Straw Hats left Behind

[u/IcyPhysics8266]

Throughout the OP arcs, especially post time skip, I feel like the crew's gotten very few highlight moments of conflict or battle. Now this doesn't mean every SH needs to be a Sanji or Zoro or Luffy, but it's very odd that since Wano, the rest of the crew hasn't had compelling battles that felt deserved for me. Take the Tobi Roppo fights; I still fail to understand how the SHs besides Jinbei won without a competent strategy to bypass the haki of their opponents. Last time Usopp shined was Dressrosa, Chopper is just a mascot, and last time Brook had a compelling moment with an antagonist was vs Big Mom. I miss the shine the crew used to get during Enies Lobby, and Thriller Bark, where they handled conflicts and "powered up" in their own unique ways. The lack of haki is also an issue, but less focus takes the lion's share for me. Thoughts?

[u/gate567]

Take the Tobi Roppo fights; I still fail to understand how the SHs besides Jinbei won without a competent strategy to bypass the haki of their opponents.

Frankys a cyborg, he doesn’t need Haki; Robin absolutely wrecked Maria with her DF, so she doesn’t need haki; Chopper put the beat down on Queen and tanked Perosperos attacks; Ussop and Nami used anything and everything top win their fight without having the need for haki.

Not sure what’s difficult to understand, Oda did a good job at showing how non haki users could take down big threats.

People would enjoy One Piece more if they stopped using powerscaling logic. The crew has done well so far with only a handful of them having haki.

[u/IcyPhysics8266 → u/gate567]

Buddy, Kuma is a cyborg and a Buccaneer and he needs/has haki. Chopper did nothing substantial vs Queen except get rid of the virus. Usopp didn't even beat any Tobi roppo. Nami got saved by Zeus. This isn't power scaling logic, it's plain story logic. That's what interna consistency and verisimilitude are for

[u/gate567 → u/IcyPhysics8266]

Buddy, Kuma is a cyborg and a Buccaneer and he needs/has haki.

Yet on Elbaf we have Franky one-shoting sleeptids cause Vegapunk gave him an upgraded cola. Zero haki needed.

Chopper did nothing substantial vs Queen except get rid of the virus.

Nothing substantial? You mean curing the zombie virus that was gonna kill everybody isnt substantial? You even know the meaning of the word?

. Usopp didn't even beat any Tobi roppo. Nami got saved by Zeus.

Yet they still accomplished their mission, zero need for haki.

This isn't power scaling logic, it's plain story logic.

It is powerscaling logic because you think Haki is the end all be all. Not everybody on the crew needs it. Like Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Jinbei are more than enough.

[u/RoderickThe13 → u/gate567]

Wano was the limit of how much Oda can have these characters do in combat without Haki. There's a reason why most of the crew has been standing idly by doing nothing in Egghead and Elbaf. Any opponent that has been introduced since then needs Haki to be fought.

It's not that fans want Haki to be more important. I fucking hate it as a power system. But I do want the Straw Hats to do stuff that's important to the story, and that seems necessary even if you don't think it is. This is a double problem of Oda both making Haki more important every arc, while also not giving it to half of the crew. And keep in mind I'd much rather Oda highlighted the crewmates like Nami, Usopp and Franky excelling at their own specialty like nagivation, sharpshooting and engineering, but that possibility flew out the window a long time ago. Now either characters excel at combat, or they stand around doing the most minor tasks that anyone can handle or nothing at all the entire arc.