Ask Me One Piece - April 2022

It better happen or I’m demanding a refund

You’re absolutely right! I love that Oda hasn’t lost the tone all across this fight, we even saw it a couple chapters back when Kaido was flirting with Luffy because he was drunk, that goofiness helps keep One Piece grounded as the type of series it is. Personally, compared to a year ago, I feel the One Piece anime has lost just a little bit of steam, since the pacing has taken a bit of a hit, though I’m sure much of it is for the sake of building episodes once the big stuff with Roof Piece happens. Oden Piece was just so incredibly well paced because there was so much to tell, but the build up chapters of Onigashima don’t fare quite as well. That said though, I still think the animation and direction overall is fantastic, and pacing aside, when they need to nail a scene, they nail it really well. And with that said, I think that all the build up has been for the sake of Roof Piece, which I think could legitimately even surpass expectations. I’m absolutely thrilled about what is coming, especially now that the anime is back!

Exactly 1 year ago I commented this on your post - The adaptation was so great. It's amazing how they're able to adapt only one chapter per episode without any pacing issues. One Piece is finally getting the anime adaptation it deserves. But do you think they'll be able to adapt the gag moments too when needed? Wano being a very serious arc, there haven't been many goofy gags. Even the ones that were there so far seemed more like just a means to prevent the mood from going too dark. So it's really hard to tell whether the comedy would be adapted well when the time comes. After chapter 1045 it feels like sensei somehow knew this.. Lol. Your reply at that time was - I think that's mostly on Oda's end, Toei doesn't add too many gags on their own, but I think they've been great at handling it so far, so I have no worries about that. Onigashima is admittedly very battle centric and with a lot of tension, but I still think Oda has had some great gags there. Stuff like the Kin'emon all according to plan scene, the Worst Trio being goofballs on the rooftop with the fireballs and all the banter in-between, I think all of this is just going to be heightened by the anime's voice actors and animators. So have faith in Toei, their adaptation so far has been fantastic, so I really think they will deliver on this arc!

Bouncy Castle Luffy; thoughts?

Haya