Break Week Rare One Piece Praise Post-Lucci’s Power Growth

Elder Lee Hung

Conqueror of the Stars
#1
Hello everyone,

Shitting on Oda seems to be the cool thing to do these days, and in this regard I can certainly be considered one of the coolest kids on the block.

However, today I’d like to do something I haven’t done in years and that is actually praise Oda for what is, in my opinion, a good writing decision overall.

I had a lot of time to think about why Oda would have Lucci seemingly keep pace with Luffy’s growth rate (or at least seem much closer than I thought he would be). I was on record in the past as saying that I did not believe Lucci would come back as strong as he did:

Lucci and Luffy were pretty much the exact same overall power level at Enies Lobby. If Reverie Lucci was already YC1, a level that Luffy at that point had debatably not even attained yet, then that would mean Lucci grew just as fast as Luffy did, or faster.

And Luffy’s growth rate is already completely abnormal from every source we have. I don’t see a reason to think Lucci grew that quickly, in fact I think it’s ludicrous to suggest he grew that fast. Even YC3 is a pretty big jump in power considering Lucci pre-TS was what? Oven level overall? Going from Oven to Cracker in 2 years just seems huge to me lol.
So you can imagine my surprise after Lucci busting out awakening and holding his own against Gear 5.

At first I thought, why would Oda make Lucci so strong? Is it because Lucci was a main-arc villain and is well-known to fans? Well, maybe, but that wouldn’t explain why Oda took the specific time to show Lucci as having grown much stronger due to training (Haki) and awakening, while with other big characters like Crocodile, Buggy, Akainu, or Caesar, Oda never explicitly claims that these characters have gotten stronger since they were introduced at all.

Is it because Lucci is popular? Well again maybe, but there are more popular characters than Lucci who never showed explicit Powerups like this.

What gives? Why would Oda have Lucci (relatively) keep pace with Luffy like this? Luffy’s growth rate has been stated multiple times as being “abnormal” (fast), even outpacing characters like Law and Kid. Luffy essentially went from being like, low New World Veteran level-ish at Marineford to Yonko level in 2 years. Now Lucci essentially did the same, having gone perhaps a similar range, low/mid New World Veteran level to clashing equally with Nika (somewhere in the top YC/low top tier range).

Well, I can’t say exactly what in Oda’s mind lead him to beef Lucci up like this, but what I can say is this:

Showing us that there are other characters out there who can grow rapidly in strength goes a long way towards making Luffy seem less like a completely unrepeatable god protagonist with zero flaws or limitations. If Oda would’ve had Luffy fodderize Lucci, then nobody would have been surprised and Luffy’s reputation as a generic messiah would’ve continued on un-checked.

Now however, we see that Luffy is far from the only “abnormally fast growing genius” out there. Even characters like Lucci, who most fans including myself had assumed was already at or near his maximum power level, still had a lot of growing to do and perhaps still isn’t even finished refining his strength. And him growing this much isn’t unbelievable as Lucci was always a genius and always had the possibility of awakening and training his Haki.

By showing us other characters who can still train and grow much stronger just like Luffy, Luffy looks less and less like a Demi-god, and more just like any other fast growing genius out there, and this in my opinion is a really good thing. It makes One Piece feel more like a living breathing world when we know that no matter how special our MC is, he is not some destiny child blessed by an invisible diety, not some video game protagonist who levels up at astronomical rates while everyone else stays at or near their starting level.

Idk. This shit makes the series more engaging to me, when other characters train and improve just like the MC does as long as it’s within reason. Other series like Black Clover do this too much I think, in Black Clover every characters gains huge strength increases every arc, but OP doing stuff like this in moderation is a really good thing.

I hope Oda does more things like this in the future, any and every decision he can make to make Luffy more relatable is a good thing.

Thoughts?

@SakazOuki @Sentinel @Blackbeard @Playa4321 @Veku @MarineHQ @Seth @AkainuTheGrimReaper @Chrono @kurwa @TheKnightOfTheSea @God Buggy @King7 @ShishioIsBack @HA001 OF THE RAIN @Yelan’s Minion etc
 
#3
Hello everyone,

Shitting on Oda seems to be the cool thing to do these days, and in this regard I can certainly be considered one of the coolest kids on the block.

However, today I’d like to do something I haven’t done in years and that is actually praise Oda for what is, in my opinion, a good writing decision overall.

I had a lot of time to think about why Oda would have Lucci seemingly keep pace with Luffy’s growth rate (or at least seem much closer than I thought he would be). I was on record in the past as saying that I did not believe Lucci would come back as strong as he did:



So you can imagine my surprise after Lucci busting out awakening and holding his own against Gear 5.

At first I thought, why would Oda make Lucci so strong? Is it because Lucci was a main-arc villain and is well-known to fans? Well, maybe, but that wouldn’t explain why Oda took the specific time to show Lucci as having grown much stronger due to training (Haki) and awakening, while with other big characters like Crocodile, Buggy, Akainu, or Caesar, Oda never explicitly claims that these characters have gotten stronger since they were introduced at all.

Is it because Lucci is popular? Well again maybe, but there are more popular characters than Lucci who never showed explicit Powerups like this.

What gives? Why would Oda have Lucci (relatively) keep pace with Luffy like this? Luffy’s growth rate has been stated multiple times as being “abnormal” (fast), even outpacing characters like Law and Kid. Luffy essentially went from being like, low New World Veteran level-ish at Marineford to Yonko level in 2 years. Now Lucci essentially did the same, having gone perhaps a similar range, low/mid New World Veteran level to clashing equally with Nika (somewhere in the top YC/low top tier range).

Well, I can’t say exactly what in Oda’s mind lead him to beef Lucci up like this, but what I can say is this:

Showing us that there are other characters out there who can grow rapidly in strength goes a long way towards making Luffy seem less like a completely unrepeatable god protagonist with zero flaws or limitations. If Oda would’ve had Luffy fodderize Lucci, then nobody would have been surprised and Luffy’s reputation as a generic messiah would’ve continued on un-checked.

Now however, we see that Luffy is far from the only “abnormally fast growing genius” out there. Even characters like Lucci, who most fans including myself had assumed was already at or near his maximum power level, still had a lot of growing to do and perhaps still isn’t even finished refining his strength. And him growing this much isn’t unbelievable as Lucci was always a genius and always had the possibility of awakening and training his Haki.

By showing us other characters who can still train and grow much stronger just like Luffy, Luffy looks less and less like a Demi-god, and more just like any other fast growing genius out there, and this in my opinion is a really good thing. It makes One Piece feel more like a living breathing world when we know that no matter how special our MC is, he is not some destiny child blessed by an invisible diety, not some video game protagonist who levels up at astronomical rates while everyone else stays at or near their starting level.

Idk. This shit makes the series more engaging to me, when other characters train and improve just like the MC does as long as it’s within reason. Other series like Black Clover do this too much I think, in Black Clover every characters gains huge strength increases every arc, but OP doing stuff like this in moderation is a really good thing.

I hope Oda does more things like this in the future, any and every decision he can make to make Luffy more relatable is a good thing.

Thoughts?

@SakazOuki @Sentinel @Blackbeard @Playa4321 @Veku @MarineHQ @Seth @AkainuTheGrimReaper @Chrono @kurwa @TheKnightOfTheSea @God Buggy @King7 @ShishioIsBack @HA001 OF THE RAIN @Yelan’s Minion etc
The conveniently timed awakening is the only thing that bothers me

If he has coc/acoc then I am calling bullshit
 
#4
It's really bothersome that people want Luffy to be the strongest in the verse when the final arc just started, able to wash any and all.
This is not first time you highlight how important it is for training to have value in the verse, now I understand what you meant. It's actually refreshing that Lucci is a villain that Luffy failed to break, and I think this is more or less attributed to Lucci's loyalty to the WG.
You can't break this man's spirit unless you dismantle the government backing him up.

The right to grow stronger shouldn't be reserved for the protagonists, hopefully Smoker's return delivers soon.
 
#6
It's really bothersome that people want Luffy to be the strongest in the verse when the final arc just started, able to wash any and all.
This is not first time you highlight how important it is for training to have value in the verse, now I understand what you meant. It's actually refreshing that Lucci is a villain that Luffy failed to break, and I think this is more or less attributed to Lucci's loyalty to the WG.
You can't break this man's spirit unless you dismantle the government backing him up.

The right to grow stronger shouldn't be reserved for the protagonists, hopefully Smoker's return delivers soon.
people don't want fluffy to be the strongest they want him to be a genuine threat and not waste time with non top tiers or low top tiers.
 
#7
It's really bothersome that people want Luffy to be the strongest in the verse when the final arc just started, able to wash any and all.
This is not first time you highlight how important it is for training to have value in the verse, now I understand what you meant. It's actually refreshing that Lucci is a villain that Luffy failed to break, and I think this is more or less attributed to Lucci's loyalty to the WG.
You can't break this man's spirit unless you dismantle the government backing him up.

The right to grow stronger shouldn't be reserved for the protagonists, hopefully Smoker's return delivers soon.
Same can be said for Enel and Croc as well. They're villains and still do their own thing. And I hope for Smoker and Tashigi to grow as well. I don't like overpowered MCs unless it's a series like Noblesse and ToG which made that clear from the start and where it's expected.
 
#9
Same can be said for Enel and Croc as well. They're villains and still do their own thing. And I hope for Smoker and Tashigi to grow as well. I don't like overpowered MCs unless it's a series like Noblesse and ToG which made that clear from the start and where it's expected.
fluffy is not op it is just getting to the end the series or do you not expect fluffy to be the strongest at eos
 
#10
fluffy is not op it is just getting to the end the series or do you not expect fluffy to be the strongest at eos
I do. But I also expect recurring antagonists to get stronger to be a match for him. It's not hard. This series is ending and if we're gonna see antagonists improving, then it's now. If Enel returns He will be strong af as well. Croc is a 2b man now which is almost twice the amount Sanji has. We are bound to see some cool stuff from them. The One Piece world isn't static when it comes to power. Everyone equally has the power to decide the future (quote from Bege). Just like everyone equally has the opportunity to grow.
 
#11
Good thread.....it makes sense Lucci to grow....just hope that he doesn't have adCoC...I mean ryou is fine....I like this explanation and genuinely hope for the growth of other characters like Kidd, Smoker, Enel....

and at the same time, I just hope Luffy should atleast look like a person with 3 billion bounty and a reputation worth a yonko...see Law for example...he is done good enough or atleast shown that he is worth 3 billion against Blackbeard.....
 
#14
Good thread.....it makes sense Lucci to grow....just hope that he doesn't have adCoC...I mean ryou is fine....I like this explanation and genuinely hope for the growth of other characters like Kidd, Smoker, Enel....

and at the same time, I just hope Luffy should atleast look like a person with 3 billion bounty and a reputation worth a yonko...see Law for example...he is done good enough or atleast shown that he is worth 3 billion against Blackbeard.....
I think the problem is that Lucci was already the main villain of an arc. If he was a new character hyped as CP0's fighting genius people would complain less I guess. I also want Luffy to show his worth, but at the same time Kaido was worth 4.3m + and it's even weirder Luffy hasn't surpassed that bounty yet anyway (which he did with 30m after Arlong's 20, 100m after Croc's 80m, 400m after Moria's 320, 1.5b after Kata's 1b...it just doesn't feel right).
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Luffy is basically fighting the head of CP0, if Luffy wipes the floor with ease he would be OP.

Luffy is not going easy diff the characters in front of him unless it's confirmed fodder like Bellamy.
Don't think he's the head of CP0, but vice leader for sure similar to Sabo in the Revo Army.
 

K!NG HARA$H!MA

Hustlerversity Graduate
#15
I think the problem is that Lucci was already the main villain of an arc. If he was a new character hyped as CP0's fighting genius people would complain less I guess. I also want Luffy to show his worth, but at the same time Kaido was worth 4.3m + and it's even weirder Luffy hasn't surpassed that bounty yet anyway (which he did with 30m after Arlong's 20, 100m after Croc's 80m, 400m after Moria's 320, 1.5b after Kata's 1b...it just doesn't feel right).
Post automatically merged:


Don't think he's the head of CP0, but vice leader for sure similar to Sabo in the Revo Army.
The head of CPO probably another Zodiac
 
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