One Piece has some of the best villains in existence. From powerful enemies like Kaido and Enel to detested ones like Spandam, the series has a variety of villains to choose from. However, it fumbled with one group of antagonists that Naruto excelled in.
Since both Naruto and One Piece belong to the Big Three anime, there have been multiple comparisons between them. But Naruto has excelled in one field, and that is how to cleverly debut a series of villains in a way that fans are enraptured by all of them,
The Five Elders in One Piece did not have the desired impact
The Five Elders in One Piece, namely Mars, Warcury, Nusjuro, Peter, and Saturn, were some of the most anticipated figures in the series. They were foreshadowed for a long time, and fans expected a grand showdown with each of the elders taking a significant role. However, the reality was completely different.
Eiichiro Oda‘s first big mistake was to debut all of the Five Elders together. The five arrived to battle the heroes all at once, which took away from the impact and made them feel inferior to previous antagonists. When compared to some of the previous villains, the Five Elders could not hold up to the standards set by One Piece.
Too many happened at once in the Egghead Island arc, and the Five Elders did not get as much importance as they deserved. In the end, the Five Elders simply turned out to be gigantic punching bags. Their performance at Egghead Island felt pathetic, and it’s mostly because of how Eiichiro Oda decided to introduce and execute them.
Naruto performed far better in the same field
Eiichiro Oda could take a lesson or two from Masashi Kishimoto in the field of introducing a group of villains. More than a decade ago, Naruto faced the same issue of multiple villains during the Pain Invasion arc, but Kishimoto handled it with pure expertise and perfection.
During the Pain’s Invasion Arc, Nagato created the Six Paths of Pain. Since he was crippled by Hanzo and could not act on his own, he controlled six corpses to carry out his plans. The six consisted of the Deva Path, Asura Path, Animal Path, Human Path, Preta Path, and Naraka Path.
These six villains were given different objectives, and they made their debuts one by one. This heightened the tension as fans received six villains, all of whom were terrifying. Though they were defeated, the planning behind them gave them excellent roles in the story.
The Six Paths of Pain had everything that the Five Elders lacked. They used their overwhelming powers strategically and placed themselves in positions to create more trouble. Naruto’s confrontation with Pain also forced him to come to terms with his own flaws. The devastating impact that their powers had on Konoha was visible. In contrast, the Five Elders could barely leave an impact on the series.
One Piece and Naruto anime are available to stream on Crunchyroll, and their manga can be read on Viz Media.
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