10 biggest problems fans have with post-timeskip One Piece

Post-timeskip One Piece brought many advancements, with more intense battles, better developed world-building, and deeper exploration into the mysteries of the Grand Line. However, with these came a whole heap of criticism from the long-time fanbase. While the story does explore some epic new spaces, several aspects have driven fans far away from connecting to the Straw Hat crew or their pre-timeskip era.

As the journey of Luffy and his crew mates progressed into new places, many changes in tone, pacing, and character dynamics began to raise problems. One Piece fans believe that the charm and depth of pre-timeskip arcs have been lost, leaving fans with mixed feelings about this new phase of the beloved series. Here are the 10 biggest problems fans have with post-timeskip One Piece.

Disclaimer: This list is ranked in no particular order and reflects the writer's opinion.

Pacing, poor character development, and 8 other problems fans have with post-timeskip One Piece

1) Straw Hats lack humor

Monkey D. Luffy as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

One of the major complaints about the post-timeskip One Piece is the noticeable decline in the Straw Hat crew’s humor. The banter before timeskip had a lot of lighthearted runnings and gags that were interweaved with several comedic moments to punctuate the strong battles and emotional scenes.

Luffy, Usopp, and even Sanji had entirely comedic situations with each other with an easy gravity to them, so even when they're in very serious situations, it feels good to watch.

The humor seems to have phased out after the time-skip as the crew had focused on their missions and seemed less concerned with exchanges that were entertaining.

While the story has grown more serious and epic in scale, fans miss the balance that made the crew feel like a close-knit family. One Piece fans argue that without these comedies, the key aspects that made One Piece interesting during tense arcs were missing.

2) Emotional stakes

Nico Robin as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The personal stakes were much deeper in the arcs before the timeskip, such as Water 7 and Marineford. Luffy's loss of his brother Ace, Robin's powerful "I want to live," and Usopp's internal struggle in Water 7 gave that emotional tension that was felt very deeply by the audience.

With the world-building and the battles on a much larger scale in the post-timeskip One Piece arcs, many fans feel that the personal stakes are not quite as impactful. The Straw Hats seem more focused on Luffy's dream of becoming King of the Pirates instead of individual, emotionally charged moments that make the audience feel deeply invested.

As the series has changed to a larger, more epic scale, the tone has shifted to fewer emotional struggles and personal losses. Fans ask for intimate and heartbreaking moments that make them love every character's storyline so much.

3) Character development

Franky as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The development of the characters in the post-timeskip of One Piece is quite a concern to many fans. Even though the series brought much excitement with its diverse arcs and quests, it sometimes compromised the development of the established characters and made them superficial.

A good example is Sanji, whom the fans would then present as a complex character; he has been reduced to a simple being, focusing more on his perversion instead of his complexity as a character. Other characters like Franky and Brook have similarly suffered, subjected to the lack of good screen time and development. Their characteristic potential is only explored in fleeting moments rather than through some comprehensive arcs.

Zoro, regardless of being central to the Wano arc, developed very little from a character standpoint and missed the scope for an in-depth backstory that fans had been eagerly waiting for. The same goes for Nami; she has also been underutilized, mainly in arcs where her past experience could have added depth to the storyline.

4) Female character design

Nami as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Another major issue that fans have with post-timeskip One Piece is the female character designs. Many argue that such exaggerated proportions and s-ualized features tend to degrade the realism and relatability of characters.

Instead of trying to show them as strong and capable persons, some female characters often become mere eye candy, which makes their importance in the story degrade.

It has sparked off the discussion about having a more balanced representation, as aesthetic focuses sometimes overshadowed the development of such contributions by them in the story.

5) Underdeveloped new crew members

Jinbe as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The addition of new crew members in the post-timeskip One Piece was intended to bring a breath of fresh air to the dynamics of the Straw Hats, but fans have felt that these characters were not well developed. Characters such as Jinbe and Brook bring really interesting backstories and potential but are rarely given the depth or screen time to fully integrate with the crew. Such means missing out on more meaningful interactions and character growth.

Jinbe, the former Warlord of the Sea, brings huge potential to the crew, especially with his broad background in Fish-Man culture and combat skills. However, his character hasn't been shown much or developed enough to really put him into the heart of the Straw Hats' dynamic. Fans would want to hear more of the motivation or even how they connect and relate with the rest of the crew.

6) Pacing

Sabo as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Pacing is a major issue in post-timeskip One Piece, which often makes the narrative feel flat. Many post-timeskip arcs, such as Dressrosa, are overwhelmed by too many characters and side stories that do not really advance the main theme of the story. Introducing many characters and dragging out battles has an uncanny resemblance to spinning wheels rather than moving forward in the story.

For example, the Colosseum fight was intended to restore Sabo and have him as the new owner of Ace's Devil Fruit. However, this could have been achieved in considerably less time, leaving fans frustrated with unnecessary exposition.

Similarly, arcs like Whole Cake Island add thematic richness toward deeper conceptions of family; they suffer from pacing issues. Lengthier fighting matches of Luffy with Cracker and Big Mom's repetition of the wedding cake metaphor for her daughter's awakening. The pacing issues had led the fans to perceive that post-timeskip One Piece sometimes does not attain the sharp, focused storytelling that appears in earlier arcs.

7) More focus on minor characters

Leo as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

While secondary characters can add a lot to the narrative, the over-attention draws focus away from the development of the main Straw Hat crew. This can be frustrating since viewers have an emotional investment in the original characters with whom they have been associated since the beginning.

Many One Piece fans feel that their beloved Straw Hats deserve more screen time and character arcs. Moreover, with less attention given to the Straw Hats in post-timeskip One Piece, the series risks the strong camaraderie and dynamics that make them so close to the viewer's heart.

The growth and relationships between the original members are something fans love, secondary characters start surfacing to take up more of the attention, making it one of the biggest problems in post-timeskip One Piece.

8) Villains lack depth

Crocodile as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In the post-timeskip, One Piece has a concerning trend about the development of villains. Unlike previous arcs, where antagonists like Crocodile and Doflamingo had depth and history, many recent villains have been perceived as one-dimensional.

Post-timeskip One Piece villains such as Kaido and Big Mom, though extremely powerful and intimidating, often lack the complexity that has made past enemies memorable.

Their motivations are far too straightforward, with a greedy power motive and an impulsive desire for ruin rather than a deeper, personal, or relatable goal. This reduction in depth decreases the emotional stakes during the fights, as the audience does not feel sympathetic or understand the villains’ perspectives.

This makes the narrative impact of their defeat less fulfilling, making fans realize they lost an important element in the story.

9) Lack of social bonds between Straw Hats

Straw Hat Pirates as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The lack of social bonds between the Straw Hats in post-timeskip One Piece points to a major issue. The crew's interactions before the timeskip were lighthearted, friendly, and emotional qualities that presented them as united. The fans of the series enjoyed their growing friendship through the shared adventure and personal struggle.

However, this shift of emphasis toward external conflicts has resulted in fewer actual moments of bonding between the crew members. That is a lack of social bonding, which made it relatively difficult for viewers to develop the same sense of familiarity with the characters and their relationships.

Additionally, the growing serious storyline of the post-timeskip One Piece has overshadowed the playful tone that once defined the Straw Hats. This affected the depth of character relationships, leaving many fans wanting more of the warmth that made the Straw Hats relatable.

10) Absence of tension in plot

Before the timeskip, the series was masterful in giving high-stakes situations that put viewers at the edge of their seats. For example, the sheer intensity of the Marineford War arc portrayed intense battle and emotional tension, showing how much investment the character needed to be placed in risk of loss.

However, in post-timeskip One Piece, the sense of risk feels diminished. For example, in the Whole Cake Island arc, in Luffy vs Katakuri, fans had high confidence that Luffy would win even though they had an overwhelmingly tougher situation. In the Wano arc, though Kaido is incredibly powerful, the tension is undercut sometimes by incidents and events that ease the fear about the safety of the crew.

Final thoughts

Post-timeskip One Piece has surely widened the scope of the series, which added some solid epic battles, interesting world-building, and newer character dynamics. However, these improvements have come at the cost of elements that were cherished by fans for so long in the pre-timeskip era.

Pacing issues, limited meaningful development of character, and a lack of humor between the members of the crew have been among the concerns. A lack of tension in a storyline and highlighting more of the minor characters over the fan favorite deepened the sense of disconnection for many One Piece fans.

Related links:

Edited by Somava