@Count:
I've been predicting for a while that she might be a red herring candidate like Romance said above about Paulie.
A red herring for what? Jimbei? He's been a certainty since vol. 66, her being there doesn't affect that in any way. You say she's a Paulie, but Franky, not Paulie, was the one standing and fighting with the strawhats on the Enies Lobby hero cover.
Yeah about red herring's don't they have to be somewhat close, like carrot being a red herring for someone who'll show up in early 2019 seems a bit disconnected. If it was carrot and another person from whole cake island who also hasd their own grievances vs Big Mom I could understand the sentiment more but if it's someone from wano then I dont think you could call it a red herring, franky was mentioned less than 5 chapters after we fet paulie and revealed about a volume later.
Chapter 437 Discussion after franky decides to join the Strawhats:
So who think Usopp is inside that duffelbag?
H x H Chimera Ant Arc / OP Manga Spoiler
Spoiler:
I feel as though some people are in denial about her chances of joining just because they don't like her. Carrot being the next strawhat is literally the only thing I've ever seen youtube, reddit, 4chan, and tumblr all agree on. That never happens. So pretending as though there's a 0% chance of her joining is flat out delusional.
Purely coincidence
I feel as though some people are in denial about her chances of joining just because they don't like her. Carrot being the next strawhat is literally the only thing I've ever seen youtube, reddit, 4chan, and tumblr all agree on. That never happens. So pretending as though there's a 0% chance of her joining is flat out delusional.
All these sites are shit though, it means nothing.
Might as well though in Oro was well.
It is pretty rare that Oda draws a character twice in a volume cover. It seems like the only reason Oda did so in this case is that he felt compelled to include Sulong, but he also wanted to include Carrot in the straw hat hero group. He wouldn't have been able to do Sulong justice if it was in a small mirror panel. So he put her at the back, but also in the mirror. Definetly something worth noting. It would have been easier and actually been totally fine to just leave her in the back as an (more notable) ally. But instead he decided to bring her up to the front, in full colour with the rest of the straw hats.
Edit: Missed a few double appearances.
All these sites are shit though, it means nothing.
As if this place is any better.
But that's not my point. My point is that those people are extremely different. You get the troglodytes and shitposters of 4chan, the SJWs and fujos of tumblr, the college-goers and normies of reddit, and the 12-year-olds and people who literally analyse One Piece for a living of youtube. If all those people think that Oda is clearly telegraphing that Carrot will join the crew, then this might be more than just a bit of subtext that a few people are reading too much into.
This isn't just a fringe theory that can be dismissed out of hand like Monet joining.
Purely coincidence
I feel as though some people are in denial about her chances of joining just because they don't like her. Carrot being the next strawhat is literally the only thing I've ever seen youtube, reddit, 4chan, and tumblr all agree on. That never happens. So pretending as though there's a 0% chance of her joining is flat out delusional.
Part of it is that everybody has their own XYZ character that they personally want to join the crew. Some of it is just that they hate Carrot. There's also the issue of dreams and crew position which is bogus, Oda can write that into the story at any point. People are also just pessimistic given the trend of temporary Strawhat allies.
I wasn't even supportive of Carrot joining but Pedro dying turned me around really quickly. It's been 10 years since the last Strawhat joined but people believe all sorts of foibles about the crew, like the next member being immediately obvious. They'll argue about it up until the character joins. There are people out there that thought Jinbe would die before the end of this arc.
Even if she's a temporary member, she's definitely special compared to the others. But instead people go through all sorts of mental gymnastics like her being featured in WCI arc just to hype the Minks or Chopper learning Sulong/Electro despite it being stated as a Mink-only ability.
As if this place is any better.
But that's not my point. My point is that those people are extremely different. You get the troglodytes and shitposters of 4chan, the SJWs and fujos of tumblr, the college-goers and normies of reddit, and the 12-year-olds and people who literally analyse One Piece for a living of youtube. If all those people think that Oda is clearly telegraphing that Carrot will join the crew, then this might be more than just a bit of subtext that a few people are reading too much into.
This isn't just a fringe theory that can be dismissed out of hand like Monet joining.
And NONE of those sites are places have any real thoughtful theories or views on OP I would ever trust or take seriously.
I would trust most if any major poster on this site compare to the last who been reading the series for years and have a track record, than some youtuber, or new crop of posters on Oro Jackson or here thinking they know some secret to Oda work.
As if this place is any better.
But that's not my point. My point is that those people are extremely different. You get the troglodytes and shitposters of 4chan, the SJWs and fujos of tumblr, the college-goers and normies of reddit, and the 12-year-olds and people who literally analyse One Piece for a living of youtube. If all those people think that Oda is clearly telegraphing that Carrot will join the crew, then this might be more than just a bit of subtext that a few people are reading too much into.
This isn't just a fringe theory that can be dismissed out of hand like Monet joining.
I think Carrot is joining but fanbase consensus isn't evidence of someone joining or not. It'd be more fruitful to explore the reasons why so many people think she'll join which… is problematic on AP.
APforums is a good resource for One Piece information but dear lord it has some of the worst users, probably given the longevity of this site.
All these sites are shit though, it means nothing.
Might as well though in Oro was well.
That's extremely narrow-minded to say. Tumblr's bad, yeah. The rest all have their merits, with Youtube's worst aspect being the Adpocalypse going on there right now.
I get bored of Reddit's userbase to be quite frank, but you can have respectable discussion about an innumerable amount of things there.
Also, I'm for Carrot joining at this point. Volume cover just cemented it for me among other things. Could be wrong but I'll go out on a limb for it.
Croc or Enel would never.
Wanna see the "ancient civilization destroyed" thing done really well? FFXIV did a great take on it. The bar's high for One Piece to beat.
I would trust most if any major poster on this site compare to the last who been reading the series for years and have a track record, than some youtuber, or new crop of posters on Oro Jackson or here thinking they know some secret to Oda work.
Lol, literally the only qualifications any of us have is that we read one piece (except maybe Greg). I've been reading since vol. 8 was the newest volume. Does the value of my opinion change if I've been live-blogging the whole time? Also, there are definitely a lot of old posters here who at least acknowledge that the chance exists for Carrot to join the crew.
Stop acting as if this site or the people on it have any special authority when it comes to analyzing this children's comic.
I wouldnt say anyone is bad per se but some people on here can be criminally smug about when they are deadset or proven right on things vs people like Count/Shift and a few others who always leave room for other things to happen. I feel like you cant just dismiss everyone from reddit/4chan/tumblr hell even oro or youtube just because on the whole there's a lot more "wouldn't that be cool" based ideas about where the story is going than there is here. I also feel like that can sometimes be a negative as sometimes crazy things do happen albeit they're usually explained in story well.
I'm not saying AP has some authority no other site does.
But from this site alone compare to those I have check seen and watch, tend to be more fruitful and thoughtful over all better.
I HATE shit on Oro because some are just SO guide by their own views/likes/dislikes t's hard to ever take someone like the seriously and people on the site celebrate such shit.
You can be a fan but when your writing/words come across one of those "Super enthusiastic fans" it's hard to take your thoughts super serious ever.
I'm not saying AP has some authority no other site does.
But from this site alone compare to those I have check seen and watch, tend to be more fruitful and thoughtful over all better.
I HATE shit on Oro because some are just SO guide by their own views/likes/dislikes t's hard to ever take someone like the seriously and people on the site celebrate such shit.
You can be a fan but when your writing/words come across one of those "Super enthusiastic fans" it's hard to take your thoughts super serious ever.
This site does examine the series quite deeply, I'll give it that. Though it does tend to lean overly critical, no matter how hard people try to justify that on a fan-site.
Oro, though I barely ever go there, is you're either ON the hype train full speed, or you go the complete other direction (like Screwmetape) and hate every possible thing that you can to be contrarian. The thing is though, it is again a fan-site, so enthusiasm - even over-enthusiasm - is warranted. Though you don't have to take them seriously, true, or the overly negative people seriously.
One thing to think about though, is what would you think if an overly enthusiastic fan made some really good points? Would you consider what they were saying?
Croc or Enel would never.
Wanna see the "ancient civilization destroyed" thing done really well? FFXIV did a great take on it. The bar's high for One Piece to beat.
This site does examine the series quite deeply, I'll give it that. Though it does tend to lean overly critical, no matter how hard people try to justify that on a fan-site.
Oro, though I barely ever go there, is you're either ON the hype train full speed, or you go the complete other direction (like Screwmetape) and hate every possible thing that you can to be contrarian. The thing is though, it is again a fan-site, so enthusiasm - even over-enthusiasm - is warranted. Though you don't have to take them seriously, true, or the overly negative people seriously.
One thing to thing about though, is what would you think if an overly enthusiastic fan made some really good points? Would you consider what they were saying?
Yes but it matters if what I feel what they are writing at that point in time either has merit or is someone just reading too much into wanting something.
And that qualifier is all dependent on one view on the series, it's own direction and the said points them selves. So it's sort of you just reading it and think and feel about it.
Maybe past history of the person can have a view depending on how overly positive or negative.
I'm not saying AP has some authority no other site does.
But from this site alone compare to those I have check seen and watch, tend to be more fruitful and thoughtful over all better.
I HATE shit on Oro because some are just SO guide by their own views/likes/dislikes t's hard to ever take someone like the seriously and people on the site celebrate such shit.
You can be a fan but when your writing/words come across one of those "Super enthusiastic fans" it's hard to take your thoughts super serious ever.
Yo sit down you're in a 1000+ page Carrot thread.
I HATE shit on Oro because some are just SO guide by their own views/likes/dislikes t's hard to ever take someone like the seriously and people on the site celebrate such shit.
I jumped back several pages in this thread to check. There are people in this very thread who still don't think Jimbei will join because he's not interesting enough. Again, stop acting as if this site is any different. You've just been here longer so you know how to wade through the garbage.
Personally I don't understand why people think this cover is evidence or proof that Carrot will join. As far as I know, the biggest evidence towards her joining was that time that she easily overpowered Zoro in chapter 804. Arguing that Carrot isn't going to join at this point is like arguing that Luffy isn't going to defeat Big Mam.
I'm not saying AP has some authority no other site does.
But from this site alone compare to those I have check seen and watch, tend to be more fruitful and thoughtful over all better.
I HATE shit on Oro because some are just SO guide by their own views/likes/dislikes t's hard to ever take someone like the seriously and people on the site celebrate such shit.
You can be a fan but when your writing/words come across one of those "Super enthusiastic fans" it's hard to take your thoughts super serious ever.
lmao. People were arguing back and forth about Chopper learning Electro/Sulong for a dozen pages a month or two ago as "proof" of Carrot not joining.
Settle down.
Personally I don't understand why people think this cover is evidence or proof that Carrot will join.
Because Oda easily had the opportunity to place her with the other allies in a way that would have still looked good, but he chose to also put her with the rest of the strawhats. I'm getting flashes of the vol. 43 cover where Franky is on the hero cover alongside the strawhats before he joins.
As far as I know, the biggest evidence towards her joining was that time that she easily overpowered Zoro in chapter 804. Arguing that Carrot isn't going to join at this point is like arguing that Luffy isn't going to defeat Big Mam.
What? I think there's a very good chance that Carrot is joining, but that argument makes no sense. By that logic Wiper would also have joined.
lmao. People were arguing back and forth about Chopper learning Electro/Sulong for a dozen pages a month or two ago as "proof" of Carrot not joining.
Settle down.
That's more believable than what even seen since Chopper being a humanoid animal although due to a devil fruit may do something if he can learn from other humanoid animals.
If Carott is joining, Oda's sure done a shit job of building her up compared to Jinbei.
That's more believable than what even seen since Chopper being a humanoid animal although due to a devil fruit may do something if he can learn from other humanoid animals.
Don't start that whole debate up again. That was a complete waste of time the first time around. The moment came and went and Chopper expressed no intent to learn it. Let it go.
@S.C.:
If Carott is joining, Oda's sure done a shit job of building her up compared to Jinbei.
We still have Carrot for Wano, and that will probably be the longest arc yet. So there's ample time for building her up. Also, that's just your opinion. I think Carrot has been built up perfectly adequately so far. She wanted to see the world and then she saw her mentor die in front of her eyes right after he gave her a mission to fellow. We don't want anything too complicated because there are a million and one things going on at the same time.
lmao. People were arguing back and forth about Chopper learning Electro/Sulong for a dozen pages a month or two ago as "proof" of Carrot not joining.
Settle down.
Seems appropriate if the evidence presented forward is: she jump good.
At the end of the day, both sides are presenting an array of reasons ranging from stupid to okay. The best thing presented so far is the role of the Minks in regards to the void century and their origin being explored more.
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@K.:
Seems appropriate if the evidence presented forward is: she jump good.
And how Oda consistently puts her on the same standing as the other strawhats… And how she's always taking up pretty much the only remaining unassigned position left on the ship... And how she was tasked by her dying mentor to follow and help the strawhats... And how she has absolutely no reason to be on WCI if she isn't joining the crew. Seriously, every non-ST who sailed with them had a plot reason to be there, either to do something, guide the strawhats somewhere, or give exposition. Carrot has done nothing for the entirety of WCI but build rapport with the strawhats.
Don't gas-light me and say the only reason we think she'll join is that "she jump good".
I did not say it was the only one. But it is part of the reasons given. So the comment still stands. Over analyze and try to bring every butt scratch she does as evidence, then it is fine to present counter arguments of the same magnitude.
Oda has consistently put her in a background role and has barely shined.
The lookout position is not the only position left to fill on a ship. Still funny because when they escaped after Pedro's bombing, Brooke, Chopper and Carrot were all in the crow's nest doing the lookout position. With Carrot being behind both the Straw Hat crew members.
If said mentor is dead, then sure that makes it more likely.
She has the same reasons as Pedro wanting to go, it is just that she was not going to be allowed to go unless she sneaked her way into the ship. Carrot falls down to the exposition slot by giving us more information of the Mink tribes prowess that we could not see when Jack invaded them. It is to show us a preview of what Wano will be like.
So no one was gas-lighting you, you kinda did that to yourself.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Not to mention in that same post you quoted, I said the only reason I find valid among the many presented was her race's importance in the overall story.
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Carrot is fine as a character and a secondary tag along. Nothing wrong with her, nothing against her.
But Oda hasn't treated her as a one of a kind unique character, with a super memorable introduction, distinct design traits. truly unique abilities, or a grand dream. It's nothing about disliking the character, but simply how Oda has handled her Especially when we've had Chopper for 17 years. You can't say "she still has room to BECOME interesting!" when she's already been in the series for over two years.
She's Chopper's unnofficial sister and a home for him to go to when the series ends, and that's certainly something. Just like Kaya for Usopp, and likely Pudding for Sanji.
Most of the support for her joining hinges on Pedro actually being dead and treating that as an actual major defining moment for her and and that's… not sticking as a permanent death. Especially when we've already had characters dodge telling Sanji about it, and when in Wano we're going to be seeing lots of the minks doing the same moon power up.
As for the cover, yeah that could be a thing. But
The cover for volume 52 has rayleigh prominent among the strawhats. Not joining. Volume 65 prominently displays Rebecca with Luffy. Kinemon is prominent on volumes 65 and 71 and given equal billing with several strawhats. Volumes 68,69, 70, 73, 75, 76, 78 all display Law prominently with Luffy and other Strawhats in equal billing.
Carrot has been on four covers now. 81, full of minks. 82, still with Pedro and Pekoms. 85 still with Pedro and Sanji's sister (who was also on cover 84). And now this one, 88. But Ceaser Clown has been on at least 4 covers, and within this same arc Capone has been on 86 and 88. There's also been a couple color spreads where... she is still sharing page time with Pedro and Wanda and Catviper and etc.
Maybe we have to consider that Oda can change his mind.
Maybe he didn't intend to let Carrot join at first, but the fan enthusiasm for her might be something he considers. The same thing happened with the supernovas, if I recall correctly
The cover shows that Carrot is an important part of the strawhats during this arc. We'll have to wait and see what happens after and in Wano, if she comes of as a strong character or if she's overshadowes by other minks. Maybe even Oda doesn't know for sure where to go with he r and will test a few things.
I'm saying that just so we remember that maybe there's not a correct answer to the question of if Carrot is joining or not which is hidden in the manga by secret clues. A story is an organic thing ans we're allowed to have wishes as to where we wnat it to go
@K.:
Oda has consistently put her in a background role and has barely shined.
Yes, so far into the background that she made it twice onto the hero cover. She has done more than Chopper, and probably about the same as Nami this arc. And keep in mind that Oda is keeping her around for at least the next arc (which will be Dressrosa-length) so he can't just throw everything in all at once.
@K.:
Carrot falls down to the exposition slot by giving us more information of the Mink tribes prowess that we could not see when Jack invaded them. It is to show us a preview of what Wano will be like.
All of that could have easily been done with Pedro, or even Pekoms. Oda could have written his death anywhere in the story. It could easily have been a suicide blast to take out the lead pursuing ship after he ran out of moon-juice power up. There was absolutely no necessity for Oda to put a third mink on the ship if he just wanted to give some mink exposition.
The cover shows that Carrot is an important part of the strawhats during this arc. We'll have to wait and see what happens after and in Wano, if she comes of as a strong character or if she's overshadowes by other minks. Maybe even Oda doesn't know for sure where to go with he r and will test a few things.
Yeah, Oda often wings these things. Vivi was just supposed to be Miss Wednesday until the Strawhats reached Whiskey Peak. That's why her design changes so radically.
Purely coincidence
I don't think Oda is the type to change his mind on who will or won't join the crew due to fans. Especially since he would have to write said character for another 10 plus years.
He's not one to let fans to control his writing like that, he criticized other mangaka for giving into fan demands/wants for their series especially female readers. (Unless I'm remembering a quote wrong)
I feel as though some people are in denial about her chances of joining just because they don't like her. Carrot being the next strawhat is literally the only thing I've ever seen youtube, reddit, 4chan, and tumblr all agree on. That never happens. So pretending as though there's a 0% chance of her joining is flat out delusional.
At one point, Hancock was also highly popular candidate. So was Bartolemeo. And many other characters like Perona, Monet, Baby 5, Rebecca, Viola, Kinemon, Momo etc. The "popular candidate" comes & go. Oda doesn't select his nakama based on what majority of the fandom think.
When Wano arc comes along, everyone will jump on the next interesting character for next nakama. That is how it always goes.
I personally don't think Carrot is joining. I like her as a character but don't think she is joining. I have seen arguments for both side & my mind hasn't change since the Zou arc.
There was absolutely no necessity for Oda to put a third mink on the ship if he just wanted to give some mink exposition.
Yeah, there was no reason for Zoro to have Johnny AND Yosaku come along for the ride, one would have worked just fine. Why did Nami need to have a sister AND a father figure in her home town? Why were there two giants and two giant horses and two Square Sisters on Enies lobby? Why does Law have extra crewmates when Bepo is the only one that matters? Why does Luffy have two brothers, Ace served that purpose just fine. Did Amazon Lilly really need to have three Boa sisters? And all those dwarves and tournament contestants in Dresserossa! There were like 80 of them, most of them didn't even do anything!
Oda likes making hoards of characters. He threw a cute girl into the mix because he likes cute girls. Pekoms is there to be the tie in to Big Mom, Pedro is there to be temporary sacrifice drama, and Carrot is there to give Chopper someone to play off of and get a little bit of growth instead of being the scardey cat while Usopp isn't around.
I don't think Oda is the type to change his mind on who will or won't join the crew due to fans.
While this is true, he still has an editor who tells him what to do, and I would highly doubt that the editor isn't looking at fan reaction.
At one point, Hancock was also highly popular candidate. So was Bartolemeo. And many other characters like Perona, Monet, Baby 5, Rebecca, Viola, Kinemon, Momo etc. The "popular candidate" comes & go. Oda doesn't select his nakama based on what majority of the fandom think.
I'm not saying Oda will make her join because everyone wants her to join. I'm saying that everyone (except for this site) thinks she will join because Oda seems to be indicating it. Compare the consensus we currently have with how fractured everyone was in Dressrosa. At no point was there ever a consus on who was most likely to join. Everyone had their favourite potential candidate, but none of them had any evidence, they were just saying "if one of these new characters joins, I'd prefer it to be this one" (btw, a lot of those people were right because a whole bunch of characters did indeed join the strawhats).
Contrast flavours-of-the-month like Monet with Carrot. She has been tasked with following and helping the strawhats by her dead mentor and her stated dream of seeing the world fits well with her hypothetical position on the crew. What other flavour-of-the-month has both a dream and a willingness to follow the crew?
Oda wouldn’t let his editors have that power over whom his main chracters are, they don’t have that much power with there mandalas in general unless your Torishima and even then Toriyama didn’t do everything he wanted.
Either way it’s a bad arguement to use what fans want to dictate the story, it’s bad for series in general.
Bart was the hands down favorite to join in Desserossa, the competition wasn't even close. And he was like what, ninth place in his popularity polls? ANd Hancock has been #10 both of the last two times. And Law has been in the top 10 the last three times, even making second place and beating out Zoro.
But the arguments against them were solid. Their enduring popularity doesn't mean they're joining just because they're fan favorites. Oda can and does spotlight more than just the crew.
Carrot for the record, in the last popularity poll, (which came out in 874, so at the time of voting she'd been around for roughly 70 chapters) was 27. Cavendish was 13, Sanji's sister Reiju (Who was introduced after Carrot) was 14, Corazon was 16, Marco was 20. Pudding was just after her at 28,Nekomamushi was not far behind at 31, and Katakuri who was completely in the background at the time was 46. Pedro at 63 and Pekoms all the way down at 90. Interestingly, Wanda didn't make it onto the list at all.
Can that change now that she's had a year more screen time and shown off another form? Absolutely and she'll no doubt be higher next time. But she's not a completely huge instant breakout mega-favorite… she's instead polling right around the same place as most of the characters introduced about the same time, and less than others. I really expect Pudding's rank to change since she completely shifted in personality since the poll, and Katakuri is DEFINTELY going to rocket up since he was just background at the time and has since become main antagonist..
Oda creates hundreds and hundreds of characters, many of them popular, and many of them instant top 10 favorites. Also worth noting, Jinbei placed 110 in his first poll, 35 in the second, and 6th in the most recent.
Oda really, honestly, does not need to cater to fan or editor desires of "this character is popular."
Maybe he did a little bit with Law. But he seemed like the Supernova Oda had the most interest in from pretty early on.
Yes, so far into the background that she made it twice onto the hero cover.
I already covered why she is presented twice in the new cover. This is all circling back to everyone giving the same reasons back and forth of why she will or not join the crew. If I compare the weight Jimbe had during Impel Down, Marine Ford, Fishman Island and Tottoland before he put down his cup. Carrot's "Impel Down" showing has not been very unique. Not in terms of crew dynamic and even ultimate fighting form is just a warm up to when the entire country of Mink go in full rampage against the Beast Pirates. Also Luffy has missed about every opportunity where Carrot shined. Which I find surprising because Luffy is the one to ~convince~.
Back to the cover, when someone posted it in this thread alluding to Carrot joining, personally I took it as half serious, half joking. The author should put these clues in the story, at most the cover pages can be further teases, like what happened with Jimbe, but that only really happened because it took so long for him to come back into the story. The bulk of it should be in the story. And Carrot has done quite a few things that make her an important ally, similar to the other fleet captains. But as a crew member, not so much.
She has done more than Chopper, and probably about the same as Nami this arc.
She had to, lest she become further plunged into the background than she already is. The fact that Chopper was going to do the job seems to me that Carrot was just a nice addition to show Sulong and then we wonder how does Cat, Dog and Baratie look like in this form.
And keep in mind that Oda is keeping her around for at least the next arc (which will be Dressrosa-length) so he can't just throw everything in all at once.
And I also keep in mind that other Minks are going to be there. If she stays with the core group of the Straw Hats instead of joining the mink front then maybe I will change my mind.
All of that could have easily been done with Pedro, or even Pekoms. Oda could have written his death anywhere in the story. It could easily have been a suicide blast to take out the lead pursuing ship after he ran out of moon-juice power up. There was absolutely no necessity for Oda to put a third mink on the ship if he just wanted to give some mink exposition.
It is so Pedro's death has a bit more weight to it and has more elements to hold on to. It is sad for the crew, but the drama can be upped a notch by adding someone that grew up with him. That is iff Pedro remains dead. Pekoms doesn't work because of his standing with Big Mom, not to mention his presence was sadly underutilized. Considering how things have developed, Pedro's sacrifice had to be there to have the best impact. To showcase the kind of decisions you need to make to escape an emperor's headquarters. But his death falls flat, because it was not during the climax of the arc.
Heck in the next popularity poll Katakuri will propel to high levels.
Reiju and Marco popularity will always allud me, I will never get it.
Bart was the hands down favorite to join in Desserossa, the competition wasn't even close.
There was a surprising Rebecca contingent, and there was quite a bit of fuss over Viola being the perfect lookout. Bart was hands down everyone's favourite character, but I remember most people agreeing that his fanboyism disqualified him from being a full member.
The Rebecca contingent was the same "Look, girl!" vocal group that happens with every single female, from Perona(in spite of her lack of loyalty to comrades) to Cammie (in spite of her lack of legs) to Margureite to Hancock(in spite of her island getting nuked if she publicly joined Luffy) to Bonney to Arlong's sister to Shirahoshi (in spite of her size) to Pudding when she had a one panel unnamed cameo 5 years ago to Monet(in spite of poisioning children) to Viola, and then focusing on Rebecca for a while despite her being a Nami clone, before pinning hopes on a dwarf girl that wasn't even on camera yet and Baby 5, and then Sanji's sister (despite already having a Sanji) and there's a reason such opinions aren't usually taken seriously at this point.
It doesn't stop there when the likes of Pedro also get "He can be the lookout! He likes high places! This one minor quirk makes him a prime candidate!" but at least he was male so that was a change of pace. The only reasonable candidate in recent history was Kinemon,who DID have an unusual memorable introduction, got along with most of the crew in varied ways and had a useful but not broken fruit power, a distinct power set, and so on. His odds vanished once we saw his friends and what their entire (traditional Japanes" gimmick actually was.
They almost never have legitimate story and author backing, and are almost always "I really like this character and the POTENTIAL they have!" without looking at all at how the actual narrative has treated them and how much effort Oda truly put into making them standout and unique.
You like a character and want to see more of them and that's perfectly fine, but "I like them" isn't reason enough by itself to have them be part of the main cast forever.
The Rebecca contingent was the same "Look, girl!" vocal group that happens with every single female, from Perona to Cammie to Margureite to Hancock to Arlong's sister Shirahoshi to Pudding when she had a one panel unnamed cameo 7 years ago to Monet to Viola, and there's a reason such opinions aren't usually taken seriously at this point.
They almost never have legitimate story and author backing, and are almost always "I really like this character and the POTENTIAL they have!"
Rebecca's potential as a candidate died when her goal was to "live with toy soldier san"
At the very least carrot hasnt had a personal duty or dream relating to zou itself. Its odd because she fits with everyone on the surface level and fills a role in character dynamics, but isnt deep enough yet to be on par with the strawhats.
Bonney is the only one who has the setup to become a possible nakama, depending on how Oda develops said setup to either become an important ally like Law or maybe even more.
Everyone else besides Jinbe is a clear no.
Bonney? Go on…
Bonney has as much or less setup as Carrot right now. She COULD find a new crew to join after being arrested by the Marines. She COULD want revenge against Blackbeard in the endgame for her defeat. She COULD reveal more Devil Fruit techniques that aren't even more ridiculously broken than Robin's. But it's all what ifs. And I can't see any Supernova rising above the prominence of Law and Kid, so I expect Bege-esque representation at best when she comes into focus.
As much as I firmly believe Carrot will not join the crew, I can see how people understandably find signs of her fitting into the Straw Hats. The issue with her is that each of those signs is executed as mediocrely as possible, almost as if she was an amateur fanfic character that only met bare minimum guideline patterns for Straw Hats without proper creativity and plot relevance.
A backstory with a dead mentor? Only a handful flashback panels of sucking at swordsmanship during or right after Pedro commits suicide by explosion like Hililuk did. Quirky design? She's a furry animal like Chopper but a different, and has blonde hair like Sanji but both of her eyes still show. Unique fighting capabilities? She wields lightning, which Nami also does, and jumps high, which Sanji can do as good if not better with Sky Walk. Standout crew position? Carrot keeps using binoculars at high points of the ship and can jump high so she's the lookout, even though Usopp, Sanji, or Robin would be just as or more capable. A dream? We still don't even know what exactly this "dawn" is, and Carrot's only invested in it because Pedro told her about it. Major plot relevance?
Um… she's mostly done nothing this arc besides group gags and action sequences with Luffy and Chopper, but she used a transformation fought fodder for less than two chapters! She'll surely shine more in the next arc where her entire race will be present, including the two leaders that are superior to her in their culturally shared fighting style. She obviously isn't a one-arc ally like Yosaku and Johnny, Galley-La, the Franky Family, Smoker and G-5, or the Grand Fleet, And she totally won't fade into the background like Conis, Keimi, and Marguerite after seeming like they would be important side characters when bigger faction figures they foreshadow come into focus.
Oda could not put less effort into a crewmate than Carrot if he tried. I'm almost half-convinced at this point Oda is throwing in these halfhearted potential Straw Hat crewmate signals on-purpose to subvert expectations somehow if Luffy does ask her to join, like being revealed to be the Mink Tribe traitor or some ridiculous gag. I do think Carrot's slight prominence is building up to something, it would weird if she went back to Zou after making all of this fuss about seeing the world and avenging Pedro. And as a supporting character, she's fun and helps spice up the character interaction dynamics a bit in a flavor of the arc way before the Straw Hats finally reunite in Wano Country with Jinbe in tow.
But I can't, for the life of me, wrap my head around Oda making a potential Straw Hat, most likely the final Straw Hat if I might add, look this lackluster compared to the rest of the main cast. He'll sometimes make a Straw Hat become more interesting after they join as we learn more about, but not literally start to be interesting in general after joining.
And oh yeah, she's a girl. Which is always going to get more attention than a guy either because of the crew's disappointing gender representation ratio/gender stereotypes or shallow attractive features. I'd love some more female characters, preferably a kickass old lady grandma figure like Kureha. But if and when they finally show up, we'll probably know just by looking at their introduction and design. Where they aren't shown as one member of a group, but get right up in your face about where they uniquely stand against a location's apparent status quo. I doubt we're getting another long game curveball like Robin and Jinbe at this point in the story.
Bonney for her relation to luffy's main pirate villain, or her relation to the WG, worst generation, as in big main plot relevance, similar to Robin, she is likely to be much more important to the story then arc only minor characters like carrot or whatever. She also lost her crew and is undercover alone.
If that translates as new nakama or just new important ally i nthe main story like law, hard to say. But at least in terms of girls in the crew she is unique, since she has some big mom or luffy like personality, and even design she stands out from nami or robin. Even if pink hair is not special. Bu then again, how many straw hats have black hair? and how many have black hair i tneh Op world in general?
ANd with her fruit, it could very well be that haki can protect you from it and so if anything ,it could be useless in a battle with haki user. She was able to bodyslam zoro easily so she seems to have strength too.
She could just be the next vivi or shirahoshi. as in super important to the main plot princess, but why she left to become pirate?
Fruit, we already talked about that. Can be another Robin, can more, that´s not the main issue and never will be.
Connection to WG already increases her significance over Bege.
"Coincidentally" hating and having a relationship to Luffy´s two main antagonists as much as him, that puts her on Law and Kid at least.
All that is left is whether she will be an ally like Law or something more.
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@uniaka:
Bonney for her relation to luffy's main pirate villain, or her relation to the WG, worst generation, as in big main plot relevance, similar to Robin, she is likely to be much more important to the story then arc only minor characters like carrot or whatever. She also lost her crew and is undercover alone.
If that translates as new nakama or just new important ally i nthe main story like law, hard to say. But at least in terms of girls in the crew she is unique, since she has some big mom or luffy like personality, and even design she stands out from nami or robin.
Yep, it´s not that hard to understand really.
Nobody is claiming that this setup has to lead to being nakama, since Oda also made Law a D, crafted a whole backstory that is a parallel to the main antagonist of a 100 chapter arc and pretty much substituted other Strawhats with Law as temporary main character, but the fact that Bonney´s setup within the OP world and story will make her substantially significant is a no-brainer, what that role will entail is a different issue.
It´s not a "might or could" though, that will definitely happen.
I also add connection to either WB or ace to that btw which is the main reason for her hatred against Blackbeard.
The fact Oda said the created the supernova just before he presented them in the story shouldn't be enough to disqualify Bonney? It means she didn't even exist as a concept in his mind before Sabaody.
Fruit,
That's a weird nickname for me.
we already talked about that. Can be another Robin, can more, that´s not the main issue and never will be.
We did talk about it. And while that's not the main issue, but it's still an issue as is until we see more applications of her Devil Fruit.
Connection to WG already increases her significance over Bege.
"Coincidentally" hating and having a relationship to Luffy´s two main antagonists as much as him, that puts her on Law and Kid at least.
I don't know about that. While it would make sense for her to have a vendetta against Blackbeard, this doesn't guarantee a major rivalry between them. Her beef with Blackbeard as of now isn't more prominent than Moria's loss to Kaido or all of the Dressrosa characters who had something to pick with Doflamingo but barely interacted with him during the arc of their uprising. Teach raided Drum, but that only amounted to foreshadowing his existence while Chopper could care less (but maybe it might come up in the Reverie for the first time in almost two decades). Bonney's defeat could easily be the same way, a narrative tool for Teach's plot progression while she herself doesn't have the agency to get back at him besides maybe becoming one of Luffy's recurring allies like the other Supernovas and Grand Fleet.
Blackbeard's plot prominence doesn't automatically guarantee Bonney an equal proportion of prominence compared to other vengeance-seeking supporting characters. I wouldn't be surprised if Bonney stays a sore loser about Teach without ever seeing him again for the rest of the series while helping Luffy out with other things related to the arc they meet in with some lore revealed about her relationship with Whitebeard, similar to how the Dwarves talked about the Celestial Dragons torturing them during the Void Century.
The World Government though, there can be something interesting there. Maybe even extending all the way to the Gorosei, like helping to keep them immortal or something. But like Access said, Oda came up with most of or all the Supernovas on Sabaody. In a few hours. Not that these characters can't amount to major presences, as we have seen with Law and Bege, but I think Oda would plan a future Straw Hat before then.
All that is left is whether she will be an ally like Law or something more.
I can agree on that.
Yep, it´s not that hard to understand really.
Nobody is claiming that this setup has to lead to being nakama, since Oda also made Law a D, crafted a whole backstory that is a parallel to the main antagonist of a 100 chapter arc and pretty much substituted other Strawhats with Law as temporary main character, but the fact that Bonney´s setup within the OP world and story will make her substantially significant is a no-brainer, what that role will entail is a different issue.
It´s not a "might or could" though, that will definitely happen.I also add connection to either WB or ace to that btw which is the main reason for her hatred against Blackbeard.
But you're saying she has a chance at being nakama. So I'm replying to that possibility specifically. Anything else is fair game with how vague her past and relationships are.
@.access:
The fact Oda said the created the supernova just before he presented them in the story shouldn't be enough to disqualify Bonney? It means she didn't even exist as a concept in his mind before Sabaody.
Only have to see what he said regarding that in an interview.
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@Count:
That's a weird nickname for me.
We did talk about it. And while that's not the main issue, but it's still an issue as is until we see more applications of her Devil Fruit.
I don't know about that. While it would make sense for her to have a vendetta against Blackbeard, this doesn't guarantee a major rivalry between them. Her beef with Blackbeard as of now isn't more prominent than Moria's loss to Kaido or all of the Dressrosa characters who had something to pick with Doflamingo but barely interacted with him during the arc of their uprising. Teach raided Drum, but that only amounted to foreshadowing his existence while Chopper could care less (but maybe it might come up in the Reverie for the first time in almost two decades). Bonney's defeat could easily be the same way, a narrative tool for Teach's plot progression while she herself doesn't have the agency to get back at him besides maybe becoming one of Luffy's recurring allies like the other Supernovas and Grand Fleet.
Blackbeard's plot prominence doesn't automatically guarantee Bonney an equal proportion of prominence compared to other vengeance-seeking supporting characters. I wouldn't be surprised if Bonney stays a sore loser about Teach without ever seeing him again for the rest of the series while helping Luffy out with other things related to the arc they meet in with some lore revealed about her relationship with Whitebeard, similar to how the Dwarves talked about the Celestial Dragons torturing them during the Void Century.
The World Government though, there can be something interesting there. Maybe even extending all the way to the Gorosei, like helping to keep them immortal or something. But like Access said, Oda came up with most of or all the Supernovas on Sabaody. In a few hours. Not that these characters can't amount to major presences, as we have seen with Law and Bege, but I think Oda would plan a future Straw Hat before then.
I can agree on that.
But you're saying she has a chance at being nakama. So I'm replying to that possibility specifically. Anything else is fair game with how vague her past and relationships are.
Wow that was a brain freeze, no idea why i called you that, guess went from count to fruit…
Yep, thing is, i am not even arguing that i want to see her in the crew and disregard your misgivings, i am saying for now they are way in the background and overshadowed by story context.
To pull out a parallel that is not exactly the same but close enough, we are right at "Jinbe is shown in Impel Down talking to Ace" stage with Bonney, and a few people actually made the theories that Ace could give Jinbe the responsibility of looking after Luffy coupled with the setup with Arlong, and you are arguing "he uses fishman karate, we have seen fishman karate enough and it is boring". Putting the possibilities of it aside, it still is not about that.
Bonney´s hatred for BB does not stem from the defeat only, it´s about her specifically searching for him to take revenge due to what happened at Marineford. Whether it´s WB´s death or Ace being killed is up in the air, it´s one of the two, but the fact that that´s her motivation is pretty apparent when she says "it´s all his fault, i will find him in the New World and make him pay" and the next time we see her she is with Blackbeard.
Then there are small jabs like "you are too weak to be in my crew" coming from BB to Bonney, which would be pretty ironic if she in turn joins BB´s light version and actually beats someone from BB´s crew, but i will not argue with that since its irony is only based on future events that might happen.
It´s not only BB, it´s the combination of having these three prominent aspects within one character.
Regarding the ODa coming up with the Supernova thing, it´s been stated by him that he does juggle with different plot points, connects a few of them, or disbands others and so on.
It´s entirely possible that Oda thought of a character like her, meaning nakama, beforehand, and the Supernova provided a good opportunity to include her naturally and giving the opportunity to build her up only the involvement of the main crew for now, since otherwise he would need to introduce a completely new character in the New World but still draw those connections i named above.
Yep, her setup equals significance, more than any Supernova bar Kid, who has always been Luffy´s main rival from the Supernovas due to the higher bounty and his need to put everyone in his or her place, and Law, whose relevance besides being the rival who is not Kid only became apparent when he saved Luffy.
Whether Oda will develop this significance to nakama by building up on their shared views and relationships is up in the air, for me it could lead towards that, obviously does not have to though since she can literally be another Law.
It depends on what chances mean for you or how much evidence you need to state that certain characters have chances while others do not.
Like i said before, we are at "Is responsible for letting Arlong loose + is friends with Ace" stage which Bonney, at that point, could have turned to multiple directions.
Heck i remember when i joined here with my old account, of which i forgot the username unfortunately, how two or three guys were arguing how Jinbe´s introduction with Ace, his background iwth Arlong and so on could at least to a at least significant, dramatic revelation regarding that which in turn could lead to Jinbe joining, and all people had to answer was "his fighting style is fishman karate, been there done that" or "he is a Shichibukai, no way he is gonna join".
Three years later Luffy asked him.
Now in-between that, Jinbe´s significance for both the audience and Luffy grew tremendously that it became more and more apparent how crucial he is gonna be in the future.
And my point is, due to Bonney´s setup in the story and her undeniable significance in at least one arc, Oda can do the same as he did with Jinbe basically.
Whether that will or will not happen, or how high the percentage of that happening is, is not my point really.
But i have the feeling that setup alone does not warrant "chances" for you specifically and that you first and foremost focus on the interaction with the crew and Luffy specifically, which is fine of course.
@.access:
The fact Oda said the created the supernova just before he presented them in the story shouldn't be enough to disqualify Bonney? It means she didn't even exist as a concept in his mind before Sabaody.
No, all the supernova existed in concept (though they had no designs yet) its just that they were supposed to be new world pirates. Oda only introduced them in Sabaody because he felt that the arc was missing something, but he had plans for them when he introduced them.
That being said, Bonney being Ace's sister is more likely than her joining the crew, and that's an out there theory.
Purely coincidence
No, all the supernova existed in concept (though they had no designs yet) its just that they were supposed to be new world pirates. Oda only introduced them in Sabaody because he felt that the arc was missing something, but he had plans for them when he introduced them.
That being said, Bonney being Ace's sister is more likely than her joining the crew, and that's an out there theory.
The Supernovas didn't even exist in concept. Oda made them all up from scratch when he got to Sabaody Archipelago.
@sandman:
Here is my translation for Oda's message about Law in ONE PIECE the 27th Log released 30 minutes ago
Question: Who have more highlight scenes than you imagined?(#5)
Oda: I have to mention Law. Actually it's not too much to say that all Supernovas have more highlight scenes than I imagined. I created Supernovas right before the chapter where they got introduced. None of them existed in my plot notebooks before that chapter. I was in desperate situation, worrying, "At this rate, Sabaody arc will not be interesting enough." Then, inspiration for 9 Supernovas came to my mind unconsciously. I should have reduced the number of Supernovas since they were too many, but after all, I made all of them appear in manga!! I'm really surprised they survive till now since I thought about half of them would drop out of tough New World already.
They are worst!! They are the worst generation, indeed.
I imagined Kid would become an important character, but…Law!! I didn't imagine he would become such an important character. Weekly serialization is a wonderland. [Eiichiro Oda]
- Regarding this message, here are some trivia from interviews in 2010 ("Grand Countdown") and 2017.
- The plan for breaking up Straw Hats was already decided when Kuma was introduced in chapter 233. Editor Onishi advised Oda to spice up the story in Sabaody. Oda replied, "Would it be interesting if new characters appear?"
- Only 3 hours after this advice, Oda finished designing all Supernovas.
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