This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Post-Timeskip.
Important takeaways
- Oda dislikes stories that focus on just one aspect, aiming for a well-mixed mix.
- Oda's success with One Piece comes from seamlessly combining action, emotion and comedy.
- The Final Saga will feature intense battles, humor and emotional moments, surpassing previous arcs.
Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Pieceis quite easily one of the most talented mangaka to ever live. It's safe to say that Oda is one of Japan's greatest mangaka, if not the greatest, and his story has managed to touch hearts all over the world. There is a reason why One Piece is the best selling manga on the planet, and without consistency it really wouldn't be possible.
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Oda's story keeps getting better, and with One Piece now in the Final Saga, Oda has promised to deliver the best One Piece content yet. Oda has often talked about the story he wants to write with One Piece, but recently he also talked about the kind of stories he dislikes. This gives fans some perspective on how Oda writes One Piece as well as he does, and why this manga has proven to be so successful.
The kind of story that Oda dislikes the most
- Oda doesn't like too much of one thing
- Oda chooses to mix a bunch of exciting ideas
Oda's One Piece is a masterful story of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, who embark on a quest to achieve various goals. Of course at the center of it all is Luffy's dream of becoming the Pirate King, but each Straw Hat also has his own dream. At the same time, the fans know it at the same time One Piece is very focused when it comes to the Strawhat Pirates, but there's a mix of other interesting things at play, like the mystery surrounding the Void Century, some absolutely tear-jerking moments, and of course, comedy thrown into the mix as well.
One Piece mixes all of these things incredibly well, which is precisely why this manga has proven to be as successful as it is. It's actually the kind of story that Oda loves the most. In Oda's eyes, stories that are too linear and lean more towards just one aspect of the storytelling are boring. This is what Oda has to say about the stories that bored him the most:
Oda (2012): I get bored easily. So if One Piece was just about action, or comedy, or tear-jerking manga, more than anything else, I'd be bored. So I change my art styles to keep my motivation to draw the series. I think about the plots and scenes when I'm tired.
Clearly, Oda thinks that stories that merge in multiple qualities rather than just excel at one are the best. For example, there are some manga out there that do action incredibly well, but fall apart when it comes to truly deep storytelling. Some others do comedy very well but fail to deliver impactful scenes. Other manga can do emotionally charged moments very well, but have nothing else going for them. These manga are, according to Oda, very boring. Of course, at the end of the day, opinions differ on these things, as it is art and as such can be subjective. But to Oda, a writer who is only good at writing one aspect of a story is clearly not inspired.
According to Oda, if his own manga was only about one of these things, he would be incredibly bored, more so than even his own fans. Oda likes to keep things fresh by constantly touching on multiple storylines, creating comedy and serious moments while writing tear-jerking and emotional chapters. This is how One Piece has remained on the throne of the greatest manga of all time and therefore it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future as well.
How One Piece blends everything to perfection
Oda's story has an incredibly broad spectrum
The story of One Piece has continuously succeeded in delivering quality of the absolute highest class. In fact, there isn't even a single one One Piece arc that focuses on just one aspect of storytelling and neglects the others. Some of One Piece's The very best arcs managed to mix action with gut-wrenching emotions and at the same time over-the-top comedy. One such example of this is the Paramount War Arc of the Summit War Saga. It could be said that this is one of the most tense arcs in the entire series. For those who don't remember, Luffy's brother, Ace, was about to be executed at Marine Headquarters, and to save him, Whitebeard called his allies and set out to invade Marine Headquarters in an attempt to save his son.
This is the most chaotic yet intense arc fans have seen One Piece. Marineford is one of the most combat oriented fans have seen. Everything, from start to finish, is a massive war, with the Whitebeard Pirates going up against the mighty Marines, the Seven Warlords, and even the Blackbeard Pirates. While there is quite a bit of action in this arc, Oda tugs at fans' heartstrings by keeping Ace in the spotlight throughout. Ace's emotions are in disarray, and fans know that Luffy's quest to save him is about preserving the bond of brotherhood he has. This bond of brotherhood is what keeps fans glued to their seats, just like the action does. But that's not all. Marineford also has a great mix of comedy. Buggy, who fans know is one of the best drivers of comedic storylines in the story, constantly serves as comic relief in this arc, but when he does, Oda takes those comedic moments and then sets them up in important storylines later down the line.
This phenomenal arc just shows how Oda plans every aspect of One Piece and delivers an absolutely magnificent arc. To this day, Marineford can easily be called the greatest of One Piecealthough there are now other arcs that can compete with it for that title, such as Wano Country, among many others, such as Enies Lobby. The truth is that One Piece has a wide range of bows that are as good as Marineford and do all of these things incredibly well. This is precisely why the series has been as successful as it is, and fans know that Oda will continue with this formula well into the future.
One Piece's final saga promises incredible things
Oda has clearly stated that the Final Saga of One Piece will be phenomenal and the battles fans will see in these arcs will make Marineford look like a joke. Meanwhile, fans also know that comedy will be a part of every arc they will witness from here on out, even if the scene gets more serious. The presence of the Gear 5 certainly ensures that. At the same time, fans also know that Oda will continue to write gut-wrenching stories that tug at fans' heartstrings, meaning that whatever comes in the final saga will be the most incredible thing fans have ever experienced.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set for November 11, 2024.
- Studio
- Toei animation
- Story of
- Eiichiro Oda
- Number of episodes
- 1116+