Occasionally gushing over it in the SBS sessions and sharing the excitement with his readers, Eiichiro Oda planned Wano for over ten years. All the efforts and anticipation came to fruition as Wano was brought to life over 4 years. One year after the arc ended in the manga, the One Piece anime is also nearing the end of Wano. Oda poured his heart into portraying Japanese culture with Wano. Using the three-act structure, he spread out the Wano Saga brilliantly.
The anime ensured to enrich the experience further with the use of music and bright colors. The pacing could have been better indeed but at this point, the flawed pacing has become a part of the anime experience as a whole. As Wano is nearing its end in the anime, let’s revisit and discuss some of the key moments in the Wano Arc along with what comes next.
One Piece Anime Wano Arc: A four-year-long Journey
Wano was not only the biggest but also one of the grandest One Piece arcs. The arc was lore and action-heavy with a generous amount of comedy bits. The anime switched up some gears and delivered top-notch animation as well. It all started with Roger’s flashback where he found the One Piece.
Additionally, his duel with Whitebeard and his time on Wano were all huge shaping incidents. The past of the mighty Shogun of Wano, Oden Kozuki, and his brave wife Toki led us to the downfall of the Beast Pirates. Kine’mon and Momonosuke brought the Strawhats to Wano.
Wano turned out to be a developmental arc for the Strawhats. They underwent severe growth and attained cool power-ups, acing the test of their strengths against strong foes. Especially Luffy who turned out to be Joyboy himself. The Strawhats were accompanied by other members of the worst generation, including the Kid Pirates and the Heart Pirates. The World Government and Navy didn’t stay behind. They sent CP0 to Wano to sabotage Luffy amidst the mayhem.
Now that Kaido has been defeated, the tensions in Wano will be appeased with a celebration. There’s also the matter of opening the borders of Wano. There are still some key events of Wano that we need to see in the anime.
What comes next?
Here on out, the article contains some minor manga spoilers. The strawhats have reached new heights. Along with the Heart Pirates and The Kidd Pirates, they’ve defeated two emperors of the sea. With that Luffy also has the devil fruit, previously wielded by Joyboy. As the Strawhats continue to conquer the seas, the situation becomes more alarming for the World Government. There are also several loose ends from the Reverie. Usually, One Piece arcs follow a three-act structure which was evident in Wano.
The next destination of the Strawhats is Egghead or Future Island. Egghead houses the laboratory of Dr. Vegapunk. The arc follows the same structure, but the pacing is vastly different from Wano. Along with that, the focus will stray from Luffy and his crew to the events of the world. The world is in a state of chaos following the power shift we witnessed in Wano. We check in with the different organizations including the Revolutionaries. Each event after Wano screams that we’re in the Final saga of One Piece.
Conclusion
The Final Saga has been a surreal experience so far. The ‘One Piece will never end’ meme continues to lose its relevance as all of us can feel the end drawing closer. There’s no time to relax after Wano, as more adventures are awaiting the advent of the Strawhats.