Volumes
110
AlthoughOnePiece’stime skip has improved the show in many ways, the newer, shinier post-time skip is still missing a few elements that made pre-time skipOne Pieceso special. It’s easy to say that overall, modernOne Piece,with upgrades to animation, fight scenes, and more, has far outgrown its more humble beginnings as a series. However, by growing into the show it is today,One Piecehas left something behind; a smaller sense of wonder and exploration, free from the world-shattering stakes thatLuffy and the Straw Hatsdeal with on a daily basis.
Though it’s easy to look back upon earlyOne Piecewith rose-tinted glasses, pre-time skip, besides being a solid introduction to the series, still suffers from its problems that are solved later in the series. Overall, it’s far from being perfect. Still, comparing pre-time skip and post-time skip, although often done by the community, is a difficult endeavor considering just how much the show has changed over the years.
One Piece is Missing The Small Things Post-Time Skip
It’s Too Big For Its Own Good
In earlyOne Piece, all the way back tothe days of the East Blue, the series focused primarily on the misadventures of Luffy and crew as they navigate the dangerous waters of the world ofOne Piece.The Straw Hats would sail the open seas, almost randomly, exploring new and unique lands and discovering new advancements on their quest for theOne Piece.Overall, it made for an amazing journey, giving the crew time to be pirates on the open sea.
In modernOne Piece,fans will be lucky if more than a few chapters are spent sailing on open waters, exploring unique islands. Ever since thestart of Fishman Island, it seemsOne Piecehas been more focused on exploring unique individual locations, rather than a string of smaller, yet impactful locals.
you’re able to’t take back what you’ve lost, what’s important now is what you still have.
Past post-time skip, it seems as ifOne Piecehas fallen deep into a formulaic presentation of arcs. Paired with the additional length and fluff that every arc of modernOne Pieceseems to have, every modern arc loses the pirate fantasy that fans have grown to love. On top of this, while the sci-fi technological aesthetic of Egghead Island and theJapanese aesthetic of Wanoare interesting, it seems more and more each arc thatOne Piecebecomes more like a superhero show set in a pirate universe than just being a show about pirates.
One Piece’s Smaller Moments Promote Character Growth
Closer Moments Make Closer Characters
On top of this,One Piecepost-time skip also seems to be missing some of the more casual and comedic interactions the crew used to have on the Merry or Sunny. Sometimes it felt like large chunks of an episode were spent dealing with the hijinx that Luffy and his crew got into while sailing, creating some memorable moments and helping develop both theOne Piececharacters and relationships. Making jokes, getting into fights, or just sitting and casually fishingused to be waymore common in the early stages ofOne Piece.
This casual and relatable development helped bring fans closer to OnePiece’sStraw Hatcrew, and thoughmodernOne Piecehas grown on the foundation of the relationships between the Straw Hats, it does little to develop them further. By missing the many moments of downtime in theearly pretime-skip stages ofOne Piece, character relationship growth has almost stagnated. On top of this, the crew barely spendsanytime completely together, and for large amountsofalmost every arc is divided or forcibly split up.
One Piece Is Too Far To Turn Back
Past the Point of No Return
Though many fansdomiss whatOne Pieceused to have, it’s too late to return to that style of show. Now, with the threat ofcharacters like Imu and Blackbeardshaking the landscape of the entire world, focusing on smaller moments or just visiting a random island would seem silly.One Piecehas grown into a show with much heavier and weighty stakes than it used to have, and that’s okay.
Trying to say thatpre-time skipOne Piecewas better than modernOne Piecebecause it focused more on smaller moments is an unfair statement. Both pre and post-time skip have elements that make them stand out. Overall, the two halves, although very different tonally, help come together to create one of the best experiences of any series out there.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise including an anime, films, and video games.
