Character Discussion Why aren’t One Piece villains as iconic and memorable as Naruto/DBZ villains?

Sorry but in MAINSTREAM media (in the USA) the only characters aside from the main cast I think people would recognize from OP would be Mihawk, Doflamingo, Whitebeard, Shanks, Big Mom, and either one of the 3 Admirals (Aokiji, Akainu, Kizaru). Blackbeard maybe by extension from Whitebeard?
OP is so long and has so many characters and they come back every now and then but they kinda share screen time. Also a lot of them are ugly, Vegapunk is an eye sore.

Non-comprehensive list of the current mainstream villains:
Frieza, Buu, Cell, Beerus, Broly, Itachi, Pain, at least one of the Akatsuki by name, Gaara, Orochimaru, at least one of the Titan Shifters from the first 2 seasons. Vegeta and Sasuke are a given.

And recognizable (meaning able to describe at least one aspect of the character but not their name):
Doflamingo, Big Mom, Madara, Ryuk, Aizen, DIO, Sukuna, Mahito, Geto Suguru, Hisoka, Yujiro Hanma, Griffith.

A couple villains that I remember being popular when their anime was airing:
Makima, any of the Jojo main villains, at least one of the demons from Demon Slayer by name, Endeavor, the hand guy from MHA, Meruem, and Garou.

No I do not think anything in Super past the multiverse tournament arc is "memorable" or "iconic". Jiren, the goat guy, and anyone else after are not really in the mainstream anymore. Goku Black is arguably more famous still.
Nobody knows about Rob Lucci or fucking Katakuri. Some people may know about Enel and Crocodile because of their powers.
These villains, minus the OP villains, get lots of screen time in proportion to the length of the show, therefore is most remembered by people who have either watched it once on a one night stand or it was playing at a friend's house, or your friend keeps sending you reels of X show. Forget depth or "well written", these are characters that people who have not actually seen the show would likely recognize and their vague backstory/powers. These are de facto SEEN by the most people.

If you say some shit like Krollo or Saint Seiya or Moro or any of the Sternritters you are on crack because these IPs might be famous but their villains may not be. I remember Fairy Tail and SAO having a hayday but who remembers any of the characters at this point?
 
I have the impression that OP isnt even close to be a pop culture product like DBZ and Naruto had become, of course in Japan is huge, but outside, even today, it seems to be a much more niche work.

Also seems to be a thing of the way Oda do the manga, the cartonish design, the goffy world and the sheer amout of characters really dont make they stand out, expecially if u compare to Naruto, as Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are some of the most badass characters in Manga history, while the some of major OP villains like Enel, Lucci, Moria, BM and Kaido are good chartacters, but they feel really forgetable
 
Maybe because the villains are more fallible?

When people mention Madara, Aizen, Cell, Frieza it's because they extremely composed, and quite frankly absurd. Right until their defeat

1) i have ths plan and this backup up plans and everything you did was my plan

Or

2) you thought you defeated but here is my new thousand times more powerful form

Even Doffy is not quit like that

Villains in one piece can be comic both in personality and actions.
 
No One Piece villain, except maybe Doflamingo, has the aura of villains like Frieza, Cell, Super Buu, Pain, Itachi, Obito (pre-reveal), or Madara. I’d even argue that more minor villains like Sasori have more aura than many arc villains in OP tbh.

I think a large part of it is that OP villains usually don’t have as much of a backstory, so they end up feeling like generic baddies who are just there to be an obstacle for Luffy. I mean ffs, even Sasori, who only fought Sakura and Chiyo for a few chapters before being written out of the story, had a longer and better backstory than Kaido…
Better question: Why are you comparing those series? Its not fair to One Piece.
 
I have the impression that OP isnt even close to be a pop culture product like DBZ and Naruto had become, of course in Japan is huge, but outside, even today, it seems to be a much more niche work.

Also seems to be a thing of the way Oda do the manga, the cartonish design, the goffy world and the sheer amout of characters really dont make they stand out, expecially if u compare to Naruto, as Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are some of the most badass characters in Manga history, while the some of major OP villains like Enel, Lucci, Moria, BM and Kaido are good chartacters, but they feel really forgetable
one piece is low T
 
Oda jumps all over. There is character overload plus the story does not move forward. There has been very little SH character development in years. How can people recognize a series’ villain if the main protagonists are mere shells?

Orochimaru, alone, is more iconic than all OP adversaries combined. BB is the only adversary that has a chance to getting to within a whiff of Orochimaru’s cultural recognizability. BB is Sasori level right now.
 
Naruto doesn't have villains, but if you change the term to antagonists this is major cap.

Zabuza, Orochimaru, Pain, Madara are iconic. Obito is iconic too but for all the wrong reasons, he's known for being a garbage character.
I would say Akatsuki as an organization should be given compliment, every member was handled well..
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The most memorable villain in one piece is con d ariano.... But oda did not write him
 
Nah this is the realest thing I've maybe ever read on this forum. Spitting pure facts here 😂😂😂

I think this has to do with the fact that One Piece is heavily hero centric. Has that cuck energy going on, one of the reasons I can't stand Shanks too, he gives me that "beat the bullies" vibe. What's that one thread the dude with the Naruto frog pfp made? 😂
This one? https://worstgen.alwaysdata.net/for...elusional-daydreams-of-a-weakling-nerd.41110/

JJK just has way more masculine energy than OP. I’ve seen a ton of high school kids wearing Toji outfits to the gym and casually discussing JJK with their friends. Never heard anyone mention anything about OP in public, and I can’t blame them. Even though I still love the series, anytime I see someone with a OP bumper sticker, I can’t help but imagine them being a fat soyboy tbh
Now that I think about it, the only guy I knew IRL who showed off his One Piece merch had the literal incel phenotype and he had a whole host of personality issues :quest: You might be onto something here.
 
Seems it is a you-problem.
No the One Piece villains are shit

Hody Jones, Ceasar Clown, Buggy, Wapol, Kuro, Don Krieg, Mr.3 and the randoms at little garden, Gecko Moria, Luffy was just immune to enel so that was pointless...., Arlong didn't do much in the fight, Impel Down and Marineford didnt have boss fights for Luffy, Sabaody Kuma wasn't even a fight

This just leaves Dressrosa, Alabasta, Wano, Whole cake, and Enies Lobby + Blackbeard and Akainu

Oh and Egghead villains were trash. The Hyped up Gorosei did absolutely nothing, Lucci lost again, and Kizaru is no where to be found
 
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This Johan whatever isn't that iconic. He's not an iconic Villain like Frieza, Pain, Aizen, ... are
I've only seen some users here praise him
In my opinion it's just a question of the definition of "iconic".

Sure, Frieza, Pain, Aizen etc. are way more known simply due to their series being more known, but anyone that has also watched/read "Monster" (and non-casual anime fans have done that) would instantly agree that Johan Liebert is a much more iconic villain.
 
If we have to be fair, it's also because o the Nature of one piece.

They go to a island defeat a guy and go to another.


There's not a overarching villain that is a issue constantly for the strawhat through long arcs.

Aizen, Madara, DIO, Cell, Frieza.

These characters have long build up where they are pushing against the heroes.

They get a lot of time to for characterization, or just being plainly entertaining

BB appear once I'm a blue moon to reminds us that he exist, and Kaido the main villain of the entire Punk Hazard Wano saga, sitted his ass through all arcs till Wano.

There isn't a villain that we see constantly crossing the heroes in one piece, For Now.
 
Also the absence of real threat and a sense of danger from the antagonists, with them either killing, maiming, brutally beating and traumatizing the heroes not being something that really happens in One Piece, aside from Akainu with his killing of Ace and even this was limited in its execution and consequences, and also the fact that we very rarely see the Straw Hats and allies showing fear of the antagonists.
 
If we have to be fair, it's also because o the Nature of one piece.

They go to a island defeat a guy and go to another.


There's not a overarching villain that is a issue constantly for the strawhat through long arcs.

Aizen, Madara, DIO, Cell, Frieza.

These characters have long build up where they are pushing against the heroes.

They get a lot of time to for characterization, or just being plainly entertaining

BB appear once I'm a blue moon to reminds us that he exist, and Kaido the main villain of the entire Punk Hazard Wano saga, sitted his ass through all arcs till Wano.

There isn't a villain that we see constantly crossing the heroes in one piece, For Now.
Bb doesnt need to remind me
I remember him
:endthis:
 
No the One Piece villains are shit

Hody Jones, Ceasar Clown, Buggy, Wapol, Kuro, Don Krieg, Mr.3 and the randoms at little garden, Gecko Moria, Luffy was just immune to enel so that was pointless...., Arlong didn't do much in the fight, Impel Down and Marineford didnt have boss fights for Luffy, Sabaody Kuma wasn't even a fight

This just leaves Dressrosa, Wano, Whole cake, and Enies Lobby (:

Oh and Egghead villains were trash. The Hyped up Gorosei did absolutely nothing, Lucci lost again, and Kizaru is no where to be found
shame on u lob ruci..even u betrayed me..
 
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