@Deicide said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
Not necessarily. I can see Kuma restored at the end of Egghead. It doesn't mean it won't have any consequences for him, thought. His body is already very wrecked as it is, for instance. But he gets to stay with his daughter, and I could see them both plus Vegapunk going on their way, maybe to rendezvous with Dragon.
But my impression is that Bonney is the emotional center of this arc, and, as such, I see her story concluding it in a heartwarming way, with a 12-year old girl and her dad freed by the legendary Warrior of Liberation they spent their lives waiting for.
I think you have a pretty reasonable take.
The part of your response I can't get over is the idea that there's really going to be a "heart warming" ending after this arc for 2 characters heavily involved with the "infamous Egghead incident." Let's also keep in mind that by this point the World Government is fine with erasing islands off the map and raising the water level worldwide, which will surely involve a global catastrophe. Even WG forces from the heavens are descending to fight. The WG has been pushed into a corner and will destroy world before losing control over it.
There's not going to be much happy endings with the stakes as high as they are now.
I think it's a better alternative to say that Kuma's resurrection will involve Vegapunk's ultimate energy source, and I would imagine figuring out that mystery is going to line right up with the Ancient Kingdom/Will of D/etc. In which case, sailing with Luffy will be the way she reunites with her father.
@Zin-Magala said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
An Apprentice is about lack of experience and Bonney has been a captain since her debut. Bonney having that role doesn't make any sense to me, especially after the last arc when we had three popular choices who had zero experience.
Bonney is 12 years old. That's not old enough to be an actual captain. She's been successful at "playing" captain through the use of her powers, but now her ship and crew (which were gifts in the first place) are gone and she's spent most the series as a stowaway.
Sure, she's FAR better than the average apprentice given what she's done, but how is that any different than any of the other Strawhats and their respective roles?
As far as the Nika stuff, I don't see it being any different than "The Dawn" from the last few years. We have nine crew members and none of them joined because they believe Luffy will be the savior of the world. Luffy won them over. They believe Luffy will become King of the Pirates and traveling with him is the best way for them to achieve their own dreams. That last part is key. Currently, Bonney doesn't have a dream other than saving Kuma and Vegapunk is the only one that has the ability to do that. Maybe this changes by the end of the arc but not having a SH-like dream is just another reason why Bonney wasn't created to join the crew.
I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but no matter what angle I look, Bonney feels very underdeveloped as a crew member and there's simply no excuse at this stage of the game.
We don't technically even know if Kuma can be saved. We assume that, but there's no actual evidence.
The biggest flaw in this line of thinking is drawing hard conclusions without accounting for the prospect that Oda can change things as he pleases. In the bigger picture, Bonney joining seems obvious, but Oda scatters red herrings about to throw you off the scent.