@kouch_lee:
I know I'll sound like a battle monger here, but the thought of a fleshed out Marineford, with all the craziness but without the need to pull any punches to save stuff for later, with on-panel 1 on 1's, and with the Straw Hats at the center of it all. . .man, that hypes me up like crazy.
Also, everytime Oda talks about that part of he story he literally says that drawing that part is what keeps him going, so I find it hard to think it might end up being a disapointment, considering Oda's dying to get there and draw all that stuff.
Oh don't get me wrong I absolutely love the combat in One Piece. It's so fluid, dynamic, and due to the powers it can get incredibly inventive and chaotic. It's truly unique. I'm definitely hyped up for the fighting itself, but at the same time I'm way more hyped up for everything underneath that. Showing the Straw Hats really going all out against these tough opponents, each one of them built up throughout the story as opposed to just one arc unique to them.
Plus, in light of the revelations we'll get, the fighting itself will definitely be the tip of the iceberg. I'm expecting, franky, for the whole thing to be incredible.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
You know, in stuff like Dragon Ball Z which I also enjoy, I just loved it for the combat. There wasn't too much emotion there on my part.
But with One Piece, every time I see Luffy beat an opponent, it's because of negative emotions I feel toward the villain. I hated Arlong cause of what he did to Nami, I hated Crocodile because of what he did to Vivi, and his attitude in general. Enel I loved, but I also loved seeing him finally getting beat after having his god complex the entire arc. Lucci getting beat was also fairly therapeutic, considering everything he put us through the last two arcs.
With One Piece the different is how emotionally invested I get in the fights. It's cause Oda properly takes time to build up his villains, to build them up to be taken down so everything has weight and meaning behind it. If he can do that for characters in just a single arc, imagine what he'll be able to do for the final villains, having been building them up for the entire story.
Just makes me shudder thinking about it.