One Piece

Why DID the animation and art style suddenly become so incredible in Wano anyway?

The anime tends to change styles every major arc or so. Usually, it's a subtle change, but they decided to change it drastically for Wano. The anime hasn't seen an artstyle shift that drastic since the timeskip.

Notably, it didn't start getting REALLY good until Act 3 of Wano. The artstyle changed, but the animation quality wasn't that much better in Acts 1 and 2 than it was during Whole Cake Island.

Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on May 27th 2023 at 3:22:24 AM

I'm gonna be real interested in seeing why on earth Wano is so long. Like, much longer than Dressroa and Whole Cake

Edited by GNinja on May 27th 2023 at 10:23:52 AM

3 Acts, mostly. Huh, I just realized that Act 2 is twice the length of Act 1, and Act 3 is twice the length of Acts 1 and 2 combined.

Does each act have its own climax as such?

Kinda. Act 1 does, but Act 2 doesn't really. Obviously, Act 3 does.

To look at it through the lens of a different arc, Act 1 is Water Seven up to Luffy vs Usopp, Act 2 is the rest of Water Seven, and Act 3 is Enies Lobby.

There are also just a ton of moving parts in Wano. Just a ton of characters all doing stuff.

Oh yeah, the other Supernovas get to do stuff in Wano, right?

Some of them. Urouge missed his invite.

Actually, I've never really thought about it before, but yeah, there's only 3 Supernovas who aren't here - Bege, who we just had so makes sense, Bonney, who's busy with Reverie craziness, and Urouge, who is... somewhere doing something.

Edited by diddyknux on May 27th 2023 at 7:52:43 AM

Listen I have a question. People familiar with the REALLY REALLY REALLY early Viz Media releases of the Manga: How did Viz treat the Manji in Whitebeard's Flag? I saw claims that the manga kept it (Before Oda retconned it even in Japan) but added a Disclaimer which seems a bit unlikely to me, but I want to facts and not just go with my gut.

I checked chapter 234 on Viz's website. There's a note in the gutter that says, "Symbol on flag is an ancient Buddhist symbol. — Ed".

WHOA NELLY! I knew I could be wrong but that they keep it even now to this day is unthinkable to me but it is fact anyway. WOW.

Even in Ace's introduction in chapter 157:

Unsurprisingly the German version did remove the manji, which left the Jolly Roger looking really incomplete until Odas crossbones redesign.

I know its pointless to ask since we already know Viz is okay with the Manji but how old is that?

Volume 18, which contained that chapter, came out in 2008. I can't find any sources that say whether that's the first time Viz translated that chapter, though.

I suppose Oda was hoping that we lived in a world where the grand majority of the public at large would be able to differentiate between the buddhist symbol manji and a swastika,

but I suppose he figured soon enough that we don't live in that sort of world.

No, I think he legit thought it was a symbol of peace but got told the rest of the world doesnt see it that way so he changed it. I dont like the premise of "Oh he hoped the rest of the world wouldnt be pussies!" even as politely worded and presented in

I dunno about "pussies," but I guess I was thinking of cases like Swastika, Ontario, which called itself that in 1908 and even had a sign later saying "To hell with Hitler, we came up with our name first." in spite of how other people would associate it in modern times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika,_Ontario

And perhaps in a similar way Oda was thinking of that previous Buddhist history in spite of how people of other parts of the world would see it. I doubt he meant it in any sort of malice though, and comes across as some low to mid form of ignorance at worst.

I guess some would say YMMV with how people read into things.

Edited by electricmastro on May 27th 2023 at 10:19:33 AM

Um... I was about to say a boys manga post WW 2 couldnt do it but there ARE examples of that so I will just its for the best that Oda changed it. ESPECIALLY since the whole "Japan sorta doesnt mind Nazi Imagery" criticism that's been growing lately but certainly was present by then.

I do agree that Oda probably had zero malice, which is indicated in how quickly he changed it when informed of this concern but I really dont like the implication that he changed it "because the west is sensitive"

Edited by AegisP on May 27th 2023 at 7:40:10 AM

The seal on Neji's forehead in Naruto was a manji before getting changed to an X in the anime.

So talking once again about Vivi's relevance as of latest chapter:

Edited by electricmastro on May 27th 2023 at 10:58:41 AM

I know that, even thought oddly enough that was not the example of modern manga using manji that I had in mind. I think Oda felt compelled to change it because it was WAY more charged in a flag as a symbol than it simply appearing in other contexts.

Also on today's episode of the anime Did Usopp urging the Samurai to live was as lame and comedic as it was in the first 11 minutes? Because I remember this being a big moment for him in the manga so its bitterly dissapointing the anime botched it.

YAMATO GOT AN UNIQUE EYECATCHER THEME. JAW DROPPED.

Edited by AegisP on May 27th 2023 at 8:51:54 AM

I mean, it's kind of a lame moment in the manga, too. He's giving the speech with tears and snot in both versions, it just happens to be an interesting speech. It's meant to be cool-lame, so I feel like the anime adapted it okay.

By the way, with this most recent chapter, Oda has officially put a time limit on how long he can take revealing information about Imu. Because Imu has a line of dialogue here, that means Imu will get a voice actor when this chapter is adapted into the anime, meaning Oda has to reveal some info about Imu before the anime reaches this point, lest the anime pre-empt him on that.

1060 could have been one of the Five Elders talking, it wasn't necessarily Imu, but this line of dialogue unambiguously comes from Imu themselves.

Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on May 28th 2023 at 3:26:20 AM