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One Pieceis a staplewithin the shonen landscape, as it has arguably shaped much of the genre’s themes and tropes. However, even as a major influence on the shonen genre,One Piecehas managed to differentiate itself from its counterparts with a unique approach to its characterization, particularly the growth and development of its protagonists. While conventional shonen, such asDragon Ball, Naruto, andBleach, offer training arcs throughout their run,One Piecehas never featured any traditional training arc within its more than two-decade-long run.
While plenty of fans appreciateOne Piece’spacing and lack of training arcs, others question whetherLuffy and the Straw Hats’growth is earned, considering they have never been witnessed training on-screen. This has led to many speculating whetherOne Piececould actually benefit from dedicated training arcs, similar to its many shonen counterparts.
The Purpose Of Training Arcs
Training Arcs Are Much More Than Mere Filler Breaks
Training arcs have become a staple in shonen anime, and while these arcs may seem like nothing more than a filler or a break from major events in the plot, these training arcs hold much more significance. Primarily, training arcs are a way for protagonists to grow, both in terms of power and their characterization. This growth can potentially occur off-screen as well, though allowing viewers to see the protagonist’s growth lets them witness the struggles and hard work of the protagonist, along with all that they had to endure to acquire this power.
This allows the growth to feel earned, as a power acquired after significant training holds much more weight than a technique thrown in out of nowhere. Moreover, the payoff and emotional weightage also make the training arcs worthwhile, as witnessing the protagonist spend hours perfecting a technique and using it in battle has a unique charm of its own. Several shonen anime have employed this writing style, withNarutobeing a prime example of offering some of the best training arcs in anime history. While anime viewers might be divided over the place of training arcs in shonen anime, there’s no denying that these arcs hold considerable importance and are necessary for proper character growth.
Why Does One Piece Lack Training Arcs?
Character Growth Takes Place During Battles in One Piece
Training arcs have almost become synonymous with shounen anime, as almost every major shounen title features one or more dedicated training arcs for its protagonists. Surprisingly, One Piece, despite being a major name in the shounen landscape, has no dedicated training arc. The only “training arc” inOne Pieceis a two-year time skip where the Straw Hat crew splits up and aresent to dedicated islands for their training, right before treading into the New World. While this lack of training arcs in One Piece might seem odd at first, it largely stems from One Piece’s overall pacing and narrative.
One Piececlaims to be more of an adventure anime, withLuffy embodying these traits as a free-spirited characterwho is above the rules. Similarly, the series deviates from shounen rules, especially in the case of featuring dedicated training arcs. Instead of utilizing training arcs for its characters' growth,One Piece’sprotagonists learn on the fly as they intuitively gain more power from their battles and grow as characters from their lessons and mistakes. This theme fits in line with both Luffy’s characterization and Oda’s overall fast-paced writing style.
Most of Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat’s power-ups take place either off-screen, such as the two-years time skip training, or they intuitively gain new powers during their battles. A prime example of this is Luffy’s gear transformations, which he learned on the fly during his battle against CP9 in the Enies Lobby arc. Most of his growth has taken place in a similar manner. Luffy even acquired his Haki before he could even train for it, as there were glimpses of him possessing it before his training under Silvers Rayleigh. While his Haki was actually cemented during the two-year time skip, he was still able to acquire this power even before training for it. This goes to show that Luffy, as a character, has alwaysacquired his power without the traditional trainingthat other shonen protagonists have to go through.
How One Piece Could Benefit From Training Arcs
Training Arcs Could Still Be Beneficial For Luffy and the Crew
Over its excessively long run,One Piecebarely has any training arcs to offer. The only actual training that the Straw Hats underwent during the two-year time skip takes place off-screen, meaning there is no dedicated training arc for Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates. While this clearly sits in line with Oda’s writing style, there is no denying that the series could have benefited from a few training arcs. Boasting a training arc would not only have made Luffy’s growth and accomplishments more worthwhile, it would have also led to tremendous character growth for him and therest of the Straw Hats.
While it’s clear thatLuffy has grown considerably throughout his battlesand has learned from his mistakes, his characterization seems to be rather stuck, as he doesn’t seem to have changed much from the early seasons of the series in terms of his personality. Oddly, Zoro is one of the few characters who has had the most growth both in terms of power and characterization, which is certainly odd considering he isn’t even the protagonist.
A training arc would certainly negate this one flaw from the anime, as it would allow Luffy to take his time and actually grow as a character instead of just gaining a new power. Apart from his characterization, even Luffy’s new techniques and powers would benefit from undergoing a proper training arc instead of him acquiring them out of nowhere in the middle of a battle. This would not only make the techniques more earned but also allow fans to take part in Luffy’s journey in gaining these powers.
Fast Pacing Over Steady Development
One Piece Opts For Faster Pacing
It’s clear that Eiichiro Oda’s writing style is more fast-paced, as the Straw Hats have undergone one predicament after another without much break in between. While fans of the series clearly admire this style of writing, it has led toOne Piececompromising the steady growth and development of its characters. Still, Straw Hats have clearly grown from their time in theEast Blue and the Grand Line. However, there’s no denying that there could have been more steady growth for the characters if there were dedicated arcs for their training.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t necessarily a flaw inOne Piece,nor in Oda’s writing style, as it is merely a stylistic choice of choosing a faster pace over dedicating arcs for growth and development. WhileOne Piececould certainly benefit from a few more dedicated training arcs, it’s clear that the audience has opted for a faster pacing that leaves little to no room for slow-paced arcs that are meant purely for growth.
