Let's Read: Book Club Vols #2, 4, 5, 7, 8

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Vampire-Ridden - The thing I liked the most about this thread were the flashy combat moves. Considering the source material both characters are from (particularly Vergil), it felt very much appropriate and also pushed forward elements that the two of them have in common. Speaking of which, the dynamic between the two in general was quite nice and there's a lot of potential to be had there.

Having said that, I do think Vergil could have done a better job with his initial posts. Maybe it's just me, but I found them to be rather plain and non-descriptive. I understand not wanting to waste too much time in describing characters and elements that are relatively trivial to the overall story, but I think providing a few more details would have made those posts feel more atmospheric and less bland.

But later on (especially after Snow showed up), the author seemed to have gotten into the "groove" of things and his posts improved, so the thread still ended up being an interesting read. I'm very much curious if Vergil and Snow will continue adventuring together, since they seem to have a pretty good thing going.

Cinnabon Isle Arc - Alright, I must say, this was a really entertaining read as all the writers did a phenomenal job. What was most impressive about that thread is how well their writing styles managed to give the story an appropriately lighthearted tone. One thing that was a particularly nice touch were the sound effects ("Wham!" "Boom!" "Thwack!" and so on), which made the whole thing feel campy in a good sort of way.

Funnily enough, my favourite post in that thread was the one where Luffy thinks about his crew from his original universe. Since the thread is quite obviously intended to be comedic and the character of Luffy is very "happy-go-lucky" and eccentric, one could argue that it would have been perfectly alright for his writer to just portray him as a caricature. But by giving him this moment of melancholy, it helped make the character feel a bit more well-rounded.

I only really have one nitpick regarding the thread and it is a very minor one. I understand that the whole "flashy" thing is a running gag and one of the characteristic s of Buggy the Clown...heck, most of the time, it was funny and appropriate. However, there was at least one post where I felt that the word was overused to the point that it ceased to be amusing and just became tedious. I don't think it's a problem if it is used often, but overusing it only serves to make the joke lose its impact.

All that said, this was definitely one of the best threads we've had in the Book Club so far. I look forward to its continuation. I very much hope Buggy's author will have time to write in the future; while Luffy has been doing a fantastic job filling in for him, the two complement one another really well.