Who would've guess there'd be a thread for Nami too?

[Gizmo]

First before anything, let's remember to keep this thread clean. Same goes for every other thread, no bashing, flaming, etc. Now, lets the games commence.

Nami is the fiery red headed girl of the Strawhats. She was first seen as a petty thief, but now she's one of the main fighters in One Piece.
The question is, was that really good development for her?

1.The main thing: her fighting style. The first question i guess is
Did Oda ruin Nami as a potential fighter?
When she first started out, Nami used the typical staff whenever she wanted to defend something. She wasn't a fighter but a thief just trying to earn some money. During all of East Blue she let the others fight while she got all of the money. Then, after Luffy and the others saved her from the hell she was in, she started to want to fight more and wanted to stop being in the sidelines. That's when she made Usopp her weapon I personally loved, her climatact.

The way Oda presented it was really good. She showed comic relief fighter so she couldn't be taken seriously, but used that to turn the battle around.

The Enies Lobby Ark was when it went downhill. The ultimateclimatact was the best weapon. It's first appearance showed much potential for it as a fighting tool, with a serious drawback of damage. With her brains and the new power, she'll use it to come with the cool style of fighting. The weapon seemed perfect for her to finally show how'd she become. Then she wanted to really fight to save Robin. The trouble really kicks in.

Her fight was there with Calipha. The crazy battle that could define Nami as what she'll become as a fighter. Oda turned it into some fanservice for all men everywhere. Oda could've made it so she used her staff as a good defense as well as offense, but no. That would've been okay, if Calipha actually fought during the battle! No, Oda made it so she'd rub her body down making her powerless, and thus she rained down making her body wet and soaking them pumping the charge in Nami's "staff" and used its power on Calipha.

Nami's fight was a joke on all humanity. This shows that the only way Nami'll ever win is if the fighter is a super hot girl that totally wants lesbian sex with her then Nami will attack her. That could really hurt her in the long run. One shigan and she probably would've been seriously injured. Oda should've showed that Nami is prepared more for incoming attacks against her instead of showing off how big he drew her boobs in the chapter. He could keep drawing them like that, just make her even hotter by showing her fighting skillz

2.Will Nami ever be taken seriously?
Her bounty and everything about her made her seem like she's the SHs sexy girl in the crew and nothing more.
She has in short a weapon of mass destruction, yet all it shows of her is Nami posing for a swimsuit. Don't get me wrong, I love how Nami is showing off what she has, its just that Nami could be so much more.
Nami can:

• predict the weather
• navigate through almost anything
• has weapon of mass destruction
• can makes accurate mapsnot that its being shown but whatever

Yet, the only thing Oda is showing is her beautiful body. There's a balance between a hot gorgeous girl and fighter, but he hasn't been showing Nami as nothing more than a way to lure guys into the manga. Really, can Nami really be only about fanservice?

Okay, i know this is probably really bad organization and such, but please try to keep it on those two questions for now. I'm not good at this, but this really needs to be said. Keep it within the perameters. Also, if somebody wants to reword these to make it clearer feel free too.

[Geese]

She's the same character only she's far more capable in combat.

[sgamer82]

Zambai said it best: "I totally thought that chick was in a support role. But she can kick ass with the rest of 'em!!"

When you get down to it. the bounty poster and nickname and such make the characters who don't know her think she's less than she is. we the readers and the straw-hats know better.

[Fanservice]

Didn't she get shiganed in that fight? IIRC, she took one.

IMO, yeah…girls are usually used in mangas/animes majorly as fanservice. We'll never get to see her kick ass like Luffy and co does or perform an uber-pyhsical fight just 'cause she's a girl. That fight she had with Calipha went her way because Calipha's power helps Nami's weapon charge up. (And of course, the author said so). That being said, it's possible to see her use the new weapon even against serious enemies but I don't see that likely happening because of the unwritten "shonen-manga' rules. She'll probably win against stronger guys with large egos (ie: the ones who underestimate their opponents too much) or someone who has a power that can be used to use her weapon (ie: Calipha).

With that weapon, she can easily own Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, given the proper weather, but I don't see her doing so since she's pretty much a supporting character.

[gaara d. lucci]

All I have to say about Nami is "JOB AURA TO THE MAX". It's like all her opponents somehow become idiots when fighting her. What makes it worse is that she's not yet in their league.

But still, she did indeed improve in the area of fighting I must say. She ain't nowhere near useless.

[FireFistAce 0]

The biggest development for Nami is coming up. Her opinion of Gyojin is rather biased because of Arlong and his crew, and the crew is heading to Gyojin Island. Naturally, this could cause problems. But the advantage of this is that Nami will see for a fact that not all Gyojin are bad. She will see another side of a people that she has hated for years.

Prior till then, Nami's only real development moment was during the Doublefinger fight, when she figured out that Usopp wasn't mocking her by giving her the Climatact. The weapon is perfect for her because she's a genius. She's one of the smartest characters in One Piece.

That said, Nami is the only one besides Robin that really retains any info. Usopp retains some, but Robin and Nami remember just about everything they're told, making them extremely adaptive fighters. Luffy is a combat genius, but despite any adaptions he makes such as gears and specific moves for specific situations, his fighting style never really changes. It's all martial arts.

We haven't seen Robin fight much, but Nami has had two major fights (Kotori and Hotori was not a major fight) so far. Both fights were drastically different, with Doublefinger's fight being more of a "Figure out how this weapon works" and Calipha's fight being "Figure out how the hell to stop her soap crap".

I still didn't approve of the Calipha fight, though. The only serious fight was against Ms. Doublefinger, another reason why I preferred the Baroque Works fights to the CP9 ones.

I'd like to see Nami's last opponent be Ben Beckman. As far as we know, he's the smartest person on the Grand Line. He'd be an excellent challenge.

[blueblip]

Yeah, the Calipha battle was really weird (I keep thinking on how her thorn whip was made into a shigan whip). But how else could you write a fight with Nami beating a CP9 member? I mean, Calipha was the weakest bar Nero, but Franky had already taken care of that guy. Nami's opponents henceforth will have to be dumbed down if she wins a fight. The Perfect Climatact is a godly wepon, for sure, but when an opponent can reach you in an instant, or slash at you from a distance, anyone without similar physical capabilities would not be able to get the Climatact setup for attacking.

That said, she took, I think, 2 shigans and even blocked a rankyaku with the 'tact. Wasn't that bad a showing considering her fighting skills are nearly non-existant.

[CosmicDebris]

When Nami was first introduced in the story, I didn't care for her. Arlong Park really made me appreciate her character to the point where she became one of my favorites. The only problem I have is that it seems like since after Arabasta, she's pretty much just been "there". She was dead weight through most of Skypiea, and she often seemed like a helpless bystander in Water 7, up until she finally pulled out the new Clima-Tact which Usopp managed to turn into a really awesome weapon. The fight itself was rather odd, though, with all that naked fanservice, then Nami suddenly turning into a shiny turd….but I digress...
I'm looking forward to some non-fighting related character development coming up where her navigation skills come into play more. Going to the Fishman island presents all kinds of opportunities, with her past with Arlong and all.

[Saloma]

Ah, Nami, one of my favorite One Piece characters. Not only is she hot, she's at least strong enough to not be a dansel in destress and she's got a great personality…

@ultimateclima:

1.The main thing: her fighting style. The first question i guess is
Did Oda ruin Nami as a potential fighter?

This answer is difficult to answer, as we have only seen her fight seriously twice, and even then they could both be seen as flukes. In the Doublefinger fight, she just got her new weapon and most of the time she was trying to figure out how it worked. Obviously, making flowers and birds appear isn't at all intimidating, so Doublefinger didn't take her seriously. This of course led to her defeat by the Tornado Tempo. Although this is a win for Nami, it gets canceled out by the fact that her opponent didn't go at her with her best.

Nami vs. Califa… My god, this fight was a total joke. Here we have Nami again, but this time she actually knows how to efficently use her Clima Tact to go against her opponent. The problem was the airhead known as Califa. At first, you would see her as a smart secretary for the boss of a company (and actually being smarter than the boss himself) but for some reason, she plum forgot 90% of her moves. I suppose not using Tekkai made sense, as electricity would go right through it, but what ever happened to her whip? No, instead she worked at "Molestors 'R Us" with possibly the stupidest devil fruit power ever (not counting the anime, of course). Somehow her bubbles sucked away your strength... Ok? Even if that makes absolutely no sense, it's not like she cared, as she only wanted Nami for her body. Again, this ends with Nami winning, but this fight is seen as the worst fight in all of One Piece...

Now, although Nami's fights haven't been the best in the barrel, it doesn't mean they shall always stay this way. I for one, hope Nami's next opponent will at least not toy around with Nami because she's seen as weak but instead use everything in their arsonal so Nami can finally have a decent fight.

So my answer would have to be, no. Although her fights weren't all that great, I doubt Oda would make her a complete joke of a character.

@ultimateclima:

2.Will Nami ever be taken seriously?

I must say I hope so, a great person like Nami doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. Hopefully her new bounty will at least give her a little respect with other pirates. It seems everyone now has to deal with new things as they gain new bounties, Nami should be no different.

[Ashen]

I dont know why, but i see nami fighting captain Hina in the near future. Thats got to be a good match-up

[Aeque]

Am I the only one that really liked the Califa fight? Not for the rubbing, that was kind of overdone, but the… was it called Fata Morgana? was really cool. Sure, it was a joke fight, but that's why it was awesome.

I agree that her next fight will probably be a lot more serious, though. There's only so many evil bemused bimbos to go around...

[gaara d. lucci]

I agree as well also. Nami's next fight needs to be serious because at this point, she is the OP equivalent of Squirrel Girl.

But again, she has improved considerably so I expecting a lot from Nami.

[jlo81]

her weapon perfect clima-tact has so much potential to be an uber weapon of mass-destruction.. hopefully her next fight would be serious and decent…

yes.. i see a ultra-electro-magnetic-thunderous attack that will fry all the merman in the next arc..

[LightReaper]

She will get her opportunity on Gyojin island I believe, too much potential for a fight between Nami and a fishman/merman (I don't know which but you know what I mean). She will likely get both her personality, backstory and fighting abilities fleshed out this arc as it's perfect for her.

As a huge fan of Nami as a person and not as T&A, I look forward to it.

[Fat Tony the Chopper]

It's hard to classify Nami's fighting style, but if I had I guess, I'd say she falls somewhere in between a pure tank character and a pure master of destruction character (wizards). Certainly she has some tanking and close combat prowess, but she's no Zoro. She also has the potential for mass destruction, but probably nowhere near the potential I feel Usopp has. Afterall, it was Usopp who created her weapon in the first place. She's a hybrid character when it comes to fighting styles. As for her fights, I feel that all the the fights given to her so far were given to her simply to demonstrate that she does indeed have enough strength to travel with the others deeper into the Grand Line. She does not, however, unlike some of the others, have the strength, in terms of fighting, to conquer it.

That said, I feel her importance to the crew and story really has more to do with her navigating, and her ability to lead and take charge in desparate situations (do not underestimate these extremely important roles; if you take these away, then you take away the Straw Hats ability to conquer the Grand Line), than it does with her fighting. Overall, she's just as important to the crew as any other crew member, no more, no less. If Oda were to make her a more capable fighter, say on the level of Sanji, then this balance would be disrupted by making her a more important crew member, in terms of usefulness, than the others. IMO, Oda got the balance just right with Nami.

[UNKNOWNFILE]

Yeah, the whole fight was mocked in a doujin. If it was to have any significance in OP, it would only be to inspire people to make doujins of that fight sequence.

[Morgh]

I'm wondering if I'm drunk or something, since I thought the EL fight against Calipha pretty damned awesome. She created clones of herself, imagine the tactical advantage for a poor normal girl that gives. Not sure if it's hope or realistic thinking, but I imagine that fight could be interpreted as a testing phase where Oda's showing us that Nami can pack some serious powers of a different kind. She won't/shouldn't ever be a Luffy :blink: but she's showing that she can be a serious heavy duty support, and stand on her own. Besides being one of the most intelligent people on that ship
In short, since I don't expect her to be a tough-ass, I wasn't disappointed in the least.

[kljs]

also, she was taking out captains during their fight on the bridge of hesitation…..
I counted at least more than 5 (visible ones in that chapter) captains that got shocked out of their bones by her........

[ChopChopCannon]

@ultimateclima:

First before anything, let's remember to keep this thread clean. Same goes for every other thread, no bashing, flaming, etc. Now, lets the games commence.

Nami is the fiery red headed girl of the Strawhats. She was first seen as a petty thief, but now she's one of the main fighters in One Piece.
The question is, was that really good development for her?

1.The main thing: her fighting style. The first question i guess is
Did Oda ruin Nami as a potential fighter?
When she first started out, Nami used the typical staff whenever she wanted to defend something. She wasn't a fighter but a thief just trying to earn some money. During all of East Blue she let the others fight while she got all of the money. Then, after Luffy and the others saved her from the hell she was in, she started to want to fight more and wanted to stop being in the sidelines. That's when she made Usopp her weapon I personally loved, her climatact.

The way Oda presented it was really good. She showed comic relief fighter so she couldn't be taken seriously, but used that to turn the battle around.

The Enies Lobby Ark was when it went downhill. The ultimateclimatact was the best weapon. It's first appearance showed much potential for it as a fighting tool, with a serious drawback of damage. With her brains and the new power, she'll use it to come with the cool style of fighting. The weapon seemed perfect for her to finally show how'd she become. Then she wanted to really fight to save Robin. The trouble really kicks in.

Her fight was there with Calipha. The crazy battle that could define Nami as what she'll become as a fighter. Oda turned it into some fanservice for all men everywhere. Oda could've made it so she used her staff as a good defense as well as offense, but no. That would've been okay, if Calipha actually fought during the battle! No, Oda made it so she'd rub her body down making her powerless, and thus she rained down making her body wet and soaking them pumping the charge in Nami's "staff" and used its power on Calipha.

Nami's fight was a joke on all humanity. This shows that the only way Nami'll ever win is if the fighter is a super hot girl that totally wants lesbian sex with her then Nami will attack her. That could really hurt her in the long run. One shigan and she probably would've been seriously injured. Oda should've showed that Nami is prepared more for incoming attacks against her instead of showing off how big he drew her boobs in the chapter. He could keep drawing them like that, just make her even hotter by showing her fighting skillz

2.Will Nami ever be taken seriously?
Her bounty and everything about her made her seem like she's the SHs sexy girl in the crew and nothing more.
She has in short a weapon of mass destruction, yet all it shows of her is Nami posing for a swimsuit. Don't get me wrong, I love how Nami is showing off what she has, its just that Nami could be so much more.
Nami can:

• predict the weather
• navigate through almost anything
• has weapon of mass destruction
• can makes accurate mapsnot that its being shown but whatever

Yet, the only thing Oda is showing is her beautiful body. There's a balance between a hot gorgeous girl and fighter, but he hasn't been showing Nami as nothing more than a way to lure guys into the manga. Really, can Nami really be only about fanservice?

Okay, i know this is probably really bad organization and such, but please try to keep it on those two questions for now. I'm not good at this, but this really needs to be said. Keep it within the perameters. Also, if somebody wants to reword these to make it clearer feel free too.

I think you're reading too much into it. IMO, Nami's a good fighter, and an integral part of the storyline, especially where Arlong is concerned.

[kljs]

without Nami, Luffy probably won't be able to even get near into Raftel…. I am assuming that Raftel is very hard to get too and also the weather and wind will be hard to navigate with........... unless you have someone like Nami....

it would be a shocking if Shanks saw Nami and remembers Roger's navigator and figure she is his daughter.......

[boiga]

I never quite understood why everyone here thought calipha was a pushover. When you get down to it, calipha could have defeated zoro, luffy, sanji, franky or chopper. Her bubbles nerfed the fighting strength of her enemies. Without strength, there isn't anything left to the mugiwara "top tier" fighters.

Sure it was fan service, but that same body rubbing tactic would have worked against 95% of the fighters on the grandline. Hell, if calipha got in the first shot, she could take down whitebeard.

So, when it comes down to it, I was very impressed by nami beating calipha. Itshows how she can kick ass without being a brawler.

[onemoment]

@blueblip:

Yeah, the Calipha battle was really weird (I keep thinking on how her thorn whip was made into a shigan whip). But how else could you write a fight with Nami beating a CP9 member? I mean, Calipha was the weakest bar Nero, but Franky had already taken care of that guy. Nami's opponents henceforth will have to be dumbed down if she wins a fight. The Perfect Climatact is a godly wepon, for sure, but when an opponent can reach you in an instant, or slash at you from a distance, anyone without similar physical capabilities would not be able to get the Climatact setup for attacking.

That said, she took, I think, 2 shigans and even blocked a rankyaku with the 'tact. Wasn't that bad a showing considering her fighting skills are nearly non-existant.

Actually, I wouldn't think that saying she has no skill is accurate. Like Nami said, she's been a pirate theif for 10 years–so that gives her experience in dodging, running, and evading at least. Basically, survival skills. Meanwhile, she's good with staff weapons.

I think it would be more accurate to say that she has "no strength" compared to most One Piece fighters as opposed to no skills.

[Rai]

Well, there was Kumadori who took her seriously, but he finished her in seconds. Chopper barely saves her then. Kumadori wasn't that strong conpared to the others, but he did a really easy job. Can't imagine Nami winning against one of those.
Yeah, that fight wasn't too good, but there is more to come, I'm sure. I suggest to keep low profile till we have at least 3 big fights and some small ones for her.
And I think Ben Beckmen will be Zoro's, not Nami's.

Also, about the bounty: 16M isn't THAT much, considering they are now near the New World.
When you reread, you can even doubt why someone with no compared to, who plays with tons of human lives and is supposedly fucking rich had a bounty of 20M.

[Rollo T]

I didn't like the Nami/Kalifa fight not from the fanservice, but to the uneven feeling of the fight. Unlike most OP fights where there's a feeling a balance, there wasn't here. Kalifa rapes Nami until Nami pulls one good move out, then the whole situation flip flops and Nami owns the rest. I mean Zoro may have been owning Kaku, but Kaku still made moves inbetween.

I liked Nami before she got the Climatact better. She had her position and her skills and she played a great character. But now that she can fight, we have to expect her to be a powerhouse, and the SHs do not need another powerhouse. It takes away from the intelligence of the character and the comedic moments she had when we have to expect her to tear apart opponents as strong as anything Zoro or Sanji may fight. We have a character with fighting potential that's too cowardly to fight to Sanji/Zoro level. His name is Chopper. Why not make Chopper the Nami fighter, the one who looks like they're getting beat but still pulls through in the end. And the Chopper/Kalifa molestation scene would have been a lot less erotic. Or maybe much more if that's your kind of thing. I'm just not a fan of the SHs needing another powerhouse when Nami was a perfectly fine character before.

[Gizmo]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Really puts everything in perspective.

Calipha is an idiot though. She's suppossed to be CP9, a highly trained assassin. Yet, there was a defenseless Sanji and Nami yet she didn't even think of finishing them off. Great assassin right them.

Fanservice unbalanced the good fight. Rubbing down Nami is totally great. The fact that she was naked and playing with her bubbles weren't really necessary. Also, Nami's by far stupidest line ever thought up by her:
"Wow she's really sexy. If she were my secretary I'll be happy. Wait, I'm not a man!"
The fight was totally overshadowed by this. Oda could've used that extra time to show off more of Nami's skills.

Nami's overall fighting was good though, I'll admit i did degrade her and she can really stand up for herself. Her style is what really got me excited when Zanbai said she's one of the main fighters. I was looking for a new style of fighting that's different from the others. Oda delivered there. She is elusive and very hard to hit, and uses moves to avoid attacks. Fata MOrgana was a really good move for Nami. plus she uses her WEAPOn of Mass destruction to quickly overpower her opponent like Chopper does. That made Nami really inteesting to see fights.
The problem is that Oda could've really showed more of this. The next ark like all is saying is really showing good opportunities though.

Looks like number one has been answered. Guess Nami's style of fighting is at a good pace really, but i think everyone would agree here Calipha's an idiot and made the fight worse than it could've been, but a very sexy erotic idiot.

My second question is what Rollo T is talking about, she's can be a good fighter and really sexy, but what about her other character traits?
That i think is what Oda's been lacking in not only her, but Chopper and Sanji too, but this thread's about Nami.

Her position in the crew has really been undermined, she has many great qualities about her, but Oda has been showing more of what she's capable of.
She hasn't really been showing any real mapmaking business. Isn't her dream to make a map of the world? What happened to that?
Another quality is on her bounty is says "Thief". Sure Oda is telling what Nami was just as Zoro's not a "bounty hunter" anymore, but she's really a lot more. At least Zoro's name still tells that he's a dangerous man that hunts people down. Nami hasn't shown any thievary at all since Arlong ark. She's shown in money grubbing, sexy, fighter, and navigator, but he chose thief. Nami should either get a name change or show something to show shes stealing again.

Navigation really needed to be highlighted too, but that's been pretty good actually. There hasn't been any navigating lately, but she did lead them out of the Enies Lobby whirlpool sea. That's really impressive, but it felt overlooked. and with the "Triangle" coming up, it looks like navigation will be needed again and Nami will shine.

[blueblip]

About me saying Nami has near non-existant skills, let me add something…"compared to the Strawhat Big Three." THAT should set the record straight :)!

A lot of people have already brought this up (curse them), but I'm going on and saying it meself...Nami, in the end, doesn't need to be able to have a fight with someone compareable to a completely serious Calipha. Her fights need never be serious. Her main function on the Strawhat crew is to make sure they stay alive at sea. Without her, the Strawhats would never have been able to get to Skypeia, or navigate to Whiskey Peak, or have been smashed up against Reverse Mountain. Make her a very capable fighter, even as good as Chopper, would unbalance her.

She just needs to be able to take care of herself in an extremely hostile environment. That's where her Climatact comes into play. Fata Morgana was a nifty technique, and with her knowledge of weather, Nami has as much fighting prowess as she needs.

[Tragic_johnson]

blah blah blah, Nami fight this, Nami fight that. You know if she never has another fight ever again, shes still probably the second most important member on the crew because of her superb navigation. Nami is a great charecter for the manga, thats all you need, shes interacts with the crew, keeps them in line, navigates, steals, predicts the weather, has grown alot as a charecter, has totol belief in her crew, oh and top of that she fights opponents like Calipha and Ms.DF, and grows to be a more confident fighter with every battle! You know a year and half ago when the chapters after the CP9 kicked everyone's ass and every thing seemed hopeless, THE FIRST charecter that i read that had total belief in her crew and the situation was Nami, then she gathered everyone up and got them to Eneies Lobby. You guys act like if a charecter isn't constantly engaged in battle, they're useless, I think Nami probably a more valuable part of the crew than even Zoro.

[Pants-eater]

This post is deleted!

[Adam]

nami has her optimal weapon. she is a theif, there for she fights like a theif. dodging attacks and then while she dodge prepair her moves. creating illusions so she get a slight time to do other attacks. all nami need to do is dodge one attack then she can basicly own anyone, when a fight start with nami you do see her. But it is possible for nami do be out of sight in a whole fight. And launch attacks.

I think that nami has improved to the better with the help of ussops climatacts.

[Rollo T]

The last moment of thieving I remember Nami doing was robbing Kumadori of his key. One thing I noticed is she stole Kumadori's key right off, but for Kalifa's key she had to rip off her clothes if I recall. Never really got that, especially since Kalifa had much less clothes to search through. Oh well.

But her thieving skills haven't been brought up that much. Probably my favorite moment of Nami's was when she was running towards the ship after the Arlong Arc and stole everyone's wallets on the way. That shit was hilarious, and showed off her skills. Nami needs more moments like that, where she steals important stuff right off of people. Yes she's proven herself an amazing navigator, but hey, Usopp's main skill is shooting yet he has moments where his inventing, carpentry, and painting skills are emphasized. I'd personally like to see more of Nami's stealing, and downplay her as the big fighter, just because it feels like the crew already has enough of those, especially if Franky joins.

[King Calamari]

@Rollo:

The last moment of thieving I remember Nami doing was robbing Kumadori of his key. One thing I noticed is she stole Kumadori's key right off, but for Kalifa's key she had to rip off her clothes if I recall. Never really got that, especially since Kalifa had much less clothes to search through. Oh well.

Unlike Kumadori I doubt there was much room on her tight outfit for pockets.

[dinty]

Nami also stole the red card from the referee during the Groggy Ring battle – a key move that kept Sanji from being disqualified just as he and Zoro were about to turn the table on Pickles, Bun Bun and Hamburg. Nami then lied to the ref to trick him into blowing his whistle so that the game could officially end.

Both are great examples of Nami's cleverness as well as examples of her frequent, but barely noticeable, reliance on thieving and lying (The skills that she's been using most of her life to evade Arlong and to gather treasure).

I think the main disadvantage that Nami has -- compared to other characters -- is that much of her talent is subtle, not showy, so if readers don't know what to look for, they might think she's been doing nothing. I wonder how much of her cleverness has gone undetected by readers. I know I've missed it a few times here and there : times when she has strategically surrendered or pretended not to know something she knows or etc, and it's gone right over my head, until another AP person mentions it in a thread. When I read that posting, I say to myself "Yowza! That's right!" and appreciate Nami's abilities all over again.

I think this next arc will be a great opportunity for Nami to shine again. I'm looking forward to seeing her grow and become more complex as she deals with her conflicting feelings about the fish-men. I hope she takes happy memories of Kokoro and Chimney and Gonbe with her there, too, because they'd provide a good counterpoint for the bad memories of Arlong and his crew that will inevitably haunt Nami as the Mugiwara sail closer to the island that Arlong sailed from on his way to Nami's villiage.

[smashfanDS]

She also used her skills to steal the key to the armory from Wapol while he was chasing her.

Well, I hope her next opponent will be intelligent like she is. That will probably be a nice challenge for Nami.

[gaara d. lucci]

I hope her next opponent is smart as well. I don't wanna see any more Squirrel Girl job aura from Nami.

[zero chan]

@ultimateclima:

Her position in the crew has really been undermined, she has many great qualities about her, but Oda has been showing more of what she's capable of.
She hasn't really been showing any real mapmaking business. Isn't her dream to make a map of the world? What happened to that?

Another quality is on her bounty is says "Thief". Sure Oda is telling what Nami was just as Zoro's not a "bounty hunter" anymore, but she's really a lot more. At least Zoro's name still tells that he's a dangerous man that hunts people down. Nami hasn't shown any thievary at all since Arlong ark. She's shown in money grubbing, sexy, fighter, and navigator, but he chose thief. Nami should either get a name change or show something to show shes stealing again.

Navigation really needed to be highlighted too, but that's been pretty good actually. There hasn't been any navigating lately, but she did lead them out of the Enies Lobby whirlpool sea. That's really impressive, but it felt overlooked. and with the "Triangle" coming up, it looks like navigation will be needed again and Nami will shine.

So you say her position in the crew had really been undermined, by her crew or Oda or by us? Personally I pick the 3rd option. We are just not observant enough. I think the SH crew does respect her as the navigator and they listen to her 90% of the time in that area.

I also think that her effort in navigating out of EL is impressive. Whether it is overlooked depends on individual. I did not overlook it. It is just unfortunate that

1. she's the least popular SH, so not many people pay attention to whatever she does.
2. this is a shounen manga, so a typical fan pays more attention to battle related stuffs or destructive actions like how Sanji and Zoro teamed up to inflict damages on one of the BC ships.

Unlike some of you here, I don't think Oda ever intends to make her a main fighter, like Sanji and Zoro. She's at most a secondary fighter and I'm ok with that. She fights only when necessary. She fought Doublefinger becos she's cornered and no one was available to save her. She fought Califa because Sanji couldn't and no one else was available (Chopper was tending to Sanji's wounds.). Oda was probably aware that the genre he was dealing with emphasized more on fighting, becos that's exactly what the readers want. Hence he did not want to leave Nami out of battles, but he was careful not to let her fight too much thus upsetting the balance of her character.

Out of topic: Someone mentioned Chopper here, about how he shows potential as a good fighter. I agree with that and I think Oda addresses that by making him fight Kumadori, a more challenging opponent than Califa.

[CoyoteFR]

Did you forget Luffy would not have been able to defeat Ener without her ? Even if she didn't play a major role in the Enias Lobby Rampage, she had her turn before, and she will have it again in the future (and, I hope, not with this mermen sh** you all seem to wish. I'd rather have a story based on her true birthplace) .

Same goes for all Strawhat's crewmemebers, after all. Usopp was transparent during the whole Skypiea Arc, and has become one of the most significant plotkeys since vol. 35. Chopper, who's usually backshadowed, has his own short moments to shine, from time to time…

[CoyoteFR]

@zero:

I agree with that and I think Oda addresses that by making him fight Kumadori, a more challenging opponent than Califa.

I can't even visualize what the heck makes you assume such things.

[Rollo T]

http://groups.msn.com/OnePieceMangav-2/onepiecechapter379.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=4536

Kumadori's Douriki was higher. Kinda like the number system of Baroque Works.

Comparing fighting styles… Nami couldn't beat Kumadori. Nami could beat Kalifa. So, one COULD say Kumadori > Kalifa.

Not saying that's correct logic, but it is logic one COULD use.

[gue]

I really think with Franky coming into the picture right now, Nami should get an ultimate clima tact. With Usop's clima tact, she owned a member of cp9. With Franky's mad upgrades put into this weapon, I bet she could take a sea monster by herself if she wants to!

I really think the strawhat crew will develop pretty fast from now on. With sanji's ability to brew something for Franky to pump up his power, or usop and franky putting their heads together to improve each other's weapons. Further upgrades on Nami's weapon is possible too. And do you remember Usop offered Zoro to make him a flame sword? U think he'll turn ussop down now that he's missing one sword?

One dream weapon that I want right now is from Robin. Can u imagine if Robin somehow read a part in the text about a small ancient weapon and ask Usop/Franky to make one? Just enough for destruction, but not enough to blow up the world?

Btw I still think Luffy is too dumb to use anything other than his fists and kicks for his fights. :D

[kljs]

Robin won't asked Franky to build a weapon….because she could have done that long time ago...... but we all know that Robin doesn't care about the weapon but cares more about the history.....

anyway, Nami is probably the only one able to get the mugiwaras safely into Raftel........ I didn't think Nami is skillful as a fighter, but when it comes to defending herself or at least when the going gets tough, she can protect herself.... just like when the mugiwaras are fighting the 200 captains on the bridge at Enies Lobby.......

[Gizmo]

@gue:

I really think with Franky coming into the picture right now, Nami should get an ultimate clima tact. With Usop's clima tact, she owned a member of cp9. With Franky's mad upgrades put into this weapon, I bet she could take a sea monster by herself if she wants to!

I really think the strawhat crew will develop pretty fast from now on. With sanji's ability to brew something for Franky to pump up his power, or usop and franky putting their heads together to improve each other's weapons. Further upgrades on Nami's weapon is possible too. And do you remember Usop offered Zoro to make him a flame sword? U think he'll turn ussop down now that he's missing one sword?

The crew doesn't really need weapon upgrades right now. This ark was supposed to prove how capable the SHs are, and since the CP9 were probably the easiest dealt group so far, and by that i mean fewest injuries, thats saying something.

One dream weapon that I want right now is from Robin. Can u imagine if Robin somehow read a part in the text about a small ancient weapon and ask Usop/Franky to make one? Just enough for destruction, but not enough to blow up the world?

Btw I still think Luffy is too dumb to use anything other than his fists and kicks for his fights. :D

Robin really doesn't need a weapon. Robin needs more fights.

@zero chan and others
What is a "main fighter"? they all really fight. The only "main" fight is Luffy's cause its the boss/final guy fight. The rest's fights are probably equally important. The only real fighter is Zoro here. Everybody else has other jobs too. Sanji's the cook, but that doesn't mean that he can't fight ilke Luffy or Zoro.

All of them can be fighters, just as long as they're all not like Luffy or Zoro's fighting style of all out attack. Sanji uses that and some strategy to confuse the opponent. Chopper is a 1 hit KO kind of person. They all have fighting styles, and Nami's is different too. It just needs to be shown more and better than this arks.

[zero chan]

@ultimateclima:

@zero chan and others
What is a "main fighter"?

First of all, I only speak for myself. My idea of a main fighter is one who shows significantly better fighting capabilities (not just strength) than the rest, hence they usually take on upper tier opponents. Examples of upper tier opponents are Jyabura and Kaku of WG saga, so you get the picture? They also get more fighting screen time than the rest. When they fight, their chances of winning is very high.

Without counting Franky, the SHs that I consider to be main fighters are Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. Secondary fighters include Chopper, Usopp (At the moment) and Nami. As for Robin, I have to see how she performs in future arcs before I decide.

[Gizmo]

@zero:

First of all, I only speak for myself. My idea of a main fighter is one who shows significantly better fighting capabilities (not just strength) than the rest, hence they usually take on upper tier opponents. Examples of upper tier opponents are Jyabura and Kaku of WG saga, so you get the picture? They also get more fighting screen time than the rest. When they fight, their chances of winning is very high. .

Well, with this definition, then yes, for now Nami isn't a main fighter. I really think though that the mixture of brains and bronze, as well as strategy and elusiveness will bring all of them at a close fighting level with each other.

In fact, as the trail goes along I think that any one of the SHs could take on each other. That doesn't mean that Nami will be a better fighter than any of them, no way possible. I'm just saying like Usopp, she knows them really well and could use that if she ever fights seriously with any of them.

Or she could just use her Fist of Love to annihilate them.

[dinty]

Or she could just use her Fist of Love to annihilate them

Or "Happiness Punch".
It knocked them out cold as well.

;)

[CP9 Encore]

Nami packs more punch than any other lady in the Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan crew.

Her fight with Kalifa was fucking breathtaking, even though I liked her fight with Miss All Sunday more - it was All Sunday she was named right? Anyways, I like her better than Robin. Arlong arc ftw, damnit.

Rescuing Nami from Arlong's claws was much funnier to read than the rescue of Nico Robin. <.<

[Fat Tony the Chopper]

@zero:

Without counting Franky, the SHs that I consider to be main fighters are Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. Secondary fighters include Chopper, Usopp (At the moment) and Nami. As for Robin, I have to see how she performs in future arcs before I decide.

Actually, I would rank the Straw Hats in terms of fighting more like (note how tier ranking is related to how useful a Straw Hat is outside of fighting):

–-----------------
high tier (has next to no use outside of fighting; their job is to simply protect the crew from top level fighters, fighters no other Straw Hat can handle)

Luffy (captain – fights the top martial artist)
Zoro (swordsman – fights the top swordsman)
Usopp (sniper – fights the top sniper/long-range fighter)

---

mid tier (official non-combat related role has low level of usefulness)

Robin (archaeologist)
Sanji (cook)

---

low tier (official non-combat related role has medium level of usefulness)

Chopper (doctor)
Nami (navigator)

---

zero tier (official non-combat related role has high level of usefulness)

Going Merry R.I.P. (ship)

---

[Ronaldinho]

I would actually put it like that.
–-----------------
high tier (has next to no use outside of fighting; their job is to simply protect the crew from top level fighters, fighters no other Straw Hat can handle)

Luffy (captain – fights the top martial artist)
Zoro (swordsman – fights the top swordsman)

---

mid tier (official non-combat related role has low level of usefulness)

Sanji (cook)

low level of usefulness but makes story funny
Usopp (sniper – fights the top sniper/long-range fighter)

low tier (official non-combat related role has high level of usefulness)

Chopper (doctor)
Nami (navigator)

---

zero tier (official non-combat related role has high level of usefulness)

Going Merry R.I.P. (ship)

(has high level of usefulness: don't know about fighting but probably around Sanji level.)
Robin (archaeologist)

[Rollo T]

To me the main fighters are those who well… fight. Not just when the time comes, but pretty much every opportunity. Two examples.

That giant lizard in Alabasta attacked. Which three attacked it? Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.

When that wall appeared that would have killed those water lizards things in Enies Lobby, who broke it down? Zoro and Sanji.

They're the ones who fight, and the level of strength they fight at is shown via their opponents. If Sanji had only fought Mr. 4 and Kumadori, then maybe we wouldn't see him as such a powerhouse. The fact is however, that Sanji fought Mr. 2 and Jyabura. The 2nd "strongest" in their respective groups aside from the leader. So naturally we put Sanji down towards the 2nd "strongest" in the Straw Hats, aside from the leader.

Nami however fought Miss Double Finger, who was the strongest female partner, and then Kalifa who was the weakest CP9. That just makes her a mix bag. In one light she beat one of the strongest, but barely. Then in another light she beat one of the weakest, but pretty easily. But to add to that other factors like Kalifa being stupid, and Nami not knowing the Climatact before. So Nami's place is hard to factor, just like Usopp's and Chopper's position.

[onemoment]

Yes, I would pretty much rank the "main fighters" as those in which fighting comes naturally. Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Franky would attack someone who is a threat without hesitation. The rest of the crew meanwhile would hesitate to fight, but would if the time requires it.

Otherwise though, everyone in the crew is a fighter, just with varying levels of strength and ability.

I mean, if we rank if by who gets a fight in each arc, then Sanji isn't a main fighter, as he got skipped in Skypiea (in a solo fight at least) while Chopper actually got a one on one fight with a priest. Although, I'm generally disgusted with the idea of main and support fighters, as all the SHs crew members are the main characters of the series. The support characters are those guys who visit and leave in each arc.

[Gizmo]

@CP9:

Her fight with Kalifa was fucking breathtaking, even though I liked her fight with Miss All Sunday more - it was All Sunday she was named right?.

I think you're talking abuot Miss doublefinger.

Rescuing Nami from Arlong's claws was much funnier to read than the rescue of Nico Robin. <.<

Okay first off, how was the nami ark or robin ark really funny? If anything it was very sad and messed up on a whole. SUre it had some funny parts but every ark did.
Secondly, saying you like Nami is better than Robin is one thing, but saying that she is stronger than Robin is crossing a line. Robin can basically own any SH except possibly Luffy.

Now with that said, the whole where everybody is factor is debateable. Describing how useful they are and how they fight basically have no relation to each other. That just depends on the character in general. There has to not only be the job they do but what they do as a character all together. Nami not only navigates, but keeps the SHs money in check and can fight. Each character could be told in pages of detail, but theres really no need for that.

Fighting and fighting alone is a different story. Zoro/Sanji/Luffy has shown top fighting superiority, and they've been trained since they were little'uns to fight. That makes them the top tier. The other SHs has really been trained like that.

The others for now can be grouped together. They've haven't been trained as fighters their whole lives, but now they're put in the Grand Line so fighting is their only option. They've shown good fighting abilities, but its too soon to see if their fighting skills will be better or worse than one another. Nami, Chopper, Robin, and Usopp can be in this group.