Oda talks about the final arc.

[Strawhat Chan]

Questioner: Many are looking forward to what happens next in One Piece could you give us a message for them?

ODA: One thing that keeps me motivated to keep drawing One Piece is that I want to draw the last chapter. The last chapter is amazing! I imagine a final chapter that will make Marinefold arc look like nothing!

Questioner: Seriously?!

ODA: The Marinefold arc really felt like a side trip to me. I didn't expect it to be so popular. So I don't know how readers will take this one. But the thing I think is interesting will be in that last chapter. Until then I would like as many of the fans as possible to stick with me.

Greg: Yes, do not attempt to adjust your monitors. That's an honest to God English interview with Oda in a Japanese book. Everything in the book appears in BOTH English and Japanese. If you are not ble to attend the actual exhibit it's simply a no-brainer 'must have' item. And although the interview is mostly covered elsewhere in other publications, it includes Oda thoughts on the final arc. In his own words, 'the final arc will make Marineford look like nothing' and the MF was merely a 'side trip' in the overall story.

My God....the fucking ocean was turned into a multi-ring shuddering death quake with gigantic magma meteors raining from heaven. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE PLANNED ODA!!!!?????

http://www.facebook.com/onepiecepodcast

[Jules197]

Well... Even though I can't deny that anything related to how the story will end is super interesting, this is nothing new - I mean, of course the last chapter of One Piece will be awesome, and no one would expect Oda to say anything else. "Oh I'm sorry guys, I know you love One Piece, but the last chapter will be a piece of crap". Yeah, he wouldn't say that.

But when Oda says the last chapter he means the last arc, right?

[Strawhat Chan]

Yes, he meant the last arc.

[KageKageKing]

Pray that the ending don't be like Shaman King.

[CaptainKid]

The last arc is what he is talking about but I think he also emphasized the last actual chapter as well. If you can read the other parts, he talks about having a notebook of story ideas and that he has to trim them down every so ofter or the series would never end. He also says if he thinks he is running low on ideas he has confidence his future self will bring more to him. My favorite part is he said he is a fan of his own manga and he reads it in Shonen Jump and sometimes he wants to know what happens next but he realizes he has to draw it and gets saddened (I LOL'ed at this).

[city_lights31]

Strangely aroused.

[Luffyfan]

I kind of figured it'd make that arc look like a walk in the park. All the friends Luffy ran into over the few years will come back to help of course, they'll probaly try and lure out Luffy and his crew with some one they care about, making them ticked to try and want to crush the Goverment. Man, both excited and sad about this as I really want to see the last arc but than the series will end I'm sure Oda will make this series end to where it will be talked about years to come and make other manga look weak dispite it being over. Its funny how he said he didnt think it'd be this big, oh Oda! Love yah.

[RobbyBevard]

Well, yeah. It was pretty obvious Marineford was just the midseries tease, providing a glimpse of the endgame power levels, which were totally cinsistent with what we've seen before. Thats why NONE of the fights got shown in depth, and we just saw a move or two from each character.

Assume the final battles are all going to be at that scale. Tossing giant iceburgs, cutting islands in half, entire armies falling in a single blow, that sort of thing.

I mean, Mihawk *accidentally* cut a giant iceburg in half and destroyed a ton of ships with a *missed* shot. Just imagine what it'll be like when he and Zoro go full tilt on one another.

[MasterKingJC]

Final chapter =

[Ringleader]

can't wait i know Oda isn't bluffing

[minor_runes]

I sincerely hope last arc/chapter isn't just a big tag-team match where Oda simply takes every character he has and throws them into a fight.
One Piece isn't DBZ.

[Cyke]

No, One Piece is better than DBZ. But this is not the place to argue that.

Since Marineford I've thought that the last arc is going to be more "intimate", with the Strawhats fighting the Blackbeards in Raftel.
But I wouldn't mind an all-cards-on-the-table war.

[TheLaw]

Since he mentioned making the marineford war look like nothing, I'm guessing its gonna be a war much more epic then that. There's probably going to be a big war against the WG where all the old characters come to aid the strawhats while they fight the main enemies. Don't know if its Blackbeard's crew or the Gorosei.

[Silence]

I sincerely hope last arc/chapter isn't just a big tag-team match where Oda simply takes every character he has and throws them into a fight.
One Piece isn't DBZ.

No?

Cuz the fight against Oars was one of the best in the entire series and a fight like that with the characters at their best would drop ALL the panties in this house, let me tell you.

[minor_runes]

No?

Cuz the fight against Oars was one of the best in the entire series and a fight like that with the characters at their best would drop ALL the panties in this house, let me tell you.

I suppose some of us care about OP as a whole, rather than seeing it as a bunch of fights with filler in between.
Although given that so many here complain every time a chapter doesn't have a fight in it, I am probably in the minority.

[kagehisa]

Watch it end like Claymore ... out of nowhere.

Yeah that would definitely be "amazing" cus all the fans would be astonished

[Silence]

I suppose some of us care about OP as a whole, rather than seeing it as a bunch of fights with filler in between.
Although given that so many here complain every time a chapter doesn't have a fight in it, I am probably in the minority.

Passive-aggressive much?

It seems a bit silly to expect that the end of One Piece won't have some kind of hithertofore unprecidented escalation of all the crazy rivalries, wacky powers, and different factions in the form of one final brawl.
Perhaps that isn't your cup of tea! But I think the fights are difficult to extract from the narrative when you're talking about the climax of the entire series.

I'm personally not overly fond of the Marineford arc. But that came from a lack of emotional investment in many of the characters.
If it's the Strawhats, on the cusp of achieving their dreams, it will be quite a different story, I'm sure.

At the very least, I have faith that Oda knows what he's doing with the ending, considering he's had it in mind since beginning the manga, and drawing the final chapters has been part of his motivation for continuing serialization for at least as long. Whether it comes in the form of the greatest discovery, the greatest battle, the greatest party or the greatest conversation, I'm sure the ending of One Piece will be... well, great.

And frankly, it's a bit premature to speculate negatively about a plot development that won't happen for at least 5 or 6 years.
If there's a fight, it will most probably have the narrative chops to support it - Oda will have been building towards it for the whole manga, after all.

[minor_runes]

Passive-aggressive much?

Would you prefer I outright said I consider emphasis on fights and lamenting about the exposition in place of said fights juvenile?

It seems a bit silly to expect that the end of One Piece won't have some kind of hithertofore unprecidented escalation of all the crazy rivalries, wacky powers, and different factions in the form of one final brawl.
Perhaps that isn't your cup of tea! But I think the fights are difficult to extract from the narrative when you're talking about the climax of the entire series.

I'm personally not overly fond of the Marineford arc. But that came from a lack of emotional investment in many of the characters.
If it's the Strawhats, on the cusp of achieving their dreams, it will be quite a different story, I'm sure.

At the very least, I have faith that Oda knows what he's doing with the ending, considering he's had it in mind since beginning the manga, and drawing the final chapters has been part of his motivation for continuing serialization for at least as long. Whether it comes in the form of the greatest discovery, the greatest battle, the greatest party or the greatest conversation, I'm sure the ending of One Piece will be... well, great.
And frankly, it's a bit premature to speculate negatively about a plot development that won't happen for at least 5 or 6 years.

I am not disagreeing with you, just saying that the fights no matter how grand are just a small part of the story. They have to be there, and have to be showy, it comes with the genre. But to me personally adventure parts and character interactions are as big or bigger parts of the whole.
We all like something in OP and there is plenty to like for everyone, that's why it's so popular. But personally, if the emotional high and climax of the whole story spun around adventure and spirit of camaraderie is a big fisticuffs then I will be disappointed. Maybe I am too old for the series, I dunno

[Cruithne]

Oda is the only mangaka out there who can say that without me calling BS.

Is there a full transcribed version of the interview somewhere?

[Silence]

Would you prefer I outright said I consider emphasis on fights and lamenting about the exposition in place of said fights juvenile?

It would be more honest!

I am not disagreeing with you, just saying that the fights no matter how grand are just a small part of the story. They have to be there, and have to be showy, it comes with the genre. But to me personally adventure parts and character interactions are as big or bigger parts of the whole.
We all like something in OP and there is plenty to like for everyone, that's why it's so popular. But personally, if the emotional high and climax of the whole story spun around adventure and spirit of camaraderie is a big fisticuffs then I will be disappointed. Maybe I am too old for the series, I dunno

Cool. In this, I agree: fights are only a part of what makes One Piece so fun - maybe even a small part. I guess I just feel that when they're well done, they ooze as much personality as the rest of the manga.

There's a bit of thrill in seeing the unexpected team-ups, exposed character flaws, and the humor of a well done One Piece fight. Luffy fighting Foxy was a good example, in my opinion. I don't view the fights as something separate from the more emotionally engaging parts - the whimsy of adventure or the tearjerker flashbacks. They're part and parcel.

For me, when they're done well, they mean something. Luffy finally beating Crocodile or Eneru, or one-shotting Bellamy is about more than some fists flying - it's about a clash of personalities and dreams.
When that final punch connects, it's a rebuke. Luffy wins because he's got something his opponent's don't. That drive to be better, the desire to protect his friends, a refusal to be cynical. Conviction. Whatever it is.

There are many fans who get antsy when someone hasn't thrown a punch in a while. And, well, whatever. There's nothing for 'em.
But for me the fights aren't just fireworks. The good ones have as much personality and tension as the arc that builts up to them.
And when this manga closes out, and Luffy's arm stretches back to deliver that last punch, I wanna feel the crunch of the dream coming true.