One Piece's Wano arc is going to shake up the anime series when it debuts in just a couple of weeks, but until then fans still have to see the rest of the Reverie arc play out. Though it's a key arc showing off new looks at the Holy Land and how the World Government works, fan perception of the arc has been marred by complaints over the excessive flashbacks used in each episode.
Though the One Piece anime is no stranger to using flashbacks for a few key moments, each episode of the Reverie arc has seen more and more explorations of the past. But at least they have tied into the current events, but the latest episode has gotten a lot of flack given how little the excessive flashbacks tie into the events of the episode.
There are a couple of potential explanations for this as the Reverie is more of a mini-arc taking place between Whole Cake Island and Wano. Acting as a sort of denounement period in the original manga, it did not give the anime much to work with. As fans have learned, it's more of an exposition and dialogue heavy arc compared to the two action packed arcs it's in between.
As for the flashbacks, it could be Toei Animation making a necessary sacrifice for the series. Making sure to deliver the big reveals of Reverie while taking their time to better prepare for the upcoming shift to Wano. By the looks of Wano so far, it seems to be worth it. But while fans were okay with this when Reverie started, this choice has seemed to wear them down as the arc reaches its finale.
The anime may have revealed the series' big villain, but the frustration fans have felt is just so compounded at this point. Especially given that Episode 889 has very few moments of new material, and seemingly less so than episodes before. Read on to see what fans are saying about the latest episode's flashbacks and let us know how you feel in the comments!
"18 Minutes of Flashbacks"
"Yes, I Watched the Other 888 Episodes..."
"Now Getting Really Annoying"
Waiting the Whole Week Just for More Flashbacks...