One Piece recently had an anime-only episode for the Wano arc conclusion and gave much-needed focus to the character of Zoro, especially regarding his motivation in the series. Zoro is a major draw of the series, with a lot of people loving his cool factor and demeanor, although his motivation to become the world's greatest swordsman is something that is often ignored in the plot.
Sure, Zoro mentions in almost every single one of his fights in One Piece that he wants to be the world's greatest swordsman but the plot rarely touches that motivation. That is why the new scene in Wano, talking with Hiyori and discussing Oden's blade, is a nice little moment that highlights Zoro's mindset and why he still has a long way to go in his craft, which is a good thing.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.
One Piece and Zoro still having a long way to go to surpass Oden
One Piece episode 1084 showed Hiyori and Zoro having an anime-only conversation that not only explored a bit more of the latter's character but also what Oden meant to him as a peer when it comes to swordsmanship. It's no secret that Zoro has always aimed to become the world's best swordsman and the memory of Oden in Wano was something that seems to have inspired him to go even further.
Of course, this was also propelled by the fact that Oden, at least at the time of writing, seems to be quite superior to Zoro and it makes sense considering he was part of Whitebeard and Gol D. Roger's crews. A man who was part of the King of the Pirates' crew had to be a force to be reckoned with and his legacy in Wano speaks for itself, with people like Yamato even building themselves based on Oden's image, which says a lot about the man's achievement.
It was also fairly obvious that Zoro still had some way to go to prove himself as the world's best swordsman when Dracule Mihawk was still around. The former Warlord is still Zoro's benchmark to surpass and while they bonded through training in the timeskip, there is still an element of rivalry between the two of them and Roronoa is determined to take that spot from Mihawk.
The ups and downs of Zoro's character
One of One Piece's virtues can also be one of its greatest weaknesses, and that is its extensive cast of characters, which has played to the detriment of Roronoa Zoro. Author Eiichiro Oda has a natural talent when it comes to creating and writing characters but often has so many that it is difficult to give them the spotlight and development they deserve.
Zoro has fallen in the latter category because, while his character still gets moments to shine during battles every arc, he is often reduced to being just the cool, stoic swordsman that almost every anime has. Sure, he is those things, but the timeskip showed different sides of him, which made him a much more compelling and nuanced character, and that is something that a lot of fans of One Piece tend to agree with.
Final thoughts
The One Piece anime has improved greatly during the Wano arc and giving Zoro a moment like this was much appreciated by fans of the character. It was an added bonus to his trajectory as a swordsman and proof that he still needs to keep improving to achieve his goal, which is something most fans wanted to see after so many years.