Since the dawn of One Piece in the manga and anime industry, the series and its creator, Eiichiro Oda, have been subjected to one particular criticism that is still going on after so long. This criticism involves Oda’s way of writing female characters in the series. While the mangaka has excelled in almost every aspect, he could not vindicate himself in the depiction of female characters.
From being called sexist to allegedly using female characters for fanservice, the One Piece manga creator has faced many major allegations. These allegations might not affect the success of One Piece as an anime and manga series, but they surely prove problematic for Oda’s image as one of the greatest manga creators of all time.
Thus, Oda really needs to do something about these allegations, and as the series has entered its final saga, he doesn’t have much time. The only way Oda can now save himself and beat these allegations is by making the final villain of One Piece a woman. And it also fits perfectly with the currently assumed final antagonist of One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda Has Tried His Best To Write Better Female Characters
Ever since One Piece started, the female characters of the series have been portrayed in a way that fans feel bad for them. Be it in terms of power or terms of a major role in the narrative, a lot of One Piece fans believe that Oda doesn’t do justice to his female character arrays at all. However, the mangaka has always claimed that he tries his best to write better female characters.
It is believed that there are rarely any female characters who are seen as powerful as the male characters. In fact, the only major female character who is believed to be the strongest is Big Mom, and even she has bid farewell to the One Piece storyline since the Wano arc. Thus, Oda has once again come under the radar of the One Piece fans.
Even the ratio of female characters compared to male characters is pretty low in One Piece. In the pirate world, there was only one female character in the Worst Generation (Jewelry Bonney), one female character in the Shichibukai System (Boa Hancock), and one female character among the Emperors (Big Mom).
The Only Way Eiichiro Oda Can Fix His Image
One Piece has entered into the second phase of its final saga. Thus, the series is soon going to end, and this means that Eiichiro Oda doesn’t have much time left to vindicate himself from the allegations. If he never clears them, he will always be tagged with these allegations whenever One Piece is discussed.
In hindsight, the only way for Oda to get rid of these allegations is to make Imu a female character, as they hold the biggest importance in the narrative of One Piece right now.
One Piece is unquestionably sexist
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Although it has been made pretty clear that Imu is a male, nothing official has been confirmed by the mangaka. So this gives him a chance to save face.
There might be some issues with making Imu a female character so late in the One Piece story, but it might help Oda get rid of all the allegations about him not doing justice to his female characters. And it also gives him the possibility to add a new twist to the final storyline of One Piece.
One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
