@RobbyBevard:
Yes. Yes it was.
Is your dad bigger than mine as well? Timeskips are plot devices that allow an author to skip the development/maturing stage, while keeping the readers in suspense of what happened during the time frame. Just because Luffy says he'll never lose any more friends doesn't mean it's going to happen, no current strawhats are going to kick the bucket. By extention, if Jimbe joins the crew, he's probably safe. But until Jimbe is physically "Strawhat helmsman Jimbe" instead of "Knight of the Sea Jimbe" he's fair game.
The entire crew trained to be able to hold up to the standards of the enw world and not be a burden and be able to support their captain, putting their own dreams and humility aside. The entire crew.
That includes Zoro throwing away his pride to beg Mihawk for training and Sanji going without women.
Yes, they got new techniques, and yes they all got stronger. Doesn't mean there will be no deaths in One Piece from now on. The point of the timeskip was to give them new techniques without spending 50 chapters drawing out the learning process, not to dictate the remaining ~500 chapters.
He's only a couple years older than Franky. And yes, fifty years younger than Brook. And Chopper is younger than all of them. Age isn't a factor. (And most of Jinbe's life thus far has been in service to others, its not much of a lived life.)
I can agree with this, but I'm just saying, Jimbe isn't quite like the rest of the Strawhats. Also if Jimbe's life has been quote on quote "in service to others", isn't that a red flag? One of the primary criteria is to have your own dreams. Obviously we probably just haven't been told what the dream is, but if Jimbe has no personal ambition, his chances of being a Strawhat=0%.
So after having Jinbe hang around for nearly 200 chapters, being the only crewmate with Luffy during his time of need, someone who knew him before the time skip, that has a ton of built up history with him now including having known his brother, plus a multi year wait in real life for a couple hundred more chapters, he's going to be randomly killed to be replaced with a fresh face?
Oda-san doesn't hype characters by having them dish out death at random. He can't even kill nameless background characters. Arlong and Aikanu aside, when was the last time a villain actually killed someone?
Umm, I'm sure Luffy was closer to Ace than he ever was or will be to Jimbe, and we also knew Ace for a long time before his death. Not to mention the intimacy between them is exactly what would make the event so shocking to the reader. Sure Oda doesn't have GRR Martin's murderous pen, but if a death leads to significant character development, Oda will pull the trigger. Jimbe's death would most certainly lead to character development. Whether it's worth the tradeoff or not is up to Oda to decide.
@ Cymelion, I agree with you. Also, even with a poll, it doesn't prove anything because of the "rabble voters". Keep in mind that this is the same forum where Paulie destroyed Franky in NN polls (to this day I'll never understand how people couldn't pick up on the hints that Franky wasn't just your regular old thug), people were certain Ace was going to live, and a huge number of posters believe Enel is admiral level. Just because only a vocal minority believes something doesn't make them wrong. Oda is really good at stringing less critical readers who can't read between the lines into thinking things such as Luffy>Kidd and that Shanks is going to live, even though you should be able to pick up on the hints that say otherwise.
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@Aaronrules380:
So, what would be the point of Luffy inviting Jinbe to join his crew and Jinbe ACCEPTING if he was just going to kill Jinbe a few hundred chapters later. It makes no sense and would be bad writing on Oda's part. Even if he wanted someone to be killed like that (and it's Oda so he clearly doesn't), he'd do it pretty immediately after acceptance so the shock and drama is greater, not a few hundred chapters after Jinbe decided to join. If Oda wanted Jinbe to be just an ally, that scene need never have existed and would actually be awful writing
Please elaborate as to how this would be bad writing? Is Code Geass bad because Euphemia died after she and Lelouch came to an agreement? The shock value of losing somebody so close, who'd been there for so long, and was seemingly untouchable could be excellent writing if done right. If Jimbe just ends up an ally though, that would be awful writing. If he dies, we need to see how Oda uses his death to judge.
