! @Darth:
! > Also, from here on out, if I see another person saying that the flaws are just inherent to the manga aimed at this demographic, and I just don't get, I will point my finger at any of the many Shonen series I've read that those flaws do not appear in, and laugh at your ignorance, okay?
Because that particular "counter-argument" is getting annoying. Because there are plenty of Shonen series that are devoided of them, thus it the fault of Oda's preference or lack of skill that they are there. Therefore, critique of them is a fair game.
Speaking off, long awaited analisis of this chapter, and why do I consider it bad.
We are starting off with the color spread. Well made from technical standpoint, but I found the theme of Straw Hats eating pizza to be somewhat lacking, as far as color spreads go. It just seems uninspired, when compared to the previous ones. I might be because of how it's framed.
First page! Flashback to Mihawk teaching Zoro about Haki. And every sword of great quality just got fucked. Haki is as of now a superior to craftsmanship, gentleman. Might explain why every high level swordsman in the world seems to be using completly ordinary blades that work as good as the supposedly mastercrafted and unique ones. A small detail, but annoying in how it belittles the swords in favor of CoA.
Oh, for those interested, I'm using Stream translation for the purpoes of this post.
Second page. Fujitora saved hundreds of lives. It was off-paneled, so nobody cared. Including the people whose lives were saved. Side-note: The fact that the entire city center managed to get evacuated in less than an hour is immensly impresive. Unrealistic too, but fuck it, score one for the marines. They did more than supposed "man of the people" King Riku. Shame it will go unacknowledged.
Third page and fourth page. Comments on Zoro. Same old shit people were saying for god knows how many chapters already. Factory got utterly destroyed in somewhat anticlimactic manner, consider it was the goal of the entire plan. Times constraints? It was suprisingly easy to do, with how it was hyped, nevertheless, not a terrible way to do it.
Glorious Tontata overcome their opressors! And I can't muster any excitment for it, since those who did it weren't even named. I would cared more if they were developed in any way, and were not just a plot device. Good for them, I suppose. Trebol part is annoyingly arrogant, but necessary, since it tells us that Jora did in fact failed to contact them and informed them further. Why is Trebol not going to get Mansherry and undo the damage right now? Fuck if anyone knows. They are really to confident in their position for people who are losing so much.
Fifth, Sixth, page. Hi, Kyros! You've met the dwarves, I see. And their princess. Who can heal you. With a single tear. Where you could save tens of lives by fighting off regular Doflamingo soldiers and subduing the citizens that are probably still controled by the Birdcage. What? There more important things to do? Even though you were so hung up on helping fight Doflamingo? Okay then.
Ah, so there are people that need her help more. And how many of them are strong fighters that could help fight off the evil psychopath that wants to kill you all? Hmm, I suppose it's somewhat heroic of him to give the help to almost dead citizens first. Assuming, of course, that's what's going to happen and he is not going to send her up, where Doflamingo is. Also, about country falling back into darkness? Bullshit. And stop trying to build false tension, Oda, not even your own characters believe it.
Seventh page and Eigth page. Oh, and btw, several panels wasted on stating again how Luffy and Law are their only hope. We know. You have said so many times already. You don't need to provide exposition on something that we already had exposition for time and time again. Also, hi Koala. You've moved since we last saw you, that's nice. And you have evidently encountered either Burgess or CP-0. Because those are the only people that are currently unaccounted for, and Oda is not going to introduce new characters this late on.
And of course, golden boy Sabo jumps into fray! Leave no amount of tension alive, mister Sabo, we are counting on you! More seriously, if this is a setup for Burgess vs Sabo rematch, despite my terrible feelings, I hope both sides are portrayed fairly, and that Burgess will leave Dressrosa with something more than bunch of nameless gladiators to show for himself. Fat chance of that happening, I know, but hey, it is a privalege of fools to dream on. Also, Koala is evidently badass. Mhm. Show, don't tell, Oda. Manga is visual medium. When you say things like that, and then immediatly present her with situation that she cannot deal with and she has to be saved by the our almighty blond lord and saviour that is Ace 2.0, then it creates somewhat unconfortable feeling that she really isn't that capable, and you are just covering for your terrible track record. Also, not even a scratch on Zoro, and more praise for our resident badass. Yes, we know, he is awesome. If you take all of the panels, you have dedicated almost a page of 17 page chapter to say that, Oda. And Pica really sucks.
Ninth page. And more trying to build up as if there was actual tension in the entire situation. As I said it, even the characters in the series don't believe two people can actually turn the tide. Just because you acknowledge that your plot is devoided of tension it doesn't change the fact that your plot is devoided of tension. Unless you are setting us up, Oda, and Luffy will lose. Which I don't believe.
Well, that's the first half of the chapter done. I'll be leaving for my lectures now, but don't worry, we will continue with the sorrowful story of Bellamy and Luffy.
Sorrowful, because of how terrible it is. And I will be talking about Bellamy this arc, as well as the conclusion of his storyline and the issue of Oda and death. Stay tuned! Because of your Avatar, I imagine you eating Ramen while typing out your epic posts, which makes it even more epic.
I never really got the whole "great crafted swords" thing anyways. It seemed to be there mainly to just hype Zoro up some more by him getting an awesome sword that has a name. So the whole sword thing being obsolete doesn't really phase me, as it never seemed to play a factor into anything. Maybe Oda one time planned on it being a bigger thing then decided not to go with it. As of now, I feel that if someone has a named sword, it is more for a hype tool than anything else.
I disagree slightly with the Kyros aspect, for a few reasons. He's calmed down now that he defeated his wife's killer, and probably has accepted that he doesn't stand a chance against Doflamingo (I will admit I'm making an assumption on the second part). Another thing is that even if Kyros healed himself, there isn't really anyone noteworthy to fight. It seems that everything has calmed down, and that no one needs to be subdued except for Doflamingo at this point (and Sabo taking on the unknown person). Kyros might take charge to help with helping others out now, but it's hard to say for now.
Everything else I can sorta agree on, but I'm just waiting to see how everything shapes up in the end. Oda does have a tendency to rehash things, which is probably a little more prevalent when reading on a week by week basis. Not saying it excuses any tediousness that comes from it, but its how it is.
@jprdiru:
Did read. Doesn't change the fact that you are nitpicking and bitching. Is that what you think "reason" and "logical arguments" stand for? This is very low, even for Darth "the flawed logic that asks for the rest of the world to work under perfectly unflawed logic without being aware of his own behaviour and arguments' irrationality" standards.
Your reading/expression of the chapter is so obviously conditioned by something that affects you emotionally in a negative way (probably the fact that Zoro and Sabo recieve shonen-like blant badassness, while Fujitora keeps falling into oblivion?), and yet keep boasting about how rational your argumentation is - while others are blind fandboys… really? This is the same generalizing mistake that you accuse them for!! You can now say it is tedious when someone thinks that knows you better than yourself... but it is often true, 'cos it's hard to objectify your own behaviour, and other people reaction's to your own attitude IS important enough to take into account. I do not know you, but that is exactly why I can read your posts with a more objective opinion.
I am sorry for being out of topic, but it is starting to be annoying... not that every chapter thread is full of Darth's posts (which woud have an easy solution: ignore list), but that they could be really great -I really appreciate your almost unique approach when analyzing storytelling- if not for the same flaws that you so proudly highlight when you find them in One Piece or other's posts. Just chill out a bit, tone down (I can't help but reading your posts with a condescending voice...), and learn not to take it personal, like a "defeat", when someone proves your logic wrong - like in the "bad cliffhanger" thingy.
Chapter was... meh. But it is a transition chapter that totally depends on the one before and the one coming next. So, untill the begining of 800 with Dofla and Law situation fully revealed, I won't have a clear and defined oppinion. However, despite how "cheap" it can be, I find it quite interesting HOW the cliffhanger was presented: in two small dark panels, instead of a shocking image of Law laying on the ground. It intrigues me... which I guess is the purpose of a cliffhanger.
I think Darth just has stuff that Irks him more than us. From what I've gathered, he really wants people to act with a certain rationality, which he's not going to get. I think that's why he loves Kingdom, because it focuses on people using rationality for fighting and politics, where One Piece people are less rational because of the various circumstances. Also, I don't think it's just Darth's fault for things being said repeatedly. Posters seem to get angry at him, they lash back, and Darth responds. Eventually, the argument gets back to certain points, and it never ends well.
If you don't like Darth repeating certain aspects that you are tired of, then ignore those parts, and if you want to argue with him, try to frame the conversation so it stays away from those topics. And it would be good of Darth to know that certain aspects (Fujitora, The Riku Family in general, etc) have been talked to death for a while now, so trying to argue your point won't change anything (unless something significant happened with one of those aspects that can change the conversation slightly).
Also, might be best to just not dwell on chapter threads too long. The actual chapter is discussed very little before changing into something completely different. Read a few pages, post your comment, then come back days later if you feel you want to add something.
