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Power scaling inOne Piecehas always been an interesting topic of discussion in the community. On the one hand, it presents an interesting topic of conversation, quantifying the strength of each character, and allowing the fan base to interact with the series on a deeper level. However, at the same time, power scaling, especially inOne Piece, can cause massive divides in the fan base overall, causing endless amounts of arguments and discourse.
Despite the large communities of power scalers inOne Piece,the practice may not be the healthiest for the series as a whole. Even going beyond the rifts that power scaling creates among community members, as a series, more so than most other Battle Shōnen anime,One Pieceand power scalingdon’t mix. As the series has taught the audience from the beginning, there are many more important and interesting factors to a character besides strength.
Power Scaling Pins Down The Power Of Anime Characters
This Is Especially Hard To Do In One Piece
Power scaling in anime is a practice by the community to attempt to find how strong a character in a series is compared to others. Usually, these power scalers use physical feats from their series, such as the largest object they lifted, or comparisons tostrong characters inOne Piecethey have fought on an equal level with. From here, power scalers attempt to figure out which characters would win in hypothetical fights. For example, they may attempt to figure out who would win between Dragon and Shamrock inOne Piece.
Only Haki can transcend all! - Kaido
However, although many shows have a large focus on showing off the strength of characters,One Pieceis a bit different, opting to save the strength of characters for years, without giving a hint of their power. For example, in a fight betweenOne Piece’sDragon and Shamrock, little has been revealed about either character, meaning that there really is no basis to scale their power. Outside of assumptions based on their positions, power scaling shouldn’t be a possibility for these characters.
Power Scaling Is Unimportant To One Piece Overall
It Goes Against The Goofy Nature Of The Show
This concept presents a major problem forOne Piecepower scalers and may create an unhealthy atmosphere for the series in general. Firstly, attempting to power scale a character with few physical feats may lead to unhealthy expectations for a character overall. WithOne Piecefocused on big reveals, by analyzing a character like Dragon and scaling him to be incredibly strong, if he isn’t as strong as fans expect, it may ruin the reveal of the highly anticipated character.
At the same time, being a goofy show at heart,One Piecehas never cared too much about the physical strength or feats of a character to determine who wins a fight. Looking at a character like Usopp, many fans consider him to be the weakestmember of the Straw Hat Crew. However, he is still able to defeat a strong opponent like Perona through silly and unpredictable means. Overall,One Pieceis a goofy show where anything can happen, something that doesn’t conceptually mix with the serious nature of power scaling.
One Piece Is Intentionally Illogical At Times
Power Scaling Takes Things Too Seriously
Finally, although power scaling does have its merits, like presenting interesting discussions about characters who have been absent for a long time, the practice tends tomicro-analyze the details ofOne Piecetoo much. Many things that occur inOne Pieceare intentionally illogical, capturing the spirit of old cartoons. Trying to apply a consistent logic to an intentionally inconsistent show may cause more problems than it solves.
Hero? No! We’re pirates! I love heroes, but I don’t wanna be one! - Luffy
Overall,One Piece, as a series, isn’t a serious enough show to support intense discussions about power scaling. Mainly,One Pieceis a lighthearted experience, focusing more on spur-of-the-moment fun throughout every fight scene, rather than focusing on what is the most consistent in terms of scaling. Additionally, strength seems to be far from the most important aspect of eachOne Piececharacter, with emotional concepts like passion often being more important than strength in a fight. Still, in the end, while power scaling may be unhealthy forOne Pieceas a whole, as long as it’s kept in moderation, it’s still a fun and engaging topic to further engage with an amazing series.
