The Straw Hats are just flanderized cheerleaders compared to their old selves and even Zoro and Sanji's only big fight in years was in Wano, since before that Oda kept Zoroscia absent from the manga for over 2 years since Dressrosa ended while Sanjino didn't get a single full fight in Whole Cake to himself despite being an arc centered around him and his awful power rangers family who he didn't even get to fight and he gets set up with an awful romance plot line to boot.
We hardly see even team-up fights like we did during Thriller Bark and Skypiea.
Almost every friggin chapter was some new samurai deadbeats getting introduced who ultimately didn't matter and did little to advance the plot. Even now I still can't bring myself to give a poop about Orochi's Onibananawashu and their baldhead leader's dead sister fucking around with Bighead the Ninja.
Even Dressrosa's character bloat felt somewhat justified by the end when many of them became part of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, but considering they haven't done jackshit since then, even in moments that would've made sense, like fighting outside of Wano to keep out more of Kaido and Big Mom's allies, even they're starting to feel pointless. They wouldn't have needed more than one chapter a few panels to themselves.
It just convinces me that Oda's editors were a lot more stricter before the timeskip, and reading some of their feedback now suggest they're mostly fanboys these days.
@Kizaruber Eats also gave a pretty great rant of their own in regards to Oda's treatment of the Straw Hats sans Luffy which I think deserves to be shared here.
Thank you for the shoutout/promotion man, glad you liked the rant hahaha! Gosh you know, I want to rant SO HARD on Kizaru right now too, absolutely mercilessly tear Oda a new one for how hes handling him but I digress.
Regarding his editors too, at least one of them has said you cannot be honest with Oda not long ago, he said you have to walk on eggshells with him, be agreeable. Sounds like dealing with a typical narcissist/ego inflated tyrant. Wealth, fame and power have gone to Odas head /s.
The fact Kubo and Kishi seem to humble, respectful and such, Horikoshi too, speaks volumes by comparison. Oda has moments of apparently humility but it feels fake by comparison by what others seem to say about him and how Oda acts and writes One Piece and such.
This is not the Oda and One Piece I fell in love with and became obsessed with. They've changed for the far worse, lost their souls and it ironic because "souls" have become such an extremely important, recurring and thus plot driving forces post TS especially ofc.
I could not agree with your post anymore than I already do
@Poorsalino Cooker , I wish I had paid attention to your posts more in the past but I was too triggered by your former nickname ofc lololol. (You using that Kidd emote is both fitting and ironically hilarious right now too)
I was praying for another Oars style teamup fight for Wano, with all THE NUMBERS, all those ANCIENT GIANTS, not even JUST ONE like Oars but a whole mini army of them and then D. STRONGEST ANCIENT GIANT HIMSELF, MOTHER-FLOCKING KAIDO OFC! Well I regard him as one regardless and also the strongest one but alas.
Theres so much I could still say and you guys know I can and would so easily, like that rant of mine you quoted too ofc. Post TS OP has really broken my heart so many times now and I feel like im on life support with my interest with it now, im clinging onto an abusive relationship, stockholm syndrome with how Oda murdered so many of my favourite characters from pre TS even some of them literally too.
This meme could not describe the situation any better, saw it on Piratefolk earlier:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Piratefolk/comments/1ayccrn
Oda is a fucking amazing character, adventure, world building etc writer but the SHs are more like "ghosts" of their former selves at best post TS, shadows of their former glory. Its really painful to see given how much I LOVED EVERY SINGLE SH DEARLY PRE TS, but I digress again.
You get the idea anyway ofc.