Quote:
Originally Posted by Bari_Phillis
alright! so Hancock's charms affected most all of the prisoners in lvl 5! It also affected Magdellan or whatever his name was; the warden.
is this proof enough to say that she can petrify powerful people???
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I think what needs to be understood here is that, yes her charms did indeed work on those prisoners on "Ace's Floor", and we know for a fact that they are not weak in the least bit since they are imprisoned in the same level as Jimbei, Ace, and Crocodile. However, to suggest that all of these guys (I know you're not suggesting this
) are on the same tier as the three aforementioned characters I listed is a little ridiculous. If all of these prisoners, in addition to the many "silver medalists" Crocodile spoke of, were really in the same tier as the three world powers, don't you think that such a large number of powerful individuals would undermine them (marines, shichibukai, emperors) and make them seem commonplace? Oda established the three world powers to let the readers know who the top dogs are in the One Piece world. Sure there are some really powerful pirates or other individuals that keep low profiles, like Blackbeard and Rayleigh, but such cases are very rare.
My point in telling you all of this (and I'm definitely sure you know this) is that not everyone is going to be in the same tier as the three world powers. Tiers of strength must (and will always) exist in shounen manga ( though there are a few exceptions). One piece, being mainly about adventure and fighting, is no different and follows this shounen archetype no matter how you look at it.
In the end, my whole argument is that Hancock would not be able to successfully pull off her petrification on characters who are in the same tier as her. I personally felt that Vice Admiral Momonga having to stab himself in the hand was a sign of weakness against Hancock's ability, and that Oda showed us this scene for the purpose of letting us know that Momonga is not quite on her level of power. Do you think that Mihawk would have to stab himself in the hand to fight Hancock properly? If he did, the readers would perceive him as a pervert and weak willed; two characteristics that are very unlikely for him to possess knowing his character. How about if Hancock's opponents don't have weapons on them? Would that really be the end for them since they wouldn't be able to cut themselves so as to cause pain and not focus on her charms? Actually, if they don't have a weapon, there is a way to avoid her charms, even though it is really stupid. They could just hit themselves to cause pain. Imagine Doflamingo getting into a fight with Hancock, and since he doesn't have a weapon he would have to punch himself in the face as many times as necessary in order to divert his attention away from her charms. Do you see now why it is silly and stupid for her charms to work on characters as strong or stronger than her? It's okay for her power to work on people who are weaker to significantly weaker than her so that she could show her dominance over them (this is done in many shounen mangas), but for her to successfully pull off the same maneuver on people her level or stronger is far fetched. Otherwise, she would be unstoppable and able to defeat anyone.