Volumes 95-96: Oden
Been putting the writeup of this one off for way too long. Too many Thoughts.
Before we get to the Oden flashback, we get the close of Act II and a bit of Reverie fallout. Zoro receives Enma from Hiyori, which is a bit of a bait and switch considering Nidai Kitetsu's earlier and ultimately irrelevant appearance. Enma certainly continues the "cursed sword" theme Zoro has going so I don't hate it, but it once again feels like missed opportunities. Zoro once again gets no exploration of his Shimotsuki roots, and the passing of Oden's legacy in part to Zoro isn't given much emphasis. Oden's other sword, Ame no Habakiri, is barely present at all and both swords are some real missed opportunities for powerful symbolism.
Elsewhere, things have gone down at Reverie. We're kind of initially led to believe that Sabo has died, but many of the reactions seem to be more disbelief and outrage than grief. It suits the actual events that'll take 100 chapters to be revealed.
Ok, so Oden's flashback is, in my opinion, one of the weakest flashbacks in the series. It suffers from a couple major flaws: an extreme case of tell-don't-show, a lack of emotional connection, serious Mary Sue energy, and of course Oden's very poor decision-making. The first has been obvious with the constant (unproven) stories of Oden's greatness up to this point and is immediately hammered home with an expository list of Oden's childhood exploits, including some very uncomfortable lines about Oden's sexual prowess as a kid. Oden's major traits appear to be strength, recklessness, and trust to a fault- we're left to accept that his apparently magnetic personality and all-encompassing prowess lead to his success and loyal following from the Scabbards. The breadth of time this flashback covers (21 years) really exacerbates this issue, as we have very little time to approach and examine events organically in lieu of the inexorable montage.
This leads in to the second, and I would argue greatest, issue with Oden's flashback: there's very little emotional connection forged between Oden and Momonosuke or his retainers. Many of the retainers are recruited in just a panel or two so we don't get a chance to see the nature of their personal bond to Oden; we have to assume it's simply similar to the rest of the group. This similarity plagues the Scabbards and makes their characters really blend together, as most could be easily replaced in a given scene with one of the others. It's compounded by Oden's voyages with Whitebeard and Roger: while certainly the most interesting parts from a lore perspective, the focus of the flashback also fully shifts to Oden's observations of these two characters. The characters having the flashback are literally left behind. Momonosuke himself gets basically no focus until after after Oden's execution either so his bond with his father feels incredibly tacked on.
It stands in stark contrast to Kuma's flashback, which I think does a similar thing much better. Both Kuma and Oden are heavily linked to the lore of One Piece and interact with a variety of important figures across a span of decades. The difference is that Kuma's flashback is built around the emotion of his character and Oden's is built around his exploits. Kuma is introduced as a child and we get more time to see him form as person. Kuma's also always thinking of Ginny and Bonney and we get to see tons of adorable shots of them playing and living together. We get a couple of those with Oden, but he famously leaves his family behind to go satisfy his own need for adventure. He's criticized for it, but even that criticism is treated as a gag and he's ultimately supposedly doing the right thing. The end result is that Kuma's flashback is deeply rooted in the mutual love between him and Bonney while Oden rarely appreciates or reciprocates the devotion his retainers show him.
However, on this read-through, I didn't hate the flashback as much as the first time! I realized that Oden has a lot of parallels to Hercules and reading into those homages helped add a bit more thematic depth to the flashback. Hercules is, of course, the most famous Greek hero, a larger than life figure who acted first and made reparations later. Many of Oden's own exploits parallel Hercules's Labors and other adventures. For instance, in Oden's introductory spiel he's mentioned as having diverted a river to end a drought, similar to Hercules using a river to clean the Augean stables. His first actions we see are to defeat the Mountain God, a stand in for the Erymanthian Boar. You could argue that his conquest and civilizing of Kuri, repeatedly referred to as "Hell," is equivalent to capturing Cerberus (Ashura Douji) from Hades. Oden's adventures at sea are Hercules's time with the Argonauts. It's a bit of a stretch, but Kaido could be the dragon Ladon guarding the apples of the Hesperides (food for Wano, broadly speaking). Orochi's poisoned arrows that threaten the citizens are Hercules's own poisoned arrows that bring about his death. And Orochi himself is clearly the Hydra, Hercules's most famous enemy, who is beheaded and killed by fire. Hercules himself willingly builds his own pyre, just as Oden accepts his execution by boiling.
What's the thematic relevance? Well, trust and retribution are huge features of Greek myths. Hercules and other heros always take others at their word: if that trust is broken (and it often is), usually either the betrayer is dramatically killed or the hero dies tragically. Oden, likewise, expects the best of everyone. He's frequently the beneficiary of others giving him the benefit of the doubt and honoring the spirit of their agreements: his retainers' compact, Yasuie sponsoring the Scabbards, Whitebeard allowing him on the ship, Roger needing him for only a year, and so on. Because he's treated well and strong enough to weather any bad consequences, Oden trusts easily. It's only the bad guys, Orochi and Kaido and I guess Kanjuro, who break their word, and Oden's open trust leaves him open to defeat at their hands. The only issue with this is that Orochi tells Oden point-blank that it's his goal to destroy Wano and Oden still expects him to stick to his word. There are no contingency plans and no insurance, and it drives many of us readers absolutely mad.
Additionally, one of the most compelling and sympathetic aspects of Hercules's story is that he's unfairly the target of Hera's ire and becomes essentially cursed because of the circumstances of his birth. Hercules spends most of his life attempting to appease Hera and atone for the crimes his curse has caused. He overcomes all that adversity and comes to terms with Hera only to die because his jealous wife is tricked by a long-dead enemy killed by Hercules himself. He is, in the classic Greek way, hoisted on his own petard. Oden is cursed with nothing but a nebulous wanderlust. He's the heir of the ruling family but doesn't visibly struggle with expectations of leadership or culture, frequently benefiting from his station. We're told he seeks to right some of his accidental wrongs, but most of that occurs prior to where the flashback actually begins. We essentially feel no conflict within the character of Oden. Oden's eventual return to Wano is I suppose an indication he's conquered his wanderlust and is ready to settle down. It's rather noticeable that Oden is never really criticized in the context of the narrative except for one time: when Kaido points out that a younger Oden would have continued to attack instead of cutting a deal to protect the people of Wano, likely saving them in the long run. You can say that it's Oden's ironic fate to fall only once he's ready to become a family man, but it's also an extremely weird moral to suggest, without effective rebuttal, that responsibility for the people and a desire to (finally) be a good father is a weakness.
One last parallel for Oden before I stop ranting: Luffy and Oden. Oden is primarily characterized as strong, reckless, and trusting. He's the irreverent scion of an important bloodline who wants to see the world and picks up a collection of odd outcasts along the way. Luffy's obviously all that too, and it's difficult to say how much he would do differently in Oden's position. Why, then, is Luffy so beloved by fans while Oden is such a divisive figure? I think it's because of the difference between their relationships with their respective groups. Even if Luffy cut the same deal with Orochi, I have trouble believing that he wouldn't tell his crew or that they wouldn't find out on their own. The Strawhats are devoted to and believe in Luffy, but they're also extremely cognizant of his shortcomings. There's no hero worship and certainly no feudal relationship (see: Straw Hat Grand Fleet). The Strawhats are a unique and dynamic bunch who emphasize covering for one another's weaknesses; the Scabbards, while coming from a variety of backgrounds, share the same goal and very similar skill sets with a few exceptions. They tend to blend together once they're back on the same page. The Scabbards attempt to compensate for Oden's weaknesses but are rarely given the chance; they never overrule him, nor do they succeed where he fails. And, most importantly, they leave Oden's flaws unexamined. Oden is very clearly a flawed figure and becomes much more interesting as a gray character, but the characters and narrative never do anything but hold him up as a paragon of Wano. This approach hurts the Scabbards' characterization but it does the biggest damage to Momonosuke, who is clearly struggling under the weight of Oden's outsized shadow. The recognition that Oden wasn't perfect would do wonders for his son's growth and self-esteem but sadly it's a lesson he never learns.
In the falling action of the flashback and the subsequent events in the present we get the twin reveals of Denjiro and Kanjuro. Denjiro's is fine, I guess. He was already to be suspected Kyoshiro so it's not terrible surprising, but the flashback reveal and his later appearance at the port are both rather perfunctory and lacking in excitement. Kanjuro, meanwhile, gets more interesting in maybe the worst way possible. Orochi's explanation that Kanjuro is an actor who only wants to die is an extraordinarily lazy way to square his betrayal with his presence at the execution. He wasn't exactly a standout character earlier, but his complete subservience to Orochi and lack of ambition denies him all agency. Kanjuro's powers get more interesting but his character takes an absolute dive.
But now the boys are back! And the future writeups can't possibly be as long as this one, right? Right?