One Piece

Orochi is kind of the only character from this arc I'm legitimately invested in, to be perfectly honest. He's just so unexpectedly competent. Which we see here; finding out that he's been making a conscious effort to be a terrible ruler makes a lot of things about his actions in the present make more sense.

Though I will concede that Oden did a really cool thing this chapter.

I agree with the notion that Orochi is much better than Oden, but noting Damned by Faint Praise is at full effect here. I’d say Orochi is a 5/10 while Oden is a 2/10.

But I have to say he was really hardboiled this week.

How dare you make a pun.

Wow. And here I am appreciating Oden while I impatiently wait for the Straw Hats to beat the ever living shit out of Orochi.

Edited by Zeromaeus on Feb 16th 2020 at 1:32:57 PM

Orochi being a loathsome piece of shit isn't too surprising. What else can you expect from someone named after, well, Orochi?

I don't particularly like either of them, but this chapter did make me like both more. Although, as Comun said, it's a very low bar. Neither of them are particularly compelling or interesting.

Edited by LSBK on Feb 16th 2020 at 12:45:00 PM

Hey at least Orochi has a...... somewhat cool DF.

Oden is just a by the numbers swordsman. I've even forgotten that his swords are supposed to be super special.

He's no Mihawk, that's for sure.

"impatiently wait"

Nope, Jinbe's still not back yet.

@slimcoder: You know very well this pun was inevitable. If I hadn't done it, HandsomeRob probably would.

Personally, I like them both, alot

Orochi because he appears to be the classic incompetent, corrupt, ruler but is actually very competent, to the point he'll be foiled only because (I guess) Kyoshiro is a Kozuki supporter. I love how despicable he is and how he's aware of the power he gets and the pain he's inflicting (that's before revealing his motivations, though to me he worked as evil for the sake of evil as well)

For Oden, well, I'm in agreement with what most critics I'm following are saying: he's one of the best characters One Piece ever had, and I haven't had these goosebumps while reading about a character since Kenpachi (though this time I'm keeping myself more objective in terms of judgement of the story). Oden's introduction is one of the best of the story, showing immediately that he's got good intentions, but doesn't follow the rules of society, and always remain consistent to himself (he despised the bandit-ruled Kuri because they said "no one can leave this place", something a free spirit like Oden completely refuses). And then how he evolves during the story (which lasts nearly 20 years, so it's reasonable) going from an impulsive men to one willing to sell his honor just to save some lives, and how at the beginning he's disgusted by the red scabbards following him to endure an hour of atrocious pain to save their lives.

Damn, I think I can almost say Oden might be one of the best characters in Shonen of the last 10 years, with the likes of Garou, Bakugou and Kumagawa. Personal opinion of course, and I say "almost" because his story ain't over yet

Edited by fishysaur on Feb 16th 2020 at 11:32:33 AM

Yes & were’re all waiting for the final Admiral to properly unveil himself.

Frankly what DF Ryokugyu has is more hype-worthy then Jinbe’s inevitable return.

“Oden is one of the best character’s of the last decade”. Pfffffffffft okay let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not saying he’s terrible but calling a backstory character one of the greatest eva is a huge overexageration regardless of personal opinion.

Edited by slimcoder on Feb 16th 2020 at 11:40:26 AM

I'm not saying "greates eva" (I can say quite a few characters in shonen alone are much more complex) but is really well done, especially when compared to the fact he had little space. He's got a complete story, he evolves while remaining true to himself, has clear motivations and a full-round personality. It could also be the thrill of having just reread this flashback which has hyped me a bit, but I can personally say Oden is a pretty good character

Edited by fishysaur on Feb 17th 2020 at 12:03:43 PM

I love you fishysaur, but god really? I like Oden but jeez. However Im super glad you feel that way. Because I love it when people feel passionate about stuff.

Thanks Aegis :3

Though I don't want to feel to passionate, like a mindless fanboy. It's just like I prefer looking at the positive stuff than at the negative (especially when the pros far surpasses the cons)

Pfft, fishysaur and his...positivity. How dare you enjoy One Piece, don't you know that's a capital offense here. Liking things is strictly prohibited.

I like Oden.

On a serious note, I can't help but feel the extremely negative and critical atmosphere in this thread is kind of putting off people who actually like the series from speaking up.

Like, why is it so surprising that people like Oden and Orochi so much to people?

There's almost a fear of being part of the fanbase that happily enjoys checks notes the most successful manga to ever exist, as if to enjoy it too openly is to imply that you're some rabid uncritical fanboy, and so the need to signal that you don't enjoy it that much, by shitting on parts of it every now and again.

I'm sure that's not true most of the time, but I do get that feeling every now and again.

I'm sure people have legit criticisms of One Piece that are definitely valid; but I also feel like because it's so successful and people sing it's praises so much that some Hype Backlash is occurring (even if you aren't aware of it)

I like Oden, but I am well ready for this flashback to be freaking over. The slower pace of releases has made this flashback last almost 5 months, and while I like additions to the lore, I'm ready to get back to the story already.

The One Piece fanbase can be a little too prideful sometimes. I know you'd say that's for every series, but no, I'm pretty sure it's a different scale. The only other two on that level are Hx H and Jo Jo.

Yeah, I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, it has tons of things you can criticise if for, but Hype Backlash is certainly in effect as you said.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Feb 17th 2020 at 2:38:35 PM

I do think we need to be careful about criticism. I have noted a tendency to single out characters to endlessly shit on, and it sometimes seems like saying something good about them causes someone to pipe up to shut that down for one reason or another.

Sure, sometimes the one singing the praises can be a bit over passionate, but it can't be good to feel like everyone is ganging up on you.

For an example, the Nasuverse thread and anyone who actually likes Sakura Matou, considering the catch phrase there is being Sakura is sin.

While it's nice to get an explanation sometimes, a person shouldn't feel like they need to give a detail 20 minute essay to justify why they like a character.

The pun actually never occurred to me. So you're argument is totally invalid.

Everyone, continue to...

Have you guys forgotten the first glimpse of this event we got was the quote 'What's the purpose of Oden if not to be boiled?'