User blog comment:Angel Emfrbl/That "meh" feeling/@comment-5155645-20120701101231

I absolutely agree with you. Can't hold it up to Oda because lets face it - there are almost 700 chapters up already! The beginning wasn't particularly complex but very lively and captivating. I like the 'feel' of the first arcs and little adventures they had. An emotional journey across seas full of kinky, lovely characters.

But now, a lot of Oda's plot devices and story telling, as well as the strawhats have become really stale. That's the main danger of such a long manga as OP. The strawhats are really predictable and lack juiciness - no surprises anymore.

SO now Oda tries to make up for lack of originality by trying to concote a complex, suspense-filled plot, yet untrodden quaters for him. I think he does a very good job of it for a first try. I would love to see a bigger stress on creativity in the characters department. None of them have any personalities anymore.

For me, CHARACTERS make the story. But overall I like this arc a lot, all things considered. Just give it some times, it just might explode into another bout of epicness from here. ODA FTW!