#and well water 7 > enies lobby > water 7 arc had good character writing imo but introducing a bunch of fucking guys and giving them

[prosecutors-gambit]

everything else about the writing in skypiea aside (hint: its not so good) why is the anime of it like truly the most boring television i've ever watched theres like 20 episodes dedicated primarily to the fight between enel and luffy and there should have been like. 2. max. it's because theyre always teetering on catching up to the manga i know this but its why the movies and filler arcs like consistently have better more tightly written plots. film red was not a very good story but by god at least it was over and done with in 2 hours you know. and uta was there bringing out some of the best anime tunes of the decade.

[theclearblue]

For the ship ask : ZoSan - Zoro & Sanji and MobRei - Mob (aged up) & Reigen and SatoSugu - Gojo and Getou.... Thx

Thank you for sending this is in!!

Zosan

Ship it

Fun fact I was pretty against this ship at the beginning when I first started watching (now it's my fave op ship lmao). I think the turning point for me was maybe Water 7/Enies Lobby when they really start working together, and Zoro worries about Sanji on the sea train. But when it became my favorite was probably the Nothing Happened scene and also when Kuma is chasing the strawhats in Sabaody. Just the way they clearly care so much for each other and their dreams where Zoro first protects Sanji in Thriller Bark, and then Sanji is worried enough about Zoro in Sabaody to protect him over Nami??? Yeaaaahhhh I started falling down the Zosan well pretty deep after that lmao

I think what makes Zosan fun is that they fight ALL the time but it's like...play fighting lmao?? If you've ever had cats where they just bat at each other and wrestle but they don't really hurt each other, it's all in good fun and then they snuggle up to each other? That's the Zosan dynamic to me lmaooo. But also under that I think they trust and respect each other more than anyone, both in a fight but also with what they view as the worst parts of themselves. Lots of potential with them I think (also VERY interested to see how the Wano oath will come back around because it will...)

Hmm I think sometimes when people write Zosan they either lean too much into domestic sappy lovers or just straight up toxic lmao. They are the pinnacle of cranky old married couple so when they don't make fun of each other anymore or playfight well..that's not Zosan lol, but then sometimes people go way to far the other way where they don't like each other at all and scream at each other and miscommunicate and that's just not any fun either, there's a balance.

MobRei

Don't Ship It

Usually I don't like an aged up ship unless you're aging up both characters, it's hard for me to get past an age gap that big because it colors so much of the dynamic. Even aging them up I think I couldn't stop imagining Reigen as the cringefail older brother/mentor type of figure to Mob.

Hmm honestly maybe aging Reigen down to Mob's age might be ok? As like a childhood friends kind of thing instead? I still don't think I would see that as romantic though.

Hmmm I think this one just isn't for me sorry

Satosugu

Ship it

God, what doesn't make me ship it? I know Ij ust made a post yesterday where I was like "You could interpret them as brothers!" and like, you COULD but this feels like the most obvious romantic subtext of all time with every scene they have. But I started shipping them when I read Hidden Inventory/Premature Death, and then the ship became really solidified with a JJK 0 reread and with the Gojo sealing scene. Gay disasters of all time.

I've talked about this a bit before but just the way that there is nobody else for them, nobody will understand Gojo like Geto does and vice versa. They are a pair, until they suddenly aren't, and neither really know how to navigate that. I think they embody a lot of the core themes of JJK really well, about love and death and corruption and loneliness. I think there are just a lot of different avenues to explore them, from pre HI arc to Geto's descent to the 10 years in between to JJK 0 and to Shibuya. They really do it all lmao, and of course, I am tragedy enjoyer first and foremost and they deliver.

Geto gets woobified waaaayyy too much by satosugu lovers. He is undeniably a victim under the jujutsu system and his struggles are very painful and even sympathetic, but I think some satosugu fans really erase his flaws way too much and end up blaming Gojo for everything? Which I think is wildly unfair.

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: East Blue (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby  || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

so!! hey folks. as i’ve mentioned before, to mark the upcoming chapter 1000 (holy shit!!) as well as my blog’s first anniversary this december, i decided it would be a good time to go back and put together some highlight reel posts of my favorite panels/moments/scenes from each saga and some commentary about what i think the best parts of each arc and the series as a whole are and why, as a celebration of just how far one piece has come and how many fantastic moments we've had so far! 

this will be quite a series of rather long posts- they’ll all be tagged #the voyage so far, if you’d like to avoid this messy retrospective. i'll be posting one saga a day each day until chapter 1000's official release on january 3rd!

honestly, i’m opening with this panel because it has a special place in my heart: i’m pretty sure it was the first time that one piece ever made me laugh. 

the entire prologue does a really good job of setting up the tone for the entire rest of the story. i think i haven’t really written much about it before, but i really love romance dawn. it hits the exact mix of humorous and serious that’s practically one piece’s trademark tone, and introduces us to some of the main themes of the series: inherited will especially, and the theme of freedom, and the idea of betting your life for what you love. 

technically this isn’t the first time we see luffy as an adult- he punches out the sea king before this- but it is his formal introduction, as well as (in the chapter title) the first time he’s referred to as strawhat luffy/mugiwara no luffy. 

i really like a lot of these very early panels of luffy, really. i’m a writing person, not an art person, so i can’t really explain why, but there’s something about how he’s drawn that i think is just delightful for some reason. i like the earlier one piece art a whole lot in general, even though it’s often much less intricate and more simple than the current artstyle (which is not by any means bad either!! it’s just different). i think it fits the atmosphere of the start of the story very well- a journey just starting out. 

he’s going to be pirate king!!

i’ve complained before about how zoro’s backstory doesn’t really hit the way a lot of the others do, mostly because it goes so fast, and kuina’s death is unfortunately the closest the series comes to fridging, but- that said, i do really like the core of it. i really like zoro being motivated by a promise to the one friend and rival he could never beat, and i love how this moment is what he cites later on while facing mihawk: a promise to a friend. 

i love all the strawhats and their dynamics, and seeing the crew grow and develop and become a family over the course of hundreds of chapters is one of the great joys of one piece, but i think i’ll always have a soft spot for luffy and zoro’s relationship. there’s never really any conflict between them after their very first meeting; there’s loyalty and dedication and understanding there that starts from this moment and never really wavers.

it makes me grin to see the two of them, here at the start of it all. they don’t have a flag or a ship or a destination, yet, but this is the start of the strawhat pirates.

this series will probably reveal that i have a great weakness for group shots, and i think oda is particularly good at them- especially in these earlier arcs, you can usually see every character’s personality and feelings coming through in how they’re placed and what they’re doing. 

i had actually forgotten that usopp did this, and while i know kuro was egging him on on purpose, i feel like he doesn’t get enough credit for being a reckless idiot sometimes. there’s a reason he fits in as a strawhat, after all, even if he himself isn’t always aware of it. 

this is a lovely panel just on its own, but i think it (and all the other appearances of sunrise and dawn in the story) hits different now, with all the 'coming dawn’ theming that’s been established in recent arcs. 

oda often absolutely nails his use of negative space to emphasize heavy little moments like this, and i for one absolutely love it. this one in particular gets me in the heart. 

i like how you can reread some of these early arcs and see nami’s affection for the crew growing in little moments like these, and it’s very sweet, but there’s also a quiet kind of sadness in knowing she’s spending the whole time knowing she’s going to have to betray and leave them eventually. 

i LOVE the new crewmate toasts. they all always look so happy.

also, in my opinion, this is the first time the strawhat pirates feel like a proper crew. they have a SHIP now! and just after this, they get their jolly roger to seal the deal. 

it is my opinion that sanji has one of the best character introductions i’ve ever seen. in just a few chapters we know just about everything we need to know about him: he's not to be fucked with, he has extremely high respect for food and absolutely none for morons, and the first genuine smile we see from him is when he gives a free meal to a starving man. 

i think about this moment a lot, really. luffy knows almost nothing about sanji at this point. he hasn’t tasted his food- he doesn’t even know his name. but he’s seen sanji give free food to gin for no other reason than that he’s hungry and it’s right, and that’s all it takes for luffy to decide that sanji is gonna be his cook. 

baratie is mostly a serious arc (and leads into the even more serious arlong park), but it has some really good funny moments towards the start and this is one of them. you know they’re friends because they all just start roasting luffy without sympathy or hesitation. 

i’ve mentioned before that the zoro and mihawk fight was one of the big things that hooked me on one piece (the other being sanji’s backstory), but the way it ends, especially, is one of my favorite moments in the whole series. i love,, strawhat loyalty moments. carve “any complaints, pirate king?” on my fucking grave. 

sanji has a lot of really great action panels in this arc, but this is one of my favorites mostly because his combat abilities are being revealed to the audience at the same time they’re revealed to a lot of the characters watching. i can’t remember who pointed it out but sanji’s character design (especially pre-timeskip) just really looks like he’s designed for kicking- shiny black shoes, about 70% leg- and it really shows in panels like this. 

sanji and zeff’s chronic inability to communicate is kind of the emotional core of baratie, and i think sanji calling the restaurant zeff’s treasure sums up the entire conflict between them very neatly. of course zeff values sanji way more than the restaurant, but zeff will never tell that to his face and sanji has negative zero self-worth so he’s never going to figure it out on his own. so they’re basically in a stalemate. 

sanji’s backstory is absolutely brutal. we spend a truly agonizing amount of time literally just watching him slowly starve to death. it’s no secret that oda is really amazing at backstories, but i think sanji’s is probably one of the most effective at driving home exactly where his very specific mindset as an adult comes from. it’s hard to even read this section and not come away with at least a little more appreciation for food. 

(to be continued in east blue part two!)

[cienie-isengardu]

Luffy and Zoro, equality presented by Wano Arc...?

The feeling of equality between Luffy & Zoro has been sitting on my mind a lot lately, so I finally decided to write down my chaotic thoughts on that matter. 

First, to be precise: I’m not talking about power levels between Straw Hats because One Piece proved on many occasions that power alone is not a good measure how one character will fare in a fight or that beating X does not automatically guarantee beating Y. In Thriller Bark Perona took down Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Franky without a problem, but lost to Usopp out of all people. At the same time, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji will always be the main fighters of Straw Hats no matter the gap of power between them. Everyone is powerful on their own, but they may fare better in different fighting settings. I personally tend to think that Luffy and Zoro are closer to each other in terms of power, raw strength and will, but this is not exactly the matter of equality I wish to talk about. What I wish to talk about is how the Wano arc set Luffy and Zoro apart from the rest of the crew in a more tangible (visual) way.

Even before Wano Arc, Luffy and Zoro were singled out by narrative on various occasions. The most memorable is: the first meeting with Shichibukai (and Mihawk acknowledging them both), taking a beating in Mock Town to Nami’s dismay and Bellamy Pirates’ amusement, earning the title of Supernova and with that becoming part of the Worst Generation, independently attacking Charlos/Tenryūbito (though sadly, Zoro was stopped by Bonney) or killing together a dragon on Punk Hazard. In all cases, Luffy and Zoro were set apart from the rest of the crew and even other pirates, sharing unspoken understanding of other actions and needs or becoming a part of something bigger and more dangerous. 

Luffy will always be the captain (leader) and as the main character, the hero saving the day at the end of the arc. At the same time, Zoro may never be officially called the vice captain by other crew members (which is fair, Straw Hats Pirates don’t care nor have any need for ranks) but narrative puts him as the protector of crew (i.e. Kuma), the leader in the absence of Luffy what consistently is marked by narrative boxes (i.e. “Zoro team”,”Zoro side”) and the layout of frames (Zoro taking the central position that normally belongs to Luffy) or even having some confrontation with the final boss (Arlong, Hody). Zoro is also treated like the voice of reason; even if his words are harsh and emotionless, he will speak what must be said for the Luffy and crew’s sake (Alabasta, Davy Back Fight Arc, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Zou). He is also the one that provides Luffy comfort and support in dire situations (Usopp leaving the crew). 

Luffy cares equally about his nakama, yet the narrative likes to single out Zoro as someone usually standing by him but also as someone taking Luffy’s position of captain very seriously. Further details adding to the feeling of equality set up by narrative include the visuality of their most notable scars (under left eye/left eye and middle of chest), the running joke of people mistaking Zoro for an actual captain of Straw Hats Pirates or acknowledging him as a dangerous “beast”, Luffy and Zoro’s very similar mindset and attitude towards fighting powerful enemies and all the parallels in which both captain and first mate* did the same things on various points in the manga or color spreads/covers (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x).

In general, the story established how despite their different nature of extrovert and introvert,  Luffy and Zoro are similar when it comes to the serious and trivial matters about whose I could talk for days. What is vital though, for years such treatment of Zoro created the feeling of equality between him and Luffy. Not in the power sense per se because narrative has never been objective about that, but how they progress from rookies to men getting closer and closer to fulfilling their dreams.

And now the Wano Arc seems to single them out in ever more visible ways.

For one, anime dropped the individual eye catchers for the whole crew, except for Luffy and Zoro. At the end of each, all Straw Hats are showed standing together:

In both cases, Zoro is on Luffy’s right and both carry similar looking katanas: Kitetsu II and Sandal Kitetsu III. The swords may have different colors, but their tsuba have the same patterns, which double the feeling of equality between those two. 

Manga provides similar moments, starting with chapter 912

and cover of volume 91 (which was used for Luffy’s eye catcher apparently) and inside illustration included in volume 92

Then from all the crew, only Luffy and Zoro were pretending to be ronin (the masterless samurai), seen in box info

while the rest Straw Hats played the role of ninja (Chopper), kunoichi (Nami), ghost (Brook), geisha (Robin), toad oil salesman (Usopp), carpenter (Franky) and soba cook (Sanji). Even Law, another Supernova and equal to Luffy, hid his identity pretending to be some sort of wandering monk. And thinking logically, Law would be better ronin because unlike Luffy, he knows how to use sword in fight. 

Another visually prominent detail - Zoro and Luffy are the only one Straw Hats who have kimonos with ornaments resembling the sun that may be a symbol of the coming dawn, foretold by Lady Toki. A dawn that will end Kaido and Orochi’s reign on Wano.

Luffy’s ornament is straight taken from the crest of the Kozuki clan (and resembling the symbol Alabasta Kingdom). I have much more to tell about Zoro’s design but that will need wait for another time. For now, though it looks much sharper is no less reminiscent of the same solar symbol. Adding to the sign their status of ronin and we may call Luffy and Zoro, figuratively speaking, the samurai bringing sun (hope, new era, peace) to a country plunged in darkness, most likely in nearest future fulfilling late Kozuki Oden’s desire to defeat Kaido and open Wano  to world.

Of course, all Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, Minks and people of Wano are working together to defeat Kaido but Luffy and Zoro were visually set apart from everyone from the beginning of the arc. There is also their personal, strong connection to Oden’s children: Momonosuke and Hiyori who both were very impressed and protected by Luffy (Momonsuke) and Zoro (Hiyori).

Another detail binding Luffy and Zoro more to Oden and setting them apart from the rest of characters are new things they have acquired through the course of the arc. Namely, the better understanding & advanced techniques of Busoshoku Haki (Luffy) and late Oden’s great sword Enma (Zoro). Both things are capable of hurting Kaido.

Usually, during the arc, Luffy gets separated from the crew for the longest part of the story. And indeed, he gets struck first in prison (where he managed to win over imprisoned there samurais) and now, during battle, is running to face Kaido escorted only by Jimbei and Sanji (who wandered away in chapter 997). Surprisingly, Zoro too was separated by quite a long period of time, in which he met and befriended Yasue, Hiyori and Toko before he rejoined the crew for the final battle. Luffy and Zoro are the Straw Hats that openly admit they want to face Kaido in fight.

Another detail setting them apart from the rest of the crew: interacting with (and in case of Zoro, beating down) other Supernovas. They met Hawkins at the beginning of arc and fought him (Sanji too, met Hawkins and Drake once in public baths but ran away, securing Nami, Robin and Shinobi well being), then Killer and Kid before and during battle, Apoo and Drake which whom they had small crash, but now Drake were working with Roronoa against Apoo. Ironically, Drake is a friend with Coby who is a friend of both Luffy and Zoro. Coby literally met those two before Nami debuted. Also, the Supernovas allied with Luffy are learning in hard way that dealing with Zoro is not less stressing that working with Luffy.

How the Wano arc will turn out will show the upcoming chapters, for now though, not only Straw Hat has a strong connection to people of this land. For one, there is Tama, that both Luffy and Zoro came to like very much and literally started wreaking havoc in enemy territory because of her. Twice. Then there is mentioned connection to Oden - symbolic samurais of dawn and carrying Momonosuke and Hiyori’s wish to defeat Kaido and save the country but also Zoro’s personal connection to Shimotsuki clan that was hinted time after time and briefly explained in SBS that may or may not play bigger role, especially since Shimotsuki clan support Kozuki family. Which only adds to the whole connection between Luffy and Zoro and (good) people of Wano.

I feel like Wano arc was set up to establish the equality of Luffy and Zoro, not in the power sense that so many fans love to argue about, but as the relationship between them. Not just as captain and (powerful) subordinate but more like partners, the way Roger and Rayleigh or Kid and Killer are seen. The manga put a lot effort in creating parallels and the visual similarity between those two characters to dismiss the potential hints of Luffy and Zoro slowly falling apart from the crew in the sense of the role they will play in this and maybe future arcs.

[opbackgrounds]

This might be a weird one or long but we all know Oda reuses the same plotline every. Single. Arc. (For the most part). A country falling into chaos saved by Luffy through circumstances. Yet we’re not sick of this plot, can you do a commentary on how Oda chieves this? I have some ideas myself but can’t articulate as well as you.

A couple things here: While it’s true that there are several country-wide escapades for the Straw Hats to muck about in, there are plenty of arcs with much lower stakes. For example, Little Garden, Thriller Bark, Punk Hazard, and of course the Davy Back Fight. You’ve got war arcs and arcs where the Straw Hats are the destructive force (Enies Lobby says hi) and arcs where the island they’re visiting doesn’t really change, except for a few select individuals. Some of these arcs are set ups for larger conflicts, but they’re necessary to help break up the flow of the story, variety being the spice of life and all that jazz. People don’t like the Davy Fight Back, but the story needed a place to breathe between two long, emotionally draining arcs. Same goes for Thriller Bark. You can’t go from the emotion of Water 7/Enies Lobby to the darkness of Saboady/Impel Down/Marineford without a little bit of levity in between. It’s a pacing issue, releasing tension before it can be built back up again. 

(Also this is another reasons why One Piece has a much more organic power creep than some other series. Not every villain has to be stronger than the last)

Secondly, “country falling into chaos saved by Luffy through circumstances” is pretty broad as far as descriptions go. You’ve got Point A and Point Z figured out, but all that stuff in the middle is up for grabs. How the Straw Hats go about saving Skypea is pretty different than how they end up dealing with Crocodile in  Alabasta. They’re different places with different characters dealing with different sorts of problems. Freedom is a major theme of the series, so it stands to reason that the crew is going to deal with a lot of characters trying to take away the freedom of others. Different arc villains do this in different ways, allowing Oda to explore his core message in a nuanced and deep way. 

Thirdly, Oda’s world building is second to none, and he does a really good job making his audience care about secondary characters and the dozens of different factions that influence the plot as much as the main cast. I get more excited about post-arc chapters than I do anything else because you know Oda’s going to throw curveballs at you that you never expected. 

Sometime you don’t notice that a plot line is similar to something you’ve seen before because you’re super invested in what’s going on In the present, or the settings are so different you don’t think to compare them. For example, I think there are some interesting parallels between Totoland and Thriller Bark, but their aesthetics couldn’t be any more different. 

Many of One Piece’s strongest arcs draw connections not just between Luffy and the big bad. The Guest Star Party Member is just as important. I noted it in East Blue that the villains were all foils to Luffy and the crew member he was recruiting, but when you think about it it carries over into the Grand Line. You can make just as many connections and comparisons between Vivi and Crocodile as you can Luffy and Crocodile, and it’s this sort of multi focal writing that really makes it easy to care about someone you know won’t be around after their arc is over. 

Lastly—and this isn’t directed at you, op—I’ve seen people complain about Luffy going around to all these islands saving the day and I’m like. What do you expect? He’s the main character, of course he’s going to do stuff. What I like about One Piece is that there’s a sense of progression. Luffy has always been working toward a goal, and though sometimes advances are slow, he is always advancing. First he had to prove he was ready for the Grand Line. Then he had to be able to fight Warlords. Then you bring in the giant, globe-spanning military might of the World Government. Then he got strong enough to challenge an Emperor’s strongest commanders, and by the time Wano is done he’ll be able to fight an Emperor (or two) and win. Luffy never feels stuck, is never retreading old ground or spinning his wheels. You know he’s going to reach his goal, it’s just a matter of getting there. 

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece 1000 - 10 Confessions as a One Piece Fan

Although we did the Initial Thoughts a week ago (a long week ago, damn) which you can read here I wanted to do something for the official release of One Piece’s 1000th Chapter At first it started out to be ‘10 things I wanna ask Oda that I don’t think we’ll ever know’ but I couldn’t think of 10, then I was gonna do a General opinion post about it, but didn’t want it to come off too negative. So I am settling on a confessions post, which will have elements of these anyway.

So as we have a happy 1000, let’s talk about some stuff I usually don’t get to talk about in One Piece

Note: There will probably be spoilers so make sure you’re up to date

10. Late Beginnings I think the first confession I have to have is that despite being older than One Piece I am unfortunately not a ‘Day One’ fan. In fact I think I mainly got into One Piece around mid-Whole Cake Island arc, before I had of course known about One Piece, it was a ‘Big Three’ anime after all but the most I knew about it was that they had a guy named Luff-y and another called Zorro, and it was about ‘Pirates who can’t swim’. My curiosity only developed when in a youtube deep-dive of anime clips I kept being recommended One Piece clips, and decided to give a couple a go. Most of them were Paradise arc stuff from the anime, the dub voices were mostly atrocious so I stuck to sub. I was happily surprised about the amount of fun and emotional weight these clips gave me, which led me to check where One Piece was as of current and backtrack from there (Ironically I did the same with Beastars). I did eventually get caught up around the time of the Mafia Meeting and I’ve kept up with each chapter since.

9. I mostly still prefer the Pre-Timeskip looks When I first felt this I thought it to be pretty controversial, nowadays not so much. I understand that Oda wanted to change the look for many characters but some of them did feel like a downgrade. I think the ones who got it worst was Franky, I think it’s the bulbous shoulders, Franky was no stranger to body horror from Enies Lobby to Sabaody but I kinda preferred that he still had a lot of his humanity rather than looking like an action figure. Otherwise I think Robin, Nami and Chopper had it bad, maybe Brook too but his was more fashion than design; the women in general took heavy hits by Oda’s proportion design - I mean I get it boobs are nice but proportions are what make them better - but Robin also underwent a skin color change in the anime, who pre-timeskip shaded her skin darker than in the manga and corrected it to match the manga, I think most of us would’ve preferred Robin to have kept the darker skin tone and possibly even the fringe, Robin’s hairstyle (and her fashion in general) can be hit and miss. I go to and fro about Nami, other than the general waist and bust adjustments I think it fits her character to use her sexuality a bit, she was no stranger to that pre-Timeskip, sometimes though I can’t tell whether I preferred her with short or long hair (Short was definitely better on Nojiko), I do think though that Oda could have her show less skin, she is still very pretty in outfits such as Water 7, Thriller Bark and even her fake pirate disguise in the early chapters/episodes. Finally with Chopper I think it was a bad move to alter the hat, that was a memento from his father figure Hiriluk, it’d be like if Luffy altered his straw hat or Zoro replacing Wado Ichimonji, I do also feel that the design for Chopper’s points while easier to draw don’t look as good, I think a lot of it is the scruff, or lack thereof in favour of smoothness, Walk Point is fine but Heavy Point, Guard Point and Horn Point seem less threatening, Monster Point especially too, in Enies Lobby he looked like a cave painting of menace and destruction, now he’s smoother and his scruff lighter so it’s not as good. The rest of the designs I’m quite fine with though.

8. I wish some markings stuck as well Tattoos and Scars seem to be optional in the One Piece world sometimes, unless it’s branded in molten heat like the Dragon’s hoof, Sun Pirates logo or an attack from Sakazuki. While Nami’s redesigned tattoo has stuck around and Luffy and Zoro’s scars persist, they are mainly character reminders/mysteries for huge moments in the story, and I kinda wish that some of the Straw Hats had littler markings, not just scars either. For instance, the Alabasta X on the arm, I really wish that stayed on each of the Alabasta characters’ arms since it was a symbol of friendship with Vivi, I also wish that Luffy kept the 3D2Y mark on his arm. In terms of scars though it would’ve been nice to see the characters a bit more battle-worn; Zoro’s ankle scars from Mr. 3 have faded and frankly he should be covered in little and long scratches given his fights with Mr. 1 and 2 years of Mihawk Training, Nami’s shoulder scar is hidden completely by her tattoo and she has no scars on her hand (from fake stabbing Usopp) or foot (from blocking Miss Doublefinger), Usopp himself could’ve used some small scratches because lord knows how there’s even still bones in his nose plus he was in murder island for 2 years, Chopper could at least have a small bald patch from when his shoulder was impaled and burned by Shura’s fire lance too, other than that there’s just Jimbei’s potentially missing shoulder scar from Marineford, though Oda has kept it obscured a lot so maybe that is still there. I understand why Oda doesn’t or forgets to, but it would’ve been nice if we lived in a vacuum of no time limits and whatnot.

7. Dead End Adventure is my favourite One Piece film I don’t know what it is, but Dead End Adventure just gives me the most fun out of the One Piece films. It has a good side plot and the side character Shuraiya was a blast of a character. Granted, Gaspard wasn’t too good of a villain side for actually harming the straw hat and his defeat was a bit underwhelming but the race, the settings it was all fun. It is not to say I don’t enjoy any other One Piece movies, I delight in the horror fuel of Baron Omatsuri - and that killer final punch - and Z’s tragic tale of a fallen marine, Strong World has that epic entrance to the party and Stampede also had some great team up moments and fantastic writing for Usopp and Smoker but Dead End Adventure always feels like the movie I could watch in any mood.

6. Skypeia and Fishman Island are some of my favourite arcs While I can understand the criticism of the Long Ring Long Land arc (especially since the anime dragged out the Davy Back Fight) it surprised me that people found Skypeia and Fishman Island arcs to be boring or less entertaining than previous arcs. Everyone has their preferences of course but I felt that Skypeia and Fishman Island were very powerful arcs especially with the theme of racism. Both had glorious setting design different to the common customs of the world we had seen, Oda made both Skypeia and Fishman Island feel very much lived in with its own budding culture and prejudices, with a villain who was dead set on destroying everything just to have their way. With Enel and his priests we were able to push several characters to newer limits, with Robin showing her fighting capabilities, Zoro learning his projectile slashes, Chopper having to endure fighting 3 priests and even Usopp growing all the more braver in the face of seemingly indestructible opponents and later gaining access to the dials. With Fishman Island it was different because it was basically a ‘flex arc’: where the main villain is meant to be a stepping stone rather than a threat but even then the symbolism of the enemy is what’s significant with them, the inherited hatred of humans. But at the same time we do learn new strengths from the crew; Red Hawk, the use of armament Haki, Skywalk, Hell Memories, Franky Shogun, Usopp’s pop greens, Nami’s weather eggs, Brook’s Soul Solid and his new DF power (which is possibly an awakening), as well as the first true steps of Jimbei joining the crew. The biggest strength of both arcs is the flashback as well, like Wano would in present time both arcs demonstrated that Oda can carry a story without his main characters and still keep it as captivating as ever, be it the friendship of Noland and Calgara, the tragedies of Otohime and Fisher Tiger or the life of Kozuki Oden and the man who would be Pirate King. And the impact of Fishman Island and Skypeia’s flashbacks both come back around in Dressrosa with the dwarves and Koala, and Fishman Island really does kick off the whole Yonko saga with Luffy challenging Big Mom, these arcs were definitely significant as they were entertaining with silly faces, strong fights, challenging themes, lorebuilding, good side characters and unique twists. And the overall message of healing from the past is still significant to this day. Through Wyper’s sacrifice and the Bell ringing to Jimbei giving blood and the Ryugu royals wanting to attend the Reverie, it is all very powerful stuff and while the arcs are similar in nature its their similarities that make me love them. Also the cover stories with Enel and Gedatsu on their own mini adventures are fun

5. I really want to know where Ghin is Ghin/Gin was such an interesting character in Baratie. Given that this was right before Arlong Park too so we had not seen a character conflict with different loyalties in One Piece until then, his gratitude to Sanji against his loyalty to Krieg created a fantastically complex character, but then he left and we didn’t hear about him ever since. Did he survive Krieg’s poison gas? Is he still with Krieg? One reactor of the episode said “maybe he’ll become the next Don” which was a concept I kinda really liked. The guy was pretty strong given that he had bested Sanji at that time, and since he didn’t appear in a cover story my mind does wonder. It’s not just Ghin either, a lot of the early East Blue characters kinda fell off the map; where is Morgan? Last we saw he was sleeping as he sailed past Jango, where is Kuro? For someone wanting to resume piracy after some years off he has been very quiet, where is Krieg? Only Arlong and Morgan were arrested and the latter escaped so the rest of these characters are a mystery. Recently in Wano I am still wondering where Law’s crew that he brought to Onigashima went, as well as Caribou - where is that slippery bugger?

4. Basil Hawkins is probably one of my Top 5 Supernova There’s something about that dude I gravitate towards, which makes it quite frustrating when the anime decides to add extra malice and creepy faces to him. Hawkins in Wano is still a victim, if anything he is simply a prisoner with better working conditions, if he thought he could survive escaping Kaido he would but he doesn’t so he won’t, he’s also gonna feel sore about Drake betraying him and letting Law cut him up, so it annoys me that Hawkins is seen like a villain. Not only does he have an extremely interesting Devil Fruit and creativity with it but he’s also audaciously confident in his fortunetelling, even Luffy ran from Kizaru at Sabaody while Hawkins looked at his cards while Kizaru was about to boot him to holy hell and said ‘nah I’m not dying today’, you gotta respect that moxie. At the same time though as a pirate he has that shades of grey element, he’s okay with letting some of his crew be disposable and we don’t even know to what end, he doesn’t look like a guy too concerned about being Pirate King or having riches. I also get a good laugh in that his hobbies are interior design, it makes me really want to see what the inside of his ship looks like. I think as a top 5, I have Luffy, Zoro, Law, Hawkins and then Kid, Bege, Killer and Bonney are not far behind with Apoo dead last because fuck Apoo. Kid and Killer are cool but I do feel like they need a bit more character, Bege earned some points in being funny and his care for his family in WCI and then there’s Bonney - I really hope we dig into Bonney’s significance, she feels really important and that mystery keeps her fresh whenever we see her. Drake too has only really started to become interesting because of SWORD, we could still see more fleshing but for now he is like bottom 3. It’s a shame Urouge has to be so low, he’s not bad but he’s not spectacular either, gotta admire his hobby of lovemaking though, you do you Urouge.

3. I don’t think that either of the ‘Most Beautiful Women in the World’ are the Most Beautiful Women in One Piece The in-world consensus seems to be that the Most Beautiful Women in the World are Boa Hancock, Komurasaki and Shirahoshi, and granted they are very pretty, but the most? Not for me. I mean, y’all know that Nico Robin, Nami and Vinsmoke Reiju exist right? Makino as well is stunning, as are Tashigi, Bonney, Margaret, Ishilly, Nojiko, Vivi, Rebecca, Pudding, Perona, Cosette and I’m sure a few others, realistically I think they could all give them a run for their money. I get how for those three their beauty is a plot point (Boa it’s drilling home Luffy’s obliviousness to it, Komurasaki it’s the swerve of her not being awful and for Shirahoshi it’s due to Vander Decken IX pulling the creep factor on her) but it would’ve worked the same way without the ‘world’ hyperbole I think. As much as Oda is iffy with proportions and rarely writes women with as much attention as the boys he sure knows how to make them attractive.

2. Some of my favourite individual Straw Hat scenes aren’t in Canon If I were to have a top 5 moments of each character, it may surprise you that some of it comes from movies or filler episodes, particularly Sanji’s flexing on Jessica in the G8 Arc (in fact, Jonathon is one of my favourite marines, T-Bone is in there too, but I don’t have room to fit that). Some are of course obvious because of how iconic they are but it does go to show that sometimes filler isn’t all bad. Since you’re probably curious: As a Group Goodbye Merry [Enies Lobby] Entering Shiki’s Palace [Strong World] Walk to Arlong Park [Arlong Park] Entering the Grand Line [Reverse Mountain] vs a Stuck Oars [Thriller Bark] Jimbei Giving Luffy Blood [FMI] Vagabond Drill on Big Mom [WCI] Leaving the Big Mom Pirates [WCI] Returning in Wano [Wano] Trying to argue with Luffy [FMI] Brook vs Chess Soldiers & Big Mom [WCI] Flashback [Thriller Bark] Breaking Mother Carmel’s Picture [WCI] Baron Corpse vs Dog Minks [Zou] Hysterically laughing at seeing Duval [Sabaody] Franky vs Senor Pink [Dressrosa] Playing with the Kids [Punk Hazard] vs Fukurou [Enies Lobby] Freedom Roller [Wano] Trapping Caribou in the Barrel [FMI] Robin  I Want to Live [Enies Lobby] Clutching Spandam [Enies Lobby] Throwing Usopp under the bus [G8] vs Yama [Skypeia] Clutching Tequila Wolf guards [Amazon Lily] Chopper Monster Point [Enies Lobby] Flashback [Drum Island] Chopper Man (& Minoru Kazeno) vs Usobada [Chopper Man Special] Don’t blow the whistle: Immediately blows whistle [Skypeia] Dr Chopper the definitely Human Doctor not wearing fake glasses [G8] Vivi w/ Karoo (she counts okay!) Goodbye speech [Alabasta] Escaping Bon Clay [Alabasta] Karoo Digging Luffy Out [Little Garden] Luffy Fan Club Meeting [Reverie] Slapping Usopp awake [Drum Island] Nami vs Kalifa [Enies Lobby] Standing by the kids [Punk Hazard] Saying goodbye to Bell-mere [Arlong Park] Helping Luffy vs Cracker via Lola’s Vivre Card [WCI] Luffy WILL be Pirate King [Wano] Sanji ‘I needed a light’ [Skypeia] Flexing on Jessica [G8] Saving the Vinsmokes [WCI] O-Soba Mask [Wano] vs Doflamingo [Dressrosa]  Usopp Alabasta speech [Alabasta] Awakening Observation Haki [Dressrosa] Sogeking Theme Song [Enies Lobby] vs Perona [Thriller Bark] Saving Luffy from the fire [Stampede]  Zoro Nothing Happened [Thriller Bark] vs Ryuma [Thriller Bark] vs Mr. 1 [Alabasta] vs Gyukimaru & Kamazo [Wano] “He’s sweeping our floors that fiend!” Test of Luck [Loguetown] Luffy ‘On the Sea, you fight Pirates’ [Wano] Red Roc [Wano] vs Katakuri [WCI] Haki clash with Doflamingo [Dressrosa] Punching Saint Charloss [Sabaody] I will have to say that for some characters I could go to 20 so if one’s missing it may’ve just missed the mark, such as Usopp and Nami vs Enel or Luffy putting back a Zombie or Stealth Luffy, I mean it is 1000 chapters as well as movies and filler episodes/specials...

1. I’ve learned quite a lot due to One Piece Since my fascination started with a deep dive of checks, I did start to learn a hell of a lot more not just about the franchise itself (you know it’s almost catching up BATMAN on total sales, which has been around more than 3 times longer?) but I also learned a lot about stuff Oda has used as a reference key; folklore, actual pirates, actual practices, the amount of detail Oda puts in is astounding. Which does lean into another thing I’ve learned, One Piece has changed the way I approach some of my ideas for writings and whatnot, before I would be afraid of either spoonfeeding or being too vague, Oda’s mastery not only in storytelling but character development, character quality and pacing has both helped and intimidated me a lot of times, I mean consider this: it took hundreds of chapters to get a proper backstory on Luffy, the main character, how unprecedented is that? Often I could fall into the trap of making sure you knew everything about the main character from day one but now I wonder about what’s necessary for the now and what can I work on. Another thing that both inspires and intimidates me is his drawing, I suck at colours and still do, and a lot of Oda’s attention to detail is incredible considering he’s gotta whip that out on the weekly, but at the same time you see some of his rough sketches and they’re pretty similar to a rough sketch of my own, so in a way it’s a ‘there’s still hope for you’ moment seeing those. I can’t say I’ve learned Japanese from listening to One Piece, but I have picked up on some stuff, some hiragana there, some phonetics here, I also appreciated some of the stuff kaizokuou-ni-naru does (I won’t tag them in case that’s a bit rude to do it out of the blue but check out their tumblr) when it came to deciphering the Japanese of chapters and the little puns and hints Oda puts in his native tongue. And of course any One Piece fan has learned one thing above all else: Patience. Oda himself included, it took over 20 years to get to 1000 chapters and we still have plenty of questions to ask, plenty of islands to see and thus plenty of chapters to go. So Straw Hats off to you Oda, and a happy 1000th!

[creative-type]

Hello there ! I just finished reading your analysis of Chopper and why he's your least favorite Straw Hat, it was really interesting ! You had briefly mentioned the other Straw Hat Pirates and your opinion about them except for Franky and Brook and I am curious to know your thoughts about these two fellas.

I love them both to pieces. Brook is a very rare character with a “perverted” quirk that I enjoy. I head canon that his infatuation with ladies underwear started when he had to stay behind once to watch the ship and asked Yorki to pick up a G string (for his violin) and either through malice or misunderstanding he got, uh, something else. I’ve done a write-up before on his backstory, so if that interests you check it out.

What I appreciate most about Brook is his optimism. After 50 years of isolation after losing his crew he had every reason to be bitter and depressed, but he’s just got a beautiful soul. I also like the insinuation that he’s not 100% sane, and his contribution during the WCI arc was freaking amazing. 

Franky is crazy but in a completely different way. How he works through his past trauma over the course of the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc and gets a second chance at his dream that he’d thrown away is just, uh. So good. He’s still got a bit of that Water 7 gangster in him, and that adds a different dynamic to the crew that no one else has. 

Not a huge fan of how the fight with Senior Pink was handled, but otherwise his shtick works really well for me. He’s like the epitome of manliness and is okay with wearing his hair in twin braids while also turning himself into an action figure. What’s not to like?

[littleweeghost]

Healthier Alternatives: Sanji’s Match Made in Heaven

Okay, so my last post personally destroyed my OTP with no reaosn...I'm a monster. But by the end, I did say I was going to make another post on different people who's be a better emotionaly fit for Sanji. Although, I did make a point to emphasize age and maturity play a factor as to why ZORO and SANJI wouldn't work, so for this post, although my opinion stems from how the characters currently are, I am considering how this can affect the long term.

Alright, let's jump right into this. In no particular order: 1. Law 2. Usopp 3. Luffy 4. Violet

Again, in no particular in order, here's my reasoning for each person.

1. Law: If we think Sanji got some emotional baggage, then Law has an emotional train. But that isn't fair; pain and trauma cannot be ranked as "who has it worse". That said, if I'm reading the air correctly, I think there's a calm energy between these two. First off, they're Northies! Two Northern boys with shitty pasts. It's also the fact that they both have calm demeanors, are intelligent and are talented with multiple skills. For example, Law knows swordsmanship but is also knowledgeable about medicine/is a doctor. Sanji is a martial arts expert (practically) and can cook. Furthermore, when it comes to "dreams" or the such, they both like to keep things simple. Law isn't like Luffy where he's trying to reach the top of the top and Sanji isn't going out of his way to be the best cook. In the few times they've had a scene together, Sanji reacts differently with him than he has with other males. They speak respectfully to each other with some slight teasing thrown into the mix. So yeah, if they were to be intimate, I can see the both of them shouldering each other's pain well enough to grow closer and develop a strong bond.

2. Usopp: Usopp is such a treasure and I wish there was more fics about their ship (both romatically and friendly). Honestly, I didn't care for Usopp in the earlier years, but Enies Lobby/Water 7 changed my life. That is my favorite arc because that was not only an Usopp arc, it was Sanji's time to shine. In that arc, the friendship, that I barely even knew existed, shone brightly! During Usopp's lowest point, we were shown how much Sanji cares for him but also how much he understands. And that's important because similarly to Usopp, us viewers looked at Sanji as if he were a superhuman, a powerful man who had strength and will to take on anything. Except no, that isn't the case. Sanji is as human as Usopp with fears and insecurities. Due to Sanji's past, we now know that Sanji worries all the time how he can keep up with the strong while still being able to protect the weaker ones. Usopp would be an amazing partner (if he wasn't straight and into Kaya) for Sanji. Not only is Usopp supportive of anything Sanji likes/decides/will do but he's also sympathetic. Where Usopp is physically weak and needs Sanji's support, he supports Sanji where he's emotionally and mentally weak. They'd have a relationship so normal and adorable!

3. Luffy: This one took me by surprise because I haven't thought of this one until this arc. This past parc has woken me up to realize just how emotionally close Luffy and Sanji are to each other. Granted, one could argue that Luffy is emotionally intimate with all of his crew, but I think he has a special connection with Sanji. My theory on that is that Sanji and Luffy are polar opposites, almost foils one could argue. Kind of Yin and Yang like. On one hand, you have Luffy, who despite being poor, was loved as a child. He had bandits and relatives and pirates alike loving and caring for him. He also developed 2 close relationships, close enough to call them brothers, who would so anything to protect Luffy. Because of all of that, Luffy has such an open and balanced personality. He's not just tough on assholes, but he's soft, sympathetic, and understanding with other people, especially after hearing some bad stories. On the other hand, there's Sanji. Sanji was born to a wealthy (royal) family, also a family of scientists, but he was hated. His family hated him--with the exception of mom and sister Reiju--the servants/soldiers weren't better. Until Zeff, he established no healthy relationships with anyone. Even after Zeff, Sanji only grew up in an environment filled with aggression and violence and men. Of course with Sanji's warped mind, all he ever assumes are that men are barbaric by nature so unlike Luffy, Sanji is emotionally cut off. Although he CAN be sympathetic and friendly, Sanji isn't as confident with his feelins as Luffy is. Which is why Sanji is so instictive in his reactions; he has little discipline in that area. Luffy already has a ton of love for Sanji, but if they were a little older, I think they could develop a loving relationship. Luffy is just so positive and reassuring that with time, Sanji would be more secure in his feelings. And Sanji would forever remain loyal and loving with Luffy. Lastly, they are connected by food. Luffy is always hungry as long as Sanji is around to cook.

4. Violet: Okay, so this is a weak one to be honest but I don't think there are other females in this series that can actually shoulder Sanji's pain. Well first off, I think Sanji would have a difficult time having a relationship with a female regardless, but still, in the short time Violet and Sanji were together in Dressrosa, I saw promise. They were cute and Sanji was certainly protective of her. I figure since Violet was going through her own struggles regarding Doffy and his tyranny on Dressrosa and the fact that she still came on top, I think that showcases that she has mental strength. with enough time, I do believe they would have a solid relationship.

In case anyone is going to roast me, yes, I purposely kept Nami off the list because this list is only meant to include people Sanji could have a HEALTHY relationship with. Asthetically speaking, they look good together but for a romantic relationship, no. Nami has got her own baggage that I could write a whole other post about and it doesn't appear that she's completely "over" it. Meaning, due to her own level of maturity and some other factors, she would be a horrible fit for Sanji. Not to mention how...well...aggressive she always is with Sanji. He already has an unhealthy perception of women and men; she really isn't helping. #sorrynotsorry And as stated above, there aren't more females on the list because quite frankly, there aren't that many females that Sanji has had long term contact with. I would have said Vivi but even with her, I'd have a better chance mentioning the duck. Even Ace almost made the list before her because Sanji, my poor Sanji, attracts more handsome men than women. Still, I see men being more compatible with Sanji anyway but that's just me.

Anyway, that's my list! People who are better fit emotionally and romantically for Sanji. You agree/disagree? Who did I miss?

[sanjiafsincedayone]

Luffy – A “Brief” look

Now, I’m going to be posting a series of short discussions on my own personal thoughts about each strawhat. I will start with Luffy and work my way towards Brook. These posts will just explain some of my thoughts regarding each character. The posts will vary in length though, because for some characters I will find more things to talk about.

Luffy – A Brief (yet not so brief) look

Luffy is my third favorite strawhat and in my opinion the perfect main character for One Piece. He’s funny and uniquely written and you can’t help but love his carefree nature. He’s stupid in the most adorable way without it ever feeling old or forced, and I think Oda has done an excellent job with balancing Luffy’s goofiness with seriousness properly showing that Luffy definitely deserves to be the captain.

Much more on Luffy and his relationships with his nakama under the cut.

I think Luffy’s dream and his endless love for adventure makes everyone love him, both fans of the manga and within the manga itself. The way Luffy just lives his life the way he wants while being straightforward about both his likes and dislikes makes him such an honest character and also a character that is very easy to understand. This is one of the main reasons for Luffy being such a good main character, at least that’s how I feel. I’m not saying he doesn’t have complexity at all, but the fact that he is so easy to understand makes him approachable by all types of readers.

Oda has also done so well with how he’s showcased Luffy’s relationships with both his nakama and with characters outside of the crew. In particular (besides with his crew) I liked how Oda portrayed his relationships with Vivi, Jinbei and Law. And his backstory with Shank but in particular with Ace and Sabo makes Luffy such a well-developed character. I love Oda’s story of Ace and Luffy and it had such an emotional impact because we got to know their relationship so well. We understand where Luffy comes from perfectly and can see how a lot of his reactions and actions stem from his past.

My wish is for Oda to keep developing Luffy’s mature side (without letting his natural personality suffer of course) and also for him to showcase more of Luffy’s strong bonds with all of his nakama. In general I think Oda has focused less on the strawhats’ bonding and more on gags after the time-skip, but I also think he’s done this much less with Luffy compared to the rest. But I guess I just want even more development of Luffy’s relationships to his nakama, some more than others. I don’t really have that much to complain about so this is just nit-picking.

Luffy’s relationships with the crew:

Zoro – Zoro and Luffy have a strong bond of trust between each other that I really admire, but Zoro is also there as a support and as someone that can push Luffy in the right direction. It’s really noticeable that Luffy is much younger and less mature than Zoro, but in the end Luffy definitely has what it takes to be a captain that Zoro can respect. I really like their interactions, though I feel like they haven’t really had that many good ones after the time-skip.

However, Zoro’s sacrifice for Luffy in Thriller Bark will forever be one of the greatest scenes and most emotional moments in the manga. Zoro putting Luffy’s dream above his own was a great showcase of Zoro’s belief in Luffy as well as their strong bond. I also think that Zoro understands Luffy pretty well, even though they both definitely view and deal with a lot of things very differently. I also love how Luffy seems to see Zoro as really stupid, and that is such a funny joke when considering Luffy’s character.

Zoro of course also falls victim to a lot of Luffy’s shenanigans and personally one of my favorite gags is Zoro accidentally getting hurt because of Luffy, and then Zoro wanting to kill Luffy because of it. Too bad this hasn’t really happened in a long time. I feel like Oda should take a look back and perhaps remember how funny Zoro and Luffy can be together, because even though I love the strong bond they have I really miss their less serious interactions a lot.

Nami – Luffy is Nami’s saviour and this too is a strong bond built on trust. That is their foundation, but they also see things very differently which causes Nami a lot of worry and trouble. Nami nagging Luffy and trying her best to control him but failing has slowly turned into her just simply giving up in trying to talk her captain out of things. They bicker a lot and despite Luffy being so out of control it’s Nami who seems to be able to at least somewhat keep him from going too far at times. Basically her fists are one of few things that can actually tame Luffy.

I really like their relationship and think that Nami and Luffy together can be pretty funny, but I prefer their serious moments together. Arlong Park and Nami getting saved is the best arc of the East Blue Saga in my opinion. The way Luffy managed to get under Nami’s skin and show her that pirates can be good was such an emotional storyline to follow. I like that Oda keeps showing this even after Arlong Park, instead of just leaving it at that. But sometimes I feel like their bond won’t be able to develop properly because of how very different they are. They pretty much view everything differently, and even though they interact a lot they don’t actually seem to have that many normal conversations, which is a shame. There is so much trust and caring between them, but definitely a lot less of understanding on a general level compared to between Zoro and Luffy for example.

Nami and Luffy have a great bond and many good moments between them, I just wish their dynamics (mostly the gags) wouldn’t feel so repetitive sometimes. But this is actually more of a general problem after the time-skip and doesn’t only apply to Luffy and Nami.

Usopp – Putting Usopp and Luffy together will always be hilarious. But I also love the focus Oda gave these two during Water 7 and Enies Lobby. It’s one of the best mutual developments I’ve seen in the whole manga. Putting a strain on their relationship and showing how their insecurities and stubbornness made them clash but also grow closer was such good writing on Oda’s part. It showed both of theirs weaknesses and flaws, but they also really grew as characters because of their fight.

Usopp almost idolizes Luffy at times, and probably felt very lacking in comparison, but they also have a very easy-going type of relationship. They are like brothers who have tons of fun together and the gags that come out of their differences – aka Usopp being scared vs Luffy being reckless – are some of the best in the manga.

I’m a little bit sad that we haven’t seen that much between them since after Enies Lobby, and I definitely want Oda to write more of the simple moments in between adventures with the crew because I feel like those are the times that Usopp and Luffy’s close bond and love for each other really shows. They’re like best friends and brothers and because Luffy is such a carefree person I think that the worry-wart Usopp can overcome a lot of things just by having Luffy by his side. One of my personal favorite duos in the crew and definitely both a well-developed and fun to watch relationship.

Sanji – Another strong bond and a relationship that also has gotten a lot of development in the recent arc. There is a mutual trust and respect there, but unlike Zoro I’d say that Sanji is quicker to tell Luffy off. He sees Luffy as his captain and looks up to him a lot, but he also seems to be the one in the crew that controls Luffy the most (besides perhaps Nami). I guess I could say that while Luffy is Sanji’s captain, Sanji is Luffy’s boss, does that make any sense? Either way I find the moments of Sanji reprimanding Luffy really funny, but I again really love when they show the trust they have for each other.

I find it so interesting that many of Luffy’s moments with Sanji have been strictly between the two of them. The fact that the Baratie arc and Sanji’s introduction was mostly just between him and Luffy, and now the big scenes in Whole Cake Island between them are also mostly just between them. It makes their development almost seem private, and in a way it is, because Luffy is definitely the person that Sanji has allowed to get the closest to him. They are both dreamers and I think these two in particular have been connected because of their dreams, which is something Oda focused a lot on in the Baratie arc.

In a way Luffy is also Sanji’s saviour and someone I think Sanji feels grateful but also indebted to. Luffy knows Sanji really well and I think the way he more than anything wants Sanji to see his own worth is really great. I also love the fact that Sanji is the one Luffy compliments the most and how well Oda showed in this arc how important Sanji really is to him. It’s a really unique type of bond, and I think Oda has put a lot of thought into their dynamics based on their backgrounds. I love it, and I wouldn’t mind getting even more of it.

Chopper – Luffy’s immediate interest (after deciding not to eat him) in a talking cool transforming reindeer is of course funny, but including Chopper in the crew for me was a really good chance to see Luffy actually acting like an older brother from time to time. The way he manages to get past Choppers protective walls and truly show Chopper that there is a place for him together with the strawhats is probably my favorite introduction arc out of the whole crew.

The two of them having fun together and the way Luffy teases Chopper is really just cute to watch. They share a lot of similarities because of their younger age and fun-loving nature, and also how they both like food and sweets so much. I just kind of wish that they got more development in their relationship. I suppose it’s comfortable the way things are right now, but sadly I have not seen many deep moments between the two of them after Drum Island.

Still, Chopper admires Luffy a lot, and the naive nature of Chopper in combination with Luffy’s unorthodox ways leads to a lot of small but funny gags. Luffy and Chopper are together the clueless combo, and I think those jokes are pretty funny but I really feel like I haven’t seen that many moments between Chopper and Luffy recently, though the Whole Cake Island arc has done a pretty good job of bringing back their interactions. In particular I love the two of them just running off and eating everything, I just feel like I haven’t seen any real moments between them in a long time. They still interact of course, but I feel like it’s a lot less after the time-skip which is a shame.

Robin – Luffy and Robin don’t really interact all that much, but there are plenty of more quiet moments from both of them that show how much they care and treasure each other. They are completely different people, but Robin mostly just find Luffy amusing and is simply happy to be his nakama.

I find Robin’s introduction very interesting, and I love how Luffy completely disregards her wish to die in Arabasta. I don’t think that scene in particular made Robin and Luffy’s bond grow, but rather it was just the start and slowly over time Robin came to think of Luffy as someone important, almost without her realizing it. Her story in Water7 and Enies Lobby is also a great show of Luffy’s character and I think that once again Luffy’s accepting nature and ability to understand others was showcased wonderfully as Robin finally realized she’s also allowed to be happy and there are people she can trust.

But other than that I fail to come up with many things to say about their bond. I know it’s there and I know it’s strong. I loved Robin’s obvious change after Luffy finally got through to her and made her realize her own worth, but because of their lack of interactions we rarely get to actually see it. If we compare it to how Luffy has dealt with Sanji in the current arc the differences are pretty huge and in my opinion the bond between Luffy and Robin lacks a lot of personal bonding. It’s difficult to explain, and of course the dynamics are very different but to some extent I still feel that Robin hasn’t really let Luffy in on a personal level even if the trust, respect and love is all there.

Franky – To Luffy Franky seems to be that cool uncle that is hilarious just being himself. But I also think that out of all of his nakama, Luffy’s relationship with Franky is the least developed. It’s almost odd, because Franky didn’t really have many interactions with Luffy before he joined, and I think that shows. If anything Luffy got a better development with Iceburg and that always struck me as quite odd. Their relationship is of course still good and has definitely grown stronger over time, but initially Luffy and Franky didn’t really get to know each other that intimately before Franky joined.

Their interactions can be quite funny with how Luffy just finds Franky cool and kind of unsuspectingly hilarious sometimes, but I really wish that Oda would put some more focus on developing their bond. It almost feels like it’s a bond that’s just supposed to be there, but we don’t really know how it actually developed except by fighting for the same cause and Franky being moved by Luffy’s dedication to Robin and his crew. I don’t really know what to think, but I really think Oda should at least add a few more meaningful moments between them.

Brook – I love Brook and I love Luffy and these two seem to feel the same way about each other. Meaning that just like me they find each other hilarious. It’s not so much that their interactions are funny as it is how they each find the other one really funny. They think the other one is hilarious and in that way without really interacting much I just think their reactions to each other are funny.

However I still think that there is a profound relationship and mutual understanding between them. Brook really admires Luffy and acknowledge him as his new captain and a true friend who instantly showed Brook he was welcome. Luffy of course is just overjoyed with getting someone as strange as Brook as nakama, but quickly also realizes both Brook’s strength and his kindness.

Both of them also share strong bonds with Laboon which connects them even more, and I also love how Luffy and Brook are both so carefree in certain ways. I feel these two are truly similar in a wear-their-heart-on-their-sleeves kind of way. I also love how we can see Brook’s love for Luffy and how he returned to the strawhats after the time-skip so excitedly despite not having known them for very long. Still, similarly to Franky, sadly Brook has not yet had much opportunity to further develop his bond with Luffy through deeper interactions after his initial introduction.

All in all Luffy has a strong bond and great trust between him and all of his nakama, but because of the story’s structure Oda has definitely focused more on the original five from East Blue. I understand this decision, but I still hope that Oda will use a little less time on gags and fighting and more time for Luffy to deepen his bonds with at least some of his crew-members in future arcs.

I love Luffy a lot and it’s obvious that Oda does too, I think he’s a great main character for a shonen manga and his charm definitely has gotten to me. I could go on, but this is supposed to be brief after all. 

I hope you all enjoyed this little piece on Luffy. Of course this is all based on my own personal opinion, but please feel free to discuss this with me and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading. :)

[moony-f]

I was tagged by @nicefandom and @choppercuddles thank you(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ  sorry it took me so long D: 

RULES: Always post the rules. Answer the questions asked, then write 11 new ones. Tag 11 people to answer your questions, as well as the person who tagged you.

1. Your first fandom?

Harry Potter

2. Your 3 favorite characters?

for OP:  Sanji (*gasp* no wayyy nobody thought that XD) Doffy (I know it sound strange but i love that lil shit) Law (he’s perfect in every single way)

3. Winter or Spring?

sPRING ALL THE  WAY

4. Something funny that happened to you?

friday I bought the complete manga mermaid melody because I’m a nostalgic shit and every time I look at the package I laugh thinking about me when I was 12 and watched that really really girly show... I have not opened it yet

5. Why did you start watching One Piece?

anime is something really common in Italy, so after school for example all the kids would watch anime like dragon ball, naruto, one piece etc., and I remember in 2008/9 it was aired the water 7 and enis lobby saga and I fell in love (with sea train Sanji also XD) but after that period there was no more OP in tv so I stopped watching it. Two years ago I rewatched all the series till punk hazard, now I follow just the manga cause toei animation makes me sick.

6. Hobbies?

reading and if i’m in the right mood drawing

7. Last movie you watched?

Amadeus

8. Your biggest fear?

become homeless, dying in a painful way or just dying alone

9. A reason to smile?

sunny days, food and friends

10. A thing you’re proud of yourself?

right now I can’t think of anything, sorry

11. Why do you start using Tumblr?

it was after the big revelation of Sanji’s wanted poster and all the theories that came along. I was so excited and I just wanted to talk about OP and Sanji but forums weren’t my thing so I tried tumblr ‘cause I thought the fandom here was cool and chill…I was wrong but here I am

and here we go with the other 11 questions:

1: Let’s answer this once and for all - pineapple on pizza, yay or nay? 

I’m italian. Therefore I have good taste. specially when pizza is concerned. Therefore NO FOR GOD SAKE!

2: What’s your favourite season and why? Give me all of your fave aesthetics! 

Spring! Cause the days start getting longer so no more darkness at 4.30 pm and simply I love to see the awakening of the nature 

3: If you had to recommend any book, what would it be? 

1984 because it is the greatest dystopian novel of all time

4: What is your favourite colour and why? 

blue! all the shades of blue too much reason and my english is too poor to explain it.

5: If you could change your name, what would it be? 

I really like the name Beatrice

6: If you could join a different universe of a fictional story (One piece or otherwise), what do you think would be your role? 

I would be the loser that waits and waits till something extraordinary happens...I would be like Sanji during the baratie arc (not as cool as him since I cant cook)

7. What’s your favourite swear word? 

cazzo! it literally means dick, but we use it as fuck

8. Want to recommend a blog? Do it here! 

noooo I’m shyyyy

9. If you could learn any instrument in the world and be a master at it, what would you choose? If you already learn an instrument, what language would you speak? 

instrument: guitar, violin or piano / language: japanese and spanish 

10. Dogs or cats? 

cats <3

11. The word Petrichor is the scent you smell when rain falls on soil or tarmac. Have you got a favourite word that’s unique like that?

I like how the word budria sounds...but it doesn’t have a really nice meaning D:

[recentanimenews]

How Black Clover Conquered A Year Of Anime Storytelling

  When you have a show that comes out every single week with very few breaks, it's easy to lose a little enthusiasm for it over time. It can become a routine, rather than an event. And while there are plenty of anime series that run weekly that I adore, I must admit that sometimes, it feels less like an exciting part of my schedule and more like me just checking in on how a few characters are doing. You pop in, ask "Y'all okay?", and then upon finding out that no one has died and no big twist has happened and no fists have collided dramatically, you close the door. 

  But the last year of Black Clover has been different. 

  BLACK CLOVER SPOILERS AHEAD

  Starting in March 2019 with the Royal Knights Exam and ending in February 2020 with a fight with an actual devil, Black Clover had the equivalent of its Enies Lobby arc. For those that don't know, the Enies Lobby arc is the famed One Piece storyline that is often considered by OP fans to be the best ever, not just in the series but in all of manga/anime. It's not just big and beloved because a lot of huge events happen in it. Rather, it's because it takes a swing and asks the question "Does any of this really matter to you?" 

  And a lot of times, honestly, the answer is no. There's a betrayal or a major character dies or the plot goes sideways, and we just kinda nod and go, "Uh huh. That's what stories do." They don't make you value the series any more or any less. Enies Lobby is the rare exercise in "I'm gonna rip your heart open and yet keep you thrilled and excited every single week" that works. It takes everything that we love about One Piece—the found family and the love and the adventure—and puts it in danger. And by the end, when the Straw Hats are back together, we recognize "Oh yeah, these silly pirates really do mean a lot to me."

    Black Clover, with the assault on the headquarters of the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the resurrection of the elves and the "death" of Wizard King Julius Novachrono did something similar, taking the framework of what we enjoyed about the series and shredding it. The Black Bulls, the goofy team of underdogs that we could usually rely on to be a warm spot in the ever-growing intrigue and threat of Patry and his cohorts, were thrown into disarray. The heirarchy of Magic Knights crumbled, as characters were forced to fight former friends and with the demise of the Wizard King, we saw what it was like with no one in control. 

  Basically, the Clover Kingdom lost everything that had once made it a comfortable place for viewers to hang out in. It became a desperate struggle, not to return to normalcy, but to survive and eventually live in a place where normalcy was even an option. Plenty of series deal with villains that threaten the world (usually with some kind of portal or laser or intergalactic army,) but very few go "Okay, well, the world IS shaken up. The worst dreams have become reality. What now?"

    It pushed Asta, still relatively new in his big I'm-Gonna-Be-The-Wizard-King journey, to his limit and beyond, testing his innate goodness and need to forgive even the most troubled and seemingly evil around him. It took Captain Yami and thrust him into real, open mentorship. He couldn't just be the rough-edged dude that yelled at people when they interrupted him taking a dump and sometimes delivered bits of advice. He had to be the stable guy, the one who made everything seem okay even if it looked like it wouldn't be. It asked that Noelle be confident and to step up to the plate as someone who can defend others and added another dimension to Yuno, who suddenly wasn't Asta's gifted and unflappable "brother" for a bit.

    In short, it didn't just provide an adventure for the story's heroes, but a test. And that's what most great stories in the fantasy genre do. It's the Joker telling Batman that he'll have to "break his one rule" if he wants to stop him. It's Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker to accept that his former mentor lied to him. It's Luffy's partners leaving his side in Water 7 and Luffy saying, "No, we're a family. And families don't do this." For a year, I watched it and for a year, I was enthralled.

  Black Clover had one of my favorite years of any anime. It asked me if I really cared and it turns out that, yeah. I do. 

  What did you think of these arcs? Do you have high hopes for Black Clover's future? Let me know in the comments!

  -------------------

  Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Wano (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

shirahoshi seeing the sun for the first time is really a relatively minor and understated thing, among all the chaos and revelations of reverie, but it strikes me as one of the most meaningful little moments in the arc. 

i LOVE the luffy fanclub. i love that a meeting of the world leaders winds up being a who’s-who with assorted friends of one of the world’s most notorious criminals, and it brings me SO much joy to see them meeting each other and being able to connect. i feel the same way about coby and rebecca meeting.

in general, and i think i said this at marineford too, i love that the one piece world is developed and interconnected and alive enough to allow for these sorts of interactions. 

fucked up that this was almost a hundred chapters ago and we still have no clue what the fuck was up with this, isn’t it? 

i do find the introduction of im fascinating. up until this point we’ve had two presumed final villains- blackbeard and akainu- who were first established pretty far back at jaya and enies lobby (in robin’s flashback) respectively. meanwhile, im isn’t even seen until chapter nine hundred and something. it feels very late-game, but at the same time, their existence doesn’t contradict anything previously established, and in fact jives pretty well with a lot of information more recently revealed in dressrosa. 

in any case, when in doubt i do trust oda knows what he’s doing when handling his story, and i’m very excited to see what he does with this.

wano is SO PRETTY. i mentioned this before in fishman island, but i think wano is definitely the prettiest setting in the series to date. i think it’s obvious oda was both very excited to draw it and put a lot of work and research into his depiction of it, and wow does it pay off. wano is so bursting with life and detail, and frequently looks like an ukiyo-e painting come to life, and just- wow wow wow.

i love zoro and luffy’s reunion so much... i love how happy they are to see each other. it’s only been, what, a couple weeks in-universe? but luffy is pulling the full tackle-hug like he did for sabo at dressrosa. i love them.

i really like the outfits in wano, too!! zoro’s ronin look in particular i think suits him very well, and i also love luffy’s patchy yukata and robin’s geisha getup and they’re just very cool. this also applies to the non-strawhat wano characters, for the record, and kind of ties back to what i was just saying about wano being so full of detail. it has a very specific look, and everything from the outfits to the way things like the fire and the waves are drawn folds very neatly into that aesthetic. 

as i’m writing this i just finished on the paramount war posts, so with that fresh on my mind, i have to say i really like the way ace (or rather, his memory) is incorporated into wano. he’s not really a major presence- that is, the fact that he was there before luffy has no real bearing on the plot. but there are people who knew and cared about him and remember him fondly, tama and yamato, and it just really helps add to this feeling that ace was a person and his life and death had real and lasting affects. 

and it adds, too, to the fact that even if it took ace way too long to realize it, he was so thoroughly loved everywhere he went. 

i have a lot of thoughts on the intersection of food and heroism in one piece (i keep trying to compile a coherent meta post on the subject and mostly failing). but i’ll settle for saying that in wano luffy is a hero by his own definition, as someone who shares food with others, and i doubt he realizes that, but i think it’s really interesting. 

i know luffy’s fight with kaidou is kind of controversial in fandom but i love it, personally. it feels like a logical outcome for luffy to get his ass kicked the first time he tries to go up against a yonkou singlehandedly! he got wrecked when he tried to throw down with a shichibukai the first time, too, and this is just the next logical step from that. 

luffy’s always been an underdog starting from nowhere and working his way up and up and up, and i love that for him. of course he’s going to get messed up the first time he tries punching an entire order of magnitude above his weight class. and then he’s going to get up and try again, and again, and again until he wins. 

the act structure of wano is really neat, i think. it helps such a long and complicated arc feel a lot more structured and less interminable than it might otherwise, and it also gives specific breaks where we can cut away to the story happening on the outside world. 

honestly i really like the whole udon prison segment. it’s fun! i like it for similar reasons i like the colosseum mini-arc in dressrosa, honestly, which is that there’s no real stress because we know luffy is the scariest person there by a country mile so we can just watch him go ham, and that’s fun. it consistently cracks me up that absolutely nobody is worried luffy’s in jail. they’re all just like “yeah, he’ll be fine.” and they’re right! he’s having the time of his life!

wano’s cast is fascinating, because almost nobody is who they first appear to be. almost everyone is wearing masks, whether literal or not- fitting, for an arc structured after a kabuki play. everyone is playing roles, from hiyori to denjirou to kanjurou to yasuie, and everyone lies. 

this entire sequence at orochi’s party is one of my favorites in the whole arc- in fact, it was my favorite, until we reached a certain part i’ll get to in the next post. everything from komurasaki standing up for toko and slapping orochi to denjirou “killing” her to robin getting caught by the oniwabanshu and dissolving into petals to nami calling down a massive lightning bolt to cover their escape- it’s really good. 

i’ve written extensively before about the smile fruits and the themes of smile and laughter in one piece and how important the freedom to feel and express emotion is. suffice it to say that for all the atrocities orochi commits against the people of wano, it’s feeding the smile fruits to the people of ebisu town that is his greatest crime, and the revelation of just what happened to those poor people ratchets up the tragedy of wano tenfold.

i do think it’s interesting to think about how if denjirou had been just a little less committed to his role, zoro would’ve killed orochi right here. it really drives home that orochi is nothing- he’s weak, he’s cowardly, he’s just lucky and clever and cruel enough to be able to get much more powerful people to do his work for him. 

it’s infuriating that someone like him has been able to hold such power over the lives of the people of wano and ruin them so thoroughly, and that’s exactly the point. 

wano is the arc where oda says you Will care about the supernovas and i’m like yeah

hey, another of my all-time favorite luffy panels!! i honestly just think this one sums him up as a character in a line more than almost any other- “i’m always free.” 

just look at the detail on kidd’s metal hand holy shit holy shit. on occasion certain panels jump out at me that remind me that oda really is just, a genius at drawing on a technical level, even setting aside his writing and storytelling chops, and this is one of them. 

oda is really, really good at creating the sense of a darkest hour- a time when all hope seems lost. the other best example in the series is in water seven, when the crew seems to be falling to pieces, merry is marked for death, robin’s gone, and the aqua laguna is coming. here, too- nobody comes to meet the akazaya nine, and the one chance they’ve waited twenty years and staked their lives on seems in danger of slipping through their fingers-

but the point of making it so all seems lost is so that when hope does appear, it shines all the brighter, and feels all the more triumphant. it’s always darkest before the dawn, and we all know how wano has been waiting for the dawn. 

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Paramount War (Part One)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

the introduction of the celestial dragons really is just so brutally effective. this is the first time we see them, and before they even show up on page they immediately establish themselves as both absolutely powerful and absolutely despicable. everyone is watching them commit atrocities in broad daylight, and nobody dares say a word. 

i mentioned it back in the enies lobby post, i think, with spandam, but oda is very, very good at creating villains who it just feels so good and so deeply satisfying to see them get annihilated, and the celestial dragons are maybe the crowning example of it. 

i really like how none of the strawhats are really intimidated or impressed at all by the celestial dragons, in sharp contrast to how everyone else responds to them. some of that is ignorance, but you can’t tell me zoro would have acted any differently in this scene had he known charloss was a member of the world’s ruling class. all the power the celestial dragons have comes from fear; of course their greatest weakness is someone who just doesn’t care. 

obviously this moment is just excellent, no qualifiers needed, but one thing i really love about it is how all the bad shit that results from this does not detract from the sheer satisfaction of what happens at the auction house at all. like, even though this leads directly to the strawhats getting crushed by the pacifista and kizaru and scattered by kuma, i’ve never once caught myself thinking luffy shouldn’t have done this. 

i’m a huge fan of how rayleigh introduces himself. he knocks out the whole action house with conqueror’s haki, but luffy is completely unaffected, and the two of them just watch each other down the aisle for a moment as everyone else collapses around them. 

i don’t know that i’ll ever get over the fact that oda created and designed the supernovas as he was writing sabaody. they’re all such distinct and memorable characters, and almost all of them have fit neatly into the post-timeskip story one way or another. they really feel like a part of the world that was always meant to be there. 

i think the way roger as a character is handled is very, very cool, because we don’t really meet him as a person- when we first learn of him, on the very first page, he’s a myth, a story, a framing device. which is fitting, because that’s all the characters know him as. the rest of the world doesn’t know what roger was like as a person or why he did what he did, and so neither do our main characters and neither do we. 

and then we learn, slowly, by following in roger’s steps and meeting the characters who did know him, like rayleigh and whitebeard and garp. and through their testimony and memories, over the course of the story, roger goes from being a faceless myth to being a proper character.

i think this panel, where luffy says he just wants to be the freest person on the seas, might be my favorite luffy panel. if nothing else, it’s definitely one of the ones i think about the most in terms of his characterization. luffy’s been defining himself by his dream since the very start of the story- he’s the man who’s going to be king of the pirates! but it’s only here that we learn what that goal actually means to him, and what he actually really wants. he just wants to be free. 

the tone shift of sabaody really is impeccable. because up until a certain point, everything seems pretty par for the course. the strawhats make some new friends, get into trouble for their sakes, get into a hard fight where they all have to work together but eventually scrape out a win. 

but then kizaru shows up, and another pacifista, and kuma himself, and for the first time in the story luffy says this is a fight they can’t win- 

and then zoro disappears, and all of the audience’s expectations for how this is going to play out get thrown completely out the window. 

it’s not that we haven’t seen luffy upset before this- his fight with usopp in water 7 and merry’s funeral are the two obvious examples that come to mind- but we’ve never, to this point, seen him as crushed as he is at the end of sabaody. it really drives the abrupt tone shift of sabaody home, because we’re used to seeing luffy be generally cheerful, and if not that, at stubbornly determined to power through. but here, he’s just wrecked- and the paramount war saga is just getting started. 

every time i see hancock i’m reminded what a lesbian i am.

i’m talking a lot about character introductions this post, but a lot of really good characters get introduced in the first half of this saga, from the supernovas to rayleigh to jinbe. on that note, i really like hancock’s introduction, for reasons similar to what i said about roger earlier. she’s introduced as a cartoonishly evil one-dimensional bitch, and she leans hard into that characterization for the first half or so of amazon lily.

and then luffy narrowly keeps her and her sisters’ worst fear from being realized, and her facade starts to slip, and we get to know her as- still kind of a bitch, but also a deeply traumatized person who has very valid reasons for being the way she is, and someone who is overall a lot more complicated than she appears at first glance. 

one of my favorite things about luffy is his ability to always, always defy expectations. hancock is dead certain he’ll take her offer of a ship and abandon marguerite and the others, but he doesn’t even hesitate before doing the exact opposite. luffy is always turning people’s worlds upside down.

i have a friend who coined the term “conflict of interest arc” to refer to the arcs where a crewmate is forced to choose between the crew and some obligation or baggage from their past- arlong park for nami, whole cake island for sanji, etc. 

marineford is luffy’s conflict of interest arc- he has to make the choice, here, to prioritize saving ace over reuniting with his crew. where it differs from all other such arcs, then, is that nobody else can come to back him up. he’s well and truly on his own. 

i love how thoroughly expectations get turned on their head with jinbe. for the longest time, all we know about him is that he’s a shichibukai and arlong’s former captain, so given what arlong was like and what the shichibukai encountered thus far have been like, it’s a fair guess to assume he’s pretty awful.

and then we meet him, and he’s ace’s friend, sitting bloody and beaten in the deepest dungeons of impel down for refusing to fight in an unjust war.

bon-chan is really one of the greatest examples of one piece’s stubborn refusal to treat any character as disposable, and oda’s endless ability to find new and interesting ways to fit them into the story. in pretty much any other manga, it would be all but guaranteed that we wouldn’t see a character like bon-chan again after the conclusion of the alabasta saga. here, luffy straight up would not have made it to marineford without him. this is true for mr. 3 too- who would’ve thought his ability to duplicate keys out of wax, established and promptly forgotten some three hundred chapters ago, would be the thing that let luffy free ace on the scaffold?

magellan is a good antagonist. i’m not saying i like him- i don’t particularly- but he’s a great antagonist for a couple reasons, and one of them is that his powers are terrifying. magellan is essentially what might be called in video game terminology an advancing wall of doom- the only viable strategy for dealing with him is to run.

i had more i wanted to say here but it literally kept turning into a rant about one piece’s take on morality no matter how many times i tried to keep it short, so i’ll settle for just saying that magellan is an antagonist but not a villain and i think that’s interesting. 

the absolutely ridiculous, eclectic mix of people that luffy winds up gathering to escape impel down is possibly my favorite part of the whole arc. i just think it’s so fun and so characteristic of him that even when separated from his crew, he winds up attracting the weirdest, most powerful bunch of people around to break out of prison with. 

the relationship between luffy and blackbeard is a really interesting one. it’s been plenty clear for some time that blackbeard is almost certainly going to be luffy’s final opponent to become pirate king, and yet they’ve been mostly running on parallel paths through the world, only occasionally coinciding (such as here and in jaya) and generally seeming pretty unconcerned with each other. it’s a really cool way to handle the built to an eventual showdown, and i really like it. 

this is one of my favorite spreads just for sheer smile factor. i love it so much. i think we should get to see jinbe’s whale shark buddies more often, it’s a crime we haven’t seen them since this. 

[opbackgrounds]

Alright, friends, you know the drill by now. Here’s Part III of Sarcasticles’ overblown thoughts on sexism in One Piece. If you haven’t already, go read Part I and Part II before proceeding. 

I promise after this I’ll be done. By hook or by crook, we’re getting through the point of the original question. To the Anon who originally sent the ask, sorry it took this long to get here, I hope it’s helpful.

Also, I allude to some very, very minor Wano spoilers, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing here’s your warning. 

Characterization? I Don’t Know Her

What makes a good character?

I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about character designs, when, funnily enough, it’s one of the aspects I pay the least attention to when it comes to deciding if I like how an author portrays their characters. I personally don’t care for fanservice, never have and never will. But unless it’s particularly egregious, I tend to ignore it because there are other factors I think are more important. 

The secret sauce for building characters is hard to define, because a good writer can take a concept that has no right being any good and turn it into something incredible (Oda does this all the time) where bad writers will seemingly slot all the right information in the right holes and still have their characters come out of the developmental oven flat and under cooked. 

One of the biggest buzzwords floating around these days is agency. Is a character active in their own story, or are they jerked around by the needs of the plot? Is their voice heard? Is their voice unique, or do they blend in with the background?

This is particularly important, because the term Strong Female Protagonist has been warped into shorthand for “girl who fights a lot and looks pretty doing it”. You can have a girl strong enough to lift mountains and still have her be a shit character. You can write a girl who’s main motivation is to get married and have babies with phenomenal depth. What matters is execution. 

The Petition to Call A Group of Rescue Arcs a ‘Damsel’

Both Nami and Robin had to be rescued, their main arcs bearing similarities that are impossible to ignore. But these aren’t copies of one another as much as variations on a theme, and with the existence of Marineford and Whole Cake Island I think anyone would be hard-pressed to say that One Piece’s rescue arcs are a girl’s thing. At this point it’s a feature, not a bug. 

Which makes sense given how fundamental the idea freedom is to the series. Hell, the first thing Luffy does after becoming a pirate is free Coby from Alvida’s tyrannical reign. Then he frees Zoro from an unjust authority that would have killed him had Luffy not intervened.

Notice a pattern here? 

One Piece is written like Pachelbel Canon, in that a very simple core of ideas are repeated over and over with layers of complexity and nuance added over time, examining the same themes from every possible angle. 

And when you look at the Four Big Rescue Arcs -- Nami, Robin, Ace, Sanji -- you’ll see that it’s Ace who’s given the least agency throughout his arc. Nami chose to hijack the Going Merry, repeatedly chose to push away the Straw Hats until she reached her breaking point, at which she chose to ask for help, with Luffy only intervening once she does. 

Robin is a little less obvious, but during the post-Water 7 party chapters, Aokiji makes the interesting observation that Robin could have escaped CP9, but chose not to

Remember that before Robin’s backstory was shown, Luffy specifically said he didn’t care if she wanted to die or not, so long as she was with the Straw Hats when she made her decision. No one bullied her into “I wanna live”. It was a choice she made of her own volition after realizing the depths the Straw Hats would go on her behalf.

I know there are people who disagree with me, but Nami and Robin are well-written characters. I’ve expounded enough on my reasoning both here and on my main that I don’t want to spend the time belaboring the point. What I do want is to note that Luffy wouldn’t be able to attain his dreams without them. Nami keeps them on course while also severing as a sort of moral compass for the crew -- remember she was the one who insisted on saving the giant kids at Punk Hazard -- while Robin’s ability to read the poneglyphs is what’s going to get the crew to Raftel.

Robin admittedly doesn’t have the same presence within the Straw Hat Pirates as Nami, but I would hardly call that sexism. Since Water 7/Enies Lobby she’s been pretty content to go with whatever Luffy says, and the fact that she’s literally quieter than anyone else in the crew means she doesn’t get as much focus. I think there could be more scenes with her using her specific skill set, like her investigations in Wano and the forensic anthropology scene in the pre-Jaya chapters, but I’m okay with her being a supporting character. 

The East Blue Crew have consistently gotten the most focus of any of the Straw Hats. They are the core of the crew, something Oda admits in a roundabout way in the Color Walk where they all appear together for the first time in a color spread

With the main cast as large as it is, not everyone is going to have the same amount of focus or development. Robin is given a unique voice within the story because she doesn’t overreact the way literally everyone else does. Through her silence, she stands out. I find there to be very meaningful character development when she feels comfortable enough with the Straw Hats to start calling them by name in Thriller Bark, relaxed enough with her friends to comitt her first facefaults in a series lousy with them in both Dressrosa and Wano.

In an ideal world, Oda would better rotate through his cast, much like how Brook was the unsung MVP on Whole Cake Island (where Nami was also excellent in a supporting role) but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to juggle almost a dozen different people in a story that’s bloated exponentially over time. To his credit, Oda has handled his expanding crew better than most writers. 

I also find it hard to judge this aspect of the series because the manga’s not done yet. I don’t know how Robin and Nami will be used in the future. I mean, Robin never got a chapter title declaring her “The Seventh” which I find suspicious, so Oda could very well have events in store that completely turn our perceptions upside down. It’s impossible to say.

I will acknowledge that the lack of big fights is somewhat disappointing, but neither Robin nor Nami’s dreams revolve around them getting stronger. Robin doesn’t need to use her power to make people explode from the inside out, Nami doesn’t need to fry end-game bosses with her lightning stick. That’s simply not their narrative purpose. With the exception of Tashigi, I’ve found that the female characters advertised as fighters have lived up to their billing. Hancock came out of Marineford unscathed. Carrot’s sulong form was awesome, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The whole climax of Whole Cake Island revolved around surviving Big Mom’s wrath. Not beating her, not fighting her, it took all the Straw Hats had to just survive. Once again you’re left with a number’s game where where there just aren’t enough female characters to even pretend things are balanced.

All said, I think if you’re going to complain about the lack of Robin fights then I think you also have to complain about the lack of Brook fights, and that’s just not something you hear about, especially after Whole Cake Island. You can’t have it both ways. Either there needs to be more even distribution of major fights throughout the entire crew, or you have to acknowledge that a character’s worth isn’t dependent on their fighting prowess. 

One Piece is a battle manga, and I do think that it’s fair to criticize when a character isn’t allowed to fight when they’re perfectly capable of kicking ass. But it’s also an adventure story, and that opens up entirely new space for a character to occupy, and that’s where I think Nami and Robin (but especially Nami) really shine

That Moment You Realize Humor Isn’t A Universal Language

I’ve spent so much time defending Oda’s designs and characters that it might seem like I’m perfectly okay with everything that’s portrayed in the manga. To be clear, I’m not. If the messages and comments I’ve gotten over the past several days have taught me anything, it’s that many fans share the same sticking points I do, namely in regards to some of the gags. 

I again want to be careful here, because I’m hardly an expert on Japanese culture and it’s really hard to tell if Oda writes his jokes because he thinks they’re funny, or if he thinks his audience will find them funny. I’m again going to default to somewhere in the middle, because if Oda truly found the perviness distasteful he probably wouldn’t have included it, and I’ve read enough SBS to know the guy likes his dick jokes. 

First and foremost, one must address the culture gap. Japan ranks last among G7 nations on gender equality, In 2004 two-thirds of Tokyo women in their 20-30s reported to being groped while on public transport. There are numerous barriers that make it difficult for a woman to succeed either in the workplace or politics. 

From what I can gather, some of these trends are reversing, albeit slowly and with great resistance. Contrary to what many people seem to believe culture is not always value neutral. And I say that as an American, recognizing there are plenty of things about my culture and country that are really fucked up. 

But who gets to decide who’s right and who’s wrong?

When inside that kind of environment, that kind of culture, it’s a lot easier to understand how a character like Sanji can exist. It’s easy to understand why Momo shoving his face into Nami and Robin’s boobs might be played for laughs. It’s not an excuse, but an explanation. And with Sanji failing more often than not, being the butt of his own joke as he slowly turns into a parody of what he once was, one could almost say Oda is pointing those types of people and saying, “Look how pathetic this guy is. Now go laugh as he gets a nosebleed so bad he needs multiple blood transfusions in order to not die.”

I say almost, because Sanji is never condemned for his actions, nor does he learn from them. Instead you have this character who’s supposed to be one of the kindest characters in the series decide to immediately go peep on a woman’s bath house after gaining the power of invisibility. 

Stay classy, Oda.

As distasteful as I find it, I don’t find fanservice to be an inherently evil thing that must be eradicated at all costs, and with Oda doing things like putting his entire cast, male and female, into skintight leathers you can hardly say that he’s excluding the men. 

Everyone will have their line in the sand, and mine goes back to agency. When Nami did her Happiness Punch way back in Alabasta, that was of her own volition. When Nami and Robin dress in clothes that show everything but the nipple, that’s something they chose and feel comfortable in. 

But when Smoker and Tashigi swapped bodies at Punk Hazard, Tashigi specifically asked Smoker not to strip, and he did anyway, opening her coat and removing her bra. This is especially egregious as Tashigi is one of the very few women in the series who is always shown wearing very conservative clothing. Oda specifically showed Tashigi getting upset at Smoker’s actions, and Smoker repeatedly refusing to listen to her.   

That’s where I draw my line. 

Some Final Thoughts I Couldn’t Fit Anywhere Else 

Thought The First--Oda has an interesting habit of turning his most despicable, scummy pieces of flaming human garbage into the butt of the joke. Villains like Crocodile and Doflamingo are certainly evil, but it’s the idealized, cool type of evil that makes you almost admire them. There aren’t very many real-world Crocodiles, but just about everyone knows a Spandam, or an Absalom, or a Vander Decken. These kinds of villains aren’t scary because of their physical prowess, but their unyielding obsessions and the power they’re able to wring from the system, and -- surprise, surprise -- all three are either actively trying to be creepy sex pests or coded as such with the visual language of the comic.   

And Oda turns them into a mockery. 

While there are some who feel like not treating serious issues like sexual assault seriously are doing a disservice to people who have endured similar experiences I think there’s merit to turning them into a laughingstock. As someone much smarter than me said once, if an opinion cannot withstand mockery it’s revealed to be ridiculous, and these scummy-scum villains are certainly ridiculous.

Thought The Second--It’s hard to say how much sexism is a thing in-universe. Kuina is the only one who is explicitly told her dreams were impossible because of her gender, but with the recent reveal confirming that her family came from Wano, which in turn is based on Feudal Japan, it’s hard to say how widespread these beliefs are. Tashigi brought it up again at Loguetown and Bellemere specifically told her girls that they lived in an era where “girls needed to be strong, too”, but otherwise it’s not a topic that’s been explored in any depth

Thought The Third--The in-universe fetishization of mermaids has some implications that I think are unintended but worth discussing. Shirahoshi has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful women in the world despite not leaving her tower for over 10 years (she’s 16). Mermaids whose tails have split are worth less on the slave market than those whose are intact. Even Zoro erased Kokoro from his memory after meeting the more attractive Caime. It’s one of those odd things that when combined with the more obvious racism themes could have some unfortunate implications, and I think could have been avoided had Oda show a little more restraint with some of his jokes. Unintended consequences are still consequences. 

Thought The Forth--There are many other instances throughout the series that people bring up with talking about sexism in One Piece. I feel like a lot of these can be explained away individually -- for example, both Belo Betty and Rebecca’s stripperific outfits were inspired by other media, the painting Liberty of the People and Red Sonja respectively; Lola chasing after an obviously abusive man makes a whole lot more sense when you meet Big Mom; Hancock’s love sickness could be seen as an emotionally stunted woman experiencing her first crush, etc., etc -- it’s when they’re all put together that they begin to read as “Problematic”. 

It would be impossible to go over all these individually, but I tend to fall on the side of leniency. In the end, everyone has to make their own decisions based on their own values. I’m hardly unbiased, and my enjoyment for the series will undoubtedly make me look the other way when another might call the exact same incident The Worst Thing Ever. The thing is, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most are convinced that theirs don’t stink. I include myself in that statement. In the end it’s a comic for kids. It’s supposed to be fun. 

Thought The Last--I have spent entirely too much of my time writing this up, but in the end I guess I have to go back to what I said when I talked about my thoughts on Sanji: Everyone has their own personal line of acceptable bullshit, and for me Oda does more good than bad. Sanji specifically gets very little leniency from me because I don’t like a lot of the gross behavior Oda passes over as a joke. But the female characters themselves, generally speaking? They’re fine. There are other mangaka that have more equal male to female ratios or have women play more active roles in the story, but Oda does a lot better than most other shonen titles I’ve read. 

It’s okay to be critical of media you enjoy. It’s okay to complain. But remember that One Piece is a very long series, and there are some fans who have been a round for literally decades. I myself started reading weekly around the time Duval was introduced, way back in 2008. Every time a new batch of fans comes in the same old arguments get stirred to the top of the pot: Sanji is a creep, Oda can’t draw women, why doesn’t Robin ever get to fight?

It can be exhausting to go through the same hoops time and time again. So if you’re someone who is being critical and feel like no one is listening, or that a bunch of fans are going out of their way to defend Oda, that could be one of the reasons why. They’re tired of having a series they enjoy be shit on. 

There are other fans who legitimately don’t think that Oda’s done anything wrong, that jokes are just jokes. If you happen to fall in that category, remember that not everyone feels that way. Art reflects life, which in turn reflects art. One Piece is a few million copies away from outselling Batman. To say it isn’t influential to young readers, both in Japan and abroad, is beyond asinine. 

I thank everyone who’s taken the time to read this so far. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how civil the discussion and my inbox as stayed. Even if I didn’t respond to your message, I promise that I did read it. 

I wrote as much as I did because I know this is a topic a lot of people care about, and also so I hopefully don’t have to write about it again. A lot of hours has gone into this project, and it’s been exhausting, but in a good way, if that makes any sense. I’m ready to put it to rest. 

I was joking with some friends that I think I’ve hit just about every hot topic issue now, so hopefully I can go back to fun questions like speculating if Wapol can eat a person and poop out a devil fruit. 

Until then, Sarcasticles, out