The One Piece manga is great, but it has never been so exhausting

It’s a very fun and very complicated time to be a fan of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga. And I don’t just mean the recent events of the Egghead Arc, where the Straw Hats finally met the infamous Dr. Vegapunk, an encounter that has coincided with roughly a million different reveals and plot twists. Last time One Piece had a story arc that seemed to give its readers a chance to breathe was around five years ago, and even then, the plot was consumed with a heated and lengthy battle between Luffy and Katakuri and Big Mom’s delirious pursuit of the Straw Hat Crew.

Oda stated clearly that One PieceThe author is in a final stage (though the details and what that means are infinitely debateable). Even chapters that appeared to offer some respite for his mind have been rewritten and presented new dangers or additional information that will be of interest to fans. So recently, I’ve seen quite a few readers respond to One Piece chapters with a sense of exasperated confusion, like when you’re lost in a department store as a kid and you can’t comprehend any sort of direction. Fans still love the book — they’re just finding that love to be somewhat exhausting.

And that’s understandable. A fix for this that’s often quoted among One PieceThe best thing for fans to do is wait until the entire arc finishes before you start to binge-eat it. Oda has a way of threading plotlines that feels really satisfying in the end, but leaves you wondering “Where is this going?” while you’re in the thick of things. Binging also allows you to shrug off bits that honestly go nowhere or don’t really work out — something that’s fairly annoying on a week-to-week schedule, but much more forgivable as part of the bigger picture. As the stakes increase and Oda tries to create a climactic story, this proclivity only gets worse.

There’s also another suggestion: You might just be kind of tired of One PieceRight now. In an era of indefinite storytelling, that’s a real possibility. Now, One Piece isn’t like a Pokémon or a Marvel Cinematic Universe — something where you can clearly compare and contrast the quality of, or your interest level in, each new installment. This is a long, complex story that was created almost entirely by one person. Make no mistake. One Piece The story is long enough and the franchise has enough characters that you may find yourself staring at every page with frustration.

Each person engages on their own terms with this huge topic. Many people read only the manga. Others read and watch the anime, purchase the merchandise and clothes, discuss each chapter with their friends, and then analyze the entire thing in their spare time. Burnout can be inevitable in such a scenario. Of course, tastes vary, and there’s a good chance that you’re watching Dr. Vegapunk’s Wonderful World of Shit You Didn’t Know Yet That You Might Not Like, and won’t dig it no matter how much space you put between you and the Straw Hat Crew. That’s cool.

Getting sick of something, though, especially something that has been going so hard for half a decade (in a story that’s lasted 25 years, as of last July) is cool, too. It’s hard to admit in a time so dominated by IPs slipping into every facet of our lives, when the “ONE MOVIE/TV SERIES/MANGA/ANIME THAT THE WHOLE WORLD IS TALKING ABOUT” comes out twice a week. Boredom means you miss out on the topic and the discussion around it. Being dismissive means that it opens yourself up for a lot of disagreement.

One can, however, still enjoy it. One PieceYou will get very sick of it One PieceRight now. If that’s the case, go away for a few months. Go on a vacation to the Grand Line, and explore the other manga-related worlds. Kaiju No. 8It’s pretty amazing!