#island: wano

[atomikats]

i got soul but i’m not a soldier (up to wano spoilers!)

[forged-in-kaoss]

What can you do when you can't even pull yourself out of the water? NOTHING! THAT'S WHY I NEED HELP! I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE SWORDS, YOU BASTARD. I can't navigate. I can't cook. I can't lie, either. I'm confident that I can't live without help!

[sashi-ya]

𝐑𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐚 𝐙𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐞𝐩. 𝟏𝟎𝟖𝟗 𝐄𝐠𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Jimbei and Luffy's relationship is so special to me. Like, Jimbei only knew him as Ace's little brother and he already established that that only went so far with him, but then Luffy freed him and they fought together and by the end of it Jimbei decided that he'd protect him with his life. He rescued him physically, but also mentally and emotionally. He saw Luffy bleeding his heart out and said, "I'll cradle your innards until you're ready to shove them back in through sheer force of will," and Luffy did. When they parted ways, they already planned to see each other again and, when it looked like they might miss each other, Jimbei sent a message so Luffy would still be able to find him. Literally shared blood, an act whose significance is exponentially increased by the fact that they're a human and a fish-man. Right in front of a kingdom watching them spit in the face of lifetimes of prejudice, Luffy asked Jimbei to join his crew, then went nuts when he asked him to wait until he wrapped up his business. He was immediately like, "I gotta live up to their expectations, earn my place in the crew, live by the straw hat, die by the straw hat". Huggies and piggyback rides. In the middle of all this, he apparently gushed so much about Luffy to his crew that they expected their own captain to leave them. When Luffy talked about the end of his dream, even though Jimbei thought it was ridiculous at first, he ended up taking it seriously because it was his captain's dream.

Jimbei's like, "I believe this man and his crew will achieve what the greater powers in the four seas have been attempting and failing to do for the last 40 years and more. He's the key to ending the oppression of our race and leading the world to the light. While he hasn't achieved his full potential yet, what he is now is enough for me to swear my undying loyalty to him. His cause is my cause. His name is Luffy-kun~."

[maximumqueer]

Luffy not wanting to be viewed as a hero is actually so important to me. Because while the first reasoning we get for this is him not wanting to share his food

We also learn later on that Luffy also doesn't want to be viewed as a savior, nor does he ever want to present himself as such. He doesn't want to be placed on a pedestal or (ironically) be deified by the people he helps.

At the end of Fishman island, he was fully ready to leave without fanfare because he did not want to be treated by the people in that way, and only agrees to stay because he is promised food. The same thing happens at the end of Wano, where he refuses to take any credit for the downfall of Kaido and instead simply enjoys the festival with everyone else.

I cannot overstate how much I love this decision for Luffy as a character. It is incredibly common for stories like Fishman Island and Wano to have the main character swoop in and save the oppressed people, with said character being to sole person to rally them and "teach" them how to fight back. We don't get that with Luffy.

In Fishman Island, he tells the people that its up to them to decide whether or not he is their friend or foe instead of swooping in playing the role of the hero. In Wano, he understands to importance of who begins the fight with Kaido, and stands back to let the Red Scabbards (Wano natives) get the first major hit on Kaido

Even in the prison when Luffy gives his speech, he is asking the people to let him help, to have faith that they and their country can be free again, to fight for the freedom that had been cruelly stripped away from them. And even then, it is Momo and members of the Red Scabbards that fully restore the Udon prisoners faith.

Hell, we even see this all the way back in Arlong Park, where Luffy waits to take action until Nami asks him for help. He doesn't come in guns blazing and save her like some sort of white knight, but instead waits for Nami's go ahead, placing the power in her hand.

It's just such a refreshing way of seeing a protagonist in this type of story be portrayed. To have him understand the importance of the people he fight's side by side with, and not place himself as the fixer of all problems, but rather as an aid to these people (often times an aid that they explicitly asked for). It actively rejects the white savior/white knight trope(s) and allows for the people native to the island to have agency in these large battles instead of being sidelined. It is their lives and stories that are centered as being the most important in these moments, and Luffy is simply there to help them.

[biscuitboba]

Roronoa "I need to match the color of my sash with the color of my captain's shirt" Zoro

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

What! Are your top five reveals in One Piece! Which ones made you go “holy shit” or “hell yeah” the most!

i'm taking reveal here to mean 'points at which previously-hidden information is revealed to the audience,' not just where we're told something new. so:

THE FREEST MAN ON THE SEA: maybe not as dramatic or seismic as some other things on this list, but to me luffy telling rayleigh that to him being the pirate king just means being the freest in the world is the single most important thing we ever learn about luffy's character, and it defines the themes of the whole series. it recontextualizes everything about luffy and the way he interacts with the world and the way he pursues his goal because now we finally know what that goal actually is, and what it means to him. and for the whole first half of the story we don't know this! it's easy to forget because we're, what, six hundred chapters past it now, but we get all the way to sabaody without really knowing what drives luffy, and then we get it and it slides into place perfectly.

WORLD SANK: a recent one, but so satisfying and well-placed. the sunken world reveal is the best kind of big lore reveal, to me, because it's something that makes so much sense it was completely possible to predict it years ago (and people did), and now that it has been confirmed, it's opened up a massive world of implications and questions that are incredibly fun to think about. i'm really excited to see where the story goes with it.

NIKA: i'm sort of rolling everything we learn about gear 5/nika/joyboy in the 1040 chapters of wano together here; i've written at length before on this blog about why i like the nika reveal so much, so i'll just say now that it takes one piece's most fundamental and powerful themes and symbolism (liberation and joy and the sun) which have been built up across the story and reveals to you that those things are a real literal force in the narrative strong enough to turn a draconic tyrant into a garden snake. and having established what he has now about nika, the way oda has continued to explore the implications of that figure existing in the world has been absolutely fabulous to read.

RAIZOU IS SAFE: a smaller and more arc-specific one compared to some of the others on this list, but i just really like the way this reveal is done. the interval between the dressrosa team's arrival on zou and the reveal that raizou was there the whole time isn't even particularly long, but it's the execution which makes it; the devastation of the city, the solemnity of the whole moment, inuarashi and nekomamushi bowing their heads, luffy and the strawhats' reactions. i like the minks a lot, and this is the moment that defines them as a group, as well as establishing the themes of loyalty and sacrifice that will go on to become very prominent in wano.

ROGER WAS DYING: i've talked before about how i really like the handling of roger as a figure and how our knowledge of him evolves and becomes more personal and human over the course of the story. the turning point in that evolution is the introduction of rayleigh; his reveal that roger was not caught, that he turned himself in because he was dying, and that they found the truth of the world there at the end of the grand line. it shifts the whole presentation of the story; we've been told about roger from the very start of the very first chapter, and it's here that we learn the information we thought we had about him has been woefully incomplete. there's a bigger mystery here, one greater than just 'what treasure did roger leave.' and i really like we get this context about roger in the very same scene we learn what it means to luffy to be the pirate king.

[bevinbrand]

No one should be punished for the choices of their parents or their bloodlines. One of my favorite running themes in One Piece and an excuse to experiment with more lighting.

The compression makes it blurry, click to see it in better resolution.

As always, do not copy, steal, edit, re-post, plagiarize, or otherwise use without permission. NO AI.

[tinukis]

lusan moment but can we talk about how romantic whole cake island was

ESPECIALLY IN THE ANIME. THE SCENE WHERE IT'S RAINING AND SANJI IS CRYING... THE FUCKING ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL OF WE ARE! AND LUFFY SMILES AT HIM AND THEY LOOK BEYOND THE HORIZON AS THE SKY CLEARS.

LIKE????

LIKE????!!??????

oh my GOD. inventors of romance fr

[eastbluecrewed]

ARE YOU PIRATES OF PIRATES OF PIRATES OF PIRATES?

i love this movie so much everyone should go watch baron omatsuri and the secret island right now its on the internet archive i promise its worth the hour and a half its so beautiful and good and unsettling

reference frame below the cut !!

[atomikats]

stills

[ayat-chan]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY!!!! 🌟🏴‍☠️🍖

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KING!!!! ❤️

Some of my favorite moments and outfits!

Drawing GEAR 5 was a bit challenging haha but love the result!

Brazil outfit is inspired by the 790 chapter color spread, where all the Mugiwara wear various cultures’ outfits (Usopp’s one). But since canon Luffy is brazilian… 😳

[rainboweemart]

The gent Love cook! 💖💖💖

[alethianightsong]

We keep comparing Luffy to Bugs Bunny but he also embodies another entity that defies order

Gear 5 is basically Luffy throwing all the rules of logic and laws of physics out the window, which is EXACTLY what cartoons do, but you know who else rejects the laws of reality? Eldritch abominations. Lovecraftian horrors. Many times, we are told that Strawhat Luffy will destroy the world or ruin the order of things, which is bad (as long as you're not a slave, oppressed, or disenfranchised). We have seen him upend nations before, but the state of those countries made the hard reset Luffy brings a godsend (see what I did there). To the world government, Luffy is basically Cthulhu, someone they thought long-dead but was actually just sleeping and now he's awake and spreading chaos through the world.

[stealth-black-leg]

Man, I love that One Piece arc where the Strawhats liberate a country from the clutches of a manipulative Warlord who the citizens regard as their hero. It's very cool how they manage to restore the kingdom's trust in the elderly king and the princess they befriended. And they also meet Luffy's brother! You know, the one who wears a hat and has fire powers.

I also really like that One Piece arc where the Strawhats visit an island 10k meters away from the surface that risks destruction at the hands of a crazy megalomaniac. It has powerful messages about oppression and a very emotional flashback about key figures in the history of the island.

Although my favourite One Piece arc has to be the one where a strawhat has to leave the crew due to their past catching up to them. It hurts them terribly, but they're forced to pretend to have betrayed the crew when in reality they're trying to protect them at the cost of a great personal sacrifice. But then I love how Luffy simply doesn't accept it and follows them into a vastly dangerous territory, where he fights and beats a very powerful and previously undefeated officer, and gets his crewmate back.

That One Piece arc where the Strawhats arrive at an island with a cool name where a crazy criminal is experimenting on people is also great. I particularly enjoy the climax of the final battle, where the bad guy imbues himself with his power to grow huge. And don't get me started on when that Warlod shows up by the end!

Of course, I can't overlook that short, transitional One Piece arc where the Strawhats meet a former crewmate of the Pirate King. They get to ask about the last island! There are also hints at Luffy having a special power, which is interesting. It's sad that they get separated at the end, though.

And let's not forget that One Piece arc about a massive war with hundreds of characters involved. The stakes are huge and it culminates in the defeat of two notorius names from the pirate world. Also Shanks shows up at the very end to prevent an admiral from going apeshit, and Buggy gets promoted despite having done absolutely nothing.

I just really like One Piece 😊

[maximumqueer]

I want to talk about Luffy and his recklessness/impulsiveness as a character, and how the way that that trait is portrayed adds both depth to him as a character, as well has help to create the dynamic nature of One Piece's narrative.

It is fairly common for a trait like recklessness or impulsiveness (and in this case both) to be depicted as either wholly negative or (oftentimes with shonen) wholly positive. There is nothing wrong with that type of portrayal, but it can tend to make a character feel more flat, as well as make that aspect of their character feel more like (especially with more negative portrayals) a gag, more divorced from the rest of their character. Luffy isn't like that.

With Luffy, we regularly see mixed results after he makes a reckless or impulsive decision. For an example, way back in Arlong Park, the pinwheel move he uses to take take out the majority of Arlong's men, leaving just him and his top three officers, is also the move that gets his feet stuck in concrete and subsequently chucked into the ocean.

We also have Luffy's fights with Crocodile, Magellan, Moriah, and Kaido all of which involve aspects of Luffy's recklessness, some that ultimately lead to Luffy's victory (Crocodile, Moriah and his second fight with Kaido), as well as those that led to his defeat (his first fight with Kaido and Magellan).

We also have story elements that were spurred on by Luffy's recklessness, and while these more often than not end in our Strawhats favor, the road getting there is bumpy due to Luffy's impulsiveness. Drum Island is a good example of this, while Luffy's snap decision to take Nami up the mountain himself ultimately saved her life, it also led to him getting injured and nearly dying in the process as well.

There is also Luffy's declaration to starve himself during Whole Cake, his involvement with Dressrosa, and his pursuit of reaching Skypeia, to name a few others.

This complex mix of outcomes in regards to Luffy's recklessness adds depth to his character, by slowly revealing Luffy's internal logic (through actions) when it comes to these decisions. At first, (and on a surface level reading) these actions could be viewed as strictly random and comedic, and there often IS comedy involved in the impulsive nature of Luffy. But it is far more than that. His fight with Magellan is a good example of this.

It is (to me) fairly clear that Luffy is aware of how dangerous Magellan is, but Luffy has an ever approaching end to a timer looming over him (in the form of Ace being removed from the prison and taken to the execution platform). So, Luffy starts punching him with his bare fists, despite knowing that it will be painful/life threatening to do so. And following Luffy's logic, we can see how he came to his decision. He needs to get to Ace, but Magellan is in his way. Running is a no go, as he can just catch up to Luffy and capture him, and can't just keep dodging, because that will just end up wasting time. So Luffy makes the decision to fight him head on, even though the likelihood of him winning is incredibly low, it is better than simply giving up. Giving characters internal logic for decisions that they make (especially when those decisions are not optimal/reckless ones) adds depth to the character. It adds structure to otherwise purely chaotic actions, and makes the character more sympathetic and overall more interesting to follow.

In One Piece's case, it also makes the story itself more dynamic, as Luffy is the driving force of it. There is no one set outcome for when Luffy makes an impulsive decision, and watching it play out as such is always fresh and exciting. Wano's trajectory fundamentally changed when Luffy decided to fight Kaido earlier than planned, adding new stakes that - while the decision itself could be seen coming thanks to the internal logic of Luffy as a character - the entirety of the fallout of it could not.

Luffy's recklessness not being solely a flaw or a virtue, but instead a complex mix of both is great character writing, and in my humble opinion is what makes both Luffy as a protagonist, and One piece as a story so good and engaging, even 25+ years after its inception.