One Piece Water 7 / Enias lobby discussion

I don't know about the anime, but the manga is pretty much up to the same section (I think the manga might only be ever so slightly ahead... they've done a bit more on Nico Robin's past, although the manga chapters have been coming out so slow lately that it's almost frustrating ^^; )

One thing that I've been wondering ever since the beginning of the start of this story arc is if a new crewmember will indeed be added to the Straw-hat crew, and more importantly who it will be...

Spoiler:

Clearly it's either got to be Franky or Pauli.... Although at the moment, I'm thinking Franky is more likely, even though he's still got his own crew at the moment. My guess is that the Franky Crew will probably be no longer considered as criminals by the Iceberg and the Authorities of Water 7 after their feats at Enies Lobby [specifically protecting the ship/weapon plans from being handed over to the government], and so they'll become new shipwrights in working in Water Seven, while Franky gives them a teary and emtion-filled goodbye, promising to come back, blah blah.

Yeah, so to me Franky seems to be who the manga-ka is leaning towards...

However, personally I'd prefer Pauli. Why? Because I believe his character is a good contrast to Sanji (Sanji is ultra-liberal always trying to pull the ladies, while Pauli is always ultra-conservative telling the ladies to cover up and not act shamefully ). Although, I must admit that Pauli's rope ability is a bit boring compared to Franky, and reminds me too much of Omega Red from X-men... but then again, the artist has proven he can take a seemingly mundane idea (i.e. stretchy-body --> Similar to Mr. Fantastic, except that Luffy >> Mr Fantastic ), and actually be really creative with it. On the other hand, Pauli's fighting-face is too similar to Zoro and Sanji (and Luffy when he gets pissed)...

Oh the dilemma

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by AMLD

What do you guys think is the best arc yet?

Personally I loved the Sky Island story arc best ^___^ It just kept on getting better and better and exceeding my expectations with each new chapter, and the way it all came together in the end was very well done. I swear, my respect for the Oda-sensei continually grows ^__~

In terms of character back story, my favourite is still Chopper's ^___^ (it's one of the rare moments in manga where I was so emotionally drawn in that I actually got teary-eyed ^^; )

There's nowhere I can't reach.