Okay, this gets much harder to do since I have to look at what your post means in context to my arg, which doesn't come up in the quote function.
Yeah, I tend to keep the two windows next to each other for easier reference. I do apologize if any of this winds up sounding harsh. I woke up not long ago.
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Incapacitating Hyouzou by cutting his swords was my main argument. You countered with that's the same as what he did with Monet, and I said it's not because Monet was only stopped when she was harming Tashigi instead of when the two were fighting.
Because she got in the way. It's not like Zoro would have stalled to all eternity had Tashigi not been there. That would just be plain silly.
And even not taking account Hody's scenario in Ryuugu Palace, there's still all the scenes before it that have Zoro incapacitating Neptune and the pirate fodder that got in the way. So Zoro arbitrarily cuts people down? Regardless, given Sanji's comment and Zoro himself saying that there's some things he doesn't like cutting, there is implicit proof that his actions towards Monet were in fact part because she's a woman, and pointing out other possible reasons doesn't change the fact that this was part of Zoro's mindset.
Every fight has its own circumstances, and I could argue each one individually, but that's missing the point. The point is that he acted the exact same way with Hyouzou, and Hyouzou is not a woman. Therefore, we can not treat this as a situation that's purely exclusive to women. Did it play a part? Sure, absolutely, and for her case in particular it could even be a significant part. Still not exclusive.
Length is an issue depending on the reasons for Zoro dragging the fight out. If Zoro realized she's weak, why keep dragging the fight out instead of just incapacitating her? I think it's mostly due to Zoro being unwilling to cut Monet because she's a woman, which you either don't agree with or don't find it relevant enough to be bothered by it.
And the other difference is the context of the fight. (Another Hyouzou arg!) Hyouzou didn't have a moment emphasizing Zoro being purely on the defensive. He cut up his swords and ended the fight saying he's not worth his time. Zoro didn't say that at all with Monet, nor was the reason why he dragged the fight out given any other explicit context other than I'd really want to avoid cutting you if I had to.
Unwilling? Certainly not. He proved he was willing. Not something he particularly wanted to do, sure, but unwilling, never.
Fights should never be perfect mirror images of each other. But these two situations are about as similar as I expect two different fights to ever be.
I think it's mostly due to Zoro being unwilling to cut Monet because she's a woman
I'm not denying that Zoro is capable of harming a woman, nor have I argued that Zoro isn't willing to do it
The first quote is from the previous quote. These are your words, back to back! Come on, don't do this! It's way too embarrassing, and even shameful!
Essentially, the difference is from your perspective is that Zoro would've cut Kalifa if he faced her. What I'm saying is that Zoro would pretty much be in the same situation. Was Robin's life in Enies Lobby any more in danger than Nami/Chopper/Robin/the kids here? The context makes me think Zoro would've tried the same tricks Sanji attempted to do with Kalifa. The difference here is that Monet never got in an attack that stopped Zoro in his tracks like Sanji and the bubbles. Unless you're going to argue that Sanji is way more careless than Zoro for getting caught, that's the kind exact kind of trick attack that could've been used below which is why delaying fights isn't a good thing.
There's no way in hell that Zoro loses to Kalifa in that situation. Yeah, he would have tried to get her to back down at first, but I can't even imagine him actually losing when it doesn't work out. Just like he wouldn't have lost against Monet. Would Sanji have lost to Monet in this situation? I'd imagine so, and he even sort of acknowledges that in a way in this chapter.
Tashigi made the issue as subtle as a brick through the window. And from tashigi's perspective of course she would think Zoro looks down on women. But the readers know better than that. They know about his past with Kuina and the special case Tashigi really is, but this showed a side that was ambiguous/never focused on in the story enough to argue about.
Tashigi was practically tailor made to explore this issue with.
First off, the experience thing. I'm still not buying it just for the sheer fact that the idea of experience has never been brought up during the fight with Monet. He brought it up with Hyouzou, but once he realized Hyzou wasn't a threat he cut up his swords and ended the fight. Saying Monet is the same case is no different than saying Zoro's incapacitating himself to make the fight more even/interesting. it's conjecture.
Why should he have to repeat the same lines every time? This is just a part of his character. It was the same when Luffy and Zoro were gleeful to learn that they were up against Crocodile. The thing that bugs me is that you treat hesitation like it's the only possible answer, and complain about it because of Zoro's line about the New World (right below this), when there's clearly another possible answer. It's like you WANT there to be a problem to complain about. It's not like he ever verified your accusation either, so that's just as much conjecture, which is based on little more than ignorant and biased Tashigi and her historically wrong assumptions about Zoro.
The difference between how we approach this here is that I'm actually willing to acknowledge that hesitation may have played a part (I'd actually say a combination seems most likely, but I'm willing to seriously consider alternatives), while you seem completely dead set in your beliefs. But if hesitation was the cause, it's likely due to an internal conflict that he's battling, which he eventually overcomes. Even in this case, accusing Zoro of not adhering to his own advice because he quickly struggles with a little internal conflict is downright unfair. You're not asking him to be a character, but rather you're asking him to be a robot.
And yes, Zoro has been training to be prepared when his guard is up, but what exactly would've been Zoro's plan if she set off a sleeping gas bomb? Freezing him to death from sheer cold? How good would a guard really be? Monet even mentioned strength doesn't equal victory during the arc. How doesn't that contradict Zoro's advice to Luffy about not being careless?
How can you just assume that Zoro would lose to stuff like this if he was prepared and focused? It's incomprehensible. HE has faith that he can overcome any method she comes up with, that's for damn sure. He doesn't believe he's being careless because he's prepared for anything. If said anything actually works to some degree, well, that's a mistake to learn from. It'd be better if someone weak like Monet introduced something that he wasn't expecting than someone who was a real threat to him.
The biggest issue he had, which the New World line originated from, is that he got caught unfocused and off guard by Rock/Scotch and nearly paid the price for it. To lose because of a lack of focus is inexcusable to him. He expects himself to always be prepared for any type of attack. But that doesn't mean that he needs to eliminate any and all threats as quickly as possible. Those two concepts simply aren't the same.[/hide]