@Jeff:
Fair enough, I suppose. I guess from my standpoint the notes I heard most when the flashback ended were when it literally ended.
Indeed, but was that not him finishing his "narration" of the story he told? Seems to me the point of his story picks up at the bottom of page 12, and from that point to page 15 it is all about him. Particularly that panel with Nami on page 15, no?
@Jeff:
Well that and the fact that he was, for all intents and purposes, absent from the flashback for a significant period of time.
I might be mistaken, but from what I understand he was involved in every chapter of the flashback in some way, shape, or form. I agree his involvement is thus far the least active compared to other members of the crew, but for me that doesn't matter. What matters to me has always been how the flashback shaped his character and how it affected him personally. I hope we can agree that this flashback showed us a solid history of his development and explained why he is who he is now?
@Jeff:
His time in solitude on the ship where the only light he had was the recording of his old crew.
This was a dual point for me, since the question was rhetorical: 1.) Page 15 of this chapter, panels 1-5. 2.) Brook's defining scene came literally at the end of the arc, after we had seen more than one staggered flashback from him. Not trying to draw perfect parallels, really, just pointing out that I think Nami's line about Jinbe is similar to Brook's tone dial; likewise, I think Oda still has room for development with Jinbe. Not saying he will, for sure, but there are, as said before, questions still unanswered.
@Jeff:
Brooks shadow acting as an initial MacGguffin and then the meat of his flashback having little relevance to Thriller Bark itself.
Don't want to repeat arguments, but feel free to glance at my bit for SGR.
@Jeff:
Both Jinbe's past and present characters are deeply interwoven in the conflicts we just saw. It doesn't really make too much sense, as of now, to have held his development back in those kind of ways while the flashback was occurring.
But I'm not saying it was held back. I'm saying it was there, it just happened in portions rather than a single moment. Jinbe started off grumpy, then aligned with Tiger, then questioned things, then understood Tiger, then was angry and confused, then understood Otohime, then was surely angry and confused again. Franky was irresponsible, then realized how his irresponsibility hurt his mentor. There's a big difference in the progression of their development; a single act versus a series of events.
@Jeff:
The point of a character flashback prior to their joining of the crew is to solidify the character and tell us as readers what they've gone through and how it has affected them. We just didn't get that same development in Jinbe as we've seen in past crew members. If he had gotten that moment I would have thrown in the towel and joined your side.
Well again, I think we can agree that we saw what he went through and how it affected him, that much is clear as day. What we are debating is the screen time and "defining moment" to which I refer again to my argument above. Anyway, all that said I would like to apologize, I think my initial reply to you came off a little more rude/sarcastic than I meant, and as usual I appreciate your calm and polite responses.