@omae:
It's just that…well..(edit: in a fight)..he's kind of boring.
As are all Zoans; I think that's why Oda stayed away from them until the CP9 arc, and hopefully, this will be the last time Zoans take center state. Arguably, Chopper is the most interesting Zoan because he can add variables to his abilities, but, like with Rokushiki, there are limits to how much Oda can add a spin to each battle; hence, Chopper gets less and less battle time because he's not as interesting as, say, Sogeking or Nami.
Luffy is much the same way, but from what we have seen with the Gear move series, there are still floors Luffy has yet to achieve to becoming more powerful.
@sabret00the:
you completely ignore the fact that Chopper has said himself he wants to become a brave pirate of the sea in favour of some romantic cra[ck]. Honestly outside of pandering to the cra[ck] that is battle-nami and battle-usopp could you really see Luffy, Sanji, Zoro or Franky running away in a fight to find Chopper for some strength potion or to put a bandaid on them? that's the worst post ever.
Chopper is more of an "after the battle" kinda guy, but I could see him having insta-meds on him. Also, "becoming a brave pirate of the sea" isn't Chopper's dream, apparently. That's Usopp's department. Chopper apparently want's a "cure-all" potion that nullifies all diseases (but such a thing isn't really possible outside of magical means).
@sabret00the:
Chopper himself wants to become strong, he wants to be a real pirate and of what we know of the pirates in Oda's world, atleast as far as the general consensus grows, pirates are strong creatures. not to mention that Chopper himself has said he'd like to be able to protect his nakama and fight for their dreams.
Being "strong" is just a side effect of searching for One Piece. Aside from Zoro, the Strawhats all have goals that do not necessarily tie in with becoming stronger. If all the pirates in OP were weak and boring, or if Luffy's crew could take care of themselves, what would be the incentive for Luffy to go and develop something along the lines of his Gear techniques? This isn't Tenjou Tenge, man; Ten Ten illustrates just how weak a "getting stronger" theme for a story is.
@sabret00the:
I appreciate that you like the cute side of his character, and despite being my second favourite character, i've never really felt it a nessecity in regards to his character, he's the youngest and he's naive but he needs to start showing signs of growing up soon and he can do that and remain cute, but at the same time, he also need's to be able to hold his own and i would actually like to see him do that, holding back a character for the 'girlie' pull ("awww" factor), would just be sad.
Live with it. Sanji fans who had to endure Chapter 403 did. Personally, I think Usopp is actually outstepping his bounds by rubbing necks with the like of Sanji and Zoro; the Strawhats are evenly distributed in terms of strength in association with class. Robin and Sanji's in the middle, Luffy and Zoro on the upper tier, and Chopper, Nami, and Usopp taking up the bottom. As such, I don't see why lack of Chopper development is any different from lack of Nami development; my ownly hypothesis is that certain people are jealous of Usopp always getting the limelight.
@sabret00the:
Choppers got the biggest scope for potential of all the characters and the fact that he's got a rumble ball with five additional fighting forms, says that he has the right to become a fighter for the mugiwara, anything less would be a disappointment.
That's absolutely wrong. Chopper is the weakest Strawhat and already exhausted his potential when he was first introduced; development of the Rumble Ball is the only saving grace that gives Chopper any sort of edge against opponents, and, even then, what could Chopper possibly do to innovate that? He bulges his muscles, grow hair, and possibly might even manage a way to enlarge his horns. But, what other properties can be attained aside from that? Chopper had no upgrades thus far in W7 because he can't upgrade; I think his development is pretty much over. He could become braver, but such development would pale to what Usopp is getting right now.