@MagneticMonkey:
I don't understand how you guys can still make posts like "shichiA vs shichiB" after 555 chapters. Seems to me that you didn't read the manga.
Didn't oda made it clear that each shichibukai has his own style of fighting and isn't it clear that in a fight they might be pretty much even since everyone of them has deadly attacks?
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I kind of agree with this. Lately, Oda is just developing each shichibukai as "strong," nearly invincible. Clearly, he doesn't care how they match up against each other since many of them will never fight, with the exception of maybe Jimbei.
It's there where the "Croc and Moria are the weakest" idea pops up. Because those two lost, they are no longer invincible, just strong. That's a considerable step down right? It's here again where Oda develops the shichibukai's strength without any consideration to match ups. Each shichibukai is looking stronger and stronger while Moria's loss might be fresh in our minds. We know how Moria can be beat–through powerful hand to hand combat. The rest, we don't know if that's enough.
More controversial is an old trick Oda uses to save the title of shichibukai after Luffy beats one. I think, and this is where people disagree, that he builds down any shichibukai after they lose for the sake of making the future ones still seem strong. The latest example of this is Kuma beating the entire crew after Thriller Barque. It reminds me of Kinnikuman, where ever newly introduced enemy takes the time to say "we're even stronger then that last weak guy you faced!", except Oda has more respect for his characters.
Me, I think "the shichibukai being equal" is unimportant to the story. I see the rest of them continuing their development of "looking invincible" while guys like Moria and Croc will lose if the need for it comes. Especially Moria, who I've said before is the most likely to fall in this war. Maybe Jimbei too, considering he's not quite a villain, but a protagonist.