@.access:
Now that I think about it, fishpeople/merfolk probably never need to learn to control their bladder or… you know. It makes a lot more understandable why humans don't want them on land.
To be fair, Jimbei can technically use Fishman Karate to manipulate his…
I want this to be an SBS question.
@Brainyz:
Again, I have to disagree with your argument. If you just look at Jinbe, the recent addition to the strawhats, you'll find out why your argument in this post falls flat.
Usopp fixing the ship didn't stop Franky from joining later, and Nami/Franky steering the ship will probably not stop Jinbe as well. So why are you bringing this argument now? Is it because one of the current candidates (that you don't see joining) is being pitched as a lookout by the fans?
Also, Jinbe wasn't initially introduced as this fishman with crazy helmsmanship, but that didn't stop him from joining.
I'm just saying this because there aren't that much missing spots for the next crewmember to fill, and a lookout is a great position that makes sense thematically, at least more than an archeologist. And you're just creating non-existent guidlines for the next strawhat, whether they're already introduced or will be introduced in a future arc.
The problem with your comparison is that Usopp's specialty is in sniping. Not carpentry, that was a side bonus. Sniping is literally done through having proficient visual perception among other aspects. Franky joining as a shipwright does not outshine Usopp's sniping skills, he is only better than Usopp in a side job he was doing in a mediocre fashion. The same goes with Jimbei's skill in being a helmsman. Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Franky were decent helmsman so the position for a dedicated helmsman was never needed. But Jimbei is going to get that position because his skills are stupendously exceptional. Even before Jimbei joined, it's not hard to tell that Oda can find a way for a guy who has lived under underwater and can control the ocean brings something new to the table in controlling a ship.
The context around a dedicated lookout position is different because the skillset required for that is looking and detecting far away sights. That is the same as what is needed for sniping among even more things involving weapons and trigger fire timing/direction. We have already seen that Usopp's sight and aim surpass his crewmates, now more than ever with Observation Haki. Sure, Oda COULD come up with a character who specializes in that position more than Usopp for whatever reason. Oda can theoretically introduce anything in this manga if he wishes it. But there is no solid way for us to predict how or why somebody could be better than the already special sniper in the crew aside from pitching abilities that we don't know exist (like that one time somebody pitched super hearing for Carrot, which she has never used) or we have already seen from previous and now obsolete one of a kind perfect candidates (Viola's Devil Fruit).
Yes, he is bringing it up because one of the candidates he doesn't see joining is being pitched as a lookout by fans. When somebody makes a theory, you have to analyze it to give constructive feedback on how likely it is. And his case is solid. There is nothing that can be said for Carrot's validity as a lookout that isn't either "she can jump really high" (a redundant ability with Usopp's Observation Haki, Sanji's Sky Walk, and Robin's wings) or a suggestion about an ability we don't know she may even have yet. Jimbei is being introduced as a Fishman with crazy helmsmanship now, even though he is not officially a crew member yet, alongside years of other character facets that have made his joining very likely as well as scenes of ordinarily helming ships and other characters like Luffy and Brook sucking at helming ships. Not unlike Usopp being confirmed to suck at repairing the ship before Franky was introduced.
Expecting Oda to make a character whose abilities and backstory stand out in supporting why they are specially suited to a crew position is not a "non-existent guideline". It is what he has done for the past twenty years in every single arc a new crewmate joined at the end. It is what he should do to avoid a new crewmate taking a specific position on the crew only because they're spare hands on board while everybody else is busy doing things only they can do.
If a character shows up that gets a flashy showing like Robby said for being a potential lookout, they might be a possibility. But until then, especially with Usopp being on board, it doesn't deserve to be considered as a likely position to be filled just because we can't fully predict what kinds of positions Oda likes to have in mind that still haven't been used.
It's not like it was logical for people to clamor for a helmsman to join before Jimbei was introduced either. Suggesting that for him came on top of all his likelihood for joining the crew and it being a ship position we know he can at least do normally. So it isn't farfetched to attach that potential position onto him while trusting Oda to eventually expand upon how Jimbei can be a better helmsman than Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Franky.