Let's come back to Bonney and let's expand on the matter. What does Bonney lacks ? A post. But more so than a post, she lacks a real thematic related to a skill.
But this doesn't stop to Bonney, it uncompass almost all the candidates for the strawhat ship past and present.
In One Piece I've noticed (if you prefer that formulation rather that an affirmation) that Post are attached to skill and that those skills are attached to a thematic and in some ways, to some storylines.
I will show that for all the strawhat for people to understand how important this is:
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Zoro, even if a part of the fanbase denies it
, is the first mate.
And even if its not obvious, it comes with the set of skills, that skill is first to be the best combattant after the captain but also the one who is able to know the role of leader so much, that he can become one when the time comes. He needs to know his captain so well that he can think ahead. This is what Zoro showned at WaterSeven.
This is the skill part, the part that is important for the crew on the sea. But this skill comes with a thematic. For Zoro its honor and confidence. But even more so, the concept of the promisse, a promisse to Kuina and to Luffy. And you can look, this thematic is the bone of the structure of Zoro's backstory and overall character arc.
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Nami is the navigator. For her, this is the notions of intelligence and reliability. Her set of skill is the navigation, to the point where Nami has a quasi magical sence of looking at the sea (thing that is still unexplained btw) and is therefore extremely reliable. Nami is the glue and the "mother" of the crew. She is the one on which we count to advance. This thematic of reliability is also at the center of Nami's character arc and backstory. She is the thief, the one that shouldn't be trusted but she is also the one who had to learn how to rely on other and her friend. Her intelligence as a child saved her village and her reliability is sticking the crew together now.
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Usopp is the sniper but also the lyer, we must note those two sets of skills, they render the character really interesting. First Usopp is a Sharp Shooter but also a lyer. Those two skill actually work in tandem. Usopp's thematics are courage and pride. Usopp is a fine storyteller that transforms lies into truth. As such he is the one that transform his own destiny into something amazing. He is the one who always has to surpasses his own fear and own pride to become someone reliable and therefore a pride warrior of the sea. His skills are related to his vision he has of his own dad and should therefore flourish (pun intended) once he overcomes this abandon by facing him.
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Sanji is the cook. Sanji's skills are the notions Zeff taught him about life and food. The thematic of Sanji is the notion of Kindness. Even if he is a tough guy sometimes, he is the one that won't hesitate to feed the ennemy. This kindness comes from his mother and is therefore relevant in the way he treats women. Reenforce by the way Zeff educated him. His skill and this thematic really shined in whole cake (reason why I love this arc so much).
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Chopper is the doctor. His skills are obviously related to medecine, but his thematic - at least how I see it - is where it gets interesting. Chopper is a hard case but I think, i THINK.. that his thematic revolves around acceptance. Chopper was a monster and was rescused by a false doctor who accepted him as he was. But this did not stop Chopper from seeing himself as a monster, the death of Hiluluk in fact reenforced that sentiment. But Chopper finally accepted himself for Luffy, as a real monster if needed. And that's where I think Chopper's arc is unfinished. I think a realization lies ahead. A realization that he can't heal everything as promissed to his old friend. A sad but also liberating realization as it might permits him to find a real way to give a treatment to someone.. that might need it one day.... ahem.
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Robin is the archeologist. Her skills are the capacity of reading poneglyph and decipher history. Her thematic more subtle, is the notion of purpose, of "cap" (yes, french word, no word like that in english). Robin is the one that opens the road in front of the crew and sets the metaphoric destination. Her story is all about finding the truth and the reason behind the eradication of her family. This is her purpose, but also one of the purpose of the story and the strawhats, to understand, to discover.
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Franky is the shipwright. His skills are enginnering and construction. But like Usopp, the thematic of Franky is pride. Pride and selflove. This is a different type of pride than for Usopp, this is the pride to be himself. The story of Franky is all about this concept of self love to the point that Franky turned himself into the thing he dreams. But the biggest pride of Franky is his work, his constructions. That pride was challenged during Franky's flashback, as Franky's weapon are at the center of his mentor's death. But like Tom said,
"there is nothing good and nothing bad in building a ship no matter what kind of ship it is. I don't care what kind of ships you build from now on!![...] Men should puff out their chests with pride and Boom over the ships they build" Which is basically another term for "men should be pride of their children no matter what". This is why Franky seeing with pride the Sunny going to the end of the world is so important thematically.
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Brook is the musician. His skills are music and jokes. His thematic are the importance of the joy of life. His promisse to Laboon is just that, a testimony of life, the proof that he is still here. His character is all about life and the joy of living. And this reflects in his music.
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Jinbe is the Helmsman. His skill are the navigation at sea and everything surrounding the guidance of the ship. Jinbe's thematic is very subtle, its all about Sacrifice abnegation and guidance. Jinbe is the one that his willing to sacrifice himself in order to save generations, he is also the one who will help the crew in dire situation who will guide it toward the light and life.
I didn't mention the different moments in the manga, but I'm sure that you can find different moments for each character. They are pretty easy to find.
As you guys can see each characters (I forgot Luffy, but his thematics are pretty obvious) has a particular sets of skills that are made to resonnate with the thematic of their story/character arc/Backstories. And this is why the moments I call "
THE SHINING NAKAMA ACTION" are SO IMPORTANT to see if a character is a good candidate to be a strawhat. As this moment usually is the magical interaction between the skillset as a crewmate and the thematic of the character.
This is the main reason I went to battle against you guys since the beginning. As almost NO candidate proposed depicted such deeply thought characterization.
No Yamato
No Bonney
No Vivi
No Vegapunk (at least for now until further development)
No Lilith
No Lucci
No Smoker
No Bellamy
No character.. but one.
This is the prime reason why I started studying that character, I noticed something different, something that I recognized because it was in all the previous strawhat.
The thematics of this character are wonder and innocence. Its all about the act of seeing. Its ALL over the story of this character, in its interactions with other, in the way this character see the world and in the way we sometimes see the character itself. Its so amazing that it uncompass the core quality of One Piece. So of course when you remark that the skills and the design/inspiration of the character is all about the act of seeing and the wonder you start to ... wonder. Someone that can jump high in the sky, that can float in the wind, that has the experience of a lookout.. a child that has the innocence and the knowledge of the world of a newborn.. what better way to challenge that wonder that to make them see the reality of life, the sacrifice of their mentor, the defeat in war.
So you can see my surprise when you put such a character back into the position of the start..
Do you really think that Oda would put so much effort into said character and end up their arc with an half ended story ?
Sorry.. I'm still not convinced that this is the end for Carrot.
I can't accept it as a storyteller. Either there was a BIG change in the plans of Oda (and I'm not talking about a simple editor being a fool) or ... we are about to see Zunisha again real soon.