General & Others Why Oda?

[NikaInParis]

It's hard to define "successful", it is just simply that OP as one of the potential mangas was "luckily" picked by Jump to be their mascot, invest money and milk it later. The quality only mattered at the beginning and after that it's all just marketing when it got a number of diehard fans, the manga only need to drag on as long as possible to make more money. So OP at this point is not a "successful manga" anymore, it's more like a undying slave or a money addict, not leave resources for other mangas to grow.

I mean, Naruto was also "luckily" picked. So was Bleach for a time. Dragon Ball before all of them.
It's not about luck for them, they were just the best stories available at the time which meant more people were buying volumes and merch. So I wouldn't agree with your idea about luck.

However, I do agree that it has dragged on longer than it should have in retrospect. But why leave money on the table when you have a cash cow ready to be milked? Even once the manga ends One Piece will stay a lucrative money making scheme with dozens of possible movies, spin offs, exclusive events, special volumes, and, let's face it, a remake of the anime down the line.

 

[Saikō No Kenshi]

Without mich thinking MZ initial gut feeling about Wano is:

1. Beast Pirates were almost all lame.

2. Gifters, Pleasures etc looking goofy and ugly, nothing compared what I though of a Yonkou crew. Ugly Shit. Underwhelming.

3. Tobi Roppo almost everyone were imo underwhelming, the fights wasn't that good.

4. Usopp and Chopper, Nami, all three of them almost useless, no big moment.

5. The fat Sumo extremely useless, what was he talking about Zoros aura?

I could write more, but I think I have to reread Wano, I believe the experience would become mich better than weekly reading.

 

[ShadyOjiro]

Definitely didn't learn from dressrosa.

 

[S.W317]

Definitely didn't learn from dressrosa.

And he won’t learn, Oda just won’t grow up as a person

 

[dirtyLarry]

I mean, Naruto was also "luckily" picked. So was Bleach for a time. Dragon Ball before all of them.
It's not about luck for them, they were just the best stories available at the time which meant more people were buying volumes and merch. So I wouldn't agree with your idea about luck.

However, I do agree that it has dragged on longer than it should have in retrospect. But why leave money on the table when you have a cash cow ready to be milked? Even once the manga ends One Piece will stay a lucrative money making scheme with dozens of possible movies, spin offs, exclusive events, special volumes, and, let's face it, a remake of the anime down the line.

They really weren't "the best stories available".

Not even close.

They were "the best stories available to make as much money from the mainstream as possible".

In terms of storywriting shonen titles like HxH run circles around DB, OP or Naruto.

 

[NikaInParis]

They really weren't "the best stories available".

Not even close.

They were "the best stories available to make as much money from the mainstream as possible".

In terms of storywriting shonen titles like HxH run circles around DB, OP or Naruto.

Judging which story is "better" is entirely subjective.
The only metric that matters is money made - whether through sold volumes, movie tickets, merchendise, tv rights, you name it.
And you can't make money without fans. And fans won't start buying something and stick with it unless it's at least moderately good.

 

[dirtyLarry]

Judging which story is "better" is entirely subjective.
The only metric that matters is money made - whether through sold volumes, movie tickets, merchendise, tv rights, you name it.
And you can't make money without fans. And fans won't start buying something and stick with it unless it's at least moderately good.

Judging a story is only partly subjective.

Otherwise you could claim that any stuff a fourth-grader comes up with is just as good as a work from Shakespeare.

There are some good points to measure the quality of a story (consistency, logic, pacing, arc of tension, character development etc.).

Like I said: There are a few mangas that are clearly "better" than OP in that regard.

 

[NikaInParis]

Judging a story is only partly subjective.

Otherwise you could claim that any stuff a fourth-grader comes up with is just as good as a work from Shakespeare.

There are some good points to measure the quality of a story (consistency, logic, pacing, arc of tension, character development etc.).

Like I said: There are a few mangas that are clearly "better" than OP in that regard.

But judging the success of something isn't, because there are hard numbers that tell you whether something is successful or not.

 

[kanon]

I mean, Naruto was also "luckily" picked. So was Bleach for a time. Dragon Ball before all of them.
It's not about luck for them, they were just the best stories available at the time which meant more people were buying volumes and merch. So I wouldn't agree with your idea about luck.

However, I do agree that it has dragged on longer than it should have in retrospect. But why leave money on the table when you have a cash cow ready to be milked? Even once the manga ends One Piece will stay a lucrative money making scheme with dozens of possible movies, spin offs, exclusive events, special volumes, and, let's face it, a remake of the anime down the line.

Yes they were the best at the time but the problem is for how long ? A lot of mangaka is afraid of planning ahead because all of their ideas will likely be discarded by their editors, but for OP for how long the author can do as he pleased ? The higher-ups will jump in and mess thing up the first mistake they make to let the sales declined, make the sales decline even further and then get axed. Or if they plan ahead for a long game, their editors may reject it all.

The question is does Oda take it all into account or just naturally draw without even knowing the risk ? I doubted the former because no mangaka ever draw a Foxy arc for their manga without fearing the sales get declined and the manga got axed on spot. I even see the direction Oda planned for post time skip but it all go down with bad pacing, sales declining and now the plot become very weird because his editor got involved too much.

And even if you say that the risk applied for all mangas then what about the mangas come after it ? The previous popular manga will create a trend to affect all mangas come after it. Jojo must be drawn with Hokuto no Ken style to compete with it, even OP and HxH main is just Goku ripped off. But OP go on for too long, very bad for other mangas come after it. And all the money making scheme you mentioned will not be effective as you think because OP went pass its ideal time to end and people will just forget it after it ends.

In summary, OP is the most successful manga because life is never fair.

 

[dirtyLarry]

But judging the success of something isn't, because there are hard numbers that tell you whether something is successful or not.

And I never said anything against the success part.

But success doesn't define how well-written a story is.

There are a ton of well written stories that never see success, while other nonsensical stories are big hits.

There are many, many factors that define if something becomes successful.

Yes they were the best at the time but the problem is for how long ? A lot of mangaka is afraid of planning ahead because all of their ideas will likely be discarded by their editors, but for OP for how long the author can do as he pleased ? The higher-ups will jump in and mess thing up the first mistake they make to let the sales declined, make the sales decline even further and then get axed. Or if they plan ahead for a long game, their editors may reject it all.

The question is does Oda take it all into account or just naturally draw without even knowing the risk ? I doubted the former because no mangaka ever draw a Foxy arc for their manga without fearing the sales get declined and the manga got axed on spot. I even see the direction Oda planned for post time skip but it all go down with bad pacing, sales declining and now the plot become very weird because his editor got involved too much.

And even if you say that the risk applied for all mangas then what about the mangas come after it ? The previous popular manga will create a trend to affect all mangas come after it. Jojo must be drawn with Hokuto no Ken style to compete with it, even OP and HxH main is just Goku ripped off. But OP go on for too long, very bad for other mangas come after it. And all the money making scheme you mentioned will not be effective as you think because OP went pass its ideal time to end and people will just forget it after it ends.

In summary, OP is the most successful manga because life is never fair.

If you think Gon from HxH is a Goku rip-off, you never read the story.
He and Goku have VERY little in common outside of the "Go-" in their names.

 

[kanon]

If you think Gon from HxH is a Goku rip-off, you never read the story.
He and Goku have VERY little in common outside of the "Go-" in their names.

Plz Gon is just a serious version of small Goku. Both are quirky, creative in fighting. Even Togashi is tired of him, get him a character development in Chimera Ant arc and got rid of him out of his manga.

 

[dirtyLarry]

Plz Gon is just a serious version of small Goku. Both are quirky, creative in fighting. Even Togashi is tired of him, get him a character development in Chimera Ant arc and got rid of him out of his manga.

Both being quirky, creative fighters does in no way mean they are the same.

If that was the case, about 95% of all manga main characters could be labeled "carbon copies" of each other.

Gon has completely different character traits than Goku.

He's actually much closer to a "real life person" than most manga main characters. He's looking for his dad, he's insecure at times, he's smart and thinks strategically, he actually knows fear (sth many manga main characters somehow don't), he reflects about his actions etc.

Togashi focusing on Kurapika (and Leorio) now was a great move. Gon's and Killua's character arcs have concluded for now, so it was obviously time for the other two main characters to shine now.

 

[Finalbeta]

I wish he killed more characters

 

[Jailer]

Both being quirky, creative fighters does in no way mean they are the same.

If that was the case, about 95% of all manga main characters could be labeled "carbon copies" of each other.

Gon has completely different character traits than Goku.

He's actually much closer to a "real life person" than most manga main characters. He's looking for his dad, he's insecure at times, he's smart and thinks strategically, he actually knows fear (sth many manga main characters somehow don't), he reflects about his actions etc.

Togashi focusing on Kurapika (and Leorio) now was a great move. Gon's and Killua's character arcs have concluded for now, so it was obviously time for the other two main characters to shine now.

If you want to read something closer to a real life person then flashy superpowers aint it chief

 

[kanon]

He's actually much closer to a "real life person" than most manga main characters. He's looking for his dad, he's insecure at times, he's smart and thinks strategically, he actually knows fear (sth many manga main characters somehow don't), he reflects about his actions etc

"Looking for dad, insecure at times, knows fear, reflects about his actions" is not a character trait dude, it's just something naturally happen under a specific circumstance.

Both being quirky, creative fighters does in no way mean they are the same.

If that was the case, about 95% of all manga main characters could be labeled "carbon copies" of each other.

Not every main char being a quirky, creative fighters like small Goku because the way those character fight must be very creative and unique. There is a try hard one, reckless one, diligent one,... many types.

 

[York]

I think the real childish person is the one whining on the internet in big run on sentences about how the worlds most popular shonen manga is too focused on fun.

 

[Jiihad]

The only metric that matters is money made - whether through sold volumes, movie tickets, merchendise, tv rights, you name it.
And you can't make money without fans. And fans won't start buying something and stick with it unless it's at least moderately good.

Ehh not necessarily, Sales are NEVER tha end all be all when it comes to a product. Perfect example? The New York Knicks. They are(iirc) the most profitable NBA franchise while simultaneously being tha WORSE team in tha league. They are absolute SHIT. They haven’t won a championship in over 50 years and tha team was founded in 1946……

 

[ShinichiMugi]

Ehh not necessarily, Sales are NEVER tha end all be all when it comes to a product. Perfect example? The New York Knicks. They are(iirc) the most profitable NBA franchise while simultaneously being tha WORSE team in tha league. They are absolute SHIT. They haven’t won a championship in over 50 years and tha team was founded in 1946……

But sport is different than art

 

[KonyaruIchi]

I wish he killed more characters

You say that but the deaths we got were completely bullshit so I'm not sure I agree with the sentiment considering how poorly it was handled

 

[Gear5PhoenixMan]

I was with you until the second paragraph started, my man. Then you kinda went off the rails with your assumptions.

He can't "defeat" those other manga?
My guy, One Piece is THE most successful manga of all time. It's a money printing machine and has been for decades. Of all those you listed only JJBA has a longer run time but even then it's only a fraction as successful as OP. And that ain't a knock on JJBA since it impacted a lot of current and older manga.
Point is, other mangaka should strive to "defeat" One Piece, whatever defeat means.

Also, just because he draws childish and perverted things (for a childish and perverted audience, let's be fair) does not mean he ACTS childish, wtf. We don't even know what he currently looks like, let alone how he acts, and especially how he acts with his family.

Popularity doesn't equal quality.

You could argue Dragon Ball Z, Hunter x Hunter, and Yu Yu Hakusho are better than One Piece. They accomplish the same level of greatness/quality in less time.