Among all the opponents Luffy has fought in the One Piece anime, Kaido might be the strongest and most difficult one to defeat. His reputation as an Emperor of the Sea and his title of the Strongest Creature in the One Piece world make him the best villain to mark the beginning of the final saga. However, some fans don’t agree with this chain of thought.
Ever since Luffy managed to liberate Wano by defeating Kaido, fans have been slandering Kaido for losing to him despite being so strong. Not only that, fans have also targeted Eiichiro Oda for rushing through his back story and not giving a detailed past to one of the most important characters.
However, there are other fans who think that Kaido’s haters have never been able to understand the depth of his character as a villain. A brief detail about his past doesn’t mean that he was not a decent villain. It just signifies his intentions as an evil character in the story.
The Hate That Kaido Got as a One Piece Villain
Ever since the time skip ended, Eiichiro Oda raised the bar of the villains that are introduced in One Piece. Be it Doflamingo, or Big Mom, every antagonist has managed to earn a place for themselves in the list of great characters. Even Kaido was one of them, but some fans were not impressed about his past.
This is because his backstory was rushed and fans didn’t get much details about how he became an Emperor and also earned the title of the Strongest Creature in the world. Even his relationship with Yamato and Yamato’s mother was not given any importance at all. Thus, he could not live up to the expectations of one of the most ruthless and brutal villains.
Additionally, he also got defamed for losing to Luffy so easily. Although it took an entire arc, the fact that he got pushed into the depths of Wano by just a single punch from Luffy made fans question his strength.
Kaido Doesn’t Deserve This Hate
Irrespective of the opinion of the general mass, Kaido does not deserve hate at all. This is because his backstory had nothing to do with his development as an antagonistic character.
He never really used his past as an excuse for all the crimes that he committed or the tyranny he unleashed on Wano.
Kaido has been clear about wanting to die a legendary death at the hands of a worthy opponent. Not only that, he has even expressed that he took control of Kaido so that someone powerful could rise and defeat him. Thus, his past didn’t really matter, and all his actions as a villain had a different reason.
Also, introducing a detailed backstory for a major character like Kaido would have unnecessarily prolonged the arc. Oda wanted him to be a harsh villain who battles for strength and hopes to have his name written in the One Piece legends, and that is exactly what he did.
One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
