Why the Wano Arc Ended In Failure

[@mrbubbles6468]

‘Expectations were too high’ Blame Oda for that. He spent forever hyping it up. He hasn’t done this to the same degree for any other arc.

[@Katanagatari-b2o]

I'd argue Marineford was just as hyped, but it actually delivered, because it focused on 3 characters, Whitebeard, Ace and Luffy, meanwhile Wano tried to juggle Kaido, Big Mom, luffy, zoro, Law, Kidd, yamabozo, momonosuke, the scabbards. At some point its just too much for 1 arc to handle

[@AmManTalks]

Hmm I guess what is more hyped is up to the person. I was more hyped for Wano because it'd been built up for much longer. We only knew about the Paramount War during Sabaody.

[@Katanagatari-b2o]

@AmManTalks for me the Marineford was hyped ever since drum kingdom, where we heard Ace was hunting Blackbeard, and as the arcs progressed, we got the feeling where something big will happen soon, and so we got Shanks and WB meeting, Ace vs BB, Warlord meeting. It all helped to set the pieces on the board for the big fight

[@mrbubbles6468]

⁠@@Katanagatari-b2oIt wasn’t. I wasn’t talking about the build up in the story itself, rather Oda’s comments outside the story. And, no, all the stuff he had in Wano wasn’t too much to handle for one arc. Oda just dragged stuff out needlessly so he couldn’t fit everything in well.

[@furorteutonicus9045]

Oda never hyped up Wano though. You only have yourself to blame and your echo chamber.

[@ZuperNEZ]

Good point to mention Oda not writing in that Tama is a Kurozumi after the battle is a missed opportunity. The downfall of Wano as a country started because of prejudice towards to the Kurozumi clan. Wano's hatred towards the Kurozumi only reinforced because of Orochi. If the people of Wano knew the person responsible for taking control of half of Kaido's army in their favor was a little girl from the Kurozumi clan, then the opinions of the clan would change.

[@srdjan455]

One big issue I found with Wano was that a lot of fights were won because the plot demanded it. If that makes sense? Like thr strawhat didn't really overcome anything, they just hit the "I win" button.

[@chrispolo25]

The worst win by far is from Luffy with his deus ex machina chosen one trope BS power-up

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

@@chrispolo25 yep. he should NOT have gotten back up after kaido OHKOd him for the 3rd time. such boring plotarmor.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

@@srdjan455 Can you name an example?

[@srdjan455]

@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280 Robin vs Black Maria (I think that was her name?) Sanji vs queen Arguably the fight that Usopp and Nami had against what was her name. Jumbi vs who's who.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

@srdjan455 @srdjan455 I don't see it, personally. The only one that comes kinda close to your description is Sanji. Even then, it's all just developments of new techniques like how they win every fight. Mentioning Usopp is especially strange because his fighting style has always included ass-pulls, as it's implied he's always tinkering with shit, or in the modern case growing new pop greens or whatever. To say they're "I win" buttons is like saying Usopp getting observation haki in Dresrossa, or Zoro getting armament haki in Arabasta are too. They're all improvements made out of desperation. One could argue Jinbe and Sanji's developments are a little boring though; their new attacks are just the same ones they did before but flashier. Not great, but not exceptional either. In Jinbe's case, I'd say the inverse is true. Who's Who was by all means kind of a jobber, and Jinbe struggled against him because he needed a fight.

[@supernova21gaming30]

I wish people could stop glorifying Oda for three seconds, and take criticism, most One Piece will call anything peak honestly it's very cult like.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

Bro it's anime opinions.

[@JohnnyWalker-333]

@@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280cult opinions

[@nunosantos00]

He messed up badly. Characters have great abilities that should do much more damage they actually do and many enemies are so irrelevant in the story they become just filler. You have Yonkos wich are so dangerous they can kill anyone they want and nobody dies and fights are not even taken serious. Luffy attacks someone without thinking and gets ko and the enemy just captures him or leaves him ko. They never strike the killer blow. Even at Marineford only Akainu was trying to kill Luffy,Kizaru was just playing with him. Every enemies he fights are world class criminals who enslave and kill people and they end up ko and either disappear or get arrested by the same corrupt Navy that protects them. Ace died for nothing,i think we all know Luffy will never be a badass character or even look like one let alone give death to Akainu because that's what he deserves. Enemy punishment in this anime is like put a kid inside his room and tell him to do nothing. Oda is a coward mangaka who is afraid to turn this anime into action. If you have pirates fighting for a treasure the government doesn't want them to find there will be a serious war and lots of deaths,not clashes of abilities with no conclusion at all.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

@@nunosantos00 Bro it's anime opinions. No need for an essay or calling Oda a coward because he didn't do the thing you wanted.

[@nunosantos00]

@@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280 Lawyers...like what i said wasn't true. Everyone can see this happening in the anime,how can you have a main character making threats of ass kicking one of the biggest enemies he has and then runs from the fight even after one of his friends being a hostage there? Ah he wasn't ready... You don't challenge a Yonko without being ready. Oda is interested in making fun of his own character and ruin the same fighting spirit he gave him and nothing else and because kids are watching he concentrates in comedy and says there is action. Gear 4th and what the hell is that? Recently i had gear 5th because i like to play Pirate Warriors 4 in Xbox and 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Luffy is the real problem of One Piece,his fighting style is not very bad and some moves actually look good but the way he acts and his ridiculous gears. Zoro,Sanji,Hancock,Robin and Sabo make Luffy look like a 0,they are not all stronger but more mature and badass. Son Goku is 100 times better as main character,so as Ichigo or some others from 12 eps anime nobody even knows.

[@omellemmor4732]

The bad - Big Mom got amnesia and turned out to be simply a one off gag - Big Mom pirates completely forgotten after Marco kicked their ship off of Wano

[@chrispolo25]

You forgot the Straw Hats clowned her like she was a fodder character! Even worse than Law & Kid beat her with an asspull awakening.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

@@chrispolo25 How would their awakenings have happened otherwise? It wouldn't be as interesting if they just got them offscreen or without being in a fight. It's how new techniques and transformations in Shonen have happened since Goku went Super Saiyan.

[@chrispolo25]

@ you’re just making excuses with poor writing decision. They didn’t even have a training flashback to back it up justifying the awakenings. In the case of Goku at least that guy trained hard to put in on the work unlike Law & Kid in Wano.

[@chrispolo25]

@ I could name other shonen that handle it well with training and making it make sense to earn it.

[@jotarokujoandstarplatinum1280]

@chrispolo25 ??? Idt we needed occasional shots of Law lifting weights to buy his awakening lol. It's literally fine. They're not main characters, we don't need to see what's going on all the time. Goku literally just went SSJ out of distress after his friend was killed. Nothing about his training was mentioned as a catalyst for him getting there. Also, did Law's fights from Dressrosa to Wano not count as training? Both his and Kidd's devil fruit's put strain on their bodies every time they're used. They're "training" anytime they actually use their abilities. Kidd gets bonus points for lifting big rocks for however long at Udon.

[@ilikeanime819]

I honestly wasn't expecting a lot when I pressed on the video but this is actually a great video with good points. I was wondering why Zoro felt so lackluster during the climax of the arc even though he had some cool moments. This video made me realize why. Zoro, instead of having a thriller bark arc (Ryuma, Oars, Kuma) had a Alabatsa arc (cutting Mr 1) even though he had a lot of build-up making it feel lackluster. Thanks for making the video.

[@itsxtra252]

What zoro buildup. Was that fan theory or was it in the story. People keep saying Wano should be Zoo's arc or Egghead should be Frankys arc, like who decided that. Was there build up for it to be their arc?

[@koorohshahmoradi4882]

Morj could never. (Great video btw)

[@lxfj2128]

A one piece fan actually criticising one piece especially post time skip. Refreshing thers a lot of writing issues with post timeskip one piece

[@AmManTalks]

Yeah, definitely not the most open fanbase to criticism lol. That's just the passion people have I suppose. Thanks for watching the video!

[@princegerma1105]

​​@@AmManTalksAfter rewatching Zou i found it a very good arc it had a great pace and story 😊 👍 😀

[@mrbubbles6468]

Post time skip gets critised all the time. And the majority of problems people complain about it happened just as frequently.

[@princegerma1105]

@@mrbubbles6468 For example what 🤔

[@mrbubbles6468]

@@princegerma1105Pick any complaint you want. My favourite is pacing because a lot of the people commenting on One Piece weren’t reading week to week from the start. The complaints about things taking too long, the chapters being boring, nothing happening have always been there. A lot of the complaints come from the fact a lot of people read several fully completed arcs and then compared those completed arcs to ongoing arcs and only really remembering the key moments, not the chapters inbetween that helped set those up.

[@wastingtime2380]

I believe some problems come from the pressure Shueisha put in Oda to end Wano as soon as possible. The Film Red promotion required the scene with shanks and uta's mention. I think he was forced to rush

[@muffinfighter3680]

Really unfortunate if true

[@RenegadeMatrix]

Very refreshing to hear this level of analysis, must take a while do to, but I hope it pays off

[@scarr009]

Great video! You're on point that while Morj was ultimately wrong on the raid failing, he was right to point out that there were absolutely NO STAKES throughout all of Act 3. As an example, Zoro getting a never-before-mentioned senzu bean to heal him from near-death to fighting shape was absolutely ludicrous. How am I to take any fight seriously? To me, that's emblematic of poor arc planning and/or a rush to end the arc. Through Act 1 and 2, as you outlined, you do see classic OP set-up. But I think what prevented a proper follow-through was the Raid just became to big and bloated with too many characters and events being juggled in a mostly-weekly series of 18 pages. Anyway, my thoughts are all over the place. You did a great job organizing your here. You got a sub!

[@williamhardee8863]

My main criticism with Onigashima was always how bloated it was. It felt like even in the manga the pacing was terrible.

[@FreakGeSt]

Finally, someone say it.

[@ElishaSkater]

I love one piece but this video has some really good points. Another thing that disappointed me was that Zoro's family tree wasn't explored in wano, it was announced in a post instead.😅

[@AmManTalks]

Hey thanks for the comment! I was disappointed by that too along with Zoro's character as a whole as mentioned in the video. It's weird how many seemingly important plot points in this arc were revealed in an SBS (Tama being a Kurozumi).

[@Алексей545-т6б]

@@AmManTalks Scabbard should dead, Dangiro was good as "Yakudza boss which support Orochi" - without him Orochi look like a joke, Jack should not be walking talking humiliation bag, fallen members of Luffy team should be stay fallen (no Zoro shit for example) Also they could bring BM crew at time possible . My personal take we need completly different approach to this story - Oda should make Orochi actually capable ally to Kaido (something like Doflamingo) with trustworthy skilled underlings instead of being a complete joke. . Raid on Onigashima should be fail due Kanjuro betrayal so Kaido team together with Big Mom face Luffy alliance head on. Heavy battle happened with ups and downs (which must show how big of the threat Luffy and rest of Worst generation present to yonko), with several twist happened (like Drake betrayal of Kaido or arriving of Big Mom pirates). Yamato should be present as member of Kaido team but as mysterious individual with solid personal strengh. Her true identity should not be revealed until later. Whole battle on Onigashima coast should end up with defeat of Luffy alliance - yeah, Luffy and rest of the gang present solid threat to yonko but take two yonko at once is too much of a deal for them (basicly it is conclusion similar to Kaido versus Moria battle). This would raise stakes high as never before. . After humiliating defeat Luffy alliance fall in shards - some were able to run and hide, some were put into the Orochi jail and some get killed as example. Kaido and Big Mom celebrate their victory and decide to departure from Vano (Kanjuro told Kaido about Rio Poneglith on Zoe which in total would give them 3 out 4. One Piece was never that close before). Also they decide to left Orochi and his underlings together with Yamato (as Kaido representative) on Vano - keep eye on the prisoners and find those who was able to run away. . Here we come to the next stage of the arc - liberation of the Vano from Orochi (as separate force from Kaido). Orochi try to do exactly what he was instructed to do - find runaways. While at some point of time all prisoners get free by Yamato. We see revelation of her true identity (Kaido daughter) and see her full flashback which cover her history with Oden and Kaido. All +\- stay the same as in original story but we get mor details on why she had so tense relationship with Kaido in first place (why Kaido want a child in first place) + we see that after cave scene (with former Daime) Yamato decide to play smart and wit Kaido trust (play it as if all her previous fuss was nothing but a teen rebel phase) meanwhile she connect with Samurai rebels alliance and act as undercover agent - backup plan in case if direct approach would fail. . After all members of Luffy alliance get free, we would see situation similar to Dress Rose with good character moments for Momo, Luffy crew (personal involvement you talking about, chance to show Momo as leader, etc). At the end Vano is saved - get free from Orochi, but this victory is temporal - threat of Kaido returning is still exist and Kaido together with BM is heading toward almost defenceless Zoe - if they able to set a foot in - they would murder all minks like Jack almost did this before (rising stakes and tension). Luffy and rest of the gang start chase Yonko alliance forces while being severally weakened (first battle on Onigashima and liberation Vano from Orochi left huge chunk of their forces dead and wounded). But on their way to Zoe they meen Luffy ally fleet from Dress Rose (who hear about Luffy from newspaper and gathered together to safe his ass). We need make those guys usefull. . Climatic final battle on Zoe

[@AmManTalks]

This is a really cool and detailed rewrite of the story! My only change would be to remove Yamato from the story. I see Yamato as nothing more than fan fiction that further muddies up the story

[@Алексей545-т6б]

@@AmManTalks Well in Yamato case i just take all characters which Oda already bring to the table and rewrite their role just to perform better. If Oda add Yamato character - i at least can make her usefull addition to the narrative and use as a tool to take deep dive into Kaido past, his motivation, etc

[@royalfun1031]

That was never relevant

[@eg12641]

best wano analysis i’ve seen

[@a.dackee9737]

Finally, Wano critiques. Genuinely Oda truly does have a problem with adding too much to the story of One piece & wano was the victim and end result of Oda always adding way too much ingredients to a perfectly fine soup Just like how Oda never really spoke on or acknowledged how wano’s prejudices created orochi, or how he COULDVE revealed otama’s bloodline in the story & be praised as a hero too He did nothing with Yamato at all when Yamato had a story, the story of a girl (insert discourse) who wanted to become kozuki oden cause she knew the people of wano would never accept her as Kaido’s daughter & Oda did nothing with it Arc centric characters like wyper, Paulie & Mr.2 for both arcs & kyros exist with a clear & apparent character arc but now Yamato is getting the “COVER STORY” treatment Then the rest of the supernovas too were relegated to the back foot, Oda had to clear the board a bit for the final saga and you can really say that wano itself doesn’t necessarily change with Apoo, Hawkins or Xdrake gone. Then Kidd himself suffered too since he was seen even more as a “jobber” Kaido wrecks your crew, your right hand can never stop laughing, you say “ I’m done with alliances” but literally just happen to run into the alliance forces on the day of, and the extent of your revenge goes to hitting apoo but not defeating him, and settling to 2v1 big mom Praise though cause I believe Kaido’s defeat was the only right way to do it. He wanted a grand glorious death but Kaido died without any witnesses. Nobody in the flower capital or on onigashima itself witnessed Kaido’s death, like big mom their defeats were silent into the channels of history and Kaido left no true legacy or impact on the world like Roger or WB cause just like Big mom they just sat on their isolated islands never truly interacting with the world

[@AmManTalks]

I'm not even sure if that dragon is dead lol. I think it would have been better if he was just imprisoned at Udon. Might be hard to explain how they can restrain him, maybe they starve him until he's really weak and brittle.

[@WhiteApeMaui]

good analysis you definitely hit on some things that i didn't even think about

[@MylesB93-]

Great video! I actually think the biggest issue with Wano was that Oda was way too ambitious with the arc as a whole. It was clear that by the end of the arc he was jaded and it felt like he just wanted to rush towards the end which is a shame. I enjoyed Wano as a whole and I still think it's the best post-timeskip arc (although Egghead looks set to take that spot) but while there's so many parts that I loved (Gear 5th, Momo's character arc, Robin v Black Maria) there's also a lot in there that was just plain bad (Big Mom's entire involvement, lack of characterisation for Kaido, too many characters etc)

[@AmManTalks]

Hey, thanks for the comment! I agree that it was too ambitious. If we cut some of the Scabbards, mafia families, Yamato, Numbers, etc. then we'd have a more focused narrative

[@Zero-ef4sc]

This is a theory I had, but I think the reason Wano's ending was poor was because Oda was initially planning on the Raid on Onigashima failing. But because of Demon Slayer and other manga surpassing One Piece in sales, something that wasn't heard of before, to the point that One Piece slipped down to #4 in sales the final year of Wano, I think Oda was more than likely forced by Shounen Jump to end Wano very quickly to get to the more exciting stuff to increase sales and get back its #1 spot.

[@AmManTalks]

I do believe the raid was supposed to fail too. It's just such an obvious way to increase drama and it would have given Kanjuro's betrayal more meaning. I don't know anything about Shueisha pressuring Oda, you think they hold that much power over his series?

[@Zero-ef4sc]

@@AmManTalks I mean, probably, just a possibility. I've heard them forcing manga to end early or continue on far beyond what they were supposed to end at.

[@justaway6901]

@@AmManTalks I forgot where I read it but I remember Oda said that the Whole Cake Island Arc really took a lot of his time so by the time it ended, he had not made a solid blueprint for Wano. I think that's where his strategy of Luffy doing random stuffs in Wano part 1 and 2 comes as a way of stalling so that he and his editors could plan finalize the blueprint. Well, to no avail as they ended up building it on a weak foundation anyway.

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

@@AmManTalks yes editors are chosen by shueisha the owner of SJ, hell the editor for dbz forced akira toriyama to continue dragon ball after the cell saga has toriyama has gone on record saying he wanted to originally end the series with gohan surpassing goku and beating cell.

[@SephTheSin]

What an amazing look into the Wano arc, as someone who also has a lot of problems with this arc its nice to see someone actually break down why the arc feels so different and weak compared to what came before, defo subbing after this one, can't wait for the next vid

[@chrispolo25]

Mid arc that’s for sure

[@needszeebs6942]

I feel like Oda has a lot to add and expand on sometimes and that would make what was already the longest arc in OP even longer. That being said, what Oda chooses to spend precious time on and exclude from the manga will always boggle my mind. There was so much space in 150 chapters to add these small details and moments that would have tied everything together so nicely. A lot of my complaints for Wano could have been solved by a few pages, hell, even 1-3 panels alone in some cases, adding that extra connecting info/ resolution. But no, its more important to get chapters upon chapters of side characters fighting side characters, fake tension with Onigashima flying away and blowing up, and other redundant things that shouldve been left out in favour of more meaningful inclusions. Oda introduces like 25 ideas, abandons the most interesting/ impactful ones, and poorly ties up the redundant ones. I would have preferred if he just executed like 5 plot points very well and used that space to flesh out a much smaller range of ideas very thoroughly. Then not only would the arc most likely be shorter, but it would have a much more robust, cohesive story to tell. Its really unfortunate too because I actually really enjoyed Wano and thought it had some amazing moments, but the arc kinda falls apart once we get to Onigashima and then it just kinda ends without any resolution.

[@daniniamut5135]

I liked your video a lot! I feel like you are right that Oda didn't fully explore some of the themes he set up in wano. I think that he was going for a new story structure. I think this because of the kishotenketsu and the very notable act openings. I think the story structure he wanted was for overlapping stories. Like at Onigashima you have what I think are 5 groups at different stages of their own story. 1. Strawhats & Law & Kid Momonosuke & Kinemon & Orochi - Resolution/climax since the start of punk hazard. 2. Akazaya that didn't go to the future & Hiyori- Epilogue (I really think that this is their epliogue rather than their climax, especially since their introduction lies in their respective flashbacks or Zou or Oden's flashback.) 3. Oden & Tama - Their entire story 4. Kid & Killer & Yamato, Adult Momonosuke & Government - Beginning 5. Kaido - Middle Kaido had a very unique motivation in my opinion. He did desire freedom, but through very twisted means. His belief against the weak was strongly countered by Oden, Roger, Whitebeard and Luffy which were stronger than him and held compassion for those weaker. Kaido wanted to be defeated, but would have loved to drag many others with him. Luffy in the end needed the help of Momonosuke, someone Kaido considered weak to prevent the death of all those others. I think Luffy beat Kaido by giving him what he wanted, but not on Kaido's own terms. I think The story was very unique with some bad execution here and there with Jinbe, Perospero, Carrot, etc. But I am happy Oda focused on making Onigashima a Climax for the strawhats rather than what he was setting up in the previous acts of wano. Thanks for the video though, very fun.

[@AmManTalks]

Hey thanks for the insight! I've never heard of the kishotenketsu but that gives some further insight into Oda's approach for this arc. I agree about Kaido wanting freedom but going about it the wrong way, I just wish it was explored more. Preferably through a longer flashback. I'm also glad the climax focused on the Straw Hats. Even though it doesn't work with the story that was set up, I would've hated to go over 100 chapters with the Straw Hats just being side characters.

[@princegerma1105]

You did this before morj wano analysis 😅😅

[@AmManTalks]

lol some people talk about doing it and others just get it done

[@meraj5393]

​@@AmManTalksiT's ComIng NesT MONth.

[@devil_gaming_ultra]

Iam still in starting of whole cake 🚶‍♂️

[@BoScotty]

I agree with your reasons on why the tension was awful, I think a much stronger argument is how meaningless the stakes were (the bombs, the fire, the Kanjuro betrayal, and many more!) because of how quickly they were all resolved and with little to no tact (like Chopper discovering the weakness to ice Oni being... fire). The Bombs for instance were obviously written as a way to be a plausible reason to actually kill someone as tough as Big Mom. And we know this for sure because, as you said, they were an isolated incident that only Momonosuke and Yamato knew about. It affected nobody. This scenario could be written out and change nothing. It only existed to ensure her defeat. The fire was quickly resolved by Jimbei and Raizo the chapter after it was introduced lol. Kanjuro's betrayal/the allied forces not showing up, was quickly resolved with Luffy, Kid and Law showing up, and most flagrant of all, Momo stopped Onigashima from falling by just telling his clouds to appear the last moment. There are moments of Wano for sure that I did enjoy, mostly many moments from the rooftop battle, but Wano as a whole is an arc I abhor and wish I didn't waste my time reading. The only good thing I can say about it is that my displeasure with it forced me to check out new Manga and so now I'm a big fan of Chainsawman 😂 Great video, you cooked for sure, I've been waiting for this analysis for a long time. May have earned a sub.

[@Explanda1]

I think Oda could've definitely made wano 200 chapters to flesh things out a bit more

[@JohnnyWalker-333]

Trash writing

[@muffinfighter3680]

But only because he introduced way too many characters and plot lines. As Wano has a total of 149 chapters, Oda always planned to be around 150 chapters long. This could have been enough if he restrained himself from bloating the arc.

[@maksim3417]

Better 100 chapters with good pacing than whatever this was

[@TotallyAtopiaYT]

Good video! I've been a One Piece fan since 2013 I started the manga in 2014 I hate when people use the argument that your expectations were too "high" It makes no sense Kaido was first mentioned in 2006-2007 all those years Oda had built him up and how he was defeated I thought was cheap Zoro had never received so much spotlight to finally reveal his entire family in an SBS!! oda had brought too many people into the arc and had spent too much time on things that didn't interest most FILM RED had ruined everything for the arc because money had to be made and I think most people were saying you have to finish the arc I had quit One Piece since 2022 until this year and tried reading again it’s alright but The story has become very messy the art isn’t very good the panels feel very crowded at this point I just want to see the ending of the story

[@Jebbtube]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Wano was underwhelming. It wasn't bad by any metric, but there were so many missed opportunities that it just kinda disappointed me. On a personal level, Oda taking all the character development for Carrot (who seemed to be poised to be the next Straw Hat), and do effectively nothing with it felt like a big slap in the face to me. As if to rub salt in the wound, we didn't even get the consolation prize of Yamato joining, which I suspect was in response to how controversial she was (and she deserves her own video/essay on how her potential was wasted/was transbait.)

[@AmManTalks]

Carrot was such wasted potential. And when it comes to Yamato, I never thought they were going to join the crew. My impression was that Oda wanted to tell the story of how Yamato learned from Oden's mistake when he left the country unprotected. Not a necessary story to tell in my opinion, and I'd rather the character didn't exist

[@DeadEndFrog]

​@@AmManTalks yamato was clearly necessary for another theme you didnt discuss in the video, the one about identity

[@thatguy5779]

Not transbait, you just wanted her to be trans, she was just a GIRL literally IMPERSONATING a specific man. Not a girl wanting her own self to be a man, she wanted to be ODEN, an entirely different person to her self

[@Kloyster2010]

@@DeadEndFrog More like identity theft, she's just a oden wannabe. Yamato should've had a character arc that you can be strong without putting a new name from another legend on your id badge. Yamato was unnecessary regardless and her df ability is lame

[@Kloyster2010]

I hated hearing her repeatedly say "I'm Kozuki Oden" like NO YOUR NOT, she had zero personality other than identity theft and came out of nowhere

[@unnamedshadow1866]

There is one Alliance that while not based on treachery is based on deceit, and it worked. Cross Guild. Of course this is a bit of Oda giving the greatest failing upward plot line to Buggy. But Cross Guild is not really a Yonkou Crew, it is more of a gathering/alliance. Also Blackbeard's Crew is in a way also an Alliance, and this one is based on selfishness. As every member have their own goals.

[@re_striker3431]

Oda is often too creative and i think its his biggest strength but also his biggest weakness because he creates way too many plot threads that is impossible to handle😂.

[@ctmuang]

This arc actually made lost so much interest in One Piece’s hype & my confidence in Oda’s writing ability for up coming arcs. To the point i am no longer even that excited for the final arc. Like if Oda can’t handle this arc, how is he going to deliver a satisfying conclusion ro a super massive final arc with world government & exponentially more characters to juggle?

[@emmanueladekunle3088]

Then drop the series lmaoo

[@chrispolo25]

@@emmanueladekunle3088 you’re probably the same person who would say “how can you criticize about One Piece when you haven’t even watched that much of it”

[@emmanueladekunle3088]

@@chrispolo25 obviously why are you criticizing something you haven't watched like what is the use

[@3dsmaster537]

​Well obviously you cant criticize something you havent read, but you CAN criticize the parts you have. Its ridiculous to say that you cant critique one piece if you havent finished it, but you also cant critique the story as a whole without proper context. ​@@chrispolo25

[@thegoat4360]

Egghead was clearly much better than this in terms of tension and character. Its the final saga trust hes gonna cook

[@freakydeaky1435]

Personally I still think the pirate alliances ending in betrayal point will get a belated pay-off. I've been convinced since Wano that Big Mom will be the one to kill Kaido and turn him into some sort of magma dragon homie... I guess if thats true we will find out in this cover story.

[@nunnayorz5836]

One of your issues was with not knowing the final status of Kaido. Did you consider that Oda might intend to use him again?

[@AmManTalks]

Hey, thanks for the comment! Whether Oda uses him again doesn't really address the issue. The themes and ideas introduced in the Wano arc should have ended there as we've already moved on from the arc now at Egghead. If he returns later, it won't change the feeling that the Wano arc lacked a proper resolution. Also, Oda has given villains a proper resolution before and then brought them back, such as with Crocodile. I don't see why Kaido couldn't be the same.

[@mrbubbles6468]

@@AmManTalksSimple reason he could do it with Crocodile is Crocodile could always be handled by normal Marine forces. Luffy only nearly beat Kaido. Kaido gets back up, Luffy can’t move on. Kaido leaves happily or switches his view and defends Wano or dies…grants Kaido what he wants and causes way too many issues to be addressed quickly because of how Oda set up the arc. It’s the same reason Grandpa Shogun is still alive and he goes ‘i’m going to remain hidden because Wano would be mad if I revealed myself’ Oda set up a country where even the good guys can’t accept explanations for actions and forgive people and then created a multitude of plot points where the only way to end the arc well was to do that and then ran out of time to do that well. When Luffy’s crew and Kaido are in agreement in how terrible Wano’s people are and it results in no change for them…there are big problems.

[@nunnayorz5836]

@AmManTalks Since the story is ongoing, let's wait and see. I feel like it's hard to criticize an incomplete story, and I want to see how Wano and Kaido fit into the bigger picture.

[@justaway6901]

@@nunnayorz5836 Bruh. Do you know what an "arc" means?

[@mctuna7058]

u do such a great job detailing how lackluster the arc feels sometimes

[@mladen5140]

Amazing video man

[@shayoko6]

Sanji would be motivated to help wano by default because of his feelings of poisened food and starvation. Same with nami because of her feelings for children Chopper because the side effects of the smile fruits are basically a negative effect of drugs. There is enough motivation for the crew.if it isnt wano in particular. Its supporting luffys and the members goals. Since they are family. - 24:00 Luffy did defeat kaido because of a massive allience. Why are you saying otherwise? - I completely agree that's this Series has writing issues but I don't agree with most of the ones in this video. Of the few that I do is the issue of characters not getting killed off which creates not only a sense of security but being unsure if a character is actually dead or not when we should know. Another actual issue that was not brought up in the video was the power increase that characters seem to have gotten. An example of being a kid and law not even being proven to be able to fight a commander. But they are responsible for taking up big mom which was really jarring. Not only did I have no reason to believe that kid was strong enough for that he wasn't even set up well enough in terms of writing for me to appreciate that victory. Just a background character who is giving too big of a role that they didn't earn.

[@AmManTalks]

What you said about Sanji, Nami and Chopper are very reasonable assumptions of what is motivating them during the raid. The story never actually wrote in those character arcs for them. That's the issue. When it comes to Luffy winning because of his strong alliance, the point I was making is that the story should've showed the contrast between Luffy's alliance and Kaido/Big Mom's. We know Luffy's allies are loyal. But Big Mom just got defeated by Law and Kidd before we got to see her betray Kaido. Their alliance only served the purpose of making sure Big Mom was at Onigashima to get her ass whooped, nothing else. Which is a waste.

[@jasonjacksonii1805]

I agree with most the points you make. Im just holding onto hope that this arc is like WCI, where it seems like a lot of missed potential, but it was setting us up for bigger hype later on. Some of the story threads fell short and wont have a chance of being redeemed going forward. But some of those missed opportunities, and everything being pinned on Orochi, likely came out of necessity. to potentially bring kaido back as a good guy for final saga, or add another group to the final war that finally gets their time to shine. Hopefully hindsight will show us why plot points were set up for one group, and transferred to others if we can learn they are more symbolically related than we were shown. But likely its because oda didnt manage his time well, and we'll keep getting the interesting parts of the story through the sbs.

[@SUPERVEGETTO92]

Didnt think about the point with King not having a region...that could been a good setup for Zoro...imagine if King was in charge of Ringo and thsat could have lead to King having some sort of interest in Ryuuma and the Shimotsukis history and having a back and forth with Zoro.

[@areeshaj2585]

I don't agree with all your criticism but great video and you presented your points really well

[@thegoat4360]

Great video and i completely agree

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Well i also think Oda left a lot of the Wano plots open because i am 100% sure that Blackbeard will force open Wano. Causing massive destruction and forcing the people of Wano to forget past grudges and unite against a threat that destroyed their country, but never even cared about conquering it, all he wanted was Pluton.

[@JohnnyWalker-333]

Poorly written trash

[@chrispolo25]

Cope, One Piece is poorly written garbage now

[@pigglypoof]

Looked like Oda write himself in the corner when it came to Kaido, he focused too much on how strong he was that the victory seemed unbelievable. I didn’t like how Yamato really came out of nowhere, for someone like Oda who likes to provide some hints (could have even been hinted in the flashback of Odens death) Yamato felt shoehorned in

[@SteelSquishy]

Agree with almost everything great points. Worried for the future of one piece

[@coreyshayman7735]

Yamato in a vacuum is a great character with an amazing design, touching backstory and cool fighting style. It’s a shame that they took away roles that the other straw hats could have filled. (As mentioned zoro could’ve held off kaido on the rooftop, brook could’ve frozen the bombs, etc) This video also got me thinking how the entire tobiroppo could’ve been cut from the story (maybe except for who’s who since he was a good way to set up nika) and the big mom pirates could’ve faced off against the strawhats instead. Would’ve loved to have seen more from smoothie or snack

[@Naan_Gang]

fuck nika and fuck whos who Only Black Maria, Ulti, and Page One were relevant

[@benkrauss5041]

25:40 why is blueno’s face blacked out?

[@AmManTalks]

We don't talk about Blueno

[@peltycrikts6990]

The minor issue with this perspective is removing the fact Wano Arc was a World building/lore arc, not a climatic arc. Which was told in the narrative of Momomnuske and the 9 Scabbards mission to avenge the Kozuki Clan and free Wano from oppresion. Connecting Oden and Kaido to many revelations involving the Void Century. Which included the plot of the WG to discreetly erase those they deem inconveniences using the guise of the Yonko, such as Who's Who, Robin and Luffy. And all those plots tieing into major events happening across the world of One Piece. The Strawhats payoffs not only weren't actually payoffs to set ups, either just starting in Wano, but way before since Punk Hazard: •Chopper, since Punk Harzard. Sought advice from Ceasar, to break his limits with Monster Point. Payed off by distracting King until Sanji arrived. Freeing him up to treat Zoro. •Nami, Whole Cake arc. Stealing Zeus, and builing a friendship. During Raid of Onigashima Zeuse's loyalties is tested. Payed off when he eventually had to choose Nami, either her securing a Yonko's strength. Franky, Dressrosa arc, improving his Battle Frakies/General Franky. Payed off when he used it as a distraction to drfeat Sasaki. Or or never meant to be payoffs at all. Rather, Robin and Jimbei were major plot points for major reveals, which lead to official intorduction of Sun God Nika Warrior of Liberation. Whom: •Luffy can transform into to the thanks the Hito Hito no mi Model: Nika. • former slaves Jimbei/Sun Pirates may be familiar with. • connected to the Lunarians •Kaido became dillusioned of. •The Gorosei wanted to eternally stay hidden in history, and who •Robin has the knowledge to discover. •Who's Who simply heard about in prison after the Hito Hito no mi Model: Nika was stolen under his watch. Or, were the Monster Trio hitting their walls of their strength, and breaking past their limits: •Luffy, struggled with advancing his Haki. Payed off in chapter 1010 when he was finally able to infuse himself with his Conquerors Haki. Reach his wall soon after being defeat again by Kaido's superior strength. Coming back empowered to face Kaido on equal footing. Eventually being defeated then awakening. •Zoro, struggled with controling Enma and his self restraints not fully accepting his own ambitions. Payed off when he was the first to actually damage Kaido, after suffering sever injuries as the only Supernova to handle the force of both Yonko. And again when he had his epiphany after his flashback. Acknowledgimg Oden's unrestrained power to control Enma, and fully reigniting his own ambitions and fulfill his oaths to Kuina and Luffy. Fully awakenimg his Conquerors Haki. Sanji, struggled since Punk Hazard with his durability against stronger opponents. And started experiencing physical changes since utilizing his raid suite. Payed off during his duel with Queen showcasing a extreme healing factor, similar to King/Lunarians. Denouncing his family and further enhancements to keep his humanity.

[@AmManTalks]

I don't know what you mean by Wano is not a climactic arc. It was the story of freeing the nation from oppression as you said, and by the end of the arc we accomplish that goal. It has a start, middle and a climax. The story follows the Scabbards during the beginning and middle, then the end is all about the resolutions to the Straw Hats personal character arcs that you outlined nicely. The story isn't cohesive at all because of this shift in the climax. It doesn't matter if the Straw Hats payoffs come from back at Punk Hazard, if they aren't connected to the ideas presented in the Wano arc then it doesn't fit in the climax of the Wano arc.

[@AmManTalks]

It doesn't matter if the arc isn't the conclusion to post-timeskip. It's the conclusion to the Wano story itself, that's what matters. And the conclusion it gives is just not satisfying. Also, saying that Oda basically undermined the relevance of Wano is not the best argument

[@peltycrikts6990]

@@AmManTalks It wasn't a climatic arc. The majority of arcs in general basically have a set up middle, climax and resolution, in this case the narrative of Momomnuske/9 Scabbards and Hiyori avenging the Kozuki Clan. 1. Their narrative were the ideas presented in the Wano arc, which the Strawhats aided. Which was inspiring & gathering the Samurai of Wano to face Kaido, and along with the Pirate aliance defeat him and his Beast Pirates. Honestly the initial point u made with the "Strawhats set up and payoffs during Wano" was more about their character development, rather than the plot of the Wano arc. The pirate alliance, including the Strawhats participated in the raid at the start, and well into and after the climax, which were also character development: •Chopper countered Queens poison, saving both Beast Pirates and the Samurai. Eventually using his improved Monster Point to directly face Queen, who was supported by Peresporo. While being the major payoff he was set up since Punk Hazard with Ceasars advice. Almost gave up at Luffy's supposed defeat, but encouraged by Sanji. Then reacted to his final defeat, and witnessing Luffy's Nika form. •Nami & Ussop faced Ulti, saved and supported Tama as she tamed the Gifters, shifting the balance of forces. Nami believed in Luffy from threatened by Ulti, while Usopp coward away. And after his supposed defeat by Kaido, both relieved by his return. All while Nami had the payoff from a set up since Whole Cake. Then they further reacted to final defeat, and witnessed his awakened form as Nika. •Robin, Brooke and Jimbei faced several Beast Pirates & aided the Samurai. While both Robin and Jimbei were involved in major plot developments by the WG, and revelations: A. While Robin the WG deemed an inconvenience was targeted by CP0 and the Tobiroppo, and baited by Black Mari using Sanji. Saving him by defeating Black Mari, showcasing her power up from her 2 year training, proving she can protect her crew. Supported by Brooke. B. And, Jimbei was or encountered by Who's Who's, who revealed the "Hito Hito no mi Model: Nika" was stolen under bis protection. And questioned Jimbei on his knowledge of Nika. And CP0 used the opportunity to let Jimbei end Who's Who an inconvenience. How wasn't the Strawhats participating in the raid or war, facing/defeating the Tobiroppo in the War, and aiding the Samurai, payoffs to ideas presented in Wano. 2. Which wasn't the point, rather what's meant was Wano Arc was never meant to be the climax of post time skip nor be major resolutions or tie off for the Straw Hats. It's just another bridge arc setting up for and flowing directly into the next, that progresses the Straw Hats narrative into further development. Simply put, those aren't their endings, but continuations of their established narratives. Even Oda stated everything before Egghead doesn't actually matter or more like the entire story until now was the set up. As in the real journey started after Wano. And, the perspective about "cohesive because of the shift in the climax", is kinda conflicting. Since the narrative never actually shifted from even after their defeat by Kaido. The Scabbards vs Kanjuro dominated the majority of scenes: •Momomnuske literally manning up, and facing his insecurities/fears standing up to Kaido, and then saved Wano. • Oorochi's plotting. Kanjuro's betrayal, revealed as a puppet exploited by his fellow Kurozumi clansmen, Oorochi. •Scabbards & Hiyori's revenge narratives: A. Hiyori and Tanjiro plotted for decades against Oorochi. Initiated during the raid after she snuck into the island. As Zoro witnessed. Commenced during the climax of the arc. And declared his freedom of his oppression at the conclusion of the narrative. B. Tanjiro along with the remaining Scabbards encountered Kaido, and initiated their attempt to avenge Oden, failed. Was hunted and further hurt by Kanjuro's betrayal and mockery of Oden. Resulting in Ashura's sacrafice. Kanjuro finally being defeated while leaving a fire goblin drawing to burn the island down. And Neko and Inu, finally defeat Peresporo (Joined in Wano arc, during the raid. As the Big Mom Pirates formed an alliance with Beast Pirates), avenging Pedro, setup since Whole Cake arc. •And Kine'mons to false end after encountering Kaido again. • Raizo's boring fight with the other Ninja guy and him eventually saving Onigashima from burning.". Proving every character with the main role, and every major event during Wano arc, had its place and highlights in the arc.

[@peltycrikts6990]

@@AmManTalks 1st off, this statement is inaccurate- "(saying that Oda basically undermined the relevance of Wano is not the best argument)". When Oda is the creator of his story One Piece, and it was his intention for Wano arc to be the end of a set up, that's called fact not an argument, so what did he undermine he never stated Wano arc wasn't highly important & relevant! It's y'alls(general term) speculation that made up Wano was more than Oda intended from the start, without accurate confirmation. Not being the climax of post time skip, isn't the same as being unimportant. Which Oda himself confirmed Wano arc is. 2. Like literally the ending of the arcs plot and narrative which was avenging the Kozuki clan and ending Wano's oppression. And Momo's, Hiyori, and the 9 Scabbards main roles in the arc were specifically highlighted in abundance. So the claim there was a "shift in perspective from the main roles in the arc to the Straw Hats in the climax" is not only inaccurate but doesn't add up to what's accuratly depicted. As during the raid on Onigashima, the supernova taking over the Scabbards place on roofpiece, and Nika's reveal. The Samurai part of the alliance continued to out since the Kanjuro's reveal as the mole Orochi's puppet and fellow member of Kurozumi clan, after significant build up since the set up in Dressrosa arc, and was heavily focused on. Escalating with Kanjuro masquerading as Oden, to the vulnerable Scabbards, and closing the chapter with them overcoming their bond, and Kanjuro's last art piece intending to burn Onigashima down, with everyone trapped on it, further endangering the citizens of Wano with a explosion . And then reaching the conclusion of Hiyori's initiating and commencing her revenge on Orochi. Momo diverting Onigashima away from Wano and out of Luffy's way, at the same time as Raizo released water saving Onigashima from Kanjuro's. Ending consecutively as Luffy, consistent with his role as savior in every arc, defeated Kaido. Then sometime after the battle in recovery. Hiyori concludes the narrative of Wano arc with the inspiring speech announcing the end of Orochi's oppression. That was the execution of Wano arc.

[@Shutterstock-bd6lo]

I liked the idea that Luffy with his creativity was able to beat the odds and make his devil fruit good, but the whole sun god prophecy undermines that.

[@-tom-8720]

How? All that still applies.

[@Shutterstock-bd6lo]

@@-tom-8720 His creativity still applies. I thought he was revealing the potential of a underrated devil fruit and liked that idea. Instead other people have already demonstrated the potential and it is so highly respected that they tried to erase it from history. I'm not saying the creative choice is wrong. I just didn't like it.

[@MineShackle]

What prophecy?

[@royalfun1031]

​@@Shutterstock-bd6lo🤡

[@RedLights9000-f3l]

​@@MineShackle sun god nika overthrowing the WG

[@PipeGuy64Bit]

I do wonder how possible it is for the upcoming anime remake to fix any of the issues that come up post-time skip

[@Алексей545-т6б]

Scabbard should dead, Dangiro was good as "Yakudza boss which support Orochi" - without him Orochi look like a joke, Jack should not be walking talking humiliation bag, fallen members of Luffy team should be stay fallen (no Zoro shit for example) Also they could bring BM crew at time possible . My personal take we need completly different approach to this story - Oda should make Orochi actually capable ally to Kaido (something like Doflamingo) with trustworthy skilled underlings instead of being a complete joke. . Raid on Onigashima should be fail due Kanjuro betrayal so Kaido team together with Big Mom face Luffy alliance head on. Heavy battle happened with ups and downs (which must show how big of the threat Luffy and rest of Worst generation present to yonko), with several twist happened (like Drake betrayal of Kaido or arriving of Big Mom pirates). Yamato should be present as member of Kaido team but as mysterious individual with solid personal strengh. Her true identity should not be revealed until later. Whole battle on Onigashima coast should end up with defeat of Luffy alliance - yeah, Luffy and rest of the gang present solid threat to yonko but take two yonko at once is too much of a deal for them (basicly it is conclusion similar to Kaido versus Moria battle). This would raise stakes high as never before. . After humiliating defeat Luffy alliance fall in shards - some were able to run and hide, some were put into the Orochi jail and some get killed as example. Kaido and Big Mom celebrate their victory and decide to departure from Vano (Kanjuro told Kaido about Rio Poneglith on Zoe which in total would give them 3 out 4. One Piece was never that close before). Also they decide to left Orochi and his underlings together with Yamato (as Kaido representative) on Vano - keep eye on the prisoners and find those who was able to run away. . Here we come to the next stage of the arc - liberation of the Vano from Orochi (as separate force from Kaido). Orochi try to do exactly what he was instructed to do - find runaways. While at some point of time all prisoners get free by Yamato. We see revelation of her true identity (Kaido daughter) and see her full flashback which cover her history with Oden and Kaido. All +\- stay the same as in original story but we get mor details on why she had so tense relationship with Kaido in first place (why Kaido want a child in first place) + we see that after cave scene (with former Daime) Yamato decide to play smart and wit Kaido trust (play it as if all her previous fuss was nothing but a teen rebel phase) meanwhile she connect with Samurai rebels alliance and act as undercover agent - backup plan in case if direct approach would fail. . After all members of Luffy alliance get free, we would see situation similar to Dress Rose with good character moments for Momo, Luffy crew (personal involvement you talking about, chance to show Momo as leader, etc). At the end Vano is saved - get free from Orochi, but this victory is temporal - threat of Kaido returning is still exist and Kaido together with BM is heading toward almost defenceless Zoe - if they able to set a foot in - they would murder all minks like Jack almost did this before (rising stakes and tension). Luffy and rest of the gang start chase Yonko alliance forces while being severally weakened (first battle on Onigashima and liberation Vano from Orochi left huge chunk of their forces dead and wounded). But on their way to Zoe they meen Luffy ally fleet from Dress Rose (who hear about Luffy from newspaper and gathered together to safe his ass). We need make those guys usefull. . Climatic final battle on Zoe

[@titoodenigbo]

Dude thank you so muchb

[@nicholasaugello2534]

I agree that the story DIDN'T confirm that Kaido and ESPECIALLY BIG MOM were really dead because its incredibly easy to imagine big mom just making a Lava homie when she fell because she was FULLY conscious going IN and this is the same series where someone like PELL can survive a city busting bomb POINT BLANK and come out unharmed.

[@AmManTalks]

Exactly! I feel like Oda has more to do with Big Mom so I can see her surviving. But if she survives then there is no reason to believe Kaido wouldn't also. I guess we'll see lol

[@nicholasaugello2534]

@@AmManTalks if anything if Kaido does return I think he'll return as the Lava Homie used to save Herself because I think it's pretty easy to imagine since Kaido got defeated by Luffy it wouldn't be hard for big mom to take Kaido's "LIFE long debt literally and convert him into a Magma/Lava creature that would be interesting cuz kaido serving under someone else would be intresting to see

[@unnamedshadow1866]

I personally believe Oda purposely had to cut down content, since he was way to hyped for the next Arc. Egghead is an amazing Arc, that solves a lot of the plot problems from Wano. Still i feel development for the weaker Straw Hats will only happen until Elbaf.

[@veldrensavoth7119]

21:08 the worst generation name alone name alone hits so differently now that wano ended

[@veldrensavoth7119]

LUFFY VS USOLANDO 2 is going to be wILD

[@j.m.3600]

If Zoro was fighting off Kaido instead of Yamato… that would’ve been profound.

[@AmManTalks]

Hey, thanks for the comment! I know right!?!? I really wish we got to see it. It would've done so much for his character

[@peltycrikts6990]

If Zoro was fighting off Kaido instead of Yamato.. Then we would never know about Lunarians and their importance, or Yamato's dynamic with her father. The viewers would miss out on major reveals and plot points of the entire story. Like wasn't Zoro severely injured, cause he was the only one on Roof Piece to handle the combined force of the Yonko saving the rest of the supernova. Who was not only capable but available to stop King from joining Kaido on the roof, and gang up on Luffy. Interrupting Gorosei's machinations, using the cover of Kaido and Big Mom to eliminate inconveniences, ordering CP0 interrupt Kaido to off Luffy, thereby revealing Nika. But yes, remove the story just for Zoro to still have the same development, cause what was going to change, nothing. As much of Zoro's character development was actually dismissed by ya'll, cause it didn't showcase his strength, which has nothing to do with character. Ok so, like not only was Wano arc showcasing Zoro's strength. But ya'll ignore that Zoro was the only Supernova to threaten both Yonko to dodge. Save his fellow Supernova from pershing from a combined Yonko force, to not only survive but continue on. He was integral in separating the Yonko. Then it was revealed that Asura is Advanced Conquerors haki, which he used to accomplish the same feat as Oden, giving Kaido a permanent scar. His character arc was him and his clansmen Yasui and Toko, unknowingly developing a connection and bonding, which is practical as they're not only strangers but foreigners, that don't even share the same family name. Encounters which led him to eventually discover more about Ryuma and replace Shusui, and to become personally invested in freeing Wano. And Zoro was still paralleled to his uncle, who had already passed when Zoro was an orphan with no identity. He was never going to connect with Ushimaru. Zoro was paralleled to Oden, constantly reminding Kaido of him, after inheriting his will and Enma. Another sword in his possession crafted from his clansman. Kozaburo was revealed in Zoro's flashback of his training days, as he struggled with his own reservations that prevented him controlling Enma during his duel with King. His revelations about Enma allowed him to respect Oden's strength and reignite his ambition, fully unlocking his Conquerors haki. And Wano wasn't Zoro's arc, even more it wasn't even the Straw Hats arc. It's unnecessary to clutter the story by focusing on them rather than the literal arc narrative.

[@AmManTalks]

Just because I say Zoro should fight Kaido, doesn't mean I'm saying to remove the lunarian plotline. You can just have someone else fight King. It honestly looked like Marco was set to fight him since he inquired about the history of the lunarians. When it comes to Yamato... you got me there, I guess we can just remove them. I like how you say I dismiss Zoro's character arc because it didn't showcase his strength, then you proceed to tell me about all of his combat feats as if it means anything. The fights with Kaido and Big Mom didn't mean as much to me because it was framed as a Supernova team up instead of a Zoro moment specifically. And all of the plot points between him and his clansmen were very clearly leading to more than just him mastering Enma and unlocking Conqueror's Haki. There needed to be more between him and Kaido & Orochi. Finally, this arc was the Straw Hats arc. If it wasn't, then why were they the focus of the climax of this arc?

[@TheRockerX]

As much as I wanted Zoro to to get some character focus and development in Wano, I'm glad he didn't go 1v1 against Kaido. One of the few things Oda did right in that arc

[@peltycrikts6990]

@@AmManTalks 1. As already highlighted- "(Who was not only capable but available to stop King from joining Kaido on the roof, and gang up on Luffy.)" Uhmm, u claim Marco! U actually mean the man who already fought both Queen and King and was tired, dealing no significant damage, and waited for Zoro to recover. So obviously Marco wasn't capable of completely stopping King, one of the most durable of the series. Especially when it's established King requires Conquerors Haki to actually defeat him. And when has the story of One Piece ever had side characters, regardless of strength, been featured taking on one of the top three enemies of an arc in a major battle. Never! The complaints about lack of consistency in Wano, only to contradict the formula which has been established in the series since the very start. When was this fact ever deviated from. Luffy primarily faces the main antagonist. Zoro takes on the #2 of the main antagonists, a side character. And Sangi is going after #3. For anyone to expect, want or make up Marco was going to be the one to handle King in one of the three biggest duels of the arc. 2. This statement is incorrect- "(I like how y.. say I dismiss Zoro's character arc because it didn't showcase his strength, then y.. proceed to tell me about all of his combat feats)". No, the facts commented were posted under another commenter and the general term of ya'll was used, and not directed to u. So these feelings "I like how y.. say I", and "y.. proceed to tell me", came out of nowhere. 3. This is also inaccurate- "(The fights with Kaido and Big Mom didn't mean as much to me because it was framed as a Supernova team up instead of a Zoro moment specifically.)". When were Kidd, Kille, Law, Luffy and Zoro, for majority of 2 vs 5, actually collaborating & coordinating in a combined effort to defeat Big Mom and Kaido aka teamwork. All of which the Yonko were really depicted doing by working together in collaboration & coordinating their force to mock the Supernova. The facts are each individual Supernova was striking the Yonko independently. With the rivalry of Kidd, Law and Luffy competing to be the one to defeat the Yonko. U are conflating that just because the Supernova happened to be facing a common enemy on the roof of Onigashima, with each striking solo to be the one to defeat the Yonko. As if it were the same as working together in teamwork to defeat the Yonko, like the Scabbards camaraderie to take out Kaido.

[@muffinfighter3680]

Wow very promising channel and finally someone who is willing to criticize OP. I will certainly binge all of your available vids :D

[@mrarcade2504]

Honestly wasnt sure if i wanted to watch the video because my dislike of the Wano arc had long since disipated because of time. But man was your analysis deeply thought through and did you make many incredible points Beautiful video

[@classydays43]

In regards to the Orochi thing, I think it's a case of understanding his pain but not condoning his actions. He had every chance to be a just Daimyo and he never once tried to make peace with his family name. It's also akin to Edo Era Japan where families were hunted down for some arbitrary thing, but again, the guy had more reason to be better and not simply live up to the monster he was portrayed to be by his people.

[@AmManTalks]

I totally agree that we can't condone Orochi's actions. He was too far gone. Point is, who persecuted him and his family? The people of Wano did. Without the story showing the citizens getting over their prejudices, it can be assumed that they will repeat the cycle of violence.

[@RedLights9000-f3l]

Not really orochi wanted revenge not a rich life he hated the people of wano he made them suffer not because he feel superior like the celestial dragons it was personal for him they killed his parents in front of him simply for being a part of a cursed clan the people of wano made orochi the man he is now and it's obvious they didn't learn the lesson since in the cover stories they throw rocks at Yamato for simply being the daughter of Kaido

[@classydays43]

@@RedLights9000-f3l I understand, but he became the monster they made him out to be thus confirming all of the people's beliefs about the Kurozomi clan. The point I was trying to make is he had the chance, even if it would feel impossible to him, to change that to such that nobody had to go through his ordeal.

[@RedLights9000-f3l]

@@classydays43 they killed his parents so if he become a monster that confirm all of people believes Seriously ? They had a chance to forgive them but he didn't this only chose how human he is no one is going to forgive a bunch of r@cist people who killed your parents he ain't a shonen MC

[@AnimeFan-ot7bu]

I agree that there’s alot of missed opportunity in this arc

[@Succatag67789]

Wano might not be the actual worst arc in one piece But its my least favorite because its bad and literally long enough to be its own anime The only upside are the fight scenes in the anime

[@MineShackle]

This is a great video and one of the few videos where the criticisms of Wano aren’t just superficial or stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the arc. Some things I do disagree with: 1) I think comparing this arc to Water 7/Alabasta is kinda unfair in that those arcs emotional core stem from characters who were with the crew for a long time. The straw hats had a stronger emotional attachment to Vivi/Robin naturally. You have to compare to arcs like Skypiea or Thriller Bark or Punk Hazard. While Oda definitely should have done a better job making some of the fights more personal, I think he probably batted .500. I found Sanjis story in particular to be fantastic and a true highlight of the long term storytelling of the saga as a whole. While I agree that Zoro should have either been the one to take Orochi down or fought Kaido in Yamato’s place, in retrospect I think the King fight called back to Zoro and Kuina’s relationship in a subtle way that I didn’t realize at the time. And Robin’s fight felt like an emotional payoff to Enies Lobby in multiple ways. The other fights were mediocre at best though. 2) I think you’re off on Kaido. We do know why he’s so suicidal. Oden is essentially the one that got away. Kaido was never able to prove himself against his greatest rival because it was taken away from him. He wants a death like Oden because deep down he admires Oden. He admires Whitebeard. He wants a death that will be witnessed by all and legendary. And he believes that the only that can give him that death is JoyBoy. However, Kaido does not get the death that he feels he deserves. He’s defeated and punched into magma from a rooftop where no one could see. He failed at getting that Whitebeard or Oden death he wanted. You’re absolutely right that us not knowing if he’s actually dead takes away from the moment, but that’s not a Wano criticism. It’s just a One Piece criticism. I can’t in good faith hold it against the moment for being dubious when we’ve been getting these kinda fake outs since Syrup Village. 3) I’m mixed on the Kurozumi thing. In particular because of the recent cover story with Yamato clearly showing children with resentment for Yamato for simply being Kaido’s kid. This to me implies that this was intentional. Wano hasn’t addressed it and still needs to be done. I definitely think Tama being a kurozumi should have been brought up in story and it baffles that it wasn’t. Overall, I don’t think Wano is a bad arc. It has too many great moments to be, but considering that we had the seeds planted for this arc since Thriller Bark, it did not live up to expectations. Besides Punk Hazard, it’s easily my least favorite post time skip arc

[@AmManTalks]

Thanks for the insightful comment! 1. In regards to Skypiea, Thriller Bark and Punk Hazard. While the emotional investment isn't as high as Alabasta or Water Seven, it is there for the Straw Hats. They want to find the golden city, and ring the bell for Cricket. The Shandians war was really a side story, and maybe it could have been better integrated into the Straw Hats story but it is what it is. At Thriller Bark, they are roped in the Thriller Bark Pirates scheme and have to escape. Same with Punk Hazard on top of wanting to help the kids. I truly think Wano is the only arc that creates this dissonance between the setup and climax of the story. I agree with most everything you said about the Straw Hats fights tho. 2. I think you make a lot of reasonable assumptions about Kaido's reasons for being suicidal. The think is it is an assumption. The story needed to expand more on who he is and why he does the things he does. 3. I thought it was really funny timing how that cover story happened as I made this video. My stance is this, it needed to be addressed during the arc. Wano ended with a very typical cliche happy ending that most One Piece arcs have. Which doesn't really work if this major lingering conflict hasn't been resolved. Whether intentional or not, frankensteining the resolution to the discrimination of Wano with segments outside the actual arc doesn't really cut it for me. While Wano is a failure to me in being a coherent story. I think it has a lot of fun moments that I enjoy in isolation. So I can't really say I hate it either, but it is a disappointment.

[@zeldascottgc]

never is it ever said that strong leaders have conquerors it just that they have qualities of kings, Zoro is already the worlds strongest swordsmen atp and has the ambition to become king of hell. I honestly don't know what you want more from Zoro, he took out a YC1 and awoke conquerors Haki, Zoro has never fought the right hand of the major villain since idk Enies Lobby? Even then Lucci is the right hand to Spandam so at best Kaku is a Sanji equivalent

[@zeldascottgc]

also if Zoro fights Kaidou while Luffy was down then wtf is Yamato supposed to do? He would literally have no point of existing.

[@tubbytubic]

Really good vid

[@dfactoropbr]

amazing content. If you just brush up your thumbnails (not saying I can do better, just a viewer's perspective), you could become a mainstream one piece youtuber easily.

[@AmManTalks]

Working on that. Thanks for the advice!

[@iammisterf4936]

I think the problem with this Arc is the lack of focus in wano arc 3 it is too much too many thing happends a giants mass with a little focus it can be a really good arc like water 7/lobby if it don't introducing sooo many character and less time spend on character i hope oda don't do this again in the end saga (and so far i think egghead doing really well that is a good start at least)

[@izzybar9470]

I agree. The hype of egghead is imo crazy good and it was the turning point of one piece where the real skirmish for the one piece and war begins. But egghead just introduced too many characters and left them bland and kinda unimportant like the seraphim and most of the vegapunks. Seraphim gotta get utilized better later in the series but except that i enjoyed egghead a lot and is in my top 5 for sure. It was extremely fun to read and all the information we got was extremely hype. Wano was fumbled tho

[@chrispolo25]

Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit Sun God Nika ruined this arc and show as a whole along with fake out deaths.

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

this.

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Kaido was a failed Joyboy. The reason we did not got a closure on him, was because Oda refused to delve deeper into his backstory. At some point Kaido loved someone, and that someone died. It is because of that someone died that Kaido realized that Love is a Weakness and would explain why he educated Yamato that way. Kaido's story is not over, but Kaido failed right from the beginning. He was never meant to be the Man that would Change the World. He came to the realization after many years. So Death was the only thing he wanted. But that is because his true goals and dreams were either taken away from him or were impossible to achieve.

[@tristennorris3725]

imagine oda was rushed in this heck form interview former editors who work with oda is kinda of a a difficult person to work with as well as this I imagine that he had ideas, but he was so rushed and probably cause a lot of behind-the-scenes mess that he was probably had two conflict ideas and yeah🤦most backstory like ulti and page one through oda sbs to explain it see read and watch egg head arc manga oda doing alot better in this arc then wano hopefully elbalf is good not like wano 🤦‍♂

[@crimsonfire6932]

I think the ending of wano could be saved if we find out big mom survived and kaido died. Both ended up in that same magma pit, so big mom could betray kaido by stealing his soul while he’s weak and using it to keep herself strong enough to keep living. Doing that would make it so kaido’s death is more pathetic and he fails at his goal, and also make it so that big mom formally betrayed kaido and we can bring her back as a new threat later, except now she’s even strong because she has kaido’s soul.

[@svz1345]

Good vid. I honestly think it comes down to Oda cutting out stuff to end the story as soon as possible because he was so overwhelmed with everything he had to do (film red, the Manga and the Netflix adaptation) that he decided to end the story sooner so he can atleast truly live a few years before he passes away. It's very clear wano was supposed to be a lot more different than what we ended up getting considering certain plot points that were introduced earlier. A lot of times people say "Oda never said wano was going to be zoro's arc" but Oda definitely hinted at zoro having a deeper involvement in it beyond the (now stereotypical) "looking cool while I cut people" trend, but he went the easy way with zoro instead. Even his power up was rushed. He went from not even knowing he has coc to coating all three swords with it because "enma", instead of making it a bit more elaborate or even give us details on his training with mihawk. It's a shame cause I love zoro and I was left so disappointed. Wano is the prime example of build up that just can't meet the expectations. Too many characters, too many themes, too many plot points, etc... Wano made me lose all the blind trust I had in oda's writing and now I'm skeptical about everything, including the entire void century stuff, the one piece, etc... Still love the Manga, but wano arc meant a before and after for me.

[@Xenit21]

Another good plot point that was forgotten was Usopp, who couldn't believe the sacrifice of the minks and needed to be tortured as well. This could have shown his loyalty to Luffy as they faced enemies who love to break spirits. If half of the Scabbards had died at the hands of Kaido and the Straw Hats had formed a bond with them beforehand, it could have elevated the stakes and emotional depth of the arc. I remember a beautiful panel of the Scabbards and Oden in a parade. After the battle, repeat that panel but with the Straw Hats being the ones who fulfilled the will of Oden and the Scabbards. The element of the Smiles shouldn't have been forgotten. Imagine if a Straw Hat had eaten one of them. It would have been the most touching and personal arc in the series. Luffy should have been the one to defeat Big Mom; her character and their rivalry feel incomplete. I was really biased towards the raid failing theory, and when I see good points from the perspective that this arc should be the payoff of all the hard work of the StrawHats during the timeskip and the arrival of the man of the legends, aka Joyboy, and I even understand why Oda didn't deliberately create tension in the arc. Honestly, it would be rare to have people distressed and suffering while Joyboy is laughing in the sky. However, I still feel that this arc is sloppy and not well-written.

[@AmManTalks]

I really love your changes for the arc! Just imagining some of these plot points happening make me more upset that we ended up with what we got. I have to say that I disagree on this arc lacking tension because of the Joyboy reveal. If anything, the 'warrior of liberation' as a concept is more powerful when there's more tension. Nika saved people from despair. So having Luffy use Gear 5 when the country and his crew are at their most desperate state would have been way more impactful

[@89technical]

Hard disagree with you bro - good analysis but you're looking at One Piece's Wano arc in isolation of the rest of the story. - The battle isn't the buildup of tension to the ending but the release of tension from several arcs. Let's take Nico Robin's story. She has, since Water 7 been a member of the crew, but they saved her. Sanji's actions in calling for her is the fulfillment of the her as an equal. Sanji isn't just any Strawhat: He's one of the Wings of the Pirate King. The act of Sanji calling upon her is a sign, not only that he trusts her implicitly with his life, but that she sees herself as an equal to them. Sanji is always saving her and Nami. In saving him, she gains her independence. As for why it's important Zoro and Sanji face off against the first performers: this is to highlight the difference between Kaido's crew and Luffy's. The All Stars exist in competition with each other - that's how they become All Stars. Even during their fight with Sanji and Zoro, they are still getting in each other's way. Zoro and Sanji however are the complete opposites, and in juxtaposing them against the All Stars, it shows how well they work together. Why is this important? Because Oda is illustrating how far they've come since The East Blue. Where King and Queen are attacking with no regard to one another, Sanji and Zoro are perfectly synchronized. Despite their constant bickering, they actually do care for each other, as opposed to the All Stars, who actively hate each other. There are multiple ways to be a leader. One of them is being actual leader, which is what we see Luffy do in terms of fighting the big bads and caring for his crew overall. Zoro is a leader as well but in a different way: He does all the heavy lifting underneath that so Luffy has the ability to act as the captain. This is why he fight the first performers with Sanji after being messed up by Kaido. His leadership is in making sure the Captain doesn't have to worry about everyone else - Zoro fighting King while Sanji fights Queen is his way of supporting Luffy but also protecting the crew. But a good leader also trusts others - Zoro isn't organizing the crew during the fight because he knows they will be able to handle whatever else is going on, without his direction. One series that mirrors this is That Time I was Reincarnated as a Slime: Everyone has their jobs and leads the nation - yes, Rimuru is in charge but he trusts his subordinates, who in turn trust theirs. As for the tension of the climax - yes, we are slowly seeing them gather allies. We're slowly seeing the tide turn in their favour - none of that matters: everyone on the Beast Pirate could work for them, Kaido could kill them all in an instant if Luffy loses. It's the underlying tension - Zoro, their strongest warrior merely injured him going all out. We're hoping they're able to take down the crew while Luffy keeps Kaido busy so HOPEFULLY, they can then go help Luffy. Every delay, every ounce of damage they take is potentially leading them to destruction - there is a time limit, since Luffy's strength is not infinite and he will pass out at some point. When we see it happen, we see the result - absolute chaos as Kaido returns to wreak havoc. I'm sorry but I have to disagree - Wano is a masterpiece of story telling and making plotlines count together.

[@AmManTalks]

I look at the Wano arc in isolation because that's how arcs work. Yes there is always overlap between arcs, but an arc is still a single unit of story with its own conflicts and themes. The stories you mentioned regarding Robin and Sanji don't have anything to do with the conflict of the Wano arc, they're just self contained character arcs. Also, if Zoro fighting King shows that he's a leader, why build him up so much? He was gonna fight the second-in-command anyways, there was no point setting up unreasonable expectations. What you said about tension in the climax is also really weird to me. You admit that the tension is reduced but say it doesn't matter because if Kaido wins then that undoes everything. Thing is, Kaido didn't win. So the stakes were lowered just to deflate the conflict

[@89technical]

@@AmManTalks But Kaido did win: we see what happens if Luffy dies fighting him - it was only after Luffy came back to life the fight resumed. As for self contained story, Wano doesn't exist in isolation, it's the culmination of multiple arcs starting in Punk Hazard and even as far back as Loguetown.

[@justaway6901]

Its hard to argue with One Piece "fans" because they sometimes have a loose grasp on how narrative works and just spews whatever narrative terms they know (or that they think they understand)

[@henkupmukho]

Idk what the problem is,, like i always felt that the 9 scabbard was the focus point with some important member of wano but the ultimate bad guy will be obviously be beat up luffy and gang so for me it was good and I think kaidi will have a backstory when rocks is flush out and wano will be complet after that and yes Zoro plot was a letdown.

[@AmManTalks]

Just because we know the Straw Hats always beat up the bad guys doesn't mean the story shouldn't have meaningful character writing to get them motivated to solve the conflict. Whether Kaido is fleshed out later doesn't matter. The wano story is the story we got. Frankensteining character resolutions from future arcs into this one won't change anything

[@jacemiguez8792]

i can see how you could not like the Wano arc, but to say the ending is written poorly or wasn’t satisfying is just a really bad take tbh. i get it’s your opinion, and your entitled to that, but the ending of Wano has one of THE MOST profound messages in the theme, and if you don’t get that then you just don’t have the necessary literary analysis skills to actually understand, appreciate and enjoy it

[@AmManTalks]

I'll bite, what about the ending of Wano is so profound?

[@Unimportant]

Wano definitely feels like biting off way more than you can chew. Oda is one of the best out there, and not even he managed to properly digest the potential set up for this arc. A part of it is simply a limitation of the medium. You can only tell so much story in 20 pages a week, and when you've got a hundred or more named characters to account for then only a select few of them will get satisfying moments within the panels. It is something that has been a great weakness in the post timeskip story in general. While juggling all the arc characters, the strawhat crew itself has been reduced to their running gags while the majority of the story highlights Luffy. I wanted more from Zoro on Wano. I wanted more from Franky on Egghead. I wanted more from Sanji on Wholecake. I wanted more from Law on Dressrosa. I once again stress that it is NOT EASY to write a story like this in this format. I still consider it a masterpiece, albeit one many things worth nitpicking.

[@WeebGuru6]

We should’ve done this have luffy create gear 4 tiger man to beat big mom

[@unnamedshadow1866]

Crocodile was defeated, but he wasn't defeated psychologically as you suggest. You underestimate Crocodile. He never gave up. The whole formation of Cross Guild was his idea. His goal has remained unchanging, if anything, his goal is even closer than ever with Mihawk joining up and of course with Buggy taking all the spotlight. Lucci never changed. They even got promoted. Doflamingo as well, he was defeated, but because he hates the World, he was fine with his defeat, as he knows the Truth of the World. So even if its not him, someone else will be forced to face that threat. He relishes on the Chaos.

[@RedLights9000-f3l]

I don't think conqueror haki is for strong leaders anymore oda start giving for anyone so they look strong like king who isn't a leader with kingly goals but he have it

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

i dropped one piece as a whole due to how horribly written wano was. since we are in elbaf i picked OP back up. i skipped egghead in its entirety. oda needs to add actual stakes in his writing. kill people off. in wano all of the 9 scabbards shouldve died, 1 SW shouldve died and the raid fail. then a panic fight in the mainland of wano itself as a team fight against kaido for the win. not the boring luffy deus-ex-machina spam powerup outta nowhere. OP quality post timeskip is laughably bad.

[@wolfgangkrauser9735]

At this point Im just OK with the boss fights.

[@jordanvance1657]

Im telling morj someone beat him to his wano analysis vid. Hes been saying this for 2 years he would do it.

[@ryanmitindonga5770]

You could even make the argument that wano was build up since thriller bark

[@Chris-rj4bt]

I agree with the more surface level issues with plot structure and tension. I think the arc was messier in execution than it needed to be. I think you’re off the mark when you talk about character and themes. Aleczandxr prob has the best Kaido video analysis video that made me appreciate the nuance and complexity of his writing a lot more. I feel like there’s a lot there that I can’t perfectly say here that’ll do it justice. I think your whole point about Kaido rotting in jail only takes in to account one part of his character when really there’s a lot of routes Oda could go with Kaidos character if he’s still alive. If he’s dead I still think it fits his character to die in that way. I don’t agree with what you said about Zoro nor has being a good leader been a core part of conquerers haki. I don’t know why leadership would be in a character arc that’s suppose to be about rekindling Zoros selfish ambition and keeping his promises to Luffy and Kuina. I also think there’s a lot more depth to Zoro, King, and Wano than ppl give it credit for. I disagree with replacing Yamato for Zoro because I don’t see what that does for any of their characters. I think the whole point of Kings final attack being a dragon was so Zoro could symbolically overcome that wall he couldn’t before. Also Yamato vs Kaido gave more context on both characters and their relationship which I think it’s overall more important. As for Tama it seems like Oda wanted to leave Wano flawed for now. Maybe it could have been executed better but I think it’s clear that’s how it was intended. Even now in the Yamato cover stories it seems like Oda is hinting towards there still being prejudice towards Yamato. So it’s prob something he will cover possibly to show how Momo chooses to address these more nuanced issues in Wano. I don’t really know about your alliance part because I think there is more nuance to why some alliances don’t work. As for Big Mom and Kaido I don’t think it makes logical sense for them to betray each other in those moments especially since they seem pretty calculated and have known each other for years. I do think in the long run it’s not sustainable but they clearly also care about each other more than they let on. In general in a surface level I think Wano is flawed but I also think ppl fail to appreciate just how much detail and complex character writing went in to Wano. I usually don’t take Wano criticism that seriously because most of it I’ve seen just seemed to have come from a lack of understanding what is there and nitpicking what they think isn’t in the arc. The execution and pacing could have definitely been a lot better but I think the hate for this arc is so overdramatic. I still think it’s a pretty good arc

[@houmihm]

Wano is the first arc in one piece where i genuinely hated the ending, Oda gave me hundreds of expectations just to not meet a single one of them, i was so used to Oda just exceeding what i was expecting since he never failed to do so, but Wano is just different. Let’s start with Kaido who should have been one of the greatest villains in one piece but ended up being the worst, with a half arsed backstory and rushed defeat in the end he is no villain to be remembered. The way Oda was talking about how Luffy would beat Kaido made me really excited, but in the end he just lied and made it the most boring sequence in all of one piece for me. Zoro literally being related to ryuma but we only got one person noticing the resemblance and never anything else is literally criminal. Shanks appearing only to promote film red, the kurouzumi being hated till the end, Zoro meating the grim reaper just to use it as a gag, Kiku not caring that her brother got killed, Hawkings talking about himself the whole time. Listing these things just made me realise how bad Wanos ending actually was, the whole arc seemed stretched out for a lot of people but the ending was definitely rushed. If we never come back to wano and it just stays the way it is, i’d hate to admit it but the overall quality of the story will definitely drop a lot only because of all the bad writing in Wano.

[@jdddyyy1]

Hmmm, I always expected the strawhats to take the spotlight. OP is a pretty predictable formula that's repeated each arc. Side characters should stay side characters imo.

[@SirCottiny]

Bro cooked too much! Nice review

[@kylestewart2829]

Omg I can't believe you mentioned everything that bothered me with Wano. Lol no I'm kidding I hate the Nika fruit retcon. But other than that there was so many wasted opportunities. Every straw hat could have had a 1vs1 fight with emotional stakes. What I hate about Op now is that atrawhats are not characters anymore... They are pawns to experience the big OP story that is just not that interesting anymore. But the world is so good. Oda should focus on the strawhat story then expand later when the series end

[@hiruyabebaw807]

once drizzt gets his hands on this arc...

[@BoScotty]

@@hiruyabebaw807 I don’t look forward to it. His critiques to me are very shallow and often miss the point.

[@royalfun1031]

​@@BoScottyye

[@justaway6901]

10 hour critic + 2 hrs open discussion livestream lol

[@WeebGuru6]

We should’ve had the beast pirates pull up causing problems for the plan also make luffy beat big mom that’s a problem I have luffy has far more beef with big mom than Kaido have kid & law face off against someone else like the cp0 who are also beast pirates

[@fromationart5371]

As someone who's been reading One Piece weekly since Punk Hazard, I never felt so disappointed in this series as I did with the Wano arc 😅💀

[@emmanueladekunle3088]

For me after marinefold wano is my favorite arc

[@Emp2014]

I don't really understand this issue with hiyori that you guys seem to have, because there was absolutely no indication that the kurozumi backstory was supposed to end with a unison for both sides. There was every indication in the story that the only way the issue would get resolved is by war. This idea that the storyline between the kozuki and kurozumi was unresolved because of the fact that they didn't come together in the end is a fantasy mentality. There was never any themes in the story of wano surrounding forgiveness, so this seems like, to me, to be an attempt by people to be overly righteous.

[@AmManTalks]

I think you misunderstood the point entirely. People like Orochi and Kanjuro are beyond deserving forgiveness. Going to war was the right call to free Wano. This isn't about shaking hands with the Kurozumi's. It's about the fact that the people of Wano are partly to blame for Orochi and Kanjuro as they persecuted them simply because of their family name. You can say that the story never set up a resolution to this plotline, but isn't that kind of the problem? Why is Oda trying to portray a happy ending to the Wano arc when a systemic issue that most in the real world would understand is messed up, hasn't been addressed? An issue that One Piece itself has shown is wrong with Ace?

[@Emp2014]

@@AmManTalks 1. The actual reason why the kurozumi were castigated was because of their history of attempting to overthrow the Shogun to gain power. This started due to their greed, and it's obvious with Orochi that greed was something that was just associated with their people. 2. That's odas fault for conditioning his fans to believe that everything must be "equal" and "fair" with numerous themes throughout the series that only make sense to emotional people. Wano is an actual realistic take on how conflict between two sides are handled. The only reason people feel that the plot point of the issues between both sides haven't been addressed is because of Oda constantly making the series have two opposing sides come together in a severely unrealistic manner. 3. I don't even like the constant theme of disregarding your father for the love of random people that Oda has constantly pushed to begin with. Oda is not pushing the theme of "not to judge one by their parents". That's the surface level shit he uses to hide the fact that the real theme he pushes is the rejection and separation of the father with their son, shown by Ace having a hatred for his father that was unfounded, while literally nobody else connected to roger have that feeling about him. It's also shown with his unwillingness to develop a relationship between Luffy and Dragon, choosing to have sabo, another character who rejected his father, be the son figure. So I don't find any issue with Oda not replaying that nonsensical idea in wano, and to me that is one of the best parts of wano, that Oda did not rinse and repeat this bullshit ideology of rejecting the father, at least until Yamato

[@AmManTalks]

​@@Emp2014 Your first point is absurd because it sounds like you're trying to rationalize the discrimination the Kurozumi family faced. It was made clear that it was just Orochi's grandfather who committed a crime, what happened to the rest of the clan was wrong. 'Apparently, even a child can be a criminal, if he happens to have the name Kurozumi.' That's a line from Orochi in chapter 971, associating greed with the Kurozumi people to justify their persecution is kind of the problem. Your second point is really bizarre to me, because it sounds like you're trying to present the Wano story as a more mature morally grey story. But that contradicts your first point where you try to apply a broadstroke to the Kurozumi family, painting them as clearly evil. Also, I don't know what the issue is with writing a story that is as idealistic as One Piece. Not every story is trying to be realistic and that's okay. With that said, I don't see how people can be okay with the Straw Hats and Vassals overthrowing an evil ruler when they never addressed the issue that led to their suffering to begin with. Even in a more realistic morally grey story, it just comes across as characters only temporarily solving the problem, which is not satisfying. I don't really have anything to say to your discussion about rejecting fathers as it's not super relevant and just seems weird.

[@Emp2014]

@@AmManTalks 1. No, it's not bizarre because it's how things actually work. Lol you think one dude in the family went rogue, did his own shit, while his own people didn't back him, and they just got attacked for no reason? Lol if that was the case they would've never accepted Yamato. It's clear by the story context that the family were Confederate in what orochis grandfather was doing, which is why they were castigated. 2. No, I didn't make the kurozumi out to be evil, and even if I did, the context I spoke from was one of neutral bias. Were they greedy? Yes, but being greedy does not make you Inherently evil. It's a character flaw. My take on the scenario is what I stated it to be, that being that the shit had to end in war. That's what the story indicated. Never did the story make it out that there had to be some big union between the two parties. Your pushing your own idealistic views on the arc that never was there.

[@Emp2014]

@@AmManTalks not to mention, Kurozumi Higurashi herself made it blatantly clear that not only did she not have an issue with what orochis grandfather was doing, but that she was in support of it. So your idea that it was only the grandfather is not backed in the story AT ALL.

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

Wano is mess, from beginning of post time One Piece suffers so many structural problems. Lets start with Kaido. There is a theory that due to the rushing story Oda start to mixing ideas compress them in arc that doesn't fit the story. Best example is Tontatas, they have no place in Dressrosa, their inclusion just feels so out of place. Back to Kaido, he doesn't really fit Wano's design. Beast pirates are obviviously Hokuto No Ken (fist of northstar) analogue. Their motto does not really fit that Sengoku era Japan setting of Wano. Maybe Kaido's dragon theme fits but his crew is totally out of place. On the other hand, Orochi fits perfectly in Wano. Here is another irony, Orochi is one of the best Villians Oda ever created. He is unlikeble monster who has no reedeming quality. And he has justifying motive for hating Wano. He clearly overshadowed freaking Kaido. But Oda started to disrespect him, instead of making him capable villian he suddenly make him betrayed by Kaido. It doesn't really made Kaido deeper villian. Kaido still was a shallow, motionless villian. That just show how Orochi and his crew different than Kaido's pirate crew. Instead of that long disordinary arc, two part story could work better. First part should be about liberation of Wano and Orochi bein main villian next one is Kaido and his barren land. Yonkou territories are already established, Wano could be Kaido's territory which pays tribute, after its liberation Luffy vs Kaido tension could escalate more. Next is Big Mom. She is the worst emperor and one of the worst villians in the series. She simply wasted in this story, she should be in Elbaf story (if we will ever see Elbaf story), she has no place in this story. And worst of all she defeated by two side characters. Unless she returns in Elbaf, she is the worst. Side characters, that's the problem of One Piece since a long time ago. Oda creates too many side characters that many people couldn't keep track. Pre timeskip era, each arc has many characters but post timeskip literally doubled that. Aside from that, some characters have no direction. Biggest example is supernovas. They are last minute additions and Oda clearly had no plan with them. Bege find a way, Bonney works right now, Law doesn't really have any purpose after Dressrosa but he is popular. Excluding these three , others have no purpose. Uroge still did nothing, Apoo and Drake are useless, Hawkins is biggest waste of character and Kid became laughing stock. Their addition to Wano not helped to story. There are so many thing you could talk about Wano but lastly I wanna add themes. You mentioned really well the themes Wano failed. Hunger, isolation, discrimination and polution are good themes but Wano handled them half heartly. I disagree about your Alabasta civil war comment. Oda actually set up civil war perfectly. You could see clear motivation of both side. You didn't mentioned Skypie but its themes are powerful as well. No need to talk about Water 7, it is most loved. Even weaker arcs like Thriller Bark and Fishman island succededits themes. Wano is just weak.

[@izzybar9470]

Why would bm return if she has no role shlawg

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

@@izzybar9470 for redemption. She is biggest disappointment in the series right now. She never learned her own backstory. She was hyped for Elbaf. If she do not took any role in Elbaf all that mother Caramel flashback was empty waste of time.

[@izzybar9470]

@@Ahmet-yu7jr she has no further role In the story. In your opinion kaido and big mom are bad. But many people and myself disagree. Out of strenght bm was good and kaido was mostly done good as his character is different than other villains

[@Ahmet-yu7jr]

I could ggive Kaido a pass but Big Mom? Which part is good about her? All that build up , all that hype, what we get? She lost against two side characters. Add to insult, one of em got one shot by another Yonkou. Her crew sidelined so hard, he didn't fight against Luffy, not even defeated by a straw hat, her story abrutly ended without proper conclusion. She didn't learn what happened Mother Caramel, she didn't learn why giants hate her and she didn't learn truth behind Mother Caramel. That was a legitly good back story and great Twist but in the end not concluded. That just made all her character and her crew waste of time.

[@izzybar9470]

@@Ahmet-yu7jr i feel you

[@bjornjonsson7037]

Wano was a good arc. BUT there are many arcs that are better which makes it a failure if the intent was to make it special.

[@furorteutonicus9045]

Completely disagree. Wano is one of the best arcs of the series and has so many highs that the lows do hardly matter in my opinion. I also think your take on the themes of the arc is totally inane and false. Especially the part about the Kurozumis were meant to burn. Its a specific japanese wordplay and only feels uncomfortable for you because its almost impossible to translate in other languages with the exact meaning.

[@AmManTalks]

Feeling uncomfortable about the Kurozumi line wasn't really the point. As said in the video, it's about the story not addressing the prejudice displayed by the Wano people

[@justaway6901]

The translation is really not the difficult lol You could argue on how the exact wordings of the translation should be, but the meaning and context literaly stays the same. There's no other meaning that can be derived other than "Orochi should burn/is burning, because he is kurozumi (coal)". The most basic meaning you can derived is still "its aflame cause coal burns" or just "coal burns".

[@kingpizza1854]

I like your points but the main reason is most likely he's forcing one piece to end faster

[@digchiz8174]

Man when you put in order all these flaws and letdowns it makes me think if i should stop colleting the manga before it goes downhill like naruto? Jk

[@MaximusDGladiator]

You’re sooo right every straw hat shoulder’ve been on the rooftop, while letting the Tobiroppo & the YONKo’s commanders whoop every samurai’s ass all 5500 vs 28000(?). But at least every straw hat gets a moment in the rooftop. Not only is this a year late but it make me lol to see Oda’s foreshadowing, there’s people fitting into ‘This is a matter of reading comprehension’ 😂😂 dude this is the first we go against a Yonko not, some bum not making it in the new world, Warlord. Every part of Wano shows what being ruled by a yonko looks like and the preparation it takes to even get in front of the person. In alabasta Luffy just straight up ran into Crocs place to get in front of him. How easily could he have done this at Kaido’s castle AND gotten in front of him? Kaido being randomly drunk acting on a clue, allowing luffy to get in front of him. The arc isn’t perfect but not a failure bud, find another manga to criticize ✌️

[@AmManTalks]

Hey thanks for the comment! I guess the first part of your comment is sarcasm. I like how you assume that for the Straw Hats to fight Kaido, the state of the other participants of the raid would stay the same. I simply believe that based on the themes explored in this arc, Zoro leading the crew minus Luffy against Kaido would have been narratively satisfying. How Oda would get us to that point without compromising the rest of the raid is not my job to figure out. When it comes to Wano showing what being ruled by a yonko is like and the preparation to even get to Kaido. There's no doubt that is what's being shown in the first two acts. But it's not very interesting to just watch the Straw Hats 'prepare' without having any meaningful character writing. If Oda could've given the entire crew the same level of character work Luffy and Zoro had in the first two acts, that would have helped greatly!

[@izzybar9470]

It just didnt make sense with the plot building up for the samurai to do almost nothing and zoro to not do what he said he will in act 1 and 2. Its not a failure but it for sure couldve been better

[@Chriso22]

Glad im not the only one who thinks wano was a let down

[@Robert-rw5lm]

I honestly don't care for Wano. I know it was needed story wise and the Nika stuff was awesome. But I look at Wano the same way I look into thriller park. Gonna skip a good chunk of it

[@cttommy73]

Wano is where logic goes to die. I don't think I've ever read a story with more plot armour than Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos have money. Hell, there was more plot armour than the top 100 richest economy in the world combine. To name just a few, everyone on Kaido's side is easily dispatched, where on Luffy's side, only Izo and Ashura Doji died. Big Mom was nerfed into the ground, with zero usage of her observation, conqueror's, her iron defense, her speed, her tough wills, hell, her devil fruit. She was only there to be plot armour brought down. Luffy easily crushing both Big Mom and Kaido, a threat said to end the world if they joined forces. If they were so easy to kill, how is it the World government couldn't do that??? Tama. Just Tama and her devil fruit. The treatment of the Kurozumi which led to the pain and suffering of Wano. Suddenly, Wano, which persecuted and tortured the Kurozumi for the crime of one guy is "oppressed" and "good", yet the guy getting revenge, much like Hiyori, is now suddenly evil, but when Luffy's friends do it, it's cool. What about all the asspull powerups? Law and Kid and Luffy were soloed in one hit by guys like Doflamingo, and guys who couldn't scratch that weakling suddenly asspull powered up to overthrow in strength 2 emperors??? Really? What about all the times Luffy got crushed. Why is he allowed the plot armour to re-try again, and again, and again like this is a video game? more specifically, a Souls-Borne game? I can keep going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, repeating myself like a broken clock, but I'll leave it here because I've been done with One Piece for years now.

[@travisrameysadler9924]

It's still better than Dressrosa by a mile.