https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/viewer/1009808
https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/one-piece-chapter-1024/chapter/23185?action=read
Author Comments 9/05/2021: https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/web_pages/529/
**Eiichiro Oda
Volume 100 is out in Japan! Enjoy the volume and all the special celebrations we have planned for the occasion!**
Like the Avatar? / Like the Miis?
Dragalia Lost ID: 97617932505
Yamato's second flashback and who woulda thunk he'd get 3 mentor like figures?
Including Zoro-Dad:ninja:
It's Yamato week, y'all!
Uninteresting Yamato chapter, what a waste…
You can find a toothpick in Ushimaru's mouth in this chapter. This is based on a JP proverb 武士は食わねど高楊枝, meaning Samurais have so much pride that they use a toothpick to pretend as if they've already eaten something and are not hungry at all.
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Little Yams is so adorable.
A sweet but short flashback.
YamaToddler says 'Jurnel' cause she's a child and can't say words corretly right??
Also, she didnt even learnt the names of the Samurai, while they're definitely(along with Ace) part of the people Yamato refers to when she says 'even I had people that believed in me', I'm still thinking there's someone else.
Very nice and cute little Yamato flashback, gimme more Oda, crazy how little we still know about Kaido and his son
And speaking of Kaido, his reaction to Yamato saying he's Oden was hilariously messed up
Ok, that was one hell of a chapter. I might have appreciated an update on Sanji & Zoro, but leaving them aside gives more space for updates on other situations and Yamato's flashback, so it's a good thing in the end.
Child Yams is sweet. Can't help but notice Kaido's underlings used to refer to young Yamato as the "Ogre Princess" back then, so acknowledging her as "Kaido's son" later on definitely stems from whatever happened after.wards Also, a character once called Kaido "the Ogre" (I don't remember who, though), so this cements him as a not-quite-human lineage.
Also, lulz at Usopp keeping up the good old lies 
In the second page of the flashback, Kaido's face is so badly drawn IN MY OPINION. It makes me think about those sketches of Togashi when he gets bored with his manga
Every nation gets the government it deserves.–-- Joseph de Maistre
I enjoyed that chapter substantially. Yamato wants to be a Samurai and inspired was he by the legendary warriors that gave their lives for the future. Alongside Oden were the unnamed Samurai that saved Yamato. And on him, those Samurai placed their hope to carry their wills into the future where Wano Kuni could be saved. The burden Yamato chose to carry was not only his own desires but that of the nameless Samurai and Kozuki Oden. They believed in him and he has chosen to believe in himself too. The spirit of the Samurai burns radiantly within the resolve of Yamato.
Those three nameless Samurai are definitely the former Daimyo's of Wano. Shimotsuki Ushimaru and likely the Fugetsu and Uzuki Daimyo's (the clans that have yet to feature within the Wano Kuni story). In their darkness and lamentation, they found a path forward in Yamato's survival and laid their very lives down upon such a path so that it could blossom into pillars supporting Yamato to the day twenty years from than. They fought on that day so that Yamato could survive to carry on fighting. They believed in Yamato and entrusted their wills to him.
The story of three nameless Samurai escaping the Sacred cave is not over. There is still the story of them stealing the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Okuchi no Makami Devil Fruit from Kaido and giving it to Yamato to eat. In order to survive, Yamato ate the Devil Fruit. And now, twenty years since that day, Yamato is using the power from that Devil Fruit to hold Kaido back so that Luffy has sufficient time to recover and return. Through Yamato, the efforts of the Daimyo's manifest itself. Their spirit dances along with Yamato as he now battles his father.
Samurai are awesome. /tear
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You can find a toothpick in Ushimaru's mouth in this chapter. This is based on a JP proverb 武士は食わねど高楊枝, meaning Samurais have so much pride that they use a toothpick to pretend as if they've already eaten something and are not hungry at all.
pics
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I somehow missed that. Thanks.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Com'n Oda.Don't tie Yamato down to Wano once the arc is over.
Great chapter but I never will understand this weird crush every character has for Oden.
Some thoughts after chapter 1,024:
This is the first time that I saw Yamato as a character rather than just a plot device for exposition.
Remember we talking about foreshadowing a flashback? This was foreshadowed, but Oda was really clever in hiding Yamato's mentor in Zoro's character arc. Really good diversion, Oda, I didn't see it coming at all. Another storytelling trick to learn in that.
This flashback carries a lot of potential, but there's some things that people should be aware of about.
First, is that this is not a traditional flashback that cuts the present action to tell a tangential story. It seems more like the first in a series of flashbacks, like Vivi's or Rebecca/Kyro's. Either that, or it's a new flashback format, used in other media but never by Oda, in which the scenes from past go back and forth to complement the story being told in the present. However, I must add that using a different format of flashback does not reduce Yamato's chances at all. The content of that flashback is what matters in the end. Also, this flashback may transition into a traditional one later, it may just be a prelude. Let's see.
Second, I'd say having 3 samurai as mentors may not favor Yamato's chances of joining. We know of Yamato's childhood desires, they've been hammered down many times over this act. But we don't know how these mentors will influence Yamato going forward, what kind of will or objectives he will from them. This flashback may reinforce Yamato's original dream further, but it could instead further cement Yamato as Wano's guardian. Because it's too early to tell which direction this will go, we need to wait for more scenes to judge.
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By the way, after reading the official translation, something called my attention.
The early scanlations had Yamato say he'd fight for Wano in 20 years, then go to the sea and become stronger.
The official one has Yamato saying he'd fight for Wano in 20 years, because he would already have gone to the sea to become stronger.
For readers with access to the original and understanding of japanese, can anyone comment which version is more accurate. I'd usually say it's Stephen's, but in this case I'd like extra confirmation.
Some thoughts after chapter 1,024:
This is the first time that I saw Yamato as a character rather than just a plot device for exposition.
Remember we talking about foreshadowing a flashback? This was foreshadowed, but Oda was really clever in hiding Yamato's mentor in Zoro's character arc. Really good diversion, Oda, I didn't see it coming at all. Another storytelling trick to learn in that.
This flashback carries a lot of potential, but there's some things that people should be aware of about.
First, is that this is not a traditional flashback that cuts the present action to tell a tangential story. It seems more like the first in a series of flashbacks, like Vivi's or Rebecca/Kyro's. Either that, or it's a new flashback format, used in other media but never by Oda, in which the scenes from past go back and forth to complement the story being told in the present. However, I must add that using a different format of flashback does not reduce Yamato's chances at all. The content of that flashback is what matters in the end. Also, this flashback may transition into a traditional one later, it may just be a prelude. Let's see.
Second, I'd say having 3 samurai as mentors may not favor Yamato's chances of joining. We know of Yamato's childhood desires, they've been hammered down many times over this act. But we don't know how these mentors will influence Yamato going forward, what kind of will or objectives he will from them. This flashback may reinforce Yamato's original dream further, but it could instead further cement Yamato as Wano's guardian. Because it's too early to tell which direction this will go, we need to wait for more scenes to judge.
–---------------------------
By the way, after reading the official translation, something called my attention.
The early scanlations had Yamato say he'd fight for Wano in 20 years, then go to the sea and become stronger.
The official one has Yamato saying he'd fight for Wano in 20 years, because he would already have gone to the sea to become stronger.For readers with access to the original and understanding of japanese, can anyone comment which version is more accurate. I'd usually say it's Stephen's, but in this case I'd like extra confirmation.
TCB here. Stephen is correct
I was surprised that this chapter was not focused on Sanji and Zoro, but the change of pace was not unwelcome. The little flashback was very nice and well told, but it left me wanting more. It seems that the samurai died, so I wonder if it's over or perhaps Yamato will have multiple short stories… well, I hope for more since I still think Yamato's relationship with his father is undercooked. The last page is beautiful, though.
Nice to see the SHs coordinating for the next step...
Why did Yamato not leave with Ace? I mean, the whole plot would change but, with what we know from Yams now it makes not much sense to just stay there.
“As I stand out here in the wonders of the unknown at Hadley, I sort of realize there’s a fundamental truth to our nature: Man must explore!” – David Scott, Moon
Why did Yamato not leave with Ace? I mean, the whole plot would change but, with what we know from Yams now it makes not much sense to just stay there.
Because of handcuffs
I am beginning to dislike all One Piece fandoms aside from this one. Everything is more measured here. Viz is being attacked over So and So on Twitter. Mr. Paul is a saint because I would have quit ages ago.
Yamato's flashback is like an inversion of Zoro's first scene. Now it's the girl who is hungry and tied up and it's the swordsman who feeds her.
Yamato's flashback is like an inversion of Zoro's first scene. Now it's the girl who is hungry and tied up and it's the swordsman who feeds her.
Oh!!! I really like this observation!
Because of handcuffs
Strawhats always make it look so easy to solve the inhabitants problems 
Child Yamato with the size of a regular adult is very cute.
Also, Child Sanji surviving starvation is still an unmatched feat. Ogre < Regular human 
That was a nice little chapter, and little Yamato is so adorable.
This chapter really solidified how disappointing the Oden flashback was for me. It's neat that Yamato had a huge fascination with Oden and he wants to be just like Oden. Along with the samurai and their undying loyalty to Oden it shows just how powerful of a presence he had with so many people. However, every time this happens I am reminded of that extremely long and dragged on flashback and what we saw of Oden just clashes so much with how the people in universe view him. I can get behind the scabbards to an extent since Oden personally took them in, but for everyone else outside of that, Oden was known to be a trouble maker and then he left the island for a long time until coming back, and then when everyone thought he was going to save Wano he had to embarrass himself throughout the entire country. Even with the explanation of why he danced around, the flashback never made Oden likable to me, let alone this figure that is revered by all the samurai.
Still, with all that said I really enjoyed Yamato's flashback and his short interactions with the samurai. Them being sort of mentors, being kind to Yamato, and reading Oden's journal to him while a short part of the chapter was the highlight of the chapter to me.
@The:
Even with the explanation of why he danced around, the flashback never made Oden likable to me, let alone this figure that is revered by all the samurai.
Same here. I don't dislike the character, but with the perspective Wano people had on him I can't quite buy that he was eventually held in such high regards. The Hour of Legends is something to remember for sure, but his track record up to that point is really not all that brilliant as far as Wano affairs are concerned. It would have helped if there had been at least some time of actual Oden rule between travels and invasions, in order for people to get to know him as a good leader. I guess Toki is supposed to have played that part, but it doesn't work for me. At the moment it seems like Oden retroactively became a savior figure to desperate people because he was the only hope they could cling to, yet given some time to think things over and cool down they would still despise his memory.
Time can make it hard to remember what a dick he was when he was alive
There's also the factor that, once he died, life became a living hell in Wano.
Oden's deal with Kaido and Orochi was what kept the regions and towns safe. Once he was gone, Orochi descended upon the people like a plague.
People often have rosy memories of the past. Now imagine living in hell for 20 years, and thinking: "Oden was who kept us safe during the good times. This hell started with his death."
@The:
That was a nice little chapter, and little Yamato is so adorable.
This chapter really solidified how disappointing the Oden flashback was for me. It's neat that Yamato had a huge fascination with Oden and he wants to be just like Oden. Along with the samurai and their undying loyalty to Oden it shows just how powerful of a presence he had with so many people. However, every time this happens I am reminded of that extremely long and dragged on flashback and what we saw of Oden just clashes so much with how the people in universe view him. I can get behind the scabbards to an extent since Oden personally took them in, but for everyone else outside of that, Oden was known to be a trouble maker and then he left the island for a long time until coming back, and then when everyone thought he was going to save Wano he had to embarrass himself throughout the entire country. Even with the explanation of why he danced around, the flashback never made Oden likable to me, let alone this figure that is revered by all the samurai.
One of the main aspects of Oden's story is "public reputation" and the control of "narrative", which you should know are very fickle and superficial things – and sometimes public narrative just finds legs of its own as it spreads from mouth to mouth.
Oden himself never cared about his reputation and image, so he never cared to clean any misunderstading. Oden believed that a virtuous action was good in itself, regardless of other people's perception, so he didn't think he needed to explain himself -- and so his reputation was always based on what it looked like at a first glance. Therefore, in his younger years, many of his good actions to help others but which ended in trouble led to his infamy without him ever arguing against it. Likewise, some other actions made him look good, like when he defeated the criminals of Kuri and made the area more lawful, becoming Daimyo and getting a positive reputation -- but Oden hadn't changed at all as a person. All in all, what you have to take from it is that Oden was never in control of the public image, and he never cared to be.
That's not say that Oden didn't have his own faults, since you can blame him for some of his actions too, and in fact Oden didn't enjoy any popularity during his final years. That said, what happens is that Oden's last hour before death was a huge epiphany for the people of Wano (thanks to Shinobu, btw) – and so he became a Legend. It was just an undeniably powerful Story that spread like wildfire throughout Wano, and common people started to project into the name of Kouzuki Oden an ideal of Hope... because that's what people do.
All that said, you shouldn't mistake Oden's popularity among the citzens with the respect he earned from the people closer to him -- the Scabbards, Hyogoro, Yasuie, Whitebeard, and some other elite Samurai who understood Oden more deeply.
Pretty high tier chapter for me, perfectly mixing half a chapter of updating the situation and half a chapter of much needed Yamato attention. A little disappointed to immediately jump into Yams at the point of idolizing Oden, would've liked to see a little of the character's life before that point, personally. Cute is cute however and those pages were dripping with adorable. Personally, I'm immediately enjoying the tension coming from this fire getting out of control more than the tension that the island dropping on the capital has "supposed" to have been creating all this time.
I'm sure there's people out there that have kept much better track of where everyone is than I could, but I still tried to map it out for myself anyway. Stand out thoughts:
Chapters 1022 and 1023 seem to contradict each other on where Raizo and Fukurokuju are fighting. 1022 says they're on the 3rd floor, 1023 says 2nd floor. It very much looks like the same room, so was this ever brought up for possible explanations? Kinda important since this also spells out where Orochi last was.
Hawkins and Killer are supposedly fighting on the 3rd floor. There weren't any signs of fire near them at the time, but it'll be interesting to see if it plays a factor there once we get back to them.
With all the focus on keeping people out of the live floor so Sanji/Zoro and Queen/King can fight, it seems very likely Apoo and Drake aren't present there anymore. It's not impossible, but you'd think that would've been higher priority for Kawamatsu if they were still fighting there.
With Kawamatsu blocking the front and Franky + Bepo blocking the Right Tower, it's kinda weird how much the left tower is still being ignored. It could just be saved for Chopper and Izo/Marco to take point at next chapter, but it's interesting all the same. By memory, hardly anything has happened in the left tower. Maybe this is where Cp0 have been chilling this whole time?
Man, this is a chapter I should love but somehow it just falls flat for me.
But to start off, I love tiny Yamato and I love how he's connected to the (presumed) missing daimyo. I've complained before about how the Beast Pirates feel too separate from Wano's affairs and this helps amend that. There's some genuinely sweet moments like the samurai letting him eat and especially when they help him read the journal. Cuteness overload! Short as it is the flashback brings a lot to the story, hopefully we'll get more.
That said my problems come down to two things. First there's something about the pacing of the pages that make the moments feel rushed, like the flashback was planned to be longer but had to be compacted due to time constraints. There's some pages I wish Oda just let off the dialogue and had the panels speak for themselves, or at least make it less descriptive. "He wants them to fight to the death over that single meal, but not before they kill me first!". Why thank you for the narration Yamato. But ultimately that's mostly nitpicking.
The bigger problem is that I just don't get the Oden thing. Why does Yamato admire Oden and Wano so much? Why does Kaido allow him to call himself Oden? And why is he willing to condemn his son to death because of it? I know we already got some of those answers and might get more in the future, I know Yamato admires Oden because he stood for the freedom he never had, but even though I get the logic behind it my heart just can't get into it. Ultimately I think it's an extension of the Oden Wank Problem - despite this flashback being about an emperor, his son and three (presumed) daimyo including the founder of Zoro's village so much of it still feels like it's about Oden, Oden, Oden. Oh I wanna be free like ODEN! Man I admired that man ODEN. I found this journal from ODEN! Hey I wanna be ODEN! Then die like ODEN! I mean, you are ODEN after all! Mentally I'm going SHUT UP, I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YAMATO!
I don't even hate Oden that much, after re-reading the flashback I got a better perspective of him. And I get what Oda is going for, the guy is a legend who inspires everyone. But it's gone to the point where his presence is holding back nearly every single Wano character because so much of their personality and ideals revolve around him. And it drives me nuts.
Oden really is the Wano Poochie.
Decent chapter for me. I'm one of those who still very much needs to be sold on Yamato, so this helps. Like Yamato's neat and all, but the last chapter pretty much confirmed gods exist in One Piece so… yeah lol. I'm much more excited about that.
Besides the Void Century, Kaido's my most anticipated flashback because his character just keeps getting better and more depth by the chapter. So Yamato getting a flashback surely gets us closer to his.
"There are no easy answers in this world." Love it, it's a line I've thought many times before Kaido said it.
Last spread was as usual incredible.
Croc or Enel would never.
Wanna see the "ancient civilization destroyed" thing done really well? FFXIV did a great take on it. The bar's high for One Piece to beat.
Wait what, Yamato can use Conqueror too? I missed the spoiler discussions…
Wow she keeps getting better. Even her flashback is not finished! I smell 1 chapter more for her flashback.
And the communication panel within Straw Hat crews are so nicely done...
While not as mindblowingly great as the last few, Oda's still going strong in this, the ninth chapter of volume 101, which is shaping up to be one of the series most memorable volumes. Interestingly, the official releases don't see the WT100 spread as part of the actual chapter, leaving this one without any cover at all. I'm going to state again my suspicion that it'll be presented all at once, across six pages, before chapter 1025, at least by the time we get to the volume release. No idea if Mangaplus and Viz will reflect that this week though. Worth noting if we do look at the WT100 page however is that the slight colour differences between the latest volume covers and the anime are reflected here too, showing they were more than a one-off error. Also cool to see Meltan using its canon colours in Kid's arm, something also seemingly reflected in the colour manga panels used on the latest Vivre Cards. I would have guessed copyright woes would have forced them to go a generic metalic grew for plausible deniability, but that's a whole-ass pokemon right there.
Usopp! Haki lies! Foreshadowing! We all know where it's going, but it's still fun to watch. And a good old fashioned skull joke from Brook!
I really enjoyed the battlefield atmosphere portrayed by the opening pages. The strawhats are all trying to get back in touch with each other over comms and share the information they've picked up, meanwhile the toppling of half a dozen officers hasn't automatically wiped out the rank and file soldiers, who remain a going concern. The fires started by Black Maria and Orochi are spreading and becoming more and more dangerous, forcing friends and foes into motion. Law's crew and Kawamatsu and the yakuza are covering key choke points to keep the remaining enemy troops from congregating and rallying. It's war!
We see some more of Yamato and Kaido's relationship this time around. Kaido's mix of disgust and confusion under that first panel Yamato declares himself Oden is palpable on his face. The stance of "fine, be Oden, but Oden was my enemy" is not a bad justification for Kaido's uncharacteristic acceptance of Yamato's identity. But I also read a challenge in the last panel of Kaido as he leaves him in the cave - Kaido wants there to be another Oden to give him a fair fight and glorious death, and if his kid manages rise to the challenge and be that, all the better.
What does surprise me is Yamato taking on Oden's identity before he read the logbook in full. So all of this came from the sheer show of will at the execution? The command to open Wano's borders was picked up without knowing its true importance? I'm not totally certain that works for me, but hey, it's Oda's story.
Yams also once again mentions his dream of going out to sea, which goes alongside all his Strawhat-adjacent merch and marketing appearances lately to fuel crewmate speculation. Seems more and more likely he'll leave Wano alongside Luffy. However the last non-crew character who got this kind of main character-level promotion was Law, who has stayed with us for a long time, but has not and will not officially join up, so I'm a long way from convinced he's the eleventh person. Still could be, but just as likely to be a Law-type longterm companion.
The appearance of (a presumed) Ushimaru was interesting, but doesn't quite hit home for me. Mostly because there's not much new really in it. Like, we saw that he was a Zoro lookalike last week. We've known about Shimotsuki village and the dojo's connection to the family for ages. Is this a way to make it clear to magazine-only readers who don't read the SBS? Just an easter egg on our way through Yamato's past? Some have suggested Ushimaru is meant to be Zoro's father, but I don't think there's enough concrete info to say that for sure yet. The theory would have to justify the infant Zoro leaving Wano and making it all the way to Shimotsuki Village. Remember that this couldn't be a planned journey, because Wano has such limited contact with the outside world, let along long distance communication. Shimotsuki Kozaburo would have been persona non grata after leaving thirty years before this scene Ushimaru would have no way of knowing where he settled or if his settlement survived. Hell, he probably wouldn't even know what the East Blue is. These kinds of issues definitely could be handwaved with a few lines of exposition and Zoro's mum (sent out of Wano for her safety after it became clear Kaido was there to stay) managing to reach the village her relative started by sheet plot coincidence, but I want to see that happen before I feel convinced Zoro's anything other than a different branch of the family tree.
The final clash was excellently drawn. Yamato's done well to hold his own so long, but I wouldn't be surprised if he staggers after that last one. The end has to be close so that Luffy and Momo can have their cavalry moment.
And that's it. Feels unreal to have so many back to back chapters. We've been on the same break schedule so long there'll be a decent number of readers who've never had this much One Piece back to back. Good for them! With the end of the volume so close, I'm hoping to see at least one of the major fights wrap up in the next couple of chapters. Or maybe just a couple of the minor ones, given King and Queen are obviously going to be saved for last. There's definitely room to tie off a bunch of the Scabbard loose ends in quick succession.
Interestingly, the official releases don't see the WT100 spread as part of the actual chapter, leaving this one without any cover at all.
Man, I was finding it strange that the official release had no cover at all and you made me realise that Part 2 of the post is actually the color spread promised for this chapter two weeks ago. I'm slow!
I guess it makes sense since the last chapter does have a cover request.
Oden really is the Wano Poochie.
Eh. While I get why people may feel that way, I think they're glossing over what were intended to be conveyed as serious blunders and personal failings on Oden's part, though these certainly weren't overtly focused upon or spelled out by Oda: biggest errors being his chronic failures to reach out for help, attempting to shoulder the burden by his lonesome; and falling prey to the same mistake that Vivi made in thinking their respective challenges could be settled without bloodshed…sacrifice.
@Ghidorah:
Eh. While I get why people may feel that way, I think they're glossing over what were intended to be conveyed as serious blunders and personal failings on Oden's part, though these certainly weren't overtly focused upon or spelled out by Oda: biggest errors being his chronic failures to reach out for help, attempting to shoulder the burden by his lonesome; and falling prey to the same mistake that Vivi made in thinking their respective challenges could be settled without bloodshed…sacrifice.
The problem is that none of that gets framed as failings. Shinobu singlehandedly convinces the whole population they were wrong and that Oden was doing what he had to do and is actually the biggest hero ever.
Literally no one in the story dislikes Oden except Orochi.
@Ghidorah:
Eh. While I get why people may feel that way, I think they're glossing over what were intended to be conveyed as serious blunders and personal failings on Oden's part, though these certainly weren't overtly focused upon or spelled out by Oda: biggest errors being his chronic failures to reach out for help, attempting to shoulder the burden by his lonesome; and falling prey to the same mistake that Vivi made in thinking their respective challenges could be settled without bloodshed…sacrifice.
Strongly agree with this. And also, to my mind, the enormous failure of him returning to Wano during his voyage with Roger and choosing not to see what was happening there at the time, selfishly leaving it for later so he could chase Roger's dream. One Piece isn't the kind of series to strongly denigrate a character for putting dreams ahead of everything else, but Oden set his course and the course of his country's next two decades in that moment, and it was a choice totally in line with how he'd been written up to that point.
There are certainly in universe explanations on why the citizens and people closer to Oden would hold him in a certain regard. All that said, for me personally it's a disconnect of how people in the story view him and how I as a reader got to see him. Outside of him being quite strong, at least for a Samurai of Wano, there's was nothing that left an impression on me. Had this been early in the series him surviving the boiling would have stood out, but with everything we've seen up to this point it was just par for the course. So when in this chapter you have the samurai and Yamato holding him in such high regard, it goes against my view of Oden and it takes me out of the moment.
Largely true…with one possible, intriguing exception; the display of Toki's seeming anguish and frustration upon reading his farewell latter. Obviously, there's room for interpretation, but I've a feeling Oden's leadership qualities and judgement is a topic Oda will return to as the parallels...and key differences...between the Strawhats, Scabbards, and their respective leaders are further explored. It may just take a while before the plot moves things in a direction where it'll be become a forthright topic of discussion amongst the characters.
But that's veering into speculative territory, I admit. In any case, the signs are there, I feel; Oden was no Gary Stu, but same as Vivi, Luffy, or anyone else, nobody's perfect...and in many cases, those that love them will ultimately overlook these flaws in the long run. But even still, there'll be those that put their flaws and decisions on blast, and give readers pause to reconsider how we perceive these characters; even darlings such as Whitebeard and Roger himself weren't placed beyond criticism.
Oden's time will come, I think, and soon.
--- Update From New Post Merge ---
Strongly agree with this. And also, to my mind, the enormous failure of him returning to Wano during his voyage with Roger and choosing not to see what was happening there at the time, selfishly leaving it for later so he could chase Roger's dream. One Piece isn't the kind of series to strongly denigrate a character for putting dreams ahead of everything else, but Oden set his course and the course of his country's next two decades in that moment, and it was a choice totally in line with how he'd been written up to that point.
That's a good point I neglected to mention. While the One Piece philosophy with regards to the selfish nature of dreams is rather nuanced, I think it can be argued that Oden committed another serious mistake that ties back to another of the flaws I mentioned, as well as one of the overriding themes of the Whole Cake Island arc: chasing dreams entails risk, and requires sacrifice; having already "sacrificed" Wano's well being by abandoning his responsibilities and setting out to sea, Oden had long foregone any option, any right of hoping to reclaim Wano without further sacrifice. That's just full on naivete.
Again, perhaps not something Oda saw fit to spell out in full outright detail, but I feel the subtext is there, and is probably due for further inspection under the spotlight in the coming future, one way or the other.
For example, I don't think it's coincidental that Oda's been repeatedly posing certain "what if" scenarios, or giving readers reason to do so, that boil down to one simply question: what would've had Oden reached out to and teamed up with:
Food for thought.
I think every single mistake made by Oden was very intentionally portrayed by Oda – thus not hidden or glossed over. Instead of the perfect man Oden is supposed to be due to how much he is beloved and admired, Oda chose to write him a flawed character who embarassed himself a few times. In particular, the page where Oden comes to Wano with Roger and decides to leave without looking at Wano's problems is very emblematic of Oda being minutely deliberate to depict Oden's mistakes since Oda could have easily avoided that situation to spare Oden of such criticism. Roger even called Oden "scoundrel" -- or "scum" in the unofficial translation.
It's interesting to wonder why is that... since, at the same time, it's undeniable that Oda wants us to like Oden despite all mistakes...
I think every single mistake made by Oden was very intentionally portrayed by Oda – thus not hidden or glossed over.
No doubt. I meant "glossed over" in terms of readers nauseated by all the Oden love, as well as the narrative having yet to really expound on it too much. It's there in plain view, but at the same time it hasn't been explicitly discussed in-story to a significant degree. I imagine the topic will crop up eventually, when events bring all these themes to the fore and inevitably prompts outright discussion and reflection amongst the cast concerning Oden's actions…or at least deliberately explore how Luffy's own decisions both mirrors and differ from Oden. This too is something we've already seen set into motion.
Just remains to be see how far Oda is willing to go. I personally think he's going to take it hella far.
We'll probably see Toki getting similar treatment, I feel, albeit with some key differences. Said it before, we got a chapter title "Everybody love Oden." I fully expect we'll be getting one called "Everybody hates Toki."
Public perception can flip flop at any given moment.
@Ghidorah:
No doubt. I meant "glossed over" in terms of readers nauseated by all the Oden love, as well as the narrative having yet to really expound on it too much. It's there in plain view, but at the same time it hasn't been explicitly discussed in-story to a significant degree. I imagine the topic will crop up eventually, when events bring all these themes to the fore and inevitably prompts outright discussion and reflection amongst the cast concerning Oden's actions…or at least deliberately explore how Luffy's own decisions both mirrors and differ from Oden. This too is something we've already seen set into motion.
I'm not so sure Oda wants to do that, and neither is needed for him to do so. Personally, I don't think an author needs to be didatic about stuff and spell out moral commands and verdicts in order to make his ethics clear – the readers can think for themselves after the whole picture is given to them, and reach their own personal conclusion. As you said, Oden's mistakes are in plain view, so much so that we often see readers remembering them (and even the characters criticized Oden at the time despite how much they love him now), so the story is already complete. No more discussion is needed.
What's better is what you suggest after: to have the actions of other characters (in particular, Luffy) show the alternative to Oden's failings, and that doesn't need to be done explicitly.
The problem is that we have yet to see any Wano character demonstrate criticism for Oden's actions that weren't eventually overturned. Because anyone who hears about his stories just seems to love the guy.
And it's very unlikely that there will be reflection about it since Oda is not really that kind of writer. The authority figures that are meant to be heroic tend to be portrayed with little negativity in his stories. Like, both Cobra and King Riku were introduced as those fallible king figures, but were eventually revealed to be victims of the real schemer all along, and by the end of their arcs, they are considered paragons of virtue and wisdom. Same for people like Ganfall and Neptune.
Meanwhile, the evil kings like Orochi, Doflamingo and Wapol are all cartoonishly evil.
Well, I live in a country where a former president caught in a massive corruption scandal is praised for criticizing the current terrible president.
People often ignore how bad a savior figure was just because of how dire the situation got.
Wano predictions: There will be 5 acts; All Straw Hats will get fights, some in Act 4; Big Mom Pirates will arrive; Carrot will have her moment, but won't join; Yamato will be a Kouzuki samurai and Wano's Guardian; Shanks will visit Luffy in Act 5; Next arc is Mary Geoise.
Well, I live in a country where a former president caught in a massive corruption scandal is praised for criticizing the current terrible president.
People often ignore how bad a savior figure was just because of how dire the situation got.
Look, a brazilian!
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
The problem is that we have yet to see any Wano character demonstrate criticism for Oden's actions that weren't eventually overturned. Because anyone who hears about his stories just seems to love the guy.
That's precisely what I call didacticism – the author can't write his characters loving Oden without them writing a thousand words essay on Oden's mistakes onscreen for the readers (besides the criticism they already made in the flashback), just to make morals and priorities clear and unambiguous all the time. Or perhaps characters shouldn't love Oden at all? Maybe that's the point – Oden is unlovable because of his flaws!
And it's very unlikely that there will be reflection about it since Oda is not really that kind of writer. The authority figures that are meant to be heroic tend to be portrayed with little negativity in his stories. Like, both Cobra and King Riku were introduced as those fallible king figures, but were eventually revealed to be victims of the real schemer all along, and by the end of their arcs, they are considered paragons of virtue and wisdom. Same for people like Ganfall and Neptune.
As you said, when Oda wants to, he writes his characters as perfect people with virtually no flaws whatsoever – the perfect king, the perfect princess, the perfect citzen, the perfect civilian, etc. He did it a lot in pre-timeskip especially. So it's not like Oda is unaware of what's virtuous and what's not.
The fact that Oda wrote Oden as a flawed individual speaks for itself, and he was very explicit on that. Any reader can pick up on this fact without the other characters screaming at us "hey, I love Oden!!!! but I must add that he is flawed, just so we're clear!".
