Most Disappointing Thing in One Piece

TheCrystalShip

I never figured out thte Clima Tact. Like… how did Usopp make that thing? Is the basic technology of it already well established in the world, just "off camera?"

Well, after Skypiea, the answer was "because Dials". And after the timeskip, the answer was "because weather science/magic". And to be fair, prior to Skypiea, there were only a few basic weather applications, and the rest were just gags. So it's not inconceivable that Usopp could make it. I more dislike how it was presented, kind of felt like a retcon to me, and it was basically a way for Nami to have actual fights without getting physical.

DollarScholar

Nami should have been a physical fighter from the start, like i said with an iron rod (like enels golden rod) or a naginata or something. How cool wouldnt it be if she was super strong, like a part of the monster group, making it a monster quartet!
in retrospect, making the first female nakama weak and later a damsel in distress (arlong arc) makes me dissapointed in oda for following lame traditional shonen cliches and ancient stereotypes.

Zack

Except all of the fighting styles for the Strawhats are based on what looks fun. I'm fairly certain Oda's already stated Luffy's rubber powers came from wanting to allow the combat to look fun and goofy. So you have,
Luffy: Rubber,
Zoro: 3 swords,
Usopp: ammunition, etc,
Sanji: Leg fighting,
Chopper: Transforming powers,
Robin: Powers can get unique,
Franky: Weird contratpions,
Brook: Sword style mixed with music.

Sure. Nami could have just simply used a rod, but her current Clima-tact allow her a much wider range of abilities that compliments her skills and can also be fun to watch.

Hisoga

bones..
bones are not actually "connected" with each other.. how can LuFFy pumping air into all bones in his entire body by biting his thumb.

DollarScholar

i think the idea of a pretty, skinny girl going berserk with a blunt weapon is funny in itself. And sanjis fighting style isnt that wierd, there are martial artists who focus primarly on rapid kick combos. Sadly Zoro doesnt use his 3 sword style as much as he used to either, it used to be his standard combat stance.

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@Hisoga:

bones..
bones are not actually "connected" with each other.. how can LuFFy pumping air into all bones in his entire body by biting his thumb.

Not directly, but bones are connected joints arent they? so lets asume the air travels throught the bones and joints and connects through his body

indigoink

Hone fuusen bothers me too lol, I have a lot of questions about that - every time he bites his thumb, is he actually biting hard enough to bite into the bone and make a hole to blow the air into? But as a rubber man he is immune to blunt attacks so how sharp are his teeth exactly? Shouldn't he plug up the hole in his thumb straight after or the air would all explode back out there? Why does the air come out of his mouth afterwards?

I decided long ago that it's a fun idea and not to think about it too much XD

Monkey D. Destiny

Oda should cut down on the smoking.

Lint

@DollarScholar:

Nami should have been a physical fighter from the start, like i said with an iron rod (like enels golden rod) or a naginata or something. How cool wouldnt it be if she was super strong, like a part of the monster group, making it a monster quartet!
in retrospect, making the first female nakama weak and later a damsel in distress (arlong arc) makes me dissapointed in oda for following lame traditional shonen cliches and ancient stereotypes.

Why??? I find her more interesting the way she is; weak, bossy & bitchy. I am more disappointed with Robin; she was supposed to be the mysterious, clever, all know, strong woman… It seems like ages since she had any serious opponent or even had any meaningful conversation. She is too mysterious these days!!

DollarScholar

@indigo~ink:

Hone fuusen bothers me too lol, I have a lot of questions about that - every time he bites his thumb, is he actually biting hard enough to bite into the bone and make a hole to blow the air into? But as a rubber man he is immune to blunt attacks so how sharp are his teeth exactly? Shouldn't he plug up the hole in his thumb straight after or the air would all explode back out there? Why does the air come out of his mouth afterwards?

I decided long ago that it's a fun idea and not to think about it too much XD

Luffys bones are made of rubber (otherwise he would not have his imunity to regular blunt attacks. they can crush bones rather easy. Nor would he be able to stretch his arms.) so it is probably not too hard for him to bite into rubber bones considering his strenght. His teath are still regular teath otherwise he would not be able to eat his beloved meat without a sharp knife and fork (wich he doesnt).

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@Lint:

Why??? I find her more interesting the way she is; weak, bossy & bitchy. I am more disappointed with Robin; she was supposed to be the mysterious, clever, all know, strong woman… It seems like ages since she had any serious opponent or even had any meaningful conversation. She is too mysterious these days!!

Robin needs to learn some haki and apply it to all those fists she can create. she could become a monster.

Cyclone_Baroness

@DollarScholar:

Luffys bones are made of rubber (otherwise he would not have his imunity to regular blunt attacks. they can crush bones rather easy. Nor would he be able to stretch his arms.) so it is probably not too hard for him to bite into rubber bones considering his strenght. His teath are still regular teath otherwise he would not be able to eat his beloved meat without a sharp knife and fork (wich he doesnt).

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Robin needs to learn some haki and apply it to all those fists she can create. she could become a monster.

Seems weird that everything became rubber…except his teeth.

Jewelery Bonney

@desa:

Shanks being a yonko. Would have prefer if he was a simple pirate who inspired the main character by his lifestyle.

This.
I'm just straight up not a Shanks fan

Monkey D. Destiny

Shanks being a yonko. Would have prefer if he was a simple pirate who inspired the main character by his lifestyle.

@Jewelery:

This.
I'm just straight up not a Shanks fan

The fuck is this shit? Shanks got a 1000 times more potential as a character once we found out he's one of the strongest characters in the series.

DollarScholar

im a shanks fan but making him a yonko feels forced. its like he has to be a super important character in the world of one piece just because he is important to luffy.

the man who lost an arm to a see king (wich luffy was able to KO in one hit later in the first issue when he took off as a pirate, and has been treated like fodder since alabasta arc or something) suddenly becomes one of the 4 strongest men in the world. Even if his arm grew back i dont think his presence/aura screams "yonko material". He is just looks like some pirate with red hair, no DF, one arm and a sword. And we know mihawk is a better swordsman so i guess all shanks has going for him then is super strong haki.

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@Monkey:

The fuck is this shit? Shanks got a 1000 times more potential as a character once we found out he's one of the strongest characters in the series.

Oda could make anyone one of the strongest characters in the seriers all of a sudden and they would instantly gain 1000 times more potential. We havent even seen Kaido yet, but people are still super hyped about him.

being one of the strongest characters in the series and losing an arm to a sea king is too contradictary.

Porcelainpot

I actually never thought of the possibility of Shanks not being a Yonkou. I probably would've preferred it that way too.

@Monkey:

The fuck is this shit? Shanks got a 1000 times more potential as a character once we found out he's one of the strongest characters in the series.

Nitpick the series without repercussions.
The idea is you don't argue against anyone's nitpicking.

King Cannon

If Shanks weren't a Yonkou, he would just be a plot device.

Being a Yonkou means that Shanks gets to play a bigger role besides being simply Luffy's mentor.

wolfwood

Him coming to Luffy's side and shielding him with his body makes perfect sense to me

I mean from what i see Luffy was practically in the creatures mouth when Shanks pulled him out

DollarScholar

@King:

If Shanks weren't a Yonkou, he would just be a plot device.

Being a Yonkou means that Shanks gets to play a bigger role besides being simply Luffy's mentor.

Sucks to be rayleight then
Id argue that shanks was more of a father figure and childhood idol than a mentor (rayleight and jinbei have played the mentor role more thank shanks)

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@wolfwoof:

Him coming to Luffy's side and shielding him with his body makes perfect sense to me

I mean from what i see Luffy was practically in the creatures mouth when Shanks pulled him out

being that powerful, just chopping its head off would kinda make more sense than losing an arm. but whatever

desa

I really don't care much about the logic about his strength. I simply thinks that a pirate who is no big deal inspiring the hero to become the pirate king by his lifestyle even through he is not that great in the world of pirate is better than yet an other badass being the mentor. Just personal preference.

asm00200

@desa:

I really don't care much about the logic about his strength. I simply thinks that a pirate who is no big deal inspiring the hero to become the pirate king by his lifestyle even through he is not that great in the world of pirate is better than yet an other badass being the mentor. Just personal preference.

But he was just that for Luffy!!! Luffy didn't know he was great until he was almost half way through his journey… so Shanks' greatness (or the lack of) wouldn't have changed anything.

DollarScholar

I guess its worth pointing out that Oda has said on multiple occasions that Shanks losing an arm to the sea king was one of his biggest mistakes in the series because when he started off he pictured the sea kings as much much stronger than they later became or something. its the one thing he said he wishes he could go back and change. So he should be credited for acknowleding it.

asm00200

@DollarScholar:

I guess its worth pointing out that Oda has said on multiple occasions that Shanks losing an arm to the sea king was one of his biggest mistakes in the series because when he started off he pictured the sea kings as much much stronger than they later became, and its the one thing he wish he could go back and change. So he should be credited for acknowleding it.

Can you source that?

wolfwood

@DollarScholar:

being that powerful, just chopping its head off would kinda make more sense than losing an arm. but whatever

Chop it's head of with Luffy still in it's jaw?

I mean maybe that was a mistake on Oda's part but i always saw it as Shanks showing that he didn't care what happend to him as long as he could absolutely guarante Luffy's safety. Made so much more sense that way.

Riccardo

@DollarScholar:

I guess its worth pointing out that Oda has said on multiple occasions that Shanks losing an arm to the sea king was one of his biggest mistakes in the series because when he started off he pictured the sea kings as much much stronger than they later became or something. its the one thing he said he wishes he could go back and change. So he should be credited for acknowleding it.

I don't believe he really said that. If he really thought they were very strong in the beginning of the series, why would he led a 17 year old child defeat one with a simple punch in the very first chapter?

desa

@asm00200:

But he was just that for Luffy!!! Luffy didn't know he was great until he was almost half way through his journey… so Shanks' greatness (or the lack of) wouldn't have changed anything.

I'm speaking from the reader perspective.

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Isn't the fish to small to be a sea king?

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Cindy body not moving after chopper's speech and even crying. The point of the speech was suppose to be that once you are dead it's finish and there's no bringing back.

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Sanji's shadow was also strange to me. I mean Sanji's motto is suppose to be I won't hurt a woman not I will protect every woman. So seeing him facing his boss because of the latter was just strange on my opinion.

asm00200

@desa:

I'm speaking from the reader perspective.

Can you.. um.. explain how this would've been a much better scenario.. to you, of course. Like, why? (Other than being a personal preference).

zxcv11791

@DollarScholar:

Nami was the one who offered him his cigarettes in the first place so you can kinda presume she is fine with it regardless. Chopper never told Sanji about the dangers of smoking either to be fair. Plus, if im not misinformed, the heart takes the biggest hit from smoking (aside from the lungs, but it was only a matter of a few days in PH so they wont suffer any permanent damage). And it was Sanjis heart anyways.

Still though, it irks me that if anyone asks a doctor if its ok to smoke, regardless of whose heart or body it is, the answer should be "no". I know Oda smokes a crap ton, but I don't think Chopper acts really "doctor like" if that makes any sense.

DollarScholar

@asm00200:

Can you source that?

i dont know if it has been translated or published in english, or uploaded on the internet. i had it translated for me from an interview in jump i belive. But he also said that "Losing his arm didnt affect shanks power at all. Think of it as a purely cosmetic change."

I will email my friend in japan about it and ask for a more specific source (issue number, possible scan). im very curious about this aswell.

i think the part about sea kings came out slightly wrong. from what i remember, it was stated in the interview that the pilot version of romance dawn featured shanks as a character but luffy got the gomu gomu no mi from his grandfather (who was not a marine vice admiral) and it was also he who lost his arm saving luffy. this was because he wanted shanks intervention to surprise people who read the pilot if the series was picked up.

when switching the grandfather for shanks, he wanted to keep shanks arm intact but the grandfathers sacrifise had recieved lots of positive feedback for its dramatic impact, and oda agreed that it was a powerful way to start of the series, and even claimed that though he even back then it felt wrong that shanks would lose his arm to the lord of the coast, but figured it would also show that sea beasts play a part in the manga and can be dangerous(but from a READER perspective this has definitely changed) and luffy later defeating it gained a symbolic value (shanks had made an investment in the new generation and luffy living up to shanks expectations by defeating what managed to hurt shanks)

i think you can read about the pilot version on the one piece wikia

Monkey D. Destiny

People look at this:
http://www.mangapanda.com/103-2039-47/one-piece/chapter-1.html
Are people really saying that Luffy wanting to be stonger than Shanks would more be impactful if Shanks was just an average pirate as all others, instead of a really legendary individual?

indigoink

@DollarScholar:

Luffys bones are made of rubber (otherwise he would not have his imunity to regular blunt attacks. they can crush bones rather easy. Nor would he be able to stretch his arms.) so it is probably not too hard for him to bite into rubber bones considering his strenght. His teath are still regular teath otherwise he would not be able to eat his beloved meat without a sharp knife and fork (wich he doesnt).

Ah, that still doesn't make sense though… rubber is meant to be hard to pierce yanno? If his bones are rubber too, they should just be compressed under that pressure, not pierced, especially since human teeth are so blunt.

desa

@asm00200:

Can you.. um.. explain how this would've been a much better scenario.. to you, of course. Like, why? (Other than being a personal preference).

Because in one case Shanks greatness is associate both to his and lifestyle while in the other he simply is someone who have who trigger the hero's quest simply by being who he is, a carefree pirate who friends are the most important for. Simple pirate inspiring hero vs Incredible pirate inspiring hero.

And seriously think a Shanks wandering in grand line while seeing the big events creates by the kid he once saved is way better than the badass Roger's apprentice waiting for Luffy to become greater than a yonkou.

DollarScholar

@Monkey:

People look at this:
http://www.mangapanda.com/103-2039-47/one-piece/chapter-1.html
Are people really saying that Luffy wanting to be stonger than Shanks would more be impactful if Shanks was just an average pirate as all others, instead of a really legendary individual?

did it have to be super impactful? i think i would be fine if luffy had surpassed shanks by now. after all the manga has been going on for like 15 years.

square

@DollarScholar:

did it have to be super impactful? i think i would be fine if luffy had surpassed shanks by now. after all the manga has been going on for like 15 years.

You can't say that wouldn't be wasted potential though.

asm00200

@DollarScholar:

i dont know if it has been translated or published in english, or uploaded on the internet. i had it translated for me from an interview in jump i belive. But he also said that "Losing his arm didnt affect shanks power at all. Think of it as a purely cosmetic change."

I will email my friend in japan about it and ask for a more specific source (issue number, possible scan). im very curious about this aswell.

i think the part about sea kings came out slightly wrong. from what i remember, it was stated in the interview that the pilot version of romance dawn featured shanks as a character but luffy got the gomu gomu no mi from his grandfather (who was not a marine vice admiral) and it was also he who lost his arm saving luffy. this was because he wanted shanks intervention to surprise people who read the pilot if the series was picked up.

when switching the grandfather for shanks, he wanted to keep shanks arm intact but the grandfathers sacrifise had recieved lots of positive feedback for its dramatic impact, and oda agreed that it was a powerful way to start of the series, and even claimed that though he even back then it felt wrong that shanks would lose his arm to the lord of the coast, but figured it would also show that sea beasts play a part in the manga and can be dangerous(but from a READER perspective this has definitely changed) and luffy later defeating it gained a symbolic value (shanks had made an investment in the new generation and luffy living up to shanks expectations by defeating what managed to hurt shanks)

i think you can read about the pilot version on the one piece wikia

So, it's just a case of him choosing what's best for the story and doing it, not like you suggested at first which would have made it look like a noob's error.

@desa:

Because in one case Shanks greatness is associate both to his and lifestyle while in the other he simply is someone who have who trigger the hero's quest simply by being who he is, a carefree pirate who friends are the most important for. Simple pirate inspiring hero vs Incredible pirate inspiring hero.

And seriously think a Shanks wandering in grand line while seeing the big events creates by the kid he once saved is way better than the badass Roger's apprentice waiting for Luffy to become greater than a yonkou.

I don't know. What if he became envious of Luffy's success? What if became a hostage (yay, rescue arc). lol

I mean, I get what you're saying, but it wouldn't be anything impressive.. it would be kinda of funny, actually.

DollarScholar

@square:

You can't say that wouldn't be wasted potential though.

No. Everything having to do with luffy doesnt have to to be something major in the context of the pirate world. Its like Coby becoming fleet admiral/admiral by the end of the series, because otherwise would be wasted potential?
I like stories where everything in the big picture doesnt always have to tie in to or revolve around the main character. Sometimes im fine with things just being a small part of a bigger story. Dramatic impact comes from good storytelling, not giving a character god-tier powers and status.

but i can see both sides of this argument and i did like shanks intervention in the war.

desa

@Monkey:

People look at this:
http://www.mangapanda.com/103-2039-47/one-piece/chapter-1.html
Are people really saying that Luffy wanting to be stonger than Shanks would more be impactful if Shanks was just an average pirate as all others, instead of a really legendary individual?

He wanted to become a greater pirate not a stronger one.

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@asm00200:

I don't know. What if he became envious of Luffy's success? What if became a hostage (yay, rescue arc). lol

I mean, I get what you're saying, but it wouldn't be anything impressive.. it would be kinda of funny, actually.

Him being envious of Luffy success would have been ridicoulous. Do you imagine Shanks being envious of Luffy if he's there to see him become the pirate king?

Why would he become an hostage?

Did I say it would be impressive? And I don't really why it would be seen as funny but like I said such thing is just personal preference.

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BBut seriously, isn't the fish to little to be a sea king?

asm00200

@desa:

Him being envious of Luffy success would have been ridicoulous. Do you imagine Shanks being envious of Luffy if he's there to see him become the pirate king?

They won't be the same character, though! Shanks doesn't care about becoming a pirate king but he probably wants Luffy to be that. I mean, he basically fueled the flame in Luffy to the Pirate King.

While the weak-ass version would be dreaming of becoming the Pirate King and probably wouldn't be rooting for random kid he encountered on a remote village.

Shanks' character can't be both.

Why would he become an hostage?

Because he's a weak ass pirate who inspired the greatest pirate since Roger!

And I don't really why it would be seen as funny but like I said such thing is just personal preference.

I just imagined a drunk dude watching TV with his bodz and suddenly Luffy appearing on screen and people be like:

"Yo, Shanks… ain't that the kid you keep talkin about?"
and Shanks responds:"Well, hot damn, that kid is on TV!! Hahahahaha!"

desa

@asm00200:

They won't be the same character, though! Shanks doesn't care about becoming a pirate king but he probably wants Luffy to be that. I mean, he basically fueled the flame in Luffy to the Pirate King.

While the weak-ass version would be dreaming of becoming the Pirate King and probably wouldn't be rooting for random kid he encountered on a remote village.

Shanks' character can't be both.

Because he's a weak ass pirate who inspired the greatest pirate since Roger!

I just imagined a drunk dude watching TV with his bodz and suddenly Luffy appearing on screen and people be like:

"Yo, Shanks… ain't that the kid you keep talkin about?"
and Shanks responds:"Well, hot damn, that kid is on TV!! Hahahahaha!"

1- Shanks didn't seems like the type to care about fame back in eastblue. There's no reason that should change because he isn't one of the strongest out there.
2-Who would kidnap Shanks for that?

Stalley

How borsalino didn't rape everybody at marineford. He had a lot of chance

indigoink

I did find Shanks being an emperor a bit forced at the time, but in retrospect I think it does make sense. Maybe Shanks being a big deal could have been foreshadowed more a little earlier to make it seem less of a convenient plot thing later on, I think the convenience of it is what bothered me. But when you look back, well if a big part of Luffy's goal is to surpass Shanks, it makes sense that that should be a challenge, so he kinda has to be a big deal.

I didn't understand what he was doing in East Blue if he's such a hotshot but I guess he was making babies with Makino LOL. An emperor losing an arm in that way bothered me a bit for a while, but I'm willing to accept the "it was a bet on the future" angle. Even if you're an emperor sometimes you fzck up and lose an arm, life doesn't always pan out perfectly I guess XD Besides wouldn't it be kind of disappointing if Luffy's hero and inspiration was some nameless nobody now? I agree it gives the story more potential for interesting things to go down later on.

Calchexas

I have lots of matchup disappointments from finished arcs. Let's start with the most recent, and then go backwards in time…

Punk Hazard:

-Zoro curb-stomping Monet was a wasted opportunity for one of the weaker characters to beat her in a truly epic match. Could the fight perhaps been moved outside of Biscuit room and to where Mocha keeled over via candy OD? That way, we'd trade in a weak Zoro sexism match in exchange for Chopper having a glorious toe-to-toe vs a formidable opponent, and some very justifiable haki awakening. Nobody'd expect that Chopper would be the fourth to awaken his haki, and it would've made for a much better narrative.

-Luffy VS Caesar so many damn times. Blatant filler and a waste of time. Lose the second CC fight, give us an extra chapter for Chopper VS Monet, and we're golden.

Fishman Island:

-Truth be told...Most of the damn arc. Nobody needs another reminder of how bad this arc was on a plot level (scenery, character design etc weren't), but several of the battles were especially bad. Although I like the "test" Hodi gave Luffy -- made a good first opponent.

Marineford:

-Any fight that made Sengoku look like a chump.

-Akainu being way too overpowered vs the WB Division commanders. He shouldn't be beating up on 12-13 guys all by himself, ESPECIALLY after getting bashed up by Whitebeard. IMO it really starved the significance of what Whtiebeard did, instead leaving his legacy as "oh he got a bunch of nasty-ass wounds" rather than "that dude took on the admirals and WON."

...And...eh. There are many other fights that frustrate me, but those are the only ones I have energy to moan about. It's mainly just Akainu having invicibility mode during Marineford that gets me the worst.

wolfwood

At which point did Sengoku look bad? As far as i remember the guy barely did anything

And when he did he outsmarted people, contained Garp or zapped Blacky

DollarScholar

Sengoku displayed great strategic play during MF. But It was rather dissapointing to only see him transform twice, first time to just hand out a single punch to luffy, and the second time in a pointless battle against BB that made his DF look very rigid and dull.

desa

I will always disagree telling Akainu got stomped, bashed or raped by Whitebeard.

And about nitpicking in PH:
Monet being scared so much that she fan't reform herself.
Zoro lazy attitude.

And There's also Usopp panicking in front of green bit after having passing 2 years in that island.

Spicy Chicken

I thought the whole Mocha chase sequence was extremely pointless [and the kids themselves to an extent. the only thing i see them did was make Caesar more villainous].
A) They could have destroyed the candies
B) They could have just let the kids eat them one more time, and cut them off after. I don't think one more candy would have killed them. Like if someone has a smoking addiction, and you deprive them off the world's last cigarette, you aren't doing them an extremely huge justice. Plus, Law the miracle worker could have cured them anyway. Mocha ate a hundred at once and was still cured.

DollarScholar

The whole thing about using kids as guinea pigs for research-chemical drugs that slowly kills them by making them believe its just candy, and showing the kids going through crazy withdrawal/abstinence symptoms was borderline morbid, like something you would expect from a graphic novel by frank miller/allan moore, published by dark horse comics.

NOT in a shonen manga thats meant to be around PEGI-11 rating or something like that. a lot of early, or even pre-teens read shonen jump/OP in japan. that storyline must have been traumatizing.

on the other hand its one of those useful cards to keep in your sleeve when arguing with ignorant idiots who thinks OP is for little children because the art looks "so cartoony lol!". The tenryuubito kicking the sick man to death and then forcing the maid to be his wife, and shooting her fiance is another good example of Oda's darker side.

Archtyrant

I actually previously agreed that Akainu being able to take on all the commanders and having Blackbeard's crew be scared off (i wouldn't say "piss-scared", but just normal "scared") by his coming was a bit too much for me. But now, seeing that he was the one who took over the title of Fleet Admiral, I would prefer that he actually be much more powerful. Wouldn't sit too well to have an easily defeatable character take that position now, would it.

Anyway, 2 nitpicks i have:
(1) Pell didn't die.
(2) Usopp didn't get Haki!! I really was kinda hoping that he would at least have CoO, and so live up to his Dad's name. I guess that will only come later in the series then.

Kishido

@Stalley:

How borsalino didn't rape everybody at marineford. He had a lot of chance

OFF topic

Nice sig… I hope soon I can create a new one with new bad-ass images of the current arc^^

Black Leg

My biggest nitpick will always be Pell surviving a bomb to the face. It's one small blip in what would otherwise be my favourite arc in One Piece.

Cymelion

@Black:

My biggest nitpick will always be Pell surviving a bomb to the face. It's one small blip in what would otherwise be my favourite arc in One Piece.

Falcons are the Fastest birds doing a dive out of all winged animals - Pell survived because he could dive out of the lethal zone of the explosion. It's just no one looks up how fast Falcons can move and just assumes he held onto the bomb till it blew. I believe he could essentially beat the bomb to terminal velocity although it might be stretching it a bit but its more believable then taking an explosion to the face.

DollarScholar

@Cymelion:

Falcons are the Fastest birds doing a dive out of all winged animals - Pell survived because he could dive out of the lethal zone of the explosion. It's just no one looks up how fast Falcons can move and just assumes he held onto the bomb till it blew. I believe he could essentially beat the bomb to terminal velocity although it might be stretching it a bit but its more believable then taking an explosion to the face.

What is this, the MP and the search for the holy grail?

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Final thoughts about shanks: lets just ignore the yonkou title for a while and think about how well Oda has preserved his personality:
*He is still perhaps the most selfless, good hearted pirate in the world
*His tradition of consuming alcoholic beverages carried on from the first volume to later almost every single appearance outside MF, like when mihawk decided to appear he threw a party. When Ace showed up he threw a party. He usualy begins the scene by complaining about his hangover too, if i remember correctly. but thats nothing a little bit of the good ol´good news wont change.
*He is still a forward thinking individual who shows a strong dislike for unnecesary violence. jumping in to save coby from akainu was almost a mirror of when he saved luffy from the lord of the coast, except this time he didnt lose a limb but he still took a risk. He then told the marines to stop the pointless bloodshed of retreating pirates who already lost the war. Like when he told Luffy there is nothing wise about getting upset about some idiot pouring a pint of beer over your shirt. Avoiding Violence for the sake of Violence seems to be one of his top priorities and morals, wich is a really good hearted attribute for a yonkou to have.