Zoro’s Personality Disappeared Along with His Eye

I liked Zoro up until the post-timeskip, when he became overly edgy and no-nonsense—it’s just boring. Oda has a habit of writing characters that lean too hard into being overly serious or "cool." That’s not to say you can’t have serious characters in One Piece, but the series thrives on balancing its exaggerated, comedic nature with moments of genuine weight. Blackbeard is the perfect example—on the surface, he’s a goofy, cherry pie-loving dreamer, but underneath, he’s ruthless, cunning, and willing to kill a crewmate the moment it benefits him. His design and personality contrast in a way that makes him compelling.

Zoro, on the other hand, has become as flat as the swords he wields. The only thing keeping him from being completely bland is his handful of recurring gags—sleeping, getting lost, and bickering with Sanji. But compared to his earlier interactions, where he had far more expression and personality, that feels like the bare minimum. Some argue that his increased seriousness comes from him taking on more of a vice-captain role, but he always had that responsibility. He was the one who stood his ground against Kuma at Thriller Bark. He was the one who, in Water 7, made it clear that Usopp couldn’t just waltz back onto the crew without an apology—because it wasn’t just about Usopp, it was about respecting Luffy’s authority as captain.

Zoro was always a great vice-captain. He didn’t need to become this overly serious, try-hard samurai archetype. His old design was minimalist, with the haramaki standing out as a signature piece that subtly highlighted his character. Now, his design is overloaded with samurai aesthetics, and combined with the missing eye, it just screams forced badassery.

Oda is trying too hard to make Zoro "cool," and honestly, it’s disappointing. As someone who took so much inspiration from Toriyama, he seems to have forgotten how to balance badass moments with humor. Even at the end of Dragon Ball Z, Toriyama still knew how to mix comedy and seriousness—Majin Buu was both a terrifying villain and a completely ridiculous character at the same time. Oda used to have that balance, but lately, it feels like he’s leaning too hard into making everything overly badass at the expense of the fun that made One Piece special in the first place