Break Week Wano, not even a top 10 arc?

In your opinion, Wano is...

  • The best arc in the series.

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • Top 5.

    Votes: 16 35.6%
  • Top 10.

    Votes: 12 26.7%
  • Top 15.

    Votes: 7 15.6%
  • Not even top 15/Top 10 - 5 WORST arcs in the series.

    Votes: 9 20.0%

  • Total voters
    45
#1
To preface this, I don't think Wano is bad. It's decent. A weird mix of some of the best and worst moments in the series. I'm holding off from giving a full verdict just because a lot could happen in the last 10-20 chapters.

Off the top of my head, Enies Lobby, Marineford, Saobody Archipelago, Impel Down, and Alabasta are all currently better than Wano (and I would argue all of the above being better than Wano is kind of obvious).

So automatically Wano is almost definitely not going to be a top 5 arc.

And honestly, I think arcs like Zou, the Reverie, post-MF, Return to Saobody, and even arcs like WCI and Dressrosa have a strong argument for being better than Wano. Like I think someone could realistically rate all of those arcs higher and their opinion wouldn't be egregious.

So it might not be top 10 either.

What are your thoughts?

Edit:
I know Alabasta is technically a saga not an arc, but if I were to break it down things would just look worse for Wano.
 
#2
Alabasta takes things too far with the suspension of disbelief in the fights and features the absolute worst fakeout death in the series, Return to Sabaody is garbage barring a few hype moments, the Reverie is more of an info-dump, Zou was similar but longer and Dressrosa was genuinely painful to read until Law's flashback. Impel Down also didn't hit as hard for me as it did for other people.

I've liked Wano quite a bit overall, bingeing the arc up to Chapter 991 was definitely an enjoyable experience and I'd say it's top 5 for me, with Marineford, Water 7, Enies Lobby and WCI being better currently.

I think Act 1 was a very solid introduction to the country of Wano, with fun character interactions and the main highlight being Kaido destroying Luffy to showcase the power of an Emperor. Act 2 was slow at times but still kept up with fun and intriguing character interactions, Queen made Udon pretty damn entertaining and Luffy getting an actual on-screen training arc was great, since he's never trained before fighting whoever it is in previous arcs. Act 3 started off with one of the very best flashback tales in the series and the general hype leading towards beginning the raid on Onigashima was great to experience, and of course Roof Piece was just amazing and we got some truly great chapters in 2021. There have been some glaring misses, like the fakeout deaths of Kin'emon and Kiku, the almost total lack of relevance given to Carrot and Wanda this arc, Usopp and Brook not having real moments to shine (although this could certainly change later) and a few more minor grievances. I think most of the fights could have been a little longer and had better choreography too, especially in the case of Sanji vs Queen. However, that same fight also gave one of Sanji's best moments in the series and we've seen some great character moments for the likes of Zoro, Nami, Robin, Momonosuke and Killer too.

I'll wait until the end of Wano to properly finalize my ranking of the arc though.

I don't know why there's such a large anti-Wano stigma here, when a lot of the common complaints about Wano can be applied to previous arcs too. I can use Enies Lobby as an example, where the powerups are way more bullshit, every fight besides Luffy vs Lucci was goofy as hell, fakeout deaths were arguably worse with the Franky Family all surviving after such a powerful scene showing Franky's shock, and of course the ridiculousness of the Going Merry showing up. Also not a single death and no consequences suffered despite the Straw Hats attacking a heavily guarded Marine/WG base.
 
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#3
Alabasta takes things too far with the suspension of disbelief in the fights and features the absolute worst fakeout death in the series, Return to Sabaody is garbage barring a few hype moments, the Reverie is more of an info-dump, Zou was similar but longer and Dressrosa was genuinely painful to read until Law's flashback. Impel Down also didn't hit as hard for me as it did for other people.

I've liked Wano quite a bit overall, bingeing the arc up to Chapter 991 was definitely an enjoyable experience and I'd say it's top 5 for me, with Marineford, Water 7, Enies Lobby and WCI being better currently. I'll wait until the end of Wano to properly finalize my ranking of the arc though.

I don't know why there's such a large anti-Wano stigma here, when a lot of the common complaints about Wano can be applied to previous arcs too. I can use Enies Lobby as an example, where the powerups are way more bullshit, every fight besides Luffy vs Lucci was goofy as hell, fakeout deaths were arguably worse with the Franky Family all surviving after such a powerful scene showing Franky's shock, and of course the ridiculousness of the Going Merry showing up. Also not a single death and no consequences suffered despite the Straw Hats attacking a heavily guarded Marine/WG base.
you dropped this 👑
 
#5
Alabasta takes things too far with the suspension of disbelief in the fights and features the absolute worst fakeout death in the series, Return to Sabaody is garbage barring a few hype moments, the Reverie is more of an info-dump, Zou was similar but longer and Dressrosa was genuinely painful to read until Law's flashback. Impel Down also didn't hit as hard for me as it did for other people.

I've liked Wano quite a bit overall, bingeing the arc up to Chapter 991 was definitely an enjoyable experience and I'd say it's top 5 for me, with Marineford, Water 7, Enies Lobby and WCI being better currently.

I think Act 1 was a very solid introduction to the country of Wano, with fun character interactions and the main highlight being Kaido destroying Luffy to showcase the power of an Emperor. Act 2 was slow at times but still kept up with fun and intriguing character interactions, Queen made Udon pretty damn entertaining and Luffy getting an actual on-screen training arc was great, since he's never trained before fighting whoever it is in previous arcs. Act 3 started off with one of the very best flashback tales in the series and the general hype leading towards beginning the raid on Onigashima was great to experience, and of course Roof Piece was just amazing and we got some truly great chapters in 2021. There have been some glaring misses, like the fakeout deaths of Kin'emon and Kiku, the almost total lack of relevance given to Carrot and Wanda this arc, Usopp and Brook not having real moments to shine (although this could certainly change later) and a few more minor grievances. I think most of the fights could have been a little longer and had better choreography too, especially in the case of Sanji vs Queen. However, that same fight also gave one of Sanji's best moments in the series and we've seen some great character moments for the likes of Zoro, Nami, Robin, Momonosuke and Killer too.

I'll wait until the end of Wano to properly finalize my ranking of the arc though.

I don't know why there's such a large anti-Wano stigma here, when a lot of the common complaints about Wano can be applied to previous arcs too. I can use Enies Lobby as an example, where the powerups are way more bullshit, every fight besides Luffy vs Lucci was goofy as hell, fakeout deaths were arguably worse with the Franky Family all surviving after such a powerful scene showing Franky's shock, and of course the ridiculousness of the Going Merry showing up. Also not a single death and no consequences suffered despite the Straw Hats attacking a heavily guarded Marine/WG base.
I have a response to this that’s predicated on character writing (mostly this one - believe it or not I actually think think the Oden flashback is terrible and where Wano starts to fall apart a little) and general arc/build up structure, but I can’t write it for a few hours because I’m at work.
 
#7
Alabasta takes things too far with the suspension of disbelief in the fights and features the absolute worst fakeout death in the series, Return to Sabaody is garbage barring a few hype moments, the Reverie is more of an info-dump, Zou was similar but longer and Dressrosa was genuinely painful to read until Law's flashback. Impel Down also didn't hit as hard for me as it did for other people.

I've liked Wano quite a bit overall, bingeing the arc up to Chapter 991 was definitely an enjoyable experience and I'd say it's top 5 for me, with Marineford, Water 7, Enies Lobby and WCI being better currently.

I think Act 1 was a very solid introduction to the country of Wano, with fun character interactions and the main highlight being Kaido destroying Luffy to showcase the power of an Emperor. Act 2 was slow at times but still kept up with fun and intriguing character interactions, Queen made Udon pretty damn entertaining and Luffy getting an actual on-screen training arc was great, since he's never trained before fighting whoever it is in previous arcs. Act 3 started off with one of the very best flashback tales in the series and the general hype leading towards beginning the raid on Onigashima was great to experience, and of course Roof Piece was just amazing and we got some truly great chapters in 2021. There have been some glaring misses, like the fakeout deaths of Kin'emon and Kiku, the almost total lack of relevance given to Carrot and Wanda this arc, Usopp and Brook not having real moments to shine (although this could certainly change later) and a few more minor grievances. I think most of the fights could have been a little longer and had better choreography too, especially in the case of Sanji vs Queen. However, that same fight also gave one of Sanji's best moments in the series and we've seen some great character moments for the likes of Zoro, Nami, Robin, Momonosuke and Killer too.

I'll wait until the end of Wano to properly finalize my ranking of the arc though.

I don't know why there's such a large anti-Wano stigma here, when a lot of the common complaints about Wano can be applied to previous arcs too. I can use Enies Lobby as an example, where the powerups are way more bullshit, every fight besides Luffy vs Lucci was goofy as hell, fakeout deaths were arguably worse with the Franky Family all surviving after such a powerful scene showing Franky's shock, and of course the ridiculousness of the Going Merry showing up. Also not a single death and no consequences suffered despite the Straw Hats attacking a heavily guarded Marine/WG base.
I thoroughly disagree. Any complaints about Wano present in any other arcs are not nearly as egregious as they are in Wano.

- None of the power ups in Ennies Lobby were to the level of Zoro not even knowing he has Conqueror's Haki to then be able to apply the coating not shortly after. Same goes for Luffy who was pretty even with Lucci in Gear 2 and used Gear 3 to injure his leg. On the other hand, with Kaido the first power up (ryuo) was basically treated as worth little to nothing, so he needed another one that basically changed him from just a nuisance to someone who could go toe to toe with Kaido.

- The Strawhats' 1 on 1s were well-contained in EL, unlike in Wano where Big Mom basically took care of 2 opponents for the Strawhats. Then there's stuff like Queen going after a random prostitute in the middle of his fight with Sanji. The "Oh My Lord" trap for Sanji was also a much worse version of the first time we see it with Kalifa. Even the fact it was repeated at all was rough. All the fights were also tied to the necessity of freeing Robin before she got to the Gates of Justice, while in Wano it's basically just to get things over and done.

- The Franky Family & Galley-La fake out was pretty much the only one. In Wano on the other hand, we've had 3 for Kanjuro alone, Kinemon, Kiku, Ashura Doji, Zeus, and even a pointless one for Luffy. The ones involving Kanjuro, Kiku & Ashura are all the worse because it was basically just due to Kiku's incompetence which none of the other Scabbards even bothered to verify.

- Then there's the bad to outright atrocious stuff that's Wano exclusive: Big Mom's amnesia, Mother mode, the treatment of the main antagonists, the Tama plot, the lack of tension, Camp I-wanna-go-train, pointless Drake plot, the Numbers, Mimawarigumi, roughshod Yamato inclusion, Jack & Perospero, etc.

It doesn't help that it is so long with so many of those problems spread throughout it as well. Being the umpteenth time a lot of the issues are being repeated compared to Ennies Lobby which would really only have been the 3rd time doesn't help either...especially when things like the fake out deaths didn't have the decency to wait to the end of the arc to pop up.
 
#8
I thoroughly disagree. Any complaints about Wano present in any other arcs are not nearly as egregious as they are in Wano.

- None of the power ups in Ennies Lobby were to the level of Zoro not even knowing he has Conqueror's Haki to then be able to apply the coating not shortly after. Same goes for Luffy who was pretty even with Lucci in Gear 2 and used Gear 3 to injure his leg. On the other hand, with Kaido the first power up (ryuo) was basically treated as worth little to nothing, so he needed another one that basically changed him from just a nuisance to someone who could go toe to toe with Kaido.

- The Strawhats' 1 on 1s were well-contained in EL, unlike in Wano where Big Mom basically took care of 2 opponents for the Strawhats. Then there's stuff like Queen going after a random prostitute in the middle of his fight with Sanji. The "Oh My Lord" trap for Sanji was also a much worse version of the first time we see it with Kalifa. Even the fact it was repeated at all was rough. All the fights were also tied to the necessity of freeing Robin before she got to the Gates of Justice, while in Wano it's basically just to get things over and done.

- The Franky Family & Galley-La fake out was pretty much the only one. In Wano on the other hand, we've had 3 for Kanjuro alone, Kinemon, Kiku, Ashura Doji, Zeus, and even a pointless one for Luffy. The ones involving Kanjuro, Kiku & Ashura are all the worse because it was basically just due to Kiku's incompetence which none of the other Scabbards even bothered to verify.

- Then there's the bad to outright atrocious stuff that's Wano exclusive: Big Mom's amnesia, Mother mode, the treatment of the main antagonists, the Tama plot, the lack of tension, Camp I-wanna-go-train, pointless Drake plot, the Numbers, Mimawarigumi, roughshod Yamato inclusion, Jack & Perospero, etc.

It doesn't help that it is so long with so many of those problems spread throughout it as well. Being the umpteenth time a lot of the issues are being repeated compared to Ennies Lobby which would really only have been the 3rd time doesn't help either...especially when things like the fake out deaths didn't have the decency to wait to the end of the arc to pop up.
There's a lot of stuff that you don't like which I personally didn't mind, so I can't say I can agree with you on a lot of the complaints that you have.

Asura was completely out of nowhere, whereas at least Zoro's power-up in Onigashima had some explanation and basis to it. Luffy was more than a nuisance for Kaido pre-1010; one Red Roc had him hallucinating, Kong Gatling put him on the ground for a short while and he actually made the effort to start dodging Luffy's attacks in 1009. Even after unlocking advanced CoC, Luffy was still beaten again before he returned with Momo, so not quite toe-to-toe with a Yonko right off the bat.

The fights in Enies Lobby were well-contained or whatever, but they lacked the tension or seriousness they should've had (imo) given what was at stake with Robin's rescue. The Straw Hats have struggled more in Wano than in Enies Lobby, with stuff like Nami and Usopp outright losing and almost dying, Luffy getting thrown into the ocean, Zoro getting put in a pack for 10 chapters straight etc, and that I prefer over Zoro getting annoyed by a goofy giraffe or the fanservice/stupid forms showed by Kalifa in Nami's fight for instance. Touching on Sanji getting trapped, it was to show his progress after WCI as a character (learning to rely on others) and to give Robin some of the validation that she had always wanted before meeting the Straw Hats. Personally don't really care about what led up to it.

Additionally, couldn't you also say that the fights in Wano are leading to the overall success of the raid, like how the fights in Enies Lobby led to Robin's rescue? CP0 even comment on this matter in Chapter 1003, that the officers needed to be defeated or they could take out hundreds of samurai each.

I don't think people actually thought that Zeus or Kanjuro would die (the first time round), Ashura Doji's status is not confirmed and why even bring up Luffy? He's been in near-death scenarios so many times but we know he won't actually die since he's the MC. Yeah I really dislike the other fake-out deaths in Wano and I think they're just as bad as the Franky Family/Galley-La fakeout deaths in Enies Lobby, given how the latter deaths were presented and the crew's reaction to what happened.

I keep hearing complaints about Big Mom's amnesia but I didn't actually care too much that it happened despite it being a plot device, so I'll just leave it as a case of personal preference. Same goes for Mother Mode and the Tama plot, because it seemed like Oda was interested in exploring more of BM's character and perhaps showing how unstable the alliance with Kaido was on some level. I will agree on Yamato's inclusion being forced though, and maybe she should've been the one to help out in Udon instead to introduce her earlier in the arc and build her up more naturally. I can also agree with the mishandling of the Numbers, Mimawarigumi, Jack and Perospero.

What do you mean by "Camp I-wanna-go-train", is this Udon you're talking about? How would you have felt if Luffy did no training at all before the raid and reached Yonko-level anyway? He started using advanced CoC because he realized Kaido was using the exact same technique that Luffy had been training to use in Udon, except with CoC instead of CoA.

Anyway, I've personally enjoyed Wano overall till now and it's okay if you don't like the arc, they're opinions at the end of the day. As an example, a lot of people hate Fishman Island but I thought it was a fairly good arc overall that did a decent job of setting up future plot lines for the rest of the story, as well as showing the Straw Hats' growth.
 
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#9
Hmmm lets see..... The Top 10 ........

1. Enies lobby
2. Marineford
3. Sabaody
4. Water 7
5. Arlong Park
6. Impel Down
7. Alabasta
8. Jaya
9. Baratie
10. Skypiea

Hmmmm yea looks like Wano is not Top 10.

It slides in the Top 15 tho.
 
#11
I'm not that big on Wano but let's see.

1. Enies Lobby
2. Water 7
3. Arlong Park
4. Alabasta
5. Impel Down
6. Skypeia
7. Thriller Bark
8. Sabaody
9. Baratie
10. Little Garden
11. Zou
12. Reverie
13. Marineford ( all this was spoiled for me )
14. Whisky Peak
15. Drum Island

** Orange Town ( honorable mention )
^^ If you want to combine water 7 & enies Lobby then move everything up one slot.
 
#15
Wano is tricky because there's 3 acts so far.

Act 1 was good.

Act 2 was just a mess and I did not enjoy it as much.

Act 3 is a mixed bag of good and bad, though personally there's been more bad than good simply because of execution.

So all of that overall drags wano down despite it having a nice start at the beginning.
 
#16
I'm particularly intrigued by how some things played out, not really how others played out.

I wish the arc featured a bit less chapters and much less secondary stuff in favor of more relevant content.
 
#18
I find Wano disappointing mostly for the fact that it has been hyped as (and could’ve been) the best arc in the series.
In itself, it’s great. The fundamental problem is that it follows the same exact scheme of every other arc, which made it predictable and dramatically diminished the tension. So far I would say that it’s a contender for the fifth place. Definitely top 7 in my book.

My ranking would be something like this:

1 Sabaody
2 Water 7
3 Enies Lobby
4 Dressrosa
5 Impel Down/Alabasta/Wano/WCI

Despite the well justified criticism, the sheer amount of hate that it gets is really excessive (and basically is the same trend that always happens on a weekly reading, where people overanalyse every single chapter and overreact about everything).
 
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#20
It's not decent, it's bad...
You can't compare Wano with Skypia for the reason of how Oda is dealing with SH here, or even with any characters. Skypia was bad for SH but still they acted as SH, and Tama there wasn't able to ruin anything that Enel planned.
While this one(Wano) is worst...it's like separate arc from other anime, some parody. Villains here a stupid ass...everything done so bad
 
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