@Riccardo:

Logpose directions I presume? Maybe some epic navigation movies from Nami ;)

! [qimg]http://i.imgur.com/uA1NH4o.jpg[/qimg]

Aha. I was kind of groggy and tired reading the chapter so this kind of panel slipped me, but it's a classic naive-characters-ideally-planning-something panel. So that will obviously go south. Wonder how long it will take us to reach "tomorrow". The chapter amounts equaling time passage in this series are always pretty unpredictable.

Chapter was decent, was mostly interested in the Sanji marriage portions, and the reactions therein. I was saying last night to someone that Pudding's main purpose was to set up a perfect match that he would then reject in a heartfelt way for his friends. That happened today, woo.

And aw snap a break.

The general upbeat feeling here in our candy paradise is not going to hold out much longer, lol.
Damn I want a chocolate burger.

@Hanz:

characters who die in one piece almost all die for story progression reasons. they're basically plot devices, like ace.
oda seems to really want to avoid killing characters, which personally i don't like. imo it's a cheap way to hold on to fans who otherwise wouldn't read the manga if their favorite character died.

Basically the thought process goes like this: Oda uses his "deaths" for dramatic effective. So DURING Alabasta, on your first read, (and even subsequent re-reads if you suspend your disbelief enough), when Pell flies up with the bomb you feel the weight of the situation during the rest of the arc. So it successfully created drama for his sacrifice, during the arc. With those types of scenes, since Oda is just using it for dramatic effect, he feels it'd be wasteful to have them actually die, so they show up again (barely surviving) at the end of the arc.

So for arc-contained drama, those deaths are successful in what they set out to do.

I happen to think that the scene with Pagaya being struck by lightning is actually entirely unnecessary, but oh well.

Anyway, this type of writing does cause problems with tension. I personally like it (and am not alone in that) because instead of just discarding the character, Oda is forced to draw/use them in upcoming plots, which requires more thought. This isn't to denounce death in stories (duh), but in this particular one of characters always coming back in unexpected ways, I think it's only fitting to rarely kill characters. As well, media these days is absolutely SATURATED with grim lotsa-death stories. One Piece is a nice refresher from that climate.

There always has to be one, huh. This was enough right here to rev up the ol' Ignore List. Incoherent, unexplained complaints.

And yeah it is 100% certain that there's a Snakeneck in this chapter, both from that panel with the long-necked lady from behind (so as to slightly hype up the snakenecks) and then the panel that says something along the lines of, "literally every race in the world!"

Hahaha oh man. That quick change to brutality in the wonderland. "Eggs? Acquired. Flour? Acquired. Fruits? Acquired." (a few moments later) "Oh, will it be made from somebody's blood~?" "It will be a sweet day with a perfectly devilish sacrifice"

A momentous chapter. Never been this excited to be on a new island.

@KageKageKing:

And we totally aren't.

Distant observer who reads random chapters of Bleach occasionally here.

1. How is Kubo not tired of drawing all these white line-y buildings yet. I've been tired of looking at them for however many hundred chapters.

2. The ink spills are starting to take a sinister shape. Is this the ink's true form? Is Kubo simply the instrument in this black ink's maniacal plan to make a manga devoid of life?

3. Half-Hollow-Quincy-whatever Ichigo had the tamest introduction panel I've ever seen for a power-up. "I will defeat you!! …maybe, I'm kinda nervous ^^;;"

Ivankov: Love everything this character represents.
Laboon: When it first showed up, it was a veritable threat! Love that moment where a gargantuan eye is just staring down at the Straw Hats.
Eyelashes & Scissors: A really fun highlight of Alabasta along with the Kungfu Dugongs. "SEX APPEAL POWER!"
Shakky: A really good design coupled with a pleasant personality.
Rebecca: I'll re-read before I judge harshly but not a huge fan :P The details of her character got muddled for me over the weekly grind.
Fujitora: Oda's admirals continue to be excellent characters.
The Straw Hat Grand Fleet: To me they added a lot of flavor to Dressrosa scenes. Ideo's a standout design, and Orlumbus gave us that hot-blooded "KILLER BOWLING!!!" moment where he launched Zoro towards his enemy.
Dragon: Simply one of the most iconic character designs in the entire series. Stands out very noticeably whenever on panel. I'd honestly be satisfied if for the rest of the series he just says insightful lines while looking onward. But we of course will get more than just that.
Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin: It's a martial artist polar bear, c'mon.
Duke Inuarashi: Persevered through some brutal stuff and came out alive. Respect.
Tristan: Umm… Oh! Her name is kinda similar to Tris from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Tris was hot.
Kaido of the Beasts: The Hypening: The Character. Exudes testosterone from his body for a several mile radius.
Zeo: Clearly the best of the New Fishman Pirates. "I grew old on purpose."
Shin Detamaruka: Gave a little inspiring moment amid all the town-slicing.
Bellamy the Hyena: "I won't mock you anymore." That line was so incredibly satisfying. If Luffy's face-crushing punch wasn't enough, Bellamy ends up respecting Luffy. Also incredibly effective as a villain, infuriating from the moment he showed up.
Enel: Giver of awesome speeches. So powerful at that point in the series he may as well have been a god (until he's hilariously shown that he's not invincible). Being the main villain of my favorite arc, of course the vote is tempting.

I gotta go with the pervy animals, Eyelashes and Scissors. One Piece wouldn't be the same without that type of wackiness.

@Miss:

Just because the target audience is in a certain range does not mean he can't branch out and explore different things. And I'm not asking for him to write a Shakespearean tragedy or Tarantino bloodfest here – I'd just be content if he used some new tropes once in a while. And let's face it, Oda has been stale for years now. In his writing AND art.

This is a pretty crappy excuse for not wanting change. The majority of One Piece's audience is NOT, in fact, 12-15. This series has been going on for 19 years dude. Most of us here are close to, if not well above 18 years old now. You can still keep up with a manga series while having a job and family..
My issue is he doesn't take risks or try different formulas anymore. The characters have gotten so predictable and same-y that it's sad.

I appreciate opinions like yours because they give me perspective. But I just don't agree with this, not in this point of time. If you had posted this when the Birdcage was causing a lot of people reading fatigue back in Dressrosa I would have agreed. But I find none of this stale or not taking risks. I'd say nonchalantly splitting up your cast for what is seemingly going to be at least a while (and not in the usual arc-contained way) is pretty ballsy for a manga of this popularity. I find the designs of Germa 66 to be new and inspired, and "stale" would imply any of us would see us where we are now. Where were all the posts before Germa 66 mentioning how obvious it would be that Sanji's relatives were technologically advanced people that we'd be dealing with soon? Predictable would be the Straw Hats going up against Big Mom in a typical arc with all the allies/tools necessary to defeat her.

You're free to think the writing is stale but if that were the case, wouldn't Luffy still be poisoned and unconscious right now?

I'm just going to throw this image out there. I'm pretty curious on what the sample size was for this though.

@Bugs:

Hopefully not Jinbe.

"I'll be in your whale shark stew, Luffy, EVEN IF IT COSTS ME MY LIFE!"