this blog has been sold to the chinese

[hsiuism]

As usual, One Piece serves as a catalyst for updating. First, though, other stuff!

1. I requested to do this meme from princessk492 like, literally a month ago, and must now answer in parts. Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you. The first

Comments

[3goodtimes]

I agree somewhat about the pace, though I recommend you read Bleach before you read One Piece every week. It makes One Piece's slow moments seem like they're moving at the speed of light. Compared to a lot of manga authors, Oda is pretty good at packing plot and meaning into his chapters.

If he just needed to show the (apparently minimal) challenge of Impel Down, I can make peace with that. I also think Luffy's backstory and Gold D. Roger are integral to the plot, so I'm willing to wait for the rest of the crew to come back if the payoff is worth it someday. I really hope the battle coming up doesn't last too long though.

I was pretty distraught over the classic 'sacrificing mother' move as well, though one could argue it further reinforces Ace's position as the 'classic' hero and Luffy being the foil to that. I don't really buy that though. I think Oda just needed a disposable, noble woman. Totally ridiculous and insulting. Not to mention the women slaughtered for Roger's son.

Luffy's mom needs to be badass. How could she not be, considering who she gave birth to? I'm really counting on Oda to make her a real character.

So, thank you for posting. Very well said. It too am quite saddened by the direction Oda's heading in when it comes to women.

[hsiuism]

Lol, the pacing is actually the reason why I don't read Bleach! XD

There are definitely things I really liked about Impel Down, like Bon Clay and Ivanov's crew, and I agree that all the backstory stuff ties a lot of previous loose ends together nicely. I guess my real complaint goes back to the rest of the Strawhats being absent. Until he was left on his own, it wasn't really obvious just how much the rest of the crew buoys up the energy and feel of One Piece (at least, for me). Without them, Luffy's effect on me was really diminished since he had no one to feed off of. So it just feels like we've been at Impel Down for a really long time, and Oda keeps throwing crazy stuff at us (characters, situations, battles, Devil Fruits) to sustain energy and distract the reader.

But there were good things about this arc! I just didn't write about them :p For example, Buggy is not anywhere near on my list of favorite characters, but I love his appearance at Impel Down and the idea of him as the Messiah XDD

And totally agreed about Luffy's mom! :D

[3goodtimes]

Oh I feel the same way. I haven't really enjoyed Luffy at Impel Down for the very reasons you listed (with a few highlights making it better, like Bon Clay). It's just that I think it might be a neccessary lull.

I'm so ready for the crew to come back. It isn't as fun without them!