Well said, Jonas.
@Jonas22:
But the climax so far has been falling unfortunately flat. A lot of interesting possibilities were brushed aside in favor of formulaic ones. This entire key search, for instance, is just a shadow of alabasta, where instead of a battle royale the strawhats split up not once but twice in order to keep the 1 on 1 formula (safe and familiar to Oda). Unfortunately this time around it doesn't make nearly as much sense, and seems even more contrived :(
That's how OP is; it's not redefining the Shounen genre as much as it is precenting the zenith (quality) of the standards without exceeding them. A Battle Royale seemed wonderful on paper, but it would be even more contrived than the dumb key retrieval (which, I agree, was retarded, even if it did make logical sense). CP9 is an assassination agency, and as such, they are likely to employ assassin-like tactics, such as:
- Killing the weaker opponents to remove a potential source of damage (Usopp, Nami, Chopper).
- Ganging up on opponents to ensure they're overwhelmed (Sanji, Zoro, Franky).
- Using hostages to goad an opponent into submission (anyone-> Luffy).
If CP9 worked together, they would be invincible; however, the cohesion of the group isn't very good, what with rivalries between the two "subgroups" and a seperation of time between them (several years). If any of the groups were to work together, it would be Jyabura-Fukurou-Kumadori and Lucci-Kaku. Blueno might have worked with Lucci and Kaku, but he was elliminated before the whole matchups started, and Califa isn't in the same league as the dudes.
Because of this, I expect there to be something close to a Battle Royal, but not really; hopefully, Oda will expand on the "double team" matchups and include some obtuse rankings, for example, Franky, Nami, and Sanji v. Califa or Franky, Sogeking and Zoro v. Kaku and Jyabura. In such a way, we could see combinations of moves and teamwork; cohesion among the Strawhats is considerably greater than CP9, as evidenced by Zoro, our typical lone-wolf, working together with Sogeking.
The fights themselves are brutal and entertaining; frankly, I'm satisfied for now. Of the CP9 agents, the ones people really hate are the betrayers of Water 7; Blueno's defeat, however quick, was deliciously climatic and well warranted. Kumadori and Fukurou have proven to be likeable, but not in a bad way like the W7 CP9; as such, their fights should seem more fillerish (despite how good they are) in comparison to, say, Nami v. Califa.