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Knowing how much Oda hates people finding out his big plans in advance, I think he sacrificed accuracy here to be sure no one would guess what ラフテル should stand for. Only a person with zero idea of how "laugh" and "tale" are pronounced could have guessed it.
Although "Raftel" being a stand-in for "Laughter" has been around since like 2002, which is funny
If it wasn't for Enel, the moon would be 100% it. It's downgraded to merely "likely" because something as random as Enel beating Luffy to his dream would be anti-climactic as fuck, but still it's the one that makes the most sense considering the characters, the scope of the story, and the reactions they both got.
@Skipped dialogue from Luffy and Roger: I think it's pretty clear that there is something going on here that Oda wants to hide. You just don't use that technique, let alone deliberately repeat it with identical reactions and all, if you're just going for a cool panel with the leit-motif of the manga.
Another thing here is this:
I'd wager that in the time between Roger's death and meeting Luffy, Shanks has heard people say "I will be PK!" hundreds of times. Hell, maybe even from Big Mom and/or Kaido themselves. So for him to think there was something special about Luffy saying something identical to Roger must mean that there was more to it than that catchphrase.
@from the reddit thread linked earlier:
STAMPEDE SPOILERS (And it is Oda's decision to reveal [Raftel's] true name during One Piece : Stampede).
Does this mean Raftel vs Laugh Tale is actually a thing rather than Oda changing romanizations around?
They need not to be that ancient. Out of 800 years since the formtion of WG, we mostly got the stories of past 40 years. Noland and Brook's pirate crew being the exception.If the elders are CDs, then they could be ex-ministers/royal commanders of the past.If they are commoners,they could be fleet admirals/Royal guards of bygone eras, now forgotten.Though I fully agree with Greg that they were perhaps quite badass in their times.
But at that point, if you're gonna make them immortal, why not from 800 years ago? Like what does the story gain from these wise council-type people who are clued in to the secret of the world and apparently are the direct retainers of its 'god', not being part of the main past event that frames the current world? I also think the absurdly strict hierarchy the OP world presents, where if you're not a CD you're literally subhuman in their eyes, makes it awkward to introduce the elders as commoners that rose through the ranks up to the point of becoming the leaders of the world.
Still stand by the notion that the Elders are immortals from the void century, probably generals or whatever that fought to bring down the ancient kingdom. I have a hard time picturing a way for the story to explain their scars, the guy with the sword, and their overall attitude (not to mention the fact that they looked exactly the same way during the Ohara flashback), if they have been born into the highest political sphere from the get-go or even are simply CDs from the highest-ranking families. Oda has made a point of constantly emphasizing how the CDs isolation from the world and position has made them spoiled, entitled pieces of shit, which is completely anathema to how the Elders are portrayed.
Also I think it's weird to think the "gray morality" that some people think they displayed is somehow eroded by the existence of one leader they take orders from. It's as if Imu himself necessarily has to be an Orochi-tier villain, he couldn't possibly have any agency or complicated thoughts about the world, right?
Well… yeah. That's exactly the kind of thing Croc would want to keep secret and it would ruin his image, and its exactly the thing inside Iva's wheelhouse. And its exactly the sort of surprise reveal Oda would relish keeping in his pocket for 20 years that would surprise and twist everything.
Go back and look at the episode 0 image of Croc (seen from the back suspiciously) and the picture from childhood, they're both feminine tomboy looking. Now, the shot fromt he back may just be to hide the scar or lack therof, same as Shanks, but...
Several of those are really loaded with backstory details.
Yeah, I know the theory, and I wouldn't put it past Oda, but… would it feel good for that to be it? Imagine the scenario: Croc suddenly turning on them, about to kill Inazuma or 2 or even drain Luffy's water, or anything, and Iva going "did you know HE WAS A GIRL?!?!?" as if that's something that would unironically stop him in his tracks. The whole context where this exchange happened wasn't really gag-like either. I'm not even opposed to the whole genderbend thing, but if that was all there was to it then it would be pretty meh.
I mean, leaving that aspect aside; would it feel good in the context of Croc's character that he would be so serious about that stuff to the point that Iva could claim to "take him out" by just disclosing the info or whatever? What, they're gonna laugh at him? Big deal. So even disregarding the meta reasons that make me think it'd be bad, there should be something more to it
You don't have to have an indepth super long flashback to show a character's backstory. Oda's done lots of quick smash cut flashbacks of less than a chapter and they've been fine.
We probably know the broad strokes of Croc's backstory anyway. She was a tough girl inspired by Roger's death. Wanted to be pirate king herself, saw Whitebeard as the next credible one, challenged him, and lost. (That may be when the scar came in.) Just couldn't do it under her own power. went to Ivonokov to become a strong man… but that still wasn't enough for the new world... so began plotting how to get to the top through trickery and ancient weapons rather than just sheerly by her own power.
Little details like growing up on the street, the exact order of events, and so on, we don't know, but the broad strokes are maybe there.
Imagine if the "weakness" Iva mentioned that was supposedly allowing them to keep Croc in check was something as idiotic and even problematic as "he used to be a girl lol!" though
I don't know why it would be like that but if the Tama=Hiyori thing was true the way it'd happen imo is that she (and the other retainer who would have to be the Tengu) got sent to a different time for some reason as of yet unexplained and the Tengu is hiding her identity. That would also explain why Kiku doesn't recognize her, since 20 years ago she was a toddler but now she's 8. I dunno what that kind of thing would add to the story though, like why Hiyori and her identity being hidden or not would be important for the plot, or why Toki would send them to that specific place in time.
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