Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 8 - Onigashima)

[SeaOfHope]

You'd think if Carrot was actually being written to be a protagonist, she wouldn't only show up when the plot requires her. Because the thing about protagonists is that they don't need to wait to hbe necessary to appear, they always appear because the story is about them.

Heck, you want a good reason Carrot was in WCI? Character diversity. Oda could have sent just the 5 strawhats, but he wanted to send more characters. Hence Pedro and Carrot. Maybe send other strawhats like remaining 4, but I guess he wanted to give a shining arc for the ones who didn't appear in most of Dressrosa. And instead of repeating characters, he made new ones. As a result, WCI is more interesting.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Btw I showed a pic of Carrot to a friend of mine who is an actual furry and he wasn't impressed. He said she's not furry enough for his tastes and replied me with this.

Spoiler:

https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/...om/Ugth7fT.jpg

He said Carrot is closer to the 10%.

But hey, maybe Oda's editor was into a different range. Who knows.

I believe in Oda's writing credibility to explain and express clearly why she was actually needed to be in the arc than you making something up like diversity when you already had 2 Minks in the story that had established roles to be where they were. The simple fact is that, if he didn't want her around and was irrelevant, she wouldn't simply be there. I feel this because I know that Oda's improv and creativity has shown throughout the series.

Case in point:

• Vivi wasn't originally supposed to be the princess of Alabasta. He just decided that Miss Wednesday could play the role of a princess for the Alabasta Saga based solely on the fact with her hair down she looked like one.
• CP9 were originally going to be random government agents, but Oda decided to make them the Shipwrights (Lucci and Kaku), the Secretary (Kalifa), and the Bartender (Blueno) to add drama and make the arc more interesting.
• It is common knowledge by some of us that the 11 Supernovas concept was literally made up at the last minute because Oda's editor at the time said the arc felt boring. Many of them became popular because of their unique designs and cool personalities, the most popular being Law. So Oda expanded on this character over the timeskip and made him have a lot more depth and personality, which made him popular. So popular he stole Zoro's #2 spot on the 5th popularity poll.
• As minor as it was, Cavendish care and relationship with his horse, Farul, was suggested by an editor and he went with that, a character he already established.

Hence why saying Carrot was simply there for character diversity is a poor excuse as Oda has done a lot more for characters with very little time. If she had a reason to go to Whole Cake Island prior to Chapter 877, the story would have made that clear. That's why I told you her exclusion from the narrative is strange, as she doesn't progress it, provide exposition, or is at the center of conflict, yet she's always here. For no reason that the story has addressed.

[Monquito]

Y

Btw I showed a pic of Carrot to a friend of mine who is an actual furry and he wasn't impressed. He said she's not furry enough for his tastes

Tell that man to get help.

[troglodytes]

Haha "a friend of mine who is a furry"

[Dragon D. Luffy]

Haha "a friend of mine who is a furry"

If you want to accuse me of something, do you mind showing any proof?

I said it's a friend of mine. If you think I'm lying I have nothing to say to you.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

Tell that man to get help.

Will do, but I still have a high hope I can get him to read Zou arc.

[troglodytes]

"Accuse" is a bit of a strong word for something far from being a crime. Relax man, just thought it was funny. It's cool to have a friend that trusts you enough to share their kink

[Dragon D. Luffy]

"Accuse" is a bit of a strong word for something far from being a crime. Relax man, just thought it was funny. It's cool to have a friend that trusts you enough to share their kink

I mean he said it in a public discord chat so it's not a big of a secret.

But I think this went a little off the rails, so we should probably drop it. Thanks.

[Shift]

Two chapters involving Yamato, and there’s no denying that he’s gotten some really good development and has shown off a lot of what he can do. Shrugging off bullets, one-shotting minions, protecting the helpless. I was especially moved by how he connected to Shinobu; I wasn’t really expecting that, but it makes perfect sense. Great character, no doubt about it.

The problem with him being a potential Straw Hat, I feel, is that Yamato’s imprinting a lot more on Momo than on Luffy. Other crewmates have had friends and loved ones they left behind, but they were people they had formed their bonds with long ago. Yamato and Momo are basically meeting for the first time, and it would ring hollow for them to just go their separate ways after this new bond just began to form. It was always conceivable that Yamato would become a part of Momo’s court though their mutual connection to Oden, and I really think the story’s leaning that way.

[Robby]

I'm kinda inclined to agree.

Yamato made a good strong impression early on and the colors helped. But SINCE that intro Oda has kinda rushed through things including just breaking the handcuffs immediately, tying them strongly to Momo now, separating from the group, and well... the Namiface is there even if there ware distinctions. They look different but... REALLY similar in B&W closeup.

You can fanfic whatever you want about how Momo will encourage Yamato to go off and do their own thing or whatever, but that's not really in the text at all currently and would just be rampant speculation.

Its starting to feel like Yaamto is there to fill some of the same purpose as Kyros kind of did for Rebecca, cover a fight that a different main character can't really do themselves and get some emotional mileage out of it they wouldn't otherwise.


It still feels like we could get Kaidou's flashback and thus more for Yamato as well, but at also feels like they might have just covered most of those bases this chapter. We KNOW what Kaidou's deal is and we're now fully filled in on Yamato, so...

at least the "I am Oden" shtick seems to have dropped. If Yamato still wants to be a man remains to be seen.

[theackwardstation]

Two chapters involving Yamato, and there’s no denying that he’s gotten some really good development and has shown off a lot of what he can do. Shrugging off bullets, one-shotting minions, protecting the helpless. I was especially moved by how he connected to Shinobu; I wasn’t really expecting that, but it makes perfect sense. Great character, no doubt about it.

The problem with him being a potential Straw Hat, I feel, is that Yamato’s imprinting a lot more on Momo than on Luffy. Other crewmates have had friends and loved ones they left behind, but they were people they had formed their bonds with long ago. Yamato and Momo are basically meeting for the first time, and it would ring hollow for them to just go their separate ways after this new bond just began to form. It was always conceivable that Yamato would become a part of Momo’s court though their mutual connection to Oden, and I really think the story’s leaning that way.

I agree with you about the bond between Momo and Yamato being developed and how they should stick together... but you're ignoring the possibity of both joining the crew, lol

[Shift]

I agree with you about the bond between Momo and Yamato being developed and how they should stick together... but you're ignoring the possibity of both joining the crew, lol

I'm actively against that outcome. Jinbe possibly sharing the spotlight with someone else will already be pushing it; we don't need three.

[theackwardstation]

I'm actively against that outcome. Jinbe possibly sharing the spotlight with someone else will already be pushing it; we don't need three.

You're actively against it for your personal reasons, but the possibility is still sound and legit... and that's what matters as a point of valid speculation and analysis. Btw, I'm not saying this because that's my preferred outcome... since it is not.

Besides that, I also disagree with your argument here. No future crewmember is disputing attention with Jimbe anymore. He's been an established character for a long time now and he has received a bunch of iconic joining scenes only for him (chapters 648, 863 and 975 between other developments), not to mention that he's already been portrayed as an official member of the crew in the Onigashima raid, color pages and merchandising. So even if five people joined the crew at the end of Wano, that would not diminish Jimbe's spotlight since he's already gotten his fair share. You're putting too much weight into the end-of-arc celebration as if that's supposed to be Jimbe's big joining moment, so you say it would be ruined if he had to share that moment with other characters... but I don't see this weight at all.

Not that I believe Yamato or Momonosuke will join. I don't.

[wolfwood]

Time may pass, and seasons may change. But i'll remain a salty hater to my dying day. Close the door on all these time wasters Jinbro

[Coookie]

I don't think that Yamato will discard 20 years of longing to go out to sea, dreaming of becoming an adventurer like Oden on his travels, just to become a retainer for his alive-after-all son, something that Oden would very much have hated to do. It's not about Momo encouraging Yamato to leave him but rather Yamato being stubborn enough to leave anyway (a characteristic of his that was already demonstrated. Also feeding into Momonosuke's character arc to become his own dependable image of a man/shogun who don't need no (wo)man).
The way I see it right now is that Yamato wants to make sure that the Kozuki clan regains the power in Wano, that Kaidou will be forced to surrender the country and that Wano's borders will finally be opened, so that afterwards he is free to leave. From a meta perspective this also fulfills another thing that Yamato up to the raid did not have but other Straw Hats do: friends/family that were being oppressed, then liberated and finally left behind to go and achieve the character's own selfish ambitions.

[Shift]

You're actively against it for your personal reasons, but the possibility is still sound and legit... and that's what matters as a point of valid speculation and analysis. Btw, I'm not saying this because that's my preferred outcome... since it is not.

I may be passionate, but I’m still aiming to be objective. I ‘m not against it because I wouldn’t like it. I personally like Yamato, who I’ve said before ticks a lot of the boxes I was hoping for. I’d be happy to have him and Carrot on the crew if it actually seemed like he was being drawn that way, but I don’t believe he is, and I don’t think we’re having a joining free for all, either.

Besides that, I also disagree with your argument here. No future crewmember is disputing attention with Jimbe anymore. He's been an established character for a long time now and he has received a bunch of iconic joining scenes only for him (chapters 648, 863 and 975 between other developments), not to mention that he's already been portrayed as an official member of the crew in the Onigashima raid, color pages and merchandising. So even if five people joined the crew at the end of Wano, that would not diminish Jimbe's spotlight since he's already gotten his fair share. You're putting too much weight into the end-of-arc celebration as if that's supposed to be Jimbe's big joining moment, so you say it would be ruined if he had to share that moment with other characters... but I don't see this weight at all.

Not that I believe Yamato or Momonosuke will join. I don't.

The only reason I think more than one person joining here is possible at all is because it is Jinbe, who yes, has been built up over years and years and is finally paying off. He can hold up to a lot, including someone else sharing his spotlight. Oda could have had Jinbe join all the way back in Fishman Island. He could have had Jinbe join after Totto Land. But he chose to make Jinbe official now, in Wano. I don’t know why it had to be that way, but it is what it is. And as much as I wanted and expected him to be official a long time ago, he only just became so now.

If even two more people, much less five, joined right now all at once, that would seriously dilute what a special occasion it’s always been. We’re talking about the core group of characters we’re going to be following for the remainder of the series, the ones who will get the One Piece first. We can’t have everyone joining, or else joining wouldn’t be special. That’s not me being biased for or against anyone in particular, that’s just what I see making the most sense. I’m open to being wrong, but I think my point has merit.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

I'm very against Momo joining, because I think it's bad taste after what Oden leaving caused to his country.

Wano needs a shogun who can be there, for once.

[Shiebs]

Yamato literally stated he wants to go out to Sea

whether he'll join or not is something entirely different

[theackwardstation]

I may be passionate, but I’m still aiming to be objective. I ‘m not against it because I wouldn’t like it. I personally like Yamato, who I’ve said before ticks a lot of the boxes I was hoping for. I’d be happy to have him and Carrot on the crew if it actually seemed like he was being drawn that way, but I don’t believe he is, and I don’t think we’re having a joining free for all, either.

I don't believe Yamato is going to become a future crewmate either, but specifically your reply to my post didn't sound very objective to me, honestly. In response to my sugestion that Yamato could join the crew alongside Momo (since they're being tagged together), you brought up the reasoning that two more nakama besides Jimbe is not happening, that you're actively against it, which I think is much more subjective than anything else.

I'm not saying that your argument is invalid due to subjectivity, and it's a fair reason to base your own expectation on your instincts... but you shouldn't quickly dismiss as you did the possibility that Yamato and Momo could be developed as a pair of future crewmates.

The only reason I think more than one person joining here is possible at all is because it is Jinbe, who yes, has been built up over years and years and is finally paying off. He can hold up to a lot, including someone else sharing his spotlight. Oda could have had Jinbe join all the way back in Fishman Island. He could have had Jinbe join after Totto Land. But he chose to make Jinbe official now, in Wano. I don’t know why it had to be that way, but it is what it is. And as much as I wanted and expected him to be official a long time ago, he only just became so now.

If even two more people, much less five, joined right now all at once, that would seriously dilute what a special occasion it’s always been. We’re talking about the core group of characters we’re going to be following for the remainder of the series, the ones who will get the One Piece first. We can’t have everyone joining, or else joining wouldn’t be special. That’s not me being biased for or against anyone in particular, that’s just what I see making the most sense. I’m open to being wrong, but I think my point has merit.

But Jimbe is not joining together "right now all at once" with anybody else. Jimbe is a crewmember already. For example, let's compare him with Carrot, who we both believe could join and who has been together with the crew for more than a hundred chapters. Let's see: (1) Jimbe is in the big Strawhats panel in chapter 988, (2) Jimbe is officially treated as a complete Strawhat even in the most mundane moments now, (3) Jimbe is featured in colorspreads now, (4) Jimbe had many joining scenes in the past and (5) Jimbe is put as a crewmate in merchandising and promotion... while Carrot is not portrayed like that at all. The reason is simple. It's because one of them is a Strawhats already and the other is not. So if Carrot joins the crew at the end of Wano, she's not joining together with Jimbe. No, she's joining alone (or together with Yamato). For the same reason, Jimbe won't be sharing the spotlight with Carrot or anynbody else because his recruitment has already happened even if the toast was delayed.

As I said before, I think you're putting too much weight into the end-of-arc celebration as a big moment for Jimbe, as his ritual of officialization, which I think is not. It will be indeed a big moment for Carrot if she joins, or for Yamato, or for Momo, or for Tama... and for them it would be sharing the spotlight if more than one of them joined together (with the exception of Momo and Yamato for the reason of being a pair). But for Jimbe it's only a toast.

All in all, this celebration will be a huge end-of-super-saga celebration and will wrap up many different plot threads from the last 10 years, so it would not be surprising if Oda did an unprecedented amount of big moments without one diminishing the other.

[Vongola_Boss_XI]

These two chapters have further reinforced my belief that Yamato is bound to Wano and Momonosuke. Her desire to set out to sea is rooted entirely in an errant desire to 'be Oden'. What Oden left unfulfilled was opening Wano's borders.

I understand Yamato said she wants to go to see, but what matters more than her words is the subtext, her motivating desire. Going out to sea doesn't actively build on Oden's legacy. Protecting Oden's children, the future Shogun Momonosuke, and ensuring the borders remain open is a far more meaningful way to accomplish that which Yamato most desires.

994 was a positive step toward Yamato shaking off the Oden gimmick and discovering her own identity.

[Deicide]

I'm yet another to think this chapter started to build Yamato's role as a Kouzuki retainer, rather than a pirate.

Yamato's desire to go to sea seems to me bound to the idea of freedom. He couldn't leave Onigashima, so when Ace appeared, he saw going with Ace as his best option to be free. But now he's freed from his shackles and about to find his own identity.

[Dragon D. Luffy]

So recently I reread WCI and I warmed up a bit on Carrot. The whole sequence with the Sulong form just screams strawhat.

But she still has a lot of issues. The lack of a major character conflict and a reason to go to the sea, complete lack of presence in Wano and I still don't think Pedro's death passes the standard for a OP sad backstory.

I would be cool if she joined, though. Just don't think it's likely to happen.