There are so many poorly written manga series that become popular, and almost every single huge one is rife with inconsistencies and plotholes. Even the fantastic ones have tons of flaws. We get it, it's hard to tell a story without elements contradicting each other or falling by the wayside at some point, but it can be done.
And, one of the best examples of that is the anomaly that is One Piece. It's just so well written! One Piece gets new movies and video games coming out every season. It was difficult, but we did find a few things that Oda, the mangaka, sort of forgot about, so let's get into them.
10 How Did Usopp Survive A 4-Ton Bat To The Head?
This particular example goes into a much larger issue with One Piece but it essentially boils down to "how did they survive that"? Luffy gets away with surviving a lot because he's made of rubber, but Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro take mortal wounds in almost every battle then stand right back up. Usopp, in particular, got his entire skull crushed during the Alabasta arc.
This was during the fight against Baroque Works agents Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas where they slammed Usopp's face with a 4-ton bat. If he didn't die but it just incapacitated him, fine, but the guy stands right back up and keeps fighting!
9 Why Is Chopper Constantly In "Brain Point"?
Tony Tony Chopper is a fantastic character. His backstory is tragic, his moral compass is pure, his fights are interesting, and he's just so adorable! But, the same adorable-ness is a small problem we have with the series. Devil Fruit Users don't always keep their fruits active if they can help it, Lucci isn't always a Cheetah, Kaku doesn't stay as a Giraffe, and Marco isn't flying around as a Phoenix. T
he implication being that it would probably tire them out, right? So then why is Chopper always in "Brain Point"? Remember, his adorable bi-pedal form is not his default shape, and using it should've required a Rumble Ball.
8 Where Did Luffy's Chest Scar Come From?
Now, this next thing isn't quite something Oda forgot about but just forgot to explain in-canon. Luffy after the time skip spouts a ton of new abilities, a new outfit, the same dumb demeanor, and a brand new "X" shaped scar on his chest. And, the obvious assumption was that this wound was given to him by Akainu during the War of The Best, as it isn't a smooth scar and it only appeared after that happened.
Yet, because of its X-shape, many fans debated that it was actually due to the fight between Zoro and Luffy in 226. In any case, Oda confirms in one of the SBS columns that yes this scar was given to him by Akainu. But, he forgot to have a character or Luffy mention that in the story.
7 Where Did Zoro's Ankle Scars Go?
Scars are kind of a common thing in One Piece since most of the damage done is temporary or comical, scars are a way of Oda showing us that this damage was more serious. Luffy's eye scar is one, his chest scar is another, Zoro is covered with scars because of his lifestyle and fight with Mihawk, and Nami's tattoo-covered a scar she had from removing the old one.
Zoro is particular has many scars that tell the story of his life, but one particular one sometimes doesn't show up. The ankle scars that he got from almost cutting his own feet off during the Mr. 3 fight on Little Garden are a fantastic little touch. Too bad Oda forgets to draw them half the time.
6 Where Did The Rokushiki Techniques Go?
The Six Techniques were a series of advanced Martial Arts techniques that allow the wielder to defy common sense and become as strong as a hundred men. There are six of them, Soru, Geppou, Tekkai, Shigan, Rankyaku, and Kami-e. We don't have time to explain all six of them but know that they're a method for normal humans to become superhumans within the marines.
Originally they were meant to be a path of Martial arts only known to a select few of the Marines, but as time has gone on, more and more Marines have been shown to use it including Coby. Ever since the time-skip they rarely ever make an appearance and Haki has mostly overshadowed them (outside of maybe Vergo who uses both).
5 Why Doesn't Sanji Seem Bothered By His Flaming Leg?
So there are a lot of little aspects of One Piece that don't quite make sense because the world is cartoony. Characters fall from great heights and are fine, they can be shot multiple times without bleeding out, and survive lethal amounts of shock, poison, or fire with little to no explanation. The fire one, in particular, applies to the Straw Hats cook Sanji.
Whether it's his trademark Devil's Jambe or the more advanced version Hell's Memories, fire plays a part. In either case, Sanji is literally lighting himself ablaze with pure emotion and it makes no sense.
4 Oda Keeps Forgetting That Female Characters Need Internal Organs
So, originally, when we included this entry, we thought this problem only started becoming apparent after the Time Skip. But, since we recently re-read the entire series we can safely say that yes, Oda has always drawn most women in this absurd artstyle. The guy constantly forgets that women need to have room in their bodies for their skeleton and organs!
With Paula in Alabasta, it was a different story as her figure complimented her personality and could be explained away as part of her Devil Fruit, the same could be said for Alvida. But as the series went on, most of the women in the series started sharing the exact same body type.
3 He Sort Of Forgot To Visually Show Armament Haki Pre-Timeskip
Once Haki was introduced into One Piece, fans immediately started searching back throughout the series to see little hints of it. And, they are there! Garp probably used Armament Haki to hit Luffy when he finds them after Enies Lobby, the Mantra of Sky Islands obviously Observation Haki, and people love to speculate that Shanks used Conquerer's Haki against that Sea King that took his arm.
But, each of these types of Haki has a very clear "stylistic" cue for being used, Armament turns the object or limb black, Conquerer Haki has a "pulse" to it and makes people foam at the mouth, And Observation is dependant on the user. But, we saw none of these visual cues pre-timeskip, which is just one of the many reasons fans debate the series was better before or after the said skip.
2 What Happened To All The Bounty Hunters?
Remember when Bounty Hunters were a thing? Johnny and Yosaku were our first proof that it was a blossoming profession outside of Zoro. The Franky Family claimed to be Bounty Hunters, and all of Baroque Works were considered as Bounty Hunters as well.
Yet, after the time skip, it sort of seemed like Oda forgot that they were a third party between the Marines and the Pirates. Frankly, we haven't seen any since, outside of Abdullah and Jeet in Dressrosa. We miss this third party group, and we hope to see more of them in the New World.
1 Why Didn't Robin Mention That Sabo Was Alive To Luffy?
So, during the Time Skip, all of the Straw Hats dedicated themselves to grow in both their profession and combat strength in order to meet up with Luffy and sail again in two years' time. Robin, in particular, worked for the Revolutionary Army. At that time, she met Luffy's Dad and his other "sibling" Sabo.
In fact, she spent a good amount of time with both of them, or at least it seems so. Yet, she never mentions that Sabo is alive to Luffy until Sabo himself reveals it. You could say that she was respecting their boundaries and didn't want to overstep, but that seems sort of lazy.