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One Pieceisn’t a stranger to controversial moments. The series has been running for more than 20 years and is bound to have plotlines that range from eyebrow-raising to downright embarrassing. Even Oda’s genius and the respect fans have for him make us forget how weird the moments were.
Some of the less embarrassing yet questionable decisions by Eiichiro Oda were made way back in the Alabasta Arc ofOne Piece.It’s considered the first long-running arc in the series with 39 episodes, so it was bound to have some plotholes here and there.
The Alabasta Arc was one of the earliest inOne Pieceand it seems the mangaka wasn’t ready to kill off characters yet. We had already witnessed this miracle in the Syrup Village Arc but this character’s survival was an even bigger one but disappointing.
How in the world did Pell survive a massive bomb?
Pell the Falcon was a major ally of the Straw Hat Pirates during the Alabasta Arc and extremely loyal to Nefertari Vivi as one of the head guards. He saved Alubarna, the capital city of Alabasta, from destruction by sacrificing himself and taking the massive bomb with him in the sky.
His Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Falcon gave him a significant advantage over many enemies in Alabasta and aided his sacrifice. It was an incredibly shocking and emotional moment.One Piecefans were convinced he had died. Even the characters mourned him greatly.
Don’t Call It Plot Armor: The Genius of Eiichiro Oda in Letting Luffy Go Scot-Free After Alabasta Deserves Way More Respect
So when episode 130 was released, fans were now surprised and confused to see Pell standing over his own grave. He too was astonished by this, but probably not more than us. Although his sacrifice was devastating, the anime offered no emotional reunion. We’re just expected to roll with this.
This began to sow the seeds of the idea thatEiichiro Odais afraid of killing characters. Pell should’ve never survived the explosion and it also diminished his sacrifice. It doesn’t respect the audience’s feelings one bit and feels more like temporary shock value.
Why fans are upset by Pell’s survival inOne Piece
Any character death will be upsetting but it serves a purpose in the series. Just likeAce’s death had a purpose, Pell’s death would’ve shown that sacrifice is necessary and constant in the war-ridden world ofOne Piece.
His sacrifice symbolized the honor and duty he carried as one of the head guards of Alabasta’s Kingdom. Fans never expected Pell to stick around and while none of us wanted him to die, his death fit well with the storyline. It showed the gravity of the situation and how much he loved his country.
10 Deaths in One Piece That Shook Luffy, Zoro and Rest of the Straw Hats Crew to the Core
Going back on a character’s death signified that perhaps Oda wasn’t ready to make the story ofOne Pieceas dark as possible. Despite the cruel themes in the series,not allowing characters to diegoes against the overall story.People will die and that’s just the nature of war.Pell should’ve remained dead.
One Pieceis available on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
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character deathsEiichiro OdaOne Piece
