Just out of fun (and as a way to make the working condition of artists in the exploitative manga industry a bit better) I thought about One Piece as a monthly series with three current chapters working as one monthly one and I realised that either consciously or unconsciously Oda actually paces his story to be read in that way.
And I don’t mean any three chapters combined, but that the 3 chapter rhythm was used ever since the start of the serialisation (Chapters 1-3) and than went on from there (Chapters 4-6, 97-99, 298-300) and it is still used in the latest chapters (Chapters 982-984, Chapters 985-987, Chapters 988-990).
These 3 chapters form together one story / episode with the endings of the first and second chapters in that sequence functioning as act-breaks and the ending of the third chapter as the true cliffhanger. I think that the structure of the story makes more sense in that way, it’s ways more focused, emphasis is placed on different moments and the story proggession seems way faster. Especially is you give the cliffhanger some weight by stopping (either an actual pause or a mental recognition that one episode has ended and another one is about to begin).
Is sounds very strange but you should try it out for yourself.
I’ve found that for example the following sequences work way better that way:
· Chapters 706-708 (I’ve nether realised that it’s bookended)
· Chapters 781-783 (progression of the birdcage feels way more threatening)
· Chapters 817-819 (also bookended)
· Chapters 934-936 (main focus on Hyo and the bathhouse, Zorro as cliffhanger)
· Chapters 937-939 (main focus on Zorro, Hiyori and the prisoners, Udon as cliffhanger)
· Chapters 940-942 (main focus on Yasu, smile as cliffhanger)
· … any other Wano sequence
Thus making the story of One Piece - instead of being strikly devided in individual 17-page-long chapters, arcs, sagas or pre/post-timeskip phases - a continously published series of 50-page-long stories / episodes and in my option the true masterpiece of serialised storytelling.
And I don’t mean any three chapters combined, but that the 3 chapter rhythm was used ever since the start of the serialisation (Chapters 1-3) and than went on from there (Chapters 4-6, 97-99, 298-300) and it is still used in the latest chapters (Chapters 982-984, Chapters 985-987, Chapters 988-990).
These 3 chapters form together one story / episode with the endings of the first and second chapters in that sequence functioning as act-breaks and the ending of the third chapter as the true cliffhanger. I think that the structure of the story makes more sense in that way, it’s ways more focused, emphasis is placed on different moments and the story proggession seems way faster. Especially is you give the cliffhanger some weight by stopping (either an actual pause or a mental recognition that one episode has ended and another one is about to begin).
Is sounds very strange but you should try it out for yourself.
I’ve found that for example the following sequences work way better that way:
· Chapters 706-708 (I’ve nether realised that it’s bookended)
· Chapters 781-783 (progression of the birdcage feels way more threatening)
· Chapters 817-819 (also bookended)
· Chapters 934-936 (main focus on Hyo and the bathhouse, Zorro as cliffhanger)
· Chapters 937-939 (main focus on Zorro, Hiyori and the prisoners, Udon as cliffhanger)
· Chapters 940-942 (main focus on Yasu, smile as cliffhanger)
· … any other Wano sequence
Thus making the story of One Piece - instead of being strikly devided in individual 17-page-long chapters, arcs, sagas or pre/post-timeskip phases - a continously published series of 50-page-long stories / episodes and in my option the true masterpiece of serialised storytelling.
