He wrote in one of the SBS that he doesn't like to receive ideas for characters/story, but readers can make requests for cover images and he will draw them.
But yea, I think the last few chapters he tries to show that the straw-hats' characters are still the same as before, despite the look...
Re: Gol D Roger and the voice of all things
Nah, I'm beting it's a devil's fruit power.
Roger was able to understand the poneglyphs though he doesn't have the knowledge to "read" them. You can't do that with haki.
I originally disliked the idea of a time skip for OP, cause the crew will be so much behind compared to the other supernovas. But maybe Oda-sensei wants to establish a more dangerous new world within 2 years. Maybe in 2 years Blackbeard will show his domination in the new world.
I don't think a...
I think Koushirou is an interesting character. He owned one of the 21 excellent grade swords (oo wazamono). He could've been someone strong/influential.
My guess is he doesn't need rescuing. Probably he was accidentally saved by Blackbeard. Magellan was heavily injured, so I'm guessing Mr. 2 got away safely.
I don't know... they were both beaten in 1 move. So far their only technique that we know of is Soru. And after fighting the CP9, I'm sure the straw-hats won't have any problems beating these two.
I can see Nami vs Hina though.