One Piece is an incredible series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The story follows Luffy on his journey to becoming the Pirate King and it has, over the years, managed to captivate fans from all over the world. One Piece is truly a phenomenon today and much of that is down to the incredible story writing of Oda.
The many arcs in One Piece are believed to be special as not only are they filled with incredible characterization and worldbuilding but they also manage to touch the fans on a personal level. Marineford, an arc that marks the conclusion of the first part of the story, is believed to be one of the most incredible story arcs in the series. This arc certainly blew the fans away, however, according to Oda, bigger things are still to come.
The Importance Of Marineford
The Summit War arc marked the conclusion of the first part of One Piece. It was the culmination of several arcs that saw Luffy rush to rescue his brother, Ace. Ace was on a hunt for Blackbeard and, when the two met, he was defeated and ended up being captured and turned over to the Navy. Knowing that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger, the Navy quickly decided on an execution date for Ace, which paved the way for the Summit War, where the Whitebeard Pirates and his 43 allied ships fought against 100,000 Marines at their home, Marineford. The Summit War was a battle of massive proportions where not only did the fans get to see a Yonko in action but they also got a glimpse of the Shichibukai, the Admirals as well as some powerful prisoners from Impel Down show up.
Luffy, who was too small for all this at the time, was thrown into the midst of everything in an attempt to rescue his brother. Eventually, Ace ended up dying when he chose the sacrifice himself for Luffy and this sparked the 2-year timeskip, where Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates decided to grow stronger. This arc has captivated fans all over the world and has a magical grasp on them due to the incredible tension, the surprises, the consequences, the heartbreaking end, and, in the end, a hope for a better tomorrow. Marineford is truly one of Oda's greatest arcs, if not the greatest.
Oda's Biggest Arc
While Marineford is certainly incredible in nearly every way, it is certainly not the one that Oda was looking forward to the most. In fact, Oda was actually surprised at the popularity of the arc because he did not expect it to blow up as much. According to him, Marineford was just a side story that he didn't think too much about. As such, this is not an arc that he was planning to draw for years upon years. Nonetheless, Marineford was spectacular, however, what was in Oda's mind was the Final Saga of One Piece. For years, Oda has planned to draw the Final Saga and he has crafted it with great enthusiasm. Now, the story is finally there. Marineford was just a small story to Oda and according to him, it will look cute in comparison to what is finally going to go down and the Final Saga of One Piece.
The final saga is well and truly uneeesayy and fans have already seen glimpses of the world of One Piece turning upside down. The Straw Hats are not the only focus in the Final Saga and all the major powers in the world are finally moving. Undoubtedly, the One Piece world is now growing more turbulent than ever before and it will be interesting to see where Oda goes with it.
The fact that Oda mentions that Marineford will be nothing in comparison to the Final Saga just goes to show that everything he has done in the story leads up to this point and that he has meticulously planned this for a very long time. Fans should be bracing themselves for the most incredible twists and turns in the story as the legendary manga finally gets closer to its climax.
Quite recently, in Jump Festa, Oda mentioned that the Final Saga will be like a free for all Battle Royale in 2023. This means that all the major powers will be in a fight for supremacy this year, which once again goes to show that Straw Hats won't be the only focus of the story this time around. Fans have already seen the likes of Shanks and even Buggy start to make their move. Other than them, the already established Yonko, Blackbeard, and the likes of the Revolutionary Army and the World Government's strongest members have also started moving. One Piece is certainly in its most exciting phase now and if the Final Saga truly ends up being what it is hyped up to be, fans are in for the greatest arc in the entirety of fiction itself.