Might be too early but I'll go with Pekoms
Love and Loathe 2: Return of the Analysis
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Unfortunately Crocodile will be the last evaluation. Life is getting hectic again so I have to step down.
Love and Loathe #37
VergoHere's what you loved about Vergo
- Intimidating - Vergo managed to do something the rest of the executives failed at - being genuinely intimidating. This guy doesn't play around. He was cold, efficient and most importantly kicked everyone's ass.
- Bamboo Style - And how did he kick ass? With a bamboo stick. No tricks, no devil fruit powers, just an absurdly strong guy. And to top it off he managed to make haki look badass. A rare type of fighter we desperately need more of.
- Family Ties - When Vergo goes down Doffy is pissed. It helped establish how important family is to Doflamingo and added a layer of depth.
Favorite Comment goes to Strooger @Strooger:
I like the sudden introduction of a villain without any devilfruit powers, who just kicks stupid ass by being strong as hell. I also think his quirk of forgetting things and the fact that he's a sloppy eater is all in good fun. It's a nice contrast to his deadpan delivery and stonefaced mannerisms. Also, his fights with Sanji, Smoker and Law were all great. Vergo really did deliver on coming across as menacing and dangerous.
Here's what you loathed about Spandam
- King of Stoic - Aside from one or two slapped-on quirks Vergo's personality doesn't amount to much. Punk Hazard was already filled with stoic types, which makes him even more bland.
- Disappointing Payoff - During Punk Hazard the relationship between Vergo and Law was built up to be very personal and tragic. Turns out Law didn't know Vergo at all, it was just a single encounter where Vergo conveniently showed up to foil Cora-san's plans. While it had some impact, it didn't live up to the hype.
- Undercover for what - An undercover marine plot sounds really interesting! Think of all the plot possibilities! Or it would've been if it was actually kept secret. Vergo is evil from the get go, and It makes the marines' reaction very, very underwhelming.
Favorite Comment goes to Tanuki
@Tanuki:I feel like Vergo should have been introduced pre-timeskip as a marine to make him working for Doflamingo be a lot more shocking and impactful. Bit of a wasted opportunity. Seeing his bond with Smoker and Tashigi would have made that betrayal far more meaningful. Hell, seeing him interact with Sengoku as a marine and then having it revealed that Vergo is basically the one responsible for the death of Sengoku's 'son' would have added more a little extra oomph for that that whole thing for me.
With 5 votes, Vergo got… Character/Actions: 3.20
Design: 2.40~~ RANKINGS: Character ~~
! 1. Luffy (4.61 - 9 votes)
- Usopp (4.44 - 9 votes)
- Galdino (4.42)
- Buggy (4.31 - 8 votes)
- Kureha (4.29)
- Vivi (4.27 - 15 Votes)
- Magellan (4.25 - 8 votes)
- Rosinante (4.13)
- Arlong (4.11 - 9 votes) / Zoro (4.11)
- Foxy (4.00 - 11 votes)
- Wanze (3.87 - 8 votes)
- Perona (3.82 - 9 votes)
- Jabra (3.78)
- Carue (3.75)
- Smoker (3.71)
- Robin (3.54)
- Rayleigh (3.50 - 7 votes)
- Wapol (3.42 - 6 votes)
- Spandam (3.31 - 8 votes)
- Ivankov (3.25 - 6 Votes)
- Gecko Moria (3.21 - 12 votes)
- Vergo (3.20 - 5 votes)
- Wiper (3.19 - 9 votes)
- Caesar (3.10)
- Burgess (2.90 - 5 votes)
- Conis (2.56)
- Bellamy (2.50)
- Ohm (2.32)
- Viola (2.25 - 8 votes)
- Trebol (2.21 - 7 Votes)
- Kaya (2.06 - 8 votes)
- Caribou (2.00 - 4 votes)
- Alvida (1.94)
- Baskerville (1.86 - 7 votes)
- Vander Decken IX (1.50 - 9 votes) ~~ RANKINGS: Design ~~
! 1. Usopp (4.50 - 9 votes)
- Rosinante (4.44)
- Perona (4.39 - 9 Votes)
- Magellan (4.37 - 8 votes)
- Kureha (4.29)
- Caesar (4.28)
- Arlong (4.22 - 7 votes)
- Buggy (4.18 - 8 votes)
- Luffy (4.11 - 9 votes)
- Wapol (4.08 - 6 votes)
- Rayleigh (4.07 - 6 votes) / Jabra (4.07)
- Burgess (4.00 - 5 votes)
- Carue (3.90)
- Galdino (3.88)
- Wiper (3.87 - 9 votes)
- Gecko Moria (3.75 - 12 votes)
- Smoker (3.73)
- Wanze (3.69 - 8 Votes)
- Foxy (3.64 - 11 votes)
- Ivankov (3.42 - 6 Votes)
- Zoro (3.40)
- Trebol (3.36 - 7 votes)
- Robin (3.35)
- Vander Decken IX (3.00 - 9 votes)
- Vivi (2.94 - 15 votes) / Spandam (2.94 - 8 votes)
- Alvida (2.89)
- Conis (2.63)
- Ohm (2.59)
- Baskerville (2.50 - 7 votes) / Caribou (2.50 - 4 votes)
- Vergo (2.40 - 5 votes)
- Bellamy (2.30)
- Viola (2.06 - 8 votes)
- Kaya (1.31 - 8 votes)
And with that, let's present the 38th Character! Tell us your past!
Crocodile
To get the whole picture, please tell us the following:What are the things that you love about Crocodile?
What are the things that you loathe about Crocodile?At the end please give Crocodile two ratings:
One for their character & actions in the story.
One for their look & design.These must be between 1 and 5, with 5 being the highest (.5's are acceptable - ex. 1.5 or 4.5).
This analysis will be open for the next week.
Missed the previous character? You can still comment on them and the points will be counted. But only the previous character.
Enjoy!
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Thank you very much for your service Zar. Unless anyone else desperately wants to, I could probably take over the evaluations. Not sure how it will fit my schedule, but I'll try and do it weekly. :)
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Crocodile
Love :
He is smart in using his abilities and has various kinds of attacks. I also like his serious personality.Loathe:
There is nothing to hate about his character. Maybe one thing that I didn't like is how I felt like there is inconsistency in his power level. He was fighting Doflamingo on equal ground at Marineford even though from feats shown from both characters , it's clear that Doflamingo would stomp him. He wasn't even using haki against Luffy (I thought haki is standard requirement for surviving in New World?) . It's like he was getting a retcon in the Marineford War -
Excellent way to end Zar, i really appreciate your comments and syntaxis which were remarkable in this work of yours, and much more it's the way of ending that my favorite character of One Piece is chosen >_
Love: Sir Crocodile, the villain, the single one who raised the situations where One Piece started to break records in manga history, this man got all granted when Zoro at Whiskey Peak fought against the ultimate bounty hunters organization and when apparently, by his orders, Robin killed Vivi's bodyguard and was just mentioned as also part of one of the great powers of the world and when the reader can finally start to get what a Pirate King means to the world.Commanding the master-thinker Mr. 3 to punks of all kinds like Valentine and Mr. 5, the man that we could get with Sanji's talk was indeed threatening, there you could see that this guy was like a typical villain though: "all are tools to me" way of thinking is plenty used, but Oda with a simple image relocates our thoughts on a very singular demostrations of power: drying a rose. Whatever this man touches, it's going to die, it delivered quite a picture because at that time we didn't know that Oda doesn't wants to kill characters, so many kudos at that.
When it was finally introduced his appearance… Hero, on a black coat, hair combed, and a hook... mothafucking!! That is what you can expects from pirates, but this man was a mix of Hero and Gangster with Pirate, "kukukuku" such a laugh for sure this man was evil, and through Alabasta' story, he was evil just because yes, someone has to. Owning a Casino at Alubarna with a Crocodile aquarium, giving another chance to readers to have a glimpse on Logias, leaving no sign and sitting at the head of the 'Villains table', this man had a unique style in the One Piece universe, and still has it.
After the better, comes the best. Time to show his evilness at work, how? Humilliating Vivi to climaxes that menaced rights as a person, Crocodile doesn't like to play too much with people like Doflamingo, he likes to make them feel worse than after a Perona's attack, where convictions and all believes are nothing against him, that's what Crocodile used to display many times with Vivi and laugh at the people of the country; Toto's daily work? When Luffy screamed to stop the Sables, i could only hate him!! You can't be that bad, punishing only one person because it had believes.
At fighting, he did something that still no one has ever done on current plot, beat Luffy three times, he could do what Oda wanted, not killing but leave them on despair, amazing attacks pacing each time to upper levels of dryness, morphing his sand to create quicksands to swords and finally the hook with a knife along a little surprise to anyone who reach that level, win at all costs!
What does this man desires? Create a political organization able to overcome the World Government, how? Obtaining one of the greats hints of One Piece and first introduced here, with an Ancient Weapon able to destroy what it aims. Why? Because this man had a belief and it was crushed, getting the greatest throne ever, for sure it didn't stop to dream and this core of evil still can dream!!
Loathe: Sadly, this man is manipulated for the plot and his defeat was kind of magical on the fourth encounter with Luffy, where water was detected as weakness and stopped using his powers to weaken his opponent to fight with pride as warrior, but Crocodile got pride in other stuff, at fighting unscathed much more than close combat.
At Marineford, he also was manipulated for it to help Luffy only because he doesn't like marines, prideful ones do that, but as i recalled, Oda didn't pointed out this pride in the first instance, it was for sure stylish though. That beheading moment! quite awesome.
Character: You can't help but admire Crocodile, and it's what keeps him high on polls, one of the best (or the one) characters of Oda 5/5
Design: Garbo walking, make a path for him! All his costumes help him, just perfection. 5/5 -
Love: Everything about Croc at Alabasta. He has class, He has smart and he can be pretty damn cruel. He is the best villain produce by one piece by far. Everything about him tells you how much of a dangerous foe he is. Alabasta is near-perfect and Crocodile can pride himself to contributing to that greatness.
Loathe: Marineford… For one Crocodile shouldn't be free. Him having to pay for his crimes is his perfect ending to horrors he commited. I also cringe at him helping Luffy or chastising Whitebeard. I know Oda likes to bring people back but sometimes their time simply has pass.
Character: He should be a 5 but since Marineford ruins everything it's 4.5
Design: 5 -
Love:
In many ways, Croc is a distillation of the villains that’ve come before, especially Kuro. He’s a master planner who burnt his fingers on the Grand Line, has zero regard for the lives of his employees, mocks the ideals of others, and has decided to “cheat” his way to the top. But it all gels together perfectly, and in many ways, this also causes Croc to read as the “ultimate” antagonist. And the main thing that seperates him from his peers is scale. Kuro and Krieg had schemes and Arlong had an operation going, but Crocs network spans islands, several arcs worth of cronies, official and unofficial profiles, and a plot involving the fate of an entire nation. Plus he’s literally untouchable, and officially branded as a force beyond the heroes. The buildup had never been greater, and the stakes higher, than with Croc.And he delivers. Croc exudes confidence, control and coolness at all times, but what truly elevates him to villain superstardom is how he uses those attributes to utterly crush the beliefs of those who oppose him. For no other reason that it amuses him, a jaded non-dreamer, to see people squirm in powerless frustration at the collapse of their dreams.
You don’t want to see Croc get beaten because he’s the boss, or to see Luffy go up a level in the World Hierarchy. You want him to go down because he’s a thundering asshole to Vivi, and Alabasta at large. Chapters 198 and 199 are an absolute knockout double-feature for this reason, building the tension to the breaking point with Crocs devastating takedown of Vivi, and releasing that tension the next chapter with THE MOST SATISFYING PUNCH IN THE MANGA.Alabasta Croc would be a series-capping villain in any other series. He’s not exactly the deepest villain, but like Spandam, depth isn’t an requirement to serve your function in an adventure comic of this nature. Croc smirkingly invites you to simultaneously love and loathe him, to cherish his every appearance and to cheer when his face gets punched in. He’s pulpy cartoon clichés, executed with perfection.
Loathe: Alabasta Croc was great because he was an all-out cartoonishly evil supervillain, providing gravitas, charisma and menace.
Post-Alabasta Croc is featured on cover pages protecting cute puppies from the rain. Which is extra nice of him since he himself gets wet, and water is his weakness, DAWW! Its so sweeeeeeeeeeee gags
I’m tempted to just stop there, but if I have to elaborate: I’ve grown to absolutely hate the redeemed villain trope. Not because its inheritly a bad idea, but because theres soooo many pitfalls associated with it, which sadly are present with Croc as well.The first problem is the fact that Crocodile is let completely off the hook for his actions in Alabasta. Despite all the hatred we accumulate towards him, despite the promise at the arcs conclusion that Justice Is Served, Croc ultimately spends a few weeks in jail tops, before being allowed to roam free unchecked once more. Even if Luffy acts grumpy towards him, the story clearly has no interest in framing him as a villain anymore; see the aforementioned cover page. And that grinds my gears, because it undermines his super effective villainy in Alabasta. Here we were invited to empathize with Vivi and hate Croc with every fiber of our being…but whatever, Croc is back in the series, doing stuff, Yaaaay!
And that’s my other problem: What is the point of Crocs current presence in the series? He served his function. The character was fine as was. And 350 chapters after his release from prison, he’s just another drop in the Big Name Character pool that can be drawn from to spice up future arcs. In short, he’s fanservice.
Design: 5/5, no complaints there.
Character:
5/5 for Alabasta Croc
3.5/5 for Croc overall, and that breaks my heart a little. -
Sorry to hear about this, Zar. I could possibly help take over if the interest is still here, since the Story Arcs seem to have tapered off Love: Crocodile was the first true greater-scope boss and damn if he didn't pull it off splendidly. In the earlier parts of the Baroque Works Saga, I was more or less lukewarm on the story, and so didn't have too many expectations from Mr. 0. When I saw Crocodile, he quickly shaped my expectations for future villains. Let's start with his personality: yes, he's pretty smug. But it doesn't come unearned. He knows the right words to absolutely bring people down in no time at all. He actively targets their weaknesses, and challenges their beliefs, and never relents while doing so. In comparison, Doflamingo's taunting felt more…vaguely and generically boastful, while Croc's words always pack a punch. Him dropping Vivi off the tower is one of the strongest examples of this.
In terms of combat strength, the dude does not disappoint as the first member of the Shichibukai we see, and as the first Logia to truly play a major part in the story, he wastes no time demonstrating how versatile an experienced Devil Fruit user can be. The revelation that he's been causing large-scale devastation across Alabasta made it all the more impactful. His hook was also not put to waste.
After rereading Alabasta recently, another thing I like about Crocodile is that he's consistently entertaining. The dude can snap, and it can range from anything from hilarious to legitimately scary. Him getting prank called by Mr. Prince? Gold. Him getting eaten by Luffy? Also gold.
Loathe: As was mentioned during the Alabasta Arc L&L, a big part of Croc's personality gets severely underutilized, and that's his reputation as a hero of Alabasta. The only scene I can remember of this was when he caught some criminals around the time the Straw Hats met Ace, and then…it pretty much dissipates, as all we're exposed to of Croc is his villainous side, and we're just left having to assume that his heroic nature would become a factor again should his plan have succeeded. It made him...emptier, and Doflamingo ended up looking more believable as Dressrosa's hero than Croc did as Alabasta's.
Croc after Alabasta isn't very interesting. We got some cool hints into his past, but a lot of it was pretty much the same as Moriah's but much less effective. I'm still looking forward to seeing Croc again in the New World, but hope that he's up to something cool and won't just be in a capacity where he falls behind Luffy.
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@Daz:
-Crocodile is let completely off the hook for his actions in Alabasta.
-Croc ultimately spends a few weeks in jail tops, before being allowed to roam free unchecked once more.
-The story clearly has no interest in framing him as a villain anymore -Here we were invited to empathize with Vivi and hate Croc with every fiber of our being…but whatever, Croc is back in the series, doing stuff, Yaaaay!The character was fine as was. And 350 chapters after his release from prison, he’s just another drop in the Big Name Character pool that can be drawn from to spice up future arcs. In short, he’s fanservice.
And this how Daz perfectly described the infuriating nature of Crocodile at marineford. He should be in prison because that is the satisfying ending to his character and the arc he gave. For as much as I love Croc his reintroduction is an example of when your popularity become toxic to the writing of your character or maybe it's just the more problematic side of Oda's need to bring back most of his characters.
In my heart the Croc I always think of is the one in Alabasta but the existence of Marineford need to be acknowledge so I change my 5 to a 4.5 Damn you Marineford for getting pretty everything wrong.
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So how is it okay for Buggy and Galdino (and maybe Enel and Moria in the future) to still being around and not Croc?
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So how is it okay for Buggy and Galdino (and maybe Enel and Moria in the future) to still being around and not Croc?
Croc's arc already seemed concluded. His reintroduction felt like pure fan service ( which I enjoyed ). But I see where the guys are coming from. I'll reserve my judgement on his escape until we see what he's up to nowadays.
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So how is it okay for Buggy and Galdino (and maybe Enel and Moria in the future) to still being around and not Croc?
Buggy got punched really far. Enel escaped to the moon. Moriah escaped on a boat. Crocodile got captured and sent to prison. This was the conclusion of each of their arc. Crocodile having to pay is the conclusion of his arc while it isn't for the others.
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About Croc post-AL, however it adds some additional emotional weight to Hannyabal's speech when confronting Luffy and the others. I guess it's no coincidence that Croc has the highest ground in that panel.
This scene just works better with at least one person involved in the breakout from whom we actually know his deeds from our own experience.
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Love: Crocodile is still my favourite villain in One Piece history. Hence why I chose him. His overt smugness combined with his undeniable charisma made him an entertaining villain from the word go. Having 3 mini arcs of buildup as an unseen puppet master made him extremely intriguing. So once he got introduced for real, with an awesome design and so much gravitas, he really felt like final villain material. Every single panel he appeared in was just oozing with personality and even without displaying his power in any major way, he created tension in every scene with his mere presence. He was the first villain to completely curbstomp Luffy, proving he played in a different league. When he shows up in Alabarna afterwards, it feels like he really is unstoppable.
After beating Luffy a second time, this time taking more of a pummelling, but nonetheless beating him badly, this status was only cemented further. Which is what made Luffy's final defeat of him so ridicolously cathartic.
Everything with Crocodile was unpredictable, exciting and awesome. Even down to that bomb he was planning to unleash. He not only had it set to be fired at a certain time, he kept it on a timer just in case. And despite being so unpredictable, his personality was so well communicated and established, it became completely believable every single time he pulled a new ace out of his sleeve. You can totally buy that he would sacrifice whatever subordinates who weren't strong enough to make it out of the blast radius. Clearly he's a guy who's just playing the game to win.
Loathe: I don't particularly hate what happened to him in Impel Down or Marineford. I just think it was underwhelming to have him reduced to "well, I'm not stopping you cause I want to save Ace. I just wanna be a torn in your side cause I don't really like you assholes". I can really buy into him not holding a grudge against Luffy. He's a pragmatist first and foremost. I can also buy him developing a respect for Luffy. I just didn't particularly like the way that part of the story was handled.
Character: 5
Design: 5Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
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Warning: I am a huge Croc fanboy XP
Love: Crocodile is arguably the smartest villain in the series. Things like throwing down a fake key and putting a timer on the bomb are the sort of actions that cemented him as my favorite villain. His back to back defeats of the formerly undefeated Luffy really helped show just how much stronger some of the people in this world were than the main characters at the time. Don't hang me for … I actually liked Croc in Marineford. When he was freed from Impel Down, it wasn't because they thought "oh, he's nice now, he'll help us out," it was because they had no other options. When the Jailer Beast were mowing down the escapees before Luffy, Jimbei, and Croc took them out, there's a panel of Crocodile calling those taken out "weaklings" with nothing but contempt on his face. When Buggy's followers wanted to take over the stolen ship, Crocodile suggested just murdering them. One actually in MF, the first thing he does is try to kill the big good. These events, in my eyes, keep Croc has the smug bastard that he was in Alabasta. To me, it feels like he couldn't care less whether Ace or Luffy actually survived, he just wanted to flip off Akainu and the mariners. I don't think the cover pages are meant to be taken seriously, with Kuma eating honey with Choper and all that. So, I do hope Crocodile shows up again in the story as a villain/wild card, even if Luffy is stronger than him.
Loathe: Not much, honesty, though I did find the concept "sword-under-hook-under-hook" thing to be just a tiny bit goofy.Design: 4.5
Character: 5 -
When I first read One Piece Crocodile was one of my least favorite villains, but he's grown on me over the years.
Love
Crocodile as a concept is not original. The smug, intelligent gentleman who sits comfortably on his chair while the cronies do the dirty work is a classic, and the kind of character who works in any almost any setting. And to be honest One Piece feels like a setting that's normally terrible for this type of character. And that's exactly why Crocodile works! He's the one kind of villain I'd never expect in this kind of story. He's a smart guy who moves in the shadows, willing to play dirty, the perfect foil for our more straightforward heroes. And what's more Crocodile embodies the concept he's based on. There's something classic, something timeless about Croc. He just oozes charm.First of all, I love how intelligent he is. This is the only guy in the series who genuinely outsmarted the Strawhats (or at the very least, the only one who also outsmarted the readers and made it entertaining). I keep comparing Doflamingo, the supposed master of manipulation, and he just pales in comparison to Crocodile. The Strawhats chased this guy for an entire arc, slowly putting together the pieces, but always always one step behind. That made Crocodile frightening in an unique way, and made his defeat one of the most satisfying in the series.
His sand sand fruit is just as classic as his concept. Controlling sand isn't something new either, but Crocodile made it work. He didn't just use his ability for large powerful attacks, he used it to destroy cities and starve people without them ever realizing it wasn't caused by natural means. It wasn't just a powerful ability, he was truly an element of nature. We've never seen a logia embody an element as well as he does.
His beat down of Luffy is easily the best in the series. It was before it became overused, and it had more impact than the previous cases (like getting stuck underwater). It also gave Robin some development. The final fight against Crocodile is another classic, and one of the better final fights. It's a little stupid that Luffy's blood allowed him to hit Crocodile, but sometimes logic makes way for the rule of cool.
And though his return wasn't free of problems, I'm glad he's back. Learning about Crocodile's backstory is something I look forward to, and making him a more rounded character fixed my biggest loathe. His actions in Impel Down made it more enjoyable and added a much needed element of danger (a.k.a. Luffy's actions led to Crocodile getting out, and not everyone in his group has good intentions. It added to the layers of gray the arc does so well, and Croc's escape signaled that it was no longer a heroic act of saving innocents), his action in Marineford were fun and I loved how he saved Luffy towards the end - it was a very powerful moment.
Loathe
He's just so bland. He worked as a villain, but as a person there was nothing interesting about Crocodile. His motivation for the whole takeover was forgettable, and one of the weaker points of the story that I never ever cared about.This was eventually fixed when he got released from jail (making my inner fangirl glee) but it presented a new problem: he should've stayed in jail. Crocodile plunged a country into starvation and civil war, and now he's going to be Luffy's buddy? I'm willing to overlook it because it fixed the biggest flaw with old crocodile (and I'm always happy to see more of him), but it's so jarring. It's like two different people. Hell, even though Lucci is as bland as a villain can be at least his return was understandable. At the very least there should've been bigger repercussions for releasing Crocodile. Instead everything magically works in Luffy's favor.
The hook didn't amount to anything interesting.
Character: 4 - I liked him way more in Impel Down/Marine Ford and it fixed my biggest problems with him, but the release made no sense at all.
Design: 5 - How can't you? This guy oozes classic. -
Crocodile
Love: The more time goes on, the more I appreciate Crocodile. At the time I found him rather cookie cutter as a villain, however after Eneru and much later Doflamingo, I realise how well Croc was done. Doflamingo currently feels like a poor man's Crocodile, in much the same way Hodi Jones feels like a poor man's Arlong. In fact Doflamingo's greatest achievement in my eyes is making Crocodile look that much better by comparison.This man ALWAYS had a back up plan. What if the Strawhats somehow got the key from the Bananawani? No matter, it's a fake key. What if they manage to stop the fuse from being lit? No matter, it's on a timer…Crocodile is always planning ahead and whenever his plans failed it was ONLY because of a genuine stroke of dumb luck from the heroes having the exact right person to aid them at the time; Mr. 3 surviving Croc's assassination technique and being the one guy who can make a fake key to free the Strawhats; Pell coming along at that precise moment, etc. Compare his plan for the bomb against the plan for Doflamingo's toy slave army which relied entirely on ONE person not accidentally falling over and smacking their head, and you can see just how much better Crocodile was at playing puppet master than the dude who had puppetry powers.
The way he made those soldiers who drank a suicidal elixir just die by staying out of their reach and refusing to fight them is straight up classy evil. Why WOULD he fight you? He can just wait for you to die. It was cold and highlights just how brilliantly evil Crocodile was.
He's excessively tenacious too. I always admire that in a villain.
It's not Croc persay, but let's give credit where credit is due; Croc's underlings are colourful and some of the most memorable gangs in the series, and I actually really like the genuine respect he and Daz have for one another. That Croc, a man who see's everyone as disposable refused to break out of jail without Daz, and likewise Mr. 1 refused to break out when he had the chance with the rest of the Baroque works simply because Croc didn't 'feel' like escaping.
His design. It's a bit basic but it's insanely effective at coming off as a threatening mafia boss. And he looks stylish!
Loathe:
I hated Crocodile back in the day. Not the way I was meant to either. He's such a stereotypical cookie cutter villain, and after Morgan, Alvida, Buggy, Kuro and Krieg, ANOTHER man who didn't care for the lives of his crew wasn't exactly enthralling as a concept. He's a planner, like Kuro(albeit his plan is far smarter and was far more elaborate), he looks down on others like Arlong, is as greedy as Buggy, and he got his butt kicked on the Grand Line and needed to recover and lick his wounds like Krieg. Somehow such a chimera of previous villains made me wonder if Oda had a more limited ability as a writer than he actually had with the recycling of villainous quirks so soon after we already saw them.To this day I have no idea why Crocodile and Mr. 1 didn't escape with Miss Goldenweek. The real reason is obviously to set them up for handy allies in Impel Down and Marineford, but it's hard to justify that from an in-universe perspective. Did Croc just give up briefly?
Also why did he bother to stop Ace's execution? First thing that happened when he got to the war was try to kill Whitebeard and Luffy stopped him. What does he owe Luffy?
Just like he did before with the East Blue villains, it's annoying to see Crocodile ape previous antagonist Moria by the Impel Down arc revealing a hint at a more tragic side to him. It doesn't land at all, unlike with Moria who you get the feeling genuinely loved his crew hence why he's so messed up over their deaths as we know Crocodile is a man who cares for almost no one(bar Daz for some reason).
Like others said before him being a hero to the Alabastians was a bit hard to swallow as it was shown a grand total of once. Needed that emphasized a bit better.
Design: 4/5 Highest I'm going to give a regular looking human, but damn if he doesn't have the best clothing choices. It's a weird thing but I REALLY like his default eyebrow expression too. Conveys a lot of personality in just his brows. Crazy.
Character: 3.5/5 Not my favourite, but he does cookie cutter villainy well, and I can appreciate a chessmaster actually being decent at his job. Just wish his personality wasn't a Frankensteins Monster of previous arc villains. -
Allow me to make my (not-so) grand return to this thread by starting with the pinnacle of antagonism in One Piece.
Love: Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the grainiest villain and character yet, Crocodile. For a scoundrel of a person, you simply can't deny that he's got swag in both style and grace, even in a jailer's outfit. The sandy guy as a villain definitely knew how to be menacing and threatening even moreso than the likes of Arlong who, at that point, was my favorite. If any antagonist like Croc can get a rise of anger out of you, the viewer/reader, just for being what he is and doing it well, then that is the mark of a truly phenomenal criminal in a work of fiction. Not to mention, that he's a overcautious and meticulous piece of work. Everyone loves a villain who plans their operations ahead just in case.
Loathe: Remember when he was said to be the hero to the people of Alabasta? Yeah, me neither. Seemed like that plot point had the least focus in comparison to else during the Alabasta Arc.
Also sucks that we still don't know more about Croc's past since I'm really interested in finding out if he is actually a she due to his affiliation with Ivankov. But I'll chalk that up to just me being impatient and all.
Character: 5/5
Design: 5/5Probably the only villain that gets a perfect score from me.
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I just logged on for the first time in forever.
Very happy to see this.
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I just logged on for the first time in forever.
Very happy to see this.
Welcome back! I hope you're doing well.
Seeing this thread return was one of the highlights for the last year. It's so fun reading what everyone thinks of the characters.
Thank you very much for your service Zar. Unless anyone else desperately wants to, I could probably take over the evaluations. Not sure how it will fit my schedule, but I'll try and do it weekly. :)
Late reply is late. That would be wonderful, if you have the time :)
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And in general: Croc's evaluation will be done sometime tomorrow. A bit overdue, but better late than never. Everyone has given him a lot of love so far! -
Love and Loathe #38 Crocodile
Here's what you loved about Crocodile
- The Mastermind - Crocodile is intelligent in the right way. A master manipulator with backup plans for his backup plans, who doesn't care how evil or dirty his actions are if it allows him to get ahead. Every one of Crocodile's decisions has a motivation behind it, and every one of his speeches has weight to it. This villain doesn't waste a second.
- Brilliantly Cruel - Crocodile wasn't just evil, he was cruel in a cold, efficient way. Staying out of the reach of suicidal soldiers so their deaths are wasted, repeatedly killing his own men when they failed, destroying a country from within while being it's hero, and perhaps most notably completely humiliating Vivi over and over.
- Build-up and Payoff - This villain knew how to build up hype and how to reward it. First was the build-up for four arcs leading up to his first reveal, and from that point it got even better as the strawhats chased after him and eventually defeated him in one of the most satisfying fights in the series.
- Charismatic Mafia Boss - Mr. 0 has style. Classy mafia pirate boss complete with the classic hook, owning a casino, and of course a lot of charisma. What's not to love?
Favorite Comment goes to Daz
@Daz:In many ways, Croc is a distillation of the villains that’ve come before, especially Kuro. He’s a master planner who burnt his fingers on the Grand Line, has zero regard for the lives of his employees, mocks the ideals of others, and has decided to “cheat” his way to the top. But it all gels together perfectly, and in many ways, this also causes Croc to read as the “ultimate” antagonist. And the main thing that seperates him from his peers is scale. Kuro and Krieg had schemes and Arlong had an operation going, but Crocs network spans islands, several arcs worth of cronies, official and unofficial profiles, and a plot involving the fate of an entire nation. Plus he’s literally untouchable, and officially branded as a force beyond the heroes. The buildup had never been greater, and the stakes higher, than with Croc.
And he delivers. Croc exudes confidence, control and coolness at all times, but what truly elevates him to villain superstardom is how he uses those attributes to utterly crush the beliefs of those who oppose him. For no other reason that it amuses him, a jaded non-dreamer, to see people squirm in powerless frustration at the collapse of their dreams.
Here's what you loathed about Crocodile
- The Hero nobody cared for - The whole thing about Crocodile being the hero of Alabasta ended up being forgettable and unbelievable.
- Problematic Return - Crocodile's escape from Impel down was met with mixed reactions. Some are glad he's back, some don't, but overall almost everyone had something they disliked about his return. While the reasoning for this varied (Crocodile's story had a satisfying conclusion so why bring him back, suddenly having a Moriah-esque tragic backstory, helping Luffy and Ace for no real reason, attempting to redeem one of the most cruel villains in the series, etc.) I think it's safe to say his return was handled poorly.
Favorite Comment goes to Tanuki
@Tanuki:I hated Crocodile back in the day. Not the way I was meant to either. He's such a stereotypical cookie cutter villain, and after Morgan, Alvida, Buggy, Kuro and Krieg, ANOTHER man who didn't care for the lives of his crew wasn't exactly enthralling as a concept. He's a planner, like Kuro (albeit his plan is far smarter and was far more elaborate), he looks down on others like Arlong, is as greedy as Buggy, and he got his butt kicked on the Grand Line and needed to recover and lick his wounds like Krieg. Somehow such a chimera of previous villains made me wonder if Oda had a more limited ability as a writer than he actually had with the recycling of villainous quirks so soon after we already saw them.
To this day I have no idea why Crocodile and Mr. 1 didn't escape with Miss Goldenweek. The real reason is obviously to set them up for handy allies in Impel Down and Marineford, but it's hard to justify that from an in-universe perspective. Did Croc just give up briefly?
With 9 votes, Crocodile got… Character/Actions: 4.39
Design: 4.67~~ RANKINGS: Character ~~
! 1. Luffy (4.61 - 9 votes)
- Usopp (4.44 - 9 votes)
- Galdino (4.42)
- Crocodile (4.39 - 9 votes)
- Buggy (4.31 - 8 votes)
- Kureha (4.29)
- Vivi (4.27 - 15 Votes)
- Magellan (4.25 - 8 votes)
- Rosinante (4.13)
- Arlong (4.11 - 9 votes) / Zoro (4.11)
- Foxy (4.00 - 11 votes)
- Wanze (3.87 - 8 votes)
- Perona (3.82 - 9 votes)
- Jabra (3.78)
- Carue (3.75)
- Smoker (3.71)
- Robin (3.54)
- Rayleigh (3.50 - 7 votes)
- Wapol (3.42 - 6 votes)
- Spandam (3.31 - 8 votes)
- Ivankov (3.25 - 6 Votes)
- Gecko Moria (3.21 - 12 votes)
- Vergo (3.20 - 5 votes)
- Wiper (3.19 - 9 votes)
- Caesar (3.10)
- Burgess (2.90 - 5 votes)
- Conis (2.56)
- Bellamy (2.50)
- Ohm (2.32)
- Viola (2.25 - 8 votes)
- Trebol (2.21 - 7 Votes)
- Kaya (2.06 - 8 votes)
- Caribou (2.00 - 4 votes)
- Alvida (1.94)
- Baskerville (1.86 - 7 votes)
- Vander Decken IX (1.50 - 9 votes) ~~ RANKINGS: Design ~~
! 1. **Crocodile (4.67 - 9 votes) ★★NEW RECORD!**★★
- Usopp (4.50 - 9 votes)
- Rosinante (4.44)
- Perona (4.39 - 9 Votes)
- Magellan (4.37 - 8 votes)
- Kureha (4.29)
- Caesar (4.28)
- Arlong (4.22 - 7 votes)
- Buggy (4.18 - 8 votes)
- Luffy (4.11 - 9 votes)
- Wapol (4.08 - 6 votes)
- Rayleigh (4.07 - 6 votes) / Jabra (4.07)
- Burgess (4.00 - 5 votes)
- Carue (3.90)
- Galdino (3.88)
- Wiper (3.87 - 9 votes)
- Gecko Moria (3.75 - 12 votes)
- Smoker (3.73)
- Wanze (3.69 - 8 Votes)
- Foxy (3.64 - 11 votes)
- Ivankov (3.42 - 6 Votes)
- Zoro (3.40)
- Trebol (3.36 - 7 votes)
- Robin (3.35)
- Vander Decken IX (3.00 - 9 votes)
- Vivi (2.94 - 15 votes) / Spandam (2.94 - 8 votes)
- Alvida (2.89)
- Conis (2.63)
- Ohm (2.59)
- Baskerville (2.50 - 7 votes) / Caribou (2.50 - 4 votes)
- Vergo (2.40 - 5 votes)
- Bellamy (2.30)
- Viola (2.06 - 8 votes)
- Kaya (1.31 - 8 votes)
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
@Kaido:
[…]
Don't forget your score
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Oh crap, I put it on there but then it got deleted and I forgot to add it back.
Character: 4/5
Design: 3.5/5 -
@Kaido:
Oh crap, I put it on there but then it got deleted and I forgot to add it back.
Character: 4/5
Design: 3.5/5And they've been added.
Crocodile's character score took a hit and went down below Galdino (that's what you get for trying to drown your loyal henchman). The design score also took a small hit but Crocodile remains the champion of style. What a great way to end. I can't think of anyone who'd beat him. Maybe Going Merry.
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If there's someone who clearly can be higher than Usopp, is Sir Crocodile
And the Goat.
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@Kaido:
Oh crap, I put it on there but then it got deleted and I forgot to add it back.
Character: 4/5
Design: 3.5/5if you wouldn't mind, could you take over instead of me? I have a lot of stuff on my plate this week and the next one ^^