This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
One Piece and Naruto are two of the most iconic manga series of all time, and it goes without saying that they've drawn in millions of fans from all over the world. They're both written by accomplished mangaka who seem to have a great deal of respect for each other. In fact, Naruto's mangaka, Masashi Kishimoto, has openly stated to take some inspiration from Oda, and Oda has done something similar in his own manga, taking a page from Kishimoto’s book on multiple occasions. All this is very normal for fellow mangaka working in the same industry, and it just goes to show the level of respect they have for each other.
It's Time To Admit One Piece's Marineford Arc Will Be Beaten By The Upcoming Arc
Marineford is big, but it will be nothing compared to this upcoming One Piece arc.
While incorporating impressive aspects of a story in your own is a good thing, it seems that Eiichiro Oda is edging closer and closer to making One Piece's ending an impossible problem for Luffy to solve, just as Kishimoto did with Naruto. By making an overly powerful antagonist, authors back themselves into a corner when the time to beat them comes, as the conclusion to these battles isn't something that fans like. In Naruto, this is what happened to Madara Uchiha, and in One Piece, it seems like it'll happen to Imu, because at this point, Imu simply seems unbeatable.
Oda Is Making Imu Way Too Strong
Kishimoto Made Madara Almost Unbeatable
- Kishimoto didn't know how to beat Madara
- Right now, beating Imu seems impossible
One Piece chapter 1163 gave the fans their first look at Imu's full strength in combat, and it is safe to say that they're quite simply unbeatable. Imu, after having taken over Saint Saturn, showed tremendous power, the likes of which the fans have never seen before in the whole series. Imu was up against six absolute top tiers of the One Piece world.
I see them...deep in the forest, running for their lives, two new members of the Davy Clan. Such vermin shall not be allowed to live. — Imu to Rocks D. Xebec
One Piece: Oda Has Confirmed The Weakest Straw Hat
Luffy is the strongest Straw Hat, and Oda has also revealed the weakest of the crew in One Piece.
This amazing lineup included Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaido. All six of these monsters could be Yonko-level or stronger in most cases, aside from Kaido. Despite that, they weren't even able to scratch Imu in an all-out battle, and that's shocking.
This is exactly the same issue that Madara Uchiha suffered from in Naruto. Kishimoto made him so overpowered that he didn't know how to finish him off, and in the end, he resorted to Black Zetsu striking him down after everything. Undoubtedly, this was easily the worst decision that Kishimoto could've taken, and he did all this to introduce an even bigger enemy, who was even stronger, and then delivered one of the most unsatisfactory battles in the series.
Allow Mu to show thee the dominance of a God! — Imu to Elbaf
Imu Is The Undisputed Strongest of the OP World
No Pirate Can Match Imu's Strength
Right now, it looks like One Piece runs the risk of going down the same road, because if such a lineup of beasts couldn't hurt Imu, there is no way Luffy can, even if he has the power of the Sun God Nika.
Luffy struggled to fight against the Five Elders in Egghead, and he most certainly cannot beat them at the moment. Luffy can't even get rid of an Admiral without exerting himself too much, something that Rocks did effortlessly. If Rocks was no match for Imu, fans are naturally worried about how Oda will handle Luffy vs Imu. That said, Kishimoto and Oda are different writers, and fans should have faith in Oda's abilities as a writer to deliver a solid conclusion.
One Piece's next Chapter will be out this 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 October 26. 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
