'One piece isn't about fights', this is a statement I heard often in WCI in regards to Sanji, or any of the SHs getting a true 1v1. And yes, while One Piece isn't about fights, fights are a major part of one piece. Fights are such a big part of one piece that Luffy has spent 2 years training with Rayleigh so that he can get better at fights.
Fights in OP, are essentially the payoff to a conflict as well as a way for the fans to see their favorite characters in action.
So When you proclaim a 'year of sanji' and basically dedicate an arc to Sanji, is it too much to ask for Sanji to have one complete 1v1? Especially since he was absent in Dressrosa making his last true 1v1(before page one at least) in Fishman island. In a series in which battles are a major major part of the series, in which fights are essentially the payoff of almost every arc, is it too much to ask for one of the main characters of WCI to get just one fight?
I think not, I think it was perfectly reasonable to expect a fight from sanji in this arc. Sanji, unlike Robin who had a similar arc, is a main fighter in the SH crew. I know this was an entirely reasonable expectation because almost everyone thought sanji would get a fight in WCI before the arc began.
While expectations are created by the fans, authors can control expectations with their writing. If an expectation is completely reasonable, is the author doing a disservice to the reader by not meeting said expectation?
I think so, and in the case of WCI, I think it was bad writing on Oda's part to not give sanji a fight. But what's more is that not only did he not give Sanji a fight, he fully set up Sanji having a fight and then chose to not give him said fight. With this I am talking about Oven.
If you look at how Oven was portrayed in the latter parts(post tea-party) of WCI, he was essentially the third biggest antagonist of the arc right behind Big Mom and Katakuri.
Oven not only killed pound, he was leading the charge to kill luffy. It was oven who was on WCI standing in front of the mirror with his glaive, waiting for Luffy to pop out so that he could slice him. It was oven that was commanding the entire forces on Cacao island.
So what happened to Oven? Nothing, absolutely fucking nothing. He got decked by a couple of characters: Sanji, Capone, and Ichiji. But there was no payoff for the build up he had as a villain. Absolutely nothing.
Were there other unresolved plot points? Yeah, sure. Sanji's relationship with judge was never resolved, but Oda could(and most likely will) bring back judge in a later arc to resolve that subplot.
But as for Oven, Oda absolutely wasted his potential as a villain, he had so much build up, but it was all for fucking nothing. Why? Because Luffy by wano's end, Luffy will be an emperor. He will easily be a top tier, with Sanji and Zoro easily being YC level. Whereas in WCI, there was real question as to if Sanji could even beat Oven, post wano there will not be.
Due to power creep, Oven will never be relevant as a villain again. If he even comes back as a villain(which is doubtful), he will probably get defeated by Brooke or Franky and said fight will not have near as much build up as it did in WCI.
And all Oda needed to do was draw a few more chapters in the arc and he could have easily met expectations for sanji, fulfilled Oven's role as a villain, and added more to the story. Post tea party there was literally only 2 main plot points: the big mom subplot and the luffy vs katakuri subplot. Both of these seemed to drag on forever, causing many fans to get bored with the arc. Adding an extra fight, would have taken some weight off of those other two subplots to drive the entire arc as well as giving Sanji's character arc in WCI a satisfying conclusion because god knows how underwhelming the whole cake subplot was. The worst part is that from the looks of it, there would have been no downsides whatsoever if Oda chose to do this
It is for these reasons, that I have ultimately chosen to conclude that it was bad writing for Oda to not have had Sanji fight Oven in WCI
Fights in OP, are essentially the payoff to a conflict as well as a way for the fans to see their favorite characters in action.
So When you proclaim a 'year of sanji' and basically dedicate an arc to Sanji, is it too much to ask for Sanji to have one complete 1v1? Especially since he was absent in Dressrosa making his last true 1v1(before page one at least) in Fishman island. In a series in which battles are a major major part of the series, in which fights are essentially the payoff of almost every arc, is it too much to ask for one of the main characters of WCI to get just one fight?
I think not, I think it was perfectly reasonable to expect a fight from sanji in this arc. Sanji, unlike Robin who had a similar arc, is a main fighter in the SH crew. I know this was an entirely reasonable expectation because almost everyone thought sanji would get a fight in WCI before the arc began.
While expectations are created by the fans, authors can control expectations with their writing. If an expectation is completely reasonable, is the author doing a disservice to the reader by not meeting said expectation?
I think so, and in the case of WCI, I think it was bad writing on Oda's part to not give sanji a fight. But what's more is that not only did he not give Sanji a fight, he fully set up Sanji having a fight and then chose to not give him said fight. With this I am talking about Oven.
If you look at how Oven was portrayed in the latter parts(post tea-party) of WCI, he was essentially the third biggest antagonist of the arc right behind Big Mom and Katakuri.
Oven not only killed pound, he was leading the charge to kill luffy. It was oven who was on WCI standing in front of the mirror with his glaive, waiting for Luffy to pop out so that he could slice him. It was oven that was commanding the entire forces on Cacao island.
So what happened to Oven? Nothing, absolutely fucking nothing. He got decked by a couple of characters: Sanji, Capone, and Ichiji. But there was no payoff for the build up he had as a villain. Absolutely nothing.
Were there other unresolved plot points? Yeah, sure. Sanji's relationship with judge was never resolved, but Oda could(and most likely will) bring back judge in a later arc to resolve that subplot.
But as for Oven, Oda absolutely wasted his potential as a villain, he had so much build up, but it was all for fucking nothing. Why? Because Luffy by wano's end, Luffy will be an emperor. He will easily be a top tier, with Sanji and Zoro easily being YC level. Whereas in WCI, there was real question as to if Sanji could even beat Oven, post wano there will not be.
Due to power creep, Oven will never be relevant as a villain again. If he even comes back as a villain(which is doubtful), he will probably get defeated by Brooke or Franky and said fight will not have near as much build up as it did in WCI.
And all Oda needed to do was draw a few more chapters in the arc and he could have easily met expectations for sanji, fulfilled Oven's role as a villain, and added more to the story. Post tea party there was literally only 2 main plot points: the big mom subplot and the luffy vs katakuri subplot. Both of these seemed to drag on forever, causing many fans to get bored with the arc. Adding an extra fight, would have taken some weight off of those other two subplots to drive the entire arc as well as giving Sanji's character arc in WCI a satisfying conclusion because god knows how underwhelming the whole cake subplot was. The worst part is that from the looks of it, there would have been no downsides whatsoever if Oda chose to do this
It is for these reasons, that I have ultimately chosen to conclude that it was bad writing for Oda to not have had Sanji fight Oven in WCI
