It is oftenly theorized that even when you get the location of Laugh Tale, there's still some trick to access it.
And one of the most popular thoughts, is that you need a Ship made of Adam Tree wood to get in there, since the passage to Laugh Tale could be highly diffcult, any normal ship wouldn't make it.
Which makes me believe, Saber Of Xebec, is definitely made of Adam's Wood.
We will have to see what Oda does with it, but I think giving Shillew Absolams invisibility fruit was a huge missed opportunity. The fan theory about Shillew killing Jozu and stealing the Diamond fruit setting up for Zoros final challenge of learning to cut Diamond made so much sense.
As for invisibility, its unclear how you can even get it to work at this point in the story when observation haki is a thing. I guess his battle with Zoro will come down to a battle of CoO? Which again makes no sense as that is supposed to be Sanjis speciality? Again, not a fan.
Cutting diamond isn't all that impressive with high indestructible centuries old poneglyphs stones and sea stone around.
Probably best not to put too much thought in Zoro's endgame fight and how it'll go.
Before Shillew even got the DF haki has long minimized devil fruit advantages.
Even if he can locate him with Haki, I imagine it would still be a nuisance. You know, just one more thing to keep track of. And I'm not sure how many things Zoro's brain can keep track of at once. 
Even if he can locate him with Haki, I imagine it would still be a nuisance. You know, just one more thing to keep track of. And I'm not sure how many things Zoro's brain can keep track of at once.
Imagine if Shiryu awakens his DF and turns other things invisible.
Zoro. In an invisible room. Invisible walls, invisible tables, invisible stairs. Invisible everything.
If that happens I hope Sanji runs past and gets to see Zoro run straight into solid nothingness over and over.
@Zar:
Imagine if Shiryu awakens his DF and turns other things invisible.
Zoro. In an invisible room. Invisible walls, invisible tables, invisible stairs. Invisible everything.
If that happens I hope Sanji runs past and gets to see Zoro run straight into solid nothingness over and over.
AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH Yes please, all of the above
Actually, what if Zoro's predilection towards getting lost somehow works in the opposite way when everything is invisible and gives him flawless location abilities? Stupider things have happened.
@Zar:
Imagine if Shiryu awakens his DF and turns other things invisible.
Zoro. In an invisible room. Invisible walls, invisible tables, invisible stairs. Invisible everything.
If that happens I hope Sanji runs past and gets to see Zoro run straight into solid nothingness over and over.
Invisible stairs??? That's just horrible, he has to overcome Kuina's biggest enemy, made invisible on top of that
Sorry if my post is not appropriate for this thread..:ninja:
Speech styles are inevitably lost to some extent through the translation process.
Here are my personal rankings of OP characters in terms of polite Japanese speech style.
Brook > Coby > Fujitora, Urouge > Yamato, Cavendish > Kuma, Mihawk > Luffy, Zoro, Sanji (Sanji when talking with a male)
Shirahoshi >> Kiku > Tashigi > Robin, Nami > Ulti, Bonney, Perona > Big Mom
*Brook, Coby, Fujitora and Urouge talk politely even when fighting their enemies.
*Fujitora has an old-fashioned yakuza speech style (ไพ ๅฎข). In contrast, Akainu has an aggressive Hiroshima yakuza speech style.
*Yamato's first person pronoun Boku is usually used by polite male.
Only a handful of adult males in OP (ex. Cavendish) call themselves Boku, so it gives us an impression that Yamato is well-brought-up. Yamato's speech style is similar to Cavendish.
*The name Coby is probably based on a JP word ๅชใณ (Kobi; flattery) that has a similar pronunciation to Coby. He speaks pretty politely.
*Big Mom's first person pronoun Ore is mostly used by male and sounds more casual than Boku.
There are almost no female characters in OP whose first person is Ore. (Oda explained about Ore in SBS.)
*Shirahoshi's speech style is super-polite to the point of sounding funny and unnatural. lol
*If you talk like Luffy with your boss, you'll instantly get fired.
But it's not that his speech style is particularly rude compared to other brutal pirates.
Love it lol! Thank you for that Sandman!
Sorry if my post is not appropriate for this thread..:ninja:
Speech styles are inevitably lost to some extent through the translation process.
Here are my personal rankings of OP characters in terms of polite Japanese speech style.Brook > Coby > Fujitora, Urouge > Yamato, Cavendish > Kuma, Mihawk > Luffy, Zoro, Sanji (Sanji when talking with a male)
Shirahoshi >> Kiku > Tashigi > Robin, Nami > Ulti, Bonney, Perona > Big Mom
*Brook, Coby, Fujitora and Urouge talk politely even when fighting their enemies.
*Fujitora has an old-fashioned yakuza speech style (ไพ ๅฎข). In contrast, Akainu has an aggressive Hiroshima yakuza speech style.
*Yamato's first person pronoun Boku is usually used by polite male.
Only a handful of adult males in OP (ex. Cavendish) call themselves Boku, so it gives us an impression that Yamato is well-brought-up. Yamato's speech style is similar to Cavendish.*The name Coby is probably based on a JP word ๅชใณ (Kobi; flattery) that has a similar pronunciation to Coby. He speaks pretty politely.
*Big Mom's first person pronoun Ore is mostly used by male and sounds more casual than Boku.
There are almost no female characters in OP whose first person is Ore. (Oda explained about Ore in SBS.)*Shirahoshi's speech style is super-polite to the point of sounding funny and unnatural. lol
*If you talk like Luffy with your boss, you'll instantly get fired.
But it's not that his speech style is particularly rude compared to other brutal pirates.
Whether or not it's approriate, I love seeing this kind of insight from Japanese readers. Thanks for writing it up!
Apologies for the year old bump, but I couldn't find the Questions Thread.
Can anyone remember the in-story reason why Law become a Warlord? I think it was part of a plan to take down Doflamingo, and he was starting with Caesar or something?
@Johnny-B-Decent Yes, he became a warlord to get to Punk Hazard and destroy the SAD room. Last page of 681.
So how many people here are excited to see Carrot, Rebecca, and Paulie fight alongside Luffy in the final war?
@electricmastro I've been thinking about the Big War for a while now, and I wonder when it actually will start.
We, the audience, will learn of the True History once Robin reads the Rio Poneglyph, but how will the world at large learn of it? And the knowledge of Imu's existence, there not supposed to be a World King and all, also will have to be revealed, too.
@Johnny-B-Decent said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
@electricmastro I've been thinking about the Big War for a while now, and I wonder when it actually will start.
We, the audience, will learn of the True History once Robin reads the Rio Poneglyph, but how will the world at large learn of it? And the knowledge of Imu's existence, there not supposed to be a World King and all, also will have to be revealed, too.
I imagine crap will really start hitting the fan once things like Caribouโs knowledge of the weapons leak, as well as a witness leaking Imโs existence too, maybe Sabo or someone else.
Post timeskip arcs
8 Sabaody reunion
7 Punk Hazard
6 Reverie
5 Dressrosa
4 Fishman Island
3 Zou
2 Wano
1 WCI arc
My list:
Egghead has the potential to become second or even first, really enjoying it so far.
I'm just gonna run through these in order and see if it I land on a precise ranking at the end.
Fishman Island
Severely underrated by the community. Beautiful art from a refreshed post-holiday Oda, some big contributions to the series' lore and worldbuilding, and themes of generational trauma and inherited hatred approached with a surprising amount of nuance. Hody's lacklustre crew definitely holds it back though.
Punk Hazard
A foundational arc for the new world, setting up science and alliance plot threads that are still playing out to this day, but it somehow ends up being totally unremarkable when taken on its own terms. Fun moments for returning characters like Law and Smoker, and I enjoyed the final set piece with the gas flooding the lab, but so much of the rest ends up being forgettable.
Dressrosa
This arc is Wano Jr - a bloated epic battle story with high highs, low lows, and a feeling that Oda bit off more than he could chew. The runaround of Operation SOP combined with the then-new break schedule had me questioning the commitment to the weekly read. The moment Usopp took out Sugar at the end of that sequence convinced me I was in it for life. Somehow managed to stick the landing after everything.
Zou
I honestly can't think of a single thing worth complaining about here. It was a fun twist on the formula to have half the crew already arrived to do a standard One Piece arc and then put together the details of that adventure through flashbacks while exploring. The reveal of the Lode Poneglyph leads to probably the most information about the eponymous treasure we've ever gotten in one place and even looking back on it makes me feel excited.
Whole Cake Island
The most successful big arc of the New World in terms of structure and pacing. Oda reigned himself in from the side character bloat of Dressrosa, drawing all of Big Mom's kids but making a clear distinction between the ones that were actual characters and the ones that were just set dressing. Loved the big set pieces of the wedding and naval battle escape, as well as the GoT-reference wedding assassination plot.
Wano
Bigger and more full of characters than anything that had come before, with pacing that reflects it. Kaido's first appearance, Oden's flashback and the start of the rooftop brawl are going to go down as all-time One Piece highlights. The Gear Five reveal is a huge pivot that will define everything still to come. But unlike the last flawed but lovable superarc, it doesn't stick the landing, instead backloading most of its biggest issues to leave a sour aftertaste.
Egghead
Great fun so far, with the retro futurist aesthetic of the setting feeling like the setting Punk Hazard's lab wasn't interesting enough to be. While I'm keeping my expectations in check for action in what will probably be a breather arc, my hopes are high for devil fruit and history lore, and keeping the worldbuilding machine chugging along.
I might rank the completed arcs
1: Whole Cake Island
2: Zou
3: Dressrosa
4: Wano
5: Fishman Island
6: Punk Hazard
Yeah, I have more positive things to say about Fishman Island and more negative ones about Dressrosa and Wano, but I'm a sucker for ambition and epics. A story that aims higher gets points just for trying.
Outside of a minor portion where I find the initial attack on Sugar to be rather annoying, I don't have any bigger issues with Dressrosa. Everything with the coliseum allies to grand fleet forming is probably my favorite element post timeskip OP has done. On the opposite side, I have little to nothing I care to ever revisit from the Zou arc again. I didn't like the minks then and the eventual payoff never ended up worth the ordeal. I'll skip to the scenes with Sanji and Bege and then skip right on through to leaving for WCI.
@Captain-M said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
I'm just gonna run through these in order and see if it I land on a precise ranking at the end.
Fishman Island
Severely underrated by the community. Beautiful art from a refreshed post-holiday Oda, some big contributions to the series' lore and worldbuilding, and themes of generational trauma and inherited hatred approached with a surprising amount of nuance. Hody's lacklustre crew definitely holds it back though.
I get the feeling it has more to do with Vander Decken honestly. There was solid justification for why Hody was presented the way he was in Fishman Island, but Vander Decken, I'm still not sure.
@electricmastro Hody is a pretty great villain if you consider his role in all those interesting themes of prejudice and generational trauma rather than his strength as a shonen punchy guy. His underlings, Decken included, are just all really forgettable, both in terms of personality and combat. I remember getting a few laughs out of Zeo's "I'm not owned" gimmick, but that's the only thing that made an impression out of all of them.
@Zanze said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
My list:
- Whole Cake Island
Up there with Alabasta, Enies Lobby and the likes for me. One Piece at its best.- Dressrosa
Dressrosa was a slog week to week but I've enjoyed rereading it. The gladiators were fun and well-used and the beef between Law and Doffy was awesome. Plus it had Bartolomeo.- Wano
High highs and low lows, much like Dressrosa but doesn't come together as good as the Doffy arc. Still, it has been entertaining mostly the whole through.- Zou
It was short but memorable. Awesome location and Capone was a highlight.- Fishman Island
The action in this arc was sub-par. The adventure secrion was pretty bad. I enjoyed the flashback though, and framing the villain as just a product of his environment was a very realistic choice for a shonen that I enjoyed seeing explored.- Punk Hazard
Some enjoyable moments mostly from Law and Smoker, Caesar was very fun. But overall it dragged a lot and was not that fun.Egghead has the potential to become second or even first, really enjoying it so far.
These are my feelings as well. WCI and Dressrosa are both so much better on a reread when its not weekly. Meanwhile I think Zou suffers when you have the foresight of its twist because of how much the first half exists to mislead the reader.
If we include Reverie and Return to Saboady though, they would be 3rd and 4th respectively. Both are short but both really enjoyable.
1: Punk Hazard. Has some really low lows (Zoro vs Monet, Sanji in Namis body, Law hijacking the plot), but is probably the most "classically" One Piece arc post skip which counts for a lot in my book.
2: Whole Cake Island. Very propulsive and more character-focused than its peers, it would be an easy number 1 if not for one glaring issue: The Vinsmokes. I hate everything about Sanjis revamped origins, and I especially hate the transition to flip the story to saving these """""cool""""" dickbags and the sweaty hoops the story jumps through to make this happen.
3: Fishman Island. Probably the most cohesive and focused post-skip arc, certainly thematically, but also it's missing a second act, the crew doesn't get to do much and...it's just not that exciting.
4: Dressrosa. A big sprawling knot of plotlines that it cannot possibly all service adequately; "Wano jr" is fitting as it shares many of the same problems, but to a lesser degree and with more compelling villains and emotional moments
5: Wano. It's not that there isn't good stuff here, but as the overstuffed culmination to the saga it completely collapses under it's own weight.
6: Zou. Exciting adventures in exposition! Zou gets my award for most criminally underutilized setting in the series, and like Marcotty it's just hard to think of anything exciting enough to compel me to read it again.
Creeping up on the end, so it feels right to do a top 5 villains so far.
5 
4 
3 
2 
1 
My top 5 for villains:
Crocodile
THE One Piece villain imo. He had charisma, strenght and an awesome power set. Plus he was actually ruthless, and the scene where he bullies Vivi is still probably the most hateful villain speech in the series.
His schemes were clearly in James Bond villain territory, but somehow they felt more grounded than other stuff the series would do later. Overall Crocodile just felt dangerous and was super entertaining.
Akainu (pre-TS)
Old school Akainu was terrifying. The ultimate embodiment of fascism in an invincible magma-shitting Terminator who's also a surprisingly good trash talker. Killed civilians without a second thought, killed Ace and is still the one and only character to have broken Luffy. He could have absolutely worked as the final villain.
Post-skip Akainu is just sad, though. He went from Terminator to lazy postal office employee.
Big Mom
The best post-skip villain and one of Oda's best characters in general in my opinion. There's just so much going on with Big Mom: Carmel's misguided upbringing that failed to teach her any sense of responsibility, her intentions being actually good but her methods being absolutely ruthless, her obsession with family, the hunger pangs, overall that feeling that she can only engage with the world around her at a very superficial level.
Then of course there's that flashback.
Add to that fun powers and a comedic edge that never detracted from her scariness, overall Big Mom was just super entertaining and absolutely unique.
Ener
He's not very developed and he kinda felt like Crocodile 2.0 but dumber. That said, man anything Ener did always felt spectacular.
Moria
I just like Moria. The bonkers design, the kishishishi, the laziness, the hinted-at tragic past, all the fun stuff he did with his powers, Thriller Bark as a whole. He's not super memorable as a villain but he's just tons of fun.
Honorable mentions to:
Arlong - super iconic character but yeah he just missed the top 5
Blackbeard - he's already awesome but his time hasn't fully come yet
Buggy - I feel like he's more memorable as a sidekick than as a villain
In hindsight, I wonder if it would have been more effective to have single arcs take place in multiple islands as opposed to one island. Would help lend to more variety.
@electricmastro Personally, that would not have been a good idea with things already being clustered as is.
Wano had different biomes and isolated regions and it felt like a mess. Zoro could run from the cold lands all the way to the capital following Toko in the few minutes before her father was executed, but Big Mom took three days to arrive in the prison. We had no time to explore the islands and variations. Better to have a good concept for an island and a strong visual
@Chams-0 said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
Wano had different biomes and isolated regions and it felt like a mess. Zoro could run from the cold lands all the way to the capital following Toko in the few minutes before her father was executed, but Big Mom took three days to arrive in the prison. We had no time to explore the islands and variations. Better to have a good concept for an island and a strong visual
Would much rather have that than be stuck in some small floating rock for 70 chapters. Never again.
I am curious what Teach's goal is with wanting to become a WG-recognized King of a sudden. Is it just a flight of fancy or is there a hidden intent behind it, like say....getting access to go to Mariejois?
@Johnny-B-Decent said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
I am curious what Teach's goal is with wanting to become a WG-recognized King of a sudden. Is it just a flight of fancy or is there a hidden intent behind it, like say....getting access to go to Mariejois?
Obviously. Blackbeard probably aspires to be King of the World, just like Xebec did.
@danie If he actually makes it to Mariejois, I feel like it's a set-up to secretly steal something from there. Like, maybe the information about where the Burnt-Scarred Man operates from? Or information about Rocks?
@Johnny-B-Decent Maybe. But i imagine he wants to get invited to the next reverie in order to make a move on... you know.
So what characters do you think will be re-introduced soon? Doflamingo, Moria, and Smoker havenโt appeared for over 100 chapters, so prob them.
@electricmastro I believe Smoker might be part of the Egghead Armada.
Despite what was said in Chapter 1090, I'm not sure there's really a whole lot motivation going for Elbaf at this point, given how we've already seen the place twice. There's Robin's Ohara books and Usopp's exploration of the place, but that's about it it seems.
I suppose something could be done about Loki, but I don't really see it being a long arc. Maybe 30-50 chapters at most.
I think Oda hits ch 1400 for this manga. Egghead is already about 40 chapters in. Some believed it would be another short one.
@Cockycent After Wano, my bet after Wano was the story ending around Ch 1250, up to 1300.
With how Egghead evolved, it feel it's still with that range, but it feels we are leaving the lower value and get closer to the higher one.
Recently been thinking about how Oda has slowly revealed things about BB Pirates like captain number, ability, etc. Knew Aokiji and BB's 2 abilities before ts.
Shiryu and Devon got the Wano intermission for their DF reveal. Both being Impel Down prisoners and Shiryu was an employee before that.
Pre ts squad of Doc Q, Stronger, Jesus, Van for Winner Island clash with Law.
The rest of the ID escapees got it against Garp. I don't count the Vivre Card for Wolf.
Laffitte being saved for last and possibly that being this current arc is a possibility.
I suspect there is more to Stronger's ability that can possibly benefit in a fight alongside the Sick Sick.
I've been thinking about Elbaf. Now, Big Mom says it possesses an army that if it aligned with her, not even the other Yonkou could stand against her, but the Giant Warrior Pirates are aligned with Shanks. So, either Big Mom didn't know about Shanks' ties, or as I suspect, the GWP are not the main force of Elbaf, instead being a sort of privateer force for them, like the real life Jomsvikings.
If I'm right, what kind of power does the King and/or his top huscarl have to be feared even by the WG?
@Johnny-B-Decent maybe he has several ships loaded with giant warriors and it's enough to make world gov officials think twice ? Just look at the damage Dorry, Broggy and their cronies do a minute after landfall - and there's barely a dozen of them.
So, Oda has sent Garp at Aokiji. I think there is more for Aokiji on the personal level. Then he has another longtime known character - VP, for Kizaru. What does he do for Akainu?
I was just thinking of Kong, then my mind went to this hierarchy. If you have a Fleet Admiral, what is the point of a CiC? Fleet Commander oversees the Marines, so the CiC supervises what that is outside of that scope? Cipher Pol? SSG falls under Marines or WG as a whole? CiC is for the WG as a whole, so what else is under the WG that isn't Marine related.
That leads me to the Royals. They each had their own security at the Levely. Garp illustrated that larger entities (superpowers) use the smaller countries to go at it on their behalf. Simply influencing them on their behalf. As of right now, the audience are led to believe the Royals and their forces are possibly just as good as we've seen or less s far as being formidable. Yet a nation like Elbaf that is unaffiliated can interest a Yonko like BM so much that she believes their force can advance her past the other Yonko.
Those countries introduced at the Reverie may have some that rival the Admirals. I believe that may be the next phase to couple with the Underworld and Science aspects Oda has been making immediate. I think of Gastino's broadcast with some of those figures in the dark, Reverie guards, Brook's backstory before being a pirate, possibly Laffitte's backstory, mastermind behind the drunken iron ore, the empty throne, why Oda would care enough to tell me which nation's ships Vivi/Sabo/Bonney escaped on, and more that will tie into this royal aspect.
It just feels inevitable. This is about pirates, but there is something the Roger Pirates weren't able to do.
A miscellaneous question I've been thinking about as I'm rereading Egghead thus far; do we have any explicit mention anywhere in the story about Elbaf's status vis-a-vis the World Govt? It stands to reason that they are unaffiliated but I can't recall any mentions of their affiliation in the way that we got with Wano (where we were told from very early on - maybe as far back as Thriller Bark? - that they were unaffiliated).
@Cockycent said in The Great New World Discussion Thread:
I was just thinking of Kong, then my mind went to this hierarchy. If you have a Fleet Admiral, what is the point of a CiC? Fleet Commander oversees the Marines, so the CiC supervises what that is outside of that scope? Cipher Pol? SSG falls under Marines or WG as a whole? CiC is for the WG as a whole, so what else is under the WG that isn't Marine related.
Kong oversees the Marines, Cipher Pol, Enies Lobby, Impel Down and the now defunct Seven Warlords. WG has many more organizations than just the Marines.
@Czechmate As far as I remember there was Saulo's reference to not being a barbarian like the giants of Elbaf, that explained him being a Marine, in Robin's flashback.
And in Big Mom's flashback we see Mother Caramel serving as a bridge between Elbaf and the Marines.
Maybe in this flashback there is a more direct line stating that Elbaf is unafiliated with the WG.
Randomly thinking of Bogard's age in comparison to Dragon. If they both served in the Marines at the same time. 38 years ago, Bogard was at the GVI. 38 years ago, Dragon was 17. Koby joined the Marines at 16, so Dragon being a Marine during that time isn't impossible.
So, Elbaf.
Plot #1: The World Government invades Elbaf as Luffy is there.
Plot #2: The relationship between Shanks and Luffy finally deteriorates thanks to Bartolomeo and Hajrudin's actions, and Luffy being Nika and all.
Plot #3: The arc is largely insular, with some sort of internal conflict. Maybe a issue of succession for the King?
I just hope we get to Elbaf soon before the years is done, Iโm looking forward to it
Don't know what Oda may have for conflicts, but I think these might be the players
I have wondered who is the main antagonist. At first it felt like this Loki guy, but i'm not sure it is some guarantee. On the other side, the issue being in a difference of belief and values. There has been faith and tradition in some of these flashbacks concerning Elbaf related characters. Dorry and Brogy spent all that time on 1 island. I know Giants have a long lifespan, but still that is extreme.
Another thing sticks out. As far as conflicts, I can see the arc before with Law and PH pertaining to Dressrosa. Orochi and Kaido were well known before Wano. If Elbaf is next, what is the clue or if there is a clear conflict spelled out as of now?
Dressrosa seem fine on the surface, but we knew before that Law and the crew would bump heads with King Doffy. Who and what are the crew disagreeing with this time? I bring this up because when I see Elbaf, I think of how okay things seem with the common folk. I don't see much oppression or anyone being hungry. It felt funny saying that last part. For Luffy, someone has to be starving here and there.
Even in BM's flashback, they seem happy over the birth of Loki.
Could Oda be going in the typical "asshole Royals" route?
Should I factor in how many different Giants there have been? Maybe something is there. Ancient Giants, mixed, Yeti, etc. Were the parents of Giants that were born outside of Elbaf originally from Elbaf or not and is there a reason? I know many have left Wano for their own reason. I still think Oda might have plans for Shimotsuki Village and if they are enemies of WG, allies to Revs.
Giants have so much built up, so Oda has priorities he's always planned to address and things that weren't - but some still think should be answered by that Elbaf arc lol.
