@BobLoblaw:
The problem with your argument is that because she looks like an animal, she shouldn't be considered a valid SH candidate. I'm assuming you made that same assumption before Chopper joined, right? That he wasn't a human, so he wouldn't join. I seriously doubt it, but the point is, there's nothing from the current design of either that shows them looking alike. They have the same nose shape. That’s it. Sanji and Zoro share the same nose/mouth shapes. So, one of them shouldn't have joined? I doubt you'd agree to that either.
When he first appeared looking like Kureha's pet reindeer in a restaurant, no. He only look liked an easy reference to Santa Claus' flying reindeer. But as soon as Luffy climbed up to Kureha's castle and we saw Chopper's hybrid form when Nami woke up, I immediately thought he would be an awesome person to join as soon as he started talking. Mostly because we never saw a talking animal before. And as we got to know more and more about him, like how he was discriminated against because of his blue nose, broke his antler and had it repaired by Hililuk, has a precious pink top hat he got as a gift from Hililuk, got a unique name from Hililuk that repeats the first name twice and is a pun on how his antlers look like he could cut down trees, and has seven different forms he can use for battle, he looked freaking awesome. Unlike Carrot. Who is the 137th talking animal character we've seen at this point, doesn't seem to have any quirky nuances to her design besides being a talking rabbit and using claw gloves the rest of her race uses, and whose name is as simple as "rabbits eat carrots".
And why do you keep saying nothing looks alike between them when they both have fur and the same-shaped mouths/noses? Zoro and Sanji share the same faces, but they have loads of other traits distinguishing them. Traits that aren't just "one's this different species", which is the only argument you keep using for visual differences. Carrot has rabbit trait this, rabbit trait that. Nothing actually unique separating her visually from a normal rabbit or even other animated rabbit characters across fiction that has Oda's unique signature on it, which he does with all of this other main characters. The exception being women of course, but again, he doesn't copy unique hair colors (aside from default Japanese population, black-and-white manga black) and facial features for Nami and Robin either.
My main point is that Carrot has an extremely lazy design characteristic of a supporting character because almost ALL of her design traits, not just one or two like Zoro and Sanji, are borrowed from the Straw Hats, don't stand out from how the rest of the Minks are mostly based on a single animal species without more creativity in their design, and only takes design cues from everyone's perception of a normal rabbit.
Point is, if her nose was slightly different and her hair was a different color, that would suddenly make her a more viable candidate?
Hell yeah it would. That is how you know Oda put more thought into her design than "I'll take a rabbit and make her look like a cute girl in this warrior animal race where every single member is based on a different species". I would also appreciate a different mouth and at least a couple other design quirks that aren't just basic rabbit traits.
Just looking at Chopper himself (set aside his different forms for a sec since he spends 99.9% of the time in his base form), he's a little talking reindeer with a buckle on one antler and a blue nose. That's it. If you call Carrot a talking female rabbit, Chopper can be broken down as a talking male reindeer. Anything is simple if you break it down. There are plenty of distinctions between the two, not just physically, but from a background perspective as well.
Aside from all of the times he's walking with the Straw Hats in his natural reindeer form or human form, which he frequently transforms into pre-timeskip. And even if you want to set aside the different forms, just his hybrid form is unique compared to the rest of the main cast and the Minks. Buckle on antler, blue nose, small chibi mascot size, and pink top hat with a white x on it. Oh, and he's also shirtless. But like usual, I know you are going to swap or get rid of those unique traits to prove that he looks similar to other talking animals (which only proves my point about Carrot).
Let's look at their background. Chopper is cast out from his race because of having a blue nose, eats a Devil Fruit giving him human intelligence and multiple forms, gets feared as a monster similar to the Abominable Snowman by island inhabitants, is saved and trained by two doctors, one of his doctors blows himself up, creates a tool that gives him even more forms to use to be more unique than the average Zoan, and vows to see the world (like Usopp) and cure all illnesses as his dream.
Carrot is born on an island as one of many Minks who are talking humanoid mammals (like Chopper), Carrot sucks at swordplay (like Zoro's flashback) and gets given clawed gloves by her mentor (which a bunch of other Minks also use), learns to use Electro (like every other Mink), stows away on board the Thousand Sunny (like Robin) because she dreams of seeing the world (like Chopper and Usopp), her mentor blows himself up (like Chopper's mentor) to save his comrades, and she can transform during the full moon (like the rest of the Minks).
Of course anything is simple if you break it down. That's why we're breaking these characters down, to get the simple truth about how much effort Oda put into Carrot's design compared to the rest of the Straw Hats. I'm actually looking at the characters, their backgrounds, and their sources of inspiration. Not switching and erasing traits like you to prove a nonexistent point about character design similarities.
But because her nose is shaped the same as Chopper and her hair color matches another SH, she can’t possibly be considered a serious candidate (unless her mouth looked slightly different and her hair was a different color)?
Yep. Along with a few more design quirks and more unique standout background/arc role/abilities/talent/mentor relationship.
It isn't redundant. She's been overly friendly to everyone by running around hugging them, biting them, and cheering them on.
Am I going to have to post every single manga panel where other Minks rub themselves on the Straw Hats, love to chew and slobber all over Brook's bones, and support their aspirations?
This isn't about her replacing Usopp. It's about her forming a bond with a SH, which she's done not just with Chopper, but everyone else. Yes, that’s a familiar trait among her race, but it’s unique compared to the SHs.
A redundant bond where Chopper and Carrot are siblings because of how similar they look and act, which only proves my point even further. Yes, forming a bond over how similar you are to another person surely fits a crew as eclectic as the Straw Hat Pirates.
Correct. She's based on a rabbit. Distinct in many ways from everyone else in the crew. Chopper can be broken much the same way you just did. Antlers, brown fur, hooves. Of course, there's more to him than that, which you've mentioned. Carrot would be the same if you took into consideration that, amongst the SHs, she physically separate from everyone else (she's a mink, no one else is) regardless of what you would consider too similar to other characters. She uses a gauntlet, likes biting people, can generate electro (or are you still assuming Chopper can use electro?), can use sulong (still assuming Chopper can learn this too?), etc.
Distinct in many ways like how every Straw Hat is unique in more ways than only "human, reindeer, cyborg, skeleton, or fishman"?
Let's not pretend the Minks were not inspired by making animals talk like Chopper which Luffy blatantly says the first time he sees their village, hinted even more when Chopper gets a crush on a female reindeer nurse, presented further when all of the dogs want to chew on Brook, and hit over your head with a mallet when Nekomamushi wants to play with balls and eat lasagna like Garfield. Everything similar these characters have does not matter to you if there is even one insignificant minutia of difference, so I'm beginning to think pointing all of this out to you is useless. This is like saying Fishmen are not humans fused with aquatic creatures and Giants are not humans made gigantic, it's literally what their names mean. They don't descend from humans, but it's obvious that their source of inspiration was "Human + insert weird trait here." You might as well argue those cyborg animals in the timeskip island Franky was on could have joined if we got to know more about them despite them obviously being ripoffs of Franky and likely Chopper.
Gauntlet with claws is a bit different, but not that much. Especially when her whole race uses this, but you'll ignore that to selectively focus on the Straw Hats. And yes, I still think Chopper can learn Electro when it's clearly based on animals building up static electricity with their fur like in real life. Just like how we found out Haki can be used by people who aren't Skypieans. And before you mention how Carrot said Randolph isn't a Mink because he does not use Electro, that can be implied to either mean Electro is genetic or Electro is a cultural norm for Minks, the latter being possible so long as you have their physical characteristics and training like Chopper could obtain. As for Sulong, I'm not sure. But if he can make a drug that gives him six more forms, then maybe…
Yes, there's technically some overlap if you're looking at things in a basic sense, but none of those things are exact matches within the crew. Multiple SHs can use fire, transform, etc.
Except that everybody else has at least one unique trait nobody else uses while all Carrot has is "bites people for comedic effect" and "transformation her entire race can use limited to full moon".
Well if you "break down" Chopper the same way you ignore and switch the East Blue Straw Hats' traits, then sure, he's similar to Carrot. Carrot, the character that has no unique traits compared to them and her race to ignore and switch like those other characters besides rabbit anatomy.
Haha! I'm not doing that. You're talking about one part of their anatomy. Google long nose, orange hair, swirly eyebrow. You'll get a bunch of useless pics. Most of her traits line up with rabbits because she's supposed to resemble one. Most of Chopper's traits line up with reindeer because he's supposed to resemble one. Even throwing out her physical appearance, she still has enough distinguishing things about her personality or traits that would make her different from other SHs.
It takes less than a minute.
I'm talking about one part of their anatomy you keep claiming are equally unique even though popular media shows that pink nose on rabbits clearly aren't. I wouldn't be bringing this up if you weren't listing rabbit traits as unique traits compared to the Straw Hats.
I type in "green hair three swords" on Google Images and immediately get Zoro. I googled "sniper liar long nose" on Google Images. An image of Usopp didn't show up, but you know what is one of the top suggestions I could click on? "Usopp". I type in "blonde hair kicking cook cigarette" and you know what I see as a top suggestion? "Sanji". I type in "straw hat stretch sandals scar" and I get both images of Luffy and a top suggestion saying "Luffy". You know what I get when I type in "white rabbit claw glove electricity bite"? Rabbits, rabbt claw gloves, Electro the Spider-Man villain, disgusting bugs, and then I finally come across Carrot from One Piece over halfway down the page.
What distinguishing traits? I keep bringing this up and you never say anything that isn't also similar to the Minks.
Besides her physical perks, how many other SHs fight with a gauntlet (this isn't about other minks, just the SHs)? How many of them can generate electricity from their own bodies? How many of them seemingly enjoy biting and hugging other people? How many of them can harness a full moon and use a special ability? Differences are there even if you choose not to look or think they’re good enough by Oda’s standards.
I do choose to look. I also choose to look at Carrot's Mink background, which you keep saying we shouldn't do for no reason. Again with ignoring traits
Ignoring the Minks, the glove works on its own like Brook's cane sword compared to Zoro. So does the biting, ignoring the very few times Luffy bites people or people made of food. And the Straw Hats hug each other plenty to celebrate or support each other, that's not unique. Nuzzling up against their cheeks is, ignoring the Minks once again.
If you were describing this crew to someone who didn't read One Piece and threw in Carrot, do you really think they would be able to point her out as not being the SH or unique enough? I've already given you enough things that distinguishes her from everyone else.
Try telling me with a straight face that people won't say "look, there's two furry animals in the main cast! One is a rabbit and the other looks like a reindeer" while never comparing anybody else. And no, they won't say "there's several humans" when that's the basic norm for expectations in most fictional series. And hey, if they analyze them deeper, they might say "the reindeer has a blue nose, has an adorable pink hat, and has different proportions in different promotional art! Can he transform?! …And the rabbit might be a girl since she wears a dress and has boobs! I almost thought there were only two girls. But that claw glove looks a bit interesting though."
Again, her distinction as a mink (and the characteristics that come with her being a relative of the rabbit) are still enough to make her unique against the rest of the crew. Her hair is a similar color to another SH's and her nose is similar to another's. Those seem like extremely minor similarities to me considering everything else about her is unique compared to them.
Her distinction as a Mink is purely a name in the story, it is largely inconsequential. Design-wise and some parts of her personality are clearly "talking animal part of many talking animals that happens to be a rabbit". People won't confuse Carrot and Chopper for one another, but their only distinction between the two is "different species and genders". While looking at everybody else, they say "this guy in a suit has swirly eyebrows and smokes! This one with the straw hat can stretch! The Pinocchio-looking guy with poofy lips can use a slingshot! The green haired guy holds three swords! That lady spawns multiple arms! That fat shark guy with big teeth that looks very Japanese. And there's even a freaking cyborg not wearing pants and a tall afro skeleton!"
Do you still not understand how underwhelming it is for the Straw Hat crew to only be distinguished by "different species/genders" design-wise by now?
For the 50th time, her being based on a rabbit still separates her from the rest of the SHs. You keep going back to the hair and nose well, but I've already given you plenty of other physical traits she has that no one else does. You can say, "Well, she's based on a rabbit," but that fact doesn't disqualify any of her physical rabbit traits or anything else (her guantlet, personality quirk for hugging/biting regardless of if other minks do it, none of the SHs do).
For the 50th time, every Straw Hat has more unique quirks in their designs than "human or non-human" and does not rip off uniquely prominent head features. This is what Carrot lacks in her design. Every physical trait you mention is what a normal rabbit has. That is it. Carrot could have looked unique before Drum. But now, after everybody we have seen either in or out of the crew? Not at all.
It is very clear that your bar for character design unique in the Straw Hat crew is solely limited to the Straw Hat crew. But what I keep saying over and over again is that Oda's character design preferences are not limited to solely the Straw Hats and he differentiates the Straw Hats more than he does with Carrot if she's grouped in with them. This discussion is about Oda's pattern of artistic preferences first and foremost. Looking like a rabbit and sharing traits with your non-human race does not cut it anymore for him.
There's no reason to assume that Oda will continue down that trope given what he did with Jinbe. he was introduced on a completely different island and he still hasn't join. Oda has already broken that trait, so there's no reason to assume that since she didn't stand out on Zou that she never would, especially because Zou wasn't the end point of some great conflict. Would you agree that she's had a lot more relevance during WCI? Now, what if she has even more at Wano?
The problem with your assertion that Oda breaks traits is that it's so vague. Sure, he COULD break patterns. But how do we know which patterns he can break without evidence? Jinbe took a long time to join, but he still had his "I'll join you guys one day" exchange with Luffy at the end of Fishman Island, his unique characterization and design, and we had lesser examples with how long it took to find out about Nami and Robin's backstories. We have no reason to assume Carrot is getting further development in Wano Country, an island she has no connection to whatsoever and will have to share the spotlight with the rest of her race, other than being a Straw Hat ally for an arc (like the samurai, who actually ARE the focus of Wano Country but still won't join) and her last minute rushed relationship with Pedro that rips off at least two Straw Hat backstories. Assuming Pedro is even dead since we also have the precedent of Oda almost never killing his characters.
Yes, she has had more relevance in Totland than in Zou. Even though she was practically nonexistent in Zou and mostly nonexistent in Totland outside of loligagging with Chopper in the Mirror World, Pedro's death for two chapters, and a Sulong transformation for two chapters. Add all those together and that's about four-five chapters at most she's been the main focus, and I'm using "main focus" very loosely. Wow, how impressive. That really measures up to how much story focus every other Straw Hat got in the arc where they wanted to join the crew or their backstory got revealed, where I can actually say the arc was more about them than any of the other Straw Hats.
"Oda could do something different this time" is not a valid argument without enough supporting evidence.
I only brought up Yonji because of his green hair and propensity for getting into an argument with Sanji just like Zoro. We're in agreement of the Viola/Hancock/Robin paradigm.
Which is why I said Yonji would have a chance if he was the first Vinsmoke introduced and dyed his hair another color.
She has fur and a similar nose when compared to Chopper. How many SHs have the same skin color and a regular nose? Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Robin, and Usopp don't stand out agains their race. By comparison, they're extremely plain. As I've said about Jinbe, compared to the SHs, no one is even close to him, but when you compare him to other fishmen, he blends in just like Carrot does. That's why I say compare them to the SHs only, not their race.
Skin color, not much if at all. But that goes to show how Oda almost never distinguishes his main characters by skin color. But you know what he does like to differentiate? Noses! Like Usopp's long nose. Robin's wide nose bridge. Franky's metal nose. Brook having no nose. Jinbe's fat nose. The first few Straw Hats don't have unique noses, but that means noses are a trait that Oda could take it or leave it, and the noses Luffy/Zoro/Nami/Sanji have are very basic. However, do you think that Oda would introduce another Straw Hat that has the unique one of a kind noses they have amongst the crew? Do you think he would introduce another long nose, wide nose bridge, metal nose, no nose, or fat nose? I doubt it. Just like I doubt he would introduce another blonde-haired crewmate.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Robin actually do stand out among the human race in different ways. Different hair colors, eyebrows, noses, abilities, eye shapes, clothes, addictions, etc. They don't all have unique eyebrows and noses, but that makes the Straw Hats who do have those unique features stand out even more. Chopper stands out a lot with his small triangle nose. So why do you think Oda would want to take away Chopper's uniqueness like that?
Jinbe blends in with his race, but he has clear differences compared to them that aren't just "I'm a whale shark while this guy is an octopus and the other is another type of shark". No, he has a distinct attire style, teeth style, hairstyle, body shape, All things that do are not synonymous with what ties the Fishmen race together, which is "talking aquatic animal people". Much like how the Minks are "talking furry animal people." Which is why i must ask why Carrot, who will supposedly be the next crewmate, has no unique features exclusive to her outside of her animal species like Jinbe?
No, they aren't. I'm not gonna spend much time on this one since none of them have endured everything that Carrot has up to this point, besides the fact that none of them (besides Carrot) have expressed any interest in traveling with the SHs or being curious about the larger world.
Chopper said he wanted to see the world in Drum, and he has an extra dream on top of that to cure every illness. Usopp constantly lied about seeing the world in Syrup Village and decides he wants to see the world similarly too, although not as emphasized. And he wants to become a brave warrior of the sea. AND he wants to become the sniper king. Meanwhile, Carrot wants to see the world over halfway into the series.
As I've said, amongst the crew, she's the only one that hugs and bites randomly, is apparently obsessed with carrots and is willing to kill for them, has to be patted on the head to calm down, draws everyone as if they're a woman, can apparently float in the air without using geppo, fights with a gauntlet (again, amongst the SH crew itself), etc. How many can you think of for Jinbe? Does he pass this personality test?
But if Carrot was pink and had blue hair, that would make her a viable candidate despite all of your other preconceived objections about her? That isn't a question you need to respond to, but I find it interesting that you could then overlook her similar nose to Chopper or her general "rabbit" look.
It would help.. So long as the blue hair is much darker shade than Franky's. It shows that Oda put more thought into Carrot besides "girl + rabbit + electric glove Mink warrior". And I wouldn't overlook those traits. They would still make me doubt her crewmate potential. Man, your "GOTCHA!" traps really need work since you keep relying on these weird straw man fallacies ignoring the intent and context about what I'm saying.
There are two female members of the crew who, again, by design are extremely generic compared to other female characters in the OP universe. Look at Nami and Robin and compare them to Brulee, Miss Monday, Miss Doublefinger, etc. Considering that, Carrot is drastically more distinct that Nami and Robin (people she should be compared to). That why characters like Viola and even Pudding were never serious candidates for me. A vision DF and a third eye wouldn't be enough to make them visually distinct when they are in a setting with Nami and Robin.
Nami is the first female Oda designed. She only looks generic after the fact of her debut. Same for Robin, but she is the first female of her kind that Oda introduced. Yet Carrot somehow can't be compared to only then when, again for the dozenth time, NEITHER NAMI NOR ROBIN SHARE DESIGN TRAITS WITH THE GUYS. Oda's exception with women is only that "body shapes and faces will mostly look the same". Not "women only rip off hair colors and facial features the guys already have". Despite being women in Oda's manga, Nami and Robin still have different facial features and hair colors (aside from black) compared to them. Why does Carrot get to be the exception ripping off Chopper and Sanji in your arbitrary rule that she can only be compared to the other girls who aren't ripping off guys' designs.
At this point, I feel like I've gone through the list countless times. When we first met jinbe, he stood out from every other character we had seen at Impel Down. At FI, however, he didn't seem so unique at all. He lost a log o his visual appeals among the other fish people. That's what happened to Carrot. Rather than appearing somewhere like dressrosa, she appeared among her people, which may have reduce her overall impact, but she's still stands out against the SH crew, which is ultimately the bigger point (queue the Sanji/Chopper stuff again).
Name one Fishman who has Jinbe's huge teeth, his Japanese attire, facial hair shapes, and has that same fat Goomba body shape. Notice how not one of those details said "name one Fishman who is also a whale shark". He has not lost most of his visual appeal.
And seriously, why do you keep saying all the Fishmen look the same together but Carrot not standing out on One Piece' Volume 81 cover is A-OK? That is straight up hypocritical. You can't keep saying "CARROT MUST ONLY BE COMPARED TO THE STRAW HATS, NOT THE MINKS" and then on the mutter on the side, "but Jinbe doesn't look all that different compared to the Fishmen." It's like you're admitting Carrot has a design as unremarkable as most of her race but are too arrogant to let it be used as a legitimate critique against her.
She has fur and a similar shaped nose. She doesn't have antlers or a blue nose. She doesn't wear a pink hat. She's not a deer or a reindeer. She's not brown. She has hair. She's a mink. I've gone through the list already.
Not having certain quirks does not mean she has unique quirks to compensate. And wow, Carrot has hair like every other human and Mink. And the same hair color as a human. You realize you basically said "Chopper doesn't have Sanji's hair" as a reason why Chopper and Carrot are different, right? "Mink" is only a word. Describe the design on what it is clearly based on. Talking animals.
I did that because you're associating blond hair with Sanji and a button nose with chopper, never mind the fact that while those things may be unique to them among the crew, they also have other overlapping physical or social characteristics.
So Carrot doubling down having blonde hair like Sanji AND other humans is okay because…? And there has not been a single character in this series as irrationally chivalrous and prideful as Sanji. Zeff, his mentor, comes closest. I don't see anybody else hiding behind walls and acting embarrassed when they get compliments most of the time like Chopper.
Again, I've already addressed this. She's not ripping anybody off. Hair color is not unique within the crew and neither are noses. Those are shared across multiple SHs. Her sharing a similar hair color to Sanji should be no more disqualifying for her than it would be for any SH with black hair.
Only black hair, the default hair color for 99% of the Japanese population, is not unique. Only regular triangle noses that Oda used a lot during East Blue are not unique. That is the only point you proved.
Again, even if you look at her and compare her to the crew both physically and from a personality perspective, she's unique enough. Would she be Oda's best example of a NN candidate that we’ve ever seen? Nope, but enough distinction already exists when comparing her to everyone else.
Personality-wise, nope. Aside from the close nuzzling, she drew a pretty picture once and only joins in group gags with Luffy and Chopper. Your threshold for distinction is very low.
Right. I agree that he's distinct enough, but among the rest of the weird fishmen we saw, he lost some of him uniqueness. That's the same thing we have with Carrot. We've already seen Nekomamushi, so she's lost some of her shine, just like Jinbe did when we saw the NFP or Fisher Tiger or Vander Decken. Again, Oda has always shown a penchant for making his male characters extremely dynamic. His female characters are much simpler by design. That's why I'm saying a simple design for Carrot would fall in line with that practice. By comparison, there are only a handful of uniquely designed female characters compared to the male characters.
Some of it, but not all. That is bound to happen when Jinbe is the first crewmate that is part of a major non-human fictional One Piece race. And Yet I am still listing characteristics that are still unique in Jinbe while you can only keep saying "rabbit" for whatever comparison you use her in.
Oda's female characters are simpler, but his main female characters still don't rip off male character design traits other than black hair and basic triangle noses.
How about the fact that she's never looked afraid? Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Usopp freak out in the face of danger. She doesn't. When it came to going to WCI, saving the Vinsmokes, fighting that centipede at sea, or going after Katakuri, she's never hesitated to engage in combat. The fact that she's ready to throw down when the opportunity presents itself says that she doesn't mind getting dirty.
So she's not afraid like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Franky, sometimes Brook, and Jinbe? Maybe that looks more unique when, I don't know, half the crew is gone and Jinbe was not introduced in the arc yet?
If they're gender neutral, then why do you keep saying she has too much in common with the male characters (including Brook for some reason).
Carrot's gender doesn't matter at all when it comes to comparing her to male characters. I would say everything I'm saying regardless of her gender. What makes you think I'm fixated on the word "male"? I'm only using "male" sometimes as shorthand so I don't have to constantly type out "Sanji, Chopper, and Brook" in full all over the place.
Why do you keep saying being white is a unique visual characteristic for Carrot when Brook is white? Taking Chopper's fur does not make that visual cue look any less redundant.
Anyway, curse you for dragging me down this rabbit hole (pun intended)! Feel free to respond if you'd like, but I think I've made my point.
I think I have made mine as well.
Just to give some context to my overall rationale for Carrot potentially joining, my main reasoning is not based on any of the physical arguments we've been having. It's not even based on the Pedro revelations or how unique she is among the crew. The main reason why is from a narrative standpoint, we're far closer to the end of the series than we are to the beginning.
Shouldn't that work against how grand Carrot's dream is?
The SHs are about to face their biggest test of the entire series. It will have the biggest impact in the series besides Luffy finding OP or the final war. With that being the case, it's inconceivable to think that a new SH will be allowed to join the SHs immediately after Wano unless it's someone who's journeyed with them and made sacrifices along the way. Someone who was unique enough from the rest of the crew and strong enough to help them in the last push of their journey. As someone else said, any new character joining after Wano would be like someone hitching their wagon to a winning team, which I completely agree with.
Why can't a completely new but unique strong crewmate join during Wano to help out against the Beast Pirates then?
So, you may say, "Maybe someone at Wano will join!" First of all, they would've missed out on everything pre-time skip and everything post-timeskip, including their toughest test yet of invading an emperor’s territory, stealing poneglyghs, facing an emperor's crew, and more. Second, these are all of the major players that we'll be seeing at Wano.
Like how Carrot didn't help invade Enies Lobby, one of the World Government's strongholds? Or trained during the timeskip? Or helped take down any of three Warlords? Emphasizing Totland's infiltration is arbitrary and the battle in Wano Country is arbitrary, even if a new crewmate participating in those events is preferable.
How do you know that new characters won't be introduced in an island we have yet to see and is third longest built-up island in the series after Raftel and Elbaf?
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Franky, Brook, Jinbei, Carrot, Law, Law's crew, Momo, Kinemon, Kajuro, Raizo, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Marco, Kaido, The Shogun, Sheepshead, Ginrummy, Scotch, Jack, the two other calamities, X Drake, Apoo, Hawkins, Kidd, and possibly Weevil, Moriah, and Caesar.
I bet we're getting more considering how large Dressrosa and Totland are.
In effect, there's no room for a major SH candidate to show up and have a place in that arc given who we already know will be involved (again, a new candidate wouldn't have been present at Zou or WCI). If we look at Carrot, she's already been established, and subsequent to that, she has a reason for seeing the SHs succeed given Pedro’s will. Also, having a mink be present in the future PKs crew (given the fact that the SHs and minks fates are now linked because of the road poneglyghs and their mutual alliance against Kaido).
Tell that to Oda. And we still don't know what Pedro's will is.
From a narrative standpoint, she just makes the most sense. Is she designed as uniquely as she could be? Nope. But given the fact that I believe the last SH has to join before the end of Wano, there's no other candidate or potential that makes sense.
Anyway, I've stated my piece. Thanks for the engaging discussion.
That is why we have to wait for a completely new character with actual crewmate potential to appear.