General & Others How do you feel about the fact that Wano arc ended up not being Zoro's arc?

[Colt Buntline]

Before the beginning of Wano arc I thought it would be an arc mainly about Zoro, especially because of the whole samurai theme, just like Arlong Park was mainly about Nami, and Whole Cake Island was mainly about Sanji.

But now it can be seen that, other than Luffy, the main characters in Wano arc were the Akazaya, and not Zoro.

I'm quite sure Zoro was the Straw Hat, other than Luffy, with the most screen time at least before Onigashima, but he didn't have enough relevance in the main plot of the arc for it to be considered his arc.

I was expecting some special drama concerning his origins and his family, with Zoro taking the main role in the story, but he ended up being just a supporting character.

So I'm feeling quite disappointed, especially considering how it's hard to imagine a more fitting island than Wano to be the place in which Zoro will have some special character development.

Even Sanji clearly had more character development than Zoro in Onigashima, even though Sanji had just had his own arc in Whole Cake Island.

 

[matt245]

He shined almost as much as Luffy so it's still good. And Zoro isn't done yet so...

 

[zzShinichi]

Most of Zoro fans are satisfied with Zoro in Wano
Can't say the same with Sanji fans when WCI happened
Go figure

 

[Zoro the badass god]

Not zoro arc but still shine this much??
What if there's zoro arc in future???
Zoro gonna do what Luffy only can dream

Can you believe sanji only being trash on his own arc.yes his own arc
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Sanji arc=sanji being trash
Not zoro arc=tank 2 yonko attack
Zoro arc=kill every top tier like cutting cake

 

[RoronoaZorro]

Zoro gets so many privileges and treatment this arc (to be fair, almost all arcs too), Wano practically is his arc already. Unless of course you dislike Zoro and skip his stories.

1. Gets a (highly possible future) wife

We know that Zoro's wife will always be a premium character. It's easy to notice that Oda will pair him up with Hiyori.

2. Has more subplots than other characters

Swords lore, Hiyori, Killer, Enma, etc.

3. Has more dedicated chapters/a portion of an arc

Zoro has top 5 Wano panel time. He also gets focus in Wano intro, Wano main story, Onigashima too with important characters.

4. Has more powerups than other characters

CoO upgrade, CoA upgrade, fire cutting & magma cutting, pseudo-flight, CoC and Advanced CoC, Enma.

5. Has cool feats and moment of shine

Perma scar Kaido and tanking Hakai.

---

Compare this to Sanji's WCI, he also gets a wife, BUT

- He doesn't have as much as subplot, only forgiving his family and baking a cake
- He has fewer dedicated chapters and panel ratio
- He doesn't get powerups
- He doesn't even have a proper fight, and doesn't even dominate clash
- His biggest feat is defeating a Yonko, but it's not a solo thing and not a traditional fight/battle
- His moment of shine is evading a casual Katakuri's attack. It'll be hype if Oda confirmed him as Future Sight user, but Oda didn't.
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Of course, Sanji has the emotional stuff going on. That's because it's his part, whereas the physical part is Zoro's portion in this manga, while Luffy has both.

It's a theme that has been going on since forever. Like how timeskip training is Sanji dealing with emotional pressure while Zoro is physical training. There is also Onigashima battles where Sanji deals with emotional struggle while Zoro deals with physical pain (Hakai & medicine).

Both have their own portions/share in the manga, and you can't have one getting both. This is one of the reasons why they're the Wings.

 

[R A I T E I I I]

Before the beginning of Wano arc I thought it would be an arc mainly about Zoro, especially because of the whole samurai theme, just like Arlong Park was mainly about Nami, and Whole Cake Island was mainly about Sanji.

But now it can be seen that, other than Luffy, the main characters in Wano arc were the Akazaya, and not Zoro.

I'm quite sure Zoro was the Straw Hat, other than Luffy, with the most screen time at least before Onigashima, but he didn't have enough relevance in the main plot of the arc for it to be considered his arc.

I was expecting some special drama concerning his origins and his family, with Zoro taking the main role in the story, but he ended up being just a supporting character.

So I'm feeling quite disappointed, especially considering how it's hard to imagine a more fitting island than Wano to be the place in which Zoro will have some special character development.

Even Sanji clearly had more character development than Zoro in Onigashima, even though Sanji had just had his own arc in Whole Cake Island.

Very happy. It would have been much worse and boring. However I'm not against the idea or Orochi being hyper strong and a real challenge. That clown character ended up being hella uninteresting

 

[LANJI CUCKSMOKE]

was never promised or intended to be zoro's arc
so it changes nothing for me .

 

[RayanOO]

Of course, Sanji has the emotional stuff going on. That's because it's his part, whereas the physical part is Zoro's portion in this manga, while Luffy has both.

It's a theme that has been going on since forever. Like how timeskip training is Sanji dealing with emotional pressure while Zoro is physical training. There is also Onigashima battles where Sanji deals with emotional struggle while Zoro deals with physical pain (Hakai & medicine).

Both have their own portions/share in the manga, and you can't have one getting both. This is one of the reasons why they're the Wings

The thing I don’t like is Zoro wasn’t really challenged in his character : no development, no questions, no real struggle except for his fight.

In the past Zoro has great moments : zoro taking Luffy pain or kneeling in front of Mihawk. Those are great character moments and not power level related.

Wano didn’t change Zoro, I felt no connection between Zoro and Wano. Yeah Oda gave hints : the shimotsuki thing, the sunnachi, the geezer in his village etc etc. But nothing deep. Nothing was explored.

We can hâte Sanji character dev during WCI but at least he was mentally challenged, his whole character moved from one point to on other.

 

[Colt Buntline]

Most of Zoro fans are satisfied with Zoro in Wano
Can't say the same with Sanji fans when WCI happened
Go figure

That's because it's much easier to satisfy Zoro's fans, who basically only care about Zoro being able to cut bigger and bigger things, regardless of how much he just stays as just another simple-minded one dimensional badass character among many others.
The fact that they are satisfied with Zoro's role in Wano despite the fact he had very small character development in it is the proof of it.

If they were only satisfied with well written and uniquely complex characters, they wouldn't be Zoro fans; They would be fans of Sanji instead.

 

[Peroroncino]

Oda never said it would be

 

[RoronoaZorro]

The thing I don’t like is Zoro wasn’t really challenged in his character : no development, no questions, no real struggle except for his fight.

In the past Zoro has great moments : zoro taking Luffy pain or kneeling in front of Mihawk. Those are great character moments and not power level related.

Wano didn’t change Zoro, I felt no connection between Zoro and Wano. Yeah Oda gave hints : the shimotsuki thing, the sunnachi, the geezer in his village etc etc. But nothing deep. Nothing was explored.

We can hâte Sanji character dev during WCI but at least he was mentally challenged, his whole character moved from one point to on other.

Oh, yeah, I understand and agree on this.

However the real problem comes from a fundamental level. Zoro is written to be the invincible type. He is built this way to attract a specific portion of the fans.

Since the archetype has it's up, it also has it's down. Zoro can't struggle, because it cheapens his role. Zoro can't have his emotion stuff explored, because it's a burden.

That's how I see a character like him. He is the serious, stoic, and firm character. Anything him should be clear and concise, this is why it looks simpler, which made him to not get complex plot.
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That's because it's much easier to satisfy Zoro's fans, who basically only care about Zoro being able to cut bigger and bigger things, regardless of how much he just stays as just another simple-minded one dimensional badass character among many others.
The fact that they are satisfied with Zoro's role in Wano despite the fact he had very small character development in it is the proof of it.

If they were only satisfied with well written and uniquely complex characters, they wouldn't be Zoro fans; They would be fans of Sanji instead.

A good chunks of fans (even Zorobros) actually appreciate Sanji's character more because "emotional struggle is harder to overcome than (a mere) physical struggle". In a way, this is true because Zoro only needs to train his body and accepts physical pain as his obstacles, the solution is just get stronger. Whereas emotional struggle is more complex and the solution isn't always clear.

This is one of the reasons why Sanji still have that many fans and not outright be surpassed by hotter character like Ace and Sabo, people IRL especially those who struggle in life, can relate to him.

Of course, in reality, physical struggle is as difficult as emotional, because medical cost is always high no matter who you are.

 

[Finalbeta]

I think this is mostly both Zoro's and Luffy's arc but Luffy is the MC so I could see that coming.

I'm fairly confident that Zoro will kill Kaido and solidly contribute to the epicness given he already did by saving asses on the rooftop left and right. 🤔

 

[ShinichiMugi]

There should have been Mihawk in Wano and Zoro shpuld have realized his dream to become WSS in Wano. Considering the fact that Wano is one of the last OP arcs,it wouldnt have been bad to do that.

 

[tano12]

I think this is mostly both Zoro's and Luffy's arc but Luffy is the MC so I could see that coming.

I'm fairly confident that Zoro will kill Kaido and solidly contribute to the epicness given he already did by saving asses on the rooftop left and right. 🤔

The only ass that has been saved on the rooftop was Zoro's ass. If Law was 1 millisecond late saving Zoro, he would have been worse than being a Mummy. Which in turn was saved by Lanji and Chopper and yes, the Mink Drug.

 

[Fn Lucci]

I'm sure there are plenty of readers who understand that not every story or every chapter of a story needs to involve emotional struggle or change... those aren't the requirements for development. "Stoic badass." Okay you do have Zoro with Kenshiro, Jotaro, Saito, etc. You can say that you don't think this type of character is written well, but I'll agree to disagree with the fact that you just don't understand them lol.

It was interesting for me to see Zoro give away a prized sword and also act on the idea of revenge, as well as the revelations that have involved his life experiences. He sacrificed himself against Hakai with the understanding that he could die in the opening salvo of a major fight, and clearly there's still a significant plot to play. So yeah, better than WCI. I can see it hitting the height of Arlong Park or Enies Lobby for significant character arcs, even if again it doesn't involve him being wrong and crying and shit.

 

[zzShinichi]

That's because it's much easier to satisfy Zoro's fans, who basically only care about Zoro being able to cut bigger and bigger things, regardless of how much he just stays as just another simple-minded one dimensional badass character among many others.
The fact that they are satisfied with Zoro's role in Wano despite the fact he had very small character development in it is the proof of it.

If they were only satisfied with well written and uniquely complex characters, they wouldn't be Zoro fans; They would be fans of Sanji instead.

So fucking what, i don't read One Piece because I want to read complex, well written characters, i read it to see my fav shine. And Zoro did just that, in Wano. So i'm fucking happy. And that's it.
Sanji could be the better character in term of writting for all I care, but the fact that, Sanji fans were not happy of WCI, and are constantly begging for Sanji to FIGHT Zoro's opponents, to have Zoro's powerups, speaks truly about how his fans feel.

 

[cleanmrpostman]

That's because it's much easier to satisfy Zoro's fans, who basically only care about Zoro being able to cut bigger and bigger things, regardless of how much he just stays as just another simple-minded one dimensional badass character among many others.
The fact that they are satisfied with Zoro's role in Wano despite the fact he had very small character development in it is the proof of it.

If they were only satisfied with well written and uniquely complex characters, they wouldn't be Zoro fans; They would be fans of Sanji instead.

Sanji isn't well-written. Being overly emotional/stupid and causing problems just to move plot doesn't = well-written.

 

[Finalbeta]

The only ass that has been saved on the rooftop was Zoro's ass. If Law was 1 millisecond late saving Zoro, he would have been worse than being a Mummy. Which in turn was saved by Lanji and Chopper and yes, the Mink Drug.

They would have all been gone if Zoro didn't comprise the energy blast of Hakai lol

 

[shanksisevil111]

I hate it, and I hated that WCI wasn't sanji's arc either. Wanking these stupid side characters I couldn't give 2 shits about doesnt matter at all to me.

 

[bennbeckman]

Better than your favorite character having his own arc and his best feat is baking a cake

Never gets old