One Piece Thread

**Zeb** · 2009-01-01 08:06

Wow, that filler arc is over already. I was expecting it to be as long as the Davy Back arc. Now on to more Brooke filler. I'm really surprised there isn't a New Years Special episode.

**yayaok** · 2009-01-01 10:34

definately a possibility for arlong. didnt notice the bellamy/shabondy thing, wow lol how did you catch that?
i can maybe see crocodile fitting in there somewhere too, just because of him wanting to get out of his cell and stuff

this arc seems really amazing, hope oda keeps surprising us with goods lol

**Pharaun** · 2009-01-01 10:47

This last chapter was really good, and Nami's gonna be pissed when she finds out that Luffy gave away a treasure map...

**Not Kuno** · 2009-01-01 10:57

Originally Posted by Pharaun

This last chapter was really good, and Nami's gonna be pissed when she finds out that Luffy gave away a treasure map...

I was just surprised it was actually something and not a random decoration.

**Pharaun** · 2009-01-01 11:47

True, it's seemed like a totally random little thing that had no bearing on the story. That's thing I love about One Piece. it has never felt like Oda has lost control of the story unlike some other series. *cough Bleach cough*

**Not Kuno** · 2009-01-01 11:58

Yeah. That's why it's so great.

Spoiler: show

**Pharaun** · 2009-01-01 12:04

Yeah, that makes sense

**Kaylia** · 2009-01-01 14:01

When did Nami gave that to Luffy? I vaguely remember the scene, but don't remember when it happened.

Can't say I enjoyed this chapter a lot, but as long Buggy is there, I don't think I will be able to. I'm glad he is progressing fast down that place tho.

**Not Kuno** · 2009-01-01 15:46

Why not? Buggy is hysterical. D:

Spoiler: show

**Souj** · 2009-01-01 16:51

let me first say, I don't hate one piece. I dont love it, but I don't hate it. It's alot better than bleach is atm.
now let me say the part that will probably get people to argue with me...

Spoiler: show

**Eaglestrike** · 2009-01-01 17:07

I'll definately disagree with you. There are essentially only 3 "parts" of the world. There are the Blues (East/west/north/south, starter areas), Grand Line and now this "new" area, which is just the 2nd half of the Grand Line, but it's essentially the "end-game" of the manga. And I am somewhat sure that it was explained this place exists at the very start, maybe not as hyped up, but that it exists.

OP is a light-hearted manga, it shows on Sunday mornings. Bleach is in the evening and is supposed to be more 'serious' and all sorts of fights to the death...but there is no death. OP doesn't play itself off as a hardcore battle royale deathzone, so it's ok that people don't die in it.

I don't see most things he uses as "vague" and I do think they have a more connected/planned feel to it. But I don't really think I can try to convince you otherwise on that.

**Correction** · 2009-01-01 19:06

Originally Posted by Souj

tripe

Spoiler: show

Gol D Roger Died
Everyone on the island Robin grew up on died
Nami's mom was murdered in front of her

The list goes on. Using death as a way to retire characters is not One Piece's style. It uses it to strengthen out the concept of 'new generation' versus 'past generation' that is actually very much at the core of the storytelling in the series. All the principals in OP, except for evidently Luffy, all have some very strong motivations for their actions founded by the memory of the departed.

Furthermore, this isn't a superhero movie. Not every bad guy needs to die. The uniqueness of the character designs almost demands they make comebacks in one way or another. I honestly don't care if a bad guy ends up unconscious or dead at the end of an arc. Why is it important to you? You're like Fred Savage in The Princess Bride "WHO KILLS HUMPERDINK???!?!?"

And even though OP's writing uses the 'vague eventually into focus' trope seen in every WSJ serial, it does it in a satisfying way. We don't get characters grimacing for 10 pages, then unleashing some new surprise attack, then 'HAH I WAS HOPING NOT TO USE THIS' counterattacks for 10 fucking chapters (sup Bleach, sup Naruto). We get fights that reach a conclusion in a quick matter and then we get more story building. What is happening now in the current arc has some strong implications for the climax of what is going to happen between the World Government and the most powerful pirates in the world. This has been building to a head since the Water 7 arc. Hell, it's been hinted at since the end of the Alabasta arc. The series may jump randomly from one locale to another but it is about sailing and it is about adventure. Fuck 'konoha village' or 'soul society.' I love Oda's art and I prefer him moving the story around as much as he does.

The only thing you lack is faith that Oda will pay off all the anticipation of what lies at the end of Grand Line. And for some reason, a sense of fun, which comes through in every effing panel of One Piece.

**Souj** · 2009-01-01 19:55

True One Piece doesn't need to kill people off. never said they did. just said noones complained about it in this thread like they do in bleach, which is most likely because alot of the readers are a different fanbase. And I'd say its important because it adds a greater sense of resolution, which OP can't do because then he wouldnt be able to add that character in later in a different arc. Though even death sometimes doesnt stop a writer from making some plot device to bring back someone who had "died".

and as far as your list of dead people go, Bleach has a list of people who have dies also. I'm more talking about people who contributed to the current plot, not really people who died in a flashback.
I really do hate to keep using Bleach as an example, because Ive been hating it more and more as it goes, but it's a good example to keep using...

even though OP's writing uses the 'vague eventually into focus' trope seen in every WSJ serial, it does it in a satisfying way. We don't get characters grimacing for 10 pages, then unleashing some new surprise attack

That's just bad writing and him stretching out things that really dont need to be stretched out. not exactly what I was talking about. More like along the lines of total story/character progression/interaction.

**Correction** · 2009-01-01 20:29

I'm not trying really hard to but I can't really recall any long-format shonen manga that develops relationships past a superficial 'my friends and I are strong and we fight bad guys' level. Picking on One Piece for following the pack here is not a strong criticism against it. I'm still unclear on where your 'lack of story progression' is coming from. Each self-contained arc does conclude and Luffy does get further along his adventure, which as seen here One Piece 507 page 08 | One Manga seems to be more important to Luffy than actually acquiring Gol D Roger's fabled treasure. Where exactly are you expecting the story to go when the goal seems to be adventure over mystery-solving?

If you want all the deep relationship stuff you might be in the market for shoujo manga. Yeah yeah it's for girls, but it isn't all homoerotic nonsense.

**Souj** · 2009-01-01 21:35

I'm still unclear on where your 'lack of story progression' is coming from

didn't say there wasnt any story progression.
Either I'm not saying what I think i'm saying, or youre trying way to hard to defend One Piece(which comes around to me using the word "fanboys" in my original post), when it doesnt really need to be defended cause I havnt really said anything negative about it.

and youre really misreading when you get that I want deep relationships out of it. I just dont like that he leaves the story so wide open that when a new arc starts out, it seems to have nothing to do with the main story and then connects it together a dozen chapters later with either the main bad guy, or some random piece of information. I'll just chalk it up to me having different preferences.

**Correction** · 2009-01-01 21:57

My point is that such structure is shared amongst almost every long-format shonen manga out there. Character goes unused for dozens if not hundreds of chapters and makes a comeback out of the blue? We could go for days naming them in our favorite manga ever.

I'm not trying to put up an aegis of perfection around One Piece. What I am saying is that the flaws it possesses are not unique to it. It's just the way shonen manga are structured. So what if every place to go next is conveniently 'more impossible' to reach than the last? Every caught Pokemon is 'more rare' than the last one. Every subsequent Dragonball is held in 'more godlike' hands' than the last. Every Arrancar is etc. etc. etc.

**Souj** · 2009-01-01 22:14

all I'm trying to say is that for the most part, alot of One Piece feels like filler to me because of how he lays out the story. thats about it.

If anything we can agree to disagree so I can stop filling this thread with stupid stuff that makes me look like i'm trying to troll.

**Kaylia** · 2009-01-01 23:43

Originally Posted by Not Kuno

Why not? Buggy is hysterical. D:

Spoiler: show

I'm not sure to tell the truth, I just know he is one of the last character I wanted to see again. Personally, i don't think he fit in pretty well. There is a lot of fantastic element in One Piece, but a clown pirate is a bit too much for me...it just look stupid.

It's pretty obvious he will befriend the Strawhats in this arc. The moment Luffy is nice to someone, that guy is going to turn good sooner or later. I doubt we will see him again after this arc tho, unless they bring back everyone for the final one.

all I'm trying to say is that for the most part, alot of One Piece feels like filler to me because of how he lays out the story. thats about it.

If anything we can agree to disagree so I can stop filling this thread with stupid stuff that makes me look like i'm trying to troll.

Did you read the manga from the beginning to the end?

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of "themed island" either, but generally, there is some development toward the end of an arc that give them a purpose. The one that were closer to filler were usually pretty short and sometime funny.

I don't think it's possible to compare bleach to one piece really. One try to be serious, the other rarely take itself seriously...it makes a huge different from a story telling standpoint. In this case, people not dying hurt Bleach a lot more, but it has other quality.

**Souj** · 2009-01-02 00:02

Originally Posted by Kaylia

but generally, there is some development toward the end of an arc that give them a purpose.

this is what I was talking about. how near the end of the arc, it gets tied to the rest of the story, but before that there's no connection. just "hey heres some island" /seemingly random event happens and the gang tries to save the day just because, but then it turns out the guy who caused the seemingly random event is tied to someone else from the story

**Correction** · 2009-01-02 00:19

One Piece is the story of a journey. And not some 'self-discovery' type rubbish journey, either. The Age of Pirates is the lifeblood of the story and as far as I can see in One Piece we are witnessing the 2nd such Age, the 1st having ended with Gol D Roger's execution.

As a result we are told a story about how the journey of said pirates connects otherwise very distinctly separated points of the world created for One Piece. Every time they land somewhere they learn the story of that place and how it was affected by the presence of pirate adventurers, good or bad. It doesn't have to be all magically woven together like fabric but it's again not that disappointing to see that yes, this island was relevant to the story of the pirates who came before, and it has repercussions for Luffy & Co. because they are never the first visitors to set foot wherever they land. They're either kicking out the old pirates who've caused trouble (Arlong, Crocodile, Moria) or they're redeeming the history of the pirates who came before (Sky Island, Water 7). Often it's both. Lately we've seen more stories like that.

Maybe it seems too tidy that every time the Straw Hat crew arrives, there's some problem only they seem capable of solving and that all along it is connected to some heretofore minor historical point, but you have to remember you're reading shonen manga, not Postmodern European fiction. Remember that Simpsons episode where Bart & Lisa have to save the Itchy and Scratchy show, only to find out two other kids fixed the problem first and all their effort was for nothing? Yeah, there's a specific reason that joke was funny.

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