While it isn't complete yet, I do think that the Fishman island flashback is shaping out to be the best one yet. With flashbacks in mind, I guess I want to ask what is everyone's favorite flashback and why?
Best Flashback ever??
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Personally i didnt think much of the flashback. Lots of ways it could have been done better. The whole thing felt disjointed and somewhat random…like Oda forced certain things to happen, whereas he could have found a better way of doing things.
My favourite is still the Luffy-Ace-Sabo flashback.
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This flashback was too rushed at the start, just telling us in brief the events of Jimbei, Arlong and Tiger's lives, without actually showing us anything and depending heavily on captions and incredibly brief summaries. That might be fixed by the present day story some later, but it was really messy and rough by Oda's standards. Oda's fallen back to his traditional pacing the last couple chapters and so the flashback has gotten FAR better, but the first bit would have benefited greatly from an extra chapter or two and a little more breathing room.
Personal favorite flashback is either Chopper's or Skypiea's.
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While I loved this current flashback, I have to say I enjoyed Choppers the most and how every thing ended it was just pure amazing! Luffy's/Ace/Sabo was another good one along with Robin's, poor Robin.
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I can't say for sure since i never enjoy flashbacks when they're happening as much as i do when i reread them as a whole later. Not to say i'm not enjoying this one a lot though. But i don't see it stacking up to Norland and Calgara, Dr. Hiluluk, or Luffy, Ace, and Sabo. Robin too, of course. Thinking on it, Oda does flashbacks really well.
@RobbyBevard:
This flashback was too rushed at the start, just telling us in brief the events of Jimbei, Arlong and Tiger's lives, without actually showing us anything and depending heavily on captions and incredibly brief summaries. That might be fixed by the present day story some later, but it was really messy and rough by Oda's standards. Oda's fallen back to his traditional pacing the last couple chapters and so the flashback has gotten FAR better, but the first bit would have benefited greatly from an extra chapter or two and a little more breathing room.
Personal favorite flashback is either Chopper's or Skypiea's.
If he did that, this would have probably been the longest flashback so far. Imagine the complaining.
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@Dan:
If he did that, this would have probably been the longest flashback so far. Imagine the complaining.
ONE extra chapter wouldn't have made much difference in pacing, and it would have made a HUGE difference in quality and effect. I'm not saying he needs to show Tiger's raid on Marijoa in detail or show us Jimbei at age 5. But a little more breathing room would have helped a lot.
And most of the flashbacks since East blue have been 6-10 chapters, this isn't a major exception. And this one had a LOT more characters, history, and world building to deal with than usual.
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I think it's one of the worst, it's already gone on for a lot longer than I would have liked. I mean, I get that Oda is trying to get a lot of information across, but some of the stuff in this flashback is pure filler in my eyes. Let's get back to Luffy and the gang already!
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Tbh I don't like the current one much. The pacing was off in the beginning and I just can't bring myself to care about Otohime and her signature stuff at all, and the thing with Fisher Tiger and the kid was a bit awkward too. Honestly it's the first time since Impel Down and the war arc I just read the chapter when it comes out and immediately afterwards forget what I just read because it's so mediocre.
The best flashbacks, as people already said, were Norland's (by far) and Chopper's and the Sabo one imo.
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Norland flasback was the best.
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The problem with the flashback is that it's going way too fast. Oda squeezed extremely important characters in just a couple of chapters, it's pretty disappointing considering this was one of my most anticipated ones (obviously).
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I think the pace and the character development for this is perfectly fine. We are not to be learning so much about each character yet but rather the whole situation of Fishman island in general. This is very similar to the Alabasta Arc in that the flashback is supposed to show the political and social issues of the kingdom as a whole rather than learning a characters personal history per say. The perfect metaphor would be this flashback is more about Fishman Island and its issue with Racism like how Alabasta Arc displayed its issue with poverty and supply shortage. This flashback I feel like is adding more depth to the whole fishman arc itself.
Oh and yeah, the Ace-Sabo-Luffy arc is gonna be considered good because we are learning about Luffy's past. I don't think anyone is gonna hate that arc, even if they dont consider it their favorite lol.
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Ace-Sabo-Luffy was actually pretty weak since we knew the entire time Luffy and Ace would be fine, and that something was going to happen to make them think Sabo was dead. And it cheated the entire time by trying to pull heartstrings with the recently dead Ace and explaining away some of his behaviors.
It was Sabo's flashback and we learned about him so we'll be ready when he shows up in a few years with Dragon. Luffy? Not so much.
I think it's one of the worst, it's already gone on for a lot longer than I would have liked. I mean, I get that Oda is trying to get a lot of information across, but some of the stuff in this flashback is pure filler in my eyes. Let's get back to Luffy and the gang already!
Jinbe is part of the gang and we're seeing plenty of him.
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The main problem is that, people were expecting the flashback to be about fisher tiger and jinbei, but this is the flashback telling about otohime. Truthfully I anticipate another flashback in this arc that will be about fisher tiger. In what extent I dont know.
This arc is going to be 40 + chapters and lot of events have yet to be unfolded. The introduction phase hasnt even ended. The events in the newest chapter show how truly complex this story is, and these 20 more chapters that some people have been coming up with, just doesnt add up. As we havent been introduced to our villain even yet.In many ways Choppers flashback used the same effect, it skippered over a lot of things in the beginning, but that wasnt a flashback that had been foreshadowed for a very long time. The events that it skippered over were the events that had been foreshadowed.
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Norland and Chopper flashback still rulez. But this latest chapter was actually pretty good.
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I have no complaints for either ASL or this flashback, I think they're up there with Chopper's. Though clearly I'm in the minority here.
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I think everyone needs to wait until a while after the flashback is over to get a better prespective on it. Reading weekly has a much different feel than reading in retrospect.
I'm assuming Norland's flashback was dreaded by those reading Skypiea weekly even though it was glorious and tied everything together just because it cut right in the middle of the climax.
Personal preference also plays a part. I know a bunch of people will think the pacing for Jinbe was great and Otohime was dragged too long while others could think Otohime's part was amazing while Jinbe's story wasn't developed enough. Or people will think the flashback was great overall who knows.
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Not the best, but I think it's getting definitely better. Every chapter was better than the one that came before it, and so on. To the point that this last chapter was excelent.
I can see how such a kick-ass guy like Fisher Tiger being a little underdeveloped, and defeated almost offscreen (and let's not forget all that polemic with the "he got killed by fodder gunmen, while Luffy can kill 4k of those same guys") is disappointing, but right after that it started to get REAL good. In fact, that same chapter was much better if we forget the "fight", with FT slave revelation, and the consequent rush by Arlong, etc. . .
So no, I don't find it mediocre at all, but at the same time, it's not Oda's best. That, of course, taking into consideration that Oda's flashbacks are consistently awesome, and part of One Piece's charm.
Number 1 goes to Norland, Number 2 goes to Robin tied with Chopper, and Number 3 goes to Franky.
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I want to wait until this one gets wrapped up before forming an opinion on it.
So far my favourite flashback has been Brook's. I loved how it all fit together, with Laboon and all, and the song of course.
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@ultimateclima:
I think everyone needs to wait until a while after the flashback is over to get a better prespective on it. Reading weekly has a much different feel than reading in retrospect.
I'm assuming Norland's flashback was dreaded by those reading Skypiea weekly even though it was glorious and tied everything together just because it cut right in the middle of the climax.
If a story feels like it's too slow on the week-by-week read, I agree there's a good chance it will be better on the back-to-back read. But this flashback many thought is (in the beginning) too fast. And that impression will most likely be even stronger once the volume is out.
So yeah not the best, but it's getting better recently. The Otohime part is more well paced, because we didn't know anything about her story before. Consequently Oda can't take any short cuts, and he can't rely on the reader to fill in major gaps time and storywise. That makes the flashback better, because in my eyes flashbacks should be the parts of the story that answer questions, not pose them.
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How come no one has mentioned Nami's flashback so far!? I mean, I definitely loved Skypeia, and Robin's as well as Chopper's flashback belong right at the top - but Nami's flashback probably touched me the most, I have to say.
Having shown her two completely opposing "personalities" before, although one was just an act, it was really emotional seeing how she came to value money so much, how she accused Bellemere of not being her real mother and therefore being angry, and then Bellemere being killed. Also, it is followed by the epic march on AP - great storytelling.
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@RobbyBevard:
Jinbe is part of the gang and we're seeing plenty of him.
Jinbe is not part of the gang which is why we're not seeing much of him in the FI flashback.
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How come no one has mentioned Nami's flashback so far!?
Because the next flashback after that was Hiriluk.
@Marty.:
Jinbe is not part of the gang which is why we're not seeing much of him in the FI flashback.
Not officially yet. But he will be in a couple months, depending on how long the rest of the arc takes.
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Skypiea.
Like I said in an other thread, this one seems a bit off in terms of pacing but I'll reserve my judgement untill after it ends, which will be very soon.
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@RobbyBevard:
Not officially yet. But he will be in a couple months, depending on how long the rest of the arc takes.
No he won't be.
You're setting yourself up for a major disappointment. -
i feel this is the best flashback. so informative, funny, sad, full of emotion, and its great buildup for the future events
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To me, it's in this order:
Norland/Skypiea > Robin = Nami > Fishman Island (so far) > Chopper > Brook > Franky > Luffy-Ace-Sabo > Sanji
The next few chapters willl probably make FI flashback rise up on this personal rank.
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Norland/Skypiea > Robin = Nami > Fishman Island (so far) > Chopper > Brook > Franky > Luffy-Ace-Sabo > Sanji
THANK you. (16 chars)
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Skypiea, Chopper, and Robin.
I like the current fishman island flashback, but I agree that the pacing at the beginning was iffy.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
To me, it's in this order:
Norland/Skypiea > Robin = Nami > Fishman Island (so far) > Chopper > Franky > Luffy-Ace-Sabo > Sanji
The next few chapters willl probably make FI flashback rise up on this personal rank.
Where's Brook, Zoro, and Usopp?
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Dr. Hiruluk solos.
Second would be the Wiper/Norland Flashback and third would be Robin's for me because of fanboi-ism.
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Oh yeah I somehow forgot Franky's flashback existed, even though it's absolutely amazing and better than the Sabo thingy.
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Where's Brook, Zoro, and Usopp?
I don't consider Zoro and Usopp's pasts as full flashbacks. They're sad, but their simpliciy and briefness don't make them in the same league as the others.
Brook, on the other hand, I just forgot. It's a shame, since it's one I like a lot. I'll add it to my rank.
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Oh yea, Brook's flashback was great and thoroughly heartbreaking.
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I find Brook's flashback to be the saddest out of all the Straw Hats.
He spent 50 years alone on the Rumbar pirate ship, with the decayed corpses of his crewmates.
He even had hallucinations that his crew was still alive, only to snap out of it and realize there was no one there.That's some depressing shit.
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I find Brook's flashback to be the saddest out of all the Straw Hats.
He spent 50 years alone on the Rumbar pirate ship, with the decayed corpses of his crewmates.
He even had hallucinations that his crew was still alive, only to snap out of it and realize there was no one there.That's some depressing shit.
Brook is one of the saddest, I agree, but I also rate flashbacks by epic characters appearing in them. So, Hiruluk, Bellmere, Saulo and Norland end up making their respective flashbacks a lot cooler. When they died, I really felt it, because I really liked them.
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My tops are Norland and Franky, followed by Chopper and Brook. Why no love for Franky's flashback? ;-;
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Brook is one of the saddest, I agree, but I also rate flashbacks by epic characters appearing in them.
Isn't Captain Yorki epic?
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That so many fans don't like the ASL flashback makes me sadface.
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While I'm really biased towards Brook's flashback (BABY LABOON!), my favorite always ends up being Calgara and Norland's. There is just so much depth to it, and because of how long the relating Arc for it was, it feels all sorts of rewarding to get that backstory to see just how much meaning the finale to Skypiea has.
So yeah, first to Norland and second to Brook. What I wouldn't give to have a nice flashback for once… XP
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@Marty.:
No he won't be.
You're setting yourself up for a major disappointment.If you say so Connard.
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Huh. Norland's is one of my least favorite. Never have gotten the love for Skypiea in general. I'm a bad person. Also, I stand by my argument that the ASL flashback is terribly placed in the narrative; if it took place during Marineford, it would have given some context for Luffy's obsession with saving Ace, his "only living brother." We didn't really need more context for why he was sad after the fact, and it had little bearing on his ultimate decision afterwards.
Think Franky's is getting a little under-rated on here. The building of the Puffing Tom is the best montage in the entire series. Perhaps the rest of it doesn't hold up at the same level, but I think that's one of Oda's best sequences without text.
Personal faves are Nami and Chopper. Hiruluk still holds the record for "most touching scene featuring a naked man in snow."
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Nami's and Robin's. They were so convincing I bawled my eyes out for hours even after they were over D:
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You know one flashback that no one has mentioned yet? Sanji's flashback. I thought that was a veryyy good flashback as well. I loved the good-natured trickery of Zeff. The guy gives all his food to Sanji and is forced to eat his own leg. That was honestly an epic moment.
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Sanji's flashback was the first signs of what Oda would do with flashbacks. Nami's gets way more attention (rightfully so) but Sanji's, in the context of One Piece at the time was exceptional.
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It's a good flashback, but it isn't at all at Robin's level
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Huh. Norland's is one of my least favorite. Never have gotten the love for Skypiea in general. I'm a bad person.
Skypiea is a lot better the second time around with the context and understanding of whats going on in advance.
Also, I stand by my argument that the ASL flashback is terribly placed in the narrative; if it took place during Marineford, it would have given some context for Luffy's obsession with saving Ace, his "only living brother." We didn't really need more context for why he was sad after the fact, and it had little bearing on his ultimate decision afterwards.
Yeah, I've been saying the same thing since it happened. I can think of four reasons why it didn't thou.
1)it would have ground the action to a screeching halt. Not a huge deal, since it would have been between action sequences and Oda's done it before (Chopper's flashback happening mid punch, Skypiea during the climax, Robin's with the crew assembled right before the action starts, etc) but with something of the buildup and magnitude of the war, stopping it right then and there might have been rough.
2)It was a heartstring pull cheat. Every scene with Ace was sadder because he was already dead, and it gave time to linger on Luffy declaring "I'm weak!" and that he needed to train more in a timeskip.
3)Sabo is still alive. Obviously Oda was sneaky and subtle about it (to the point that some people don't even get it) but to play fair he was going to have to drop a hint that Sabo was still alive at the end of the story… and at that point people would start wondering A-why has he never been mentioned before and B-Is he going to show up in the middle of the war as a deus ex machina? That flashback was more setup for Sabo appearing in a few years than it was really about telling us more about Luffy.
4)That flashback was there to reassert that the Tenryubiito are horrendous bastards that have been around for a long time, to help set up the return to Sabondy and their relevence during the Fishman Island arc.
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They're all pretty good. Sunkist's and Skypiea are two of my personal favorites. But Chopper's really stands out among them, it's Oda at his finest.
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Norland, Chopper's and ASL.
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@RobbyBevard:
Yeah, I've been saying the same thing since it happened. I can think of four reasons why it didn't thou.
1)it would have ground the action to a screeching halt. Not a huge deal, since it would have been between action sequences and Oda's done it before (Chopper's flashback happening mid punch, Skypiea during the climax, Robin's with the crew assembled right before the action starts, etc) but with something of the buildup and magnitude of the war, stopping it right then and there might have been rough.
2)It was a heartstring pull cheat. Every scene with Ace was sadder because he was already dead, and it gave time to linger on Luffy declaring "I'm weak!" and that he needed to train more in a timeskip.
3)Sabo is still alive. Obviously Oda was sneaky and subtle about it (to the point that some people don't even get it) but to play fair he was going to have to drop a hint that Sabo was still alive at the end of the story… and at that point people would start wondering A-why has he never been mentioned before and B-Is he going to show up in the middle of the war as a deus ex machina? That flashback was more setup for Sabo appearing in a few years than it was really about telling us more about Luffy.
4)That flashback was there to reassert that the Tenryubiito are horrendous bastards that have been around for a long time, to help set up the return to Sabondy and their relevence during the Fishman Island arc.
That's the best defense of this decision that I've seen.
If it were up to me, I probably would have stuck this flashback right at the point before Luffy gets his second injection of Tension Hormones, which is a natural break in the action and would give further explanation for why Luffy would be willing to trade part of his life for Ace. Your first point is a perfectly valid argument, but as you have pointed out, there have been numerous flashbacks during lulls in the battle (Sanji, Buggy/Shanks, the current Fishman Island arc, etc.), so it's not that out-of-character for Oda to stick it in Marineford. Also–and this ties in to your second point--if the point of the flashbacks so far have been to give an explanation for the character's following actions (Sanji protecting Baratie, Chopper and the flag, Robin deciding to live, etc.), then I think it makes more sense for Luffy's decision to be to protect Ace with all of his might moreso than deciding to train and reunite with his clue. Also, Ace was really an underdeveloped character prior to that flashback, so I think it would have made the heartstring-pull much greater with his death.
The third point is the sticky one. Sabo still feels pulled out of nowhere in the One Piece world, and I'm not sure Oda knew how to introduce him; I'm still not entirely sure Oda had him planned long in advance.
So, yeah, there are good reasons for holding off on the flashback, but they certainly don't out-weigh the impact it could have had on the Marineford storyline.
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My problem with this flashback is the timing. We're still coming off of the separation arc. I, personally, have waited so long to see the Straw Hats back in action as a crew, and frankly I'm just not in the mood for a flashback that features none of them. Tiger and Otohime are not characters that I particularly care about.
As for my favorite flashback, I'd have to say Skypiea, although to be fair, I just reread it recently, so it's fresh in my mind. I just feel like, coming where it does, it makes the finale resonate that much more.
Although in general I have to say that the flashbacks are getting old. In my mind the main problem with them is that they don't always feature the crew and they interrupt the flow of the story. The fact that they're becoming increasingly long doesn't help at all, either. I just wish Oda would try introducing this information in some new way.
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The third point is the sticky one. Sabo still feels pulled out of nowhere in the One Piece world, and I'm not sure Oda knew how to introduce him; I'm still not entirely sure Oda had him planned long in advance.
He had him in mind during the war, the scene with the sake cups having a third one barely in panel was sneeeeaky, but yeah, there's not really much of anything to indicate he had Sabo in mind more than a few months before he entered the story. Unless he really did have that in mind with Ace's tatoo all along… but I personally really preferred the "the tatooist was drunk" explanation, it added a lot of character.
He had Dadan in mind way further in advance, at least.
Although in general I have to say that the flashbacks are getting old. In my mind the main problem with them is that they don't always feature the crew and they interrupt the flow of the story. The fact that they're becoming increasingly long doesn't help at all, either. I just wish Oda would try introducing this information in some new way.
Flashbacks are cool, and they should be longer. Learn some patience. One Piece is a story much bigger than the strawhats, the scale hasn't been that small and personal since Crocodile.