Hey Guys, I have lurked here for a while to keep up with OP. With Wano over and a new saga starting next week, I am kind of burned out. Zoro is my most favorite OP character (followed by Luffy, Nami, and Doflamingo), so I think this Zoro FC is the right place to get some enthusiasm back. Most of this post is kind of a rant, but please bear with me. I really want to see if you guys still have the enthusiasm that I lost during Wano.
I have been following OP since 2005. Luffy, Zoro and Nami are (although Luffy is less likable than he was before) my favorites. I initially perceived it as a story where few dumb guys visit exotic islands, get into ridiculous conflict and beat up bad guys. But over the years, the story evolved to something else. Recently it feels more like a story of a great savior. So, my enjoyment was already dropping when we started Wano. My annoyance peaked during Udon, but I still kept reading weekly to mainly see some development on Zoro like Sanji got in Whole Cake Island.
That development never came. I expected Ryuma lore, almost nothing but annoying teases. I expected Zoro heritage (well...initially I didn’t, till Oda dropped that SBS hinting Zoro may be a Shimotsuki), nothing but teases. I expected Luffy/Zoro tag team vs. Kaido, nope. And every time Zoro got something, Oda took it back very soon somehow. Zoro fought Kaido in rooftop: "Well, I only did it because of 1000 chapter celebration". Zoro got Conquerer's Haki: Well, Luffy, Kid and Law all ultimately won with their Devil Fruit, not Haki. To put salt on the wound, an Admiral just crushed the Guy Zoro had to work hard to beat. For every good thing that happened to Zoro in this arc, Oda managed to make it lackluster later on with his commentary or something else.
Which brings me to my first question. With the new Saga being called Final Saga, how many Zoro-centric chapters do you expect till the end of the story? Suppose there are 250 chapters left (that's roughly the length of the Yonkou saga). Since we are not getting any background on Zoro and with Zoro's only relevance in the story being a fighter against the second (or third, depending on Law/Kid situation) strongest in the antagonist group, and with Oda not interested in drawing any fight for more than 2 chapters (unless it involves Luffy), how many Zoro-centric chapter can we realistically expect?
Shiryu - 2 chapters
An Admiral - 2 chapters
Mihawk - 2 chapters
Is that it? Do I really have to go through 250 chapters again for only 6 Zoro-Centric chapters? Because I am losing my fondness for Luffy and Nami is MIA. I used to care about Roger and the Void century a lot, but Oden's Flashback has made Roger goofy and less interesting. How many Zoro-centric chapters do you think we can get if go through the filth that is almost surely even more disgusting than Wano.
Second question is, how much should I lower my expectation to be able to enjoy Zoro's journey? It seems to me that among the well known Shonens (Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter etc.), Zoro is the "second fiddle" with least development. Hell...even Ishida got more of a personal journey in Bleach (and I am not sure he even qualifies as a second fiddle) than Zoro has had (the only two times where Zoro's personal struggle really hit me were in Alabasta when he unlocked breath of all things and in Kuraigana when he begged Mihawk, Ebisu was so wasted). Never mind the likes of Hiei, Vegeta or Sasuke.
Sorry for bringing so much negativity to a place where we are supposed to be positive about Zoro. But I really wanted hardcore Zoro fans' opinions and only Zoro fans' opinions. If you guys also think that Zoro-centric chapters will be very few-and-far between as well, may be I will stop reading weekly and let the series end before picking it up again.
Thanks for reading.