General & Others If you were writing for One Piece how would you write Kaido and Big Mom?
- Thread starter DarkWitch
- Start date
Big Mom isn't actually as problematic as some people make her to seem. It is natural that things like Brook cutting Zeus, Franky riding over her face, etc. can happen because she's used to being an unstoppable monster that will destroy anything in front of her. The character goes like she literally doesn't give a shit about anything: she wants her sweets? Give them to her or she will destroy you; her ally is being attacked by a group of furious fighters? "Lol is he dead? How dangeroooous mamamahaha"; her enemy is in front of her? She will just casually throw a very destructive attack that will open a hole in her ally's mansion because why should she care; and so on. So I find it completely normal that she suffers from thing that may look ridiculous, but are ultimately irrelevant since she will keep walking. Sure, things like the "Wedding cakeeee!" stuff in Whole Cake or the amnesia plot could have been avoided (and I'm quite afraid of how Oda will close her character), but overall I enjoy her, starting by how attractive her concept is ("Mother of all" that gives life to animate slaves and rules a kingdom of food).
My problem with Kaido is that I can't really see any trait consistent enough to establish his character. His suicide tendencies haven't been mentioned anymore since his introduction; his mood changes depending on what type of drunk he is have, again, been seemingly forgotten; we don't see him crying anymore... What should be well established doesn't feel like properly executed either, starting by his crew: they are the Beasts Pirates, Kaido himself is the man of the Hundred Beasts, yet the SMILEs are a recent deal and we haven't seen any natural zoan among his subordinates bar a couple of ancients. Doesn't that feel... weird? Why not stress from the beginning that Kaido rejects humankind, hence why he wants zoan users (under the belief that they won't be totally human) and his top men are a winged race, a cyborg and a fishman? Let's make it even more extreme: why not killing the Pleasures as they failed to become animals and therefore will always be disgusting humans? Wouldn't that be savage enough to fit the crew, for example? All of this would significantly change the Wano we're reading, but I'm just imagining here.
Even his oni side feels half-assed. He uses a club, he has horns, he lives in the Island of the Ogre and he drinks, but I just can't see him as the fantasy oni I'd expect from the kind of tale that Wano could have been (and is rarely achieved; for example, it success with Onimaru's subplot). I mean, would we really have any clue on when he's or isn't drunk if he didn't mentioned it every time he goes sober? There was any actual difference between the Kaido that was attacked by the Scabbards and the Kaido that went to the roof of the skull?
I'm personally very disappointed in Kaido, the Beasts Pirates and their role in Wano so far. Even the scenario of Onigashima itself was a letdown because it was just Wano over again. Make them more beastly, more ogresque, more animal, and then we may talk. But at this point I just see a blurry amalgam of stuff.
My problem with Kaido is that I can't really see any trait consistent enough to establish his character. His suicide tendencies haven't been mentioned anymore since his introduction; his mood changes depending on what type of drunk he is have, again, been seemingly forgotten; we don't see him crying anymore... What should be well established doesn't feel like properly executed either, starting by his crew: they are the Beasts Pirates, Kaido himself is the man of the Hundred Beasts, yet the SMILEs are a recent deal and we haven't seen any natural zoan among his subordinates bar a couple of ancients. Doesn't that feel... weird? Why not stress from the beginning that Kaido rejects humankind, hence why he wants zoan users (under the belief that they won't be totally human) and his top men are a winged race, a cyborg and a fishman? Let's make it even more extreme: why not killing the Pleasures as they failed to become animals and therefore will always be disgusting humans? Wouldn't that be savage enough to fit the crew, for example? All of this would significantly change the Wano we're reading, but I'm just imagining here.
Even his oni side feels half-assed. He uses a club, he has horns, he lives in the Island of the Ogre and he drinks, but I just can't see him as the fantasy oni I'd expect from the kind of tale that Wano could have been (and is rarely achieved; for example, it success with Onimaru's subplot). I mean, would we really have any clue on when he's or isn't drunk if he didn't mentioned it every time he goes sober? There was any actual difference between the Kaido that was attacked by the Scabbards and the Kaido that went to the roof of the skull?
I'm personally very disappointed in Kaido, the Beasts Pirates and their role in Wano so far. Even the scenario of Onigashima itself was a letdown because it was just Wano over again. Make them more beastly, more ogresque, more animal, and then we may talk. But at this point I just see a blurry amalgam of stuff.
Big Mom: what @Patryipe said, but if I had to keep her in...will only write a few ideas. First off, get rid of the hunger sickness. Second, cut down with the constant Ls, it's been nothing short of insanity. And thirdly, Big Mom should not have been in Wano period. Wano was already overcrowded with characters before she showed up, a cast that size isn't something Oda can handle well these days. It would have been much better imo if Big Mom had been taken care of another group besides the SHs, like the Marines or Blackbeard.
Kaido: kind of hard to say since Oda may show us more in the near future, but so far Kaido has been very disappointing character-wise. Oda should have balanced out the focus between him and Orochi (and again, not have Big Mom in at all), because we haven't seen much of Kaido, so far he's been incredibly bland and boring, he lacks the personality, charm, and menace of previous antagonists like the C3, Crocodile, Magellan, etc. The fight with Oden should for sure have been changed. Oden scarring Kaido? Fine, but Kaido should have gotten back up and won without a fake hostage getting involved, that was a huge blow to his threat level imo. Idk if this one counts, and maybe Oda can prove me wrong about Yamato later on, but as of now, she's another part that should have been done away with completely. Even disregarding her annoying fangirling of Oden, she just feels like another unnecessary character.
Kaido: kind of hard to say since Oda may show us more in the near future, but so far Kaido has been very disappointing character-wise. Oda should have balanced out the focus between him and Orochi (and again, not have Big Mom in at all), because we haven't seen much of Kaido, so far he's been incredibly bland and boring, he lacks the personality, charm, and menace of previous antagonists like the C3, Crocodile, Magellan, etc. The fight with Oden should for sure have been changed. Oden scarring Kaido? Fine, but Kaido should have gotten back up and won without a fake hostage getting involved, that was a huge blow to his threat level imo. Idk if this one counts, and maybe Oda can prove me wrong about Yamato later on, but as of now, she's another part that should have been done away with completely. Even disregarding her annoying fangirling of Oden, she just feels like another unnecessary character.
Kaido:
- Get rid of Meme....he should be the only antagonist.
- Give him more paneltime
- Show off more of his character/personality/traits/morals/goals/relationships/etc....
- Stop this ridiculous Oden ptsd. For the strongest antagonist as of yet to be suffering from this is plain stupid writing. How are we supposed to take him seriously.
- Having trash like Kiku stab him is retarded.
Meme:
- Her portayal shouldve atleast been on the lvl it was till Tea Party. At worst she wouldve looked mildly dumb.
- Get her out of Wano....this aint her arc.
- The entire cake plot shouldve been changed.
Instead of her chasing the SHs and failing badly and embrassingly all the time, their shouldve been a third-party that was relevant or hyped up...to keep her busy. Long enough for the SHs to nearly escape till the Marines finally come with an Admiral and fight her.
The Third Party couldve written to be Strong YC lvl CP0 agents. Just something to stall her till an Admiral would show up....and for her to not lose her reputation to trash like the low/mid trio.
- Her illness was stupid and never made her unique. It was an excuse to make her imcompetent at times. Not saying she even is competent currently.
- Get rid of Meme....he should be the only antagonist.
- Give him more paneltime
- Show off more of his character/personality/traits/morals/goals/relationships/etc....
- Stop this ridiculous Oden ptsd. For the strongest antagonist as of yet to be suffering from this is plain stupid writing. How are we supposed to take him seriously.
- Having trash like Kiku stab him is retarded.
Meme:
- Her portayal shouldve atleast been on the lvl it was till Tea Party. At worst she wouldve looked mildly dumb.
- Get her out of Wano....this aint her arc.
- The entire cake plot shouldve been changed.
Instead of her chasing the SHs and failing badly and embrassingly all the time, their shouldve been a third-party that was relevant or hyped up...to keep her busy. Long enough for the SHs to nearly escape till the Marines finally come with an Admiral and fight her.
The Third Party couldve written to be Strong YC lvl CP0 agents. Just something to stall her till an Admiral would show up....and for her to not lose her reputation to trash like the low/mid trio.
- Her illness was stupid and never made her unique. It was an excuse to make her imcompetent at times. Not saying she even is competent currently.
Sorry if I tagged you and you don't give AF! Lol
Well, let's get one thing out of the way first: Big Mom is a masterfully well-written character in comparison to the mess that is Kaido. I plan on doing larger posts on this in the future, but I'll give some thoughts on Kaido for now.
For Kaido, I would almost scrap everything about him. Literally.
Overall Kaido is shit-tier in every possible way, and I'm at a complete loss as to how Oda got him so wrong when I know Oda knows how to write a much better character than this. Just my humble opinion ofc lol.
Tagging some people that might be interested, and again I apologize if you don't care:
Well, let's get one thing out of the way first: Big Mom is a masterfully well-written character in comparison to the mess that is Kaido. I plan on doing larger posts on this in the future, but I'll give some thoughts on Kaido for now.
For Kaido, I would almost scrap everything about him. Literally.
Personality: Kaido is an inconsistent mess who's only consistency is how inconsistent he is. On the one hand, he is screaming at his men to stop Big Mom from entering Wano at all costs, and the next he is demanding they remove her seastone cuffs so that he can kill her in a fair 1v1 fight himself (like wut?). 795 Kaido was eager for death and actively sought ways to kill himself for fun, but Wano Kaido shits himself at the very idea of experiencing pain in any form and very much does not seem like he wants to die at all. Kaido claims that he wants to go to war with the entire World Government and Wano, but visibly shits himself at the very idea of Oden's scabbards picking a fight with him. Kaido spends 50% of his panel time being drunk, which gives him an even more inconsistent personality on top of how messily inconsistent his character is already. He is someone who is both terrified of a good fight, while also spending his life seeking out the largest scale war imaginable.
This character is one of the shittiest I've ever seen in terms of his personality, and there is nothing to like about him whatsoever because his personality changes into its polar opposite form every other panel.
How would I change this? Consistency is a start. Either Kaido needs to be a fearless Warmonger who eagerly fights Big Mom as soon as she enters Wano instead of begging his subordinates to protect him, or he needs to be a consistent coward who doesn't take Big Mom's handcuffs off because he's terrified at the idea of fighting her. Kaido should not fear pain, he should actively seek out opportunities to die as he was introduced. His first action when he saw Big Mom, should've been to present his neck to her in hopes that she could actually behead him and end his boring existence. Once she fails, then that should be when Kaido fights her himself because that would fit his adrenaline-seeking nature that exists half of the time.
Drunkenness is not an excuse for shit-tier consistency. Drunkenness should amplify Kaido's most extreme traits, not remove them entirely for the sake of gags. Drunken Kaido should be even more eager for a fight. He should be even more violent and impulsive. He shouldn't be shitting his pants at the idea of fighting the scabbards if his actual goal is to start a war on the largest possible scale. Being drunk is when people reveal who they truly are, and by drawing Kaido as a coward when he's drunk, the message Oda is sending is that Kaido is actually a coward deep down, and him starting a war with the entire World is just a sober facade. Which, of course, makes absolutely no sense unless of course Oda truly does want us to see Kaido as a coward instead of the adrenaline-junky-war-monger that Kaido was introduced as.
There are many more changes I would make but these are just some examples.
Motivations: Kaido's motivations are literally as generic as they get, on the rare occasion that he actually decides to show a consistent motivation and character. Kaido's motivation, is that he wants to destroy the world. I wish I was making that up because it's a simplistic motivation even for children's stories and far too simple for a story as nuanced as One Piece, but Oda really thought that the Arc he's been hyping for 8 years needed a villain with literally the most generic and forgettable possible motivation.
How would I change this: If you're going to give Kaido the most generic and un-nuanced motivation possible, there at least needs to be an understandable, rational backstory that justifies this. How about making Kaido the opposite to Oden? Oden travels the world and sees it's beauty and thus wants to open the borders to Wano to let the "beauty" in, but Kaido travels the world and sees how terrible it is (getting captured, death sentences, etc) and so he resolves to destroy the world and keep the borders to Wano shut so all of the "evil" can't get in. This may be what Oda is going for but we haven't gotten to Kaido's backstory yet because Oda is interested in far more...."important" plotlines like how Kinemon found the baby pig, Oden dancing throughout the streets of Wano for no reason whatsoever, Big Mom's makeup getting ruined via a face-fucking by a motorcycle, etc.
Design: Kaido's design is lazy, uninspired, and has nothing to do with his character (it's hard to make a design that contributes to your character when you have no character whatsoever so I get it). Let's use Doflamingo for example:
Doflamingo's design is meant to exemplify his flamboyant personality, which is a result of his World Noble upbringing which leads him to believe that he is superior to everyone else. He wears an extravagant feather coat which simultaneously shows his self-assurance and charisma while also emphasizing the riches he has earned from his underworld business. His manipulative personality is also complemented by his manipulative Devil Fruit which literally lets him turn people into his puppets, and his Devil Fruit also contributes to his secondary "spider" theme, as Oda gives Doflamingo both primary and secondary animal themes which emphasizes his "hidden" nature to the rest of the world. Doflamingo's primary animal theme being the Flamingo (emphasizing his extravagance and flamboyance) and his perception to the people of Dressrosa was that of a loving king, but his secondary and more hidden theme is the Spider (which emphasizes his manipulative, blood-sucking character) with his true nature being that of a psychotic manipulator.
Doflamingo's design contributes to his character in every way, and his Devil Fruit, Personality, and Design have been made in conjunction with one another to illustrate who Doflamingo is on several metaphorical levels. Doflamingo is not the only character Oda does this with, but he is a nice quick example.
Now let's look at Kaido's design.
Okay so...I'm not even sure what Kaido's design even is first of all. Doflamingo is meant to look like an extremely successful drug-dealer, which is basically what he is in One Piece lol. Kaido is meant to look like...a big muscular man? I mean seriously, wtf even is he? And how does his design contribute to his character?
The rope Kaido is wearing around his waste is called a "Makuuchi" which is apparently a belt worn in Sumo Culture, which has nothing to do with Kaido or his established character so far. A Makuuchi can also be used to symbolize a "sacred" object, but again this has had no relevance to Kaido so far. Kaido is also wearing a shide which is used in Shinto rituals which...I won't go into here, but based on my research, again this has nothing whatsoever to do with Kaido, other than the fact that Kaido has an attack named "Divine Thunder" for what thus far appears to be no reason whatsoever. Again, compare this to Doflamingo who is wearing a stylish button-up shirt meant to emphasize his stylish personality, unbuttoned to show his charisma. See how Doffy's design contributes to his character and Kaido's doesn't?
Kaido's Dragon Devil Fruit (presumably) serves the purpose of emphasizing...what aspects of Kaido's personality exactly? Dragons in mythology are meant to be wise, immortal beings. Kaido might be immortal, but he is far from wise, being consistently out-smarted and having spent his entire life pretty much failing at every serious goal he's ever attempted. He's got a skull tattoo which emphasizes that he wants to die but...again like I mentioned above, he only wanted to die in Chapter 795 and we've never seen this aspect of his personality on display ever again. A Immortal Dragon who wants to die would actually be an interesting concept, which makes Kaido even shittier since this aspect of his personality seems to have been retconned into non-existence.
I'm so at a loss for words to explain what Kaido is even supposed to be, what aspects of his personality and character his design is meant to emphasize, and how his Devil Fruit is supposed to tie into all that that I really don't even know what to say. His design, is truly awful. And I mean that genuinely. Oda should be ashamed of himself on this one. Sure we don't know Kaido's exact backstory yet, but literally every minor detail we learned about Doflamingo, and it became clearer and clearer why Oda designed him the way he did and what the aspects of his design are supposed to represent. With Kaido, Wano is like 100 chapters now and we still have no idea who or what he is or how his design contributes to that.
How would I change this: Well, Kaido's design needs to better emphasize his personality and overall character, so his these things needs to be fixed before his design can. His Devil Fruit also needs to factor more into his personality more, and there are several ways to do this.
I love the idea in my head of Kaido being a Chopper-esque character, in that he's literally a Dragon who ate the Human Human Fruit (Mythical Model: Oni) which would both explain Kaido's immortality as well as explain why he's referenced as a creature and not as a human. I don't want to delve too deep into how I would fix this without fully knowing what Oda intends for Kaido and his backstory, I don't want to "fix" something that might not even be broken at all, but it's hard for me to imagine Oda salvaging this shitshow.
Some quick fixes: Get rid of the Makuuchi, or make sumo more relevant to Kaido's character right from the start. Make it more obvious why Kaido is supposed to be considered "sacred" (does Wano culture consider Dragon's sacred? Is Kaido the last Dragon which makes the people of Wano worship him? Religion has literally had nothing to do with Kaido and his character 100 chapters into Wano). Incorporate real aspects of Shinto-ism into Kaido's personality and actions, thus justifying the Shide that he is wearing.
This character is one of the shittiest I've ever seen in terms of his personality, and there is nothing to like about him whatsoever because his personality changes into its polar opposite form every other panel.
How would I change this? Consistency is a start. Either Kaido needs to be a fearless Warmonger who eagerly fights Big Mom as soon as she enters Wano instead of begging his subordinates to protect him, or he needs to be a consistent coward who doesn't take Big Mom's handcuffs off because he's terrified at the idea of fighting her. Kaido should not fear pain, he should actively seek out opportunities to die as he was introduced. His first action when he saw Big Mom, should've been to present his neck to her in hopes that she could actually behead him and end his boring existence. Once she fails, then that should be when Kaido fights her himself because that would fit his adrenaline-seeking nature that exists half of the time.
Drunkenness is not an excuse for shit-tier consistency. Drunkenness should amplify Kaido's most extreme traits, not remove them entirely for the sake of gags. Drunken Kaido should be even more eager for a fight. He should be even more violent and impulsive. He shouldn't be shitting his pants at the idea of fighting the scabbards if his actual goal is to start a war on the largest possible scale. Being drunk is when people reveal who they truly are, and by drawing Kaido as a coward when he's drunk, the message Oda is sending is that Kaido is actually a coward deep down, and him starting a war with the entire World is just a sober facade. Which, of course, makes absolutely no sense unless of course Oda truly does want us to see Kaido as a coward instead of the adrenaline-junky-war-monger that Kaido was introduced as.
There are many more changes I would make but these are just some examples.
Motivations: Kaido's motivations are literally as generic as they get, on the rare occasion that he actually decides to show a consistent motivation and character. Kaido's motivation, is that he wants to destroy the world. I wish I was making that up because it's a simplistic motivation even for children's stories and far too simple for a story as nuanced as One Piece, but Oda really thought that the Arc he's been hyping for 8 years needed a villain with literally the most generic and forgettable possible motivation.
How would I change this: If you're going to give Kaido the most generic and un-nuanced motivation possible, there at least needs to be an understandable, rational backstory that justifies this. How about making Kaido the opposite to Oden? Oden travels the world and sees it's beauty and thus wants to open the borders to Wano to let the "beauty" in, but Kaido travels the world and sees how terrible it is (getting captured, death sentences, etc) and so he resolves to destroy the world and keep the borders to Wano shut so all of the "evil" can't get in. This may be what Oda is going for but we haven't gotten to Kaido's backstory yet because Oda is interested in far more...."important" plotlines like how Kinemon found the baby pig, Oden dancing throughout the streets of Wano for no reason whatsoever, Big Mom's makeup getting ruined via a face-fucking by a motorcycle, etc.
Design: Kaido's design is lazy, uninspired, and has nothing to do with his character (it's hard to make a design that contributes to your character when you have no character whatsoever so I get it). Let's use Doflamingo for example:
Doflamingo's design contributes to his character in every way, and his Devil Fruit, Personality, and Design have been made in conjunction with one another to illustrate who Doflamingo is on several metaphorical levels. Doflamingo is not the only character Oda does this with, but he is a nice quick example.
Now let's look at Kaido's design.
Okay so...I'm not even sure what Kaido's design even is first of all. Doflamingo is meant to look like an extremely successful drug-dealer, which is basically what he is in One Piece lol. Kaido is meant to look like...a big muscular man? I mean seriously, wtf even is he? And how does his design contribute to his character?
The rope Kaido is wearing around his waste is called a "Makuuchi" which is apparently a belt worn in Sumo Culture, which has nothing to do with Kaido or his established character so far. A Makuuchi can also be used to symbolize a "sacred" object, but again this has had no relevance to Kaido so far. Kaido is also wearing a shide which is used in Shinto rituals which...I won't go into here, but based on my research, again this has nothing whatsoever to do with Kaido, other than the fact that Kaido has an attack named "Divine Thunder" for what thus far appears to be no reason whatsoever. Again, compare this to Doflamingo who is wearing a stylish button-up shirt meant to emphasize his stylish personality, unbuttoned to show his charisma. See how Doffy's design contributes to his character and Kaido's doesn't?
Kaido's Dragon Devil Fruit (presumably) serves the purpose of emphasizing...what aspects of Kaido's personality exactly? Dragons in mythology are meant to be wise, immortal beings. Kaido might be immortal, but he is far from wise, being consistently out-smarted and having spent his entire life pretty much failing at every serious goal he's ever attempted. He's got a skull tattoo which emphasizes that he wants to die but...again like I mentioned above, he only wanted to die in Chapter 795 and we've never seen this aspect of his personality on display ever again. A Immortal Dragon who wants to die would actually be an interesting concept, which makes Kaido even shittier since this aspect of his personality seems to have been retconned into non-existence.
I'm so at a loss for words to explain what Kaido is even supposed to be, what aspects of his personality and character his design is meant to emphasize, and how his Devil Fruit is supposed to tie into all that that I really don't even know what to say. His design, is truly awful. And I mean that genuinely. Oda should be ashamed of himself on this one. Sure we don't know Kaido's exact backstory yet, but literally every minor detail we learned about Doflamingo, and it became clearer and clearer why Oda designed him the way he did and what the aspects of his design are supposed to represent. With Kaido, Wano is like 100 chapters now and we still have no idea who or what he is or how his design contributes to that.
How would I change this: Well, Kaido's design needs to better emphasize his personality and overall character, so his these things needs to be fixed before his design can. His Devil Fruit also needs to factor more into his personality more, and there are several ways to do this.
I love the idea in my head of Kaido being a Chopper-esque character, in that he's literally a Dragon who ate the Human Human Fruit (Mythical Model: Oni) which would both explain Kaido's immortality as well as explain why he's referenced as a creature and not as a human. I don't want to delve too deep into how I would fix this without fully knowing what Oda intends for Kaido and his backstory, I don't want to "fix" something that might not even be broken at all, but it's hard for me to imagine Oda salvaging this shitshow.
Some quick fixes: Get rid of the Makuuchi, or make sumo more relevant to Kaido's character right from the start. Make it more obvious why Kaido is supposed to be considered "sacred" (does Wano culture consider Dragon's sacred? Is Kaido the last Dragon which makes the people of Wano worship him? Religion has literally had nothing to do with Kaido and his character 100 chapters into Wano). Incorporate real aspects of Shinto-ism into Kaido's personality and actions, thus justifying the Shide that he is wearing.
Overall Kaido is shit-tier in every possible way, and I'm at a complete loss as to how Oda got him so wrong when I know Oda knows how to write a much better character than this. Just my humble opinion ofc lol.
Tagging some people that might be interested, and again I apologize if you don't care:
@playa4321
@Sentinel
@King7
@Kejon
@Topi Jerami
@Ice devil slayer
@Cyrus the Cactus
@HA001
@Zorojuro
@TheAncientCenturion
@Kiwipom
@OmegaPsyche
@Red Dog
@Patryipe
@SHIHI
@KINGKONGGUN15
@Murilo
@K!NG HARA$H!MA
@Owl Ki
@Blackbeard
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
@Yasu
@Gon’s Missing Arm
@silverfire
@LolonoisZolo
@Akai
@Akai2
@Zowo
@Just a member
@Dark Hound
@Haoshoku
@MarineHQ62
@stealthblack
@Jiihad
@Shanks Joestar
@ShishioIsBack
@baboura
@mad monk
@ZoroGang
@Zenos7
@style
@Queen
@Venom
@Den_Den_Mushi
@Daisuke Jigen
@Luffy is the mc
@Enma
@NeutralWatcher
@Rosella.Fiamingo
@Ryuma
@Scarletmoon
@MasterD
@Trueprodigy
@Dark Admiral
@Artorias
@Silver
@Boboyo
@Zoro D Goat
@Fiji
@Marimo_420
@Gangstalicios
@Exodia.
@Don DaSlayer
@Seth Rollins
@Natalija
@Verg
@rednose
@Bogard
@Gol D. Roger
@Pantheos
@Van
@Haoshoku
@Light D Lamperouge
@Cinera
@Jo_Ndule
@Yo Tan Wa
@Gran D. Master
@Red Admiral
@Trafalgar_D_Law
@wordyworm
@Reddot4
@Mihawksenpai
@Albino 👑
@critical mindset
@Natalija
@Rukusho
@ShadyOjiro
@BigChungus2018
@King7
@Fujishiro
@Garp the Fist
@Dragomir
@Seth Rollins
@Sentinel
@King7
@Kejon
@Topi Jerami
@Ice devil slayer
@Cyrus the Cactus
@HA001
@Zorojuro
@TheAncientCenturion
@Kiwipom
@OmegaPsyche
@Red Dog
@Patryipe
@SHIHI
@KINGKONGGUN15
@Murilo
@K!NG HARA$H!MA
@Owl Ki
@Blackbeard
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
@Yasu
@Gon’s Missing Arm
@silverfire
@LolonoisZolo
@Akai
@Akai2
@Zowo
@Just a member
@Dark Hound
@Haoshoku
@MarineHQ62
@stealthblack
@Jiihad
@Shanks Joestar
@ShishioIsBack
@baboura
@mad monk
@ZoroGang
@Zenos7
@style
@Queen
@Venom
@Den_Den_Mushi
@Daisuke Jigen
@Luffy is the mc
@Enma
@NeutralWatcher
@Rosella.Fiamingo
@Ryuma
@Scarletmoon
@MasterD
@Trueprodigy
@Dark Admiral
@Artorias
@Silver
@Boboyo
@Zoro D Goat
@Fiji
@Marimo_420
@Gangstalicios
@Exodia.
@Don DaSlayer
@Seth Rollins
@Natalija
@Verg
@rednose
@Bogard
@Gol D. Roger
@Pantheos
@Van
@Haoshoku
@Light D Lamperouge
@Cinera
@Jo_Ndule
@Yo Tan Wa
@Gran D. Master
@Red Admiral
@Trafalgar_D_Law
@wordyworm
@Reddot4
@Mihawksenpai
@Albino 👑
@critical mindset
@Natalija
@Rukusho
@ShadyOjiro
@BigChungus2018
@King7
@Fujishiro
@Garp the Fist
@Dragomir
@Seth Rollins
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Honestly, it is Odas work and it pleases me since decades now. I dont change anything, because i dont know the whole picture Oda is building. He brought me joy, he brought me tears, laughs... he even brought me this forum and a lot of new friends. Who am i to tell what his characters should been changed? I enjoy One Piece at what it is, with all his flaws and gags, jokes and fun parts, with all the serious stuff, with all this ridicilious stuff. It is all part of One Piece. And i love it, exactly for what it is.
Sorry if I tagged you and you don't give AF! Lol
Well, let's get one thing out of the way first: Big Mom is a masterfully well-written character in comparison to the mess that is Kaido. I plan on doing larger posts on this in the future, but I'll give some thoughts on Kaido for now.
For Kaido, I would almost scrap everything about him. Literally.
Overall Kaido is shit-tier in every possible way, and I'm at a complete loss as to how Oda got him so wrong when I know Oda knows how to write a much better character than this. Just my humble opinion ofc lol.
Tagging some people that might be interested, and again I apologize if you don't care:
Well, let's get one thing out of the way first: Big Mom is a masterfully well-written character in comparison to the mess that is Kaido. I plan on doing larger posts on this in the future, but I'll give some thoughts on Kaido for now.
For Kaido, I would almost scrap everything about him. Literally.
Personality: Kaido is an inconsistent mess who's only consistency is how inconsistent he is. On the one hand, he is screaming at his men to stop Big Mom from entering Wano at all costs, and the next he is demanding they remove her seastone cuffs so that he can kill her in a fair 1v1 fight himself (like wut?). 795 Kaido was eager for death and actively sought ways to kill himself for fun, but Wano Kaido shits himself at the very idea of experiencing pain in any form and very much does not seem like he wants to die at all. Kaido claims that he wants to go to war with the entire World Government and Wano, but visibly shits himself at the very idea of Oden's scabbards picking a fight with him. Kaido spends 50% of his panel time being drunk, which gives him an even more inconsistent personality on top of how messily inconsistent his character is already. He is someone who is both terrified of a good fight, while also spending his life seeking out the largest scale war imaginable.
This character is one of the shittiest I've ever seen in terms of his personality, and there is nothing to like about him whatsoever because his personality changes into its polar opposite form every other panel.
How would I change this? Consistency is a start. Either Kaido needs to be a fearless Warmonger who eagerly fights Big Mom as soon as she enters Wano instead of begging his subordinates to protect him, or he needs to be a consistent coward who doesn't take Big Mom's handcuffs off because he's terrified at the idea of fighting her. Kaido should not fear pain, he should actively seek out opportunities to die as he was introduced. His first action when he saw Big Mom, should've been to present his neck to her in hopes that she could actually behead him and end his boring existence. Once she fails, then that should be when Kaido fights her himself because that would fit his adrenaline-seeking nature that exists half of the time.
Drunkenness is not an excuse for shit-tier consistency. Drunkenness should amplify Kaido's most extreme traits, not remove them entirely for the sake of gags. Drunken Kaido should be even more eager for a fight. He should be even more violent and impulsive. He shouldn't be shitting his pants at the idea of fighting the scabbards if his actual goal is to start a war on the largest possible scale. Being drunk is when people reveal who they truly are, and by drawing Kaido as a coward when he's drunk, the message Oda is sending is that Kaido is actually a coward deep down, and him starting a war with the entire World is just a sober facade. Which, of course, makes absolutely no sense unless of course Oda truly does want us to see Kaido as a coward instead of the adrenaline-junky-war-monger that Kaido was introduced as.
There are many more changes I would make but these are just some examples.
Motivations: Kaido's motivations are literally as generic as they get, on the rare occasion that he actually decides to show a consistent motivation and character. Kaido's motivation, is that he wants to destroy the world. I wish I was making that up because it's a simplistic motivation even for children's stories and far too simple for a story as nuanced as One Piece, but Oda really thought that the Arc he's been hyping for 8 years needed a villain with literally the most generic and forgettable possible motivation.
How would I change this: If you're going to give Kaido the most generic and un-nuanced motivation possible, there at least needs to be an understandable, rational backstory that justifies this. How about making Kaido the opposite to Oden? Oden travels the world and sees it's beauty and thus wants to open the borders to Wano to let the "beauty" in, but Kaido travels the world and sees how terrible it is (getting captured, death sentences, etc) and so he resolves to destroy the world and keep the borders to Wano shut so all of the "evil" can't get in. This may be what Oda is going for but we haven't gotten to Kaido's backstory yet because Oda is interested in far more...."important" plotlines like how Kinemon found the baby pig, Oden dancing throughout the streets of Wano for no reason whatsoever, Big Mom's makeup getting ruined via a face-fucking by a motorcycle, etc.
Design: Kaido's design is lazy, uninspired, and has nothing to do with his character (it's hard to make a design that contributes to your character when you have no character whatsoever so I get it). Let's use Doflamingo for example:
Doflamingo's design is meant to exemplify his flamboyant personality, which is a result of his World Noble upbringing which leads him to believe that he is superior to everyone else. He wears an extravagant feather coat which simultaneously shows his self-assurance and charisma while also emphasizing the riches he has earned from his underworld business. His manipulative personality is also complemented by his manipulative Devil Fruit which literally lets him turn people into his puppets, and his Devil Fruit also contributes to his secondary "spider" theme, as Oda gives Doflamingo both primary and secondary animal themes which emphasizes his "hidden" nature to the rest of the world. Doflamingo's primary animal theme being the Flamingo (emphasizing his extravagance and flamboyance) and his perception to the people of Dressrosa was that of a loving king, but his secondary and more hidden theme is the Spider (which emphasizes his manipulative, blood-sucking character) with his true nature being that of a psychotic manipulator.
Doflamingo's design contributes to his character in every way, and his Devil Fruit, Personality, and Design have been made in conjunction with one another to illustrate who Doflamingo is on several metaphorical levels. Doflamingo is not the only character Oda does this with, but he is a nice quick example.
Now let's look at Kaido's design.
Okay so...I'm not even sure what Kaido's design even is first of all. Doflamingo is meant to look like an extremely successful drug-dealer, which is basically what he is in One Piece lol. Kaido is meant to look like...a big muscular man? I mean seriously, wtf even is he? And how does his design contribute to his character?
The rope Kaido is wearing around his waste is called a "Makuuchi" which is apparently a belt worn in Sumo Culture, which has nothing to do with Kaido or his established character so far. A Makuuchi can also be used to symbolize a "sacred" object, but again this has had no relevance to Kaido so far. Kaido is also wearing a shide which is used in Shinto rituals which...I won't go into here, but based on my research, again this has nothing whatsoever to do with Kaido, other than the fact that Kaido has an attack named "Divine Thunder" for what thus far appears to be no reason whatsoever. Again, compare this to Doflamingo who is wearing a stylish button-up shirt meant to emphasize his stylish personality, unbuttoned to show his charisma. See how Doffy's design contributes to his character and Kaido's doesn't?
Kaido's Dragon Devil Fruit (presumably) serves the purpose of emphasizing...what aspects of Kaido's personality exactly? Dragons in mythology are meant to be wise, immortal beings. Kaido might be immortal, but he is far from wise, being consistently out-smarted and having spent his entire life pretty much failing at every serious goal he's ever attempted. He's got a skull tattoo which emphasizes that he wants to die but...again like I mentioned above, he only wanted to die in Chapter 795 and we've never seen this aspect of his personality on display ever again. A Immortal Dragon who wants to die would actually be an interesting concept, which makes Kaido even shittier since this aspect of his personality seems to have been retconned into non-existence.
I'm so at a loss for words to explain what Kaido is even supposed to be, what aspects of his personality and character his design is meant to emphasize, and how his Devil Fruit is supposed to tie into all that that I really don't even know what to say. His design, is truly awful. And I mean that genuinely. Oda should be ashamed of himself on this one. Sure we don't know Kaido's exact backstory yet, but literally every minor detail we learned about Doflamingo, and it became clearer and clearer why Oda designed him the way he did and what the aspects of his design are supposed to represent. With Kaido, Wano is like 100 chapters now and we still have no idea who or what he is or how his design contributes to that.
How would I change this: Well, Kaido's design needs to better emphasize his personality and overall character, so his these things needs to be fixed before his design can. His Devil Fruit also needs to factor more into his personality more, and there are several ways to do this.
I love the idea in my head of Kaido being a Chopper-esque character, in that he's literally a Dragon who ate the Human Human Fruit (Mythical Model: Oni) which would both explain Kaido's immortality as well as explain why he's referenced as a creature and not as a human. I don't want to delve too deep into how I would fix this without fully knowing what Oda intends for Kaido and his backstory, I don't want to "fix" something that might not even be broken at all, but it's hard for me to imagine Oda salvaging this shitshow.
Some quick fixes: Get rid of the Makuuchi, or make sumo more relevant to Kaido's character right from the start. Make it more obvious why Kaido is supposed to be considered "sacred" (does Wano culture consider Dragon's sacred? Is Kaido the last Dragon which makes the people of Wano worship him? Religion has literally had nothing to do with Kaido and his character 100 chapters into Wano). Incorporate real aspects of Shinto-ism into Kaido's personality and actions, thus justifying the Shide that he is wearing.
This character is one of the shittiest I've ever seen in terms of his personality, and there is nothing to like about him whatsoever because his personality changes into its polar opposite form every other panel.
How would I change this? Consistency is a start. Either Kaido needs to be a fearless Warmonger who eagerly fights Big Mom as soon as she enters Wano instead of begging his subordinates to protect him, or he needs to be a consistent coward who doesn't take Big Mom's handcuffs off because he's terrified at the idea of fighting her. Kaido should not fear pain, he should actively seek out opportunities to die as he was introduced. His first action when he saw Big Mom, should've been to present his neck to her in hopes that she could actually behead him and end his boring existence. Once she fails, then that should be when Kaido fights her himself because that would fit his adrenaline-seeking nature that exists half of the time.
Drunkenness is not an excuse for shit-tier consistency. Drunkenness should amplify Kaido's most extreme traits, not remove them entirely for the sake of gags. Drunken Kaido should be even more eager for a fight. He should be even more violent and impulsive. He shouldn't be shitting his pants at the idea of fighting the scabbards if his actual goal is to start a war on the largest possible scale. Being drunk is when people reveal who they truly are, and by drawing Kaido as a coward when he's drunk, the message Oda is sending is that Kaido is actually a coward deep down, and him starting a war with the entire World is just a sober facade. Which, of course, makes absolutely no sense unless of course Oda truly does want us to see Kaido as a coward instead of the adrenaline-junky-war-monger that Kaido was introduced as.
There are many more changes I would make but these are just some examples.
Motivations: Kaido's motivations are literally as generic as they get, on the rare occasion that he actually decides to show a consistent motivation and character. Kaido's motivation, is that he wants to destroy the world. I wish I was making that up because it's a simplistic motivation even for children's stories and far too simple for a story as nuanced as One Piece, but Oda really thought that the Arc he's been hyping for 8 years needed a villain with literally the most generic and forgettable possible motivation.
How would I change this: If you're going to give Kaido the most generic and un-nuanced motivation possible, there at least needs to be an understandable, rational backstory that justifies this. How about making Kaido the opposite to Oden? Oden travels the world and sees it's beauty and thus wants to open the borders to Wano to let the "beauty" in, but Kaido travels the world and sees how terrible it is (getting captured, death sentences, etc) and so he resolves to destroy the world and keep the borders to Wano shut so all of the "evil" can't get in. This may be what Oda is going for but we haven't gotten to Kaido's backstory yet because Oda is interested in far more...."important" plotlines like how Kinemon found the baby pig, Oden dancing throughout the streets of Wano for no reason whatsoever, Big Mom's makeup getting ruined via a face-fucking by a motorcycle, etc.
Design: Kaido's design is lazy, uninspired, and has nothing to do with his character (it's hard to make a design that contributes to your character when you have no character whatsoever so I get it). Let's use Doflamingo for example:
Doflamingo's design contributes to his character in every way, and his Devil Fruit, Personality, and Design have been made in conjunction with one another to illustrate who Doflamingo is on several metaphorical levels. Doflamingo is not the only character Oda does this with, but he is a nice quick example.
Now let's look at Kaido's design.
Okay so...I'm not even sure what Kaido's design even is first of all. Doflamingo is meant to look like an extremely successful drug-dealer, which is basically what he is in One Piece lol. Kaido is meant to look like...a big muscular man? I mean seriously, wtf even is he? And how does his design contribute to his character?
The rope Kaido is wearing around his waste is called a "Makuuchi" which is apparently a belt worn in Sumo Culture, which has nothing to do with Kaido or his established character so far. A Makuuchi can also be used to symbolize a "sacred" object, but again this has had no relevance to Kaido so far. Kaido is also wearing a shide which is used in Shinto rituals which...I won't go into here, but based on my research, again this has nothing whatsoever to do with Kaido, other than the fact that Kaido has an attack named "Divine Thunder" for what thus far appears to be no reason whatsoever. Again, compare this to Doflamingo who is wearing a stylish button-up shirt meant to emphasize his stylish personality, unbuttoned to show his charisma. See how Doffy's design contributes to his character and Kaido's doesn't?
Kaido's Dragon Devil Fruit (presumably) serves the purpose of emphasizing...what aspects of Kaido's personality exactly? Dragons in mythology are meant to be wise, immortal beings. Kaido might be immortal, but he is far from wise, being consistently out-smarted and having spent his entire life pretty much failing at every serious goal he's ever attempted. He's got a skull tattoo which emphasizes that he wants to die but...again like I mentioned above, he only wanted to die in Chapter 795 and we've never seen this aspect of his personality on display ever again. A Immortal Dragon who wants to die would actually be an interesting concept, which makes Kaido even shittier since this aspect of his personality seems to have been retconned into non-existence.
I'm so at a loss for words to explain what Kaido is even supposed to be, what aspects of his personality and character his design is meant to emphasize, and how his Devil Fruit is supposed to tie into all that that I really don't even know what to say. His design, is truly awful. And I mean that genuinely. Oda should be ashamed of himself on this one. Sure we don't know Kaido's exact backstory yet, but literally every minor detail we learned about Doflamingo, and it became clearer and clearer why Oda designed him the way he did and what the aspects of his design are supposed to represent. With Kaido, Wano is like 100 chapters now and we still have no idea who or what he is or how his design contributes to that.
How would I change this: Well, Kaido's design needs to better emphasize his personality and overall character, so his these things needs to be fixed before his design can. His Devil Fruit also needs to factor more into his personality more, and there are several ways to do this.
I love the idea in my head of Kaido being a Chopper-esque character, in that he's literally a Dragon who ate the Human Human Fruit (Mythical Model: Oni) which would both explain Kaido's immortality as well as explain why he's referenced as a creature and not as a human. I don't want to delve too deep into how I would fix this without fully knowing what Oda intends for Kaido and his backstory, I don't want to "fix" something that might not even be broken at all, but it's hard for me to imagine Oda salvaging this shitshow.
Some quick fixes: Get rid of the Makuuchi, or make sumo more relevant to Kaido's character right from the start. Make it more obvious why Kaido is supposed to be considered "sacred" (does Wano culture consider Dragon's sacred? Is Kaido the last Dragon which makes the people of Wano worship him? Religion has literally had nothing to do with Kaido and his character 100 chapters into Wano). Incorporate real aspects of Shinto-ism into Kaido's personality and actions, thus justifying the Shide that he is wearing.
Overall Kaido is shit-tier in every possible way, and I'm at a complete loss as to how Oda got him so wrong when I know Oda knows how to write a much better character than this. Just my humble opinion ofc lol.
Tagging some people that might be interested, and again I apologize if you don't care:
@playa4321
@Sentinel
@King7
@Kejon
@Topi Jerami
@Ice devil slayer
@Cyrus the Cactus
@HA001
@Zorojuro
@TheAncientCenturion
@Kiwipom
@OmegaPsyche
@Red Dog
@Patryipe
@SHIHI
@KINGKONGGUN15
@Murilo
@K!NG HARA$H!MA
@Owl Ki
@Blackbeard
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
@Yasu
@Gon’s Missing Arm
@silverfire
@LolonoisZolo
@Akai
@Akai2
@Zowo
@Just a member
@Dark Hound
@Haoshoku
@MarineHQ62
@stealthblack
@Jiihad
@Shanks Joestar
@ShishioIsBack
@baboura
@mad monk
@ZoroGang
@Zenos7
@style
@Queen
@Venom
@Den_Den_Mushi
@Daisuke Jigen
@Luffy is the mc
@Enma
@NeutralWatcher
@Rosella.Fiamingo
@Ryuma
@Scarletmoon
@MasterD
@Trueprodigy
@Dark Admiral
@Artorias
@Silver
@Boboyo
@Zoro D Goat
@Fiji
@Marimo_420
@Gangstalicios
@Exodia.
@Don DaSlayer
@Seth Rollins
@Natalija
@Verg
@rednose
@Bogard
@Gol D. Roger
@Pantheos
@Van
@Haoshoku
@Light D Lamperouge
@Cinera
@Jo_Ndule
@Yo Tan Wa
@Gran D. Master
@Red Admiral
@Trafalgar_D_Law
@wordyworm
@Reddot4
@Mihawksenpai
@Albino 👑
@critical mindset
@Natalija
@Rukusho
@ShadyOjiro
@BigChungus2018
@King7
@Fujishiro
@Garp the Fist
@Dragomir
@Seth Rollins
@Sentinel
@King7
@Kejon
@Topi Jerami
@Ice devil slayer
@Cyrus the Cactus
@HA001
@Zorojuro
@TheAncientCenturion
@Kiwipom
@OmegaPsyche
@Red Dog
@Patryipe
@SHIHI
@KINGKONGGUN15
@Murilo
@K!NG HARA$H!MA
@Owl Ki
@Blackbeard
@LANJI CUCKSMOKE
@Yasu
@Gon’s Missing Arm
@silverfire
@LolonoisZolo
@Akai
@Akai2
@Zowo
@Just a member
@Dark Hound
@Haoshoku
@MarineHQ62
@stealthblack
@Jiihad
@Shanks Joestar
@ShishioIsBack
@baboura
@mad monk
@ZoroGang
@Zenos7
@style
@Queen
@Venom
@Den_Den_Mushi
@Daisuke Jigen
@Luffy is the mc
@Enma
@NeutralWatcher
@Rosella.Fiamingo
@Ryuma
@Scarletmoon
@MasterD
@Trueprodigy
@Dark Admiral
@Artorias
@Silver
@Boboyo
@Zoro D Goat
@Fiji
@Marimo_420
@Gangstalicios
@Exodia.
@Don DaSlayer
@Seth Rollins
@Natalija
@Verg
@rednose
@Bogard
@Gol D. Roger
@Pantheos
@Van
@Haoshoku
@Light D Lamperouge
@Cinera
@Jo_Ndule
@Yo Tan Wa
@Gran D. Master
@Red Admiral
@Trafalgar_D_Law
@wordyworm
@Reddot4
@Mihawksenpai
@Albino 👑
@critical mindset
@Natalija
@Rukusho
@ShadyOjiro
@BigChungus2018
@King7
@Fujishiro
@Garp the Fist
@Dragomir
@Seth Rollins
I agree with this. Of course it is Oda's story at the end of the day, and we have nothing to decide about how he should write his characters and his story. But we obviously don't have to accept and like everything about his story. Some people love and hate certain characters which is fine.
I do find Kaido to be quite enjoyable since he doesn't really care about anything. He is very reckless. In my opinion the real problem is Big Mom. Her treatment is just sad. And it is obnoxious to see her getting beaten and embarrassed by way weaker characters.
I do find Kaido to be quite enjoyable since he doesn't really care about anything. He is very reckless. In my opinion the real problem is Big Mom. Her treatment is just sad. And it is obnoxious to see her getting beaten and embarrassed by way weaker characters.
Only thing I would have done differently would have been to have the Blackbeard crew attack whole cake island while they were short two commanders.
Big Mom stall them due to being in her own territory and her awakening being able to replicate her current homies (imagine the enrage army +10 zeus + 10 prometheus and all the other homies fighting together)
but whatever...just a random headcannon. I think Oda has something interesting planned for Big Mom in Wano or else no point in him bringing her there.
Big Mom stall them due to being in her own territory and her awakening being able to replicate her current homies (imagine the enrage army +10 zeus + 10 prometheus and all the other homies fighting together)
but whatever...just a random headcannon. I think Oda has something interesting planned for Big Mom in Wano or else no point in him bringing her there.
I may be able to shed some light on this issue. The zigzag pappers that usually hang from shimenawas (the generic name used to refer that rope), which are called shide, are metaphorically seen as lightning bolts as their shape resemble them, to the point that a ritual wand made of them called haraegushi is also named "lightning wand" because of them. I don't know how easy will it be to find references of what I'm about to say, but I've heard from people living in Japan that the shimenawa with shide papers hanging from it is popularly seen as a storm cloud releasing lightning bolts. So Kaido using it as a belt could be both an indicative of his superior strength (through the reference to the sumo hierarchy) and a reinforcement of his celestial nature (dragon, divine thunder, the "sky" written on his sake bottle...).
Imagine Franky hitting Mihawk instead of Big Mom, would he survive? 