The two supreme powers in One Piece, Haki and Devil Fruits have reigned supreme in the pirate world for almost three decades now. Eiichiro Oda has made it quite clear that there is no other power that could challenge Haki and Devil Fruit users. However, the past few arcs have mainly focused on Haki abilities and techniques.
Haki is a form of energy that is manifested through willpower, and the stronger the willpower, the more energy it will generate. Although initially it was deemed a rare form of ability, ever since the Straw Hat Pirates entered the New World, Haki users have significantly increased, and new forms of the mysterious ability are continuously being introduced.
While this power has proved to be even better than the power of Devil Fruits, there is one problem with Haki that has gotten worse with time. According to many fans, the concept of Haki keeps on changing, and this problem has led to fans developing hatred towards it in One Piece.
The Supreme Power of Haki in One Piece
The popularity of Haki among One Piece fans came from the fact that it was a rare phenomenon and most of the people around the world never even learned about its existence. And although it could be mastered through training and hard work, there were some aspects of it that were only accessible to the important characters in the series.
Haki was divided into three parts: Observation, Armament, and Conquerors. Observation Haki heightened the senses of the user, giving them an additional advantage. Armament Haki allowed them to manifest their energy around their body parts to make them stronger and better. And finally, Conqueror’s Haki allowed its users to bend anyone to their will and overpower them.
Although the concept of Haki was introduced a little late in the story, Eiichiro Oda had already foreshadowed it, giving fans hints about the mysterious power. And now that One Piece has reached the final saga, it has been established that Haki is the main component to earn any kind of status in the One Piece world.
The Concept of Haki is Getting Worse
Initially, One Piece fans were mesmerized by the concept of Haki. A rare phenomenon that could counter the attacks of the most unique and powerful Devil Fruit users. But with the story moving forward, the concept of Haki became more complex and overpowering.
Many different kinds of variants for the mysterious abilities started making it into the narrative.
If Luffy fucking overpowers Teach’s fucking Yami Yami no Mi with Haki, then Haki would be roasted across the internet for probably decades: Devil Fruits and Permanence in combat.
byu/Ok_ResolvE2119 inCharacterRant
Be it Advanced Conqueror’s or Advanced Observation, the complexity of Haki techniques kept growing and then suddenly lost its importance in the series. This made fans question the unique ability and its actual importance in the One Piece narrative.
Another problem that fans had with Haki is that it became even stronger than Devil Fruit. Initially, it was used only to counter the attacks of Devil Fruit users (especially Logia-type). But now Haki can even undo the effects of Devil Fruits, which kind of questions the importance of Devil Fruits in One Piece. Thus, unless Oda makes the concept of Haki a little more clear, it would only lose its significance in the story.
One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.