((So by "Monday" I apparently really meant "Thursday night". But whatever; this thing takes up 7 pages on MS Word so I hope you've got a nice big mug of tea.))
Disclaimers and Notes: this post contains spoilers for the most recent arc, especially chapters 516, 517, and 518. Questions, comments, discussion, and arguments are welcome; statements
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So any issues I have with Hancock so far are more to do with the means that Oda has used to characterise her. To me, the plotline for this latest arc has seemed a little rushed. The Eleven Supernovas, the World Nobels and Kizaru, all seeming to be major players for the future, have been mercilessly crammed in, to lead up to what I presume will eventually be the finale of One Piece. Oda is probably under pressure to start tying the series up as it has been running for so long. In that line of thought, Hancock's initial characterisation seems like a quick and easy way of getting readers to side against her and yes I agree, it's "a playful, semi-satirical nod to establishing villainy in characters" but compared to the character development of the other characters you mentioned, (Crocodile, Enel and Rob Lucci) this just seems like the easy and slightly lazy option. By having her kick kittens and old ladies and destroy children's artwork, Oda has gone for the emotive juglar, rather than pace things and allow us to decide for ourselves why to dislike Hancock. For example, the villiany of Rob Lucci does not become clear until far later on in the Water 7/Enie's Lobby arc and whilst being on a far more horrific scale than Hancock, is blurred with warped motives of justice. The full extent of Crocodile and Enel's tyranny also does not become clear until much later into their respective arcs and does not seem to say so starkly, "Here I am, I am the villian, here is why you should hate me". It disappoints me that Oda makes it so easy for his readers to label her as an immediate villian when so far most of the Luffy's enemies and opponents have been given some prior context or build-up. Perhaps the fandom's been a little too easily played in its reaction to Hancock. *Dodges the rotten tomatoes*
I'm reserving my judgment on Hancock for until we know a little bit more about her and Amazon Lily but you've made some excellent points and I do enjoy reading your fandom essays. =)
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That means OP won't last forever, but it will probably go on for way longer than Oda himself thinks.
In any case, I think the quick and lazy introduction of Hancock as a villain was essential because an arc that focuses on Luffy alone cannot last for longer than one or two volumes. We have to read Amazon Lily as a detour from the more important plot points: What happened to the other crewmembers, how will they rejoin and how will they escape into the New World, what will happen to Ace... These kinda things.
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