@electricmastro:
snip
On the topic of covers and future crewmates, I'd like to add my 2 cents.
Of the shown covers:
I'd say the first 5 ones aren't really foreshadowing as those characters joining was really obvious at the point those covers came out. Even Robin joining was already a fact when the cover with her came out.
And, of the 3 last covers shown, none scream "Crewmate". Maybe Brook's, but due to the themes of Thriller Bark, it felt more like a place where the Skeleton guy was a very natural fit rather than "here's the crew, and this guy feels like one of them".
Also, the Jinbe does not feel like foreshadowing at all, as he is just one of the many special guests in it, and he's not even the one getting the most attention. And Franky was hidden under a mask and presented as the enemy.
It's a bit different when the mystery is still ongoing at the time the art comes out.
I think what makes Yamato special on Volume 100 is because he feels out of place, not being neither a main villain nor part of the crew, and that the landmark volume is a really special place to be included.
I do get "meta-hint! Wink, wink!" vibes from it. But, of course, a meta-hint can only be confirmed in hindsight.
Volume 43 does spoil Franky as a crewmate heavily, as it's him on the same level of the crew, and at the time of its release he hadn't joined yet.
Volume 49 also spoils Brook, for the same reasons (thought I think Brook had already joined in the weekly chapters when the volume came out).
Volume 64 spoils Jinbe the same way.
Now, speaking of Carrot…
Of the covers shown, I feel the last two could be possible meta-hints, as both present Carrot on the same level as the (then-active) crewmates. While Reiju in the third cover kinda breaks the "crew" pattern, she's on a different plane/focus than every crewmate. The problem, of course, is Pedro also being there among the "crewmates", but since he dies during the arc, it could be used as an excuse of why Carrot could become nakama but he wouldn't.
The fourth cover also shows Carrot as a potential nakama, as she is in a colored panel and among the crewmates formation around Luffy. I can see why someone would get "next crewmate" vibes from it.
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I'm going to propose a different exercise: how many covers could have been meta-hints, but ended up not being such?
I'd say:
- Volumes 18, 22 and 23 (Vivi)
- Volume 78 (Law)
- Volume 91 (Tama)
And I guess that's it.
It's interesting that the only characters to have had such honor of being presented on "crew level" for now are Vivi, Law, Carrot and Tama. The former two have special status (nakama but not crewmate, and almost-protagonist but not crewmate). The later two are still candidates for the position, thought their chances seem lower than ever right now.
What all that proves? Nothing. In a year or so we may look back at those covers and get an answer. Maybe.