Very good job Akai, you are on fire lately
I fully agree with your opinion that Oda wont give a definite answer for topics like Shanks-Mihawk, Zoro-Law etc. Some things are better left unsaid. Oda is an intelligent man. He knows he wont please both sides of the fanbase with a definite answer on such polarizing topics.
The thing is PL is an integral part of the popularity of One Piece. Personally, OP adventures dont really interest me post-TS. The mysteries like One Piece, D clan, Imu, void century interest me more. But the thing I am looking forward most is to see the ceiling of the strawhats and as a relevant topic the actual level of yonko-admirals. Its not really surprising when Oda himself hypes the readers about battles,
"Hello. It’s Oda. Are you enjoying Jump Festa? I am also watching the One Piece Super Stage Event. It’s fun. Each year I visit Jump Festa and eat with the voice actors. One Piece will finally go to Wano next year! Some of you may remember I said this last year. I did think that Wano would start in 2017. I have some new information, I will introduce a legend lying dormant in the One Piece world. The strongest enemy the Straw Hats have encountered. It may be related to Whitebeard. The Marineford Arc will seem cute compared to what is coming."
Oda does care about consistency in PL to a certain extent and thats why he said,
"Probably my audience will not be satisfied if the reason for defeating Kaido is just because Luffy’s punch is so strong."
But I am pretty sure Oda wont care about PL for the sake of plot. As you mentioned, there are so many characters that he cant give them proper panel time. This can be very misleading for some people. For example, if he has room for only one panel for a particular fight, people will conclude it was a low diff/one shot fight. Thats why we have to think about context and use our imagination in PL debates.
I fully agree with your opinion that Oda wont give a definite answer for topics like Shanks-Mihawk, Zoro-Law etc. Some things are better left unsaid. Oda is an intelligent man. He knows he wont please both sides of the fanbase with a definite answer on such polarizing topics.
The thing is PL is an integral part of the popularity of One Piece. Personally, OP adventures dont really interest me post-TS. The mysteries like One Piece, D clan, Imu, void century interest me more. But the thing I am looking forward most is to see the ceiling of the strawhats and as a relevant topic the actual level of yonko-admirals. Its not really surprising when Oda himself hypes the readers about battles,
"Hello. It’s Oda. Are you enjoying Jump Festa? I am also watching the One Piece Super Stage Event. It’s fun. Each year I visit Jump Festa and eat with the voice actors. One Piece will finally go to Wano next year! Some of you may remember I said this last year. I did think that Wano would start in 2017. I have some new information, I will introduce a legend lying dormant in the One Piece world. The strongest enemy the Straw Hats have encountered. It may be related to Whitebeard. The Marineford Arc will seem cute compared to what is coming."
Oda does care about consistency in PL to a certain extent and thats why he said,
"Probably my audience will not be satisfied if the reason for defeating Kaido is just because Luffy’s punch is so strong."
But I am pretty sure Oda wont care about PL for the sake of plot. As you mentioned, there are so many characters that he cant give them proper panel time. This can be very misleading for some people. For example, if he has room for only one panel for a particular fight, people will conclude it was a low diff/one shot fight. Thats why we have to think about context and use our imagination in PL debates.