Why Oda Is The GOAT | One Piece

[@andrewwall4250]

Another point on Oda’s writing that I was thinking about while listening to this video is that unlike a novel that’s fully written and edited multiple times before being released, Oda is writing and releasing his story chapter by chapter with a weekly release.
Even if there are flaws in his writing, the fact that he can remain so consistent with his story, humour, payoffs and emotional beats at all without the ability to go back and rewrite the foreshadowing into previous chapters is super impressive.
No wonder Oda needed a month off after Wano to prepare for what’s to come in the final saga.
Manga/Comic writers are on another level. XD

[@Rhekon]

He has notes presumably, and he's known what certain checkpoints would be for a long time. Long-running works that are good typically have this in common.

[@rise.dmonkey8001]

Yes serving one of the best stories ( esp worldbuilding) since he was 20 years old and each week! Another level!

[@AnyMEmdq]

@@Rhekon He has piles of notebooks on arcs and characters. They've been shown from time to time. If you google "Oda's notebooks" you'll see some of them. There's one for Big Mom, one for Kaido, one for Gear 4th, one for the Rocks Pirates, etc. He doesn't have notes, he has NOTES! For example, something he intended to include in the story but didn't, every single member of Doflamingo's crew has a fully fledged backstory somewhere in his notes...

[@pedropasquini4311]

Don't forget he has to also DRAW the history, which is also time consuming

[@rouanemounssif1650]

Oda is known to be a workaholic, barely sleeps for 4 hours, oda spends most of his time trying to improvise and figure out what to do with his story in every single chapter.

[@merphynapier42]

Hello family! I haven’t read this weeks chapter yet (reading it this afternoon on my Patreon) so I won’t be reading comments on this one until this evening to avoid being spoiled. Looking forward to reading them soon!
Edit: I've now read the chapter. I seem to have picked an inopportune time to make this video for the fandom

[@XotoriD4rak]

Reasonable

[@billyalarie929]

🥺🥺🥺
Calling us “family”….
🥺🥺🥺

[@dkutch8776]

Ohhhhhh boy I can't wait for your reaction!

[@rancorrage5646]

I think it was very timely. The "GOda" concept has been twisted to the point where the idea of Oda making mistakes is unacceptable to some people.
Sometimes a writer screws up, especially in the week to week grind that is making manga for Shonen Jump.

[@freddice8156]

I actually didn't have as much issue with the chapter. I think this week's chapter is just divisive within the fandom. Doesn't take away from his GOAT status though. Would love to know your thoughts on it.

[@iamdivan7368]

Random newbie author:"Just be good, be kind, war bad, hate bad"
Based Oda:"Sometimes hatred is just too strong, and damage made to you is so deep you cannot fix it. However, you can still be good person if you don't pass your hatred on the other people"

[@bendover7841]

Gigachad Hiyori: "The Kurozumi were born to burn."
I know it was a mistranslation but that was so gangster lmao.

[@yudhajitmukherjee1440]

That, truly is one of the greatest things Oda ever did. His exploration of race and hatred based on 'otherness' and generational abuse in fishman island is extraordinary. The more i think about it, the harder it hits. I think you're referring to Fisher Tiger here, right?

[@Corredor1230]

@@bendover7841 Honestly, the Japanese version isn't great either. But it's way better. In the Japanese version she definitely mocks Orochi (right after he talks about his clans' generational hatred and discrimination), so reading in Japanese it feels more... tone-deaf and insensitive than downright genocidal. But it's still pretty bad.
Kind of like if she had said "The Kurozumi are poopyheads". It's dumb and it's unnecessary and it kind of detracts from the end of the arc.

[@bendover7841]

@@Corredor1230 It draws a parallel with the Oden line. And Orochi deserved a cool zinger before going down. So I'm personally cool with it.

[@MohammadAli-uf3cg]

@@bendover7841 it's Oden = dish is meant to be boiled
And
Kurozumi = Charcoal is meant to be burned

[@rrose13]

One Piece's strength is definitely the emotional moments. The fact it made us all cry over a ship??? Not sure anyone else can do that.

[@emperorluffy6001]

Top 10 writing feats in fiction.

[@mekinot]

I think there was just ONE time a piece of fiction made me cry over an "object", and it was Everything Everywhere All At Once with a rock. It's not something easy to pull off, and I can't help but laugh when someone new to the story gets to that part and cries their heart out to Merry, because they're always in disbelief that such a thing would make them cry so much.

[@yotuel9064]

@@mekinot It's one of the feats of One Piece. It puts all the people in the same head-space "I never though I would cry over a boat".

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

*Gintama* made me cry A LOT over a 4 MINUTES mini story that was MADE UP by a character while he was just COUNTING SHEEPS TO SLEEP! 🤣🤣🤣🤣that chapter made laugh then cry a lot, then laugh
If there's other story that can make you cry over anything, that's Gintama

[@prismal418]

Brian K. Vaughan made it in Saga this year. It was nice to see the parallel.

[@Wallie759]

I think one unsung quality of Oda's is his art. Oda's art is very unorthodox. Even in context of the shounen genre, Oda's art stands out very clearly. You can look at a One Piece character and instantly know oh thats from One Piece. Sure people may say oh all the girls look the same, and while i agree to the extent of the meme, we cant ignore the fact that they all radiate One Piece energy. One of the biggest treats when you binge OP imo is seeing the gradual improvement Oda went through as an artist, and just how much that specific art style supports One Piece and its world. Another big thing is the laughs Oda gives to important characters. He never fails to give a personalized laugh to everybody, and i think it's one of the smallest yet coolest things in the manga. You can hear "shishishi" or "zehahaha" and even just the sound effect carries weight.

[@fenris5932]

It's probably for the best that his art is so wacky because if it weren't, when a character showed up for the first time in a billion chapters *cough* Hachi *cough* , we'd all just go "Who?"

[@mekinot]

I usually love distinctive art styles and it was one of the reasons I decided to read OP a long time ago. The only thing I wish didn't "evolve" is the way he draws girls' bodies. It was so much better at the start of the manga 😂

[@devadathans5506]

Some characters have the same laugh - 'Caesar Clown' and 'Gangster Gastino' for instance.
Shulolololo

[@kristinberthiaume7634]

Another great aspect of his art - this bizarre style fits one important theme of the story: the ability of outcasts and weirdos to drive the change society needs to see. With his art, Oda underscores each character’s weirdness with a sincerity and sense of humor that feels completely non-judgemental, and the universality of the bizarre character design carries the underlying message that everybody’s a little weird, in one way or another.

[@francescorosiglioni2718]

I agree that his character design is top notch and it will always be, but his art got worst with time.
The panels are often too full and sometimes they are confusing.
If you compare panels from alabasta, skipeia or enies lobby to the ones from dressrosa, wano and post time skip in general is like night and day.
There are still badass scenes and panels don’t get me wrong but the general quality got worst imo.

[@leob636]

Oda broke me, I wasn't a crier before, now I get teary eyed just remembering some segments of the story. Plus, the way he fleshes out his world is such a treat, seeing the flora, fauna, lifestyle, cuisine, architecture, technology he creates for each island, the diversity of people and body types is something that I've started to miss when reading other stories. The feeling that the world is dinamic, that the protagonists story and journey impacts parts of the world that are not part of the main story anymore, and that the rest of the world keeps moving even if it's not in the spotlight, just great stuff. Not even mentioning the maturity of the treatment of themes and consistency of the characters and story.
Love hearing your thoughts about it as well

[@nikgokuhil]

I dont cry often but when Going Merry talked I had tears in my eyes

[@sarahtonin07]

Me too! I mean I do get emotional when watching really sad stuff, but I never thought I'd cry with the "death" of a ship. He definitely puts care into his work and it definitely conveys it through the work itself. But yeah, I cry so much with One Piece!

[@Squiddyize]

"I want to live!" still gets me every time.

[@gimiked8685]

I tear up with the recaps regularly. When someone is expressing the story, and motivations of characters, it gets me sometimes.

[@AnyMEmdq]

@@Squiddyize The whole "I want to live" sequence and resolution of Robin's situation in Enies Lobby is so masterfully created! You start rousing with the crew as they stand in front of them, you soar high with the power of Sogeking shooting the flag, you jump even higher and get cocky when Franky burns the blueprints... and then you are shot down as you see Robin crumbling as she tiptoes around what should've been a given...
And later on, to drive it all home, you see her fighting, literally with tooth and nail (the scene of her biting on the stone floor haunts me), struggling, painfully stealing seconds, minutes. On the other hand, Usopp, still struggling with what he can offer, failing again, feeling like a burden. And Franky, the not-long-ago enemy, realizing who these people are, and to what lengths they are willing to go for each other. First burning the blueprints, then gaining more understanding through his encounter with Chopper. These are the two characters that arrive to save the day. It's not Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, they are all somewhere else, they didn't make it in time and don't have the skills to catch up. It's Franky shielding Robin from the barrage of bullets, and Sogeking, doing what the others can't, as advised by Sanji. At this point in time, they are NOT Strawhats, using this to once again show us how and where they fall short, and they need others. One of the main themes of the story: a found family that relies on each other to cover for each other's very real and very present flaws, and that won't pull one single punch to protect what they have, no matter the cost, masterfully shown in less than 1/2 an arc using just a handful of characters.
Sorry for the ramble, it's One Piece, you'll understand xD

[@nickman287]

Oda isn't faultless, but he's damn great at what he can do well. Earned moments like "I wanna live", "Luffy, help me", "nothing, nothing at all" or "Raizo dono, is safe" will forever be etched into my memory.
Not to mention, the world, the lore, the humour (most of it), etc.

[@NewbPhil]

and who can forget the classic, "Kurozumi were born to burn!" /s

[@nickman287]

@@NewbPhil well, charcoal really is made to burn

[@isaiasramirez8224]

The scene burned into my memory is Yasuie's execution. The scene where Toko is laughing, tears streaming down her eyes as she watches her father die before her eyes. Chills...every time.

[@chernoalphaspunch]

"Dere-shi-shi-shi-shi" 😭

[@jefferaimer]

"Without you I can't become the pirate king".

[@suhailrefaye92]

To have a person who predominantly reads and enjoys novels to co-sign the "Oda is the GOAT" stance is personally vindicating for someone like me who has been trying to get all their friends and family to read One Piece lol

[@suhailrefaye92]

I mean imo Oda is up there with Steven Erickson in the goat conversation. There are a lot of similarities in the way they tell their stories as well even though the stories themselves are wildly different.

[@chandraliestiawan3161]

I'm still trying to convince my sons and wife to read One Piece but still find no success

[@suhailrefaye92]

@@chandraliestiawan3161 I feel you..my wife just started reading it after my incessant nagging lol..she's stuck in the orange town arc now..hope she makes it out of East Blue at least

[@Limxuv]

I think something that’s truly special about Oda’s writing is that you can tell how much fun he’s having creating his world. The fact that One Piece is a serialized story just allows us into that journey with him. It’s very clear that Oda has one piece well planned out but we can also see the ways he’s willing to let the story inspire him to explore different directions.

[@alohaxgffgfg]

I really really liked when you started getting into OP and i loved what you do with it. Having someone who actually thinks about themes and characters come into the scene is sooo refreshing, especially considering how much OP twitter and reddit seem to have dumbed the scene down. Keep up the good work, its very enjoyable seeing someone so invested in the series!

[@sauna-man3024]

I think what impresses me the most about Oda is his sheer tenacity. The endurance it takes to do this week after week after week. He's been going for 25 years, and from what I can remember his longest breaks are one 4 week break around the timeskip, and another 4 week break at the end of Wano. Not only that, but a work day for him is a work DAY, not the 8 hours of a mere mortal. He does spend sundays with his family though.
If I worked 90+ hours per week for 25 years I'd have a hard time writing this upbeat of a story.

[@dinogt8477]

oda isnt impressive

[@sauna-man3024]

@@dinogt8477 Subjective I guess. I'm impressed.

[@sebastiantavera3256]

@@dinogt8477 lmao says the one with the DB pfp

[@piratekingluffy376]

@@dinogt8477 🤡

[@nikgokuhil]

I often feel that Oda holds out on us. Like he has a lot of stories for all of his characters that it would take forever to tell them all so he has to cut off most of it.
For why Oda is so great, hell, you can write essays on even just one aspect of it. One of the things that I love is that in contrast to other shonen, heros arent all good looking and cool while villains are weird looking and stuff, Oda makes almost everyone a comic relief while characters like Usopp and Bon Clay are legendary

[@Moody.Smiruai]

yep Oda actually has an insane amount of lore...but he cant actually write it all in because the manga medium will have limits.

[@isaiasramirez8224]

What would be awesome is if he could pass on those ideas to other talented or up and coming mangakas to bring to life. The One Piece Side Character Anthology...or something like that. I lean more to up and coming mangakas taking a crack at them to get additional exposure....however, I'd be tempted to see how mainstream mangakas would bring to life Oda's work.

[@ralfsstuff]

Just a friendly reminder that we've met Kin'emon almost exactly 400 chapters ago. That's almost half of the entire series so far and 10 years of publication

[@username-ql8ox]

Weirdly enough, I'm much more attached to Vivi than Kin'emon even though her screentime was so much less than his

[@ralfsstuff]

@@username-ql8ox Same. Though that would also kinda depend on re-runs on TV and re-reading the Manga.
I can't even tell how many times I've watched Alabasta growing up.
So for me I've easily spent more time with Vivi in that regard.😁👍

[@nikcantsnipe]

I genuinely think if Oda was writing in a different format than manga or if people weren't so reflexively dismissive of manga as a medium, he'd have his name up there with Sanderson, pretty easily. I consider Oda and Miura to be excellent storytellers and masters of world building. Even outside of One Piece, I find this man so fascinating that sometimes I look forward to the SBS just to see what this man has to say. I don't know if Berserk is particularly something that even comes close to fitting into Merphy's preferred genres but it is another great manga along with Vinland Saga. Excited to see Merphy cover that next.
Yes, Togashi is also great. But I still would put Oda and Miura over him. Just personal preference.

[@fenris5932]

I mean who knows how popular Sanderson is in places like Japan. One Piece isn't super popular in the West but it's a household name in Japan

[@mikeostwald9645]

Honestly, Oda is much more famous than Sanderson. One Piece has sold more than any other manga, comic or book (outside the bible) with over 500 million volumes the only series that beats One Piece in popularity is harry Potter.

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

And there are other great mangakas I would put up there. Just mentioning 3 is not enough at all.

[@D__634]

I'm prettty sure he would be one of the greatest novelist if he used the standard books as medium. He's been getting awards when he was still a student/ pre-One Piece. Which means he really knows how to write a good story.

[@loupe500]

I don’t think Miura is a master of world building. Don’t get me wrong, berserk is great, but not because of it’s world imo (it’s good, but nothing insane). Berserk is one of the most unique stories I ever read, it has a different approach in characters, is FREAKING GORGEOUS, and has one of the most interesting MC I ever read (Guts is SO flawed and with SO MUCH TRAUMA, it’s honestly joyful seeing him in the screen, specially when he is not full berserk mode and is instead just a tough guy that deep down really likes to have a group he can call his own). Ofc, Berserk has a lot more going for it, like the villains and etc (and some bad stuff, like any story), but I don’t think the world is it’s main strength (in that regard I do think togashi is better).

[@DoodOverThere]

I hope she talks a bit about the SBS sections. I've never seen an author have such a bizzare yet hilariously informative QnA section like Oda has.

[@monkeydgarp9663]

I can’t wait to see the next island that Oda has crafted. I started watching One Piece in 2019, I thought I would challenge myself to watch the entire series. By the time I was caught up to the anime I was so hooked on the story and attached to the characters I went back and read the manga from the beginning all the way to Wano. I’m very excited to be a part of this story at the beginning of a brand new arc

[@caseycollinson1429]

It's such a novel experience. I picked up the series right at the time skip and I barrelled through the whole thing just in time to continue the journey with our crew. The anticipation for what was coming next was otherworldly. One Piece is really just such a treat

[@monkeydgarp9663]

@@caseycollinson1429 it really is, I can’t get enough of it. I’ve already read the manga through twice. And I’m rewatching the anime whenever I workout on my rowing machine. And now that wano has ended I’m rereading wano, wano was amazing it was a fun experience reading it week too week

[@sohailsadaqat6684]

As for jokes, jokes are never going to be perfect for everyone as jokes are usually extremely based on ppl taste as every human has different funny bone. Thats why stories that end up being praised too high usually have hardly any humar because if there is no humar its easier to satisfy ppl who actually like only the story.
Oda goes to laughter for every kind he can so Yes it will be hit and miss for ppl but for me its as perfect funny as it can be.

[@SilentPhoenix__]

Funny bone yohohoho

[@Nastyn1nja808]

"We are the WEAVERS of history."
Oda is weaving an amazing story that will stand with titans of the industry

[@hakeem311]

When I was reading one piece for the first time I was going through a rough time my dad just died and I fell into a really dark place blaming myself and thinking he would still be around if I didn't exist and when I reached enies lobby I really connected with Robin and hearing saul say nobody is born to be alone really resonated with me and helped me out of that dark spot thinking even if I don't get the people I can be the person someone else needs. Without this series honestly I probably wouldn't be here anymore

[@VeeZzz123]

My favorite foreshadowing is Shanks using Haki in the first chapter, we getting a glimpse about its existence (but not connecting it at all) in Skypiea, seeing it from time to time, like shanks meeting whitebeard, luffy using it in Amazon Lily and Marinford unconsciously, and having it finally explained right before the time skip just to be a central and vital mechanic for the arcs to come.
took like 500 chapters and it was there from the start lol

[@YourBlackLocal]

What Oda does best, for me, is make retro-active decisions and makes it seem like it was foreshadowed all along.
He loves taking past ideas and re-introducing them. I think it’s partly why he likes to keep things vague so there’s room to change it later.

[@fenris5932]

1043 and beyond is kind of the ultimate in that. You can tell he didn't have the idea since the beginning but it fits so incredibly well

[@DarkChaos1986]

@@fenris5932 I don't know, he wrote an sbs years ago saying that he gave Luffy the most ridiculous power, and, somehow, this is the most ridiculous power in the One Piece World, and about Shanks, all his crew is not user of DF, why Shanks would go out of his way to steal a DF when he has no interest in DF?

[@fenris5932]

@@DarkChaos1986 sure but the whole spoiler spoiler Sun thing and the renaming is kind of retcon-y. That and the fact we only had one real piece of foreshadowing for it and it was during Wano

[@Moody.Smiruai]

@@fenris5932 I mean. Skypia was a big one...but idk

[@fenris5932]

@@Moody.Smiruai Saying an Aztec based society worships a sun God that incarnated into a snake and takes virgin sacrifices is not the same thing as establishing that there's a Warrior of liberation who frees slaves and brings smiles to the faces of the people

[@Bleacke5]

One of my favorite aspects of the story will always be the sense of adventure. Its the exact feeling I look for when playing mmorps and exploration games and i cant quite scratch that itch even with other series and stories.

[@tulip5210]

Yes!

[@Limited_ham.b]

First of all I want to thank you for creating a playlist of One Piece review videos, so I don't have to scroll to find the videos
I'm currently running a marathon on that playlist and I'm enjoying your review without skipping.
when I saw the video review of the East and Alabasta arc as you said it needed a recap of the arc and when you said that I agreed.
like I remember back when I was in elementary school around 2004/5, like "yeah this cartoon is full of adventure and funny" (I was a kid) and not complex things in the series.
soon I didn't have access anymore or how to access this anime because at that time I was watching on tv channels and tv ended this series.
then in 2018 I decided to watch again from episode 1 - 800++ if I'm not mistaken it took 3 months and continued reading manga more often and how cool it was that Oda made stories from character development, world building, connecting every little piece to something we not expecting

[@anamericanseoul1391]

Something I think people usually overlook about Oda is his setups for future plot lines. As I read/watched One Piece, I would have never guessed in a million years that he would introduced Laboon with the intention of motivating one of the major characters, Brook. I completely FORGOT that he heavily foreshadowed Jimbei and Fishman Island in freaking Arlong Park. And he introduced one of the MAIN VILLAINS by just having him be super chill and eating cherry pies. The subtlety is off the charts and I just love when it, as Kronk says, comes all together.

[@YourBlackLocal]

What people don’t understand is writers go back and take from their own story. They’re not literally planning every single thing out. Breaking bad did it. Robin Hobb does it, Oda does it.
I highly doubt when most of those things were introduced Oda knew what he’d do with them.

[@mayjenitall3356]

@@YourBlackLocal yes Oda still re read his past volume, just to retcon. But what i still awe about it that consistency he made. Him being writer and able to see it from reader prespective is what i like

[@mekinot]

@@YourBlackLocal He definitely goes back and reuses old ideas, but we also know for a fact that he has many things he planned ahead of time and were pretty intentional. Ofc he's not in EVERY detail (no one could), not everything was first written to be foreshadowing, but there's a lot that actually was, and that is impressive.

[@YourBlackLocal]

@@mekinot I’m not saying he re-uses ideas but that he retcons them to add new details so it seems like foreshadowing.
I think he has notes, on what he could do with an idea. But he’s said himself he only plans each saga.

[@dkutch8776]

Pluton! We first heard of it in Alabasta, revisited it in Water 7, and now in Wano. There's so much hype and build up around it and lots of characters interwoven into its story (Robin, Franky, Crocodile, etc.). I can't believe that it seems we're just leaving Wano without even looking at it, and I can't wait to see what it is and what it's capable of.

[@yoboyryy1715]

Merphy, I freaking LOVE your videos because your perspective is a lot different from your average anime/manga reader. Every single time ppl ask me about One Piece and why they should start or at least dip their feet in it, I always tell them my recommendation but ALWAYS recommend your videos to back up my recommendation. You started questioning One Piece in the very beginning but then ended up loving it, which was the same journey as I. Everything you said in the video is exactly how I felt about Oda being one of the goats, as One Piece is literally the greatest story I’ve ever witnessed. I just wanted to you to know that because you deserve your flowers hitting us with your amazing reviews. It’s so fun now that we can share this journey together until the very end. Thank you, Nakama! 🙏🏽

[@rumelingecristescu6046]

I'm in a reread of the whole manga am currently I am in mid Skypiea. There were so many things that made me cry in only 250 it's unbelivable. And some made me laugh cry and change my mood for the rest of the day (Luffy's declaring he's dead, Vivi's speech, Cobra ending the war, Vivi crying and yelling to atop the fighting etc.)

[@cjyou1000]

Oda will always be the GOAT just like I'll always be the BATMAN

[@noname3609]

No human in real life is Bats-Captain America level 🤣

[@detaaditya6237]

Are you that batman who haki punched luffy in the beginning of wano?

[@kyozakrue808]

whoa Batman, I never thought I'd meet u in UA-cam comments

[@SkuntCabbage]

@@noname3609 David Goggins has to be close lol

[@swornbrothers5193]

My idol

[@isopodshuffle]

One of my favorite little interconnected-island things (that a lot of people don't know about!) is that the Aqua Laguna in Water 7 is what causes the regular low tide in LRLL

[@tulip5210]

LRLL? What’s that

[@ThePedrolic]

@@tulip5210 long ring long land

[@SuddenlySlanted]

the one thing that always baffles me about how amazing oda is, is just the level of foreshadowing he does...out of all of oda's mastered storytelling skills, his foreshadowing literally reigns king...i don't know any other author ever that has the foresight to drop little seeds of something that are completely irrelevant at the time, and 10, 15, 20 years later just hit us with "oh yeah, that's been planned this entire time." and have it make PERFECT sense. it really is completely unprecedented.

[@SuddenlySlanted]

@@watercrystals9744 for some things, yes. But for example, I don't think the most recent revelation about luffy was retrofitted at all. I'm not going to spoil what happened in case someone hasn't read it. I also don't think that lola giving the straw hats big mom's vivre card 10 years before big mom became relevant is.
One Piece might not be as planned as some people think, but that doesn't take away the foreshadowing that oda does.

[@alexanderhandwerker9760]

there is nothing more satisfying as to watch someone fall in love with this story just like I did🥰

[@naviro6672]

My personal favorit is Denjiro
He combines all sufferings from all scabbards in one person
But he seemed to have never given up

[@edgarlarios4718]

I too thought Thriller Bark had no payoff when I first got through it, but I revisited it recently and was in shock at how much was introduced to us there without us even realizing it. I now love thriller bark almost as much as the rest of them. His payoffs may not always be in the same island's story, but I actually cannot recall anything that hasn't paid off.

[@MAT-wn5fr]

You have to take into account that Oda has been writing almost every week for 25 years and still somehow managed to write a masterpiece in One Piece.

[@wyattlawsonskala9517]

on 6:20 i couldn't agree more i read MF when I 13 almost a decade ago and still cry when I hear "Thank you for loving me."

[@gagavd]

Oda is a Master at what he does, and he'll always be in my heart as the first mangaka to have impacted me this much in so many ways, but I continue my Kingdom holy crusade by praising the work and talent of Yasuhisa Hara, it's author, that go beyond imagination. And I cannot not also praise Takehiko Inoue's work with Vagabond (the first one has been the second one's assistant btw) that makes me feel an immense emotion's spectrum every time I reread it. Both are the only authors that made me tear with joy in my 28 years of existence.

[@Woodenfan]

I'm still so mad that Vagabond's never going to get updated ever again at this rate, most likely.

[@elyossantos]

Vagabond is truly a masterpiece

[@MissAstoria19]

Oda is truly one of the greatest of all time. There is just something fascinating in seeing people excel in their craft. He is such a gifted writer and storyteller who's medium of expressing that just happened to be in manga form. It's truly a honor to be able to experience One Piece in this lifetime and I wish more people do as well.

[@chrisgodfrey1880]

I've always been amazed how in comparison to many other Manga or stories in general that Oda also allows the entire world to feel alive and constantly in motion. Many other manga I've read the only important world events or occurrences are happening with the main story itself while the rest of the world seems to stand still until the story needs to involve that location or character again. Whereas with One Piece so many things can still be occurring in the rest of the world that have major ramifications or impact on events to come. Sometimes they are told through chapter title pages, sometimes its briefly covered during or after a story arc, and sometimes it's not even mentioned really at all. But they all still hold relevance to the world overall even if the main characters have no involvement with it directly. That in my opinion is masterclass world building and something that sets Oda apart from many other writers

[@penguinmcswaggn2936]

Oda is like the overpowered gag character in a videogame. All his stats are maxed our for no good reason. His art style is beautiful and he draws every main character himself everytime. His attention to detail is inhuman, the amount of irrelevant one-off panels that directly mirror a panel from 600+ chapters ago just because he can is astounding. His storytelling is among some of the best to ever write. And he does 95% of it all by himself. Finally the thing that makes Oda the goat is that he's done it weekly for 20 years. No edits or delays in the manga industry, he's just consistenty writing peak

[@harikiran4339]

Meanwhile eiichiro oda: Why are they calling me a goat?

[@tikikeram850]

It's like Lionel Messi in football. Messi don't know himself is famous.
Outside football, he just family man .
Like Eiichiro Oda , outside manga, he just family man .

[@Moody.Smiruai]

I feel like one of the reasons why Oda may or may not expand on certain things in One Piece , like giving focus to a character or plot point is that in manga . The author is almost always crunching , under pressure or under time constraint. This is probably unfortunately the case for Oda as well. I fell like its not that he doesnt want to do all of the above but I think that he just cant due to editors and publishers , because of the way the manga industry works. He ends up rushing a few things.

[@ralfsstuff]

I still believe that Kaido jumping off the Sky Island was foreshadowing of him falling from Onigashima into the volcano beneath for his defeat.
So in a way Luffy did what he couldn't.

[@nowwhat6716]

This comment is the reason why I hate op fans😂

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

NO BRO, that WASN'T foreshadowing xD, come on

[@ralfsstuff]

What's the Problem? Is my reasoning flawed?

[@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723]

@@ralfsstuff I mean, not everything in OP is foreshadowing.
I think that what you say is kinda forced. Those were just actions, the fact that in both Kaido was going down doesn't turn it into a foreshadowing.
Also, Luffy defeated Doflamingo like that as well, so it is not unique to Kaido.

[@dantecrottogini529]

One of the reasons he's the GOAT is his chinese patience. He's literally the only author i can think of (specially when it comes to shonen manga) that is willing to make you wait hundreads of chapters but when the payoff comes it's so worth it

[@noahcornell5332]

I've always said, Oda's ability to introduce a character and make you go from not caring about them much to being devastated at their trials and tribulations in a matter of 3 minutes is amazing.

[@darraghtalorgan1905]

Moria, you could say that he was a shadow of his past self.
Edit: damn, commented too soon

[@rob6912]

Brillant analysis, im glad to see other people in this world appreciate Oda sensei as much as myself. I truly beleive no other human story compares to one piece. Past present or future.

[@skycraft9994]

I'm not a reviewer. I don't have words to explain why it is so good. But when I even think about moments in the story that really left an impression on me, I get goosebumps and my eyes tear up.

[@Maniacmike1024]

I'm not even a minute in and Merph ONCE AGAIN has slayed me with the Closed Captioning. Idk if she does it herself or what, but the Jojo's reference made me double take and crack up! Absolutely love the videos!

[@cromperer]

I still remember when people called Vinland Saga's author a goat and he got upset and thought he offended people somehow

[@CelesticCF]

lmao, that's really cute

[@harikiran4339]

😂😂...

[@Moody.Smiruai]

bruh??? wut

[@joannadrocha]

If human tech advance enough to transfer a human mind to robots, Oda has to be one of the first in line! Cause that man has such a huge imagination but his lifespan is just not enough to draw all of it. He had a 5 years plan for One Piece that is really now 25 years and ongoing, also he said that he plans to end in 3 years and he will have to really restrict his amazing ideas to try to fullfill it. And I bet that even after One Piece is over he will find a way to draw spin-offs for more islands, more worldbuilding and I'll definitely not complain. I really hope Oda eats properly, drink a lot of water, rest, spend time with his family, cause I wish all the happiness of this world to that man!

[@trehubb6144]

Always love we made Merphy a full blown fan😂💯💯.

[@ramosdiaz3575]

Oda has made me cry in sadness, happiness and more, his stories are full of love and hope. He is a master in his own class and my favorite mangaka, Naoki Urasawa being a close second, I would recommend you try the manga Pluto from him, its only 8 volumes. Thank you

[@198king]

What I think you can also do while being up to date with the one piece manga is to review the cover stories that the manga has. They're kind of long, but is a great alternative while waiting for the next few chapters to get updated :D They also show what goes on in the other minor characters' lives while not being intrusive to the main storyline :D

[@jpbelmondo7493]

What make me feel Oda sensei isbthe greatest was thec fact that Oda sensei can make new interesting story with his minor characters as the main characters, like senor pink back story, oden, corazon, the chesnut head nolad and many more.

[@mugsby7962]

I've never really been one for transformation power ups. When Goku went past SSJ2, I was kinda upset. Naruto's forms were an adjustment for me. I was so terrified of what Gear 5 would be, I would see the pure black, red outlines on the scar on his chest, all the edgy fanmade art for Gear 5; and honestly I didn't want him to get to the next level. I think Gear 5 is one of, if not my favorite piece of fiction that I've read. I love one piece for the story first, action second, yet this transformation, the implications to JoyBoy, and chapters 1042 to 1049 are the best pages of any story or scenes from any movie/episode I have ever seen.

[@mugsby7962]

Oh trust me, I know. All of what I said was personal opinion

[@alazaramos8401]

Only problem I have is a lot of people in the community complaining about stuff not being paid off but we don’t know what will happen in the final saga I would like people to hold off judgment and give oda the benefit of the doubt that he’s earned over the last 20 years and wait till the series is over to see what’s actually not paid off

[@strawnut6652]

Great video as always, Merphy. I agree with every points made here.

[@Fernando_Cabanillas]

I do think Oda is one of the greatest authors of all time... to illustrate why, his story telling hits me so hard that just hearing you talking about the stories and characters and how he develops them had me in tears as if i was reading it for the 5th time (cause i have reexperienced the whole story more than once so far since I have accompanied a few people through the anime more than once)... my only concern is his health... Oda published his working schedule a couple years back... he works 18 hours a day 7 days a week for the whole year minus 1 week (when he is mandated by shonen jump to take a break by law)... whenever he used to overwork himself his tonsils would get swollen... so he used one of those weeks to take them off.... and couple months back was the first time in 25 years that he actually took 2 months off... and used one of said months to supervise the production of the one piece life action... this man is commited... but gosh dangit, please i hope he takes care of his health... i do want to one piece to achieve an ending one day and not go the route of berserk....

[@Axeloy]

feels good to watch someone who's read so much stuff also adore this series as much as we do and acknowledge its marvels

[@derekhehn8713]

hey, i think this is a really great review/ discussion of one piece and some of the more long term themes. Great job! I think part of why one piece has worked out so well is the fact that Oda gives himself room to pick out characters and loose ends over the years and then apply a new theme or story idea that interests him. I think he enjoys exploring the world of one piece as much as the rest of us.

[@chernoalphaspunch]

My addition is just how great Oda at draw emotion. A lof of Mangaka draw emotion just how it is, laugh as laugh, cry as cry but can't portray the spectrum of the emotion itself. Oda's portraying of crying for example is realllly good. Until now, a lot of non-fans still mock how Luffy crying when Ace dead but as comical as it is, that crying still traumatizing me until today reminding me how brutal the damage to emotion and body Luffy muat endure from Sabaody until end of Marineford.

[@Batolsai]

He is bc he not only creates a great history he also was one step beyond normal books history, where he actually brings his imagination to page as he sees, and what to show us, not the usual let your usual imagination imagine the characters... and we know and can see how our favorite characters look when they cry, laugh, rage etc... while i love books with all my heart, Mangas is a step beyond that for me!!!
I really appreciate all the great Authors and illustrators Masami Kurumada / Masashi Kishimoto / Akira Toriyama / Eiichiro Oda / Buronson & Tetsuo Hara / Sui Ishida / Yoshihiro Togashi / Kentaro Miura / Tite Kubo / Takehiko Inoue / Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata /Nobuhiro Watsuki / Hiromu Arakawa and more

[@cerulean25_]

If you guys take a look at the cover of OP Volume 25, you will realize that Oda draw the future Emperors, and there is a goat placed in the middle of the "future Emperors" .. some fan said that the goat is resemble to Oda himself (as a GOAT)

[@Shauny7488]

Almost every time I get invested in a story, i always have a slight worry in the back of my mind, what is the ending going to be like?
I've seen, time and time again, a great story ruined by a terrible or rushed ending.
For maybe the first time ever, reading One Piece, im not worried about that, Oda in my mind has cemented himself as being such a reliable author, that i KNOW the ending is going to be great, and it's a reputation he deserves.

[@matheusdcompanhone]

I love One Piece so much and you talk in such a way that I suddenly started crying

[@poomipatlurkudom3883]

I also love One piece, been watching since I was 8 year old

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

I just put the first volume on hold at the library. The few anime episodes I have seen were really good. I'll be skipping the vid due to spoilers, but the fact that I regularly see this put with discworld as far as tone goes (discworld being my favorite series of all time so far), I just have to give this a try.

[@geetab9898]

I just paused this to watch later because I have just started One Piece after listening to you gush about it on this channel! Well definitely come back to it later on!

[@frederikahle4456]

Oda ate a devil fruit. The goat-goat fruit model: Storyteller 😂

[@bascalbo]

loved "Za Warudo" in the subtitles 😄 i dont even know why I had them turned on but i enjoyed that so i guess it turned out for the best

[@slothwarrior446]

I really love the island in its own little bubble analogy. Each island is it’s own little bubble but that bubble itself is in a huge bathtub full of other bubbles. Sometimes the bubbles connect to other bubbles (forming larger story arcs spanning multiple islands) and sometimes these bubbles can even pop (ohara or lulusia)

[@LOMU925]

So happy to hear you’re reading Vinland Saga!! I’m almost all caught up myself.

[@atkhodier]

I’m so happy you got into it man makes me tear up how much you love it

[@AcksD.Bharlotte]

Love your videos Merph!

[@bascalbo]

"the villains are still bad" ... enter... a beautiful character with two swans on his back 😭

[@Zeet1]

I've been reading One Piece for over 15years at this point and you bring up some interesting points I never realized. Great video

[@pxpx3577]

perfectly summarized, people are quick to judge but forget how big and inter-connected the story, themes, and characters are.

[@ToniOkami18]

I loved that you did a whole video talking about HxH and now a video talking about how great One Piece and Oda is. For me, those two mangas imo head and shoulders stand above the rest and I consider them as iconic works of fiction similar to other works with world building like LOTR, ASOF, Dune etc. Togashi and Oda are good friends too if memory serves me right so I’m sure they influenced each other.

[@QuantumtestGaming]

They both are average compared to miura and inoue , they may be goat of shounnen but overall they are nowhere near top 5

[@sindri1447]

@@QuantumtestGaming comparing apples to oranges. Berserk and One Piece for example are just two extremely different types of stories. Both are great in what they do. You don't have to make everything a competition. In fact I wish people would stop doing this.

[@ToniOkami18]

@@sindri1447 I agree idk why people have to make it a competition. I’m not a huge Dan of Berserk but I acknowledge it’s a great piece of literature and I respect fans who love it

[@kingsolomon3278]

@@QuantumtestGaming and one piece clears berserk anyway

[@QuantumtestGaming]

@@kingsolomon3278 onepisstard spotted

[@tembakaugunung6139]

"you allowed to miss now and then Oda ... "
Merphy, you are now The Official Mother of One Piece Fandom we are need.

[@freitas1527]

I think that you will really like Kingdom. It's a war story manga. It's just like every war that have existed, but like no war story that have ever been told

[@roosevelttheodore1799]

You are right, I've never read wars written in this vein of storytelling. Kingdom overall won't rank as my favorite manga, but its got a 350-400 chapter run that consist of the best story arcs ever written.

[@maximwb237]

I appreciate your tears and smiles, Napier 😭😎💖 Thanks for sharing your thoughts and emotions about themes, characters, islands, interconnections and storytelling, ALL IN ONE PIECE💪👊

[@puglife2773]

Small details matter to me the most heck every island strawhats goes they have their own brand of clothing lines and in that way you feel the world of one piece so much alive

[@doffyitachi6321]

One Piece - The Greatest Story Ever Told.

[@MatheusNiisama]

Curious choice of Picture for Moria when you mentioned him.
Great video

[@unstoppableExodia]

Well said Murphy Brown. One piece rocks and it would not have had the longevity it has had without having a story and characters that are so engaging and well realized. I can see the manga reaching that thirty year milestone quite easily.

[@richoombie]

Hi merphy I love the video. It is worth pointing out that your sound from your recording, and the music are very well balanced in the video. Great job on that!

[@HelveticaWoes]

ok, I'm a big fan of manga such as berserk, kingdom, oyasumi punpun and vagabond. I always strayed away from one piece because I was told it had weak characterization, that would be carried by forcing myself to get attached to the series after reading 1000 chapters of it. But hearing from you that they all actually have incredible depth makes me want to give it a try. I also had no idea that OP had genius writing and incredibly depth plotlines. I trust your your opinion enough to give the behemoth a go, especially since I've been DYING to find something as impactful as great as the four manga I previously mentioned. (I'll be v interested to see if do-flamingo is as great as a character as you've said)

[@quinn756]

My best advice is to take it at your own pace. It’s the one tip I give anyone that says they want to start it. Take your time, enjoy the stories of each island. The characters may be pirates, but YOU are relaxing on a cruise alongside them!
Enjoy! ❤️❤️💜💜

[@HelveticaWoes]

@@quinn756 Thanks for your response! Excited to give it a go. I have no idea how long it'll take me to catch up, but I'll get back to ya when I do (hopefully sometime next year aha).

[@avriel6903]

Make sure you remember to have fun with it! Yeah, some of us have had our lives changed and our viewpoints switched because of it, but its a story to enjoy. I once heard it said that One Piece is a story with deep themes handled by using the imagination of a child but the understanding of an older, wiser man. Smile when you read it; laugh if you can; cry if needed. It's good stuff.

[@wing2300]

Be sure to tell your kids to read it too after you finish it. It's quite a trip.

[@XZaceX]

Honestly I'd love to see you speak at length about One Puece and it's world and ideas and how they relate to you personally...You brought up Big Mom a lot and the themes of found damily and abuse. Anyone who has been following you for a while knows about your strong feelings of motherhood and how you recently adopted, and I would love to hear a discussion about how these things relate to you as a mother and someone who has taken a child into their care and loved them as their own. About your own experiences with racism and maybe trouble with authority... How people like Hody who hate for no reason are a reality in our world. Things like this are things I want to hear a deeper conversation from you . Otherwise good video, love to hear your thoughts as always!

[@xina9032]

Never have I thought that I needed the picture of Luffy riding a goat, but here I see your thumbnail and think "huh, that's neat"

[@pratikkumar5293]

Oda is goda, i will cry like baby when One piece ends 🥺

[@fightingdreamer8681]

Oda is indeed a master when it comes to filling characters full of richness to their beings. There are some characters that I, decades later, still think and reflect about every now and then. Characters like Dr. Hiriluk and his beautiful speech: from a legacy standpoint it's amazing that Oda is able to create characters that will last a lifetime despite them being support characters/having limited amount of screentime in the story. Oda is beyond amazing. 🧡

[@J-aimeFaust]

i will probably always have miura as the goat but oda is on my manga mount rushmore for sure

[@felice2441]

One piece changed my life, so oda will always be my GOAT. It still is my fav manga after more than 12 years . Its unfortunate that it also has one of the most toxic communities. The amount of negativity i see every week is crazy. It's weird that even when i really enjoy a chapter, all i see online is people complaining about stupid stuff.

[@ThatCringeCalledIggleboz]

It's like people think each chapter is gonna be the last chapter ever, they can't see three feet ahead of them. So sick of it too man.

[@aayushanand1422]

I personally disagree. I feel that people should be allowed to voice if they didn't like the chapter. I personally felt the ending of wano to be a rushed mess LoL. Oda's not faultless, but man's pretty much the closest to perfect

[@MortalKing]

Lol most of them complain for the stupidest stuff. One piece readers are illiterate.

[@Dacamster101]

As much as I agreed with all the points being made, the best part was hearing 'our crew' throughout the video, I'd never thought of it that way.

[@donesiuseriizzawa704]

What make One Piece is the best is combinations of Story, World Building, Foreshadowing, Narratives Story, Characters, Mystery, Fight.

[@monkeydluffy2747]

Not to mention all this is done week by week I cant even imagine the energy required to be this consistent. And some of the things takes YEARS to pay off.
Oda is the GOAT

[@sheepboy2560]

....AND THAT'S JUST THE STRAWHATS' JOURNEY. What about the journey of the other Supernovas?! They could star in their own series. Prequels, sequels, spin-off's would be awesome.

[@Lucas2802ao]

Loved your view!!!
Realy good the way you put it all together!
One of the best br far of this kind of video! Thanks!

[@Enjun38]

This is such a phenomenal breakdown

[@Alexthehueman]

I believe Goda comes from the idea of Kami, from the Shinto religion, the same idea Enel goes into, a being of nature outside human possibility. A simple translation of Kami(Kami-sama would be more accurate) is God hince Goda. That doesn't mean he doesn't make mistakes, look around, gods make mistakes. Not that I believe he truly is a God, more a freak of nature :)

[@Poet482]

I should mention that I'm 28, a grown-ass man, and I unexpectedly shed a tear when that damn snake was having a nightmare of wanting to see his old friends again, and unexpectedly ended up contributing to the ringing of the bell by smashing into the tree in Skypiea.
Just fantastic stuff, and a technically only a minor moment towards a huge climax, yet is treated with the skill and finesse that it could've served as a climax of sorts all on its own, yet it's in service of the story proper. Love it.

[@truck-kun9250]

why did i see "the world" as "za waruldo" in the captions? has Merphy started JoJo's Bizzare Adventure?