[ SECRET POST #1874 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1874 ⌋


Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 07 pages, 156 secrets from Secret Submission Post #268.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 1 - repeats ]
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

And when I found out that he later pigeonholed the only four characters I liked, I'm glad I quit when I did
Which characters? I'm contemplating picking up One Piece after only reading the only the first few volumes.

[(Anonymous)]

Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Ace. After Skypeia, Oda seems to forget they exist. This wouldn't have been so bad if all the characters I couldn't stand (Robin, Franky, and especially Usopp) hadn't moved in to hog all the screen/pagetime.

[fenm.livejournal.com]

Wait... Ok, so what do you mean by "pigeonholed"? To me, that just sounds like he's making them play specific roles and do the same thing all the time. But I think you mean something different.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, it was probably the wrong word. Though to be fair, they have specific roles, except for Ace. But...yeah, not the right word. It's more like Oda's ignoring all the characters I like and giving the bulk of the attention to the ones I don't. Either way, I'm not missing much.

[(Anonymous)]

I think you probably meant mothballing.

[(Anonymous)]

*had to look that one up*

Yeah, actually. That's a very apt word. Thanks!

[(Anonymous)]

You're either a troll or you haven't read the manga for a long time. I mean, there's a whole damn arc dedicated to Ace and Luffy (two if you count the flashback as a separate arc), for one.

[(Anonymous)]

Um...I said I quit halfway through Skypeia, didn't I? So no, I haven't read the manga in at least 5 or 6 years. I have no desire to pick it back up based on what I've heard happened, either.

[(Anonymous)]

So what, you wanted Oda to write about Nami, Sanji, Zoro and Ace all the time? The first three played an important role in Skypiea too, so I don't get how "Oda seems to forget that they exist". One Piece has an ensemble cast, who gets the spotlight varies between arcs, POVs and chapters.

[(Anonymous)]

Which is why I said I gave up after Skypeia when he started focusing on Robin and then Usopp, both of which I can't stand.

No, I expect him to write whatever story he wants, and I'll give up when I don't see a point in reading it. Such as when the characters I like are getting ignored and the characters I hate are getting the spotlight, and there isn't even a decent villain to keep my interest.

It's just a cartoon. Chill.

[kazeyumi.livejournal.com]

omfg ace is foreverrr. ; o ;

[(Anonymous)]

I... Okay. So, you stopped reading. I'll give you that. Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Ace <--- But this statement is so untrue, I.. I don't even know where to begin. These characters are so important [Sanji and Zoro alone being 2/3 of the main fighting force HEAVILY featured in every single major battle with the exception of Impel Down/Marineford] and so very featured. Robin and Franky were the new guys- yeah, they had arcs that fleshed them out. Just like every other crew member. And then it evened out again. Hell, Robin and Franky's backstory arguably takes place in the same story arc!

It just seems weird and pissy to quit a series because your favorite characters weren't ALWAYS the focus of a manga with an enormous cast. I tend to think you are just hugely misinterpreting the secondhand information you've encountered- I mean Ace himself was always a minor character until Impel Down. He's in a few chapters, and some cover pages. The anime extended his participation with crappy desert filler, but he really kind of just came and went in the manga.

A sincere whatever- I just think you quit a damn good series for imaginary reasons.

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, I was apparently drunk with One Piece!Rage when I wrote that. I don't know. You get the gist, I'm sure.

[(Anonymous)]

Being part of the main fighting force doesn't mean the character is getting to do something worthwhile. Their stories weren't being advanced in any way I saw, so I gave up. They were bashing baddies and that was it.

It just seems weird and pissy to quit a series because your favorite characters weren't ALWAYS the focus of a manga with an enormous cast.

When did I ever say I wanted those four to be the focus all the time? I said I quit because Oda seemed to stop paying attention to them altogether unless he needed an enemy's balls to get bashed in.

*shrug* I think I gave up on a series that was turning out to not be my cup of tea. And fans like you are just another reason I'm glad I left.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry, but what?! Yes, Robin is a central focus in Enies Lobby, because it's her arc, in the same way that Arlong Park was Nami's arc. But other than that, Nami tends to be the main female character, front and centre, whereas Robin tends to just add the odd fun comment and be part of the group. Zoro's popularity and powers got so out of control that he was threatening to overtake Luffy (and Oda basically had to injure him severely to make sure he couldn't legitimately fight Kuma at Sabaody). Ace was the catalyst for one of the biggest storylines in the entire series and got his own backstory arc. Sanji may have gotten more and more ridiculous, but he also became the favoured comic relief character so he was constantly pushed to the front to show us his reactions. I've seen people constantly arguing that these four got too much attention but this is the first time I've seen anyone say Oda started acting like they didn't exist! o___0

[(Anonymous)]

Like I said in previous comments, they were only dragged back out to kick bad guy ass. But as characters they didn't get to do anything worthwhile after Skypeia. I don't feel obligated to continue a series when the characters I like get pushed aside for the ones I can't stand.

Seeing so many people get their nipples in a knot because I lost interest in it just makes me even more glad I dropped it. I'd rather not be part of a fandom that obnoxiously rabid.

[(Anonymous)]

It's not people getting angry at you for dropping the series, it's people being in disbelief that anyone could honestly say that Nami, Sanji, Zoro and Ace have been pushed to the background, to the extent that you'd say it's like Oda forgot them. People are reacting to that statement, because it's such a bizarre, untruthful thing to say.

If you don't want to read the series, that's fine. I think people are just wondering where you got your information from, that you think those characters are shoved to the sidelines and don't develop.

Ace was an extremely minor character with very little development before Skypeia - since then he's been at the centre of a war, and we've seen him react to that, being used as a pawn, as well as seeing his backstory. He's basically gone from being Luffy's brother who showed up once to an actual character.

The next big arc after Skypeia is Water 7/Enies Lobby (the Foxy pirates story in-between was more like a stop-over than a huge part of the story). In the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc we saw Sanji beginning to deal with the risk he puts his nakama at by refusing to hit a girl, Nami growing more determined than ever to be able to hold her own in a fight to save her nakama, and Zoro stepping into his role as the person who has to say what nobody wants to say but everybody needs to hear. After that was Thriller Bark, which saw one of the biggest, most important moments between Zoro and Sanji, where Zoro literally offers to give up his life to save Luffy and Sanji tries to take the fall instead because he wants Zoro to achieve his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, only for Zoro to knock Sanji out to keep Sanji from being hurt. It's a huge moment and a long-coming marks a turning point in their relationship.

I'm not saying all this to tell you that you're wrong for dropping the series. But I am trying to say that telling people that you've heard these characters are sidelined and that they don't grow in canon is going to cause a reaction, because it simply isn't true. Whoever told you that is incorrect and the people in this thread are trying to explain that. It really shouldn't be a surprise when people here at F!S react to somebody dissing their favourite fandoms, especially when they're using false 'evidence' to make their point.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe I got bad information, then, because all I remember reading about Water 7 was the Usopp and Luffy Deus Wangst Machina Arc; Sanji, Nami, or Zoro weren't even mentioned once in any of the recaps I looked at. Apparently, whatever they did get to do wasn't important enough for anybody I read synopses from to talk about, which I thought was rather telling.

[(Anonymous)]

DA I really wonder where you found those recaps, then, because the Zoro the Voice of Harsh Truths scenes especially were discussed at length. I also wonder about the recaps because you call the Usopp vs. Luffy plot "Deus Wangst Machina": it wasn't what that implies at all.

[(Anonymous)]

I also wonder about the recaps because you call the Usopp vs. Luffy plot "Deus Wangst Machina": it wasn't what that implies at all.

I admit that's a bias on my part because I'm indifferent to Luffy and can't stand Usopp, and the recap I read made it seem like they were fighting for no real reason other than the need for more in-crew conflict.

[(Anonymous)]

Luffy and Usopp's fight did get a lot of attention, because it was the first time we've seen such a huge falling out between nakama. But that doesn't mean that was the be-all and end-all of the arc. Like everything else in One Piece, that was a huge event and then we spend a lot of time getting to see the crew react to that event, and Nami, Zoro and Sanji were given their fair share of reaction time. And that's just the reaction time, it's not counting the stuff they actually did in the arc.

It's like, if you read a synopsis of the Arlong Park arc, you might take away that Nami seemingly betrayed the crew and then Luffy challenged Arlong for her freedom. Sanji and Zoro probably wouldn't even get a mention. But in that arc, they both fought alongside each other for the first time, Zoro was struggling with his still fresh wounds from Mihawk, they bickered over how to treat women for the first time, Sanji risked his life for Luffy by diving into the water knowing it gave the mermen the advantage (Sanji taking huge risks and Zoro getting pissed becomes more and more of a thing as time goes on, with Sanji even teasing Zoro about being worried over him in the Water 7 arc). So while they might not be mentioned in a synopsis, Zoro and Sanji each experience several significant moments that define their relationship with the Arlong arc. So just because a synopsis focuses on one major plot point, it doesn't mean the other characters are just twiddling their thumbs or shoved to the background, you know? Oda's always been pretty good about balancing the action between characters and mixing them up into different combinations.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe. Either way it's been 5-6 years since I stopped reading and I have neither the time nor the interest to play catch-up with a series that long. It's why I read a few recaps in the first place instead of picking up the manga itself. When I start relying on the Sparknotes because I'm finding the source itself a chore to read, that's usually a sign that it's not worth continuing for me.

[insanenoodlyguy.livejournal.com]

See, now that's a good reason. Your not interested anymore makes sense.

But I think we can all (perhaps overenthusiastically) confirm that those characters didn't stop being featured or important after skypeia. They were neither pigeonholed or mothballed. Maybe that doesn't matter for you, but there it is.

[fenm.livejournal.com]

I second this request.