After 25 years of publication, A pieceThe general storytelling formula of manga has become quite clear, but the latest installment of the Egghead Island manga seems to be breaking with this tradition. This could be a sign that with the start of the Final Saga, mangaka Eiichiro Oda is shaking things up. This will be a welcome surprise for longtime fans as well as make the upcoming plot much less predictable.
One Piece’s general formula for an arc involves the Straw Hats visiting a new island, encountering a new group of villains terrorizing that island, and then defeating the villains. This. Of course, there have been some minor deviations from this in the past, with Marineford resurrecting many past enemies, but since it was the climactic ending to One Piece’s pre-time skip era, it is reasonable that it would not follow this. formula correctly. Some critics have claimed that this formula makes One Piece too predictable, but most fans enjoy this type of story structure, as the differences in enemies and settings make these arcs different. feeling different from each other. However, it seems that Egghead is strongly bucking this trend.
Egghead Island forever breaks the classic formula of One Piece
On Egghead Island, the main threat doesn’t come from a new enemy, even though Vegapunk’s Lazy Satellite is technically an enemy. Instead, the main villains of this arc are CP0, who recently revealed his traitorous nature, and Admiral Kizaru, whom the Straw Hats previously met in Saobody. One of the 5 Elders is also present and could play a role in the fight, but for now, it looks like the big battle will be between Luffy and the extremely powerful Kizaru. Not only does this break the series’ formula of introducing new villains, but it also makes Egghead the first island where the main villains are attacking the island from the outside.
In many ways, this is a perfect departure from One Piece’s usual tradition of starting the Final Saga. It looks like this Saga will feature Luffy and the Straw Hats fighting in the final war against the leaders of the World Government, who have been ruling the world’s islands under the oppressive rule of them for many centuries. The World Government has been an omnipresent threat since One Piece began, so it makes sense for them to be returning villains for the Straw Hats to face. Additionally, this represents an escalation in scale, as while the Straw Hats previously fought to resolve each island’s internal problems, they now face the external threat of the entire island. world.
Egghead Island also focuses more on events happening around the world, which also gives this season a greater sense of scale. This makes sense as this is the first act in the Saga that One Piece has been building to since its inception. With A pieceAs the final chapter begins, fans are now truly in uncharted waters, proving that the series can still be extremely unpredictable even after 25 years.