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"I'm upset about ch986 being called emotional and tearful."
If this is the first time, bring it in. Let's acknowledge that feeling. Yes, it happens. It probably will happen again. I/We as longtime-(～2001) OP fans sympathise with the feeling. Okay, now, let's go on a journey.
If this is the first time, bring it in. Let's acknowledge that feeling. Yes, it happens. It probably will happen again. I/We as longtime-(～2001) OP fans sympathise with the feeling. Okay, now, let's go on a journey.
The year is 2002. It's December. It's JUMP Festa and Oda Eiichiro still makes a yearly public appearance at the One Piece JUMP Super Stage in front of fans. The team talk about the year and the series having a grand time before the finale where Oda says....
"Next year a crew member will die," before leaving the stage without another comment.
The 'crew' member in question? The Going Merry. Ultimately, this event did not occur until late 2006, almost exactly 4 years later.
Four years.
The 'crew' member in question? The Going Merry. Ultimately, this event did not occur until late 2006, almost exactly 4 years later.
Four years.
Fans were waiting on a hype comment for four years and they had no idea who was going to die. It absolutely *wrecked* Japanese fans which is why he tried never to pull the same stunt again. *Same* stunt. Not *similar*.
To this day, Oda and team operate on cliff-hangers. There are several directive goals of One Piece that lead the creative operation from week to week and one of them is instilling the feeling of 'gotta read the next chap!' at the end of every single chapter. ＥＶＥＲＹ chapter.
And not only chapters, but promotional material as well. This is precisely why we get 'the Year of Sanji' or 'getting more Blackbeard next year' or going to Wano next year'. If you've been keeping score, as I have the past 17 years, zero of these have come true as planned.
They are well-intentioned and they do come to pass, but almost never when we expect and usually not in the form fans assume they will.
So this is precisely why, when I heard that comment, I tweeted the following below.
Okay, yeah, it's all good fun to pat my own back but that's not really anything special, it's just part of being able to read the team after being a fan for almost 2 decades.
But, if you don't have that advantage, yes, I can see how that can be disappointing. We get it. But we've all been there and we've all moved beyond and become better analytical thinkers for it.
