Whenever the discussion about the Wano arc from One Piece erupts, the one character who is loved and criticized at the same time is Kaido. The Governor General of the Beast Pirates and the Strongest Creature in the World, Kaido, has had a huge impact on the One Piece narrative, but fans still believe that he had more potential than what Eiichiro Oda showed.
This doubt arises from the fact that although Kaido’s image was portrayed as one of the most menacing characters in the entire series, fans never actually got to see his feats. On top of that, his fighting record during the Onigashima War was also not that impressive, which makes fans question his significance as an antagonist.
Thus, Kaido is considered by many as a “failed” villain, despite being one of the most powerful and terrifying antagonists in the entire One Piece. If the story had focused more on his achievements, he would have gotten the respect that he deserved.
Kaido Had Even More Potential
Ever since Kaido’s name was revealed in One Piece, he was portrayed as a horrific beast who is capable of wreaking havoc on the entire world. His status as an Emperor of the Sea was only second to Whitebeard, and his tyranny over Wano gave the impression that he was going to have a major impact on the overall narrative.
Even his official introduction in One Piece left fans wondering as he literally jumped from a sky island to commit suicide and still survived. As the story progressed and fans learned more about Kaido, they developed a menacing image of him, but all of it washed off during the Onigashima War, and Kaido was finally defeated.
Although his defeat was bound to happen, fans expected him to cause major damage to the Straw Hat crew or his other opponents. Instead, he couldn’t even cause major damage to his enemies. This disappointed fans who were expecting great but terrifying things from the One Piece character.
Kaido’s Fighting Record in One Piece
Although Kaido’s image was created in a way that fans would fear his presence in the story, his fighting record did not support the claims at all. Since the beginning, Kaido couldn’t get a proper victory against any of his opponents. He couldn’t reach Marineford as he was stopped by Shanks and his crew.
When he fought Oden, he was almost defeated but got an assist in the end. Later on, when he fought during the Onigashima war, he couldn’t land any major damage.
The Problem with Kaido Wasn’t That He Didn’t Kill Anybody. He Simply Wasn’t That Menacing Compared to Literally Every Major Antagonist We’ve Had.
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Be it the Red Scabbards, the Worst Generation, Yamato, or Luffy, all of them managed to get up and move on after being in a fight with Kaido. This proves that Eiichiro Oda could not back his claim for the One Piece villain.
Although his fights were the most entertaining and thrilling battles in the history of the series, they only caused damage to his own image. The only significant contribution he made to the One Piece narrative was that he pushed Luffy to his Nika transformation which was much awaited by fans.
One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
