#despite having a huge ensemble cast with zero SHs aside from Luffy

[symbologic]

Recently saw a discussion on Twitter about why Skypiea gets more hate in the West than in the East

The easy answer is: Blame dudebros and powerscalers who care more about fights than about story (to which they will argue arcs like Impel Down and Marineford were FULL of story), or privileged people feeling uncomfy about the anti-colonialist themes (even though, let's be real, those themes are probably lost on the average Western reader :/)

But Skypiea hate in the West wasn't always a thing. At the time it was being released, most English-speaking fans who were keeping up with OP scanlations and K-F fansubs genuinely enjoyed it.

I honestly think part of the Skypiea hate has to do with a trend we've seen over the past decade, where Western audiences are so, so quick to label certain story elements as "filler" without considering their thematic importance and how it ties into the story the author wants to tell.

Basically, Western audiences have become obsessed with hyper-optimized, fast-paced storytelling that leaves little room to breathe

If the people and politics of an arc are beyond the scope or interest of the story's main antagonists, it's suddenly dismissed as filler that detracts from "more important" things

This attitude is not limited to One Piece alone.

#IMO part of it has to do with the “time is money” capitalist work ethic that permeates so much of Western society #that it even bleeds into our leisurely activities #and creates a false sense of urgency in EVERYTHING we do; including the stories we are allowed to tell #Everything has to be optimized! Or else it's a waste of time #"If the story's oppressors don't care about these people...then why should I??” #<- Starting to think THIS attitude is why Marineford gets so much praise #despite having a huge ensemble cast with zero SHs aside from Luffy #while people shit on arcs like Wano because “there's too many characters” #one piece #skypiea arc #text post #meta #skypiea has always been one of my favorite arcs #my senior quote was actually the one Oda used from Willy Karen: #“Anything man can imagine is a possibility in reality.”