where they really that weak?
15 years ago
Posts: 74
In the latest onepiece chapters we find out that a good bounty is somewhere around 50 million berri. And that anybody under that was pathetically weak. But in the first couple of volumes we are introduced to villains who almost killed Luffy several times, yet their bounties were never over 30 million. Now we have the fake luffy who has over 20 million barri in bounty, but we know hes pathetically week, and people even mock him for his lame bounty.
But look- Arlong was extremely powerfull, it was even noted that he was as powerfull as Jembi. But he only had 20 million berri on his head (yes, I know that he probably bribed the marines to lower his bounty, or keep it down) But everybody was scared of him! And they always talked about his enormous bounty of 20 million berri!
Than there was don Creig, but we know that he was week, you know, if it had not been for the situation Luffy was in, Don would have been dead quick, but the fact is, he harmed Luffy, and he only had a bounty of 20 million! And, unlike arlong, he did'nt bribe marine people!
So my question..
WERE THE PAST VILLIANS REALLY SO WEAK?

15 years ago
Posts: 161
They probably all just seemed weak because at that time Luffy and his crew were a lot weaker than they are now. Also, this often happens in shounen manga, where a big "villian" in the beginning becomes seemingly weak at the end.

15 years ago
Posts: 636
The first arcs of the manga were in East Blue, which is I believe referred to as the "weakest" ocean.
Krieg was scary compared to most people in East Blue, but he got wrecked the moment he went onto the Grand Line.
And like you said, Arlong's bounty didn't reflect his strength. But 20 million was still more than other people in East Blue.
So they were essentially medium sized fish in a small pond...or something
"It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science."
Quote from starfield
They probably all just seemed weak because at that time Luffy and his crew were a lot weaker than they are now. Also, this often happens in shounen manga, where a big "villian" in the beginning becomes seemingly weak at the end.
i just have to agree with this

15 years ago
Posts: 1366
Quote from mattai
The first arcs of the manga were in East Blue, which is I believe referred to as the "weakest" ocean.
Krieg was scary compared to most people in East Blue, but he got wrecked the moment he went onto the Grand Line.
And like you said, Arlong's bounty didn't reflect his strength. But 20 million was still more than other people in East Blue.
So they were essentially medium sized fish in a small pond...or something
this. and also remember that the reason Luffy got a 50 million beri bounty in the first place was because that Nezumi guy is a dick. If he hadn't smashed that guy's face in, he probably wouldn't have even had a notable bounty unitl much later. Like when he beat Crocodile.
Sarcasm just doesn't work over the internet.
Bounty reflects only the threat level. For example, the World Government considers both Luffy and Zoro to be different threat levels but about the same power. A better example would be Chopper's bounty - they thought he was only a pet, but powerwise, he is stronger then Usopp and Nami who both have higher bounties. There are some people (like Bellamy) who believe bounties reflect power. He is not incorrect, but is also not correct.
And about Arlong - he was bribing Nezumi to keep himself under the radar. Otherwise, it would be much higher.
Check this for more info (I stole most of this from there).
15 years ago
Posts: 272
those "weak villains" were created almost 10 years ago.might well be that the story just wasn't elaborated as it is now and currency wouldn't be what you think about first when you write a story that isn't focused on economy.
as an example....at the beginning of the series until...enel I suppose,maybe CP9 something like haki never occured or was mentioned and the focus was on devil powers which don't seem to be that important anymore.
In my opinion that's really a minor detail
15 years ago
Posts: 390
Quote from mattai
The first arcs of the manga were in East Blue, which is I believe referred to as the "weakest" ocean.
Krieg was scary compared to most people in East Blue, but he got wrecked the moment he went onto the Grand Line.
And like you said, Arlong's bounty didn't reflect his strength. But 20 million was still more than other people in East Blue.
So they were essentially medium sized fish in a small pond...or something
I Agree.
For the Grand Line a captain with 20 million bounty is ridiculous, because people in the Grand Line are strong
In East Blue there were no strong pirates, so a guy with 20 million bounty was considered very strong