Are we supposed to beat Odin right away?

I've been trying a lot of techniques, nothing works so far. I do so little damage and/or stagger that it's a very long marathon where I can't afford any mistakes. After he splits the area in half, usually he Zantesuken me not long after, mainly because my allies are dumb.

I have to say, this fight is, so far, the only challenge I am not able to pass (currently lvl43ish I think). It's just not fun at all. (And yes, I know about the Bonds later on).

So should I just continue moving on through Chapter 12 and do Odin later? I started the chapter just now for the sake of keeping my sanity. Queen's Blood does a rather good job at making me smile.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone for the various tips. I ended up beating him last night. Used Prime/Counters, with Yuffie on a Synergy-Bio. Aerith was mainly healing but ditched a few spells as well. Cloud got knocked out at about 1/3 of Odin's HP remaining (I was silly and took a chance I shouldn't have). Almost quit there but the girls picked that right up and finished the fight.