Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 9 - Yamato vs. The World)

astagadragon

Who were born in Sake Country in the Mead Village, who ate the fermentation fruit that can instantly ferment starch into alcohol. Kaido married her to fulfill his endless thirst of sake…

Ivotas

That actually sounds totally like something that would make sense.^^

Zik

@Deicide:

Because I think there's more to Yamato's desires than what he has said so far.

There's quite a bit of possible tips:

From the single panel of him as a kid watching Oden's execution, he already dressed as a samurai before he got his Oden admiration.

In his debut, when he talks about Oden, is in the context of he being the greatest of the samurai. Tiny detail in the dialogue that may mean an admiration for samurai in general.

In his second flashback, his "mentor figures" are all samurai.

In his second flashback, he shows interest in becoming a samurai ("Could I be a samurai too? Even thought I feel hungry…")

Also, the same flashback reframes his desire to go to the sea as a step to become stronger before returning to liberate Wano. A small hint that going to the sea may not be his end goal.

When Kaido is taunting Yamato, he says that the samurai will never accept him. That oni and humans can't be friends. In this week's chapter (released just a few minutes ago), we find out that Kaido was a soldier of a kingdom that sold him to the government, so that's what made Kaido believe so. If Yamato gets accepted by Wano, he essentially proves his father wrong.

What I think may be revealed later is that Yamato wants to go to the sea to emulate Oden, because that's what Oden did. However, his deepest desire may be to become a samurai under the Kouzuki. I feel Momonosuke may offer Yamato to become his brother, giving him the Kouzuki family name, and Yamato may become a samurai of Wano rather than go with the crew.

This reads a lot like fan fiction. Definitely not possible tips.

Deicide

@Zik:

This reads a lot like fan fiction. Definitely not possible tips.

Uh.,.. i just listed facts, then came up with a theory based on them…

From the single panel of him as a kid watching Oden's execution, he already dressed as a samurai before he got his Oden admiration.

In his debut, when he talks about Oden, is in the context of he being the greatest of the samurai. Tiny detail in the dialogue that may mean an admiration for samurai in general.

In his second flashback, his "mentor figures" are all samurai.

In his second flashback, he shows interest in becoming a samurai ("Could I be a samurai too? Even thought I feel hungry…")

Also, the same flashback reframes his desire to go to the sea as a step to become stronger before returning to liberate Wano. A small hint that going to the sea may not be his end goal.

When Kaido is taunting Yamato, he says that the samurai will never accept him. That oni and humans can't be friends. In this week's chapter (released just a few minutes ago), we find out that Kaido was a soldier of a kingdom that sold him to the government, so that's what made Kaido believe so. If Yamato gets accepted by Wano, he essentially proves his father wrong.

Bonus: Yamato talking to Momonosuke about what it means to be a samurai and remembers his mentor figures.

I see a theme there, like it or not.

otakufan

@Deicide:

Uh.,.. i just listed facts, then came up with a theory based on them…

With all due respect, you are listing a selection of facts that excludes everything that doesn't fit with the theory you have created.

How, pray tell, does Yamato's connection to Ace and the fact that he spent the two years following Ace's death explicitly waiting for Luffy for the express purpose of asking to go out to sea with him factor into your theory? Because those are also facts about Yamato's characterization that you tend to downplay and overlook.

Yamato's relationship with Momonosuke is important, yes. But there's more to him than just his relationship with Momo.

Deicide

@otakufan:

With all due respect, you are listing a selection of facts that excludes everything that doesn't fit with the theory you have created.

With all due respect, you are doing the same.

The difference here is that you are fixated on the first 1/3 of Yamato's arc and ignoring what's being told for the last 2/3. I'm looking at his deeper layers, the ones not immediately revealed by exposition in his first talk to Luffy, but slowly revealed as the story goes on. And usually these are the ones that lead to a conclusion, since there's no arc if everything was laid bare in the introduction.

Character arcs are meant to change a character's views and challenge his beliefs. That's why most other crewmates start not wanting or expecting to join.

To me, Yamato declaring he wants to board the ship in his first talk was a warning sign. The following 70 chapters haven't helped build his case, on the contrary. To the point that we are about to reach the epilogue and things are pretty much in the air all the same. At this stage, joining the crew should be a pretty clear prospect. But, with Yamato, you can't even tell what role he would have in a ship.

How, pray tell, does Yamato's connection to Ace and the fact that he spent the two years following Ace's death explicitly waiting for Luffy for the express purpose of asking to go out to sea with him factor into your theory? Because those are also facts about Yamato's characterization that you tend to downplay and overlook.

Yamato's relationship with Momonosuke is important, yes. But there's more to him than just his relationship with Momo.

His relationship to Momo and his admiration for Wano and the samurai is what has been built for the last 70 chapters. So, I'll stick with that.

Let's see if the next 10 or 15 chapters, which will focus on lots of different threads, not only Yamato, will be able to rectify what wasn't done in the last 70.

otakufan

@Deicide:

With all due respect, you are doing the same.

The difference here is that you are fixated on the first 1/3 of Yamato's arc and ignoring what's being told for the last 2/3.

Not reaching the same conclusion from the parts of Yamato's arc centered around Momonosuke that you have is not the same as ignoring it.

Of course Yamato's connections to Wano and Momonosuke are being played up - Oden and the three daimyo shaped Yams into the man he is today. He has spent the past twenty years believing himself to be the only one left to carry on Oden's will and free Wano from the tyranny of his father.

But those aren't the only factors in consideration. It's like assuming that Nami will stay behind on Cocoyashi to farm tangerines after the Arlong arc because her connections to Bellemere, Nojiko, Genzo, and their mutual hometown got so much story focus - sure, it was technically a possibility, but only if you deliberately ignore her pre-existing relationships and characterization.

And as to Yamato's relationship with Momonosuke itself, it has proceeded thusly:
Spent 20 years under the belief that Momo was dead.
Learned Momo is alive and was put in charge of protecting him by Luffy.
As soon as was feasible, promptly handed over Oden's journal to Momo and told him that he, not Yamato, will be the one to bring the Dawn, symbolically passing on the duty of carrying out Oden's will to his true heir.
Mentoring Momo in his Devil Fruit powers and instructing him on what needed to be done to keep Onigashima aloft, for the protection of both the samurai within it and the Flower Capital below.
Giving Momo moral support and guidance when Luffy's apparent defeat caused him to begin considering surrender.

All of it, every last interaction, has been about helping Momonosuke grow into the man he needs to become. It's a student-mentor relationship, not that between a wannabe-knight and the king he wishes to serve. And with Momo gaining control of his powers, he has symbolically come into his own. There may be some remaining shaky points depending on what opening Wano's borders specifically entails, but from the perspective of the narrative, he has more or less outgrown his need for a mentor. Yamato no longer needs to stay to look after him.

Which leave the question of what does Yamato want to do now that Kaidou has been defeated, and on that point, he has remained consistent from the start: he intends to go out to sea with Luffy.

Will the Kozuki samurai accept him? Sure.
Will he be welcome to stay in Wano? Absolutely.
Will he be formally inducted into the Akazaya? Quite possibly.

Will any of that prevent him from going out to sea with Luffy? I highly doubt it.

Zik

@Deicide:

Uh.,.. i just listed facts, then came up with a theory based on them..

I see a theme there, like it or not.

Which reads like a fanfic.

No need to show the process you use to make one.

@otakufan:

With all due respect, you are listing a selection of facts that excludes everything that doesn't fit with the theory you have created.

Which is it reads more like fanfic. He made the conclusion first and then went backward trying to take parts of Yamato’s storyline this ignoring context to fit his conclusion.

It’s why there’s no need to refute it. That he’s saying you’re doing the same thing as him when you’ve simply had a counter argument should say enough about the flaws here.

Shift

Theories are fine, as is disagreeing with them. But keep the comments constructive.

Dorob333Neko

Here is why Yamato should be a side character for just Wano only rather than the main character he is.

Cut out all the things that scream he is a main character. And try to replace his main character design in your head with a generic Wano samurai.

That's the best way to make the theories of why he won't join work. Because that's what all the theories really amount to so far.

And the best way that keeps being put out is still Oda wasting our fucking time. I think like that needs to be said. Why waste time making a main character just to turn them into a side character? That's the question here with all theories on why he won't join.

Deicide

I never felt Yamato had any main character traits, especially after so many arcs with so many guest characters getting attention. To me, Yamato until now has little over the likes of Bartolomeu, Rebecca or Don Sai.

Really, if Yamato hasn't offered himself to board Luffy's ship, there would be very little going for him at all.

No profession known.
Just a few scenes of two disjointed flashbacks
Pretty basic motivations
For now, just very generic ties to the story beyond Wano
"Nami face"
Little to no interactions with the crew
Very basic personality

Yamato was just hyped the hell out in its debut, and a lot of that hype was based on his desire to "go to the sea". This is a character that has been around for 70 chapters. It's beyond time it should have gotten beyond its basic template.

We've been having this discussion for 2 years, there were a lot of frustrated expectations:
"He will get a flashback when Kaido does"
"He will get a flashback with a mentor figure"
"His mentor was the previous Jack"
"His mother is important"
"He has the 2.9 DF"
"Luffy will see his DF power and be awed"
"He and Luffy will 2v1 Kaido"
"He's running to the main stage and will interact with the Straw Hats"

The guy was not even in Luffy's mind when he was gathering strength to return to Gear 5th!

So, are we getting in ~15 more chapters what we didn't get in the last 70? Will it be enough?

Carrot had a much stronger case by the end of WCI.

Robby

@Deicide:

"Nami face"

Oh knock off with that. That was a legit complaint the first two or three chapters especially when Yamato made angry faces but Oda changed up a ton of small details to make sure Yamato is more distinct even in the closeup shots. Remove the outfit, hair, horns and earrings and I can still tell you which one is Yamato and which is Nami in a side by side shot.

Someone posted in here before shots of their faces with everythign else removed and everyone was able to tell the difference.

Yeah it'd be nice it there was more jawline or stronger cheekbones or something, but Oda girl is gonna Oda girl.

Zoro and Sanji look alike too if you remove all the dressings.

Pretty basic motivations

For now, just very generic ties to the story beyond Wano

His motivations are no more basic than Usopp's. And he wants to know the secret of Laugh Tale and the meaning of the Dawn, actual relevent end series stuff…. find out what Oden removed from his journal and see it in person. The things people insisted Carrot would be interested in for ages.

We've been having this discussion for 2 years, there were a lot of frustrated expectations:
"He will get a flashback when Kaido does"
"He will get a flashback with a mentor figure"
"His mentor was the previous Jack"
"His mother is important"
"He has the 2.9 DF"
"Luffy will see his DF power and be awed"
"He and Luffy will 2v1 Kaido"
"He's running to the main stage and will interact with the Straw Hats"

He… has gotten a flashback though. Several of them. And he and Luffy DID 2 v1 Kaidou, briefly. ANd the fight is over, so now is in fact the time for everyone to meet one way or another.

Mentor figure/Jack/mother stuff is all speculation but it IS still a big gap that Kaidou's own recent flashback didn't touch on and "who Kaidou would shack up with" is a pretty glaring missing piece in both of their stories.

That Oda went out of his way to have Luffy NOT see wolf mode, and to have Yamato in the same room as the crew and still not meet up? He went out of his way to save them meeting for the first time.

Hopefully he's got something nice planned there but he also had gear 5 planned for ages and that was a dud so who knows, my confidence in him is shaken a bit. The action is done now so a flashback won't stall the action pacing now so maybe now Oda will feel okay with delving into an actual multi-chapter thing instead of 6 page snippets. .

Brook didn't get his proper flashback till after Thriller Bark was doen (and we're still missing most of his past) and Nami, Robin, and Jinbe all had delays on theirs. Usopp's was like two panels.

Deicide

@Robby:

Oh knock off with that. That was a legit complaint the first two or three chapters especially when Yamato made angry faces but Oda changed up a ton of small details to make sure Yamato is more distinct even in the closeup shots. Remove the outfit, hair, horns and earrings and I can still tell you which one is Yamato and which is Nami in a side by side shot.

Someone posted in here before shots of their faces with everythign else removed and everyone was able to tell the difference.

Yeah it'd be nice it there was more jawline or stronger cheekbones or something, but Oda girl is gonna Oda girl.

Zoro and Sanji look alike too if you remove all the dressings.

His motivations are no more basic than Usopp's. And he wants to know the secret of Laugh Tale and the meaning of the Dawn, actual relevent end series stuff…. the things people insisted Carrot would be interested in for ages.

A few of those "problems" is passable. If it was just the Nami face or just the motivations, no problem. But when you add everything together, I say the chances get hurt way more.

He… has gotten a flashback though. Several of them. And he and Luffy DID 2 v1 Kaidou, briefly.

People expected way more than that. Their "2v1", for instance, was a single attack, and neither were aware of the other until after it hit. People were saying they'd team up at the end of that chapter, only for it to not happen at all.

ANd the fight is over, so now is in fact the time for everyone to meet one way or another.

Yeah, but it may happen off-screen. Because it may be not important.

Mentor figure/Jack/mother stuff is all speculation but it IS still a big gap that Kaidou's own recent flashback didn't touch on so…

It shows the kind of expectations that weren't fulfilled.

That Oda went out of his way to have Luffy NOT see wolf mode, and to have Yamato in the same room as the crew and still not meet up? He went out of his way to save them meeting for the first time.

There's certainly a reason for those things not happening, but the thing is: the reason may not be what people are expecting.

Instead of "it's because it will happen later and will be awesome", it may be instead "let's not waste time in things that won't have any big impact later". Conservation of detail and all.

Hopefully he's got something nice planned there but he also had geat 5 planned for ages and that was a dud so who knows. The action is done now so a flashback won't stall the action pacing now.

Brook didn't get his proper flashback till after Thriller Bark was doen (and we're still missing most of his past) and Nami, Robin, and Jinbe all had delays on theirs. Usopp's was like two panels.

Nami, Robin and Jinbe had flashbacks in the arcs that heavily featured them. I don't see how Yamato, living all his life in Onigashima, under his father's iron fist, can get a flashback in any arc other than Onigashima.

Brook's flashback happened at the end of the arc, yes, but we spend the arc bonding him with the Straw Hats. The flashback was cherry on top, and it fit perfectly with the victory party.

As for earlier characters getting simple flashbacks: they were earlier characters. Joining at the beginning was much easier and surer than now. It's not like Oda can pull a "Kuina fell on the stairs off-screen" and appease the fanbase with just that. Each Straw Hat is expected to win over as many fans as possible.

Shiebs

I still need another flashback before I’m all in

astagadragon

@Shiebs:

I still need another flashback before I’m all in

Same tbh. Hence why Kaido's flashback on 1049 feels flat for some people, they want to see Yamato there. Instead Kaido only namedropped her.

IF there is another Kaido flashback AND Yamato is really being set up as the next nakama, then we will see her there (maybe even Kaido's lover/Yamato's mother). The oni thing Kaido namedropped back then is still not explained, right?

Dorob333Neko

Bart and Sai are designed as Luffy's top tier mooks. That's their traits. From the designs, to fighting styles, to basic story elements. Nothing about them screams they are above their overall story side character roles.

Becca is a fucking Dragon Quest princess in an arc. Vivi is too but she was one that was close to being a main character but we know where that went.

Yamato has a billon more things and main character traits going for himself. Yes more than Vivi too. People need to hear this. Oda considers Yamato a main character and writes them and draws them as one because that's what is going to happen.

The story puts him on fucking Ace's plateau. He knows Luffy's dream! His real dream! His ties to the story are big! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!

A picture is worth a thousand words but some are a million or a billion words. You have to rewrite him fully to make him into the side character you want him to be. You have to make him worth less but haha it's really hard!

Like tell me how would you personally change his main character design into a minor character's design? You really have to change a lot. Color design like the hair and overall colors. Ditch the horns? Make them shorter. Less…. powerful. Maybe ditch the fruit. Cut out the Ace stuff. I am not just talking art design here. Yamato was built as a main character. It's why these arguments are poor. At least put them in the Ace and Sabo level of side character if not in the crew.

It's just a lot easier than trying to pretend he is Kin'emon.

electricmastro

@Robby:

Oh knock off with that. That was a legit complaint the first two or three chapters especially when Yamato made angry faces but Oda changed up a ton of small details to make sure Yamato is more distinct even in the closeup shots. Remove the outfit, hair, horns and earrings and I can still tell you which one is Yamato and which is Nami in a side by side shot.

Someone posted in here before shots of their faces with everythign else removed and everyone was able to tell the difference.

Yeah it'd be nice it there was more jawline or stronger cheekbones or something, but Oda girl is gonna Oda girl.

Zoro and Sanji look alike too if you remove all the dressings.

His motivations are no more basic than Usopp's. And he wants to know the secret of Laugh Tale and the meaning of the Dawn, actual relevent end series stuff…. find out what Oden removed from his journal and see it in person. The things people insisted Carrot would be interested in for ages.

He... has gotten a flashback though. Several of them. And he and Luffy DID 2 v1 Kaidou, briefly. ANd the fight is over, so now is in fact the time for everyone to meet one way or another.

Mentor figure/Jack/mother stuff is all speculation but it IS still a big gap that Kaidou's own recent flashback didn't touch on and "who Kaidou would shack up with" is a pretty glaring missing piece in both of their stories.

That Oda went out of his way to have Luffy NOT see wolf mode, and to have Yamato in the same room as the crew and still not meet up? He went out of his way to save them meeting for the first time.

Hopefully he's got something nice planned there but he also had gear 5 planned for ages and that was a dud so who knows, my confidence in him is shaken a bit. The action is done now so a flashback won't stall the action pacing now so maybe now Oda will feel okay with delving into an actual multi-chapter thing instead of 6 page snippets. .

Brook didn't get his proper flashback till after Thriller Bark was doen (and we're still missing most of his past) and Nami, Robin, and Jinbe all had delays on theirs. Usopp's was like two panels.

I honestly wonder why Nami clone keeps being used against Yamato, yet never really see that used against Vivi in discussions of people suggesting she should come back and join. lol

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Dorobō:

Bart and Sai are designed as Luffy's top tier mooks. That's their traits. From the designs, to fighting styles, to basic story elements. Nothing about them screams they are above their overall story side character roles.

Becca is a fucking Dragon Quest princess in an arc. Vivi is too but she was one that was close to being a main character but we know where that went.

Yamato has a billon more things and main character traits going for himself. Yes more than Vivi too. People need to hear this. Oda considers Yamato a main character and writes them and draws them as one because that's what is going to happen.

The story puts him on fucking Ace's plateau. He knows Luffy's dream! His real dream! His ties to the story are big! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!

A picture is worth a thousand words but some are a million or a billion words. You have to rewrite him fully to make him into the side character you want him to be. You have to make him worth less but haha it's really hard!

Like tell me how would you personally change his main character design into a minor character's design? You really have to change a lot. Color design like the hair and overall colors. Ditch the horns? Make them shorter. Less…. powerful. Maybe ditch the fruit. Cut out the Ace stuff. I am not just talking art design here. Yamato was built as a main character. It's why these arguments are poor. At least put them in the Ace and Sabo level of side character if not in the crew.

It's just a lot easier than trying to pretend he is Kin'emon.

I understand why it can seem poor when people keep using exception after exception to try and support their own arguments:

"Nami didn't have her backstory revealed in her debut arc either, but she's an exception."

"Luffy didn't call Chopper by his real name for much of his debut arc either, but he's an exception."

"Robin didn't interact with the crew a lot before joining either, but she's an exception."

"Franky also had an island which was broken down and could have used his help, but he's an exception."

Zanze

But why would Yamato's flashback take place -after- Kaido has been taken down though?
This isn't a Brook situation where his past and his current troubles were somewhat unrelated (Moria had nothing to do with Laboon or with Brook's crew being dead). This is more like a Nami or Chopper situation where they have very personal ties to the arc's villains and we got their flashbacks before Arlong and Wapol got taken down. We also got scenes where Luffy "freed" his crewmates (destroying Nami's room, putting the pirate flag on top of Drum's Castle) and this just hasn't happened with Yamato unless you count that lame scene where Luffy casually took off his handcuffs…
Yamato not being at all one of Luffy's motivations to fight (and not even among Kaido's) is also hard to shake off. Instead Yamato has been used as Momo's supporting act for most of his screentime.

Design and personality are whatever, that's going to be very subjective territory and it's not really worth talking about it, but if this really is how people expect a main character to be treated... I don't know. You would have expected the future crewmate's flashback to be placed where it was the most dramatically effective instead of as an afterthought, or at the very least to have him be one of the emotional centerpieces of the arc or even just to leave some kind of impression on the main character(s)? Or to get a clearly defined profession (no, sake brewer ain't it).
Nothing of that happened instead, sure Oda could have purposefully left all of that for later, to intentionally introduce the character in the lamest way possible... But why would he?

I guess some seeds for Yamato to join have been planted, and yeah Oda has been a little sloppier lately, but this is... Just not how you write a supposed main character in their supposed most personal arc

Robby

and this just hasn't happened with Yamato unless you count that lame scene where Luffy casually took off his handcuffs…

Zoro's freedom was pretty easy to get too. Usopp didn't need freeing at all. Sanji, Chopper and Franky needed some help defending their homes, but the only freedom they needed was the courage to leave, no symbolic destructions or chain breakings there. Jinbe did need help getting out of Impel Down, (though he could have left just by "agreeing" to join the war) but later on could have just left Big mom whenever he felt like… and he ultimately did. Nami, Robin and Brook are the only ones that really needed to be saved.

Yeah, Chopper's scene with the pirate flag was great, but fighting off Wapol wasn't what let him leave any more than beating Kuro is what let Usopp go. It helped the citizens but it wasn't in any way crucial to the recruitment.

But why would Yamato's flashback take place -after- Kaido has been taken down though?

Well the obvious answer is because certain crucial elements like history of the Oni or the brief period Kaidou was willing to be nice to someone for at least 9 months weren't important compared to the samurai stuff, and the starving stuff, and the friend of Ace stuff.

We didn't get Luffy's full backstory until 14 years in, and Sanji's even longer than that, and only now in Wano getting some of Zoro's stuff. . We're STILL missing huge chunks of Brook and Jinbe's stories. We got the key notes that mattered to the arc at hand.

The other less fun explanation is that between gear 5 and the unsatisfying resolution of Kaidou's defeat is that Oda's lost his touch and we need to stop holding him to the standards he himself has consistently set. That he's human and missed a step, and we just have to settle with dissapointed with this entire finale. He keeps putting more balls in the air than he can actually satisfyingly juggle now and that hurts the whole.. and thats been a problem since Dresserossa.

The hope is that the finale isn't as done as it seems to be and there's still a little more time for… something to pull it all together but eh.

electricmastro

@Zanze:

We also got scenes where Luffy "freed" his crewmates (destroying Nami's room, putting the pirate flag on top of Drum's Castle) and this just hasn't happened with Yamato unless you count that lame scene where Luffy casually took off his handcuffs…
Yamato not being at all one of Luffy's motivations to fight (and not even among Kaido's) is also hard to shake off. Instead Yamato has been used as Momo's supporting act for most of his screentime.

If so, then Luffy helping free his crewmates like untying Zoro's ropes can also be dismissed as lame despite the freedom symbolism.

I also find it weird how Yamato has just been dismissed as just a supporting act for Momo, even though Momo wasn't with Yamato during most of her roof fight and bomb threat.

Monquito

It'll be really problematic if Yamato doesnt go up there to save Luffy, and share some words before he goes unconsiouss, cause essily he'll be unconsiouss for days if not weeks, I got huge expectations on it, but something as simple as Luffy finally calling her }Yamato{, would be more than enough, it'll go in accordance to what Oda said about Luffy remembering names.

She's not chained to Momo by Luffy's orders anymore, if she stays with him, it'll be by her own wishes from now on.

I been thinking Luffy will be the one introducing Yamato to the SH's, making a Parallel out of Oden joining Roger's crew, and as far as Luffy remains unconsciouss, yeah, I'm pretty sure Yamato's gon be doing literally anything else but not interacting with the SH's.

Zanze

@Robby:

Zoro's freedom was pretty easy to get too. Usopp didn't need freeing at all. Sanji, Chopper and Franky needed some help defending their homes, but the only freedom they needed was the courage to leave, no symbolic destructions or chain breakings there. Jinbe did need help getting out of Impel Down, (though he could have left just by "agreeing" to join the war) but later on could have just left Big mom whenever he felt like… and he ultimately did. Nami, Robin and Brook are the only ones that really needed to be saved.

I brought up Nami and Chopper because those two feel like the closest examples to Yamato in terms of just how big of a personal grudge they held with their arc's villain when they joined, but yeah, I guess this makes sense if you break it down like that.
Still, I can't help but feel like Yamato's emotional bonding with Luffy and the crew in general has been very lacking. You can't go dot by dot but all the Straw Hats got much more extended focus in relation to Luffy or the rest of the crew in general when they joined. If it wasn't Luffy putting his hat on Nami's head or putting Hiruluk's flag on top of Drum's castle, it could have been Zoro getting destroyed by Mihawk and swearing to never lose again, Brook explaining the Laboon situation and impressing everyone, or Jinbe snapping Luffy out of his depression. Not all of this might have happened in the same order or in the arc they first appeared but it all happened while they were being explored as characters, and, subjective I know, but a lot of those made for some of the most memorable scenes in the series.
Has Yamato been explored as a character? The most interaction with the main characters he has gotten is still the handcuffs scene which was a super casual thing that lasted maybe two pages, and I guess him talking about Luffy with Ace in a flashback and the scene was all just for teasing anyways since we don't even know what's the fabled thing that Luffy and Roger said. To me that's just not comparable with what the others got. This would be fine in a vacuum, but with this arc's villain being Yamato's father (and oppressor), like, why isn't Yamato as a character front and center? Imagine if this was all that Nami got in Arlong Park or Franky in Water 7.
If it's all on purpose I genuinely have no idea where Oda is going with this.

@Robby:

Well the obvious answer is because certain crucial elements like history of the Oni or the brief period Kaidou was willing to be nice to someone for at least 9 months weren't important compared to the samurai stuff, and the starving stuff, and the friend of Ace stuff.

I don't know… Being an Oni was the last of Yamato's problems and Kaido is down anyways... Plus he's been caged his whole life, it's not like we're missing many details. And any future arcs can't be as personal as Wano to him. Leaving everything for later is just weird to me. But we'll see.

@Robby:

The other less fun explanation is that between gear 5 and the unsatisfying resolution of Kaidou's defeat is that Oda's lost his touch and we need to stop holding him to the standards he himself has consistently set. That he's human and missed a step, and we just have to settle with dissapointed with this entire finale. He keeps putting more balls in the air than he can actually satisfyingly juggle now and that hurts the whole.. and thats been a problem since Dresserossa.

The hope is that the finale isn't as done as it seems to be and there's still a little more time for… something to pull it all together but eh.

We're probably going to get a lot of lore bombs in the arc wrap-up but Wano as a story I think is done. Orochi is "dead" and Kaido sure seems defeated. Even if he gets back up for one last rampage (which I somehow doubt), he has clearly lost.
I think the finale wasn't Oda's best but it was decent enough for the arc as a whole. It's mainly that the last strike didn't feel that powerful, but the drama was there. It's been said that Kaido getting buried underground lacks thematic relevance, but with Big Mom sharing the same fate by Kidd and Law I think it's pretty clear the point here is that the new generation has buried the old - which isn't really a Wano theme but yeah there's tons of things going on in the story now. The raid was also a generational conflict.
Going back to Yamato though, yeah, he's the character who got the most screwed by the ending, if this is it. Having him react to Momo moving Onigashima instead of to Luffy defeating Kaido is just… meh.

Alfiere

I think this as a good time as any to (re)state that i (and i believe many others as well) don't think Yamato will join because he's a particularly likeable (i like him fine though) or in any way well handled charachter, but rather because if he doesn't anything about him till now would have been an enormous, meaningless waste of time.
After having him state hel'll join at every occasion, share meaningful moments with Luffy, being the only truly proactive actor on the alliance side in the entire raid, being on the cover of the 100th volume… how would any other outcome make sense or be even remotely satisfying?

Zanze

@Alfiere:

I think this as a good time as any to (re)state that i (and i believe many others as well) don't think Yamato will join because he's a particularly likeable (i like him fine though) or in any way well handled charachter, but rather because if he doesn't anything about him till now would have been an enormous, meaningless waste of time.
After having him state hel'll join at every occasion, share meaningful moments with Luffy, being the only truly proactive actor on the alliance side in the entire raid, being on the cover of the 100th volume… how would any other outcome make sense or be even remotely satisfying?

I mean, Yamato is fine but the way he's been handled feels closer to, say, Shirahoshi than to Brook or Chopper or even Jinbe. My guess is that something unexpected is going to happen and he's going to be tied to whatever the endgame implications for Wano being special are.
It's either that or Oda forgot how to write and present a main character. But the fact that he didn't put Yamato among Luffy's motivations to fight leads me to think that he knows he hasn't written Yamato like that.
I could be wrong though… We'll see in the next 10 or so chapters

Deicide

@Alfiere:

I think this as a good time as any to (re)state that i (and i believe many others as well) don't think Yamato will join because he's a particularly likeable (i like him fine though) or in any way well handled charachter, but rather because if he doesn't anything about him till now would have been an enormous, meaningless waste of time.
After having him state hel'll join at every occasion, share meaningful moments with Luffy, being the only truly proactive actor on the alliance side in the entire raid, being on the cover of the 100th volume… how would any other outcome make sense or be even remotely satisfying?

Well, this same conversation could be done at the end of WCI:

"I think this as a good time as any to (re)state that i (and i believe many others as well) don't think Carrot will join because she's a particularly likeable (i like her fine though) or in any way well handled charachter, but rather because if she doesn't anything about her till now would have been an enormous, meaningless waste of time.
After having her tag along with the crew the whole arc, share meaningful moments with everyone, being a key factor in the crew's success, being on the cover of the volumes 82, 85 and 88 (the last one being in the foreground just like the rest of the Straw Hats)… how would any other outcome make sense or be even remotely satisfying?"

Well, stories are like that, some people are bound to be disappointed in something. I'm pretty sure the Carrot supporters did not like how her story carried out after her being an almost honorary crewmate for a whole arc. She even got #8 most popular character (due to online campaigning and some cheating, sure, but that shows how her fanbase can be vocal), ahead of Yamato (who also got a lot of campaigning). And she turned out to not even merit to have a great moment to cap her character arc.

With Oda introducing more and more important secondary characters, some of them are bound to be more "protogonist-ish" than others. And the new crewmate discussion is a big thing in comunities, so I wouldn't be surprised if Oda makes fake candidates to keep people guessing. I can't shake the feeling that a lot of Yamato's hype is just because people expect him to be a main character, and there's a lot of investment on what he will do next and where he story goes.

Hey, remember how there was merch all over the place with Yamato and the Straw Hats when he debutted in the anime? But right now there's almost none. Pure hype train, business as usual.

BTW, nowadays Yamato is being paired with Momo even in merchandise:

Rean

They're not gonna release new merch when the character has only had one design so far lmao.

Alfiere

@Deicide:

Well, this same conversation could be done at the end of WCI:

"I think this as a good time as any to (re)state that i (and i believe many others as well) don't think Carrot will join because she's a particularly likeable (i like her fine though) or in any way well handled charachter, but rather because if she doesn't anything about her till now would have been an enormous, meaningless waste of time.
After having her tag along with the crew the whole arc, share meaningful moments with everyone, being a key factor in the crew's success, being on the cover of the volumes 82, 85 and 88 (the last one being in the foreground just like the rest of the Straw Hats)… how would any other outcome make sense or be even remotely satisfying?"

Well, stories are like that, some people are bound to be disappointed in something. I'm pretty sure the Carrot supporters did not like how her story carried out after her being an almost honorary crewmate for a whole arc. She even got #8 most popular character (due to online campaigning and some cheating, sure, but that shows how her fanbase can be vocal), ahead of Yamato (who also got a lot of campaigning). And she turned out to not even merit to have a great moment to cap her character arc.

With Oda introducing more and more important secondary characters, some of them are bound to be more "protogonist-ish" than others. And the new crewmate discussion is a big thing in comunities, so I wouldn't be surprised if Oda makes fake candidates to keep people guessing. I can't shake the feeling that a lot of Yamato's hype is just because people expect him to be a main character, and there's a lot of investment on what he will do next and where he story goes.

Hey, remember how there was merch all over the place with Yamato and the Straw Hats when he debutted in the anime? But right now there's almost none. Pure hype train, business as usual.

BTW, nowadays Yamato is being paired with Momo even in merchandise:

https://i.imgur.com/HEABPL3.png

One glaring difference is that Carrot not once said she wanted to join the crew.
And i don't think it needs to be said that the 100th cover wasn't just like any other one.

I think we had this exact conversation at least once in the past, come on. I'm not saying that carrot has 0 arguments working for her, but even after all this years i still fail to see how there is this pavlovian reflex of opposing to "repeatedly stated will join" Yamato "never once said she wanted to be a pirate" Carrot at all. Especially when "Yamato bond with Momo for some time thus he will stay" argument is your piece de resistance: Carrot hanged exclusively with minks the whole raid, how isn't that telling of where her allegiances are?

Deicide

@Alfiere:

One glaring difference is that Carrot not once said she wanted to join the crew.

So what? 9/10 of the others didn't start willing or expecting to join the crew. It's throughout their character arcs that either they or Luffy are convinced that they want to be in the crew.

There's a lot of red flags around Yamato declaring he wants to board the ship.

First, from it being one of the first things stated, because character arcs are meant to take a character from Point A to B. Depending on how the story goes, their beliefs in Point A may not be the same in Point B (like almost every crewmate not wanting to be a pirate, but ending up as one anyway). It's not unconceivable that the journey this time is finding there are more important things he care about than seeing the world.

Second, and this one is highly subjective, but I'll say it anyway: his choice of words. Yamato never says several times he wants to go to the sea and have adventures. But he never says he wants to be a "nakama", to be a "pirate", to be Luffy's "subordinate". It feels shallow. It's crazy how people often say Yamato will "drop the Oden act" but don't realise he wants to go to the sea because "he wants to be Oden". Couldn't dropping one also drop the other?

Third, for Luffy's reaction. He's annoyed by Yamato asking. There's something wrong with Yamato's request. Luffy sends Yamato to Momo instead, twice, and, later, Yamato is not even in Luffy's thoughts when he's gathering strength for the final stretch of his battle. Even Pedro is there, but not Yamato. Oda is keeping a barrier between Luffy and "Yamao" even after 70 chapters.

And finally, because the story being told is not about Yamato making steps towards getting acceptance among the crew. Or doing anything that shows his desire to be a pirate. He "wanting to be Oden" is never portrayed as something bad, but as a quality. His big scenes and declarations are about loyalty to Momo and Wano. His DF is framed as a guardian of Wano. His flashback is about carrying the will of Oden and the defeated daimyo. He bonds with Momo rather than Luffy and the crew.

There is a huge dissonance between what Yamato says in the beginning and where his character arc is sending him, and that's why I keep doubting he will end in the crew.

And i don't think it needs to be said that the 100th cover wasn't just like any other one.

Yeah, he's there, yet not on the same level as a Straw Hat. If anything, the art puts him in the same level as Ace, who is important, but was never a crewmate because he and Luffy took different paths.

I think we had this exact conversation at least once in the past, come on. I'm not saying that carrot has 0 arguments working for her, but even after all this years i still fail to see how there is this pavlovian reflex of opposing to "repeatedly stated will join" Yamato "never once said she wanted to be a pirate" Carrot at all. Especially when "Yamato bond with Momo for some time thus he will stay" argument is your piece de resistance: Carrot hanged exclusively with minks the whole raid, how isn't that telling of where her allegiances are?

I'm pointing Carrot examples as of the end of WCI. At that point, there was nothing to say Carrot would lose the spotlight. She was already a companion for a whole arc, and her supporters were really sure she was going to join the crew.

If Oda can nurture and disappoint expectations for her, why is it so unconceivable that the same isn't being done for Yamato?

Edit: Also, thinking about it, Vivi is the ultimate example. She stayed with the Straw Hats for multiple arcs, appeared in coverspreads and coverpages, got in the "Versus" Volume cover as a Straw Hat. She was undoubtedly considered "nakama", she was offered to join, she wanted to join, Oda kept the ball rolling until the very last chapter, when finally there was the goodbye. Why is it so unthinkable for Yamato?

Coookie

I have no idea what manga you're reading if you believe that Carrot's treatment during Whole Cake Island and Yamato's during Onigashima are anywhere near similar. There are so many reasons why people latched onto Yamato so much more than any Rebecca, Shirahoshi, Perona, or other boobs of the arc, why this thread is titled Yamato vs the world when nothing of the sorts happened to the characters I just mentioned, why some people who are usually much more restrained when it comes to possible new crew members threw their hat in the ring for Yamato.

Lemony

Personally, I think Yamato started very strong, with a memorable introduction and being constantly present in the story for many and many chapters. However, the fact is that the character ended up doing way less than I expected during the arc after those few moments.

Lack of strawhat interaction has to be intentional at this point so I won't judge that, since Oda might want to do something with it, but Yamato really didn't have so many interesting things to do during the arc (the bombs subplot is kind of whatever), the flashback was kinda weak for strawhat standards (and sure, you might point out Zoro or Usopp, but those are literally a thousand chapters ago. Oda way of doing things changed.) and the interactions with Luffy were disemphasized.

None of those are dealbreakers, since in my view the arguments in favor are still strong, in particular the fact that a desire for freedom and travel the world is… pretty much something Oda never denies his characters, and there's no real build-up for any other option that accomplishes that beside Strawhat. But I do think the case has been weakened since his introduction.

But we're getting close, and for better or worse Yamato self-invitation is an open plot-point that needs to be resolved. That's actually something that puts him ahead of many other potential crewmates, since Oda will actually have to address it. Soon this debate will be over, lol, and a side will be wrong.

astagadragon

Imo the biggest factors going for Yamato is her inclusion in chapter 1000 AND cover of volume 100. Appearing as a vocal character on both of them. Those were huge… sign for anything, really.

Alfiere

@Deicide:

So what? 9/10 of the others didn't start willing or expecting to join the crew. It's throughout their character arcs that either they or Luffy are convinced that they want to be in the crew.

9/10 of the others also joined in the same arc as they debuted, and none just stood there awkardly in a corner for 5 years. Also I can't think of a single example of someone asking to join the crew and being refused, so that doesn't really answer the issue, does it.

First, from it being one of the first things stated, because character arcs are meant to take a character from Point A to B. Depending on how the story goes, their beliefs in Point A may not be the same in Point B (like almost every crewmate not wanting to be a pirate, but ending up as one anyway). It's not unconceivable that the journey this time is finding there are more important things he care about than seeing the world.

There's a big difference between a charachter arc and a complete 180.
It's not unconceivable, sure, but woud you really like Yamato willingly extend his lifetime imprisonment and lose the once in a lifetime opportunity to relive his hero's dream in order to babysit a 28 yo ereditary prince?

Third, for Luffy's reaction. He's annoyed by Yamato asking. There's something wrong with Yamato's request. Luffy sends Yamato to Momo instead, twice, and, later, Yamato is not even in Luffy's thoughts when he's gathering strength for the final stretch of his battle. Even Pedro is there, but not Yamato. Oda is keeping a barrier between Luffy and "Yamao" even after 70 chapters.

Can't be serious about this. There was an half page big nakama-grin from Luffy when he came back on the roof and Yamato show that "no need for words i get ya" moment. Many others already pointed out the similarities between Luffy ordering Yams to take care of Momo and ordering Franky to save robin in EL, so there's that too.

And finally, because the story being told is not about Yamato making steps towards getting acceptance among the crew. Or doing anything that shows his desire to be a pirate. He "wanting to be Oden" is never portrayed as something bad, but as a quality. His big scenes and declarations are about loyalty to Momo and Wano. His DF is framed as a guardian of Wano. His flashback is about carrying the will of Oden and the defeated daimyo. He bonds with Momo rather than Luffy and the crew.

He wants to be free, Luffy's journey is all about freedom. His superpower is now explicitly stated to be freedom. Luffy is free and frees people, Yamato was a prisoner and is been freed, i think it's pretty on the nose.

Edit: Also, thinking about it, Vivi is the ultimate example. She stayed with the Straw Hats for multiple arcs, appeared in coverspreads and coverpages, got in the "Versus" Volume cover as a Straw Hat. She was undoubtedly considered "nakama", she was offered to join, she wanted to join, Oda kept the ball rolling until the very last chapter, when finally there was the goodbye. Why is it so unthinkable for Yamato?

Yamato is not Vivi. Momo is Vivi, simple as that.

legumes

Honestly putting aside the extreme cherrypicking some people are still doing in the thread, Oda still has a long way to really seal yamato's crewmateship imo. Like sure, there's a ton of red flags that typically point towards main character (huge focus from introduction, has repeatedly stated desire to go abroad with luffy, knows the protag's true dream, unique enough design for an oda-female design and the fact he made effort to make him look distinct after first reveal) but the key things needed to sell the character to viewers is barely fleshed out compared to the other crewmates.

We've only gotten a single chapter in regards to yamato's flashback, their full dream is still some vague "sail out to sea" (yes i know jinbei didn't really have his explicitly stated, but it wasn't well done either) and all the moments for him are really touch-and-go (yamato and luffy's very brief teamup, Ace's meetup, power showcase). I'm still confident we'll get some form of that sooner or later, but my biggest fear is that given how oda has botched the writing recently, he's going to end up screwing that bit up too.

otakufan

@Deicide:

Edit: Also, thinking about it, Vivi is the ultimate example. She stayed with the Straw Hats for multiple arcs, appeared in coverspreads and coverpages, got in the "Versus" Volume cover as a Straw Hat. She was undoubtedly considered "nakama", she was offered to join, she wanted to join, Oda kept the ball rolling until the very last chapter, when finally there was the goodbye. Why is it so unthinkable for Yamato?

Because Vivi never intended to continue sailing with the Strawhats after saving Alabasta. She made friends with the crew along the way, but her presence on board the Going Merry was always a transactional matter of getting her from Whiskey Peak to Alabasta, because saving her homeland from Crocodile was her sole driving motivation. Vivi never expected that she'd to want to continue sailing with the Strawhats once all was said and done, and the fact that a part of her very much did made the decision to stay more difficult than expected.

That is the exact opposite situation we have with Yamato, as Yams has been saying he wants to go out to sea since his introduction. Yes, he wants to save Wano, but saving Wano was never the be all and end all of his desires. He wants to go out to sea. He's wanted to go out to sea for twenty years. He wanted to go out to sea with Ace. He now wants to go out to sea with Luffy. Nothing about that implies that he would be content becoming Momonosuke's retainer and staying in Wano like a good samurai.

Vivi deciding to stay in Alabasta was a natural outgrowth of her character. Yamato deciding to stay in Wano would be tossing half his characterization into the garbage.

@Alfiere:

Yamato is not Vivi. Momo is Vivi, simple as that.

^This

Deicide

@otakufan:

Because Vivi never intended to continue sailing with the Strawhats after saving Alabasta. She made friends with the crew along the way, but her presence on board the Going Merry was always a transactional matter of getting her from Whiskey Peak to Alabasta, because saving her homeland from Crocodile was her sole driving motivation. Vivi never expected that she'd to want to continue sailing with the Strawhats once all was said and done, and the fact that a part of her very much did made the decision to stay more difficult than expected.

That is the exact opposite situation we have with Yamato, as Yams has been saying he wants to go out to sea since his introduction. Yes, he wants to save Wano, but saving Wano was never the be all and end all of his desires. He wants to go out to sea. He's wanted to go out to sea for twenty years. He wanted to go out to sea with Ace. He now wants to go out to sea with Luffy. Nothing about that implies that he would be content becoming Momonosuke's retainer and staying in Wano like a good samurai.

Vivi deciding to stay in Alabasta was a natural outgrowth of her character. Yamato deciding to stay in Wano would be tossing half his characterization into the garbage.

Zoro, Franky and Nami were all pirate-haters and never wanted to be pirates, and yet they joined the crew. Have they tossed out their characterization, or did their journeys led them to change their perspectives?

Character arcs are about change. "Being Oden" is just as essential to Yamato as "going out to sea and have adventures", to the point he uses the former as a reason to the later, and yet there seem to be a very common perception that he needs to drop the Oden act. Why is dropping one "character development" while dropping the other would be "tossing half his characterization"?

otakufan

@Deicide:

Character arcs are about change. "Being Oden" is just as essential to Yamato as "going out to sea and have adventures", to the point he uses the former as a reason to the later, and yet there seem to be a very common perception that he needs to drop the Oden act. Why is dropping one "character development" while dropping the other would be "tossing half his characterization"?

"I am Oden" is a character quirk.
"I want to go out to sea" is a dream and core motivation.

There may be more to it, indeed I imagine there probably is, but "going out to sea" is Yamato's dream, an aspiration he has clung to for the past twenty years while imprisoned on Onigashima.

Yams giving it up wouldn't be the same as dropping the "I am Oden" thing, it would be equivalent to Zoro saying he doesn't need to become the World's Strongest Swordsman, or Nami saying that mapping the world is a waste of time.

In a series that is all about people chasing after their dreams, I find that viewpoint to be antithetical to the core themes of One Piece.

legumes

I'll be real, if perona/carrot/gancock/pedro explicitly stated that their dream was to sail with luffy and conveniently knew his true dream i'm sure their supporters will probably be arguing that they would be a lock-in for now (i wouldn't even disagree)

Like you need to do big mental gymnastics to argue that no, this character who has been steadily built up isn't going to sail and they actually just want to play bodyguard for the rest of their life

Deicide

@otakufan:

"I am Oden" is a character quirk.
"I want to go out to sea" is a dream and core motivation.

There may be more to it, indeed I imagine there probably is, but "going out to sea" is Yamato's dream, an aspiration he has clung to for the past twenty years while imprisoned on Onigashima.

Yams giving it up wouldn't be the same as dropping the "I am Oden" thing, it would be equivalent to Zoro saying he doesn't need to become the World's Strongest Swordsman, or Nami saying that mapping the world is a waste of time.

In a series that is all about people chasing after their dreams, I find that viewpoint to be antithetical to the core themes of One Piece.

No, the real reason is: "I want him to join so he must keep wanting to board the ship, but the Oden thing is annoying, so he must drop it".

Except they are intrinsically tied together:

Let's see if the desire will survive if his identity is dropped.

Coookie

Yamato sure was quick to acknowledge that Luffy was more Oden than him for someone who thinks being Oden is essential to their identity.

otakufan

@Deicide:

No, the real reason is: "I want him to join so he must keep wanting to board the ship, but the Oden thing is annoying, so he must drop it".

Except they are intrinsically tied together:

Let's see if the desire will survive if his identity is dropped.

For what it's worth, I haven't been among those saying he needs to drop the "I am Oden" thing, at least not fully.

And even if Yamato does stop claiming to be Oden, that doesn't change the fact that Oden is and will certainly remain a major influence on him - Yams could transition from "being" Oden to simply seeking to emulate Oden without changing much of anything.

Monquito

Appearing in vol 100 is objetively more impressive and relevant, and in retrospective, it'll look really bad for a 'one-arc character' to be there, when it could've been easily avoided.

Also, her story-arc is not going the way of that Wano's going to garbage unless Yamato stays, the place is already very likely to be the 2nd strongest nation right after Elbaf, and arguably the first one if Momo learnt how to control Zunesha properly.
Not a single Wano-kunian has noticed or vocalized on the Wolf-deity, nor she has interacted with any scabbard.

The epilogue chapters are going to be quite decisive in this case.

electricmastro

@Lemony:

the flashback was kinda weak for strawhat standards (and sure, you might point out Zoro or Usopp, but those are literally a thousand chapters ago. Oda way of doing things changed.)

I guess Shanks losing his arm and Nami’s flashback are weak then since those were also 1,000 chapters ago and things have changed since then too.

Deicide

I just realised that upon dawn Yamato will be laying his eyes on Wano for the first time in 20 years, and he never saw the devastation caused by Orochi and Kaido.

I wonder if and how that will be addressed in the story…

legumes

seems like the oden way to just ditch wano and explore the world then

perfect!

electricmastro

@legumes:

Honestly putting aside the extreme cherrypicking some people are still doing in the thread, Oda still has a long way to really seal yamato's crewmateship imo. Like sure, there's a ton of red flags that typically point towards main character (huge focus from introduction, has repeatedly stated desire to go abroad with luffy, knows the protag's true dream, unique enough design for an oda-female design and the fact he made effort to make him look distinct after first reveal) but the key things needed to sell the character to viewers is barely fleshed out compared to the other crewmates.

We've only gotten a single chapter in regards to yamato's flashback, their full dream is still some vague "sail out to sea" (yes i know jinbei didn't really have his explicitly stated, but it wasn't well done either) and all the moments for him are really touch-and-go (yamato and luffy's very brief teamup, Ace's meetup, power showcase). I'm still confident we'll get some form of that sooner or later, but my biggest fear is that given how oda has botched the writing recently, he's going to end up screwing that bit up too.

I’d have to suspect her post-Wano dream involves Joy Boy, because Oden specifically trying to do things to prepare for him and Yamato mentioning him too.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Monquito:

Appearing in vol 100 is objetively more impressive and relevant, and in retrospective, it'll look really bad for a 'one-arc character' to be there, when it could've been easily avoided.

Also, her story-arc is not going the way of that Wano's going to garbage unless Yamato stays, the place is already very likely to be the 2nd strongest nation right after Elbaf, and arguably the first one if Momo learnt how to control Zunesha properly.
Not a single Wano-kunian has noticed or vocalized on the Wolf-deity, nor she has interacted with any scabbard.

The epilogue chapters are going to be quite decisive in this case.

There’s also the fact that Pell referred to himself as a guardian spirit and was able to leave at least for Alabasta’s cause. People seem to ignore that for some reason though. lol

Zik

@Coookie:

I have no idea what manga you're reading if you believe that Carrot's treatment during Whole Cake Island and Yamato's during Onigashima are anywhere near similar. There are so many reasons why people latched onto Yamato so much more than any Rebecca, Shirahoshi, Perona, or other boobs of the arc, why this thread is titled Yamato vs the world when nothing of the sorts happened to the characters I just mentioned, why some people who are usually much more restrained when it comes to possible new crew members threw their hat in the ring for Yamato.

It’s been an incredibly disingenuous argument/stance against Yamato for at least 3 pages now.

Lemony

@electricmastro:

I guess Shanks losing his arm and Nami’s flashback are weak then since those were also 1,000 chapters ago and things have changed since then too.

I… don't really get what you're trying to accomplish with the sarcastic tone, dude. Why does it matter for what I said that Shanks scene (not even a flashback) and Nami's past were great??

ArmamentHero

I don't see any major changes that would make Yamato stay. There's still a lot of narrative appeal that indicates Yamato will be leaving on the Sunny.

Marcotty

Well, if everyone's just resorting to personal feelings at this point.

Yamato's got all the MC traits of Ace and Sabo. That is to say, frustratingly forced importance while as dull and uninteresting as possible; but we'll love the character anyway cause they have a deep connection with Luffy and appear to be a badass. I certainly must be reading a different series if this character has done anything to stand out amongst the other fake outs in the past.

I believe they'll be leaving Wano, even catching a ride to Ace's grave seems reasonable, but starting a journey of their own is really the only way I can see things for this character. If they were meant to be an MC, I guess that'll end up being the evidence to me that Oda really is losing it.

Rean

The Ace links alone tell you that Yamato will be going with Luffy.

Almost everything Ace did or promised within his Wano stint has been accomplished in this arc, with Yamato's status being the only thread that is hanging, and probably not for long.