Zoro scarring Kaido whether you wank it to
the heavens or not, that feat was never highlighted again, it being outshined by Luffy putting Kaido on his knees with advCoC
This is a direct parallel to Arlong Park.
(1) Arlong takes pride in the toughness of his nose. His nose is completely unfazed by Zoro’s blow.
(2) Arlong then tells him that “perhaps” had he been in better health he “might have” left a “little” scar
The takeaway, what Arlong is strictly saying is, Zoro might not even leave a little scar even if he were in perfect health.
When Luffy bends the nose with his brute strength, this signifies Zoro being eclipsed by Luffy.
Luffy had his moment where he said he depended on his crewmates to make up for his shortcomings, but what he ultimately can do that they can’t is “beat” Arlong.
Zoro ultimately serves to “protect” Luffy against Arlong, later against Kaido. However it is only Luffy that can defeat Arlong, and it’s only Luffy that can defeat Kaido.
The parallel between these two seems pretty obvious, such that it appears Oda gave Zoro this moment, where he left “a little scar” when he was not in perfect health as a vindicative moment for Zoro, as a way to put his Arlong-moment behind him narratively and from a legacy standpoint.
Why if the scar were so impactful is it never brought up or highlighted again? Instead the focus and highlight was shifted to Luffy achieving what Zoro couldn’t. Same as in Arlong Park
It appears that Oda with this event redresses how he felt that Zoro got a bad portrayal in Arlong Park, so he gives Zoro to a consolation prize of sorts to make up for this event that weighs heavy on Oda’s mind, in a symbolic way bury this event by showing a growth on Zoro’s part.
The thing that gave it away was Luffy surpassing Zoro shortly after just by coating his punches in advCoC, the same thing Kaido hinted at Zoro using in his attack. Luffy eclipses Zoro at what he tried doing, just like in Arlong Park
The takeaway is the “scarring-incident” was more symbolic and served as a narrative progression rather than as a separate power-level event (maybe not for Zoro-fans but for Oda who is the author). It’s not a separate event because the parallel to Arlong Park is so striking. This justifies a reading where Oda wrote it more symbolically rather than making a bold power level statement.
You might think “broken-bones” Zoro is the end-all-be-all for scarring Kaido, only for Zoro to get fully recuperated to 100% health and return down to the ground floor where he got turned into a metall ball being flipped around in a pinball game by King (even Marco handled King and Queen without suffering such a loss of face). This means you and Oda are reading and seeing the story very differently. You can’t look at that event and say it bears a 100% correlation with his rooftop performance, from a strength standpoint, that is ridiculous.
What I want to say is, I don’t think Oda is out to write Zoro with powerlevel in mind as much as people think. The powerlevel stuff is there (scarring Kaido, cutting a flaming dragon) but then when you look at it, these feats are riddled with subtexts and symbolism that you almost have to view it more metaphorically than from a pure powerlevel vantage point. I guess that’s my gripe with how Oda writes Zoro. But maybe that’s just me.
May have to edit later.
@ZenZu @Monkey D Theories @nik87 @Sasaki Kojirō @Fleet Admiral Lee Hung @Fleet Leader Fenaker @Erkan12 @Celestial D. Dragon @Zolo @Topi Jerami @Chrono @Psychiatrist etc
the heavens or not, that feat was never highlighted again, it being outshined by Luffy putting Kaido on his knees with advCoC
This is a direct parallel to Arlong Park.
(1) Arlong takes pride in the toughness of his nose. His nose is completely unfazed by Zoro’s blow.
(2) Arlong then tells him that “perhaps” had he been in better health he “might have” left a “little” scar
The takeaway, what Arlong is strictly saying is, Zoro might not even leave a little scar even if he were in perfect health.
When Luffy bends the nose with his brute strength, this signifies Zoro being eclipsed by Luffy.
Luffy had his moment where he said he depended on his crewmates to make up for his shortcomings, but what he ultimately can do that they can’t is “beat” Arlong.
Zoro ultimately serves to “protect” Luffy against Arlong, later against Kaido. However it is only Luffy that can defeat Arlong, and it’s only Luffy that can defeat Kaido.
The parallel between these two seems pretty obvious, such that it appears Oda gave Zoro this moment, where he left “a little scar” when he was not in perfect health as a vindicative moment for Zoro, as a way to put his Arlong-moment behind him narratively and from a legacy standpoint.
Why if the scar were so impactful is it never brought up or highlighted again? Instead the focus and highlight was shifted to Luffy achieving what Zoro couldn’t. Same as in Arlong Park
It appears that Oda with this event redresses how he felt that Zoro got a bad portrayal in Arlong Park, so he gives Zoro to a consolation prize of sorts to make up for this event that weighs heavy on Oda’s mind, in a symbolic way bury this event by showing a growth on Zoro’s part.
The thing that gave it away was Luffy surpassing Zoro shortly after just by coating his punches in advCoC, the same thing Kaido hinted at Zoro using in his attack. Luffy eclipses Zoro at what he tried doing, just like in Arlong Park
The takeaway is the “scarring-incident” was more symbolic and served as a narrative progression rather than as a separate power-level event (maybe not for Zoro-fans but for Oda who is the author). It’s not a separate event because the parallel to Arlong Park is so striking. This justifies a reading where Oda wrote it more symbolically rather than making a bold power level statement.
You might think “broken-bones” Zoro is the end-all-be-all for scarring Kaido, only for Zoro to get fully recuperated to 100% health and return down to the ground floor where he got turned into a metall ball being flipped around in a pinball game by King (even Marco handled King and Queen without suffering such a loss of face). This means you and Oda are reading and seeing the story very differently. You can’t look at that event and say it bears a 100% correlation with his rooftop performance, from a strength standpoint, that is ridiculous.
What I want to say is, I don’t think Oda is out to write Zoro with powerlevel in mind as much as people think. The powerlevel stuff is there (scarring Kaido, cutting a flaming dragon) but then when you look at it, these feats are riddled with subtexts and symbolism that you almost have to view it more metaphorically than from a pure powerlevel vantage point. I guess that’s my gripe with how Oda writes Zoro. But maybe that’s just me.
May have to edit later.
@ZenZu @Monkey D Theories @nik87 @Sasaki Kojirō @Fleet Admiral Lee Hung @Fleet Leader Fenaker @Erkan12 @Celestial D. Dragon @Zolo @Topi Jerami @Chrono @Psychiatrist etc
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