Controversial Was Rocks planned?
- Thread starter Yoho
- Start date
Oda's writing reminds me of Lost (2004). The main draw of Lost was the mysteries. They were the carrot on the stick that kept people invested in the show. Even at the end of the show's life, it was still average like 66% of it's peak. It seems to be that mystery and by extension the lore that solves the mystery is the biggest draw for a serialized show.
The other major factor that Oda exploits is worldbuilding because every new island is a new place to explore and that keeps the story somewhat fresh.
The other major factor that Oda exploits is worldbuilding because every new island is a new place to explore and that keeps the story somewhat fresh.
It reminds me of what I hoped Lost would be... I trust Oda to stick the landing, which Lost writers definitely did not. But the same thing might happen and it would be such a disaster.
Lost was a few seasons long, with different writers, a TV show so depending on actors and their availability... The final crash was predictable and almost acceptable.
One Piece is one man's story... He MUST stick the landing, and I think he knows it, and I think he will. But I'm sure there is a lot of improvisation in it, and that's normal. Can you imagine planning all of it at the beginning, and then writing and drawing everything like a robot for 30 years ? He would have shot himself year 10 lol...
I see Oda like I see another comic book writer I admire a lot : Grant Morrison. He has written long runs, with the same methodology as Oda : he knows the beginning, the themes of his story, the plot, the twists, and the ending. But he gets there with a lot of improvisation, and especially by "listening" to his characters. He gets to know them as he writes them, and this may change some elements in the middle of the story. He might create new characters to play the role he had in mind for others. But he always ties it all together, themes and characters, in the end. And that's what I think Oda is doing and will do in the end...
What's mind-blowing about Oda, is that he's doing it on a very very very long run. Take any Marvel or DC series for 30 years, and it's retcon upon retcon upon retcon, contradictions everywhere. You go with the flow because that's the nature of the beast but when you see One Piece... Very few retcons, and all them very elegant. To the point where we can't even tell if they're really retcons lol.
So, were Imu and Rocks planned from the beginning ? I don't know and I don't care : )
Lost was a few seasons long, with different writers, a TV show so depending on actors and their availability... The final crash was predictable and almost acceptable.
One Piece is one man's story... He MUST stick the landing, and I think he knows it, and I think he will. But I'm sure there is a lot of improvisation in it, and that's normal. Can you imagine planning all of it at the beginning, and then writing and drawing everything like a robot for 30 years ? He would have shot himself year 10 lol...
I see Oda like I see another comic book writer I admire a lot : Grant Morrison. He has written long runs, with the same methodology as Oda : he knows the beginning, the themes of his story, the plot, the twists, and the ending. But he gets there with a lot of improvisation, and especially by "listening" to his characters. He gets to know them as he writes them, and this may change some elements in the middle of the story. He might create new characters to play the role he had in mind for others. But he always ties it all together, themes and characters, in the end. And that's what I think Oda is doing and will do in the end...
What's mind-blowing about Oda, is that he's doing it on a very very very long run. Take any Marvel or DC series for 30 years, and it's retcon upon retcon upon retcon, contradictions everywhere. You go with the flow because that's the nature of the beast but when you see One Piece... Very few retcons, and all them very elegant. To the point where we can't even tell if they're really retcons lol.
So, were Imu and Rocks planned from the beginning ? I don't know and I don't care : )
Oda wasn't going to make Whitebeard, one of the most powerful Captains to ever live, formerly be apart of another Pirate Crew when he was younger, if that pirate crew wasn't going to play some kind of role in the story at some point. He would have just made Whitebeard a captain since he started his pirate journey like every other character in existence. He wouldn't have planted this mysticism of some crew that even someone like Whitebeard was compelled to join, if he wasn't going to reveal anything about the crew. Thriller Bark has heavy allusions to the existence of the Rocks Pirates as well. From a bunch of members turning out to be corpses that Moriah acquired, to Brooks backstory where he explained that his crew was wiped out by a terrifyingly powerful pirate crew. That was most likely the Rocks Pirates in their early years, prior to Xebec unifying Beehive Island. Thriller Bark also established the existence of Kaido and Big Mom, although Big Mom wasn't named at the time. Bunch of Rocks Pirate members, all having some kind of inclusion in the story during Thriller Bark. Highly doubt that's a coincidence.
Skypiea can be said to be a condensed sub story of the overall story of One Piece, with Enel being the representation of Imu. Not to mention the countless other indications throughout the story that suggested Imu's existence.
The usage of both these characters might have been altered as the story went on, but they were always meant to be there.
Skypiea can be said to be a condensed sub story of the overall story of One Piece, with Enel being the representation of Imu. Not to mention the countless other indications throughout the story that suggested Imu's existence.
The usage of both these characters might have been altered as the story went on, but they were always meant to be there.
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Both of them are not even planned .
‘Heck even Blackbeard or admirals are not even planned at by oda from start. Shiki is supposed to be admiral. Got the plan change . And original Akainu have very different character design .
The original onepiece is luffy to beat yonko as four pirates as 5 years plan . Probably goofy adventure and find the treasure and become rich and famous.
Rob lucci is not even planned as villain .
‘Heck even Blackbeard or admirals are not even planned at by oda from start. Shiki is supposed to be admiral. Got the plan change . And original Akainu have very different character design .
The original onepiece is luffy to beat yonko as four pirates as 5 years plan . Probably goofy adventure and find the treasure and become rich and famous.
Rob lucci is not even planned as villain .
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Shoehorned? That phrase is getting annoying as if a creative person can’t add things as they go.
Stop romanticizing the “it was all planned from the beginning”. The series is big, let the man come up with new ideas as well.
Some shit can look like a random addition and other things not so much, but having some evil above the Gorosei seemed expected but who and how was unknown. Since all factions have a direct leader and they were missing that. OP is simple like that
Stop romanticizing the “it was all planned from the beginning”. The series is big, let the man come up with new ideas as well.
Some shit can look like a random addition and other things not so much, but having some evil above the Gorosei seemed expected but who and how was unknown. Since all factions have a direct leader and they were missing that. OP is simple like that
I think Imu was planned pretty early on from the start as the idea of an Absolute King of the World Government is an idea I've seen floating around for a long while before the actual reveal.
I can't say the same for Rocks, though. It kinda came out of left field at just how All-Star the crew was and the earliest indication Oda had it planned was when it was confirmed Linlin and Kaido were on the same crew. Even then, it didn't have to be as prestigious as it ended up being, having those two, WB, Shiki, etc.
I can't say the same for Rocks, though. It kinda came out of left field at just how All-Star the crew was and the earliest indication Oda had it planned was when it was confirmed Linlin and Kaido were on the same crew. Even then, it didn't have to be as prestigious as it ended up being, having those two, WB, Shiki, etc.
What do you want to see in the finale? If you want a lore dump that explains lore: the void century, grand line, celestial dragons, etc., then I think you'll get that but I think One Piece is past the point of no return of a good ending. Let me explain. The ending of One Piece MUST be a battle between Luffy and a Big Bad. A good ending will require a good villain but that is no longer possible.
The best villain would have been Blackbeard, and he might be the final big bad, but he's underdeveloped because he's been absent for most of the story. I would have wanted to see the SHs fight with Blackbeard over the polygliffs and develop rivalries between the crew members and develop a counter worldview for Blackbeard that would challenge Luffy's worldview. But instead OP has been filler after filler and even if Oda tries to build up BB, which it seems like he is, then it'll be too little too late.
The other option is Imu as the final big bad but he has the exact same problem as Blackbeard and that problem is that he has been missing for most of the story. This is the Kaguya problem.
It seems like Oda has decided to turn the CD into mustache twerking Saturday morning cartoon villains: they like slavery, rape, genocide, everything bad in life, etc. so that Luffy can topple them and save the world. Some folks will like this ending. I don't and by making the CD so evil, Oda has lost the ability to write any plot twist. Lastly, just like with Naurto, Oda has betrayed his themes because destiny (will of the D) contradicts freedom.
The best villain would have been Blackbeard, and he might be the final big bad, but he's underdeveloped because he's been absent for most of the story. I would have wanted to see the SHs fight with Blackbeard over the polygliffs and develop rivalries between the crew members and develop a counter worldview for Blackbeard that would challenge Luffy's worldview. But instead OP has been filler after filler and even if Oda tries to build up BB, which it seems like he is, then it'll be too little too late.
The other option is Imu as the final big bad but he has the exact same problem as Blackbeard and that problem is that he has been missing for most of the story. This is the Kaguya problem.
It seems like Oda has decided to turn the CD into mustache twerking Saturday morning cartoon villains: they like slavery, rape, genocide, everything bad in life, etc. so that Luffy can topple them and save the world. Some folks will like this ending. I don't and by making the CD so evil, Oda has lost the ability to write any plot twist. Lastly, just like with Naurto, Oda has betrayed his themes because destiny (will of the D) contradicts freedom.