@astagadragon:
Why give us new crewmates if he can't even develop current crewmates decently?
Well I'm pretty sure Oda doesn't feel like he hasn't developed the current crew decently. I definitely don't so the premise rings false to me to start
All of them have gotten a ton of development
Not only in battle mind you, but somehow the characterization of 9 crewmates we have is still the same since we met them many years ago. Usopp is still a coward, Nami is still a coward, etc. No decent character development.
Yeah, we're probably not gonna agree here.
The strawhat crew has got a bunch of development. I think you're confusing characterization with personality. Usopp is a liar and a coward. Its just his natural inclination not to jump in to dangerous situations. He is however, less of a coward than he was in east blue. When it matters Usopp always overcomes his cowardice and gets in to fights.
His personality isn't gonna change though. He's not gonna suddenly be like Zoro or Sanji in a fight.
Its a similar thing with Nami. Also she just stepped up and showed she wasn't a coward when she was ready to fight Ulti for hitting Tama. Somebody she physically has no chance against. When it comes down to it, Nami steps up too. Did it in Enies Lobby, did it in arcs/islands after that.
I mean, I get why Usopp's still written as a coward because it is his core characterization, but why not developing that characterization with strategies or anything? Like, he feels that he can't defeat an enemy in a direct fight, so maybe develops a clever trap using Pop Greens or environment? Likewise with Nami, there are so many things to use Clima-Tact for but she only does direct, on-your-face attacks.
Well now you're kinda writing your own manga or One Piece fanfic.
I get that we've been with these characters so long you hope for certain developments and would have them do things differently arc to arc but that doesn't mean they haven't grown as characters. You just happen to not like w/e they're doing or how they're doing it. There's certain things I wish Oda did with the story or with some characters but I don't think he hasn't developed the strawhats after over 1000 chapters. That's crazy.
There are reasons ppl are clamoring for a Robin fight.
That's cuz she hasnt been in a one on one for a while and a lot of ppl are super in to one one fights even though that's really not what Robin as a character is there for.
Because OP at its core is a battle manga, so a character can be summed in action scenes.
No its not.
I'd definitely say at its core One Piece is an adventure manga. A story about pirates going adventures, exploring the world, with a goal of attaining a mysterious treasure, and also discovering a mysterious secret/past. The whole romance dawn thing is not about fighting at its core.
Also, we are theorizing that the crew will battle their Blackbeard counterparts sometime in the future, but at it stands they can't defeat Tobi Roppo. What hope they have against Blackbeards' Titanic Captain in one-on-one, climax fight?
Well that's assuming the Strawhats actually do take on BB's 10 captains. It's totally possible that won't happen at all.
That's just a fan theory after all.
That's why I actually don't want any new crewmate (s) after Jinbe. Let Oda develop the crews more deeply either in characterization or abilities, we're almost on the endgame after all.
I get that you don't want it to happen. Doesn't matter though. It's still going to happen. Definitely gonna be a next nakama. Maybe more.
Especially given the high chances of Yamato who is a super strong fighter btw.
Oda has been developing the crew in characterization. Development isn't only shown through fights. Abilities are just upgrades to make fights flashier.