Highlights
- One Piece is in its final stage, with the chaotic Egghead arc signaling the beginning of the end.
- With multiple storylines running simultaneously, the World Government emerges as the potential final villain.
- The sudden appearance of the Five Elders in the Egghead arc hints at a possible fast-paced conclusion or hidden future twists.
After staying on the screen for nearly three decades, One Piece is finally in its last stage, and the end officially began with the Egghead arc. Every story arc in One Piece has its charm and excitement, but Egghead is by far the most chaotic one.
From the introduction of Vegapunk and his alter egos to the sudden appearance of CP0 and the arrival of the Marine’s fleet along with the Pacifistas in order to carry out the Buster Call on Egghead, there are simply so many things happening at the same time in this arc. As if that is not overwhelming enough, the Five Elders also make their entrance and bare their fangs to the Straw Hats. All of these things happening simultaneously begs the question. Is the story moving too fast?
A Tale of Two Storylines
One Piece’s story followed the same structure as most Shonen series. Jumping from one story arc to the next, with each arc focusing on a certain event and villain. But things became more complicated once the Straw Hats met Nico Robin during the Arabasta arc. From that point on, two storylines are running at the same time.
New Story in Every Arc
Every story arc in One Piece has the usual three-act structure. From the Romance Dawn to the Wano Country, every story arc has a beginning, middle, and end. A Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. The conflict and the villain are introduced at the start of the arc and everything will be resolved by the end of the arc. Once the arc has ended, the Straw Hats will immediately jump into the next arc. This is a robust structure that is not only reliable for One Piece but for virtually any kind of story told in any kind of medium.
A Story Underneath the Story
However, when Arabasta happened and Nico Robin joined the Straw Hats, another storyline opened up, one that was way bigger than the regular story arc. This particular story arc slowly develops over time, with new details and development added in every passing arc. The villain of this massive storyline is the World Government and the main goal of this overarching storyline is to uncover the secret of the Void Century that the World Government has kept hidden for nearly a thousand years.
That’s why even though lots of new and improved villains kept on popping up in every story arc, the story always gave the impression that the World Government would be the final villain. The one that the Straw Hats will have to defeat in order to achieve their final objective.
Is the Story Moving too Fast?
The Egghead arc began just like any other story arc in One Piece. The Straw Hats stumble upon a strange new place that turns out to be the home of an important person who is involved in an extremely complicated, and potentially dangerous, issue. In this case, it was the lab of the renowned Marine scientist, Dr. Vegapunk.
However, that is pretty much the only pattern that Eiichiro Oda (One Piece’s author) follows in Egghead. Because it doesn’t take a long time to see that Egghead takes a different approach than the previous arcs.
A Surprise Entrance
As the Egghead arc progressed, more characters made their entrance, such as Jewelry Bonney, Bartholomew Kuma, and Kizaru. At this point, most fans assumed that this arc would revolve around these characters, with Kizaru potentially being the main villain and the Five Elders as the overarching villains that will oversee everything from afar. However, this assumption is quickly shattered when the Five Elders begin to be actively involved in the story.
Shouldn’t the Five Elders Appear in the Final?
As if that’s not shocking enough, not only one but all five members of the Five Elders eventually descend to Egghead Island which is currently under siege by the Marines. They come to kill Luffy and Vegapunk while brazenly showcasing their true abilities.
All of a sudden, the entity that is supposed to be one of the last enemies decided to jump the gun and commenced a full-blown assault on Luffy and his comrades. The enemies that should’ve appeared near the end of the series are now openly baring their fangs at the beginning of the final saga. This can only mean two things. Either the story is moving way too fast or Oda has something big up his sleeve.
The Future of One Piece
So does the story truly move too fast or is it just another setup for something bigger in the future? Let’s briefly explore these two options and then make an educated guess about the future of this iconic and beloved series.
Moving Too Fast
|
Character Name |
The Great Imu |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Episode 885 |
|
Release Date |
May 19, 2019 |
If the story is indeed moving too fast, that means the end of One Piece is actually a lot closer than we initially thought. At this pace, this legendary series may end in the next two or three arcs. After all, once a major enemy like the Five Elders is defeated, there’s only a handful of characters that pose a threat to Luffy and his comrades, such as the Great Imu or the Blackbeard pirates, just to name a few.
Mind you, when it comes to One Piece, a single story arc can easily translate into a year or two of publication in real life. So even if Oda does want to speed up the end of his series, it will likely take a couple of years to complete.
Secret Enemies
|
Character Name |
Saint Figarland Garling |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Chapter 1086 |
|
Release Date |
June 12, 2023 |
Another possibility would be Eiichiro Oda hiding some major revelations or some new characters up his sleeve. These new entities will be the ones that the Straw Hats have to face before they find the mythical One Piece. In a way, one of the old enemies has to go to make way for the newcomers.
Considering how massive the cast of characters in One Piece already is, introducing one or two new characters won’t be an issue. After all, it was only recently that Oda added a new group of skilled fighters named the Holy Knights as a potential enemy to the Straw Hats. So adding some new ones this late in the story is basically on brand for One Piece.
Needless to say, Eiichiro Oda is the only one who knows how or when his series will end. Besides, whether he decides to chop down the major enemies early in order to speed up the story, or spice up the story by introducing some new characters, there is one thing that we as the fans of the series can expect from this iconic mangaka. Eiichiro Oda will ensure One Piece remains as interesting as possible.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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