2011-12-04, 10:23 PM
It's also worth pointing out that a lot of the Fishman karate members don't really fight alike. Kuroobi, Jinbei, and Hodi all fought really differently. Jinbei can do all sorts of crazy things with water. He can basically create vibrations/waves in the air and through people's bodies, pull at and manipulate water, shoot water projectiles wherever he is- either from the water or generate water around his hands, can move around and dive really smoothly in the water, and he's built as a sturdy as hell karate practitioner with a figure like that. Kuroobi was pretty much all punches, kicks, and using his elbow. I would consider Hodi to be all about using that blade on his back in the water, using his speed in the water, a bunch of gun-like projectile attacks, and using his teeth.
If you want to also consider what aspects of Jinbei sort of make him an oddball in the same sense as a talking reindeer, a cyborg in Speedos who's powered on cola, and a talking skeleton; he resembles Japanese demons with the stuff going on at the side of his face and his tusks and he's really inspired and reminiscent of yakuza- the guy's epithet "The Knight of the Sea" is a Japanese pun for "The Yakuza of the Sea" (actually, the term refers to a high ranking yakuza official, but that translation works too). I think that qualifies him as weird enough for the Straw Hats.
Also, Jinbei can smile. Chapter 634, page 15 and also in Chapter 547 there's a color walk of Luffy and the main characters in the Impel Down escape with Jinbei smiling. You also see him grinning and his face mellowing out when he sees Luffy calmed down after rampaging in the jungle in Amazon Lily.
It was brought up in this thread what haven't we seen in Jinbei before. Well, we've never seen him in a casual environment before and so we've never really seen him let himself get laidback. Impel Down and Marineford arc was all about his duty to Ace to protect Luffy and wanting to save Ace, so it's the right time for him to be all-serious-all-the-time. Post-war stuff with him was watching Luffy beat the living crap out of himself in the jungle and completely shutting down, of course he can't play some sort of comedy gold role then because he needed to be there to calm Luffy down and get some sense into Luffy. And finally, if you want to get into Fishman Island, he's solemn out of respect at Otohime's grave and he's serious about protecting the island from Hodi and about the race relations on the island, so again, he can't show his more chill side. His flashbacks aren't really telling either because they've never really given us a place to show him as chill- they were all pretty much about showing him as the honorable and respectful one around ethical issues around the problems of human-fishman relations, it's not fair to really judge him yet.
Zoro is pretty much a really serious and honorable character too, but his role is to be aloof and oblivious (not to mention having awful navigation skills), but he manages to be some of the best comedy gold in the series. Jinbei probably just isn't gonna be as awesome as Zoro, but I'm sure he'll find a place to fit. Who knows? We might find a goofy side in Jinbei and also get to watch him struggle maintaining his seriousness around the crew. I dunno if he'd exactly be a buzzkill, but I would say some of the other characters like Nami already find a way to fill that role.
The other and one of the most crucial elements of ANY crew member for Luffy is that Luffy has to see them as a friend and really like them. Some of you guys might not really like him, but if you go back to the beginning of Fishman Island, Luffy already thought of Jinbei as a really good friend. From a plot perspective, that's pretty much a good sign that Luffy will get the possible idea of recruiting them. And of course, it happened. Luffy really likes him and sees him as a good friend, I don't see what the problem is.
Anyways, I'm perfectly happy seeing him join the crew if Oda knows how to make it work- which for now, I think he does- and if Jinbei really will reject them, so be it.
Also, I think we've seen a lot of interesting sides to Jinbei. I would argue we've learned a lot about his ethics, who he really is, and how he became into the tame and has the kind of self-control he has in the present. I think that gives him a lot more depth and intrigue than it does for some of the other characters we've seen this arc like Shirahoshi and Brohoshi. He's not all that bad at the present, but I think we should open up and give him a chance.
If you want to also consider what aspects of Jinbei sort of make him an oddball in the same sense as a talking reindeer, a cyborg in Speedos who's powered on cola, and a talking skeleton; he resembles Japanese demons with the stuff going on at the side of his face and his tusks and he's really inspired and reminiscent of yakuza- the guy's epithet "The Knight of the Sea" is a Japanese pun for "The Yakuza of the Sea" (actually, the term refers to a high ranking yakuza official, but that translation works too). I think that qualifies him as weird enough for the Straw Hats.
Also, Jinbei can smile. Chapter 634, page 15 and also in Chapter 547 there's a color walk of Luffy and the main characters in the Impel Down escape with Jinbei smiling. You also see him grinning and his face mellowing out when he sees Luffy calmed down after rampaging in the jungle in Amazon Lily.
It was brought up in this thread what haven't we seen in Jinbei before. Well, we've never seen him in a casual environment before and so we've never really seen him let himself get laidback. Impel Down and Marineford arc was all about his duty to Ace to protect Luffy and wanting to save Ace, so it's the right time for him to be all-serious-all-the-time. Post-war stuff with him was watching Luffy beat the living crap out of himself in the jungle and completely shutting down, of course he can't play some sort of comedy gold role then because he needed to be there to calm Luffy down and get some sense into Luffy. And finally, if you want to get into Fishman Island, he's solemn out of respect at Otohime's grave and he's serious about protecting the island from Hodi and about the race relations on the island, so again, he can't show his more chill side. His flashbacks aren't really telling either because they've never really given us a place to show him as chill- they were all pretty much about showing him as the honorable and respectful one around ethical issues around the problems of human-fishman relations, it's not fair to really judge him yet.
Zoro is pretty much a really serious and honorable character too, but his role is to be aloof and oblivious (not to mention having awful navigation skills), but he manages to be some of the best comedy gold in the series. Jinbei probably just isn't gonna be as awesome as Zoro, but I'm sure he'll find a place to fit. Who knows? We might find a goofy side in Jinbei and also get to watch him struggle maintaining his seriousness around the crew. I dunno if he'd exactly be a buzzkill, but I would say some of the other characters like Nami already find a way to fill that role.
The other and one of the most crucial elements of ANY crew member for Luffy is that Luffy has to see them as a friend and really like them. Some of you guys might not really like him, but if you go back to the beginning of Fishman Island, Luffy already thought of Jinbei as a really good friend. From a plot perspective, that's pretty much a good sign that Luffy will get the possible idea of recruiting them. And of course, it happened. Luffy really likes him and sees him as a good friend, I don't see what the problem is.
Anyways, I'm perfectly happy seeing him join the crew if Oda knows how to make it work- which for now, I think he does- and if Jinbei really will reject them, so be it.
CommanderJinn Wrote:I dunno, that logic too is kinda flawed, as the island is protected by an outlaw as well in the form of Big Mam and before that White Bear. So FI would have never had any trouble with the Marines and the World Government anyway.Jinbei is honorable. He knows he's not allowed back on Fishman Island and he has the honor to follow that. In other words, you might think that he doesn't really have to, but his character believes that he's not supposed to be there. He was only around the Sea Forest just to meet Luffy and pay his respects to Otohime until the events of the arc made him return to fight the Neo Fishman Pirates. I would agree too, but his character would probably never allow him to do that, and so, I don't think it's all that flawed if you think about it this way.
While it's true that she can't really do anything, Jinbei's character hasn't really developed much either. He's noble and overly serious, and that's what we've understood him to be ever since Impel Down.
Don't really have an issue here, just want to mention you forgot about Drum Island and Skypea
Also, I think we've seen a lot of interesting sides to Jinbei. I would argue we've learned a lot about his ethics, who he really is, and how he became into the tame and has the kind of self-control he has in the present. I think that gives him a lot more depth and intrigue than it does for some of the other characters we've seen this arc like Shirahoshi and Brohoshi. He's not all that bad at the present, but I think we should open up and give him a chance.