General & Others Next Strawhat Crew Members and the Grand Fleet
- Thread starter Guan Yu
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Good morning, everyone.
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
Good morning, everyone.
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
u forgot Carrot lol
Relationship with the Crew - Carrot has a unique relationship with the Straw Hat Crew. Carrot is the only character in the series to ever travel with the crew specifically to help them out. All other passengers we've seen on board Merry/Sunny only travelled with the crew for the sake of convenience. They either needed safe passage between islands or were teamed up with the Straw Hats to achieve their own goals.
Carrot went with the crew because she wanted to help save Sanji. During this time she bonded with the crew, fought alongside the crew and even put her life in absolute jeopardy to save the crew.
Because of Carrot we saw a different side of certain Straw Hats which we've never had explored before. "Chobro" had to take on a leadership role as the eldest of the two. We really got to see Nami's compassionate side with how she treated Carrot (holding her back from going after Pedro, fighting hard to protect her when she's resting after Sulong). Even Sanji was allowed to show real genuine concern for a female character beyond just simping for them. Carrot fought like hell for these people and made lifelong friends along the way.
Carrot is a fun loving and quirky girl who is playful and endearing to those around her. She represents a dynamic in the crew which hasn't yet been filled according to Oda's familial relations thing in the SBS. Thay being the little sister archetype.
Role on the ship - The other unique thing about Carrot is that alongside Pedro, they are the only Straw Hat allies to actually be a functioning part of the crew quite literally being temporary members of the crew. We saw Carrot helping to load the Coup de blast and helping to tie the ship down during rough weather. She was for all intents and purposes a crewmate.
However, by far her most important role throughout the escape was lookout. Throughout the escape we consistently see the ship functioning with Carrot spotting the ships from the crows nest, relaying it to Nami and then Jinbe using this information to get them around obstacles. You can find collages with all the times Carrot is in the Crows Nest. It's how she was able to spot Daifuku's fleet, assess how bad the situation was and act upon it (Sulong).
Ever Since we first saw Carrot, this aspect of her has been highlighted. We first see her peaking through trees waiting for the moment to strike a Zoro. Then the next thing we see is her jumping high into the air in a single leap and spotting Luffy from across the island. We've never seen a lookout feat even remotely close to this in the series (except for Viola because of her fruit).
Then there is Pedro who originally stayed on top of the Crows Nest just before reaching WCI. He stopped being the lookout just after reaching Cocoaland. Why? Because Carrot asked him to let her take over. From that point on whenever we see Carrot on the Sunny, she is usually on the lookout tower.
There is also the case of her being a Kingsbird. The crew constantly had to rotate who is at the lookout tower. It also affects their sleeping schedule. Carrot however has a unique sleeping pattern. Because of her role as a Kingsbird, Carrot is fine with going nearly 24 hours with no sleep. She also enjoys being in the crows Nest so there is that. A huge theme with Carrot is wonder and curiosity. She likes staring out across the sea and imagining what's out there. She sees it as a wonderland.
Backstory - A lot of people argue Carrot can't join because she doesn't have a backstory. I think this is rubbish reasoning. You don't need a backstory to join. You just need a story. We need to know why this character wants to travel with the crew and what their greater motivations are.
Usually this is conveyed with a backstory. However it can be conveyed in the actual story itself. Why not? Oda has been breaking patterns with how Straw Hats join since Robin. Robin, Franky and Jinbe were all very unconventional compared to the first six (and arguably Brook). Carrot would be breaking another convention. Why show us the backstory of why they want to travel with the crew when you can have that backstory become part of the current events of the series, actually have this character be uniquely tied to the crew.
Pedro as a character always dreamed of travelling with Roger. Pedro cared deeply about the Dawn and thought Roger would be the one to bring it. When he didn't bring the Dawn, Pedro decided he himself would have a go. That's why he stated the Nox Expedition Party. Because after the night comes the Dawn (Nox means night). He failed and suffered greatly because of it. Then he saw Luffy and realised this would be the kid to bring the Dawn. That's why he went with Luffy, he was never able to go with Roger and wanted to help Luffy in any way he could. Pedro cared about the Dawn more than any other character in all of One Piece. He devoted his life to it and even gave his life from it. In doing so he passed his will on to Carrot.
One of One Piece's biggest themes is inherited will. Practically all of the main cast have inherited their wills from other people. Pedro had one of the strongest wills in the series. So much so that he gave his life for it. And who does that leave to inherit his will? His protégé Carrot. Hence his final words to her "You gara, must go onwards". Pedro dreamed of being with the Pirate King when he brought the Dawn to the world. He couldn't.
However his apprentice certainly can be there. Carrot has even shown that she has inherited this will. Before she goes Sulong, she exclaims that she is doing it for Pedro. To honour his wishes and make his dream a reality. She goes out expecting to die. She doesn't, she is saved by the crew. So why now would she suddenly decide not to carry on with them?
Character Development -
Essentially Carrot has had quite a bit of subtle development since she first appeared on the Sunny. It often gets ignored but it is there. When we first see Carrot, she's naive and boisterous. She believes Pirating is an adventure and seemingly doesn't care about the consequences. Since then her mentor has died, she has been forced to face the reality that the life of a Pirate is serious and that she needs to grow up and accept that it comes with harsh realities.
It honestly feels like Oda probably made it too subtle because the amount of people who just blatantly ignore it is bizarre.
Symbolism - Throughout One Piece, a huge amount of emphasis has been put on both the moon and the Sun. Especially in recent chapters with Nika and the Dawn being emphasised. We had the Enel cover story with the moon and even the Kozuki crest is emblazoned with the crescent moon. Which character represents the moon best in One Piece? Carrot of course.
To get the more surface level reads out the way first, Carrot is literally powered by the moon as all minks are. You could argue the full moon is what brings the real Carrot out. She is also strongly tied to ancient Asian legends which depict a white rabbit on the moon pounding mochi (interesting little sidenote, we see Carrot attacking Katakuri who is literally the mochi human).
Now we get to the more interesting part. Carrot is almost exactly the compete opposite of Jinbe, the last person to join the crew. Jinbe is old and wise. Carrot is young and naive. Jinbe fights using water. Carrot fights using electricity. Jinbe is serious and stoic. Carrot is playful and fun loving.
But then you get to the differences between their races. The Minks and the Fishmen are very identical in many ways. The way they produce offspring is essentially the same (children cam be of any species in the families genetic line). They're both persecuted by humans. They even have enhanced abilities humans do not have.
However it is where they differ that is most interesting. The Fishmen live thousands of metres under the sea. The Minks live thousands of metres above the sea. The Fishmen represent the sun, always seeking to rise to it and get out from the depths. The Minks represent the moon, being the first step to bringing a new dawn to the world.
And now here's the mind blowing part. The thing that connects Carrot and Jinbe the most? Their mentors. Jinbe inherited the will of Fisher Tiger. The man who created the Sun Pirates. Carrot inherited the will of Pedro, the man who created the Nox Pirates. It's a connection that I just can't believe is coincidental. Especially with how hard Oda was pushing both Jinbe and Carrot in WCI. It seems almost perfect that the embodiment of the Sun and the embodiment of the moon, and the series mascots for the two species pushing these ideals, would both join together in the same arc.
Sulong Potential - Sulong transformation. Carrot has been shown to have complete control over her Sulong form, a form which is apparently quite hard to master with even Pekoms not having full control over his. Yet at just the age of 15, Carrot practically has full control. She can make intelligent decisions in this form and attack with fast and brutal efficiency. Even in the manga Perospero mentions how she would have won had the weather not been in his favour.
This raises a very interesting dilemma for Carrot. What can she do with Sulong when it is so limited in it's use. Well I truly believe Carrot could be the first mink to figure out how to activate Sulong without needing the full moon. At just the age of 15, Carrot has better control of Sulong than the vast majority of Minks do. She is also driven by the desire to overcome this limitation. She lost to the man she hated the most because of it. There is a lot of drive for Carrot to achieve this feat and I would love to see this explored.
Design - Whether you like Carrot's design or not, most people would agree she is incredibly distinctive and colourful. With her white fur, blond hair and frequently colourful attire, it is clear that Oda designed her to stand out among the other minks in the series. Just look at her battle beasts outfit. Carrot's uniform is orange, very distinctive from the green/blue outfits worn by the Guardians and the Musketeers. Even her Cape is unique to her. Carrot is a Musketeer meaning her Cape should be blue like Wanda's yet she has a green Cape due to her tutelage being from Pedro. Go back and watch scenes of the Musketeers fighting Jack at Zou. You can always pick out where Carrot is because of her very distinctive appearance.
Yet it isn't just her base form. Carrot's Sulong form is also very distinctive and still to this day used as the definitive example of what a Sulong Warrior looks like, largely because her design was made to look clean and elegant whereas most other Sulong designs are more ruffled and generic.
ID: sulongcarrotchan
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Good morning, everyone.
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
Good morning, everyone.
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
Good morning, everyone.
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
I'm bored with this break week so I decided to explain why Tama potential as Nakama is the highest among the candidates, including Vivi.
A)Connection with Ace.
Wano was first mentioned in Marineford (chapter 555). During the battle we learned that Ace visited wano and was taught how to create SH there. Old Oda being who he is, it was certain that we would met the people or group that taught Ace later on. There's a small symbolism there when we think about that but let's not mention it.
The first person we met in Wano is Tama. A girl that was waiting for Ace because he promised to take her along as Nakama. This was a actual promise that Ace was fully intended to fulfill (it was show later that he even fought with WB crew to go to wano because of this promise). Some people try to spin that the promise to travel was with Yamato (maybe because of fillers) but on panel the only one that has this promise is Tama. No one ever invited Yamato. If you have any doubt, you can actually read the chapter because Oda was even willing to have Tama mention the promise with Ace while talking with Nami.
And this is actually interesting because, while she could use the same arguments as Yamato to try to join and actually have a better case (after all, the promise Ace made was to her), she never did try or even mentioned it. She wants to be a SH but instead of trying to use this connection she wants to join based on her own merits.
B) Connection with Luffy and crew.
You may not like it but Tama has a great amount of panel time dedicated to her bonding with the crew. If you think of the crew as a family there's no doubt that, at this point in time, she is the daughter of the group. She connected so well with the group that, at the end of the battle of Onigashima, if she just went with the crew very few people would complain about the fact itself but about other things like ''she's too young'' or ''how could she help in the final battles?''.
I personally don't like Yamato but she can be used as a good counterpoint to show my point of view: if you pick Onigashima and ignore the ramblings of Yamato itself, the narrative actually connects her to Momo, Wano and the samurais a lot more than with the SH. If she hadn't claimed that she wanted to travel with Luffy (what I still assume was for marketing) her ending would not be so disputed.
Like, observe the reactions of both Tama and Yamato in chapter 999 when they talk about how Luffy is Ace's Brother. Tama is the first person to know and her reaction is to think about what Luffy felt, she never thought about using Ace promise to her as leverage to gain a advantage. Yamato reaction was about how it was fate for him to be there to take her out, basically thinking of him as a free ticket out of her hellhole.
To Tama, Luffy and the SH crew are Nakama, friends. She wants to travel with them and fulfil her dream, but she don't want to be a burden. She connected with the crew as friends and wants to help them.
C) Her dream and role.
One of the small things about the SH is that every one has a dream. Something that they want to accomplish and that will be finished at the end of the series. Tama's dream is ''turning into a bewitching kunoichi''. This dream was born because of a small joke that Ace did and is her motivation during parts of the arc.
Every SH also fits the pattern of a family. Tama' s role in this case is daughter.
Every SH also has a role to fulfill. Apprentice/kunoichi and beast tamer are all paths available to her and that she can fulfil with no issues.
Unlike some other fandons that have to create theories and try to find random panels to spin a narrative, everything about Tama is natural and fits the crew.
D) Her age and potential going forward.
One of the things about Tama was the fact that she could have been a pirate way earlier but was denied because of her age. As a young kid, she was too weak and frail to survive the new world. So, Ace did the next best thing and let her to starve alone in a shithole where she could be sold to be abused by pedophiles samurais
When Luffy met Tama she was about to be sold to the red district. He saved her and they started going on adventures, where she connected with him and other members of the crew. When they are planning the invasion of Onigashima she was sent away like Toko, because she was a non-combatant and for being too young.
But she was able to invade Onigashima alone, sneak around and save Nami and Usopp at the nick of the time. Using Mama she defeated page 1 and them used her slaving powers to turn the war around. Overall she is one of the few people that could be a contender for a MVP title apart from the captains. So, Oda, in a non-direct way was able to show that her age, by itself, was not a issue. She is able to help the crew and has the willpower to stand among the best.
But, even if her power is amazing, she is still too weak. That's why she start to train under shinobu to improve herself, getting the promise to join after getting stronger and learning ninjutsu.
But there's still naysayers that try to deny her, so let's go to the next topic:
E) Arguments against her:
Looking at posts in here and other forums the arguments against Tama aren't that varied and can be easily dismissed if someone thinks a little.
Her age is actually a non-issue and her power level was adressed by Oda when putting her under Shinobu. So most people say that she will not be strong enough to join the crew during this final hurdle of the series because of timing.
The counterpoint to this argument is, of course, the fact that Sabo exists. So, we have in canon someone that was even weaker than Tama (yes, Tama was able to kick the ass of a gifter when she first appeared) that was able to improve by leaps and bounds in a few months in universe. Not only that but Tama is learning ninjitsu. i.e: techniques that are not directly related to combat but most misdirection and tricks. So, a fighting style where her relative weakness because of age will not affect the plot.
While Oda says that he wants to finish the series soon, there's still some things that he must address before it. So, he either must do mini-arcs (relative to wano so more like pre-ts) or he would go over schedule. Either way, there's plenty of time for her to reappear.
And, most importantly, there is a small point that makes me sure that she will join later: how she was written.
If you think about it, there was no reason to let tama ask to be a nakama (note that she asked specifically for that). If Tama was something for 2 piece, like some people say, or not meant to join she could have been left behind so much earlier. Oda could have treated her like Toko and left her out of Onigashima. He could have decided to let her content with the horse-mommy. He could have her simply state that she would be a bewitching kunoichi to make Ace's proud, without mentioning joining at all. There was no reason for a promise to be a Nakama to be made, specially when they stated earlier that is the captain who decides who is the nakama and who isn't.
But, she and wano was written in a way (highlited by Yamato of all people) to make the idea of Luffy inheriting Ace's promise to her something natural and that had to be adressed in story. Otherwise it would felt incomplete. So, the decision to make her ask to join later will be solved in the manga later, so, no matter how you look at it, Tama is the Nakama that will fill the 10th slot. Possible the final Nakama.
I know that some people may disagree with me but I believe that Oda is a good writer. I recommend everyone to reread Onigashima and try to focus on the relationship between characters. It's actually amazing how much of a foil Tama is to Yamato and vice-versa, to the point that some chapters have they literally talk about the same issue but show different aspects of their characters, with one connecting with Momo while doing it and the other connecting with the crew.
To make things more clear let's compare her with the 2 characters that people claim still have a chance- vivi and caribou.
Caribou- introduced at the start of post-ts, he don't have a dream defined and is connected to a secret character that he will sell the secrets of the weapons. Overall he is not written to be a Nakama but a villain that is redeemed at the end, like bon clay and a plot to put the secret weapons in the foreground and maybe give way to the final war.
Vivi- She's the OG and a Nakama already. But even in the current story, where she is a target and possible enemy of the WG, nothing until now suggests that her objectives and dreams have changed from Alabasta. . So, while she is Nakama, she is not a permanent nakama but just the 5.5 that we know and love. In this way, while I can see her travelling with the crew like the good days, her time with the crew will be until the issues affecting her reign in Alabasta are over. To be honest, I think that her role will be more connected to the revs than the crew, but we will (with luck) know more next chapter.
F) Conclusion:
So, in conclusion, Tama is a character hinted since before the time skip, that connected with the crew and is getting stronger to join later. Most of the issues about her joining got solved in the wano arc and the only thing remaining is for her to get a bit stronger to stand alongside the crew in the last arc.
At the same time, Oda did a great job connecting her to the crew and giving her motivations and personality, to a point that she will not feel out of place alongside the others.
TL:DR: Tama-Nakama. Take the Tama pill
No. I talked about the ones that still have a chance.
Read the post and try to address the argument.
Reading is too hard, no?
But let me simplify it for you:
Jinbei and shirahoshi:
>Hey, when I finish dealing with my shit can I join? answer: Sure!
>Hey, maybe later we can travel to see the trees? Answer: Sure! I can give you a ride.
Tama and Momo and his retinue:
>Can I join the next time we meet? Answer: Sure
>Hey, if you ever want to be pirates you can call me for a ride. Answer: where can I put the flag like a good retainer?
It's not that hard to see the difference between someone asking to be a Nakama and the rest.
Read the post and try to address the argument.
You got your participation trophy like Yamato, Kinemon and Momo (its over)
But let me simplify it for you:
Jinbei and shirahoshi:
>Hey, when I finish dealing with my shit can I join? answer: Sure!
>Hey, maybe later we can travel to see the trees? Answer: Sure! I can give you a ride.
Tama and Momo and his retinue:
>Can I join the next time we meet? Answer: Sure
>Hey, if you ever want to be pirates you can call me for a ride. Answer: where can I put the flag like a good retainer?
It's not that hard to see the difference between someone asking to be a Nakama and the rest.
You got your participation trophy like Yamato, Kinemon and Momo (its over)
Why was "nakama" used here and not on Luffy's invite to them?
Why does Tama has a deeper bond with the crew than anyone in Wano while Yamato bonded with Momo and him and Kin are set on staying in Wano for the rest of their lives?
Not only why separate Tama from them, but why make Tama make that deal with Luffy in the first place?
Why have Ace promising Tama to join his crew but not Yamato?
This are the questions you should be asking yourself, but you can't because you're afraid of the answer. They are not the same.
[
If Carrot had simply said good bye to the
crew we could have least concluded she felt
her journey was done. It would have been a
poor ending to her story IMO but it would
have at least gotten closure from her.
Suddenly making her king of Zou is so out
of nowhere and makes so little sense that it
feels like a forced solution to something
that wasn't even really a problem. And its
especially bad considering they brought up
Pedro's will again, which has nothing to do
with ruling Zou, and that the scene ends
with Carrot still not wanting to do it. In the next chapter we will have news from Vivi and we will also see Carrot pop up from the barrel as in chapter 823. Moreover the fact that the next chapter comes out during the festival that inaugurate the Moon and that the rabbit is the mascot of this festival means everything
No. I talked about the ones that still have a chance.
Read the post and try to address the argument.
Reading is too hard, no?
But let me simplify it for you:
Jinbei and shirahoshi:
>Hey, when I finish dealing with my shit can I join? answer: Sure!
>Hey, maybe later we can travel to see the trees? Answer: Sure! I can give you a ride.
Tama and Momo and his retinue:
>Can I join the next time we meet? Answer: Sure
>Hey, if you ever want to be pirates you can call me for a ride. Answer: where can I put the flag like a good retainer?
It's not that hard to see the difference between someone asking to be a Nakama and the rest.
Read the post and try to address the argument.
Reading is too hard, no?
But let me simplify it for you:
Jinbei and shirahoshi:
>Hey, when I finish dealing with my shit can I join? answer: Sure!
>Hey, maybe later we can travel to see the trees? Answer: Sure! I can give you a ride.
Tama and Momo and his retinue:
>Can I join the next time we meet? Answer: Sure
>Hey, if you ever want to be pirates you can call me for a ride. Answer: where can I put the flag like a good retainer?
It's not that hard to see the difference between someone asking to be a Nakama and the rest.
crew we could have least concluded she felt
her journey was done. It would have been a
poor ending to her story IMO but it would
have at least gotten closure from her.
Suddenly making her king of Zou is so out
of nowhere and makes so little sense that it
feels like a forced solution to something
that wasn't even really a problem. And its
especially bad considering they brought up
Pedro's will again, which has nothing to do
with ruling Zou, and that the scene ends
with Carrot still not wanting to do it. In the next chapter we will have news from Vivi and we will also see Carrot pop up from the barrel as in chapter 823. Moreover the fact that the next chapter comes out during the festival that inaugurate the Moon and that the rabbit is the mascot of this festival means everything
I addressed both of those points in the post. You should at least try to provide a counter argument to those since they actually answer this question with no issues.
You should be the one to do so.
In the manga proper we have examples of younger people fighting. In the manga proper we have examples of people getting stronger in months. In the manga proper she was promised to join.
Like, I will ask a simple question for you.
Look at this panel
Change that phrase to: Now I can become a betwitching Kunoichi like Ace wanted.
Maybe change Luffy's phrase to: I'm sure you will, if you keep up on your training.
This ends Tama role in the story cleanly and without any issues with pacing. Is even more clean than what Carrot got.
Can you provide me a reason for why she needs a promise to join later if this will not happen?
You should be the one to do so.
In the manga proper we have examples of younger people fighting. In the manga proper we have examples of people getting stronger in months. In the manga proper she was promised to join.
Like, I will ask a simple question for you.
Look at this panel
Change that phrase to: Now I can become a betwitching Kunoichi like Ace wanted.
Maybe change Luffy's phrase to: I'm sure you will, if you keep up on your training.
This ends Tama role in the story cleanly and without any issues with pacing. Is even more clean than what Carrot got.
Can you provide me a reason for why she needs a promise to join later if this will not happen?
- Status