I did think Garou was going to have his “this is so unfair” despair moment and go on a rampage but not yet it seems or not at all?

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the changes and even redraws (some minor annoyances though). I treat the webcomic and manga as separate entities.

My prediction is for a short talk with Saitama that’s interrupted by the S Class Heroes. If the few still have steam

Interesting turn of events. It’s as nice a place as any to do it :ninja:

@Cockycent:

In the end, it all sounds like, "so and so didn't get their fight".

Accurate. .

@andre:

So ostensibly it's the blocking that Robby already mentioned and the fact that right afterward he used his most powerful technique. I'm rereading 1010 and it's weird what happens afterward. Kaido's about to attack Zoro and Law is telling Zoro to get out of the way. Then in one Thunder Bagua he seems to manage to hit both Zoro and Law. Is this how everyone else read this scene?

I’m sure that’s exactly how the scene plays out and that’s how everyone reads/interprets the scene.

I’m hoping Kaido can show off and flex some more after Yamato

I’m hoping that if there is a reset then the Gifters will be what gives our heroes a chance to get away.

• like maybe “when” Tama makes the war cry and mind bends her some Gifters. Kaido (and his top crew members) plow through his animal kingdom. In this scenario the Pleasures that switched sides would sacrifice themselves to in defiance of Kaido and the beast pirates.

Can’t wait for Metal Bat and King to arrive

I’m most excited bec he was omitted from the webcomic MA Invasion. Just like the swordsmen that came to lend a helping hand, MB is a Wild Card. Anything can happen

It was a good teaser. If anything I will watch the actual trailer once because truly this could be so different from anything else we’ve seen in the mcu

Hahaha still no Carrot.

I’d like to think that if this much has been revealed then there has to be a few surprises left

@Daz:

This is a pretty all-purpose type of excuse though? Like, you can slot this line of "there must be a/was a reason" argument in as a defense of pretty much any decision Oda makes. The argument of "just because the characters/story say X or hype Y doesn't mean the reader should expect anything" is also a sort of universal criticism dismissal tool, and the root problem is that it argues that readers should not buy into the excitement the story very clearly is trying to instill in them. Its saying to not engage with the storytelling at face value. Its saying that people who got excited at the prospect of Nami getting a cool moment based on her dramatic last stand last chapter were overeager and foolish, despite last weeks cliffhanger being explicitly crafted to make you think Nami was getting a big moment and that you should be excited about that. And oda wrote the chapter ending like that even though Big Mom was there, so if you say that the events of the latest chapter are "expected" because of Big Moms presence, you're pretty much leaving last chapters ending compltely meaningless at worst, shallow and performative at best. You end up with "well Nami wanted to beat Ulti and that counts for something even if she instantly failed miserably", which is a damp squib of a moment and not really what the former chapter promises at all, in comparison to "Nami made a defiant stand and then managed to eke out a win against Ulti".

It is a bit of an expansive all encompassing excuse.

My argument / reasoning for hype is: (some) Characters are unreliable (and biased) witnesses. Characters will hype up X character because they believe it and it does often reflect in story. But if they are part of a organisation or been working together for awhile they obviously become biased. Caesar and the fodder of PH hyping up the Cool Bros is my example. Even Bellamy. Not taking anything away from their actual strength, it’s just that the people around them believe they are strong/unbeatable. Only narration boxes are definitive when it comes to hype. And or multiple characters/sources hyping up X or Y characters.

My point with the Nami, Ulti, Big Mom development is not that readers should not be invested and expect Nami to make good on her declaration. My point is that just because characters state that they will do X, should not make other characters in the same conflict lose their agency. Big Mom also had her reasons to fight Ulti. It’s not about us or fan service, sometimes the story should flow regardless of expectations.

Also another point is that it is clearly intentional and Oda has a reason for doing it if the development happens the Next chapter. People make it seem like Oda and his editors are writing these developments on a whim

And oda wrote the chapter ending like that even though Big Mom was there, so if you say that the events of the latest chapter are "expected" because of Big Moms presence, you're pretty much leaving last chapters ending compltely meaningless at worst, shallow and performative at best.

That’s my point. The next chapter Big Mom is still there. Oda and by extension Nami made her declaration knowing Big Mom is there. Oda and Nami both know that Big Mom is involved in this conflict. We could argue that Oda wrote himself into a corner with Big Mom being there and potentially stealing Nami’s moment… but Big Mom actually did something that is in line with her character arc during Wano with “avenging” Tama

@Coookie:

So in hindsight, what do you think was the purpose of hyping up the Yeti Cool Brothers, or Thriller Bark's General Zombies?
Your post makes it seem like Oda always has some grand masterplan where everything will have its purpose in the end and that he will strictly follow it if not intervened by his editors, when we already know that he's prone to spontaneously add things he thought of, or leave things out for pacing purposes.

It’s not necessarily that everything has its purpose or is part of some master plan. What I’m saying is that it is very intentional. It’s not just some sporadic decision to make Nami’s declaration and that is the same for Big Mom’s attack.

Regarding Hyping up the Yeti Cool Bros. Characters in-universe will always hype up whoever they think is strong. In context of the story: obviously all the characters (Caesar’s workforce) that settled on Punk Hazard would hype up the Yeti Cool bros after years of working together on that island. That doesn’t always mean they’ll match up or measure up to other characters. Sometimes hype can build up some very formidable villains and sometimes that same hype can be subverted like with the Yeti Cool bros.

That being said, they were somewhat capable. If not for the circumstances (Zoro’s tolerance to being sedated), they would have taken care of those few characters. Zoro and Sanji/Nami would be dead. It’s only that the Cool bros weren’t thorough. They (I’m assuming) after years of successful hunts in the same manner would always leave the clean up to Caesar’s workforce to clean up.

Also hype doesn’t always equal payoff. Especially in the way People want it to. People’s head cannon and expectations isn’t Oda’s responsibility to fulfill. But I do agree that At the same time Oda shouldn’t dangle certain fruits in front of the readers…

In regards to the General Zombies. I see Oars the same as Big Mom - a wild card. These characters have agency and drive the narrative forward or in unexpected ways. I didn’t read Thriller Bark weekly (I caught up to the manga in Marineford) so the General’s introduction and dispatch didn’t bother me. I thought it’s execution was well done because at that time Oars with Luffy’s shadow was unpredictable.

Plus the “purpose” for the General Zombies wound up being an introduction to Captain John and at the end of the arc his Treasure Mark/map. So they were very intentional - not just what readers were expecting.