Volume 103 will release on November 4th.
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Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion
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Wow, just two months from now?
I guess it will have 11 chapters: 1047-1057. Starts with Luffy's final attack, ends with Wano's curtains closing.
Possible titles:
- A New Morning (1052)
- The world that should be (1049)
Cover characters: Luffy as Nika, adult Momonosuke, Yamato, Green Bull in the forefront; Shanks, Buggy and Blackbeard in the background.
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We just had a 11 chapters tonkobon but I believe this will be the same - it would be as jarring as Saboady's ending to have anything else.
My guess would be "The New Era" or "The World that Should Be". I like the ring of "New Morning" but since we had zero focus on the Dawn during Wano's finale I bet Oda will save it for the future.
A mirror of volume 25's cover would be fun, but since we already had a spread showing off the new Yonko, I bet we'll have Momonosuke, Yamato, Luffy, Kin'emon, Hyori, Sakayaki and Aramaki at the front. Maybe some Buggy...as a treat.
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All I know is that I will be severely disappointed if after the chapter that ends with the “who are the new emperors?” cliffhanger, we don’t get a question with this guy.
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Joining the chorus for 1047 to 1057, and betting on "New Era" for the title.
I think this panel in the latest chapter is a good sign:
If it and chapter 1057 are in the same book, that's a flashback to something readers literally just saw. If it's the start of a new volume, it makes more sense. (Although I'm sure someone with a sharper memory will find a flashback in much closer range in the same volume, it still gives me a good feeling.)
I reckon the cover is going to have a post-battle focus. Hard to imagine anything more representative of the last phase of the fight than volume 103's cover. Momo, Shanks and Aramaki feel like givens, and any combination of Hiyori, Sabo and Buggy wouldn't surprise me. Even betting on post-battle, I think we might still see Gear Five Luffy.
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With Wano being done, out of the 13 covers, i'd go
5 99
4 102
3 96
2 103
1 97I hope the last Wano cover tops all of them. This hasn't been the best arc for covers.
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@Cockycent said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
This hasn't been the best arcIndeed
Anyway, I hope for an explanation on several things: Hawkins' powers, Tama's family confirmation, Kaido and BM's status, etc. - but I know we will probably just get a bunch of jokes about Gear 5 and the new Emperors. Oh well, it is what it is.
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1057 has clearly got to be the last chapter of this volume, surely. The final page being the curtain closing with 'The End' makes sense as the final page of the volume as well.
As for the cover, it's the Wano send off cover so Adult Momo with his retainers behind him including Yamato. I would suspect something similar to that panel of Momo sitting in front of the remaining Scabbards but with Luffy sitting next to him and either Yamato or Tama behind/between them. Then the remaining scabbards placed around them wherever they need to be to fit.
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@black-leg-jex I don't think we will get the Scabbards since they already had Volume 98 for themselves.
I think we will get the guys Luffy considers his "crewmates": Momo, Kin'emon and Yamato. It makes sense for Kin'emon and Momo since they've been sailing with the SH forever and Yamato camethe closest to actually joining.
I also expect Aramaki to be there.
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Shame on Oda for Orochi never having a cover. He was a horrible person from the beginning to the end of the arc. He deserves his flowers. Him and Queen carried most of this arc. I understand Jack not getting one, but cmon
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Volume 104 will have 192 pages.
10 chapters, from 1047 to 1056. -
Doesn't include The End? That was surprising
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Ending 104 on chapter 1056 instead of 1057 is almost as bad as ending volume 60 on chapter 594 instead of 597 or volume 52 on chapter 512 instead of 513. Sometimes I really don't understand these decisions. It's not like they won't have a large enough buffer of chapters by the time vol 104 goes to print. But maybe it's because they set the date or the volume before Oda went on the 4 week hiatus and by then the chapter schedule was set? Either way, chapter 1057 is a very bad way to open a volume.
Maybe they just didn't want a volume to conclude with a chapter titled 'The End' out of concern that volume only readers might think there isn't going to be another volume, as unlikely as that might sound?
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Welp, even after 25 years and record sales, Oda remains bound by the apparent editorial mandate that an arc and a volume can't end on the same chapter. Maybe we should have seen this coming. Oda took a month off but this volume release is only going to be three months after the last one. That's a pretty huge blow to the chapter buffer, and putting out 11 chapters instead of 10 would only make the gap bigger. Hopefully volume 105 won't have to be delayed either.
I don't know how large an audience unspoiled volume readers are in Japan, but leaving on the cliffhanger of Yamato going to see the crew, apparently to join up, is absolutely going to drive some of them insane. On the flip side, this means Yamato's choice not to join now happens in the same volume as the actual explanation for it, so at least those volume readers won't be left stewing, feeling like something was off about it for three or four months.
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As disappointing it is for the readers from a business perspective this decision makes sense. You don't want to end the volume on a clear arc ending point. Even if there are cliffhangers and the main story is ongoing having a definite conlcusion to a story arc runs at risk for some readers to drop off.
There's always those that just want to read to an arcs conclusion and then move on to sometging else (be it only a temporary break from the series or a permanent one). You want to have them get the next volume too because if they bought it, the chances are higher they will get interested in the next arc too. Since they payed money for the volume they might aswell just read it all. That's where the company hopes to get the drop off readers hooked again.
This rings true for any arc but hits harder with Wano as they literally have a "The End" final page concluding the arc. It's a huge financial gamble to finish you volume with that. Not all readers are as deeply connected with One Piece as guys like us who spend their free time discussing the series on a forum.
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If Chapter 1057 isn't included, I don't see any reason for Oda to have rushed the ending in it unless it was because he was totally fed up with Wano at that point.
I feel extending Chapter 1057 into two so Yamato and other stuff gets resolved would be a better decision, but I guess Oda really wanted to move on to other stuff.
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Yeah, for me it's more the awkwardness of 1057 being the sole Wano chapter as the opener for volume 105 than it not being included in volume 104 which stands out the most.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
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@StrawHatJedi Reminds me when the entirety of the Davy Back Fight fit into a volume, except the very last chapter with Foxy's defeat being the first of the following volume.
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Loguetown - one chapter into a new volume
Drum - one chapter from the end of a volume
Alabasta - one chapter into a new volume
Skypiea - two chapters from the end of a volume
Post-Ennies Lobby - one chapter into a new volume
Thriller Bark - two chapters from the end of a volume
Sabaody - one chapter into a new volume
Post-Marineford - three chapters into a new volume
Fishman Island - two chapters from the end of a volume
Whole Cake Island - two chapters into a new volumeAnd those are just the big examples, not counting any of the ones that cut off squarely in the middle of a volume.
Jaya and Punk Hazard might be the only arcs to actually end alongside their last full volume, and they both lead strongly into their follow-up arcs, leaving no room to feel like the story is complete.
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Imho it is be basic market strategy: if a storyline ends with the volume, some people could just be tempted to cut the serie if they didn't enjoyed the arc so much. Putting the finale in the next volume will just lead them to buy the it out of completism and follow to read the story, eventually getting hooked in the new arc setup. Whoever didn't enjoyed Wano will have to eventually but the 105 even only for reading the final chapter and then boom, Seraphim and Jewelry Bonney.
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I guet the explanations provided but it's quite jarring for my silly brain.
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I dislike this decision a lot, but nothing can ever beat chapter 513 starting a volume.
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I will never forget Kinemon preparing himself to cut down Luffy. 1057 is really a beautiful chapter. Kinemon is a remarkable character. I'm glad Oda didn't kill his wife.
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@StrawHatJedi said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
Yeah, for me it's more the awkwardness of 1057 being the sole Wano chapter as the opener for volume 105 than it not being included in volume 104 which stands out the most.
That chapter doesn't deserve to be the start of a volume anyway, for how disappointing and honestly condescending it felt in its handling of explanations and focus.
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given the reactions we had, it is better for the volumes readers that 1057 and 1059 are in the same one
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@Kdom said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
given the reactions we had, it is better for the volumes readers that 1057 and 1059 are in the same one
Agreed, after how much Yamato’s sailing narrative was pushed and how people have gotten invested in people sailing out with the Straw Hats before, then at that point it doesn’t matter how the defending Wano bit comes into play. The way I see it, people are understandably going to get the feeling that their time was wasted, because if defending Wano was Yamato’s only purpose all along, then the wanting to sail narrative shouldn’t have been pushed.
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2 weeks away and no cover yet
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Yeah I was really hoping to see it tonight as well. Got notifications on for the thread and everything. Hopefully during the next week then?
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mugiwara_23
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That Luffy looks almost retraced on G5's first panel, kinda don't like it.
Also Hiyori looks like she put too much wasabi on the Momo-unagi in there. Odd placement.
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Well there it go. I knew it was getting too close.
I will stick to the positives and say at least that fan art that is adult Momo isn't on the cover.
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Not that super keen on it. I guess Oda didn't want to spoil Adult Momo's look on the cover but this is the Wano send-off volume. I thoigh we'd get more.
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Ah, I spoke too soon, we are getting it tonight. Well, at least some of it.
It's... okay. Feels a lot more like a send-off Piece to Wano as a whole than it does one made specifically for volume 104. Kinda funny that it has the Gear Five reveal pose that was actually in the last volume (though it is relevant here again for his wanted poster), and Hiyori's controversial final line, which will be in the next volume. Momo's inclusion scans a little too similar to volume 102's cover for my tastes.
Credit where it's due, I like seeing the Flower Capital making the front of the book. One Piece's settings are such a huge part of its appeal but they rarely make the covers. And having the sakura petals falling down over it and the cloud motif at the bottom makes a really nice bookend with volume 91, drawing the saga to a conclusion.
I'm sure seeing the properly polished coloured version with the logo in place will help it a lot, and a part of me is probably just bitter that so much space is taken up by one of the least good things about Wano's epilogue (Hiyori's judgement on the Kurozumis) while the actual most interesting parts of the volume (Aramaki, Sabo and the Cross Guild) go ignored.
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@Captain-M said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
Ah, I spoke too soon, we are getting it tonight. Well, at least some of it.
It's... okay. Feels a lot more like a send-off Piece to Wano as a whole than it does one made specifically for volume 104. Kinda funny that it has the Gear Five reveal pose that was actually in the last volume (though it is relevant here again for his wanted poster), and Hiyori's controversial final line, which will be in the next volume. Momo's inclusion scans a little too similar to volume 102's cover for my tastes.
Credit where it's due, I like seeing the Flower Capital making the front of the book. One Piece's settings are such a huge part of its appeal but they rarely make the covers. And having the sakura petals falling down over it and the cloud motif at the bottom makes a really nice bookend with volume 91, drawing the saga to a conclusion.
I'm sure seeing the properly polished coloured version with the logo in place will help it a lot, and a part of me is probably just bitter that so much space is taken up by one of the least good things about Wano's epilogue (Hiyori's judgement on the Kurozumis) while the actual most interesting parts of the volume (Aramaki, Sabo and the Cross Guild) go ignored.
Hiyori's monologue is going to be in the next one? Really? This really makes my feelings for this cover even more off than they were before lol. Oda could've put really a lot of more relevant characters on this cover.
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Yeah sorry, that big head isn't doing it for me.
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I'm gagged that Aramaki and Adult!Momo didn't make it.
Seems like a cover Oda put zero effort in, since most of the drawings smell like a re-use of what we had in the manga. I'm pretty sure Nika is the same from the chapter pages, as well as Hyori. Generic Momonosuke Pose I can't point out, but doesn't seem like something new either.
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@rayleigh92 Yeah, the pagecount only has room for 10 chapters, so that last little bit with the curtain call is going in 105. Which is its own bizarre choice. It's not the first time there's been a cover with content from a different volume on it, but it sure doesn't happen often.
I guess that as much as we've all speculated that even Oda got a bit burned out on Wano and raced from Gear Five to its conclusion it's still an arc he's obviously very passionate about. After taking eight years to build it up and four more to actually tell it, I guess he wanted to do a final big illustration for the Kozuki siblings' story, even if it didn't totally fit in the one book.
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I was hoping we'd get a cover resembling the wano group shot in 1057 (grown up momo, Yamato, the scabbards)
That would have made for a nice cover if 1057 had been included. -
I was fully expecting a Volume 25-like cover, but I guess that's for the next one
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Split 50/50 on the cover.
Most of it I like. Inclusion of the Flower Capital is great, Luffy likewise and Oda does such a great job of drawing eastern dragons I'll never tire of seeing (dragon) Momo and (dragon) Kaido.
Then there's a giant crying Hiyori. Emotionally fitting I guess but it's awkward.
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I don't like the choices Oda did for the cover, but at least it would look pretty without Hiyori there. Her gigantic crying face doesn't fit with the rest and makes it all ugly. And I don't even remember where Hiyori cried like that in the story, since I'm only reminded of her angry crying face in chapter 1044, not this kind of face which looks just like Bonney in 1063.
Bad cover.
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Super meh. I don't like that Oda went with the gear 5 look from 1044. Should have been Lighting Luffy from 1047! And Momo should be in his human form!
I don't mind Hiyori though. I think that's supposed to be her in 1057 after her beautiful line.
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Super disappointing cover. I don't know if there is more that will be added after this sketch but I was really hoping for a scabbard group shot with or without adult Momo but just something that is heart warming send off for Wano with a cover that feels like it has some effort put into it. Instead we get what looks like a copy-pasted Gear 5 Luffy from its first appearance (as much as I like that chapter) and not much else (I was hoping for a hint towards the next arc, similar to the Fishman Island final volume cover). And I don't like people complaining about Wano too much but I have too say that volume covers for Wano were very much below average tbh. I really did expect more. Maybe part of it is that I was never a fan of 99-100-101 being one big one... but still, they weren't great.
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Momonosuke looks good.
That's it.
Hiyori being such a focus on the final volume is super random considering how absolutely irrelevant she was in both volume and arc, but it's Luffy copy+paste Gear 5 panel that really irks me. I want to think Oda was just as done as us with Wano that he didn't even wanted to come up with something new.
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@puffing-cinema said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
I'm gagged that Aramaki and Adult!Momo didn't make it.
Seems like a cover Oda put zero effort in, since most of the drawings smell like a re-use of what we had in the manga. I'm pretty sure Nika is the same from the chapter pages, as well as Hyori. Generic Momonosuke Pose I can't point out, but doesn't seem like something new either.
Aramaki is such a minor part that I’m not really surprised, nor with Yamato not being included for that matter. For better or worse, Wano, at least Act 3, is pretty much Momo’s arc after all.
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@theackwardstation said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
I don't like the choices Oda did for the cover, but at least it would look pretty without Hiyori there. Her gigantic crying face doesn't fit with the rest and makes it all ugly. And I don't even remember where Hiyori cried like that in the story, since I'm only reminded of her angry crying face in chapter 1044, not this kind of face which looks just like Bonney in 1063.
Bad cover.
Pretty much mirrors the unsatisfying way this arc ended. Hope for the best though. lol
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@QueenTangerine3 said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
I was hoping we'd get a cover resembling the wano group shot in 1057 (grown up momo, Yamato, the scabbards)
That would have made for a nice cover if 1057 had been included.I’m personally glad it’s not there since I really don’t like what that group shot implies: one’s time being wasted and being laughed at for it
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@theackwardstation It happened in the story. It's from 1057. The chapter that is supposedly not in this volume.
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Oda adds a Luffy from the previous volume and a Hiyori from the next one? That just seems wrong to me.
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@danie said in Volume 104 Predictions/Discussion:
Oda adds a Luffy from the previous volume and a Hiyori from the next one? That just seems wrong to me.
Also gives the impression as if Luffy and Hiyori are close, when they didn't really talk to each other.
