@sgamer82:

If you mean Doflamingo's references to Ivankov and Kuma's relationship, I think he's merely inferring from Iva's reactions that the two know each other. If you mean the "already dead" bit, that's a tougher call.

I'm assuming Iva knew the one and only original Kuma.

Yeah I meant the "already dead" comment from DoFla. I'm curious to know whether Iva knew the original tyrant, or if he was aware of the 'government dog' cover.

Kuma was made out to be such a horrible person in his pre-warlord days, I can't really imagine him being a revolutionary. Unless his joining is what 'tamed' him into the born-again bible-bearing bear.

@Steven:

Croc better show up next chapter, even if he gets punched in the face, he needs to do something.

I'm also wondering what happened to Croc. Hopefully he won't be joining Mihawk as background dressing.

Not to mention, more than any of the other subplots, I've been itching to know just what is his connection with Whitebeard.

@Silence:

Moria just got punched once. What on earth makes people think he's down for the count?

Jinbei hype. Moria h8. Standard forum idiocy.

LOL, Buggy's tongue-lolling on page 8. I think the Buggy/Whitebeard interactions are my favourite part of the chapter.

Kuma's story is a bit confusing. We need some clarification on just 'which' Kuma was the one Ivankov knew in the first place. How the heck would DoFlamingo know all this anyway? (His intelligence network must be more vast than anyone expected.)

And I don't believe it.. Hancock did the god damn blushing shit again. That'll learn me to speak too soon in the spoiler thread.

But dammit, I still say Moria's not out of the game yet. I'll reserve my disappointment and blinding rage in the event that a KO is confirmed from this single hit. Regardless of Jinbei being 'the new guy', our first and probably only warlord-battle ever simply can not be degraded to the likes of an uninspired jobbing display. No way.

Wow, they could've allocated a bit more of the animation budget for Franky's dance number. It really deserved better. But the introduction of British Gentleman mode was excellence. I'm not sure if I like this or Fat Usopp better as a transformation upgrade.

On the other hand no gaps were filled concerning how he got from his starting point to his cover arc's running from cyborg animals. He was in his normal mode there, and later when he stumbles upon Vegapunk's old workshop, so he should be able to get ahold of some cola between then.

And Nami's new cyclone attack. I want.

Despite some alterations here and there, I'm still willing to accept the more significant content as canon-ish, assuming they arethe results of Oda's input. And if that's the case, I really hope this is just skimming the surface of Nami's powerup. Even the addition of a fanservice scene didn't bother me since it was brief and actually served a purpose of showcasing more of Weatheria's quirks. I'm actually quite interested to learn more about its history and relations with the rest of the world.

But wasn't Merlin a head taller than Nami in the comic? Strange that he comes off so short in the anime.

(That Hancock fantasy scene was so awkward to watch. Kind of reminiscent of the yaoi fantasy scene in Naruto.)

@CCC:

So… you think Oda ok'd an interpretation of his story which changes the okamas from "wild hedonistic rapists" to "just chasing Sanji for fun, because he seemed to be asking for it, despite the fact that he clearly doesn't want it." I guess it's possible that Oda had something like that in mind all along, especially considering how well he treats okamas in OP otherwise.

I sure hope so. That had been bugging me about Sanji's arc - making the trannies look like a bunch of irrational, relentless 'rapists' for the sake of an easy, overplayed joke. I actually love how the filler was done for that here. It really shows how we got from point A to point B, and the series of misunderstandings was pretty believable in context.

Chopper's story unfortunately left much to be desired. Such gratuitous use of still-picture montages just to kill time.

@Nectar:

Tsuru with the laundry DF?
The next female DF user will have the power to make sandwiches without a kitchen.

I'm pretty sure some girl's going to get a sewing or knitting DF down the line.

@yohohohoho:

Mihawk is a jobless bum who never shows up to meetings and spends all his time one-shotting low-tier pirates on his dumb raft and getting roped into happy hour with Shanks. He's not a master swordsman, he's a griefer in an MMORPG. He goes around looking for lowbies to kill and logs off the minute he finds a real challenge.

lol

@Lordzeb121:

Usopp left the crew, thats a big thing to walk away from especially for such selfish immature reasons. That was the biggest betrayal to the Nakama motto yet not Zoro reminding luffy of his duty as a captain and their place as the crew. They're not playing pirates however much that seems to people like you.

A bit of a sidetrack: but I always find it strange when people use adherence of protocol and regiment as primary arguments involving the SHs. Unlike someone like Don Krieg, the SHs have gotten as far as they have by bumbling through the Grand Line, making mistakes, doing everything the wrong way. That's what makes them who they are, they're not a conventional crew. That said, once again, I'm not saying Usopp shouldn't have apologized. He should have.

But it doesn't change the fact that: Zoro threw a tantrum; Zoro threatened the captain; Zoro's harsh rhetoric ignored the fact that Usopp's sticking up for a ship that he saw as part of the crew (truly a devious betrayal) ultimately saved them; the terms he demanded made way for what could be seen as an empty apology.

not have to worry about them walking out whenever they feel like it for such petty reasons.

Wow, now you're dismissing the Luffy/Usopp fight as a run-of-the-mill spat. And the ship that saved their lives as a 'petty reason'.

Anyway, feel free to disagree. My point apparently wasn't made clear before, so I just wanted to get it out there.

@robbybevard:

He was right too, it would have set a permanent precedent for bad mojo and arguments and betrayals at crucial times.

Providing a second opinion is fine. He outright threatened to leave the crew over the captain's actions towards a fellow crewmate (sounds familiar.) What a dick. And yet, despite all that happened - let's say Sanji's hands were cut off and one of the others refused to leave him behind, I get the feeling we'd see such a 'betrayal' again. .

@shinpanman:

It was rather long, but what would I have done with my summer break without the Arlong Park Character Tournament? Seriously, this stuff was like crack to me for a while…

ANYWAY, thanks for the fun dudes.

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/2381/winnerz.png

! http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/6240/okamaway.png

Great pic/comic. Bon will always be a winner in our hearts!
All that's missing there is Shushu. For all the controversy he caused, that dog deserves recognition.

Overall fun tournament. And good job to all the mods that made it possible. Those random, wacky and intense matches are what really made everything worthwhile.

@Usopp with a Pushpop: I can't believe you voted against Buggy just for the purposes of crushing Zoro in the final round. First Nami, now this? Shaaaame.

@Darklord:

Umm…then what have we been discussing all along? If you agree that Zoro was right to demand that Usopp apologize, then we are on the same page. What was your point that I distorted, since I am pretty confused. By the way, good job making a judgment on my character based on an avatar, which I can easily change. That's the real dick move.

My point was that Zoro acted like a dick about it. He basically threw his version of a temper tantrum. Whoever drew that Ace whining fanart needs to do one for Zoro whining about not staying with a captain who doesn't demand apologies.

He acted insubordinate to Luffy while complaining about insubordinance and demanded terms that ultimately made Usopp's apology less meaningful. His cold, unsympathetic and militant attitude not only disregarded the fact that Usopp's 'mistake' ultimately saved them all, but was completely contrary to the spirit of friendship that's been the driving force of the Straw Hat pirates. That part honestly wouldn't bother me so much if all this "nakama" bullshit wasn't drilled into our heads for hundreds of chapters - now it's conveniently ignored? Pffft.

And good God, the avatar comment was a joke. That's just the type of humourless, dickish reaction expected from a guy with a Zoro avatar.
(Yes that was a joke, too … or was it?)

Even though this match has been a boring shut out since the beginning, I've got to give it to the Zoro fans for their non-stop efforts. I wasn't even planning on voting, but felt compelled to (and for a guy I don't even like that much) after seeing how hard they worked despite an impossible battle. I'm pretty sure others felt the same and that contributed to the narrowing of the gap, so props to you guys.

Makes me think that if the Crocodile fans had kept up the same way (and their campaign was really awesome in the first half) instead of getting demoralized and falling apart when Luffy pulled ahead, they could have possibley halved their gap, too.

@HEATXZ:

Here's my other Luffy campaign with guest star Toriko

! http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/858/eatitluffy1.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/5007/eatitluffy2copy.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2865/eatitluffy3copy.jpg

HEATXZ, I will miss your campaigns most of all.

@Darklord: where did I say Usopp shouldn't have apologized? Good job distorting my point. Dick move, man. Dick move. As expected from a guy with a Zoro avatar.

On-Topic: My one regret in this tournament is missing out on Richie vs Sengoku..

@Darklord:

Yeah, it's simple…Usopp disrespected their captain and Zoro didn't want to let him get away with it without an apology.

Simplify: ignoring the cause, circumstances, everything that happened in-between, irony, very nature of the SH crew and breaking it down into a strawman argument. Basically what you did. If you're that interested just read through the old threads. I won't say anymore on it since it's an old topic that I care about getting into just as much as "Usopp character development".

(Edit, lest I incur Ivotas' wrath: Just to make it clear, I'm not approving what Usopp did.)

@Ivotas:

http://e1n.eecafe.net/DOODLES/QUASI/081218.png

Kuhahahahahahahahahaha :devil:

Ooh good point. Because of Zoro's dickishness we were forced to put up with Luffy and Usopp bawling like a bunch babies.

@dinty:

Oda has been evolving Zoro's personality for a long time – turning him from a lovable goof into a responsible adult. And unfortunately, that's made Zoro less popular with some people, because he's no longer as stupidly funny as he once was. But I think Oda's done a great job of finding other ways to make Zoro funny.

Yeah, Zoro's found a new niche in deadpan humour. And it has made for some really funny moments whenever he lets it out. I also agree that he's one of the crew that has changed the most since his introduction, so it's a positive in that it shows development. But on the other hand I still find it a shame since, save a few quirks he's kept, that very growth and maturity has made him conform too much to the generic "honourable swordsman" archetype - one I never liked. But we can't all have our cake and eat it, too.

Of course we see the events at W-7 differently and always have, and I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise (sweat) but I think you're right that at least some of the good deeds he's done since then are Oda's way of showing that he's not a monster.

Weeell, it wouldn't be interesting if we agreed on everything now would it? Not that I object to the principle per se. (Though I suspect Zoro has never read the story of "The Prodigal Son".) But I liked his bonding with Brook, so eh, let it slide.

I did miss the little lecture Usopp gave him - that puts a new spin on an already interesting scene (Usopp protecting Zoro for a change). Though Zoro's 'flaw' here was really just more of his honourable nature kicking in, I don't know if that should really count. Still, the whole Sabaody conclusion was great.

The way I see it, this is a convenient way for him to end up with a huge crew before entering the New World. So for him to have circus (the original crew), side-show freaks (Foxy's crew) and con-artists (the Impel Down 'converts') all together in one big armada seems perfect to me. And yes, he's got to go on to bigger things. He's one of Oda's own favorite characters.

When you put it that way.. it wouldn't suprise me if Buggy's newfound (and possibley future) strength in numbers might be his stepping stones to becoming the 5th Emperor of the new world. It'd be horrible and hilarious and perfect at the same time.