It seems like the community is fixated on the idea that there are going to be 5 Acts. Furthermore some have read that Act 3 can end in a tragedy and so assume the Luffy and co are once again going to be defeated in this battle.
But there's a few things you need to know:
- Kabuki plays
don't need to be 5 Acts, the One Piece kabuki
play is actually in
3 Acts for example and for info is structured like this:
Act 1: 60 minutes
Act 2: 65 minutes
Act 3: 85 minutes.
As you can see Act 3 is actually the longest Act out of the 3. There isn't 5 Acts.
- Jo-Ha-Kyu is the actual play structure that is adopted in many forms of art, and it is applied within individual acts and within plays.
Jo begins slowly, engaging in exploration and building expectation. Ha speeds things up, the unfolding and then scattering of an idea. Kyu dissolves rapidly into the original pace, a culmination of the ha and then a reincarnation as jo. Jo-ha-kyu usually runs through multiple cycles, so that the cumulative effect is of an undulating wave, like the ocean repeatedly crashing on a shoreline—rippling, surging, and cresting, over and over again.
- The concept of Jo-Ha-Kyu is about story progression and the tempo involved. It doesn't mean there must be a tragedy in a 'Act 3', and clearly plays can be divided into how many Acts the creators want.
- Earlier in the arc, Oda titled one of the Chapters 'Ha' which seems to be a reference to
Jo-Ha-Kyu not a 5 Act play structure.
- In my opinion, it's much more likely Wano is divided into 3 Acts, and we're well and truly into the final Wano Act as Luffy and co have officially started the main battle with Kaido on the rooftop.
- Of course we can have twists and possible deaths in this Act, but it doesn't need to be accompanied by some sort of Act 3 end then an intermission, and then a regroup and come back in Act 4 or 5.
