This country "no one cares about" was being name dropped since Arlong. It is the midway point of the manga.

I'm enjoying it, it was never going to be as fast paced the White Beard arc, the only thing that will compare to that is the final arc.

Edit: Also, Oda is fond of foreshadowing shit. Just because something may not seem like much now, doesn't mean it wont have significance later.

 

I'm annoyed by this arc because its Oda attempting to info drop on us a storyline that may or may not have any relevance to anything later on in. When I look at this arc I see potential for something interesting that is simply being bogged down in too much backstory to garner any interest from me. I can think of several different ways to have done the 6 chapters of story that in my mind would have read a lot smoother than what Oda did.

 

The Fishmen back story is nothing we didn't know already, only now we have it in more detail and characters are more fleshed out. Fishman Island is something all pirates have to get through to get to the New World so skipping over it with plot less garbage was never an option.

Fisher Tiger was the badass that climbed the biggest mountain in the One Piece universe with nothing but his hands to free slaves. I think it is safe to assume most people are interested in him, I know I was.

Is there really such a thing as too much back story?

 

Yes, when it's boring the fuck out of the readers.

 

Exactly, I didn't want him to skip over it, I just want it delivered in a better way at least if its unavoidable. Tiger is still awesome and I never denied people would be interested in him, it just still needed a better delivery.

My problem with this is I look at it, then go back and look at Rabanastra and I see a huge difference in the quality of the storytelling. There was a pace to Rabanastra that demanded plot movement constantly, on top of that we were going in blind against an enemy whose strength we had no idea of and only a hint of his aims. Here we see the villain get his ass kicked by Zoro while he is in his own element and then get 6 chapters of flashback. Unless this change coming over Hordy is a big one this arc is going to lack a decent antagonist as well as an interesting plot.

 

That's what I thought too, before he was killed by a bunch of no-name grunt marines.

 

That doesn't in anyway shape or form make him a less interesting than if he was uberhaxxed and biting peoples heads off. He is a badass, no matter how you look at it. Hurf Durf no name marines doesn't make his story any less interesting.

 

Actually if he had swallowed his pride he would of been still alive to this point.

New Chapter

 

And shit actually happened!

 

Except when it does.

Also, on the newest chapter: I find the villains of this arc ridiculous, hilariously so.
Quick question: How the fuck did Hordy control the sea monsters again?

 

Same way Arlong did with Moomoo, super-fishman threatening skills.

 

Oda is GOD

Hodi you beast

 

.....And I take back most of my previous comments about this arc. It has taken awhile but it's finally getting interesting.

 

I'm still bored as fuck. There was little of interest, besides the fact that things are finally getting somewhere and the flashbacks seem to over. On the other hand, I raged when Jinbe was just captured like that, and we don't even know how. Dammit, pre time-skip, Jinbe was a major badass, now he's just a wuss. I miss his ass-kicking.

 

"YOU DECIDE!"

I half expected a screen to pop up with the choices: Save Fishman Island or Destroy Fishman Island.

 

Friend or foe? That kind of thing you decide yourselves

Luffy stomping fools and looking badass while doing it :awesome

 

"Look up in the sky! What is it? A whale? A lion? No, it's a muotherfuckin Gaon cannon!"

Finally some Luffy action. Fucking Hodi, he must be one of the worst villains to have appeared since ... I don't know, the guy who used his nose crap as explosives. First he got wtfpwned by Zoro, now he'll be pwned by Luffy.
I don't expect this to be the end of the fight, since this is supposed to be the closing arc final fight(hopefully), but we all know Luffy is gonna rape this bitch.
Well played sir, well played.

 

Well, it is the first major fight post-timeskip. It has to show Luffy being amazingly badass, and he can't do that against someone actually badass like an Emperor or whatever.

But finally, after so much exposition, I'm actually really getting into this arc, Luffy is just the coolest mofo around, and this chapter set the awesome quotient pretty high. If the fight can be as awesome as the entrance, this arc will have been good.

 

Luffy is such a fucking boss.

 

50,000 fucking people.

Without lifting a finger.

Fucking awesome.