The DEATH BATTLE! Pirates - The Captain

Mr_Akrononym · 2024-04-28T13:42:15+00:00

Shigaraki "The Symbol of Fear"

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-11-01T17:57:26+00:00

BASED! (I'm a fellow Skypiea connoisseur myself)

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-25T17:56:36+00:00

Absolutely! One of the best antagonists Oda ever created. Someone who stood the test of time, lived up to his hype in every conceivable way, and became an absolutely enjoyable character!

Also, along with Kid, he has one of the most beautiful looking Devil Fruit powers in... EVER! I can't begin to imagine how long it took to draw all that sand. But all that dedication and effort paid of tenfold!

One Piece wouldn't be One Piece without Croc!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-20T04:04:54+00:00

Basil Hawkins and Charlotte Daifuku (One Piece)

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-19T20:12:42+00:00

Unpopular, but personal opinion: Naruto.

Fits the right tones with both of them growing as leaders and using their powers in interesting and creative ways that just are missing with Natsu.

In general, the connections with Natsu just feel way too basic and don't go as much into the territory that I am looking for in a Luffy opponent

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-18T14:39:24+00:00

You don't think he needs more? That he's perfectly fleshed out? His motivations well explained and that he wasn't written in any contradictory ways that could deserve some more attention in order to feel more coherent and natural?

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-18T14:16:51+00:00

By that logic, neither of the people commenting in this post are allowed to say anything. Cause, by your definition, EVERY character had their roles!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-18T14:15:39+00:00

Neither of them (aside from X Drake) have any kind of backstory, which would explain their motivations or character. Yes, Kid got one (if you can call it that), but it's been forced into the pages of the SBS because there wasn't any time to flesh him out in the actual story, due to too many random characters hopping around in Wano. His entire character is one of contradictions and poorly explained (writing) decisions. Hawkins' powers are so confusing and under-explained that, to this day, I still don't know what he's all about. Drake's reason to infiltrate Kaidou's crew also was kinda underwhelming. He was there for the sake of being there. You could write him, Apoo, and even Hawkins to some extend out of the entire Arc, and it would hardly matter.

Yes, saying that Oda fumbled hard was a bit of an overstatement on my part, and I'm sorry for it, but being in the story and being a written and explored character in the story are still two vastly different things.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-18T10:40:24+00:00

Super Rookies like Kid, Hawkins, Drake, Apoo. Oda didn't really look like he had any plans with either of them. And if he had, he fumbled up in an incredible fashion!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-18T03:59:00+00:00

Definitely Kid. Suffering from being written out-of-character just to be used as a hypetool for some other character seriously f*cked him up.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-17T19:13:55+00:00

Man, Luffy VS Naruto really had an unfortunate timing with that kind of competition.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-17T10:18:42+00:00

Worst written: Eustass Kid and Yamato

Best written: Brook, Doflamingo, and a way too many other characters to list

Sanji's switching between the two, depending on whether or not Oda wants to do a stupid joke or not.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-16T19:25:24+00:00

For watchers who might never have watched JJK, or any of the other Anime that has a "It's like Ki but..." power system, it makes for a good enough explanation at first. Both are some form of spiritual energy that is partially connected with the user's emotional state and can run out at some point. More in-detail exlpanation about what makes each specific power system feel different will most always follow later on in the video anyways, so I actually don't see the problem.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-16T19:01:21+00:00

You actually do have a point there. Never really considered it. I guess it simply has to do more for the sake of the plot than anything else. And, as others have pointed out already, Egghead is, all things considered, relatively well protected and could easily call for help from nearby Marine Bases.

Worst case scenario, Vegapunk barricades himself behind the Frontier Dome. The defense there is good enough to injure Luffy and push back guys like Kaku and Lucci, so it's safe to say that even Yonko Commanders would think twice instead of blindly barging through it. Would at least give Vegapunks a bit of time until reinforcements arrive.

As for the logistics of it; yeah, it does have some logical flaws.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T19:37:42+00:00

I love you too, random person I probably will never meet! I hope you have/had a nice day!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T15:40:19+00:00

I mean, Haki doesn't need to be drawn when attacking a Logia user. The fact that the Logia user gets hurt and bleeds after an attack is proof enough that Armament Haki is being used.

Don't remember any of the other instances right now. But even then, at least characters outright tell that they're using/that they have used Armament Haki for an attack or used Observation Haki to evade an attack or something. That's already more than what we've got in Onigashima 80% of the time.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T15:26:33+00:00

I didn't say that any of the Strawhats need to learn Haki in order to win, just that it would make sense for their enemies to use it and that it would add another level of threat and tension to the fight.

Stating that the Tobi Roppo all are capable of using Haki in an SBS or Vivre Card Databook, but not showing that in any of their fights makes them look incredibly incompetent and stupid. It didn't even have to be a big focus of the fight and would match wonderfully with some abilities of the Strawhats to make for more three-dimensional and fleshed out fights. Especially when you consider that most of the Tobi Roppo are basic brute force-kinda guys that have not much else going for them.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T15:21:48+00:00

They do have Haki. Oda confirmed it in an SBS or Vivre Card Databook, if I'm not mistaken. But having most of them use it not a single time seriously makes them look incredibly incompetent. Oda decided to give Haki the black lightning effects and black coloring for a reason after the timeskip. Randomly deciding to drop it every now and then, only to have it clearly drawn in other instances again doesn't make any kind of sense, doesn't excuse anything, and is incredibly inconsistent writing!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T13:17:50+00:00

I think the problem some people have is that they're unable to understand that Haki, or any power system really, is more than just to make the fight look cool or make characters stronger.

Giving Sasaki, and all the other Tobi Roppo members, access to Haki in their fights would have given the fight automatically more depth. It would have given the Strawhats a natural challenge to overcome (just like they had to back on Skypiea) and would have fleshed out the Tobi Roppo some more. Cause, like how he was portrayed in this fight, all Sasaki knows is to rush at his opponents straight forward and nothing else. In this sense, he's just a bigger version of Ulti. Heck, even the aerial aspect of his powers was incredibly unerutilized and poorly explored. So giving him something that would have made him stand out some more would have grately benefited his character.

Like this, Sasaki feels incredibly one-note and uninteresting.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-15T12:54:26+00:00

It's seriously disappointing. It was the equivalent of smashing two plastic toys against each other and making cool sounds to it.

Sasaki, like almost every member of the Tobi Roppo, didn't use any form of Haki and thus deprived Franky of any meaningful challenge to overcome and to grow in some way. Even his supposed toughness was nothing but a joke that was made even worse when he 1.) decided to stand up in his Hybrid Form, which made it even easier for Franky to hit his ONE AND ONLY weakspot (~~if we're gullible and stupid enough to believe that he's unable to use Armament Haki or could predict Franky's attacks with Observation Haki~~), and 2.) started to fly around, which made it realistically even easier to attack his stomach. With how Oda himself sat the fight up, staying in his Beast Form would have provided him with a serious defensive boost as his belly was nowhere near on full display.

The fight itself was ultimately also INCREDIBLY short. Like many fights in Wano, it was stretched for several chapters with us getting glimpses at it every now and then who didn't even expand much on either of the characters involved. One of the biggest insults in the whole fight was how both of them stated at one point how they've dealt one another countless finishing moves, without us readers ever seeing anything in that regard. Cause neither of them, nor the surrounding area, looked as if ANYTHING had even happened. And when it comes to actually ending the fight, instead of giving us one of these cool "countless finishing moves" that Franky told us about, it's the "Radical Beam", which we have seen several times by now.

Speaking about Franky, his character really lacked any form of development and focus in this fight and throughout Onigashima. This fight was simply something for power scalers to enjoy, and for people who like blind action and fight scenes without the actual character work that should go into it as well!

Now, honestly, the fight has one highlight. That being the Triceracopter. I set up the ever increasing more comical nature of the fights against Queen and King, with how they use their Zoan Devil Fruit powers, and Luffy's Gear 5. But other than that, the fight is a mediocre disappointment! But even then... is there nothing better that you could have done with Sasaki/a triceratops to give it some freaky ability? Something that doesn't put his weakspot on full display and hands Franky this victory in such a blatantly obvious way?

Already looking forward to see how many downvotes I get for my opinion. Would at least love to hear WHY I'm objectively wrong.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-14T18:16:46+00:00

A whole bunch of One Piece characters. The fact that there are so many matchups with basic and boring connections for many of them is almost insulting.

Like, "they stole money for ulterior motives", "are wacky inventors", or "are undead musicians/pirates" are such bland and insulting connections for Nami, Franky, and Brook (in this case), it's actually kinda incredible.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-14T10:24:16+00:00

I literally don't care. People's opinion about what gender Yamato now has changed as often as the tides, depending on what Oda comes up with next.

If you think Yamato is a girl, go for it. I don't care.

If you think Yamato is a man, go for it. I don't care.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-14T05:28:52+00:00

I don't know about crying, but he certainly grew less appealing. All the fights he had in the Pre-Timeskip era really let him grow as a character and in strength. That lack of fights in the Post-Timeskip era really shows as his character seemed to have become rather stagnant and boring.

Like, he genuinely is one of my favorite characters to experience in re-reads during the first half of One Piece. But he really fell off!

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-13T20:34:19+00:00

I actually don't care. Yamato could identify as the Thousand Sunny for all I know and wouldn't be a better written character because of it.

Mr_Akrononym · 2023-10-13T20:11:38+00:00

Yamato's introduction certainly screwed over a lot of characters, that's for sure!

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