The running joke when it comes to One Piece is that we are more likely to die before we ever know what is going to happen in the finale. Long-time viewers of One Piece are familiar with that boring feeling while watching the latest episodes, even if we truly love the series. Why is that?
One Piece is boring because the series has been running for so long. As we are dealing with a long-running series, there is no solution for the pacing issue. The exciting new episodes seem to be bland because viewers know that they have to wait for a long time before knowing what will happen next.
Do you also feel that the hype about new One Piece episodes is no longer worth it? Even if you are a One Piece lover, do you also find the show boring? You might find the answers in this article, so read on!
Reason #1: One Piece Has Terrible Pacing
Lovers of One Piece know this huge issue about this series. Even when the series boomed way back in the 90s, it had terrible pacing.
This terrible pacing became a problem as it resulted in skipping episodes. Therefore, there are big or little scenes that viewers miss.
At the time, streaming was not that popular so even avid viewers tend to not get the whole picture as to what is going on because they do not read the manga.
Further, the pacing problem made it seem like the next episodes after a huge plot conclusion are just composed of filler episodes, which is not entirely the case.
If viewers are tuning in and tuning out of the series, they really cannot get into the story, the characters, the conflict, etc.
One Piece Has A Slow Beginning
It is a good thing that streaming services became mainstream as they somehow saved One Piece in terms of dealing with its bad pacing. We are referring to viewer prospects who were put off by the slow start of One Piece.
The first few episodes of One Piece are not that meaty and do not really reveal much of the main plot. So if you are only watching it based on its first few episodes, one can definitely resolve that it is a boring series.
Good thing, One Piece solidified itself as one of the greatest shonen animes, so people can get a double-take even if they find the first episodes to be boring.
The series only starts to pick up when Luffy starts completing his crew. Even then, for the very first one, which is Zoro, it is still a long way to watch from the first episode. (We explain why One Piece Is so extremely long here!)
Therefore, if the subtle hints about the main plot did not capture your attention before seeing the bound Zoro, then you can easily drop One Piece.
One Piece Has No Solution For Pacing Problems
It is extremely easy to say that they should fix the pacing problem. A huge fix that many fans are suggesting is simply not releasing episodes until the manga is finished.
However, this is also a huge problem because such a huge franchise as One Piece endangers itself for spoilers when the finale is revealed in the manga. Of course, this does not only cover the finale but upcoming episodes as well.
One Piece has been in a constant tug of war between manga releases and anime episodes. This is probably the price to pay for being epic?
Another problem as to the fix that is suggested by fans is the fact that there is a lot of background production chatter that we do not know about.
The creator, production company, etc. might have already drawn contracts on certain timelines. So even if this means that the pacing will remain terrible, they really could not go against signed contracts of releases.
Reason #2: One Piece Has Boring Arcs
The world of One Piece is truly incredible. There are a lot of sights to see and new plot points to discover. Add to that the characters behind these plot points that just make you hold on to the story.
Then there are those arcs that are still interesting, but they should not have been drawn out. Again, drawn-out arcs may have been a band-aid fix on the pacing issue while waiting for the next manga release, but still, it can make a rather compelling arc into a boring one.
Here are some arcs that fans think are boring:
Fishman Island Arc
The placement of this arc is a difficult one as it followed the Marineford Arc and Post-War Arc. On one hand, you have an action-packed arc, and on the other hand, you have your chill arc that showed developments in the characters. So where does that leave Fishman Island Arc?
This arc was supposedly the arc of new and stronger beginnings. At this time, we want to learn how much the Straw Hat Pirates changed and how it will affect the story.
More than that, this arc was so hyped before the anime was released. Yet, what we got was a flashback-ridden arc that did not even explore the depths of Fishman Island.
The episodes were too long and it was entirely made up of flashbacks that relate to Fishman Island lore.
Sure, there is story progression there, but we only got to see what we came to see (the increase in skills and power of the Straw Hats) at the latter part of the arc.
Punk Hazard Arc
For this one, fans are 50-50 on whether this is a boring or an epic arc. The truth is if it was limited to 20 episodes then it would have been truly amazing and people would have gotten their fill of the many happenings in this arc.
Then again, here we go with pacing issues and strategies to match the pace of the anime and the manga, we are left with 45 episodes.
Therefore, we have more than half episodes of characters just having deep thoughts while in the middle of the battle and back and forth between other characters in battle and the giant children.
The thing is, this is still an important arc even though you are fast-forwarding some of the repetitive scenes because, without the happenings in this arc, the Straw Hats would not have gone to Dressrosa. At the same time, there are mysteries on the island, and Smoker is hot on their tail.
A lot of aspects about the One Piece world were also discussed in this arc wherein there is a brief introduction about Wano Country as well as the fight between Akainu and Aokiji years ago that resulted in the current weird weather of the island.
Then again, all of this can be covered in 20 jam-packed episodes. It was so boring to watch characters just run around.
Long Ring Long Land Arc
Oh, the Davy Back Fight. Did anyone really finish this arc in full? I sure did, and boy did I regret it (except the parts with Aokiji)
It was fun and very light-hearted which is very suited as it is a break from the upcoming darker arcs. However, the fun was just too repetitive and the same gags are used, so it ends up not being funny in the long run.
Further, the anime did it differently as compared to how the manga was done. In fact, the anime added more games (as if to make the episodes more interesting) This arc does have its highs where we see the dynamics of the Straw Hat Pirates and we are assured that all of them fit perfectly, but we already know that, so what is the point?
A lot of One Piece fans have suggested to other people who have only gotten into One Piece recently to skip this arc, except for the episodes where there is a confrontation with Aokiji that also hints at the backstory of Robin.
Reason #3: One Piece Has Too Much Filler Episodes
One Piece has many great episodes but it also has a ton of trash filler episodes. Some people may view the term “trash” as being too harsh, but it is actually accurate.
Long-standing and successful animes have this sickness where there is no choice but to put filler episodes to make up for the anime and manga release mismatch.
However, that does not mean that the content of the filler episodes should be made up of nonsense.
One Piece pushes this aspect of filler episodes to the extent that you might just be so pissed at watching these boring filler episodes that you end up quitting One Piece altogether.
One to two episodes of light side stories for filler can be entertaining, but four to six back-to-back filler episodes can drive you insane.
More than that, the content of these episodes range from flashbacks, recaps, memories, and the like. There is simply no original content! You might even like watching Long Ring Long Land Arc compared to the filler episodes.
The fillers in One Piece are so bad that even those who hated the four-season semi-filler episodes of Naruto would view them as a blessing.
One Piece already has 1000 episodes. Of those episodes, there are 90+ filler episodes. The number of episodes where there are just a series of flashbacks and running montages have not been determined.
Reason #4: One Piece Releases Few New Episodes
We really cannot put the blame on anyone when it comes to this because just like what we said, this is the curse of long-running successful animes. There will always be a mismatch between the manga and anime releases that the anime will always resort to fillers, movies, and even short releases.
It would have curbed the boredom of avid viewers when the anime releases two to three arcs at once. In this way, we can re-acquaint ourselves with the story and this will make us fully immerse in One Piece again after the long hiatus.
However, this is not the case. There are times when One Piece releases episodes, that is not even one whole arc. Then we have to wait for two to five months to get the other important parts of that one arc.
Even when we have the full arc, there is a huge tendency that we no longer remember what has happened, so we revisit the episodes just for a quick recap, but it is more of a chore than enjoying it itself.
Watching episodes twice is great but having to watch them several times just to make sure we get caught up again is boring and tiresome.
Problem With The Whole Cake Island Arc
Fans were shocked and even cried when One Piece teased the quarrel between Sanji and Luffy. We all came into the arc expecting to have this huge and emotional fight that may take up to six episodes to reach a conclusion.
Then, we finally get to Whole Cake Island. Dancing and singing desserts? Cool. Possible true love interest? Okay. Running around a part of Whole Cake Island. Uh. Where is Sanji? Search for Sanji? Wait, is that Jinbe? What happened to Jinbe?
The Whole Cake Island Arc was truly a mess. It was hyped so much that it fell flat on its face when it did not deliver on the hype.
There were too many episodes with flashbacks that did not really enrich the story, because again, they are flashbacks.. we already know those!
The story picks up in the middle and this is really pathetic as the arc is made up of 95 episodes! The first few episodes were great but as you progress and see the same things happening, you might just find yourself snoring.
Just like with the previous arcs, the episodes are too drawn out without the need for it. This arc could have been fantastic if it were 30 episodes, but we can only dream.
Conclusion
One Piece can get really boring as it has been running for a long time. The success brought about pacing issues and quick fixes that never resolved that issue.
As One Piece fans, even though we feel cheated at times as episodes are scarce and there are times that they really do not deliver as compared to other previous arcs, we can only hope that the last arc will be worth it.
Using the other epic arcs as proof, we are more than sure that this boredom that we are feeling will be eclipsed with delight 100x over when we reach Raftel.