I did think it was cool showing Luffy with the tattoo, and seeing Kid be a blood-thirsty killer for a change made me like him even more.

Oh sigh, to wait another week.

THIS AGAIN!?? That's EXACTLY what they said after the chapter when the flashback ended and Luffy had just realized he was weak. God, why do people insist on having a time-skip and/or training arc in One Piece? As I've said on different forums, I really hope this never happens, the way Oda gives Luffy "power-ups" as a surprise and makes them something learned "along the way", is part of what makes One Piece so awesome! It's not like I have anything against timeskips in general, but I like how everything in One Piece flows steadily, a sudden jump would only make it drag on even more than it already does, showing how the characters have evolved and maybe even with flashbacks of what happened DURING that timeskip (Naruto anyone?). Anyway, it seems pretty weird to reintroduce the Supernovas and then do a timeskip. I, for one, wouldn't want to see one in One Piece.

I wasn't gonna open that can-o-worms, seeing as how it causes unrest within the OP community at large.

However, I will go on record saying that Time Skipp in general seem like pain.

Plus, then there is the crowd that argues that all of OP has only taken place over like what, 3 or 4 weeks or something crazy... I mean if we are half-way through the story as it is now, and they have only been out to sea for a month or so, then how flipping small is the OP world?

If it only takes 8 or 9 months to get to the end of the New World, then wouldn't more people have made it by now? Hell Roger has been dead for what, almost 20 years?

I think some things are over analyzed a tad too much. But that's just my two cents...

May be wrong, but I think they jumped 3 weeks during the flashback or something, at one point I swear I read "3 weeks have passed" or "3 weeks later" or something like that. I think at least a year or something should have gone by since the start.

No, you are correct. There was a displayed "Two Week's Later..." after the end of the war. I think it covered the time it took Luffy to sail back to Boa's Island...

Looks like the SH crew is taking more time off before going back to the ship...

Very interesting developments:

1. Gecko Moria's defeated, however he might have escaped as a shadow... or a zombie? Who knows.
2. Blackbeard captured Bonney ( I thought she was a pretty interesting supernova... too bad )
3. Drake is going to challenge Kaidou already?
4. Blackbeard is scared of Akainu? Why? For looking like an idiot, Teach sure is sticking to his "plan".
5. Chopper saying "DOOOOON!" about himself and then talking out loud was hilarious, and now we know he is going to power up.
6. Sanji is also apparently going to power up also in his little "quest".

All in all, good chapter. And Law uses Bepo as a head rest.

Aww, naaaaww. The way things are going, it looks like there's going to be a training arc / timeskip afterall. Boo!
The one thing that interested me the most about this chapter was what Akainu said to Bonney. Apparently, she ran away from the WG, and judging from his tone, it sounded like Bonney has relations to Akainu, or someone in the WG. I don't think she'll die anytime soon, either way; being a Supernova and seeing how she was "rescued" from the Blackbeards. Blackbeard is a sly coward, but he gets what he wants. And in this case, getting a ship seemed to be the priority.
I lolled when I first read the spoilers and saw all these ZoroXBonney fangirl comments of people thinking Zoro would come rescue Bonney.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of a "Training arc" idea either, I'm desperate to see the Straw Hats get back together and head onto the New World, ESPECIALLY Fishman Island.

Given a choice between the two, I want a Timeskip. A "Training" arc would seem tedious and annoying. We just need one or two more chapters of Oda telling us that everyone is gonna train, and then timeskip it. The only thing I hope is that the Timeskip isn't too long. I'm thinking a few months at the most. The way he set it up, it looks like the Straw Hats are gonna get back together after the new year. BUT, since Oda hasn't told us ANYTHING about the internal timeframe that One Piece is set in, it could easily be like, August - December in the One Piece world right now. So, a timeskip of only a few months is very doable. and would be good. I'd hate for the characters to age considerably...

(PS: We already know they use Real-world time in OP because Oda assigns real world Birthdays to the characters in the SBS)

^Ugh, the sooner they get it over with, the better, I guess. As long as they don't spend too much time reintroducing the characters and how all of them have gotten stronger...

Anyone watching the anime? Starting to get REAL good, animation is watcheable, but I must say, I didn't like Whitebeard's voice actor at all. I hope he pulls through for the final moments, though.

They have been posting the new Anime episodes up on Hulu.com with subs, so I usually watch them there.

I started reading the Manga when I couldn't find a reliable source for the anime any longer (but that was years ago).

Changing gears, I just read a typical AP Forum thread (meaning most of it wasn't civil discussion, just idiots bantering over the decent board members) about the Luffy tatt.



interesting food for thought. However I am still anti-Time Skip