Reading One Piece through, when Luffy fights a villain, there’s usually 3 or so chapters of actual fighting. With Kaido, we got about 5, and that’s excluding the highly-praised rooftop battle and the 3 chapters of Bajrang Gun.
As for the final blow not feeling climactic…uh…what? No sorry. Luffy had 5 or so double-page spreads dedicated to this blow.
How was this not climactic?
For comparison, here are Katakuri and Doflamingo’s finishing blows. How do they feel any more climactic than Kaido’s one? I honestly do not understand. This is the most climactic, most drawn out, most epic in terms of scale One Piece battle we’ve ever gotten with a 3 chapter long finishing blow.
How was this more climactic?
The battle was pretty well drawn and choreographed, with Oda handling each of Luffy’s different forms and Gears as well as Kaido switching between his Base, Hybrid, Hybrid Pro Max Ultra, Dragon, and Flaming Dragon Torch modes. All the power-systems of the One Piece world on full display, everyone of Luffy’s skills learned on display, and ending with a new power gained from the country he was defending. Wano gave Luffy the power to free Wano, in essence.
If you don’t like it, that’s fine. But “Not Climactic” is a complaint I find pretty hard to swallow compared to all the other climactic battles.
*by GSMichaelson
