Plus, superfans are more likely by nature to become yes-men and thus less likely to challenge Oda's own ideas, which is the whole point of an editor.

Makes you think, huh?

@Alfiere said in Chapter 1090: Kizaru:

The Water7/Enies Lobby saga was first and foremost about Robin's tragedy, establishing the world government as the big evil villain, the greatest obstacle on our heroes' path, and introducing the massive lore connected to all that.
And yet there was plenty of time to devote to Usopp's personal drama about being robbed first and losing the merry immediately after. It was a highly irrational and childish reaction on his part, and it threw a big wrench in the gears of the crew, complicating things for them, but an extremely believable and moving one for sure and it just kept going on along to the main plot bringing about a fundamental growth for the character Usopp and highlighting all the other crew members' feelings about his action. Meanwhile we also got the Franky storyline and even a bit of Chopper's.
So there isn't really any reason for not devoting not one chapter, but an entire subplot to Sanji dealing with the hunger in Wano because that's what I'm expecting from Sanji on a famined island after 20+ years of following his adventures. İf it's missing, anyone who cares about the character is bound to be disappointed.
Same goes with Jimbe, who is a very bland and overall badly written character, but at least always made clear one thing and that is disliking slavery, so i would expect there being a giant note in front of Oda's desk saying "chubby fish is not cool with there being a child soldier clone of him, or of anyone for that matter". İt clearly isn't there and that denotes nothing but lack of a care that was once there.

The Water7-Enies Lobby saga is also one of the longest stories in the series, with nearly 130 chapters of content. Now imagine doing that when you have several more characters, primary and secondary. Corners have to be cut.

Never mind that according to Oda, Water 7 was originally about Merry/Usopp and Franky. Robin's subplot was entirely non-planned (or at least was not planned to be tackled there) and even Lucci wasn't meant to be an antagonist until he suddenly was.

Essentially, by doing exactly what you suggested, we ended up with a massive story that rivals Wano in lenght, but with 1/5 of the characters.

And you still have people clamoring for an 11th Strawhat.

Now that Wano has ended and many people have voiced their pros and cons about the arc, I thought this would be an interesting thing to post here, because it gives an idea about where Oda concentrated his writing and drawing efforts while he developed this particular storyline.

THE TOP 50 CHARACTERS IN ALL OF WANO WITH THE MOST APPEARANCES

Monkey D. Luffy - 1689
Kaido - 989
Roronoa Zoro - 922
Kin'emon - 684
Kozuki Momonosuke - 674
Sanji - 573
O-Kiku - 484
Yamato - 479
Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom) - 471
Kozuki Oden - 458
Nami - 453
Kawamatsu - 431
Queen - 421
Trafalgar D. Water Law - 407
O-Tama - 400
Kozuki Hiyori - 357
Raizo - 353
Nico Robin - 345
Eustass Kid - 340
Kurozumi Orochi - 339
Usopp - 330
Denjiro - 320
Tony Tony Chopper - 319
Shinobu - 306
Franky - 305
Inuarashi - 302
Hyogoro - 285
Nekomamushi - 271
Ashura Doji - 270
King - 268
Kurozumi Kanjuro - 258
Napoleon - 253
Brook - 223
Komachiyo - 190
Jinbe - 188
Basil Hawkins - 187
Killer - 185
Marco - 169
Ulti - 149
Izo - 145
O-Toko - 144
X Drake - 142
Shimotsuki Yasuie - 141
Kozuki Sukiyaki - 131
Black Maria - 119
Thousand Sunny - 118
Sasaki - 118
Scratchmen Apoo - 117
Page One - 116
Zeus - 112
***RUNNER-UPS:***
Onimaru - 107
Who's Who - 105
Carrot - 104
Kozuki Toki - 103
Gol D. Roger - 96
Jack - 95
Prometheus - 82
Gama Pyonnosuke - 82 
Aramaki (Ryokugyu) - 80
O-Tsuru - 79
Fukurokuju - 78
(Eye-Scar CP0 Member) - 76
Speed - 74
Edward Newgate (Whitebeard) - 74
Babanuki - 66

The methodology is all explained in the reddit thread. Credit to Chris_Mic: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/wvkjan/a_comprehensive_breakdown_of_wanos_panels/

Personally, I was surprised about how well Kiku ranked, and that Aramaki managed to get that high despite being in just 3 or so chapters, to the point of surpassing Fukurokuju.

UPDATE:

I also found this quite old list from the now defunct Oro Jackson that includes panel time from chapters 1 to 908. If anyone wants to do the math with how it adds up with the above, be my guest.

Monkey D. Luffy - 15147
Nami - 7302
Sanji - 6636
Usopp - 6552
Roronoa Zoro - 6307
Tony Tony Chopper - 4638
Nico Robin - 3566
Franky - 2966
Brook - 1968
Nefertari Vivi - 1588
Trafalgar Law - 1476
Jinbe - 1084
Donquixote Doflamingo - 1031
Portgas D. Ace - 856
Crocodile - 830
Rob Lucci - 795
Buggy - 772
Charlotte Linlin - 660
Bentham - 656
Caesar Clown - 646
Kin'emon - 625
Kyros - 607
Enel - 600
Kaku - 589
Rebecca - 550
Carrot - 549
Smoker - 529
Arlong - 527
Charlotte Katakuri - 517
Hatchan/Iceburg - 508
Tashigi - 493
Kalifa - 483
Paulie - 468
Sabo - 425
Wiper - 422
Oars - 406
Galdino - 405
Hody Jones - 403
Shirahoshi - 400
Capone Bege - 394
Blueno - 385
Edward Newgate - 384
Charlotte Pudding - 376
Keimi - 373
Spandam - 369
Emporio Ivankov - 360
Pedro - 357
Don Krieg - 354
Gan Fall - 348
Boa Hancock/ Bartolomeo - 347

From here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/ae53et/top_50_characters_with_most_manga_panels_time/

@access-timeco said in Chapter 1079: The Emperor's Crew, the Red-Haired Pirates:

@King-Cannon said in Chapter 1079: The Emperor's Crew, the Red-Haired Pirates:

@access-timeco said in Chapter 1079: The Emperor's Crew, the Red-Haired Pirates:

I am a Big Mom fan, so I obviously have my bias, but I want to believe what we saw in this chapter is not Oda saying "Shanks >>>>> other Emperors", but simply "just because these guys defeated Emperors before it doesn't mean they have cleared that level. THIS is what an Emperor looks like when they are seriously trying to take you down".

The thing is that Law was able to inflict some damage on Blackbeard and his crew, so the framing is definitely not equal. Blackbeard currently needs 3 of his main officers + himself to take on Law's 21-man crew while Shanks only acted by himself.

Shanks is clearly above the other Emperors.

Teach is a terrible example. Just like Luffy, he is a character that is getting stronger as the story progresses. We have no idea if current Teach is already at the level Oda wants him to be by the end.
Shanks, Linlin and Kaido (and previously Newgate) are not characters who are still getting stronger.

Teach has around the same age as Shanks, to the point they actually participated in the same fight as children. Their bounties are also almost the same.

It's weird to say Teach still has room to grow while Shanks hit his ceiling already.

@Robby said in Chapter 1079: The Emperor's Crew, the Red-Haired Pirates:

You can say the same for Buggy, blower-upper of cities. Or Crocodile, genocider of kingdoms. And Ceaser Clown, poisoner of children. Wapol became a man that gets peed on by dogs. Enel started playing with robot teddy bears. And now n this very arc, murder machine Lucchi is being pulled into face faults.

All the bad people get toned down in Luffy's presence after they stop being a threat and made into jokes that ignore the horrible things they done.

Doesn't mean Kidd is "not actually that bad". It just means that Luffy is on camera and nothing truly bad can happen while the audience is watching.

Bege has stabbed a subordinate in the eye, almost killed Pekoms and attempted to assassinate someone with deadly poison, even roping the SH into it, yet he gets off mostly scot-free.

Honestly, I don't think Oda cares if Kid has done bad things or whatever. Bartolomeo was going around making barbecue out of people, yet he's not particularly treated badly for it.

@Alfiere said in Chapter 1090: Kizaru:

If I had to pick only one major criticism to the writing of post timeskip One Piece that rises above all the others, I think it would be characters almost never acting coherently with their previously established characterization, always following instead the path of less resistance for the plot to stay on tracks and the planned events to happen.

So before this we had for example Luffy declaring he wanted to take the emperors down and taking territories while pre-time skip he made a big declaration in front of an approving Rayleigh that he didn't want to dominate on anybody and just wanted the most freedom, or the crew accepting and going along the Big mom assassination plan, or the famine in Wano never being a major point for Sanji, only because he already had his spotlight, or Kid and Law, who had dick measuring consests with Luffy on stuff like dodging fire blasts or jumping from waterfalls, just willingly step aside for Luffy to fight the big boss all on his own, and now all this we just discussed.

It makes incredibly hard to care for any of these characters because it breaks the illusion of them being actual people.one can relate to and exposes them as simply plot devices for the intended thing to happen.

Those are pretty minor points, and in somecases don't contradict prior charcterization. Sure Luffy wants to have the most freedom, but turns out that when the Emperors restrain freedom, you have to take them down and protect your territories so they also don't get freedom-restricted. If anything, pre-timeskip Luffy was rather naive as he didn't know how the New World functioned, but his desire for ultimate freedom is still there, Nika being the culmination of it.

And it's not like any of the things you mentioned weren't acknowledged at all. Sanji DID get angry after learning about the SMILE, but it's not like you can dedicate a whole chapter about his reactions since there are many other characters that have their own thoughts about it as well. Sanji for example did step up when Page One started rampaging on food stands because he felt responsible for it, so that's enough of a moment for him.

@Captain-M You forgot a small panel of the island right next to Vergo using Geppou.

It's very clearly a flat island, even though the finalized Dressrosa has large rocky borders that hide the island's interior.

@Deicide said in Chapter 1057: The End:

@theackwardstation said in Chapter 1057: The End:

As for the twist itself of Yamato staying, my opinion is that Oda did it too late.

I don't think it's too late, but that the lack of Yamato's perspective made it too jarring.

For a long time I thought we'd get an Yamato exploration chapter, in which we delve into his mind, past and dreams, he finds an epiphany about himself, and makes his final decision.

The thing is, that chapter was completely skipped. So his decision feels like a middle finger to the reader.

Still, I hope we get at least a flashback to his talk with Luffy and the others.

This is an annoying trend with modern Oda where he writes things with the intention of ending the chapter in a cliffhanger, so he may sacrifice some scenes that should be there in order to pump fans for the next chapter.

Reading older chapters, you can tell this was never a concern. He could end things with a bang or a whimper or even a laugh. Not trying to be nostalgic or anything, but it's one of the more noticeable changes you can point out in his writing along the years.

@danie This is what I believe as well. Wano was not particularly kind to Carrot and she was mostly treated as a plot thread he had no idea what to do with, to the point he was comfortable ignoring her for large portions of the raid and letting one of the Mink Kings take over what should've been her struggle.

There's enough evidence that Oda just rushed and fumbled everything post-raid, so all payoffs ended up half-baked. Ruler Carrot would be just another one to that pile.

@access-timeco said in Chapter 1100: Thank You, Bonney:

With how sidelined the Satellites' existence became in this arc, I hope we circle back to them and see how they were conceived. They are all ~3yo or less, but they all clearly have adult minds.

We know they are machines going by Atlas and Pythagoras. The issue is more about the programming used for their brains(?).

@Deicide said in Chapter 1099: Pacifist:

We are only two years before the start of Luffy's journey, we never got a flashback so close to the present than that, except as part of the final stretch's fast-forward montage.

It's actually concurrent with Ace meeting Tama and Yamato.

@Deicide said in Chapter 1098: Bonney's Birth:

@Xelloss It doesn't seem to be a religious book at all, every time we saw someone checking that book, it was about locations in the world.

Kuma skimmed throught it before sending Perona to her ideal island.

Bonney has read about sky islands in it.

There are angels pictured in the cover.

@kevo_koma said in Chapter 1098: Bonney's Birth:

I missed Last Week's discussion and I'm looking forward to reading @CAPTAIN M essay.

But I just had to say, what in the actual fuck was going on with the art in this chapter?????

I have genuinely never seen Oda produce such....I don't know, mediocre?? work??

Is it because of the eye surgery???

He didn't finish it in time, so he sent in a incomplete manuscript.

@realtenchu said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

@King-Cannon said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

@realtenchu said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

@King-Cannon said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

Would definitely be weird if the WG knew Kuma was a revolutionary before making him a Warlord. That's a massive conflict of interest.

I think Ginny was used to blackmail him and so was Bonney to make him work for the government. So yes they probably knew his activities.

The question here is Ginny pregnant?.
Kuma said no to marriage but not to relationships. If Bonney is Kuma’s daughter, she must be in the oven at this point.

We know Kuma became a Warlord because of a deal he made with Vegapunk. He was under a life sentence, otherwise.

What deal was this?. Remind me because I’m very forgetful

I remembered the revolutionary detail incorrectly, but the part about the deal is true. Vegapunk did convince the WG to pardon Kuma's revolutionary background and make him a Warlord, otherwise he was jailed for life. There was no blackmail involved.

@realtenchu said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

@King-Cannon said in Chapter 1097: Ginny:

Would definitely be weird if the WG knew Kuma was a revolutionary before making him a Warlord. That's a massive conflict of interest.

I think Ginny was used to blackmail him and so was Bonney to make him work for the government. So yes they probably knew his activities.

The question here is Ginny pregnant?.
Kuma said no to marriage but not to relationships. If Bonney is Kuma’s daughter, she must be in the oven at this point.

We know Kuma became a Warlord because of a deal he made with Vegapunk. He was under a life sentence, otherwise.

Would definitely be weird if the WG knew Kuma was a revolutionary before making him a Warlord. That's a massive conflict of interest.

i'm certainly not going to complain about MHA's time passing in an One Piece forum.

Anything else? Don't really use twitter (or X) nowadays.

@black-leg-jex said in Volume 107 Prediction/Discussion:

Seems like we also get the name of Bonney's Devil Fruit.

Which is it? I'm assuming it's Toshi Toshi?