The Next Straw Hat Crew Member (During Punk Hazard Arc)

[m2licee]

Correct me if i'm wrong but Luffy said he wanted a 10 man crew, and i'm pretty sure the captain doesn't count himself because he's the leader. SO in fact we have 8 members and he needs two more. But then it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think he could go for a crew of 12-15. Why do people think its not probable? It would just be 4-5 extra people really, nothing big. And i'm pretty sure the Going merry will be revamped soon enough to accommodate their growing numbers. The shipwright has been studying after all.

[daz bonez]

if Luffy got 12-15 crew..there will be too much main cahracter too handle..and many caharcter will feel left out....OP has a wide variety of cast already and giving a SH that big crew will bea a pain in the ass even for Oda..even with this 9 people on ship..i feel that brook and robin is being neglected..seriously.

[Blackriot69]

My thoughts exactly. I tried to point that out to Cross earlier about his idea of 12-15 crew members and 1 more sword wielder, but you know Cross. Even though we have half or more left to the manga, I too feel many more than two more crew members would take away from developement and integration within the crew. The same idea goes towards why the SH's will never have divisions like the larger crews do. Luffy holds friendship above all else and to not know his crew would be a low blow to his character.

[cross777]

Correct me if i'm wrong but Luffy said he wanted a 10 man crew, and i'm pretty sure the captain doesn't count himself because he's the leader. SO in fact we have 8 members and he needs two more. But then it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think he could go for a crew of 12-15. Why do people think its not probable? It would just be 4-5 extra people really, nothing big. And i'm pretty sure the Going merry will be revamped soon enough to accommodate their growing numbers. The shipwright has been studying after all.

the green book debunked that and stated that its at least ten. meaning there will be ten but the door is open for more.

My thoughts exactly. I tried to point that out to Cross earlier about his idea of 12-15 crew members and 1 more sword wielder, but you know Cross. Even though we have half or more left to the manga, I too feel many more than two more crew members would take away from developement and integration within the crew. The same idea goes towards why the SH's will never have divisions like the larger crews do. Luffy holds friendship above all else and to not know his crew would be a low blow to his character.

for the record i never said any thing about divisions. two still i really do not think its going to be that much of a problem i mean like you said we are about at the half way point in OP give or take. i mean there an small crew now and they would still be a small crew with 12-15. i mean 2 or 3 more than what we know will be there should and will not be a problem for oda and still hold that 4 or 5 more would not be that much trouble. there are plenty of ways oda can do with that.

[arisart]

for the record i never said any thing about divisions. two still i really do not think its going to be that much of a problem i mean like you said we are about at the half way point in OP give or take. i mean there an small crew now and they would still be a small crew with 12-15. i mean 2 or 3 more than what we know will be there should and will not be a problem for oda and still hold that 4 or 5 more would not be that much trouble. there are plenty of ways oda can do with that.

Yeah a 12-15 crew is small except for the Strawhats coz Oda has to develop each and every ones character. I think that's too much work even for Oda. Add the fact that they are already at the second half of their adventures. Any addition after fishman island or the first adventure they'll have in the new world would be bad imo. Readers won't relate to the character coz the character won't relate to the SH much coz he/she already missed more than half of what the SH went through. Just imagine a person joining the crew and the next island they go will be Raftel already. Lol, any character joining late will have give a feeling of just riding on the Srawhats success.

[cross777]

Yeah a 12-15 crew is small except for the Strawhats coz Oda has to develop each and every ones character. I think that's too much work even for Oda. Add the fact that they are already at the second half of their adventures. Any addition after fishman island or the first adventure they'll have in the new world would be bad imo. Readers won't relate to the character coz the character won't relate to the SH much coz he/she already missed more than half of what the SH went through. Just imagine a person joining the crew and the next island they go will be Raftel already. Lol, any character joining late will have give a feeling of just riding on the Srawhats success.

well the fitting in to the crew thing would not be that big of a deal because one they are just getting back together so that's the best time to fit in and brook did fine when he joined.

and i agree unless its for a good damn reason or special circumstance joining right B4 raftal would be not to welcome. but they have a long journey to go. i mean oda could decide to add some crew member quick. 2 or so close together then there is the question of sabo. i dont see why its such a stretch to think of 12-15.

[arisart]

well the fitting in to the crew thing would not be that big of a deal because one they are just getting back together so that's the best time to fit in and brook did fine when he joined.

and i agree unless its for a good damn reason or special circumstance joining right B4 raftal would be not to welcome. but they have a long journey to go. i mean oda could decide to add some crew member quick. 2 or so close together then there is the question of sabo. i dont see why its such a stretch to think of 12-15.

I don't see why just getting back together is a perfect time for a new character to join in. It's not really a factor. Brook was part of TB arc and Shaboady so he didn't miss half of the SH"s adventure on gl. And even now Brook hasn't done real shit for the crew. Just imagine if a character joins in too late.

Oda already said that he wanted to end OP already. He just doesn't wanna end it an a half-ass way. A 12-15 crew looks a bit of a stretch not because it's not a good/possible structure for a crew to have one but because of OP timeline and the way how Oda gives each and every crew members their own moment and character development. Just look at other manga like FT and Naruto. FT has lots of members and Oda could have done the same with the SH but look how the other characters being underdeveloped. Same with Naruto, Kishi already forgotten the likes of Lee and Kiba. Oda won't do that to his characters (knowing how he loves them even the minor ones) so giving him a 12-15 characters to develop is a very daunting task. Heck even now, he takes more breaks than any other mangaka just to collect data. I know yopu like riding Oda's dick but he's still human. He can't do all.

[Sirxxx]

And i'm pretty sure the Going merry will be revamped soon enough to accommodate their growing numbers. The shipwright has been studying after all.

You know the Going Merry has been dead and buried at the bottom of the ocean for about 300+ chapters now, right? lol

if Luffy got 12-15 crew..there will be too much main cahracter too handle..and many caharcter will feel left out....OP has a wide variety of cast already and giving a SH that big crew will bea a pain in the ass even for Oda..even with this 9 people on ship..i feel that brook and robin is being neglected..seriously.

Exactly! It's not important that they have a force big enough to intimidate other pirates--Oda obviously enjoys his characters, and I would think that he pretty much HAS to limit the crew in order to develop all of them.

And you're right--Robin nor Brook has really been shown to contribute anything significant to the crew/gotten a moment to shine.

Yeah a 12-15 crew is small except for the Strawhats coz Oda has to develop each and every ones character. I think that's too much work even for Oda. Add the fact that they are already at the second half of their adventures. Any addition after fishman island or the first adventure they'll have in the new world would be bad imo. Readers won't relate to the character coz the character won't relate to the SH much coz he/she already missed more than half of what the SH went through. Just imagine a person joining the crew and the next island they go will be Raftel already. Lol, any character joining late will have give a feeling of just riding on the Srawhats success.

Also Exactly! The only way the crew is going to bond is to go through hardships and what not together, and that can't happen if they keep adding strangers in the New World. Even the last two members to join where given deeper, earlier connections to the Strawhats (Robin in Alabasta, Brook in Laboon) to kinda tie them together. My money is set on the last member, whoever it will be, joining here in Fishmen Island, and a COMPLETE, PERMANENT Strawhat crew sailing into the New World.

[Gypseslice]

Yeah a 12-15 crew is small except for the Strawhats coz Oda has to develop each and every ones character. I think that's too much work even for Oda. Add the fact that they are already at the second half of their adventures. Any addition after fishman island or the first adventure they'll have in the new world would be bad imo. Readers won't relate to the character coz the character won't relate to the SH much coz he/she already missed more than half of what the SH went through. Just imagine a person joining the crew and the next island they go will be Raftel already. Lol, any character joining late will have give a feeling of just riding on the Srawhats success.

I agree completely, the new crew members would not know any of the hardships they went through or any past enemy encounters but that is also why it makes another character joining likely, once they entered the Grand Line no other member like Chopper or Robin knew what it took them to get there or had any ideas about the dynamic of the crew.

I mean we may think that this is the first case scenerio that any forum has argued on OP but it may not be like when Robin joined i was pretty sure that was more than enough, 'i mean why do SH even need her' and 'it is a obvios sign that Oda is running out of crew jobs' were the ideas running through my mind. But obviousaly were... i've forgetten what i was going to say to tie this together but i hope you've gotten the point from all of this ^^

[Blackriot69]

While I disagree with Cross's hope of 12-15 crew members (thus I agree with the crew developement issue), I don't see at least two more members post-entrance New World a problem for Oda. So far we've seen new additions in each of the seas (East Blue and Grand Line) so I personally don't believe it doubtful for NW crew members. Afterall, each sea has seen new phenomenon only residents can typically explain. Addition of one or two of these natives will surely benefit the SH crew.

On the same line of thought as above, I believe it's unfair to say Robin and Brook haven't contributed to the crew. While their positions/jobs may not be a typical pirate commonplace, the uniqueness of these abilities fits well into the larger picture of the OP storyline. Just because they don't pull a huge contribution such as navigator or captain, doesn't mean they are any less valuable. If you discount their skills, then the SH's would've wound up with around six/seven crewmates total. Give a little uniqueness.