Despite being one of the best series the shonen genre has to offer, One piece is not immune to criticism and none is as persistent or as frequent as fake deaths. The latest chapter shows that this problem won't go away for a long time, which is disappointing considering the series is quickly heading towards a war of incredible magnitude.
One piece Chapter #1134 featured some great and interesting moments, like the reveal of Elbaf's library and a Shanks lookalike, but there was another moment that wasn't very well received. After Vegapunk Lilith introduced herself to Saul as Vegapunk, she asked Jimbei to give her a large box. It was here that she revealed that she contained a perfect replica of her original body. This means that Vegapunk's death in Egghead is basically undoneremoving a lot of emotional weight and meaning from this moment.
Vegapunk's return is a bad sign for the future of One Piece
The final war should have higher stakes
While technically Vegapunk's original body was killed and destroyed in Egghead, the fact that he miraculously has a backup replica with the same memories, personalities, and more is basically the same as the original Vegapunk coming back from the afterlife. This dilutes the sacrifice he made to convey his message to the world. Additionally, Kizaru's emotional moment where he cries for his dead friend now becomes much less impactful given that his tears were in vain and Vegapunk is still out there. This development has many consequences and is mostly for the worse.
Another thing this return does is make the events in Egghead much less dark. Initially, it seemed like the heroes were facing an insurmountable wall when the Buster Call was authorized. With CP-0, the Five Elders, several Vice Admirals, Pacifists, Seraphim, and hundreds of Marines against them, the situation seemed impossible and it made sense for the Vegapunks to be killed, given the severity of the attack. However, now that it has been confirmed that all the Vegapunks are alive and Stella is getting a perfect new bodythis greatly dampens the tension and stakes in Egghead.
One Piece's insistence on undoing deaths is still annoying
Fake deaths are one of the most controversial aspects of One Piece
One piece has a long history of refusing to kill characters even when situations call for it. The only time major secondary characters died was in Marineford with Ace and Whitebeard, and this was applauded by fans. However, since then, many characters have been spared even after apparently being dead or suffering injuries that should have killed them. Kin'emon, Saul, Sabo, Jack: the list goes on and on, and recently it's only gotten longer.
With the world of One piece Becoming more dangerous lately, the lack of major character deaths doesn't align with the drama and what's at stake in the story. While it's understandable that Eichiro Oda wants a happy party at the end and for all the characters to celebrate, it still takes away from the tension that is desperately needed. The latest fake death is just another disappointing moment that could linger until the end of the series.