Worstgen

KiriNigiri

I can’t say as to how popular she is, as I don’t have any hard metric, but even if the editors and marketing team wanted to change Oda’s mind on something, he wouldn’t budge. He killed off Ace despite his popularity. I think Oda will always be loyal to his general vision for the series.

M

MD Zolo

Sorry for burging in, but Zoro's love interest is, was and always shall be sake.

And how is Hiyori getting popular? I didn't find anything interesting (in positive sense) about her.

Momoheechulkabe9000

The marketing team is putting her in one of the calendar in a suggestive manner, and the reread promotion is clearly emphasizing on her. In addition, she is voiced by Nana Mizuki arguably the most beloved Japanese VA who happens to be Hinata Hyuga's voice. There are strong rumors that her popularity literally made her Naruto's endgame couple.

M

MD Zolo

Hmm...well...Wano has been lacking in the beautiful women Department, so it makes sense that Hiyori would make the cut from Wano. Teen boys are into that.

I don't think VAs dictate endgame couple in any way. Ultimately, at the beginning of story, Hinata was the only girl who liked Naruto, so she was the best contender. Besides, Shonen heroes seems to end up with well-mannered quiet girls as opposed to rough girls.

KiriNigiri

I heard about that rumour. Don’t know if there’s ever been any concrete evidence for it. Though even if it is true, I don’t see Oda being influenced like Kishimoto, regardless of what his final plans for the story are, he’s sticking to them, IMO.

Momoheechulkabe9000

Its funny when Kishimoto got married Oda literally said that the bride was very similar to Sakura. When Naruto came to an end, the wife was unsurprisingly upset at Hinata being the chosen one. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what happened behind the scenes. However, Mizuki just reached 40 and got married this year. Unsurprisingly, a lot of her fans sold her merchandise.

Buusatan94

Hiyori doesn't have the history and unique connection that Tashigi has with Zoro, and as @KiriNigiri said I doubt that her popularity would make Oda change whatever plan he has for Zoro.

KiriNigiri

I wouldn’t take who voices who as enough proof. Rebecca is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara, a 90s icon of Japanese voice acting, but it’s very unlikely she ends up being Luffy’s love interest. She’s easily been the least significant of all the princesses Luffy has befriended.

Buusatan94

And a lot of famous japanese actors have voiced characters who only appear in the movies and have no relevance in the main story. So Hiyori's VA being a very famous and respected actress doesn't change anything to me.

Momoheechulkabe9000

@Buusatan94 Unlike Kishi, Oda seems to be stronger, stubborn, and less likely to be manipulated. Fans could have interpreted Zoro accepting Enma as a proposal for Hiyori. Turned out the sword actually belongs to Kuina's family completely shifting the focus and the lore on Zoro's supposedly dead childhood friend.