Character Discussion IMU = Luffy Gear 5 minutes

[Kair0s1]

Oda has always said that with Gear 5 he wanted to subvert battle shonen tropes.
With Imu he’s doing the exact same thing. On the surface, he presents the perfect final villain: beautiful, charismatic, godlike… everything you’d expect from a battle shonen endgame. But the more you look at him, the more that image falls apart.

Cries because everyone’s mean to him

Totally incompetent and blames inevitability

Spent 800 years staring at a portrait of a girl, living in fear like Orochi

Couldn’t even stand upright on his reveal

Has the most cliché design imaginable

Am I just overrating Oda, thinking the finale of One Piece deserves more? Would you really be happy with a final villain like this, who ends up facing the protagonist without any twists or subversion of expectations? Should One Piece really be like any other battle shonen?
Or is Imu just a scam, and Oda is setting up something actually satisfying?

 

[matt245]

Has the most cliché design imaginable

Showing Kaguya, who is literally a white fucking alien with basic ass horns isn't the best way to prove your point ngl.

Yhwach looks insane with his Almighty design tho.

 

[comrade]

I personally like the way Imu is portrayed. Not as an invincible Gary Stu but a guy who, with all of his might, still has weaknesses and insecurities. It's more relatable and realistic.

 

[Monster Zoro's Tesla Supplier]

I can sort of see where the complaints about his design come from, but it then begs the question:
What would YOU make his design look like?
Keep in mind you'd have to make sure every part of his design is completely original or you run the risk of people writing it off as just a shitty ripoff of other Shonen battle manga villain designs.
So with that in mind, what can you really do that wouldn't have already been done in some way before?

 

[soupongo]

Imu is a pretty horribly written characters, but he is ultimately at least a part of the endgame, and the one who represents the crimes of the Void Century. The Strawhats aren't going to be able to beat him until after reaching laughtale, and obviously in the flashback he cemented himself as the strongest character in the story.

I do think Oda could do one last arc after Imu is defeated however.

 

[Fujishiro]

Why are you so threatened by Imu lol, its just a drawing m8.

The fat bastard still has a chance.

 

[Kair0s1]

Showing Kaguya, who is literally a white fucking alien with basic ass horns isn't the best way to prove your point ngl.

Yhwach looks insane with his Almighty design tho.

Yeah, I know there are more accurate examples, but anyone who has read even the most popular battle manga knows exactly what I’m referring to. It’s not even strictly about the design itself, but what that design represents. It objectively feels generic, your typical beautiful, overpowered final villain archetype that shows up everywhere. My point is: why subvert the genre with Gear 5 if your final villain ends up being the same old formula?

 

[Kair0s1]

I can sort of see where the complaints about his design come from, but it then begs the question:
What would YOU make his design look like?
Keep in mind you'd have to make sure every part of his design is completely original or you run the risk of people writing it off as just a shitty ripoff of other Shonen battle manga villain designs.
So with that in mind, what can you really do that wouldn't have already been done in some way before?

Anything that doesn’t immediately make me think "I’m reading Naruto again." That’s the issue, it doesn’t feel like One Piece.
That said, I actually think it’s intentional. Like I said Oda might be setting up the most generic, textbook final villain on purpose, just to flip it later, same way he did with Gear 5.
If Imu actually is the final villain played straight, though? Then yeah, I wouldn’t like it.

 

[BoaHancocksHusband]

Oda has always said that with Gear 5 he wanted to subvert battle shonen tropes.
With Imu he’s doing the exact same thing. On the surface, he presents the perfect final villain: beautiful, charismatic, godlike… everything you’d expect from a battle shonen endgame. But the more you look at him, the more that image falls apart.

Cries because everyone’s mean to him

Totally incompetent and blames inevitability

Spent 800 years staring at a portrait of a girl, living in fear like Orochi

Couldn’t even stand upright on his reveal

Has the most cliché design imaginable

Am I just overrating Oda, thinking the finale of One Piece deserves more? Would you really be happy with a final villain like this, who ends up facing the protagonist without any twists or subversion of expectations? Should One Piece really be like any other battle shonen?
Or is Imu just a scam, and Oda is setting up something actually satisfying?

We deserve Akainu as final villain. Kill MU. Become true leader of the world. Final arc is God King Akainu Luffy

 

[Reborn]

Why are you so threatened by Imu lol, its just a drawing m8.

The fat bastard still has a chance.

Careful with your words




Tbh, I like IMU being not totally untouchable and his design has been good so far.

With so many mangas out there, it's actually unfair to draw comparisons with finished manga and then judge ongoing manga for repeating same concept or theme. There's a limit to how much imaginative one can get with designs and concepts especially for such massive world building and long running manga like one piece.

 

[Kair0s1]

I think the story ends with the One Piece being found. Egghead made it pretty clear.

Imu is a pretty horribly written characters, but he is ultimately at least a part of the endgame, and the one who represents the crimes of the Void Century. The Strawhats aren't going to be able to beat him until after reaching laughtale, and obviously in the flashback he cemented himself as the strongest character in the story.

I do think Oda could do one last arc after Imu is defeated however.

I think the story ends with the One Piece being found.
To me, the final battle has to be between pirates fighting over the treasure, knowing that whoever claims it has effectively won everything.
The way you describe it would be way too linear and predictable. There needs to be a twist, and the perfect one, in my opinion, would be Blackbeard taking out Imu and becoming king of the world.

 

[Kair0s1]

Why are you so threatened by Imu lol, its just a drawing m8.

My bad for caring more about the ending of One Piece than arguing about black blades and other high-level topics like that

 

[Fujishiro]

My bad for caring more about the ending of One Piece than arguing about black blades and other high-level topics like that

Why keep discussing who will be the FV over and over just enjoy yourself in the moment, if it’s Imu cool, if it’s BB cool. This shit is getting old.

 

[BoaHancocksHusband]

I think the story ends with the One Piece being found. Egghead made it pretty clear.

I think the story ends with the One Piece being found.
To me, the final battle has to be between pirates fighting over the treasure, knowing that whoever claims it has effectively won everything.
The way you describe it would be way too linear and predictable. There needs to be a twist, and the perfect one, in my opinion, would be Blackbeard taking out Imu and becoming king of the world.

You forgot the war between the Big Daddy Pirates vs Pirate King Luffy

 

[Kair0s1]

Why keep discussing who will be the FV over and over just enjoy yourself in the moment, if it’s Imu cool, if it’s BB cool. This shit is getting old.

It’s actually being discussed everywhere right now, so it’s not like I’m forcing the topic.
Anyway, there are a few reasons:
- It’s the One Piece topic I care about the most, and I enjoy getting flamed by people who disagree with me
- In my opinion the latest chapter disqualified Imu as the final villain, so of course I’m gonna bring it up
- What else is there to talk about? If you’ve got better topics feel free to suggest some lol

 

[BoaHancocksHusband]

It’s actually being discussed everywhere right now, so it’s not like I’m forcing the topic.
Anyway, there are a few reasons:
- It’s the One Piece topic I care about the most, and I enjoy getting flamed by people who disagree with me
- In my opinion the latest chapter disqualified Imu as the final villain, so of course I’m gonna bring it up
- What else is there to talk about? If you’ve got better topics feel free to suggest some lol

I hope it’s Akainu

 

[a_fan]

Imu is the only one that looks serious and not goofy unlike 99% of others.

Also, i'm certain that's just his hybrid form. His human form is gonna look like the end game handsome bishounen sadist trope.

I believe bishounen Cavendish is foreshadowing. He loves flowers, talks like Imu in a form of an unknown entity and is obsessed with Luffy much like Imu loves flowers, talks like Hakuba in a form of an unknown entity and was obsessed with Joyboy grudge wise.

 

[Fn Lucci]

When people come to expect a "goofy subversion" then this has ironically become the cliche.

 

[D. Plant]

This is One Piece we are reading, the design is pretty on point imo. Imu is also a beautiful man, so add more features or exaggeration may divert more further away from the main point.

 

[DenifClock]

I really hope Imu is the main villain., not Blackbeard.