@goty:
That's my main reason of..not being very excited about One Piece anymore ever since the timeskip. It became the Luffy (and later, Law) show, with occasional bones thrown at the crew, now side characters. Even the Strawhats who stayed in Dressrosa got as much screentime as the gladiators, pretty much. A bunch of characters we'll likely barely see again (if ever) were getting full fights, when Robin couldn't get one, again. I wouldn't say Franky, for instance, was shining or anything, when all i can remember is he kissing what's her name and suplexing Señor Pink for months.
One could even say the trend started after Sabaody, when the rest of the crew was forgotten for a long time. Sometimes i feel like Oda kind of lost the interest of working on crew interactions, seeming now more fond of introducing too many new characters and craziness every arc. Let's not even talk about character development for them.
No do lets. I'd argue Franky and Usopp DEFINTELY got to shine this arc. Franky got to shine against Senior Pink, it was hardly just a suplex. Usopp is the first Crewmember that isn't in the monster trio to unlock Haki AND he gained his followers he used to always lie about having.
As for the gladiators that you feel will never appear again? I strongly disagree. They are clearly there to be future allies for Luffy. It makes me think of all the crews that came to Whitebeard ' s aid in the Marineford arc.
@Miss:
Adding more Strawhats at this point in the narrative (well past the half way point, about 70% done) would be really sloppy. It'd be like Brook's introduction pre-timeskip, where he barely got to do anything before getting blown off. Also, "there's still the possibility" is not the same as a confirmation of there being more Strawhats in the future. There was also "the possibility" this series would only last for five years, like he says in the same paragraph.
And yes, most of the Strawhats HAVE taken a back seat to other characters in recent times. What the hell has Chopper done since the timeskip? What meaningful character developments has Brook had? When was the last time Robin or Nami actually fought anyone? I think the most we got was in Fishman Island, where they all had their obligatory "look at my new powers" chapter. That's it.
Ultimately I don't know what Oda is planning, like any of you, but I just think it'd be wise to focus on the characters we already have. Instead of new Strawhats that'll end up being more one trick ponies. Realistically, the only way it could work is if we got somebody old who's already somewhat established, like Jinbe.
I'd have to agree. Aside from Luffy, Franky and Usopp… I'm very disappointed with how Oda has handled the Strawhats. And even with Usopp he briefly went back to pre-Sogeking in personality when he was running from sugar which pissed me off but might have been due to forgetting who Robin was when she was a toy.
but ultimately I'm not sure how to feel on all of this... Dressrosa is easily the best arc of part 2 of One Piece but I do feel disappointed at parts.