This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
Summary
- Oda hints at potential revival of a major One Piece character from Elbaf
- Oda dislikes killing characters but also avoids reviving dead characters
- Big Mom's return is hinted at in the Elbaf arc, but her death was never confirmed
One Piece is in the Final Saga right now, and the Elbaf arc, which is currently ongoing, is moving at great speed. With Imu already in the country, the threat to Elbaf is more real than ever before. Furthermore, Imu has also turned many characters into undead monsters, which means this One Piece arc will deliver some absolutely fascinating fights to the fans as it moves forward.
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Oda has also introduced some interesting “hint characters” in this arc, which suggest that, although the threat to Elbaf is great enough already, more danger could be on the way. Against all odds, Oda could be set to revive one character in the Final Saga.
Oda Doesn't Like Bringing Back Characters From The Dead
- Oda Hates To Kill Off Characters
- Oda Doesn't Like To Bring Back Dead Characters
Fans know very well already that Oda doesn't like to kill characters. He has stated this himself in the past. According to Oda, drawing big parties at the end of the story is very difficult if he kills too many characters, and he always wants to draw big parties. For this reason, Oda doesn't kill characters all the time. But, at the same time, Oda also knows that killing characters off is very important in different ways.
Why did Ace have to die in such a cruel way? — Oda
In the Final Saga, many characters have fallen already, but Oda isn't willing to bring them back. According to Oda, character revival isn't something that he's too keen about. He thinks characters who are killed off properly should stay dead. Here's what Oda thinks about character revival in One Piece:
Question: Why didn't you create a manga like some other mangakas where dead characters revive?
Oda: Revival of a human isn't natural, right? (Laugh) If a mangaka ends up reviving the dead, he shouldn't have killed that character in the first place. My characters don't die even if they are thrown into a desperate situation.
On top of that, I have been hating the revival of dead characters ever since I was a kid. It made me doubt a mangaka, like "The reason why this mangaka revived a certain character may be because the character was popular..."
I won't do what I doubted as a kid and I 'Il do what I wanted a mangaka to do. 10 years have passed since OP started, but my criteria hasn't changed that I should satisfy 15-year-old myself
While Oda's thoughts about character revival are quite clear, fans also know that Oda leaves certain character conclusions ambiguous. In this way, he can reincorporate them into the story without killing them off. One such character is Big Mom, and Oda has hinted at her return many times in Elbaf.
Oda Could Bring Back Big Mom
Big Mom's Return Was Hinted Again in One Piece Chapter 1150
It is no secret that Oda has consistently been hinting at Big Mom's return in Elbaf. For instance, the Giants of Elbaf specifically mentioned the defeat of Big Mom many times over the arc. Then, the nightmares of the children, facilitated by Killingham’s Kirin ability, also included a mother like Big Mom. In One Piece chapter 1150, Imu reinvigorated the mother nightmare, and her appearance looks just like Big Mom from Wano, when she powered up to fight Law and Kid.
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We're facing the pirates that killed your mom. — Blackbeard Pirates to Pudding
Is Big Mom Going To Return?
It must be remembered that Big Mom's death was never confirmed. The Big Mom Pirates were seen around the end of Wano across the seas, and they could've saved her. At this point, it looks like Big Mom's return is going to happen soon, maybe in Elbaf, but maybe after it.
One Piece Chapter 1151 will be out in a week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on June 8. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1151 is June 8, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
