@Count:
Because they took a brief break where Katakuri dealt a tidbit of trash talk, allowing the dust to settle and for Luffy to actually see that Katakuri copied his limbs to copy and counter Gatling because their fists aren't moving at super speeds he can barely perceive? Actually, if Katakuri attacked Luffy first instead of vice-versa, don't you think it would be more likely that Luffy WOULDN'T be surprised? Whereas if he starts attacking first, it's easy to not get a good look at how your opponent is countering your attacks at super high speed?
I think Katakuri is reacting, not initiating. He's reacting because he wants to prove his fruit is superior. He wants Luffy to launch his attack so that he can beat it. He knows what attack is coming so he's able to react and replicate it.
Except that he doesn't need CoO to copy Luffy's attacks. Even if he has been using that, all needs is to see Luffy start forming an attack for one or two seconds before immediately replicating that with a superior version. I'm not focusing on how his CoO plays a part in it. I'm focusing on how even if it does, it doesn't really matter writing-wise. Katakuri using foresight or copying Luffy's attacks from normal sight are very interchangeable, which makes the foresight feel unnecessary and quite honestly pointless in existing in what we have seen of the fight thus far.
Except, no one in the manga has ever parried gatling. They've dodged it, blocked it and phased it but they've never parried it. This is where the inference that CoO is being used comes into play. He's faster than Luffy, sure. But what makes more sense? Him being zomg super duper fast and mounting a superior attack (which honestly, I would call bullshit if not for his CoO) or him using his future sight to be able to effectively use his speed and counter?
Except that Oda hardly ever emphasizes when characters use CoO, especially post-timeskip. So it's almost always impossible to tell. We don't even know if Doflamingo can even use CoO because he has never stated it, yet he is still able to catch up with and counter Luffy until Gear Fourth was activated. Same with Cracker. Which is why Observation is a dumb and useless concept in this manga outside of Skypiea and explaining how Fujitora is combat efficient since it hardly ever matters post-timeskip, along with Armament Haki outside of vague power levels. But that's a whole other discussion I could go on about in how Haki in general shouldn't exist outside of countering Logias.
My understanding would be that observation counters observation. And Doflamingo, in my opinion, has exhibited CoO usage before. I'm pretty sure I've seen him do the neck roll dodge before but even if he hasn't, he was able to put up armament haki in response to Luffy's Gear 4th attacks. I'd argue that's CoO usage to mount a defense at the last second. Personally, I think haki is a fun and interesting concept but if you don't like it there's nothing much I can do about that. I'm not going to argue against your personal preferences.
It could. But I am talking about what we have seen from the fight thus far to voice my thoughts on if this trend does continue. If it doesn't and the foresight actually becomes a big thing, great. I hope that happens. But the emphasis of the battle is being placed primarily on the mochi superiority, and Katakuri hasn't done anything useful with his foresight in the entire arc outside of shooting Jigra. He predicts Bege's betrayal. Bege still gets off and escapes. He tries to snipe Sanji with a jellybean. Sanji still dodges it anyway somehow while using inferior Observation Haki at best. It's such a pointless ability for Oda to have created when Katakuri already has his mochi powers.
That's why we need to see more. Was the wedding a showcase of potential weaknesses his CoO has that could play into his defeat? Maybe. We don't know. If it doesn't play into his defeat (or in his strengths later in the fight) then yeah, it's a pretty dumb tacked on ability.
Occam's razor dictates that if Luffy and Katakuri are constantly measuring dicks with rubber and mochi, the fight is going to focus on rubber and mochi combat as the highlight. Occam's razor dictates that if Katakuri's foresight hasn't been much of a help for his entire existence this arc past his chapter introduction, it's going to stay that way.
They're not mutually exclusive. You can use occam's razor for both!
My idea is that mochi is the inferior grade to rubber. His usage of CoO in conjunction with his devil fruit is what allows him to one-up Luffy. Of course, if this theory doesn't pan out then I don't know what the hell Oda is trying to get across here with the comparisons. If Luffy's fruit is the inferior then err… okay? CoO would just be tacked on in that case.
But my inference comes from Luffy saying "as if rubber would lose to mochi" and Katakuri consistently emphasizing that his is better. It makes more sense to me that rubber is supposed to be the superior grade.
You shouldn't really use occam's razor when making predictions about fiction because of how authors will go out of their way to make the unexpected happen (in balance with subtle and consistent logic if they are good writers). It's ironic because what I am saying right now is actually supporting your argument that Katakuri's foresight could play a bigger unexpected role in the fight, like when Luffy activates Gear Fourth to change up the game.
You can use it for a series that is far more consistent than its peers. This isn't Bleach or Naruto. And this is in regards to mechanical applications of abilities, not story progression.
Yes, I do expect the guy that was stated as having super duper good CoO to use CoO in his fighting style.
And I'm not satisfied with the portrayal of his foresight because Katakuri's not going to get hit anyways when every physical blow he's come into contact with flies right through him, regardless of what explanation you can decipher for that happening.
That would fundamentally change the fight then. It would be about "how am I going to get passed the phasing" ala Crocodile. Like I said before, I think he's using his CoO to copy Luffy, you don't. The fight is going to be unremarkable if your expectations for Katakuri's abilities are that he can do anything he wants because he's just straight up better rather than if he's utilizing his known abilities (CoO being highlighted as one of them).
Of course. I just hope it makes sense. Everything about Katakuri leaves me feeling indifferent or perplexed, from his generic badass design to having so many abilities with little intuitive segues and varied uses for them making some redundant/excessive. Which includes both the foresight and a spear. Why does he need a spear when he is already winning he fight and is "Luffy, but better" with additional sticky abilities"? It doesn't even aesthetically fit in with the themes of his design or powers, he just has it to look cool, I guess. And that applies to his foresight as a concept for him to use and how it has been executed too, which is my issue.
Yeah, the spear is kinda weird. No arguing there. xD
And yeah, like I said before, personal preference. I don't particularly find anything wrong with Katakuri. I see it as juxtaposition with all the sweets and goofy, Disney-esque characters this arc.