What do you think are the Elements of a Good Chapter of One Piece. A lot times especially in the Spoilers section and when New Chapters come out there are a good number of people who say the "Chapter Sucks, or the Chapter was Bad". But what makes it a Good Chapter VS a Bad one?
Story progression? Action? Learning new information? The Characters? What is the most important thing? And what makes a Good Chapter?
I will write here could be the top tier. But some top tier chapters don't have all of this.
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STRONG rythms. It a basic standard, but when you look at other stories, you will find out that it's not a regular thing outside of One Piece.
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Create a change of situation. If the chapter starts with A, the end of the chapter needs to end with B and with character either with a different mindset or different situations.
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Move the plot. This is basic. One Piece doesn't miss with that.
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Create a strong emotion or multiple ones. Either panic, distress, worrying, joy, hype, sadness etc. If I'm jumping on my chair out of excitment, it's usually a goated chapter.
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Makes me cry. Either from joy or sadness. Of course, it can't happens everytime, but some chapter do get that. It's the most important thing for me. When a chapter makes me cry, it's top tier from the get go.
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A full story. Very important. In a manga, a good chapter is usually a story inside a story. It has a thematic and a philosophical conflict or a form of reflexion on a subject. It creates a cohesion in the chapter.
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A revelation in the chapter and a revelation in the end : Good One Piece chapter usually get multiple revelation, the ending one being very impactfull. It's not always the case, but those chapter create hype, so it's very interesting.
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A good cover page or cover story. I love cover page, they are part of the enjoyment of a chapter so when they are good or intriging, it's always more interesting.
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An impactfull title. Titles are important. Although I always read them at the end. I think they are important to create a cohesion inside the chapter. They also help us remember the chapter very well.
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A late ending. It does not happen a lot, but sometimes the editor (or Oda, I don't know) will indicate the ending of a chapter one page before the end. So it's always a pleasant surprise to see that there is one more page.
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Worldbuilding/Lore moment. If the chapter can give us at least a form of Lore/worldbuilding, either with character arc or story situation... it's awesome.
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A beautiful double page. I love double pages and I love when Oda takes the time to create big scenes.
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Double meaning. It happens that chapters have multiple meaning and multiple interpretations. Those kind of chapter are amazing. "Lion" (ch 888) has multiple meanings, on top of being a simple chapter about Carrot destroying the fleet, it's in reality a deep look at the notion of wonder and observation.
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Transport me into something completely different. It only happened once, once again with 888. The Sulong transformation was simply out of this world. It was literally mystical, it looked like a drawing from a fantastic movie or an Aladdin one. It had a magic in the impact that was completely new to me. It was not all about the design, it was also the portrayal, the way Oda setup the transformation, build up to it, creates multiple angle. It was simply something out of a fairytail. This chapter was in itself, a big reason why I fought so fiercely for Carrot.
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Good and breathy panelling. I love big panels. It reminds me of old One Piece, so when Oda takes the time to create big outlines to show the character's emotions or focus on a specific panel, it's amazing.
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Good narration. A good chapter of One Piece needs a great and creative narration. Thispoint would deserve a thread in itself so Iwill leave it as that. One Piece rarely misses on that point. The narration is always clear, fun and creative.
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Good fluidity between chapters. It's the way the chapters are connected and therefore create a good feeling on the complete reread.
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When the ending answer the beginning and adds meaning. It's linked to the comment about double meaning. Sometimes, like in "The weight of Memory" (Ch 1072), The beginning setup a reflexion of Vegapunk on a Girl, we think it's Bonney and it makes sence since the chapter focuses on her, but in reality it's Stussy at the end. THis creates a double meaning that adds weight to the chapter and the overall impact of both stories.
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Good drawings. This is basic, Oda never misses in my opinion on that point.
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A good narrative outlining. This is something very basic, but it is something that even big Mangaka like HOrikoshi or Kishimoto to not always do compared to Oda. A good narrative outlining meaning that the chapter has a beginning, a middle (it can be a midpoint OR a big event during the chapters that creates rythm) and an end. Meaning a chapter that ends on a real sensation of end. Not something we feel as unfinished. A lot of times in My Hero, I have the feeling of reading chapter with an abrupt ending. Simply because some of them are not thought as single pieces of narration. A good chapter needs that. Even if it needs to end on a cliffhanger.
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A mystery. I think a good chapter is a chapter that raises at least one question from the readers.
I think it's pretty much it. I don't consider that fight are a sign of a good chapter. A chapter can be amazing without them.
