd know where my opinion was coming from. Apparently, he held onto that letter and kept it close in his studio. Several years after that, I was talking to one of his assistants who said he found that same letter near Oda's desk.
After some more time passed, I was selected by him for a certain project and that's when I really began to learn about the inner-workings of the how and why of Oda's creative process. It's not my place to go them in detail, so I won't but one of the things I picked up is the importance Oda places on handwritten letters.
Some of this is visible to the public in how Oda gives autographs and pictures to famous artists he collabs with and such, but also, whenever he feels passionate about something, he'll convey those feelings in a handwritten form. That came as a shock since it was basically the entire reason I wrote my letter by hand. I've sent him a ton of letters that I printed out, but only two (the very first and the one described above) written by hand.
I want to express a great deal of thankfulness to Oda for how he's handled death the past few years. Yes, his old ways are still there with Pound. But that's to be expected. Anyone not expecting that really needs to pack up and move on cuz OP ain't it if you can't handle that. But otherwise, he's really been doing a proper job of handling death. (You may disagree but that's a different discussion) So before I write him to tell him about how displeased I am with the Ulti narrative, I want to write him a letter expressing how much I appreciate his 180 in reducing wink-at-the-camera deaths.
I've been meaning to do that for a long time. I could easily send him thoughts on LINE (he even said I should) but it's way more important to me than a few taps on a screen. The reason I haven't done so…is because of how I've been suffering with my health these past 2.5 years. I need to be in a relaxed mood to work on passion projects and relaxed doesn't even exist in my vocab anymore. When or if I can sit down with a clear head and concentrate on my heartfelt thoughts, I'll speak to him honestly about these things. Now is not the time but just because I haven't, doesn't mean I won't. I feel strongly enough about it that I want to make sure he knows.
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Hey greg, given some of the comments in the discussion thread, what do you think about oda's increasing focus on the whole "luffy was destined" with the rubber fruit revelations/the giant hat/luffy's hat belonging to roger/rayleigh's brand new comments about being too early/pedro's ramblings about believing in some new dawn.
I'm not sure, but it feels like he's starting to backtrack on some aspects of the series where he said the rubber fruit was chosen because it was goofy/rayleigh's words at saboardy where he said they had a different interpretation. I'm not sure if you share these same feelings as well?
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I'm not really disappointed in Page-One. Maybe because he was thoroughly trounced early on so I never really expected Oda to have significant plans for him. Just a case of lowered expectations I guess.
No, I haven't talked to him about it. The latest correspondence we had, I showed him the Cowboy Bebop x OP W7 mashup and he enjoyed it. The reason I haven't discussed heavy topics with him is thus.
The first time I expressed my frustration to Oda with his poor (with OP viewed in a mirror) handling of death (or lack of it) I did so in a handwritten multi-page letter in Japanese. I expressed to him in no uncertain terms how it ruined the enjoyment of his work so much, that it even drove me away from the fandom for a time.
By this time, I had already met him and had been working on the series in a promotional capacity for some time so I felt comfortable that he'd know where my opinion was coming from. Apparently, he held onto that letter and kept it close in his studio. Several years after that, I was talking to one of his assistants who said he found that same letter near Oda's desk.
After some more time passed, I was selected by him for a certain project and that's when I really began to learn about the inner-workings of the how and why of Oda's creative process. It's not my place to go them in detail, so I won't but one of the things I picked up is the importance Oda places on handwritten letters.
Some of this is visible to the public in how Oda gives autographs and pictures to famous artists he collabs with and such, but also, whenever he feels passionate about something, he'll convey those feelings in a handwritten form. That came as a shock since it was basically the entire reason I wrote my letter by hand. I've sent him a ton of letters that I printed out, but only two (the very first and the one described above) written by hand.
I want to express a great deal of thankfulness to Oda for how he's handled death the past few years. Yes, his old ways are still there with Pound. But that's to be expected. Anyone not expecting that really needs to pack up and move on cuz OP ain't it if you can't handle that. But otherwise, he's really been doing a proper job of handling death. (You may disagree but that's a different discussion) So before I write him to tell him about how displeased I am with the Ulti narrative, I want to write him a letter expressing how much I appreciate his 180 in reducing wink-at-the-camera deaths.
I've been meaning to do that for a long time. I could easily send him thoughts on LINE (he even said I should) but it's way more important to me than a few taps on a screen. The reason I haven't done so…is because of how I've been suffering with my health these past 2.5 years. I need to be in a relaxed mood to work on passion projects and relaxed doesn't even exist in my vocab anymore. When or if I can sit down with a clear head and concentrate on my heartfelt thoughts, I'll speak to him honestly about these things. Now is not the time but just because I haven't, doesn't mean I won't. I feel strongly enough about it that I want to make sure he knows.
It's really interesting to hear how your handwritten letter affected Oda*s writing. That's one thing I really like about him as an author, he seems to earnestly and honestly care about how fans react to the story. Can you maybe shed some more light on the timeframe, meaning when did you send him the letter and at what point in the story did you perceive its effect on the story?
BTW, I don't really know you or anything, but having read your post a few pages back about the extreme chain of misfortune and misery you had to endure the last few years, I just wanted to wish you a quick recovery to good health as soon as possible. You're certainly overdue for a change of luck, jeez.
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Gum gum fruit aside, Greg what do you think about Zoro's…. drugs ex machina? Because honestly he doesnt deserve this treatment.
Kuma undid all of Luffy's damage and passed it on to Zoro, and that was considered by many as one of Zoro's most badass moments.
As long as Oda actually delivers on the side effects of "double damage" and Zoro is hobbled afterward, I'm okay with this.
He was always going to be cured enough to get back up to finish the arc, whats the difference between a drug and a devil fruit magically fixing him up? Ivanokov healed Luffy, Kuma healed Luffy, Mansherry healed everyone, Marco has some healing powers, Law has magic surgery if he has the time… someone healed the Scabbards a bit and that's okay.
Would it have been more acceptable if Law took him down to the basement and spent 30 minutes doing miracle surgery, and then Marco came by and applied some of his healing too to mend the broken bones and said "Okay, you're healed up but don't stress yourself too much"... when he would have stressed himself regardless? What if someone had just gotten him a glass of milk and that instant healed and regrew his bones like it does for Luffy and Brook? (Yes, its always played as a post-drama gag, but it IS how healing milk works officially in OP) The other avenues for a short term miracle cure were already there so it's not like this was the ONLY method Oda had available.. even if the execution is a little fussy.
He's also the only crew member that would really be able to handle bonus pain as a side effect, so it makes sense if this isn't pulled out for every dire situation or near death encounter... and any situation where it'd be better to heal naturally rather than an in an emergency you won't want to take it. It's not a senzu bean, so it won't fix snapped necks probably.
If we get another Sabondy situation where Zoro is bandaged and sidelined for the next arc, that's actually helpful for lowering the crew's power ceiling when they fight giants or whatever..
Though it will be upsetting if Chopper doesn't carry around at least a few doses of this for later.
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Kuma undid all of Luffy's damage and passed it on to Zoro, and that was considered by many as one of Zoro's most badass moments.
As long as Oda actually delivers on the side effects of "double damage" and Zoro is hobbled afterward, I'm okay with this.
Yes, the first time it was a cool moment.
This time? Even if Oda nails the after effects it will only be a copy of a hype moment.
Unless this leads to Zoro being used as S&M partner by King during their fight
Or
To an arc in which Zoro is benched, which in turn allows for another SH to shine,
Oda has no way to deliver this deus ex properly.Would it have been more acceptable if Law took him down to the basement and spent 30 minutes doing miracle surgery, and then Marco came by and applied some of his healing too to mend the broken bones and said "Okay, you're healed up but don't stress yourself too much"… when he would have stressed himself regardless?
More acceptable, because at least it wouldn't have been out of nowhere. People were already expecting Marco or Chopper to temporarily heal Zoro, even going as far as theorizing the use of the Oni virus in his recovery. As it stands, the Mink bean is purw BS.
What if someone had just gotten him a glass of milk and that instant healed and regrew his bones like it does for Luffy and Brook? (Yes, its always played as a post-drama gag, but it IS how healing milk works officially in OP)
That would've been even morw bull shit, if anything because a glass of milk would have no side effects.
The other avenues for a short term miracle cure were already there so it's not like this was the ONLY method Oda had available.. even if the execution is a little fussy.
No, which is exactly why this is even worse. Oda had other ways to bring back his precious Zoro to the battlefield. And he chose the one that had no build up and is pure nonsense, the Special Mink Milk they didn't even use when Jack was trashing their living homeland.
He's also the only crew member that would really be able to handle bonus pain as a side effect, so it makes sense if this isn't pulled out for every dire situation or near death encounter…
And that makes it even more boring. You're giving the miracle cure to the ONE character who can handle it, instead of using it on someone on whom the side effects could actually have, you know–-effects!
If we get another Sabondy situation where Zoro is bandaged and sidelined for the next arc, that's actually helpful for lowering the crew's power ceiling when they fight giants or whatever..
This is the only point where I agree with you. Is Zoro is sidelined for an entire arc, things MIGHT get interestig. Just might.
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Wonder if Oda will ever take a hatchet to Jango and retcon his i ate a mushroom that grew on my chin hypnotism into being one of the two acceptable sources of power
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Yes, the first time it was a cool moment.
This time? Even if Oda nails the after effects it will only be a copy of a hype moment.
Unless this leads to Zoro being used as S&M partner by King during their fight
Or
To an arc in which Zoro is benched, which in turn allows for another SH to shine,
Oda has no way to deliver this deus ex properly.I fear this might be the outcome. It's my fav moment in the series still.
Since it's not set in stone yet, i'll wait to see if Oda can avoid being repetitive and create something new that I didn't see coming.
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Wonder if Oda will ever take a hatchet to Jango and retcon his i ate a mushroom that grew on my chin hypnotism into being one of the two acceptable sources of power
I hope he'll leave Jango and Miss Goldenweek alone
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I'm not really disappointed in Page-One. Maybe because he was thoroughly trounced early on so I never really expected Oda to have significant plans for him. Just a case of lowered expectations I guess.
No, I haven't talked to him about it. The latest correspondence we had, I showed him the Cowboy Bebop x OP W7 mashup and he enjoyed it. The reason I haven't discussed heavy topics with him is thus.
The first time I expressed my frustration to Oda with his poor (with OP viewed in a mirror) handling of death (or lack of it) I did so in a handwritten multi-page letter in Japanese. I expressed to him in no uncertain terms how it ruined the enjoyment of his work so much, that it even drove me away from the fandom for a time.
By this time, I had already met him and had been working on the series in a promotional capacity for some time so I felt comfortable that he'd know where my opinion was coming from. Apparently, he held onto that letter and kept it close in his studio. Several years after that, I was talking to one of his assistants who said he found that same letter near Oda's desk.
After some more time passed, I was selected by him for a certain project and that's when I really began to learn about the inner-workings of the how and why of Oda's creative process. It's not my place to go them in detail, so I won't but one of the things I picked up is the importance Oda places on handwritten letters.
Some of this is visible to the public in how Oda gives autographs and pictures to famous artists he collabs with and such, but also, whenever he feels passionate about something, he'll convey those feelings in a handwritten form. That came as a shock since it was basically the entire reason I wrote my letter by hand. I've sent him a ton of letters that I printed out, but only two (the very first and the one described above) written by hand.
I want to express a great deal of thankfulness to Oda for how he's handled death the past few years. Yes, his old ways are still there with Pound. But that's to be expected. Anyone not expecting that really needs to pack up and move on cuz OP ain't it if you can't handle that. But otherwise, he's really been doing a proper job of handling death. (You may disagree but that's a different discussion) So before I write him to tell him about how displeased I am with the Ulti narrative, I want to write him a letter expressing how much I appreciate his 180 in reducing wink-at-the-camera deaths.
I've been meaning to do that for a long time. I could easily send him thoughts on LINE (he even said I should) but it's way more important to me than a few taps on a screen. The reason I haven't done so…is because of how I've been suffering with my health these past 2.5 years. I need to be in a relaxed mood to work on passion projects and relaxed doesn't even exist in my vocab anymore. When or if I can sit down with a clear head and concentrate on my heartfelt thoughts, I'll speak to him honestly about these things. Now is not the time but just because I haven't, doesn't mean I won't. I feel strongly enough about it that I want to make sure he knows.
Thank you for the response Greg!
If it’s not to much to ask, can I hear your thoughts on the possibility of Luffy being the reincarnation of Joy Boy?
And who do you think the two Sovereigns that the whales were talking about were?
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Jabra, that super sounds like me.
Glad I qualified that with 'pretty much'. I guess after enough time (if I said that years back) I just eventually assumed it was another way of expressing busou.
As for Zoro miracle drug. NO!!!! It's completely awesome and here's why!!!!
It allows Zoio to re-enter the field, do something amazing, and then be realistically nerfed for the fallout of the arc. Let's be honest, unless he isn't taken out of the equation, there's not much that can threaten the crew together at this point. It's a very sly move!
Wait did you just say that there is nothing that can threaten the crew at this point ? If that’s the case then Oda has done a poor job handling this arc
A Yonko crew not being capable of handling the straw hats and getting stomped by them.. such a good writing..
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Kuma undid all of Luffy's damage and passed it on to Zoro, and that was considered by many as one of Zoro's most badass moments.
But the part people like was Zoro taking damage to protect his captain life. Not Luffy getting cured magically. And also didnt using that magic cure to resolve the conflict. He stayed inactive until Thriller Bark was done.
He was always going to be cured enough to get back up to finish the arc, whats the difference between a drug and a devil fruit magically fixing him up? Ivanokov healed Luffy, Kuma healed Luffy, Mansherry healed everyone, Marco has some healing powers, Law has magic surgery if he has the time… someone healed the Scabbards a bit and that's okay.
Usually healing is saved for post arc. When the conflict is done and the injuries are no longer important so we renew character's health bar for the next story. Zoro brushing off getting being taken out by the enemy isnt exactly the same. It has happen before like Ivankov but usually there's at least an effort to make it look like a difficult or lengthy process to go through so we dont feel like the solution came easy. On this one the presentation is pretty casual.
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@Joy:
Wait did you just say that there is nothing that can threaten the crew at this point ? If that’s the case then Oda has done a poor job handling this arc
A Yonko crew not being capable of handling the straw hats and getting stomped by them.. such a good writing..
He said "not much", not "nothing". And that's how it should be since we are entering the end game of the story and are fighting against two of the Yonko right now. It would be worrysome if the crew couldn't deal with most enemies after this. Aside from the Admirals and Blackbeard, there really shouldn't be many people left that pose a threat to the crew as a whole.
Also, can you maybe post an example of any major enemy getting "stomped" by any of the Strawhats so far? And no, getting a hit in or managing to hurt an enemy is not the same as stomping them, or else the Strawhats stomped every single enemy they ever fought.
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To an arc in which Zoro is benched, which in turn allows for another SH to shine,
Oda has no way to deliver this deus ex properly.Usually healing is saved for post arc. When the conflict is done and the injuries are no longer important so we renew character's health bar for the next story. Zoro brushing off getting being taken out by the enemy isnt exactly the same. It has happen before like Ivankov but usually there's at least an effort to make it look like a difficult or lengthy process to go through so we dont feel like the solution came easy. On this one the presentation is pretty casual.
We've already been promised side effects of "double damage" when this is done. As long as Oda follows through on that and Zoro's out of it for a while after the arc, it's fine. Might even be a much needed nerf to let the next arcs not be solved immediately by an overpowered crew.
If Oda DOESN'T follow through on that promise, then it's absolutely fair to complain then about the miracle cure.
But then, would it have been any better if Law just peformed battlefield surgery or if Marco gave all his energy to heal him? He was getting a mid-battle heal one way or another. Heck, it's canon that broken bones are cured with a single glass of milk so…
I do suspect the healing will wear out right in the middle of his fight so we'll get a situation like he had against Hachi, which we haven't had in 20 years..
Also, can you maybe post an example of any major enemy getting "stomped" by any of the Strawhats so far? And no, getting a hit in or managing to hurt an enemy is not the same as stomping them, or else the Strawhats stomped every single enemy they ever fought.
Bellammy is probably the most pertinent example, and the Fishman pirates… but both of those cases were examples of "the strawhats are strong and these enemies are out of their league."
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I think that the six forms is more as haki kata/image training , something to train the wg agents to be ready for haki if they develop it, and to have some use in battle if they don’t.
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Bellammy is probably the most pertinent example, and the Fishman pirates… but both of those cases were examples of "the strawhats are strong and these enemies are out of their league."
Oh sorry, I should have clarified that I meant this arc and this battle against the Beast Pirates. Yes, Bellamy is an actual case of an enemy getting stomped. I would also consider what Big Mom did to Page-One as stomping him, but since Joy Boy specifically said the Strawhats are stomping their enemies easily…
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@Joy:
Wait did you just say that there is nothing that can threaten the crew at this point ? If that’s the case then Oda has done a poor job handling this arc
A Yonko crew not being capable of handling the straw hats and getting stomped by them.. such a good writing..
Yes, because Kaidou owning the SH's continously and being an insurmountable obstacle in the SH's path so we have to do a timeskip 2.0 OR Kaidou defeating the one that is the protaganist in the series on a path to become the pirate king and thereby ending the series alltogether without Luffy or any of the SH's for that matter fullfilling their dreams is what? Good writing?
Granted it would be quite unexpected, but I wouldn't call it good.