And here I am, a couple weeks after I figured I’d have to give up on these write-ups. This isn’t a case of me having to eat my words so much as me continuing the struggle to find word to spit out since I have so much fun with this show.
Anyway…
Since I can remember seeing the swordsman with the rasta hat sometime before, I’ll go ahead and guess that long-time fans would’ve suspected all along that he was behind the headless torsos, bodiless heads and mix-and-match centaurs. Trust me, I’ve been on the other end of this sort of mystery many times before elsewhere.
(Honestly, there ought to be some specific classification for when a fictional universe gets intricate enough that half the enjoyment seems to come from the audience just guessing about what old characters might show up).
Of course, the upside of coming in around episode #584 is that the show’s also reached the point where it’s accrued a bunch of crowd-pleasers into its main cast who don’t necessarily make for a “well-balanced” team dynamic, but are still far more fun to watch. I feel like if Oda ever made a serious attempt at streamlining this roster, he’d have to pick just one “zany wild card” out of Franky, Brook and Chopper to have on the team consistently.
They’re the ones who’re always the most fun to watch in each episode, and they’re the ones who could probably headline their own tiles rather easily. Having them all here is kind of like getting three layers of frosting. Grown-ups are going to tell you that you can only have so much in proportion to the actual cake, and having them all together will probably give you a tummy ache... but that's not the pirate spirit!
Watch this episode, "A Swordplay Showdown! Brook vs. the Mysterious Torso Samurai!” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
Chopper's only got a little crazier starting from the timeskip. His weird kung-fu form and the crazy speech that come with it is a new variation. His wackiness is actually a bit of development for his character. Originally he tried to make his transformations seem more human because he was shot at and beaten up for looking like a monster. But over the timeskip he decided to turn himself into a monster to help the crew that accepted him.
If Oda ever decided to streamline One Piece Brooke would easily be the first to go. Chopper has a ton of interaction with almost everyone, and Franky is the big brother/mentor type to Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. Brooke still hasn't really found a place yet, and I feel like most of his interaction recently has been with side characters. (Pappag, Kinemon) Hopefully he'll get a bit more settled in eventually. I think there was even a filler episode where he just roams about the ship trying to fit in and ends up annoying everyone.
Not that I want Oda to get rid of anyone.
Completely agree with your character streamlining thoughts
@Petiew thanks for checking out our OP episode btw. Brook has grown on me a lil more since the timeskip as he is not singing the same ol yohohoho over and over agin like before and the whole superstar thing makes his character more comedic. However, he is still the weakest link for me and if he was ultimately written out for some reason (which obviously won't happen as they just add more characters not take away) i would not be bothered in the least.