This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Post-Timeskip.
Summary
Eiichiro Oda, the author ofOne Piece, is quite easily one of the most talented mangaka to have ever lived. It is safe to say thatOda is one of Japan’s biggest mangaka, if not the biggest, and that his story has managed to touch hearts all over the world. There is a reason whyOne Pieceis the best-selling manga on the planet, and without consistency, that would certainly not be possible.
Oda’s story keeps on getting better, and with One Piece now in the Final Saga, Oda has promised to deliver the best content the One Piece so far. Often, Oda has talked about the story that he wants to write with One Piece, but, more recently, he also spoke about the kind of stories that he dislikes. This gives fans a bit of a perspective into how Oda writes One Piece as well as he does, and why this manga has proven to be so successful.
The Kind of Story That Oda Dislikes The Most
Oda’s One Piece is a masterful story of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, who set out on a quest to accomplish various goals. Of course, at the center of it all is Luffy’s dream of becoming the Pirate King, but every Straw Hat has their own dream as well. At the same time, fans know that whileOne Pieceis very goal-oriented when it comes to the Strawhat Pirates, but there’s a blend of other interesting things that play,such as mystery surrounding the Void Century, some absolutely tear-jerking moments, and of course, comedy does throw into the mix as well.
One Piece blends all of these things incredibly well, and that is precisely why this manga has proven to be as successful as it is. In fact, it is the kind of story that Oda loves the most. In Oda’s eyes, stories that are too linear and lean more towards just one aspect of storytelling are boring. This is what Oda has to say about the stories that bore him the most:
Oda (2012): I get bored easily. So if One Piece was just about the action, or comedy, or tear-jerking manga, more than anybody, I would get bored. So I change up my art styles to keep up my motivation to draw the series. I think of the plots and scenes when I’m tired.
Quite clearly, Oda thinks that stories that blend in multiple qualities instead of just excelling at one are the best. For instance, there are some manga out there that do action incredibly well, but fall apart when it comes to actual deep storytelling. Some others do comedy very well but fail at delivering impactful scenes. Other manga can do emotionally charged moments very well, but have nothing else going on for them. These manga are, according to Oda, very boring. Of course, at the end of the day, opinion differs on these things, since it is art and, as such, can be subjective. But, to Oda, an author that is only good at writing one aspect of a story is clearly not an inspired one.
According to Oda, if his own manga were to be about just one of these things, then he would get incredibly bored, more than even his own fans. Oda likes to keep things fresh by constantly touching upon multiple plot lines, bringing about comedy and serious moments and, at the same time, writing tear-jerking and emotional chapters as well. That is how One Piece has remained on the throne of the greatest manga of all time and why it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future as well.
How One Piece Blends Everything Together To Perfection
The story ofOne Piecehas continually managed to deliver quality of the absolutely highest order. In fact, there is not even a singleOne Piecearc that focuses on just one aspect of storytelling and neglects the others. Some ofOne Piece’svery best arcs managed to blend action with gut-wrenching emotions and, at the same time, excessive comedy. One such example of this is the Paramount War Arc of the Summit War Saga. It can be said that this is one of the most tense arcs in the entire series. For those who do not remember, Luffy’s brother, Ace, was set to be executed in the Marine HQ, and to rescue him, Whitebeard called upon his allies and set out to invade the Marine HQ in an attempt to save his son.
This is the most chaotic and, at the same time, intense arc that fans have seen inOne Piece. Marineford is one of the most battle-oriented ones that fans have seen. All of it, from start to finish, is a massive war,which sees the Whitebeard Pirates go upagainst the powerful Marines, the Seven Warlords, and even the Blackbeard Pirates in the end. While there is quite a lot of action in this arc, Oda tugs at the heartstrings of the fans by keeping Ace under the spotlight at all times.Ace’s emotions are in disarray, and fans know that Luffy’s quest to save him is all about preserving the bond of brotherhood that he has. This bond of brotherhood is what keeps fans glued to their seats, just as the action does. But, that isn’t all. Marineford has a great blend of comedy in it as well. Buggy, who fans know to be one of the best drivers of comedic plotlines in the story, is constantly serving as a comedic relief in this arc, but as he does that, Oda takes these comedic moments and then sets them up into important plotlines later down the line.
This phenomenal arc just goes to show how Oda plans all aspects ofOne Pieceand delivers an absolutely magnificent arc. To this day, Marineford can easily be called the greatest ofOne Piece, although now there are other arcs that can rival it for that title, such as Wano Country, among many others, such as Enies Lobby. The truth is, One Piece has a wide array of arcs that are just as good as Marineford and do all these things incredibly well. That is precisely why the series has been as successful as it is, and fans know that Oda will keep up this formula in the future as well.
One Piece’s Final Saga Promises Incredible Stuff
Oda has clearly stated that the Final SagaofOne Piecewill be phenomenal and the battles that fans will get to see in these arcs will make Marineford look like a joke. At the same time, fans also know that comedy is going to be a part of every arc that they will witness from here onwards, even though the scene gets more serious. The existence of Gear 5 certainly does ensure that. At the same time, fans also know that Oda will continue to write gut-wrenching storylines that tug at the heartstrings of the fans, which means that whatever is to come in the final saga will be the most incredible stuff that fans have ever experienced.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and theManga Plusapp. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set to be June 26, 2025.
