After 25 years of publication, One Piece‘s common storytelling system has grow to be fairly clear, however the manga’s newest arc Egghead Island appears to be breaking this custom. This can be an indication that with the onset of the collection’ Closing Saga, mangaka Eiichiro Oda is shaking issues up. This could come as a welcome shock to long-time followers in addition to make the upcoming plot far more unpredictable.
One Piece‘s common system for an arc includes the Straw Hats visiting a brand new island, encountering a brand new set of villains who’re terrorizing that island, after which defeating these villains. After all, there have been slight deviations to this previously, with Marineford bringing again a number of previous enemies, however as that was the climactic finish to the pre-time skip period of One Piece, it is smart that it wouldn’t comply with this system precisely. Some critics have declared that this system makes One Piece too predictable, however most followers take pleasure in this type of story construction, because the variations in enemies and setting maintain these arcs feeling distinct from each other. Nonetheless, it looks like Egghead is bucking this pattern in a giant method.
On Egghead Island, the primary risk isn’t from a brand new enemy, though Vegapunk’s Sloth Satellite tv for pc is technically an antagonist. As an alternative, the key antagonists of the arc are CP0, who just lately revealed their traitorous nature, and the Admiral Kizaru, who the Straw Hats beforehand encountered in Saobody. One of many 5 Elders can also be current and will play a job within the struggle, however at the moment, it looks like the key struggle might be between Luffy and the extremely sturdy Kizaru. Not solely does this break the collection’ most important system for introducing new villains, nevertheless it additionally makes Egghead the primary island the place the key antagonists are assaulting the island from the surface.
In some ways, this can be a good departure from One Piece‘s regular traditions given the onset of the Closing Saga. It looks like this Saga will characteristic Luffy and the Straw Hats preventing a closing battle in opposition to the leaders of the World Authorities, who’ve held the islands of the world beneath their oppressive rule for hundreds of years. The World Authorities has been an omnipresent risk since One Piece‘s starting, so it solely is smart that they might be the villains that return for the Straw Hats to face. As well as, this represents an escalation of scale, as whereas earlier than the Straw Hats fought to resolve every island’s inner issues, now they face your entire world’s exterior risk.
Egghead Island has additionally featured an elevated deal with occasions taking place internationally, which has additionally given the arc a bigger sense of scale. This is smart, as it’s the first act in a Saga that One Piece has been constructing to since its starting. With One Piece‘s closing chapter starting, followers are actually really in uncharted waters, proving that the collection can nonetheless be extremely unpredictable even 25 years in.