The Biggest Criticism About Eiichiro Oda’s Writing Might Also be the Only Thing Making One Piece the Greatest Manga

SUMMARY

• Eiichiro Oda gets criticized endlessly for the length of One Piece, but the story being too long is a good decision for its quality.
• The length plays a huge role in the greatness of the manga, and the extensive world building is a testament to that.
• This also assures the readers that One Piece won't meet the same fate as Jujutsu Kaisen or Attack on Titan.

Eiichiro Oda takes his sweet time drawing every chapter of One Piece and has done so for more than thousands of weeks. This is an admirable achievement of sticking to a task for so long and keeping it engaging and enjoyable. This achievement also makes Oda the target of criticism, which plays a huge role in the greatness of One Piece. Every fan of the series must have come across someone or been someone who claims that ‘One Piece is too long’. It’s long, agreed, but maybe not ‘too’ long. 

Wano was one of the longest arcs in the series | Credits: Studio Toei Animation

Over the years, the story of One Piece has been laden with so much meaning and symbolism that it could compete with any great fictional story, even outside of the anime-manga sphere. With the ending of many modern shonen, it becomes more obvious that the length of the manga is also its biggest strength.

Eiichiro Oda’s Biggest Criticism is his Strongest Weapon 

Luffy after Marineford War | Credits: Studio Toei Animation

Eiichiro Oda slowly unravels the narrative in One Piece and takes a substantial amount of time in setting up every arc. For instance, the two arcs before Marineford were set-up arcs as well. One of the more recent arcs in the manga, Wano, had a setup of over ten years behind it. With the set-up, Oda thickens the plot and gets the readers interested in numerous events simultaneously. He ensures that there is enough content to get the readers emotionally invested. 

At the end of every arc, he connects all the events with one another, weaving a satisfying conclusion. The pay-off is always worth the time invested by the readers. A simple explanation of this could be the memorable moments in the story. Wano received criticism for not meeting expectations, but when one looks back, it was jam-packed with heartwarming events. To name a few, Yasui’s conclusion, Hiyori’s revenge on Orochi, Sanji’s acceptance of his past, and so much more!

Yasuie in Wano | Credits: Studio Toei Animation

Moreover, Oda packs every aspect in the story with many details. Every re-watch and re-read gives new insights into the story. He enriches the characters as independent identities irrespective of their association with Luffy. If any other manga sidelined the protagonist for ten chapters, a wave of criticism would follow. However, Oda has done it multiple times with character flashbacks like Roger and Kuma’s story, and fans have not complained. 

This is simply because of how he gives time to different characters and their lives in the manga. This extensive world-building results in a deeper connection between the reader and the story. 

Here’s How the Length Makes One Piece One of the Greatest Fictions Ever

Gear 5 Luffy | Credits: Toei Animation

Oda has delayed the end of One Piece so many times that it has become a running joke in the fandom. However, it’s a good sign that he isn’t intending on rushing the manga. This is something many series of the newer generation have done, which led to harsh criticisms. 

It’s crazy to me how everyone cooks one piece for having “slow pacing” but the consensus regarding why MHA, JJK and AOT’s endings were bad is because they were “rushed” pic.twitter.com/lnePyRNFNj

Op manga pacing is fine tho

im glad oda takes his time because you people have made the narrative so mudded you can’t win, if you ask me for the sake of the ending this is the best way to write a manga, take your fucking time.

people cry about manga pacing and how long it is, but they dont understand, to cover everything so people will not be dissapointed, and to build the world,characters,emotions,and plots, you need to take ur time and think , thats why one piece is the goat.

Most shonen anime-manga series have been criticized endlessly for their ‘rushed endings’. With most of them, fans could see the idea but the execution failed to bring the idea to fruition. Many fans of One Piece and even the haters would agree that rushing is simply not something that Oda is capable of.

If he continues the story with the same ‘horrible pacing’ that has given us one of the most extensive and interesting fictional worlds of all time, then we know we’re in good hands. With that, what awaits is an unparalleled experience, and one that is rightly and thankfully too long! 

One Piece manga is available to read on the MangaPlus app and website. 

Written by Laveena Joshi

Articles Published: 124

Laveena holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism with a keen interest in entertainment journalism. Known to defend Naruto with her life, her love for anime has turned into great appreciation for the Japanese Culture. Besides considering herself a veteran weeb, she's also a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur. Better if the perfect brew is paired with a random video essay from YouTube. Blending her love for anime with the know-hows of content writing, she is now an anime content writer at FandomWire.