He indeed has neat feats in Observation but sadly his uptime leaves a lot to wish for.
Probably due to his toughness, he doesnt observe all the time. He doesnt need to.
Especially against blunt damage users like Luffy who cant harm him significantly.
Also, I dont think he has FS but rather an ability to copy/steal from others with Drunken Thief.
Zoro fought the same guy and his Observation was never hindered.
Luffy's up time is simply far too low to be a good Observer.
nah, he has FS the only thing he stole was the trajectory of Luffy's blows, stretching like rubber and changing its trajectory...
I don't think Kaidou needs to fight full time with the FS active, after all he is extremely durable he needs to leave the blows to his natural resistance + durability dealt instead of wasting time dodging or trying to defend...Like it or not FS has a limit and using it only in extreme matters for KAIDOU is correct because he doesn't become someone dependent on him.
nah, he has FS the only thing he stole was the trajectory of Luffy's blows, stretching like rubber and changing its trajectory...
I don't think Kaidou needs to fight full time with the FS active, after all he is extremely durable he needs to leave the blows to his natural resistance + durability dealt instead of wasting time dodging or trying to defend...Like it or not FS has a limit and using it only in extreme matters for KAIDOU is correct because he doesn't become someone dependent on him.
I came to the conclusion that he doesnt have FS based on the only time he used it was during Drunken Thievf whose purpose is to steal and that's exactly what he did, stole FS and Snakeman from Luffy. FS was never used aside from that scene and he simply doesnt act like a person who sees everything ahead...
He doesnt need high uptime due to his toughness, yes but uptime is what determines how good one observes.
I pointed it out with an example between Luffy and Fujitora.
Drunken Thief is quite an ability, if there are no limits to what it can copy, it might be broken...
It is also a parallel to Zoro stealing Kinemon's Flame Rend ability.
While Zoro can copy it and re-use it, it's questionable if Kaido can re-use FS after copying and outside of Drunken Thief.
So far it doesnt seem to be the case though.
I came to the conclusion that he doesnt have FS based on the only time he used it was during Drunken Thievf whose purpose is to steal and that's exactly what he did, stole FS and Snakeman from Luffy. FS was never used aside from that scene and he simply doesnt act like a person who sees everything ahead...
He doesnt need high uptime due to his toughness, yes but uptime is what determines how good one observes.
I pointed it out with an example between Luffy and Fujitora.
Drunken Thief is quite an ability, if there are no limits to what it can copy, it might be broken...
It is also a parallel to Zoro stealing Kinemon's Flame Rend ability.
While Zoro can copy it and re-use it, it's questionable if Kaido can re-use FS after copying and outside of Drunken Thief.
So far it doesnt seem to be the case though.
People really do forget CoO is the most plot driven power. Oda has made great CoO user look dumb or completely forget they have it or vise versa. It’s simply an ability that Oda use as he please and can make up excuses for it in anyway he wants
I agree with most of what you thrown at us. But i kinda disagree a bit in the case of Zoro and Sanji.
Its true that Zoro has shown to be a passive observer. And even better he is always on guard and observing during his fights. He excels in that better than Luffy 100%. But Sanji even tho seems to be less passively observing his surrounding but when he does from what i have read after FishManIsland its far impressive than what most give him credit for BUT only when he is in focus which is not always the case. And in fighting the only reason i see Sanji's fights end quick because Sanji is better at observing his opponents and plans according to his findings and end his fights this way.
So yes in short i do agree that Zoro is passively better at observing but he is not better than Sanji. If i were to rate their performance i would say Zoro is balanced overall better. Sanji is a better observer but overall he needs to work on not getting distracted. Luffy will be Luffy.
@nik87 Fujitora's CoO is kinda a weird case in itself, from what we've seen it goes beyond reading intent/FS
Here Fujitora sheethes his sword in advance of the birdcage going off. There's obviously no intent here.
Here we have him correctly predicting where the Law Vs Doffy battle will take place while they were still mid sea
This isn't FS as the time span would be ridiculous, and he says here "I sense"
He won all these bets while still being oblivious that they're fooling him, but instead Luffy had to tell him meaning he's not using FS
His dice game was even lucky enough for him to spare the SHs for two days, and it hit "1" only when Tsuru threw it
An ambiguous ability to predict future events basically
@nik87 Fujitora's CoO is kinda a weird case in itself, from what we've seen it goes beyond reading intent/FS
Here Fujitora sheethes his sword in advance of the birdcage going off. There's obviously no intent here.
Here we have him correctly predicting where the Law Vs Doffy battle will take place while they were still mid sea
This isn't FS as the time span would be ridiculous, and he says here "I sense"
He won all these bets while still being oblivious that they're fooling him, but instead Luffy had to tell him meaning he's not using FS
His dice game was even lucky enough for him to spare the SHs for two days, and it hit "1" only when Tsuru threw it
An ambiguous ability to predict future events basically
This is either Oda pulling jokes and not thinking about it or this is some form of Clairvoyance.
Definitely not a normal thing. However, how to apply that mid-battle is another matter entirely.
It's definitely not Future Sight, in a way it's better but also worse(mid-combat application?)...
This is either Oda pulling jokes and not thinking about it or this is some form of Clairvoyance.
Definitely not a normal thing. However, how to apply that mid-battle is another matter entirely.
It's definitely not Future Sight, in a way it's better but also worse(mid-combat application?)...
Due to FS Udon scene, we always gotta check if Oda is actually using a brain and if abilities are actually capable of what he drew.
This gambling score cannot be attributed to intent detection, presence detection, future sight nor any other known branch of CoO.
If Oda isnt pulling a brain-off moment here like in Udon, this is definitely Clairvoyance. I doubt it is simple luck.
Oda never said Sanji is better at Observation than Zoro or Luffy.
He listed haki affinities for all 3 of them. Aka one color they are naturally drawn to.
As it happens, those listed are the first types of haki each of them used.
Luffy used CoC before using CoA and CoO and thus CoC affinity.
Sanji used CoO before CoA (and CoC if he has it) and thus CoO affinity.
Zoro used CoA before using CoC and CoO and thus CoA affinity.
That's all there is, it tells nothing who is better at CoO between 3 of them or CoA...
However, since Zoro is a true hakiman of the OP world, he possibly used all 3 types before Sanji and Luffy.
If Asura turns out to be CoC related and Breath he heard in Alabasta is CoO...
You're lowkey mistaking the amount of focus a character has during battles, with CoO level, these are two completely different things.
Otherwise i could simply argue that whenever a certain character gets hit or simply doesn't properly detects threat, he only did it because "he was distracted at that specific moment for some whatever reason, but he would've seen it coming if he wasn't distracted for that 0,5 seconds, trust me"
Zoro blocking Kaku's attack isn't even an impressive CoO feat, since Kaku literally yelled the name of his attack, a huge one (that certainly makes a hell of a noise) and Kaku was like a few meters away from the ship. It's just regular at best
Zoro blocking Kaku's attack isn't even an impressive CoO feat, since Kaku literally yelled the name of his attack, a huge one (that certainly makes a hell of a noise) and Kaku was like a few meters away from the ship. It's just regular at best
I wanted to do this for a long time, since around the end of Whole Cake Island when people considered Future Sight an unclimbable wall.
Today, we take a look at Color of Observation and who the best-known users of it are as well as what it takes to be good at Observation.
But first, let us break down what CoO is and what branches exist.
Observation Haki is, among other things, awareness of things before they happen. It represents the detection of intent and the unseen.
All of the branches are based on that definition. It is called Mantra in Skypiea which means Mind Rope. Basically a link to the enemy's mind.
If there is any credit to Shanks' movie feat, "observation killer", it is thanks to CoC barrier which severs that mind link and cancels CoO.
However, how that would prevent Future Sight is unclear and illogical but no need to worry about this until and if it gets shown in manga.
There is an additional ability that doesnt fit the definition above and it is to determine one's strength. This seems like a throwaway line.
There is absolutely no use for this and it's been brought up only two times - Mihawk notices WB's decline and Ray tells beasts are >Luffy.
As explained in Skypiea, all living beings carry a voice just by being alive. CoO is used to detect that voice/intent/aura.
It is a power to anticipate the opponent's next move aka read their mind, to sense what they intend to do next.
Also, it is a power to detect a voice or presence or aura of the opponent that the eyes can't directly see.
Reading of intent is closely tied to the detection of the feelings, such as Luffy sensing angry Ray or Sanji sensing women in trouble.
Through training, the power of Observation can turn into the power of seeing into the future a bit. Like watching a tape of what's next.
It is also an ability to detect the presence of non-living things that don't carry an intent.
So, with all of the branches summed up, we now turn towards the part that explains what it takes to be good at Observation.
Are those who can see the future automatically better than those who cant? No, it is not that simple. Future Sight is very flawed.
What determines a good Observer is the amount of time he spends using Observation haki during the battle. Simply put, of the 100% duration of the battle, the percentage of CoO uptime determines whether one is good or bad at CoO.
For example, both Luffy and Katakuri can use the same ability - to look into the future. However, are they equally good at it? Of course not.
The reason why Katakuri is good at Observation is that he keeps it active almost all the time. Meanwhile, Luffy uses it every blue moon.
Is Luffy a better Observer than Fujitora who cant use future sight? No, for the same reason he is worse than Katakuri - the uptime.
To give you an example, let's say, Luffy and Fujitora clash 100 times.
Of those 100 times, Fujitora is using Observation in each clash, 100 times reading the intent of Luffy.
Meanwhile, Luffy looks into the future 10 times out of 100 clashes. He observed 10 times less than Fujitora and is clueless in 90 clashes.
Do you see why FS user is not better than those who cant look into the future?
B-but who is better between Fujitora and Katakuri?!
The easy advantage in favor of Fujitora from the Luffy match-up is gone, because Katakuri looks into future 100 times in 100 clashes.
Who is better now?! Well, I am going to tell you that Fujitora is still a better user of Observation than Katakuri. Let's see why...
As I mentioned, Future Sight is a very flawed ability and everyone has the power to oppose it.
Every intervention done based on future that FS user saw, instantly changes that future and all that FS user saw is no longer going to happen.
Thi is particularly problematic with attacks that have fast repetition as we saw Katakuri trying to dodge Snakeman's culverin that follows him.
The FS user constantly needs to re-see the new future because the old one he saw is no longer the one that will happen.
Every intervention carries intent that regular Observation detects and makes the observer aware what's coming even if it is from FS user.
FS also creates a problem because the user stops sensing due to watching something that hasnt yet happened and thus cant carry intent.
The tape FS users watch, has no explanation of the intent, that's why Katakuri doesnt know why Pudding falls on the ground.
That's why he is unaware of Flampe's presence and the intent that her needle carries.
Every attack Katakuri throws at Fujitora carries intent and is picked up, he cannot surprise him.
Once again, it was Luffy who made Katakuri look better than he actually is. It is Luffy who couldnt calm himself down to observe.
Now, most CoO cases are due to active focus, concentrating to detect/sense/watch/read what the opponent will do.
However, we have also seen a different case, passive detection of intent/presence while sleeping, performed by two bandana users.
#sleepdiff #bandanagang
Lastly, we come to the ranking of Observation users among relevant characters with feats. Some other characters can rank higher eventually.
The number one Observation user so far is none other than Purple Tiger - Fujitora Issho. The man who has no eyes relies on it 24/7.
He is constantly detecting Aura with his mind's eye and in battle, he also picks up the intent all the time.
The second best CoO user is Roronoa Zoro. Outrageous? Not at all.
Zoro is a guy who has battle focus second to none, from the moment he landed on rooftop, his focus on Kaido hasnt gone off for a second.
This is obvious by battle data, Zoro simply never gets hit when he is in the focus. His uptime of Observation is miles ahead of Luffy's.
Zoro is also one of two Observers who have pulled off sleep diff, passive detection while sleeping...
Furthermore, Zoro is the only character so far who has detected inanimate objects that carry no intent.
The third best is Katakuri due to just as high uptime of CoO as Zoro and Fujitora but due to flaws of the FS, he is falling behind them.
The fourth best Observer is Sanji, for the same reason, he is calmer and observes more than Luffy. He does have heated moments and turns into a joke when he shouldnt as well as his feelings detection works only with women and outside of combat so the further advantage of Luffy isnt present...
The fifth best is Luffy, which many will disagree with because >muh advanced CoO...
I have explained why being able to use a more advanced Observation doesnt make you into a better Observer.
Luffy has to work on the uptime of CoO, regardless of whether it's reading the intent or future peeping. Both are too low to rank higher.
If his uptime was higher, he wouldnt necessarily avoid the hits but he would sense things like this and attempt to do something...
Calmness and endless battle focus are key to being a good Observation user.
People like Mihawk can rank above all these 5 mentioned since he is a very calm and calculated combatant known as Clairvoyant.
Whether he will, remains to be seen in the future but he is for sure among the best out there.
TLDR - Uptime wins and basic CoO rules due to flaws of Future Sight.
This should get you more familiar with Observation haki especially if you were one of those who thought that Zoro of all people should improve his CoO... Zoro's Observation is top notch even without abilities like Future Sight, just like Fujitora's is. A good Observer senses things coming and Zoro is simply one of the best in that department.
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