@DesertSpada:

Well, I knew that Oz was going to be immensly strong but the Straw Hat Crew was nothing against him.

Well, I'm not trying to go against your argument or anything (since this chapter OBVIOUSLY delivers the fact that they go owned by Odz). HOWEVER, I don't believe that the Strawhats ever really put their all in this fight. I'm sure this is just a tactic that Oda is using to create a twist or suspense in the fight (sort of like zoro's fight). It's probably safe to say that judging from the minuscule attempts from the strawhats, non of them really fought to the best of their abilities. I mean come on, Chopper doesn't even touch a rumble ball (Monster Point?!), Robin barely moves and for god sakes, Bruck did nothing… not to mention the fact that they took Odz on one by one... wth happened to teamwork?!

I dont remember myself having really significantly horrific nightmares other than the 2 where i dreamed the death of people i know in real life.

One was simply a friend of mine getting killed by a laser beam shot by a mini robot that crawled out from under the sofa.

The other one was rather long and pretty retarded lol. I think the nightmare derived itself from my grandparents who were constantly concerned about me dropping into the toilet (when i was really small, i lived in japan where we had one of those toilets on the ground where u had to squat down to do your business. There's a huge hole where ur waste drops down into and its all collected down there). So basically in my dream, my aunt needed to cross a rope bridge to get to the bathroom. Obviously with loads of shit beneath her (they were on fire too…). Next thing you know, the bridge snaps and she drowns and dies. Next thing i know, im walking outside and i see people selling her clothes. BY FAR the most BIZARRE dream i've ever had... x__x

@Kuroneko:

When I was a kid I used to have hallucinations when I stared too much at the ceiling of my house(which is made of cedar). I could see black spots taking form of monsters and demons, but I didn't become scared at all.

Hey! i did that too! …except i wasnt hallucinating... just imagining them.

The only CLEAR and obvious hallucination i've ever had was when i was around 6-7 and i had a pretty severe fever. When my mom came up to tend to my sickly-ness i actually saw a dark figure standing behind her with a knife about to pounce. I was going all crazy and screaming at her to look behind her. To my relief, she was like "what? there's nothing there"... lol, pretty scary though...

Other than that, i've had a couple of incidents when i was younger where i'd blank out and only see checkered blocks of black and white. This was during fevers too. That and i've seen stars before lol... is that a type of hallucination as well?

Woopie, that was quit the buildup chapter =) next chapter is (hopefully) ganna be a big bang!
I was actually hoping for a monster point chopper vs Oz thing (even if just for a breif moment) but that notion seems vaguely possible now ;__;
Im also getting a hunch that nami is awake… im guessing im not the only one? =p

@Phenomenol:

It was! especially Since the fact he didn't take it, he passed it up! A guy who is STRONGER than Ace won't be lower than Ace. It was offered and Blackbeatrd did NOT take it.

I'd just like to point out that when Shanks said Blackbeard turned down the "position of a captain and all the fame", he was referring to Blackbeard refusing to choose the option of starting his own crew and rising to fame from the very beginning. Instead, he chose to hide behind Whitebeard until he found what he was looking for (the Yami Fruit). It doesnt mean he was offered a position as a commander (not saying that he wasnt capable of it). The position of a "Captain" means a ship's captain, you know, like Luffy. I mean what do u think dis is? Bleach? =p lol

I have a feeling that all this is just a bit TOO exaggerated…
as far as Gear 3rd goes for me... it just looks like Luffy blows into the opening he makes from biting his thumb... does it really all hafta be so scientifically valid?

@PseudoKirby:

your not looking in the right place

look in the bottom right corner

(edit) maybe this is a better shot for you
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9747/018as4.jpg

put that in spoiler plz =.= its distorting the tables.
…
no blood no nothing. I dont believe you guys are actually arguing over the conclusion of this fight. This has only been an introduction of Gear 3rd, all we've seen is a giant fist, i'm sure there's much more to consumed by the average fan. =p
Please man, Lucci doesnt even look that badly injured, no blood, no scratchmarks, just his eyeballs rolling over from the punch's impact.
The show must go on~

@sabret00the:

oh yeah, no ones mentioned that everyone who joined has been the villian of their arc in some way.

Zoro = arrested by marines
Sanji = kicked marine outta his restaurant (by the way to the person who mentioned leader, let's not forget Sanji was like the number 2 at Baratie)
Usopp = (red herring)
Robin = fucked up Taishigi
Nami = her whole town had to pretend she was evil
Chopper = whole Island was scared of him

Franky = invaded Enies Lobby and is underworld boss of Water 7
Paulie = one of the good guys with a few debts to the mob, never been in trouble with the law

That seems just like a mere coincidence…
the examples seem rather forced...
Not that i'm saying I think Paulie would join... but neither do i think all strawhats are meant to be portaid as a villain at introduction.

HOLY @!#!~~!!!
GODLIKE! That is awesome! dibs to Pipboy…
...really lead me to a better understanding of Gear 2nd's concept... that's insane. Little did i realize how innovative Oda can be.. let alone ideas so indept and well planned out...
PS: Pipboy is a ing genious.

whew*, good rant.

Adding to this… i think both sides are correct. Fights sometimes can be critical in character development but that would vary in terms of what kinda of character is being developed and etc.
I remember a crucial turning point for Chopper when he faces off against Gedatsu and wins. He learns to count on himself and become more independant through the course of the fight (though mostly after winning ofcourse). Lets not forget Chopper vs Kumadori, the spur of the moment created from the fight forced Chopper to reveal a darker history of his powers.
You could also say Luffy vs Usopp was a very controversial fight in which Usopp's loyalty and confidence towards his own conceptions was heavily emphasised.
Anyways, after saying all that, I'd also have to say that i acknowledge much development outside of the fighting grounds. I think development happens in both sides no matter how much the two settings contradict each other. I think the only way we'd be able to learn more about the characters is by placing them in different situations and enviroments in order for them to reveal different sides of their true self.

But yeah... dont worry about it, Robin wouldn't be in the crew if she was so bland as to not being developed in a fight. As far as her fight in Skypiea... it revealed much of her concern of ancient architecture and artifacts. (though it's not much... but it's something =p) She does have extensive amounts of power... but for her to restrict herself for history really shows something.