Act Two was bloated, but it’s been overall pretty good and the Raid has been great.
Divisive aspects have been Oden (I don’t think there’s ever been a more marmite character) and power level jumps (I don’t care about this and think the series needs it to move forward anyway. Certainly isn’t any worse than the EL powerups).
Big problem- the timejump. It worked for setting up Wano itself as an island, the years of despair for the locals, but I think it’s very clear that Oda struggled badly to fit it into the wider story. Which led to dancing Oden and Whitebeard the pacifist.
Act Two bloat. Too much time spent on Luffy in Udon, when I think the majority of readers would rather have focused on the Strawhats infiltrating the Flower Capital and then fighting Orochi’s forces, because that was simply the more interesting story than Luffy versus a fucking alpaca
Related to that and a core problem- the cast of hundreds. Oda simply cannot give every character the focus required, so some lose out. And he’s made bad decisions on which to focus on.
In Act Two, Zoro and Yasu should have been developed more than Luffy and Hyogoro. Yasu dying didn’t land. Neither did Kanjuro’s betrayal. These are what is important in OP, character moments that are Oda’s strength. Not the inner working of Haki.
There are too many superfluous characters, particularly among the Wano natives. Two characters who dealt with criminal aspects, are strong and were mentally broken (Ashura and Hyo)- why not combine them? Have Asura captured with Luffy at the end of Act One, bond with him, teach him Ryou then come around in the end,
Denjiro and Kawamatsu. Could be one character, associated mostly with Hiyori and loosely with Zoro. It’s not like Kawamats’s imprisonment was vitally important.
Inu and Neko. Could be one character, their conflict was resolved quickly and not that important.
Kiku and Izo. Again, could be one character, neither has been all that important. I’ll say that Oda has always planned for Izo, Kiku hasn’t done much though.
Does Shinobu need to exist?
Nothing will ever convince me that Big Mom was planned to come to Wano until a chapter or two before it happened. Her threat level has never been balanced right, although the last chapter was good.
Kaido has shown glimmers of an interesting character, he’s really a hit or miss depending on what’s done when he’s (finally) focused on more than just a person for Luffy to hit.
I compare Wano to Arlong Park, Alabasta, EL and Dressrosa and the one thing that stands out as the biggest change (and Dressrosa had the same problem) is just that there are too many characters. Mildly dumb plot developments or shortcuts I don’t mind, Oda’s always done that and most of it is people wanting One Piece to be a fundamentally different series than it is.
This sounds more overly negative than I actually feel but I’m better at criticising than complimenting. I think the Strawhats vs the Flying Six has been great and something we’ve needed for years. The rooftop fight was good. Generally I’m looking forward to all the main Beast Pirates showing their stuff. When Oda gets Big Mom right, it is actually very good. The interludes should have been something Oda started back on Dressrosa as a way of breaking up the plot in long arcs and seeing the rest of the world. Orochi is fun. I liked most of the Oden flashback.
And as a slight tangent, as someone who mostly dropped the anime years ago, it’s been really good in Wano. Best it’s been in years. I still think sakuga is a bad fit for One Piece though.
Divisive aspects have been Oden (I don’t think there’s ever been a more marmite character) and power level jumps (I don’t care about this and think the series needs it to move forward anyway. Certainly isn’t any worse than the EL powerups).
Big problem- the timejump. It worked for setting up Wano itself as an island, the years of despair for the locals, but I think it’s very clear that Oda struggled badly to fit it into the wider story. Which led to dancing Oden and Whitebeard the pacifist.
Act Two bloat. Too much time spent on Luffy in Udon, when I think the majority of readers would rather have focused on the Strawhats infiltrating the Flower Capital and then fighting Orochi’s forces, because that was simply the more interesting story than Luffy versus a fucking alpaca
Related to that and a core problem- the cast of hundreds. Oda simply cannot give every character the focus required, so some lose out. And he’s made bad decisions on which to focus on.
In Act Two, Zoro and Yasu should have been developed more than Luffy and Hyogoro. Yasu dying didn’t land. Neither did Kanjuro’s betrayal. These are what is important in OP, character moments that are Oda’s strength. Not the inner working of Haki.
There are too many superfluous characters, particularly among the Wano natives. Two characters who dealt with criminal aspects, are strong and were mentally broken (Ashura and Hyo)- why not combine them? Have Asura captured with Luffy at the end of Act One, bond with him, teach him Ryou then come around in the end,
Denjiro and Kawamatsu. Could be one character, associated mostly with Hiyori and loosely with Zoro. It’s not like Kawamats’s imprisonment was vitally important.
Inu and Neko. Could be one character, their conflict was resolved quickly and not that important.
Kiku and Izo. Again, could be one character, neither has been all that important. I’ll say that Oda has always planned for Izo, Kiku hasn’t done much though.
Does Shinobu need to exist?
Nothing will ever convince me that Big Mom was planned to come to Wano until a chapter or two before it happened. Her threat level has never been balanced right, although the last chapter was good.
Kaido has shown glimmers of an interesting character, he’s really a hit or miss depending on what’s done when he’s (finally) focused on more than just a person for Luffy to hit.
I compare Wano to Arlong Park, Alabasta, EL and Dressrosa and the one thing that stands out as the biggest change (and Dressrosa had the same problem) is just that there are too many characters. Mildly dumb plot developments or shortcuts I don’t mind, Oda’s always done that and most of it is people wanting One Piece to be a fundamentally different series than it is.
This sounds more overly negative than I actually feel but I’m better at criticising than complimenting. I think the Strawhats vs the Flying Six has been great and something we’ve needed for years. The rooftop fight was good. Generally I’m looking forward to all the main Beast Pirates showing their stuff. When Oda gets Big Mom right, it is actually very good. The interludes should have been something Oda started back on Dressrosa as a way of breaking up the plot in long arcs and seeing the rest of the world. Orochi is fun. I liked most of the Oden flashback.
And as a slight tangent, as someone who mostly dropped the anime years ago, it’s been really good in Wano. Best it’s been in years. I still think sakuga is a bad fit for One Piece though.
10/10
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
10/10
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
10/10
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
Very consistent arc. Oden flashback's forward all chapters are 8.0+ in my opinion, with many 9.5-10/10 chapters.
I dont understand how so many people think Wano is shit but dont drop the series lol
I mean I stopped reading bleach as soon they entered that fullbringer arc because the chapters were all 4/10 or lower
3/10 right now because nami, sanji, and carrot keep getting shafted 
The only redeeming parts for me have been the Zoro hype and Robin’s chapter
I really only care about the straw hats and some specific allies so I hate the fact that there’s so much focus on characters I don’t give a shit about like kid, tama, etc
The only redeeming parts for me have been the Zoro hype and Robin’s chapter
I really only care about the straw hats and some specific allies so I hate the fact that there’s so much focus on characters I don’t give a shit about like kid, tama, etc