One Piece’s New Remaster is Forcing Fans to Take Back The Biggest Complaint About the Series

For years, fans of One Piece have complained endlessly about its slow pacing, with many even choosing to watch an abridged version of the series which continues to gain popularity as the series progresses. That said, One Piece‘s Fishman Island Saga remaster has finally debuted, and its first episode is already forcing fans to take back their biggest complaint about the series.

The very first episode of the new and improved Fishman Island Saga was finally released on November 3, and fans’ reactions to the episode have been most unexpected. For what seems like the first time in the history of One Piece, fans have described the series as being rushed, taking back the age-old complaint about the series’ pacing. As such, the new remaster is inadvertently proving the beauty of the original series, which, despite its irrefutable pacing issues at times, arguably drew out certain scenes just enough to add necessary tension and atmosphere, the absence of which is clearly being felt in the new remake.

One Piece’s Fishman Island Remake Dubbed Rushed by Fans

Fans May Finally Begin to Appreciate the Pacing of the Original Series

When the Fishman Island Saga remake was first announced, fans were initially quite excited to see the arc remastered. Toei’s animation quality has improved astronomically since the Wano Arc and the remake had the potential to improve not only the visuals but also the pacing of the arc.

However, now that the remake has finally been released, fans are quite divided on the matter, with some loving the new changes and others being less inclined to continue watching it as seen in this post on X by a fan called Soul_StormOP, which has garnered quite a bit of attention. The main gripe that many fans have with the remaster is its pacing, which is beyond ironic given how One Piece‘s pacing has been the biggest criticism of the series for over two decades.

The biggest reason many may feel the new remake is rushed is because it completely avoids wasting time on establishing shots, unnecessary conversations, or any lingering shots of the characters’ reactions. Once again, these are the very things that many fans deemed unnecessary and were cut out of the abridged version of the series called One Pace that recently began to gain popularity.

However, as the post above states, removing these scenes makes the story feel much less impactful. Though they may seem like a waste of time, not properly setting the stage with establishing shots or not dwelling on a character’s interactions and reactions when needed greatly takes away from the tension. While the original series undoubtedly has certain moments that are drawn out far too much, the real reason One Piece has never failed to make even the most inconsequential moments feel impactful is that the series has always taken its sweet time and perhaps the new remaster may finally help fans appreciate this fact.

One Piece’s New Remaster Isn’t As Bad As It Seems

A One-For-One Remake Would Be Impossible

While some critiques of the remaster are valid in that the first episode does contain a few awkward cuts here and there at the beginning, the episode is still a fairly accurate adaptation of the manga, which is what fans have been wanting for the longest time. Admittedly, the first episode itself was crammed with two and a half episodes worth of content from the original series, which means it does keep the story fairly compact. However, despite fans’ complaints, there is arguably a very reasonable explanation for why the remaster is maintaining such a quick pace.

A one-for-one remake of the original would not only be pointless, but also logistically impossible. With One Piece‘s Egghead Arc being on hiatus until April 2025, the anime currently has 22 weeks at best to air the new remaster, that is, not considering any broadcasting issues that could cause delays. However, the original Fishman Island Saga is 57 episodes long, which means it would simply not be possible to cover the entire saga in 22 weeks without maintaining a tight pace of 2.5 episodes of the original for every episode of the new remaster.

Overall, though it may not be perfect, One Piece‘s new remaster is still an excellent way to fill the void until the anime returns with the exciting Egghead Arc in April. If anything, the remaster will continue to deliver on the visuals, which should be reason enough for fans to continue supporting the remaster, as it may yet surprise fans in the future.

One Piece is available from Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Source: newworldartur/X, Soul_StormOP/X

One Piece

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

First Film

One Piece: The Movie