I’m ngl to you guys, I used to crusade for Wano. I genuinely was entertained by Roof Piece and the Kaido fight overall. But now that we’ve had almost four years to let it ruminate, I can clearly see the massive problems it has.
First of all, it’s inexcusable that, as an arc, Wano was supposed to be the most planned-out and pivotal arc up to that point. Oda clearly wasted his and our time by giving so much screen time to nothing characters like Raizo, while also creating characters that served no purpose beyond cluttering panels with some wacky designs (e.g., the Oniwabanshu)
This time could’ve been used to develop the characters we actually cared about and/or who were pivotal to the arc overall. If God Valley has shown us anything, it’s that Kaido and Big Mom can be very interesting and entertaining characters, and making their relationship central to the Onigashima section of the arc would’ve been a very compelling narrative device — one that could’ve hooked the audience and created a more layered conflict between the old and new generations.
There are things I like, but they feel like pre-planned and isolated moments that were meticulously designed to invoke strong emotions in the reader — and it doesn’t always feel like those emotions were earned through good storytelling within the arc itself.
The thing is, I don’t think Wano’s failure is due to Oda being burnt out or lacking ability. I genuinely think it was a conscious choice he made, fully aware that people wouldn’t like many of his decisions. It does feel like Egghead and Elbaf are a return to form in comparison to what we got in this arc, because a lot of what’s hooked me about Egghead and Elbaf is completely missing here. Oda allowed Wano to be an isolated and disjointed arc (fitting, given the in-world political and geographical realities of Wano), which felt like an ode to Japan itself, with pivotal plot points that needed to be developed and paid off for the rest of the story.
Anyways, feel free to discuss further — or don’t. This was meant to be a self-therapeutic thread to come to terms with my disappointment.
First of all, it’s inexcusable that, as an arc, Wano was supposed to be the most planned-out and pivotal arc up to that point. Oda clearly wasted his and our time by giving so much screen time to nothing characters like Raizo, while also creating characters that served no purpose beyond cluttering panels with some wacky designs (e.g., the Oniwabanshu)
This time could’ve been used to develop the characters we actually cared about and/or who were pivotal to the arc overall. If God Valley has shown us anything, it’s that Kaido and Big Mom can be very interesting and entertaining characters, and making their relationship central to the Onigashima section of the arc would’ve been a very compelling narrative device — one that could’ve hooked the audience and created a more layered conflict between the old and new generations.
There are things I like, but they feel like pre-planned and isolated moments that were meticulously designed to invoke strong emotions in the reader — and it doesn’t always feel like those emotions were earned through good storytelling within the arc itself.
The thing is, I don’t think Wano’s failure is due to Oda being burnt out or lacking ability. I genuinely think it was a conscious choice he made, fully aware that people wouldn’t like many of his decisions. It does feel like Egghead and Elbaf are a return to form in comparison to what we got in this arc, because a lot of what’s hooked me about Egghead and Elbaf is completely missing here. Oda allowed Wano to be an isolated and disjointed arc (fitting, given the in-world political and geographical realities of Wano), which felt like an ode to Japan itself, with pivotal plot points that needed to be developed and paid off for the rest of the story.
Anyways, feel free to discuss further — or don’t. This was meant to be a self-therapeutic thread to come to terms with my disappointment.
