Life got more complicated than I thought. I detest how I'm sending in these thoughts so late, but I might as well finish what I already started though. Thank you so much for the support, Daz and Zar. Bellamy will ALWAYS be worth talking about for me. I have a huge guilty pleasure for characters that start off as rude and funny two-dimensional jerks that end up getting profound character depth and development.
Love: Everything about Jaya was perfect. Bellamy was the perfect jerk, Luffy and Zoro refusing to fight was perfect, Luffy's one-hit KO was perfect, everything about the Blackbeard Pirates was perfect (well actually, I think Burgess' pre-timeskip design and personality was too generic for my liking) and I think it all mainly comes down to how Jaya really felt like One Piece's first true traditional pirate-y arc in setting and atmosphere. Just look at the palm trees, the wooden boardwalk, the bar, the docked ships, the pirates gambling and brawling everywhere, the underhanded offers like Doc Q giving away poisoned apples as thanks, hunting for a rare bird species in a forest, asking for info about a legendary location with pirate treasure, and local lore involving a storybook about an executed liar. All of it was delicious. You have no idea how much I appreciate Oda using pirates tropes and cliches sparingly. Not because I don't like that stuff, but it helps test his surreal creativity and makes those rare instances of pirate-y-ness extremely memorable. Like Blackbeard being one of the few true traditional pirate-y characters.
But there's always been one thing that peculiarly fascinated me about Bellamy or not. I'm not sure whether Oda intended for this or not, but I've always looked at Bellamy as an anti-Luffy. Yes yes, I know that Blackbeard exists. But a hero can have more than one foil parallel. Teach represents a Luffy that carries a similar aspiration for dreams, crew, and clumsy/jolly personality while lacking any sense of honor or compassion. It's why we see Teach praise Luffy in the bar and smash Sarquiss' face into the boardwalk after Bellamy's defeat, then gleefully announce Straw Hat to be his target for a bounty to get him recognized by the World Government for a Warlord position. Kid embodies a Luffy that is fervent about dreams, but is unhinged when confronted by others and does not care for the safety of innocents. If Kid and Killer replaced Luffy and Zoro in Jaya's bar scene, the Bellamy Pirates would've been crucified by the docks.
With Bellamy, he resembles Luffy in more of a physical/experience way, if that makes sense. It starts off with how similar their powers are. Both rubber and spring physiology allows them to stretch, bounce around, deflect things, etc. They match and counter each other so perfectly, at least on paper. Of course, that could have just been Oda liking to make goofy Devil Fruit themes. But the difference comes in how the subject of dreams defines their willpower. Bellamy's personality is pretty much the complete opposite of Luffy's, but in a way that acts as a pretty memorable foil though. And I know that this a huge stretch (lol), but even their heads are drawn a bit similar in how they're drawn with similar bulgy eyes, short hair, and a thin scar over their faces pre-timeskip. And they both have notable right hand swordsmen with bounties at the time. This is all most likely coincidental and likely just me seeing things. And I don't mean to act as if this somehow makes Bellamy's two-by thug personality or design extraordinary on its own by any means (his powers are still freaking cool though).
But… there is one specific thing that I never really see people talk about that cliches Bellamy being a perverse anti-Luffy though. They both have role-models. Pirates that inspired them to go out to sea and make their names known. What's intriguing is how they all respectively met in a bar. We first see Luffy and Shanks hang out together in a bar, and the scene with Higuma ends up being paralleled in the present in the bar on Jaya. Bellamy first met Doflamingo in a bar during a brief flashback in Chapter 769. Except the most obvious difference is that while Shanks was actually an inspiring role-model who saved Luffy's life and had enough faith in his potential, Doflamingo doubted Bellamy from the spot due to not appreciating his privileged upbringing and let him join his crew on a whim, resulting in Doflamingo casually mutilating and gleefully mocking Bellamy both at in Jaya and Dressrosa. It's pretty freaking sad and is a clever parallel regardless of whether Oda intended for this or not (I wouldn't be surprised because Dressrosa was chock full of panel parallels to past arcs). It really makes you wonder how Luffy could have turned out if he met another famous pirate in Foosha Village instead of Shanks.
That's probably why when Bellamy pleaded for Doflamingo's forgiveness in Jaya, especially right after he got hit once, something about that moment really touched me. It wasn't just the typical goon getting offed by an oppressive boss cliche, I could actually tell there were hints of compassion and idolism in Bellamy. There was REAL loyalty there, not just a desperate will to live by sucking up. Which gave him a bit of memorable depth after being such a two-bit bully the whole arc. I'll never forget that scene where he said that he wanted to eliminate the Straw Hats because he knew that they would find Doflamingo some day (that's the anime's Funimation translation, at least. ViZ that he hoped to make it to Doflamingo's level one day, which still sort of works). It hit me hard back then, and it still does now.
Of course, I'm not going to pretend that this makes Bellamy's portrayal in Dressrosa or relationship with Doflamingo stellar writing or anything of the sort lol. That page of Bellamy meeting Doflamingo was for a few panels and is practically a side-thought in the diegetic plot. If anything, it makes me even more distressed by the lost potential there was in giving Bellamy more screen time and plot relevance to explore his gradual bonding with Luffy, seeing a more intricate relationship with Doflamingo that helps make Bellamy seem like less of a completely stubborn idiot in his "final" battle with Luffy, comparing and contrasting his idolism of Doflamingo/Luffy with Bartolomeo's fanboyism for both humor and emotional investment, and seeing what happened on Skypiea.
I agree with everybody else that Bellamy didn't get a proper resolution at all with how he just up and left at the end of Dressrosa, but I want to at least give him credit for gaining enough self-esteem to not become someone's lackey. Although we shouldn't pretend that all of Luffy's allies, including him, aren't just glorified cheerleaders riding all over Luffy lol.
Loathe: I can't add anything to the faults of Bellamy's pride that hasn't already been said. But I should mention that it's consistent with how Oda writes that sort of subject like with Gin in the Baratie. Not that I cared for it there either.
Bellamy probably has one of my favorite Devil Fruits in this series. It was horridly wasted. I can forgive him not being able to show off too much in Jaya due to Luffy's finishing blow, but Bellamy could have really shined in Dressrosa. Bouncing around like a slinky, coiling around people like a snake, bouncing back attacks like Luffy's own invulnerability. It was all pitifully wasted because Dressrosa was way too cluttered.
And I can't add on anything to Bellamy's Dressrosa portrayal that wasn't already mentioned. I really wish we got to learn more about his Skypiea adventures and got to see more gradual bonding time between Luffy and Bellamy besides hooking up immediately in an unrealistic fashion.
Actually, I do have one unique complaint to bring up. I'm not a fan of how weak Bellamy was in Dressrosa. Sure, his bounty's only about 200 Million and that Luffy knocked him out with one blow pre-timeskip. But here's the thing about that punch in Jaya. Oda doesn't simply develop strength/durability levels of characters with a pure power level mindset in mind. The reason why we see outrageous feats like Zoro surviving Luffy's pain in Thriller Bark and Usopp surviving a blow to the face from a four-ton bat is because of the figurative significance of their willpower and ambition. That is what defines One Piece as a series thematically and literally, and why it borders between consistent feats and almost toon force level antics. Bellamy getting knocked out by Luffy wasn't just supposed to be a "hardy har har, Bellamy was just this weak scrub all along because of having a lower bounty than Luffy". But it was because he lacked ambitions. That was why he was so pathetically weak, and why he wasn't worth Luffy or Zoro's time in Jaya.
So when we see Bellamy return in Dressrosa with an enlightened mindset about fantastical dreams being possible, it would have been nice to show off how his resolve now allows him to be more efficiently strong. He's still being puppeteered by Doflamingo, of course, and I'm not saying that Luffy shouldn't still be able to knock him out with a solid (but now sad) punch. But c'mon. All we got was his fight with Abdullah and Jeet, who are fodder gag characters, being humiliated by Bartolomeo (at least that's who I think he lost to off the top of my head), getting pulverized by Dellinger off-stage (although that MIGHT have been due to not wanting to fight back against a Donquixote Officer), and then everything with Doffy and Luffy. A dude with such a fun fruit and profound character development deserves to strut his stuff more to really cement how much he's grown on a spiritual level while retaining what's familiarly likable about them.
Also, as much as I like the bar scene, the one part that kind of spoils a bit of it is Nami being there. Oh, she was perfectly fine it! I really felt bad for how embarrassed she felt and was with her when she told off Sarquiss' offer to become his wench. It was even nice to see the original trio back together again (I have a feeling that's something Oda specifically wanted when it came to their meeting with Teach). But an issue I have in the back of my mind is that if any of the people even laid a finger on Nami, then Luffy and Zoro would have kicked everybody's asses. We're all familiar with how Oda writes the capabilities and fragility of women, obviously. And thinking about that sort of makes Luffy and Zoro's resolve feel a bit hypocritical if they wouldn't have the same confidence in any of their other crewmates having the same amount of tact if they were there.
Character/Story: 3.0 - I wish I could give him a 4.0 or more so much. His Dressrosa portrayal alone probably deserves a 2.0 or even a 1.5 lol.
Design: 2.0 - I preferred his look from back when he had the captain's jacket. He has a nice-looking belt though.
Sorry for the wait. I hope I delivered. And I've always loved Kureha.