Hi guys, I was not sure where else I could say this so i'mma saying it here: Please do watch Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno. There are some noticeable differences with the anime/manga, but if you ask me the movie already gave me more than i could ask for.

I actually previously agreed that Akainu being able to take on all the commanders and having Blackbeard's crew be scared off (i wouldn't say "piss-scared", but just normal "scared") by his coming was a bit too much for me. But now, seeing that he was the one who took over the title of Fleet Admiral, I would prefer that he actually be much more powerful. Wouldn't sit too well to have an easily defeatable character take that position now, would it.

Anyway, 2 nitpicks i have:
(1) Pell didn't die.
(2) Usopp didn't get Haki!! I really was kinda hoping that he would at least have CoO, and so live up to his Dad's name. I guess that will only come later in the series then.

Holy cow. THIS is Beelzebub!

Ooh interesting thread!

Setting - Close tie between Water 7 (i loved the water town!) and Mocktown (the only true piratey town to date. lol)

Flashbacks - Drum Island; I loved Chopper's flashback! the endscene with the fireworks at the end was just remarkable.

Action - Marineford for me. Too much Whitebeard, Akainu and Aokiji goodness in one major battlefield. And then we still add everyone else in. This arc rocked.
Adventure - Arabasta, from the time Vivi meets the crew as Ms. Wednesday all the way to the final battle. Honestly, no other arc featured them travelling together as well as this arc did.

Characters - Water 7 + Enies Lobby. The characters, some of their eventual reveals, the VAs, Luffy's growth and the best thing in this series: Going Merry!

Plot - a close tie between Marineford (Ace's eventual death) and Enies Lobby (Strawhats standing perched on the roof, burning the WG flag + Robin's cry for help + Going Merry to the rescue)

Humor - They are all really good. No comment.

Villains - AKAINU. Pure badass. I also like Blackbeard as a villain - he is pure evil, no honour, no decency, just pure ambition and strength. Anyone else noticed he took 2 shots from whitebeard at point blank but could still stand and fight Sengoku?

Mystery - One piece doesn't have much of this does it. I guess the whole Robin saga during CP9 arc.

Drama - Where do i begin. I love all their backstories and Ace's death, but Going Merry's rescue and death just takes the cake for me. Chopper's backstory is a close second.

It does seem like Ricky is actually King Riku who actually managed to survive. But I really do hope that Mr. Toy soldier is someone unrelated to Rebecca; if he is Kyros, then maybe be the King's Guard or something. Seems more poetic that he would take over the role of her father after the latter's death, rather than to literally be her father. Regardless, this is One Piece so I guess it still is likely that the toy soldier is her dad.

I like how this chapter feels slow (even though by most manga standards it is not) because the story is just so complex and intriguing now that any lack of forward linear progression makes it seem so. The thing about One Piece, though, is that flashbacks and history is so integral to its story that Oda-sensei kinda has no choice but to tell them; otherwise his readers are just left wondering, and we all know that Oda-sensei is perfectionist (for the initiated, Oda-sensei must be an INFP).

I don't know about you guys, i liked this bleach chapter. Ichigo fights alone now because now he is truly one with his zanpakuto. Poetic. For naruto, the only part i liked about it was sasuke's divergence from naruto's character. Everything else is just talk talk talk.

You guys are gonna hate me for saying this, but if you think back to right from the beginning of Bleach, everything has been consistent with this revelation thus far. It's actually quite an awesome reveal, for anyone here who still cares about bleach.

Is Barto a member of the Revolutionaries? And "that man" he is referring to Dragon?

Hmm yeah I do agree with both of you. They're wayyy overdone and not to mention the other characters' reactions are pretty unnatural too. I guess they just don't do it with the same flair as in one piece, because i was pretty sure that Luffy powered up during a short span of time in the Water 7 arc too. That was done beautifully, so I'm just looking at Naruto now and wondering why i'm not feeling the same effect here, where it's also basically Naruto going all out when his comrades are in danger. It's probably just the way it's been presented to us - it's more implicit in One Piece whereas here they try to put it too much in-your-face.

I know we're all sick of the naruto and fairy tail frienship speeches, but doesn't one piece also have its fair share of nakama speeches too? I'm just wondering what makes it different from the others. I always thought the desire to protect someone was a powerful motivating factor for most heroes.