The hilarious thing is that the fights in the Wano Kuni arc have been the best in the New World story. Aside from Doflamingo and Katakuri, the rest of the battles pre-Wano weren't all that impressive. But then again, Luffy's battles are always cool. Even the Corrida Colosseum fights were disappointing and that involved one of the main Blackbeard Pirates who got manhandled so badly by Sabo.
When the New World was entered, a reset button was kind of hit where the crew had to slowly work their way toward facing Yonko crews. Sadly, what Oda did is intentionally stretch the advancements the crew made during the two year time skip for over 400 chapters until they could face the Beast Pirates. All that expectation and patience the fans had may not have been fulfilled to their desired levels. This is the Yonko crew the Straw Hat Pirates are fighting, a Yonko crew that will be completely defeated after the arc. The fights took a backseat to the drama ongoing within the arc. As such, it is understandable why the fights can be viewed as underwhelming and from my perspective, manufactured.
I understand Oda's writing style has changed and he has chosen to focus less on standardized battles, but I still feel Oda should have handled the Donquixote Pirates with a more serious hand and made them genuinely challenge the Straw Hat Pirates opposed to what we received - jokes and gags. From that point forward, rather than wait ~6 years to find out what secret abilities the Straw Hat Pirates learned during their 2 years training, Oda could have moved them forward alongside Luffy. Luffy against Doflamingo gave EVERYTHING and from that point, he had to grow through each fight - Cracker, Big Mom, Katakuri, Kaido, etc. As such, Luffy's battles are memorable and his journey is intimately compelling - we have been watching him grow. The other Straw Hat Pirates have been more static. For example, Zoro, he didn't even face opponents he needed to flex with until he faced Kaido, Big Mom and King. Hyouzou was a joke, Monet mainly served to highlight Zoro's Haoshoku Haki potential and she was never built up to challenge Zoro in the first place, Pica's fight was a wasted opportunity, Killer didn't even challenge Zoro and Gyukimaru was a pushover. I can excuse Zoro's case because what we received for Zoro in Wano Kuni was phenomenal. He received significant focus and made Big Mom and Kaido sweat. There was payoff to the wait for Zoro's character and story. And to top that off, in a weakened state driven by drugs and conviction, he defeated a 1.39 billion belly opponent. Plus Zoro's story is not yet over in Wano.
I can even excuse Sanji too because I never really saw him in a same leagues as Zoro in terms of fighting potential and the focus he did receive concerning the relationships he forged were quite entertaining and memorable to me. I was glad Sanji was able to experience his heaven in Fish-Man Island. I enjoyed it when Sanji was able to win Viola over to their side and mend her heart that came to distrust others (specifically men). I was happy to be completely wrong about Pudding's character, whom I initially thought of as an antagonist that deserved a good beating from the protagonist before her wedding veil was lifted by Sanji and he reacted to her third eye in such a kind and sincere manner to the point that it melted Pudding's heart and made her fall for him. It was inspiring to see Sanji reconnect with his family and leave on positive terms with his sister, Reiju. And slowly but surely despite Sanji's refusal, he will reach a point where he accepts being a Vinsmoke. Sanji aspires to be a gentleman and I feel the New World saga has done him justice (perversion, kindness and all). I also didn't mind his fight against Queen, who became so opposed with beating Judge he failed to realise that Sanji was his kryptonite - an opponent that already figured out how to overcome Judge's science.
I enjoyed all the other battles by the Straw Hat Pirates too but was it worth the wait? If I am being honest, probably not. I am a Robin simp so I was really looking forward to her battle. And while I did enjoy it, considering Robin was skipped over for a proper 1 vs 1 battle arc after arc since Skypiea, I felt her battle was a bit rushed. More back and forth would have been preferred with a more comprehensive battle that presented more offensive abilities. Do I have to wait more years until Robin gets another opportunity to face an opponent in battle? More really could have been done with these battles but Oda's current writing style isn't looking to craft compelling battles rather is it focused on its narrative that has been building up for almost 10 years. Even the fights that have received focused, have pushed forward story elements - King's race, Queen's science and connection to Judge, Big Mom's representation as the current era that is about to be rewritten by the New Generation and Kaido, who has ties to Rocks, Joy Boy and the Oni race. Aside from Who's Who none of the other Tobi Roppo (non including Drake) had anything of value to add to the One Piece story so their focus was brief and systematic.
Personally, ever since the Dressrosa Arc where I was immensely disappointed with the battles (I just did not enjoy them), I have come to terms with the type of manga One Piece is. And because of that, I enjoy the battles for what they are. I try to limit my expectations and to enjoy the battle for its relevance to the overall story.
The Straw Hat Pirates VS CP9 match-ups were definitely the peak so far in One Piece but since then, Oda has changed how he has approached his treatment of battles. He is currently more concerned with giving more manga real estate to other elements.
Also, I feel really sad for the Minks, they were shortchanged so badly. They were introduced to be some amazing force but they have been grossly underwhelming. Aside from the Akazaya Samurai battle against Kaido and the conclusion to the Jack and Perospero fight, the rest of the battles the Mink have been involved in were all pushed into the background and off-screened. And don't get me started on the SMILE users…so much of their focus could have been reduced in the first half of Wano to stop this arc feeling so padded and drawn out.
