One Piece

[theeboredone]

Yeah. Expect things to worsen in general during fillers lol.

 

[Phoenix Lord']

That episode was like a million years ago, of course it looks iffy.

 

[theeboredone]

I liked this chapter. I feel bad for the kids, and the ending was something new we learned about.

 

[Thino]

I guess the battle that took place on that island was really something

Its the only flashback Im genuinely looking forward to

 

[Phoenix Lord']

Franky's a stag robot, that's the ultimate form!

 

[Jonas]

Haha I love this arc <3
So much mystery.

 

[DerpDaBerp]

I was slack-jawed when it panned out to the whole island like, "aw **** so that's what's what"


Kung Fu Tanuki is a funny phrase

 

[choknater]

Kung Fu Tanuki is a funny phrase

LOL yeah

i think oda likes to emphasize and even point out how simply ridiculous his characters are. he has fun with them and he milks them for sure

 

[Reizilla]

That battle. I was like :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

 

[Phoenix Lord']

You would.

 

[NinjaFoxX]

oh yes i so hope for a flashback to see this epic...

 

[Phoenix Lord']

That was so lame I think I teared up a bit.

 

[theeboredone]

LMFAO. That was pretty good. Though I wonder if those girls knew what "Nakama" means.

 

[choknater]

haha yea i saw one of those about dbz and harry potter and stuff

 

[Jonas]

Though I wonder if those girls knew what "Nakama" means.

I don't. What does it mean? People seem divided on whether it means "crew mate" or "best friend who means more than family."
Most fansubbers insist that it means the latter and that it can't be translated to English. I'm kind of glad that the scanlators just translate it to "friend" or "crew mate."

 

[john!]

in the context of the series it means "crewmate"

when luffy asks someone to "become his nakama", he's asking them to join the strawhats

 

[DerpDaBerp]

but also consider that Robin was told by Saul (in the context of the series) that she would find nakama. So there's no way there isn't a "family" connotation.

it means crew/family. There

 

[Jonas]

In all the translations I've read, she just said she wanted to find friends.
But you must be talking about the animated adaptation, so of course she said 'nakama' in that version. It's the fansubbers' favourite word!

 

[asianaussie]

i just change it in my head to 'friend' or 'comrade' depending on what's more appropriate

the point is i know what it means so i can compensate

 

[Hot_ArmS]

so epic one of my favorite people ever, and im even more confused now as ever

i totally knew this was gonna happen, but i was still surprised

 

[theeboredone]

Some interesting supplies Usopp carries with him.

 

[Hot_ArmS]

Oda uses usopp now as a plot element to give the strawhats things they conveniently need

 

[DerpDaBerp]

YOSH!

when that page loaded and his face was right there I was just...

 

[Hot_ArmS]

i was thinking the same thing, awesome placement

 

[Phoenix Lord']

Where's Bepo? I need to know.

 

[Reizilla]

Yeah, Usopp is broken.

 

[Jonas]

Law being on the island isn't really a surprise considering the cut-up samurai and all, but it's still pretty awesome to see him again. The marines' reactions really sell his re-introduction scene

Oda uses usopp now as a plot element to give the strawhats things they conveniently need

This is kind of sad, really.

 

[choknater]

huh? i seriously don't see anything sad about it. franky could already do that. now usopp is more useful.

 

[Jonas]

Indeed, he has to be "useful" in order to be relevant to the story. It's just sad to see once interesting characters being demoted to toolboxes. I guess it's just the way it goes though with these kinds of comics where they constantly pick up new characters as they go. There's less and less screentime for everyone, so the author has to sacrifice some characters to flesh out others.

This series is getting better and more interesting all the time imo, but I kind of miss some of the character-character interaction from the early days of One Piece when there were only few crew members (also Enies Lobby arc). Usopp especially is somewhat devolving into a more stereotype version of himself, which is disappointing in my opinion because of all the things the characters have been through, and because you sort of would've expected him to come back from the time-skip a stronger and more confident character.

That said, I'm loving the Punk Hazard arc more and more as it goes on, which is more than could be said of the Fishman Island arc. These aforementioned things just kind of stuck out to me, but at least I don't believe Oda will let any of his characters go full-on Yamcha/Tien.

 

[john!]

i think you're overreacting, to be honest. i'm sure oda hasn't lost his skill as a writer.

 

[choknater]

the screentime problem seems like something he's aware of, but it's just really difficult to do in 20 pages. i think he's doing a great job.

oda believes in static characters that just grow to become more of themselves over time rather than changing their ideals. usopp was always the "normal guy" who simply reacted in madness every time somebody in his crew did something crazy, which they always do. it is true that he is less interesting right now, but that's because he's just there for his crew right now and the plot doesn't have much to do with him, compared to when he first joined, or when he left the crew to become sogeking. those times were really interesting for him, but now he is just being himself.

for this current arc, and pretty much EVERYTHING after the timeskip so far, all the characters have not been very involved in the plot. they are simply there when things are happening. the fishman island arc as well as this arc have all been exposition into the world, with the straw hats simply being there while things are happening. they are all emotionally invested into their own goals and ideals, so what we've been seeing after the time skip is just a snowball effect of what happens when the improved crew is merely present.

they didn't MEAN to intrude into this whole vegapunk island fiasco. they were just exploring

 

[Jonas]

I'm probably coming off more negative than I intended to. I honestly think Oda is constantly becoming a better writer. I just think some of early OP's charm has been lost is all
But yeah it's hard with 9 main characters who all have to be in almost every chapter. Maybe he needs to make some chapters focus on smaller groups of characters at a time. It could be one of the things that made me like Marine Ford arc, even though I missed Luffy's crew all the time.

 

[theeboredone]

I just hope we get a good flashback of some of the core characters and their training. I'm curious to know what Zoro did with Mihawk and what Robin learned, while with Dragon.

 

[Jonas]

I'm most curious about Robin. It probably has something to do with her knowledge of poneglyphs and the rebels' interest in knowing what the World Government wants to hide.

 

[Nicknyte]

HIYO HIYO HIYO UH OOOOOOOOOOOOH....

okay. After reading once piece recently, I want Dragon Meat.

 

[Phoenix Lord']

But yeah it's hard with 9 main characters who all have to be in almost every chapter.

And yet some people want more Strawhats. 9 is more than fine.

Also, I wanna see what Franky was doing. I bet he got into some super wacky antics.

 

[Oasis_S]

This arc is going to culminate in a battle with Mecha-Sunny vs Law's ship with giants' legs attached to it.

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

So i think i while back i wrote that law was going to be to luffy what hawkeye is/was to shanks. I am feeling pretty good about my guess atm.

Also i am liking this arc so far, much better then fishman island atm imo. I dont see much problem with character useage atm i think oda will figure it out and everyone will get there time and its just not usopp's time right now.

Also i dont think they r useing usopp as a plot device, i think he is just showing usopp is now more useful, and my guess is it will be kinda a joke about how he has something for every situation to the point its Ridiculous

 

[DerpDaBerp]

So i think i while back i wrote that law was going to be to luffy what hawkeye is/was to shanks. I am feeling pretty good about my guess atm.

huh. well I only remember that one scene where Shanks invited Hawkeye to have a drink with his crew (after showing him Luffy's poster??) and... yeah I can see that. It's seems like a kind of undeveloped relationship though (shanks/mihawk). It would be cool to see either a flashback of how they know each other or some bonding between law and the strawhats

 

[Phoenix Lord']

In addition to that party, Mihawk mused out an apology to Shanks at Marineford because he was about to go all out on Luffy. Then when Shanks actually showed up he left immediately saying that he was only there to fight Whitebeard.