#Sanji being there at Arlong Park is very funny when you think of it from the pov of the other three | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sporesgalaxy · 8 months

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PLS.. share thoughts on zoro n sanji relationship........ i dont ship them but they are so. SOOOOO.

THEY MAKE ME CRAZZYYYYY. and honestly the way their dynamic make me insane doesnt even HAVE to be read as romantic. But i feel so much crazier when i see them shipped and its not even capitalizing on all the shit theyve got going on.

So anyways here's my Zoro and Sanji retrospective I spent several hours on I guess. As if it's my fault.

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When Zoro and Sanji meet, Sanji has given up on his dream to see the All-Blue in favor of supporting Zeff.

Zoro is still throwing himself at his dream to be the greatest swordsman with all his might, and nearly dies to Mihawk for it.

Initially, from Sanji's outside perspective, it seems like a waste of precious life.

Zoro promising never to disappoint Luffy when he's on death's door clearly makes Sanji reconsider, though.

•••

The next time Sanji and Zoro really interact after Zoro's defeat is when they go after Nami at Arlong Park.

And the first thing Sanji learns about Zoro is.......that he's willing to hit girls!

To Sanji, Zoro seems like he's willing to turn on someone-- and worse, willing to hurt a girl-- just because he's angry for an apparent betrayal that no one has any concrete proof of yet. What a jerk! Surely that earned him the dig Sanji makes about his loss to Mihawk.

Unbeknownst to Sanji, however, Zoro has already bet his life on Nami's friendship being genuine by almost drowning himself.

Zoro doesn't want to bother explaining this to some stupid new guy who's willing to side with a stranger purely on the basis of her gender. Clearly, Sanji doesn't understand ANYTHING about this crew, and should just stay out of things.

And so their initial mutual dislike is born!!!

They tend to bicker a lot after this, but I think the next time Sanji brings up Mihawk is in Alabasta.

Once again, Sanji is hitting below the belt because he's convinced Zoro's done something nigh-unforgivable: doubting Luffy. It's a reminder that their rivalry at this point is still built on genuinely misjudging each others' character.

Now at this point I've run out of my 100 daily shounen jump chapters so I can't find for you the PRECISE moment thet are mutually like "yeah ok fine you're a DECENT guy I GUESS" in Alabasta but I think it's the clock tower maybe? The point is that the whole crew has to work together VERY HARD to defeat Crocodile and it shows Sanji and Zoro that they can count on each other to support the crew, at least.

Their improved relationship is apparent in one of my fave downtime scenes so far: Sky Island jungle dinner :)

I...don't think we've seen Sanji ask for help cooking before this point?? Much less from Zoro. So I fucking love that. And Zoro goes along with it, even though he complains!!!!! It shows perfectly how they now trust each other to help take care of the crew.

Another one if my fave examples of them counting on each other in a kind of funny way is when they're fighting Zombie Oars.

Zoro pushes Sanji's buttons on purpose to get him to go along with it, and it works. But it also shows that Zoro was counting on him to give him a boost! The middle panel could even imply Zoro jumped before Sanji agreed to anything, which really proves how much they're willing to couny on each other now.

Which of course brings us to the conclusion of Thriller Bark and a WILD curveball in their relationship: thes self-sacrificial x2 combo.

What Sanji does here floored me. At this point not only does he trust Zoro as a part of the crew, but he considers Zoro a more irreplacable member of the crew than himself.

And Zoro refuses to let him.

Now, we know from his initial fight with Mihawk that Zoro being willing to kill himself doesn't mean he considers his life unimportant. Zoro and Luffy are both unafraid of death, because they have to be willing to die to even have a ghost of a chance of achieving their dreams.

That's why Zoro chooses to take on Luffy's pain and why he is able to survive it.

Zoro's sacrifice obviously means a lot to Sanji. When Zoro refuses to acknowledge his sacrifice, Sanji goes along with that and covers for him.

And of course he understands. The pain Sanji mentions here that Zoro is trying to spare Luffy from is the exact same pain that lead Sanji to give up on his dream of finding the All-Blue in favor of trying to repay his life debt to Zeff. Sanji wouldn't wish the guilt he feels for Zeff's leg on anybody.

Sanji shows a lot of concern for Zoro after this point up until the time skip!! He calls Zoro a hero to Brook, and tries to help Zoro deal with his excess injuries without drawing attention to them. Zoro is of course surly about it, because he's frustrated by his own limits. He got a taste of what Luffy goes through and it just made him more desperate to become strong enough to lighten Luffy's load.

I find their sort-of reset after the timeskip hilarious.

Sanji was already feeling deeply insecure when he got sent to the island of question your gender and sexuality-- things Sanji clearly considers very important to his identity. Since he can't bear to question himself, he relies on reacting combatively to things that challenge his masculinity. Kicking them, mostly. I'm sure he picked that up from Zeff.

Meanwhile, Zoro is THE most traditionally Masculine member of the crew besides Sanji by a long shot (Franky is in 3rd place as a self-professed freak with blue hair and pronouns who refuses to wear pants). Zoro is buffer than Sanji. And seemingly more stoic than Sanji. And Zoro has cool scars and uses three swords and his muscles are bigger and half the time he's not even wearing a shirt.

This masculinity contest between them was present before the timeskip too, but it's really the only good explanation for the extremeness of Sanji's sour attitude the moment he lays eyes on post-timeskip Zoro and remarks, aloud, "He's back. Like I really care..." after how much appreciation Sanji showed for Zoro's sacrifice before the timeskip.

Sanji WOULD be annoyed at his crewmate's seemingly effortless, unshakeable masculinity after two years of doggedly avoiding non-consensual crossdressing and constantly fighting for his life to outrun gay thoughts.

Zoro's side of things so far post-timeskip seems a bit less wound-up than Sanji. Zoro never takes an insult sitting down, and also just enjoys making snide remarks, so if Sanji's going to argue with him there's no reason for Zoro not to argue back.

This is why I am a gay Zoro truther, even if that gayness has nothing to do with anyone on the crew. Because its fucking hilarious if Sanji is one-sidedly trying to out-hetero-masculinity a literal gay man.

#1pc discussion #1pc #asks #zosan #1pc lb #zs

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sillypiratelife · 4 months

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Hmmmm, how can I explain it...

Zoro met Sanji as a shameless flirt, right? It's just that his first impression was of Sanji flirting with Nami. That's okay, he considers Sanji an absolute moron for allowing Nami to manipulate him, but to each their own.

The next woman Sanji meets (in front of Zoro) is Nojiko, Nami's sister. The curious thing is that in the anime, Sanji doesn't react to her until Usopp says she's Nami's sister. He's clearly fixated on Nami, which okay, none of Zoro's business and he would not pay attention to it in the middle of a real crisis.

The party after destroying Arlong Park? Whatever, it is a party, everyone is excited, blah blah blah. He has seen it all, doesn't even care when he's drunk and happy himself. Move on.

Zoro is not there to see Sanji with Carmen and when they meet Tashigi, they're running for their lives (and Tashigi tells Sanji to get a grip and leave her alone to fight Zoro, so it's funny). Btw, there's a whole filler arc that I won't mention here.

Then Vivi walks into their lives.

Sanji doesn't react that much to Ms. Wednesday at first. I think it's partially in Whiskey Peak when Zoro loses some respect for Sanji, since he was so busy flirting with 20 women to realize they were in a trap. When they're back in the Going Merry, Sanji quickly flirt with Ms. Wednesday (Vivi) and Ms. Sunday (Robin), but nothing serious.

When Sanji learns everything, there's a moment when he goes to tell Vivi that "I still have a chance to shine. Now that the sleeping prince is awake, your safety is guaranteed". Zoro looks annoyed in the background.

For me, that's the moment when Zoro decided to treat Sanji as a total moron. All the respect that he showed to Sanji in Arlong Park and later at Logue Town? Gone from the surface. There were now two women in the ship and Sanji was being insufferable with both of them. Sanji's obsession with women proved to be a weakness of his, one that Zoro wouldn't ignore.

Remember how in Whiskey Peak there's a whole silly part of Luffy and Zoro fighting to see who is the strongest one? And then how in Little Garden Zoro is the one who starts their rivalry?

Sanji is very polite and normal to Zoro when he tells him to pick some food while he's going for a walk. What does Zoro do? He says "It's okay, I will hunt something that you would never manage to catch". Did he do it to force Sanji to train? Did he mean the jab because he was irritated with how Sanji treated women and how it affected him in a fight? What even was the need to say that?

After that, they were never normal. Zoro would react to every dumb flirt from Sanji. It's like he made his mission to irritate Sanji as much as possible. In turn, Sanji would answer the banter with insults of his own. Point of no return lol.

I think Zoro knew exactly how good Sanji was, but it frustrated him that Sanji would allow women to manipulate him and walk over him just like that. He also hated the fact he wouldn't take women seriously— the base of Zoro as a character comes from the very dilemma that girls can't ever be as strong as men, it came from his childhood friend, the person that he carries both in his weapon and in his dream.

"Do you think a swordman should hurt a lady?" is a slap to Zoro's face and not in the right way even.

It makes you wonder, you know. If the story could ever explore what being a woman means and how Zoro and Sanji think of it, given their respective childhood traumas. If we'll ever see acknowledged the root of Zoro and Sanji's rivalry. If it wasn't for their view on how a man should treat a woman, how would they treat and react to each other?

Maybe that's why I'm obsessed with Zoro and Sanji's dynamic. It's fun to pick it apart.

#shan blogs about one piece!#roronoa zoro #one piece anime #black leg sanji

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that-ari-blogger · 8 months

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Ok, let's talk about Sanji.

I'm going to start by saying that the youtube channel MelonTeee has a fantastic video on this subject: The Tragedy of Sanji - YouTube Go check it out. I'm going to talk about some similar points.

(SPOILERS FOR ONE PIECE AHEAD)

I don't like Sanji.

Ok, that's a lie. "I didn't like Sanji" is probably more accurate, and the reasoning behind this is, I think, rather obvious. I thought his romantic tendencies weren't particularly funny (entirely personal opinion), so I was left with a guy who couldn't hold himself together when he was within ten miles of a woman (and I don't need to explain why the transphobia is an issue). I think Taz Skylar's more subtle take on this character is a lot easier to watch and enjoyable.

But Mr. Skylar isn't what sold me on this character. What sold me on Sanji, was a trait I picked up on during Arlong Park and that kept coming back up. Sanji, for all his faults (and again, there are many), repeatedly throws himself in mortal danger for others.

Now, this isn't an issue. This is a fairly generic heroic trait. But it is the regularity with which Sanji does this that caught my eye. It's his first response to any situation. He doesn't think things through, and he doesn't come to the conclusion that this is the only way to get out of a bind, he just steps into danger again and again.

Then, we get Thriller Bark and that one scene that everybody knows. In their video, MelonTeee highlights the line: "What good will come from your death? What will happen to your ambition?"

While MelonTeee goes into depth on the latter half of that, I'd like to quickly mention the former. There is an implication here, at least to me, that Sanji believes at least that his death will be a positive event and will keep the Strawhats going. Even in such a high-tension moment, that belief is heartbreaking.

I don't have time in a Tumblr post to give my entire thoughts on Cake Island, so I'm going to talk about one, small exchange. "Help me! Father!" "Why?"

To me, this single exchange is more impactful than the imprisonment and even the later confrontation, because it is more real. One piece is stylised to a fault, with fantastic action and people shouting over their own soundtracks and all that jazz. But there's none of that here. This is played entirely straight.

If you took away all of the fancy dress and the magic, this scene would hit just as hard. Not many people can empathise with being imprisoned for life, but a lot of people have experienced this. It's not outright physical abuse, not here, it's neglect. Neglect of a child Vinsmoke Judge brought into the world.

A frighteningly large amount of people have had a very similar exchange with one of their parents in their lifetime.

#one piece #rants #character analysis #sanji #vinsmoke sanji #one piece sanji #black leg sanji

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beanghostprincess · 7 months

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would you do platonic ships???? 👀 nami x luffy and nami x sanji. i think luffy and sanji would both be very supportive of nami after she comes out as a lesbian. every time a random guy tries to hit on nami, luffy runs and screams “SHE’S A LESBIAN!!!!” luffy is way too honest but he’s got the spirit

you're asking me literally the best things ever!!! i'm gonna kiss your forehead c'mere--

i'm INSANE for platonic ships. most people don't often pay attention to the beauty of nami's relationship with the guys (especially with sanji and luffy) since they're always being shipped romantically with her. they make me physically unwell. they're so so so important to me. if i could talk about platonic sanami and platonic lunami all the time without it constantly being seen as shippy, believe me, i would be the most annoying person on this site.

btw, i literally choked on my drink while reading what you said about luffy yelling "SHE'S A LESBIAN!!!!!!!!!" because it's so damn real and canon and it's so fucking funny to picture him just- running from one side of the room to the other while yelling that,, he's so protective. maybe too intense about it, but yeah, he's got the spirit!

luffy and nami's relationship is actually really important to me personally because her story and background really resonate with me. i cried so damn much watching arlong park,, not gonna go into detail here, because you all know how important their dynamic and relationship are in canon, but they make me ill. nami spent years without having any friends because she didn't let herself trust others and even less, let herself deserve to have friends. and luffy just appears like a motherfucking ray of sunshine and helps her get out of that toxic and harmful situation she's in. she's herself with the crew. she can be rude and harsh sometimes to keep them in place and yet they still see her as the sweet, fun, caring girl she actually is. she is a thief and a menace and a bit of a bitch (in the BEST sense of the word) and they all know she's always going to be there for them. and she knows they're going to be there for her, too, always. the fact that luffy is always looking after her and protecting her no matter what? the way the first thing that always comes to his mind whenever they're in danger and he has to leave, is to tell either sanji or zoro to look after her for him? it makes me want to curl up and sob. it's not that he thinks she's weak, it's that he knows her fighting style is more to defend herself or others only when needed, and he won't let her be in danger like that. she's the brains, he's the captain. that's HIS navigator. i love the platonic possessiveness of it all. i love them clingy and sappy and holding each other whenever they are sad and always supporting each other. currently, i'm watching wci (everyone knows this because i'm the most annoying sanji fan so ofc i won't shut up) and the fact that she didn't run away when luffy told her so and stayed with him to fight?? the way she stays with him after the fight with sanji???? they are so,,, i just love them so damn much i'm gonna cry. and this is just the example i choose NOW because i'm in a wci mood, but i could talk about them for hours.

i love platonic clingy lunami. i want him to hug her like a koala. i want her to kiss his forehead when he's asking for attention. i want luffy to come to nami when he's feeling bad about something. i want nami to fix the straw hat while he sleeps on her lap. i want them to sleep together and cuddle and-- that scene in punk hazard where she casually feeds him???? that was so cute (this happening while the kids where literally crying makes everything funnier lmao). they understand each other so so well and they're both so protective of each other,,, it's INSANE. it also has to do with the fact that the romance dawn trio will always be at least a tinyyyy bit more personal and intimate than the others, being the first crewmates and all. never forget strong world for giving me so much lunami content. luffy loves her so damn much,,,,,,

she puts luffy in his place whenever he's acting a bit too stupid and he supports her no matter what. i think that's beautiful. because she's always labeled as scary when she gets mad (i mean, understandable) but he still sees her for who she actually is. and it's,,, so,,, so beautiful,,,

and as a lesbian??? i'm not gonna go into detail as to why lesbian nami is important to me because then i wouldn't shut up in ages, but she is so so so so personal to me. and luffy would be so damn supportive of her it makes me cry. in fact, i love the headcanon of the monster trio being all protective when it comes to men flirting with her. because she might know how to handle men to get what she wants, but sometimes guys just fucking suck and they will try to have their way with nami,,, and uhhhh that dude will probably end up dead. don't flirt with nami if you're a boy because you'll probably most definitely die in the hands of these three protective boys.

besides, there's nothing more personal and intimate than the friendship between an aroace and a lesbian. mutual 0 attraction to men, and full room to act clingy without it having to mean anything. i love them to death.

and yeah,,,,, sanami. platonic sanami. don't get me started on platonic sanami, i might actually die before being able to finish writing this whole thing.

i just,,, they make me,,, they make me so happy,,, i,,, cuteness and happiness overload,,,

i hate that i can't talk about them without people thinking it's romantic. I DON'T WANT THEM ROMANTICALLY I WANT THEM TO BE CLINGY AND SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER IN A VERY PLATONIC HOMOSEXUAL WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there's nothing more powerful than a lesbian and her golden retriever simp who's also a wet cat and would do anything for her. and oh! turns out the guy is actually very very genderfluid and bisexual and has so much trauma regarding gender and sexuality comprehension that she needs to help him get out of that mindset.

tl;tr: sanji bi trans is so repressed he needs a lesbian to help him.

the vinsmokes fucked up his mindset so much and tbh zeff's views on masculinity (love him tho, he's a great dad) didn't help either. but it's fine because nami is there to help him!!!! her!!!! them!!!! any pronouns sanji, woo-hoo!!!! ivankov would be proud. (projecting my genderfluid lesbian ass in this whole thing lmao)

anyway, the thing with platonic sanami is that i think they're perfect for each other. he simps for her but not only because she's pretty, but because everything nami is. he's constantly talking about her brains and strategies and he knows how fucked up her life has been and how strong she is. he admires her so so much,,, and tbh in my mind, where transfem genderfluid sanji is a thing, they admire her bc that's exactly how they want to be (using all pronouns here for her bc why not, c'mon). and nami might be a bit uhhh tired of sanji's behavior, but she loves him nevertheless. she went through so much during wci, watching sanji fighting with luffy and having to witness it??? when she slaps him in the face and doesn't use 'sanji-kun' like she always does?? it killed me. it hurt worse than a fucking breakup. and then she tells him that she won't let him go away again, and,,, it broke me. she cares so so much for him. she knows he's had a very fucked up life too. they make me go insane. he respects nami and cares about her opinion the most, and i'm tired of people always seeing their relationship as "funny simping guy x mean girl" NO!!!! SHUT UP!!! THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO SO MUCH!!! THEY DESERVE TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER!!!!

forever thinking about how the code for the fridge is nami, robin and sanji's birthdays combined. they literally just- sat together and thought about a code. and they're the only ones who know this. it's so cute,,,

he respects and admires nami, and nami understands why he acts the way he does. and it's,,, so beautiful,,

i think that once she's helped him figure out his identity, they'd be even closer. i'm a sucker for clingy platonic relationships, as you can see, and them finally being able to be clingy would make me so happy. i enjoy sanami fanarts and content only bc i see them like that. they're so real. lesbian/trans bi solidarity.

also, we talk a lot about usopp and nami being gossiping besties, but i think nami and sanji would be the same. they judge you from the other side of the bar. they talk shit about you. be scared of the judgemental gays.

thriller bark. whole cake. skypiea. they have so many moments there,,, they make me so happy. whenever sanji saves her or whenever he's worried sick about her? i die. people die. it's me i'm people and platonic sanami kills me every time.

and you haven't asked me about these but shout out to usopp and zoro also being nami's protective besties. they all love her to death. don't hurt nami, you'll probably die.

#this is so long i am so sorry #honestly that's on you for asking me about my fav platonic ships /j /lh #god i love them so much #nami #black leg sanji #monkey d luffy #platonic sanami #platonic lunami #one piece

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criptochecca · 1 year

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Me and @antibioware made a tier list of the One Piece arcs (based it on a video a saw on youtube)

Under cut some explanation for every arc

ROMANCE DAWN: A - Strongest first chapter to date in a manga, for me. Introduces Zoro and immediately makes you understand what kind of character Luffy is.

ORANGE TOWN: B - It does introduce us characters like Nami and Buggy and shows us the “relationship” between Luffy and his hat (this is a secret tool that will come in hand later) and the dog part made me cry, but it’s a pretty forgettable arc with not that much going on especially from a character perspective

SYRUP ISLAND: B - It does a very well job at introducing us to Usopp but unfortunately the villains are really weak

BARATIE: A - The first big arc. Amazing introduction of Sanji, it gives us a taste of what expects the pirates in the Grand Line with the introduction of Mihawk, it has the best Zoro moment to date and it has Nami’s betrayal which will bring us to Arlong Park. The only weak spot is, again, the villains.

ARLONG PARK: S TIER BABY - I don’t think I need to explain why Arlong Park goes in S, but Nami backstory is great and tragic and she is sort of reintroduced to us with a lot more nuanced and complications than the start. We completely rediscover her character. And we sort of also rediscover Luffy in 1) how he’s completely aware of his shortcomings 2) how far he’s gonna go for his friends

LOGUE TOWN: A tier - Maybe an A tier would sound weird for what is basically a short “transit” arc, but I think Logue Town completely deserves it. It introduces us really important characters and it’s filled with symbolism. Also it’s fun.

REVERSE MOUNTAIN: B tier - Not a bad arc but definetly something that won’t give the greatest impression on you. We all love Laboon but that’s pretty much it.

WHISKY PEAK: C tier - And I say it with my heart heavy because it’s the “official” start of the Alabasta Arc, it introduces Nico Robin AND it has one of my favourite SillyZoro moments, but it’s also an arc that passes and the fight between Zoro and Luffy has no sense to exist.

LITTLE GARDEN: B tier - It’s a lot of fun but mostly just that

DRUM ISLAND: B tier - We sort of had a fight out on this one but B won over A simply because the villain is really too fucking stupid and narratively weak.

ALABASTA: A - Some would say that actually Alabasta encompasses the three arcs above as well, which are all sort of little arcs to get to Alabasta, but even considering what happens in Alabasta on his own, this Arc stands great. Crocodile is one of the great villains of One Piece and the first one Luffy has to defeat using his wits instead of just his fists. It introduces some great characters like Ace and Nico Robin and a lot of narrative elements that will be picked up again later in One Piece. Plus the moment in which Tashigi and Smoker are forced to pick the Pirates side is emblematic.

JAYA: B - Jaya is yet another transit arc and not super memorable except for a few moments: Nico Robin getting in the crew, Luffy and Zoro being beaten by the pirates without responding and the introducton of Blackbeard. I love Zoro nagging at Nico Robin, a pretty good arc but also not particularly memorable.

SKYPIEA: C - So now we enter complicated territory. Because I don’t particularly hate Skypiea (and here is when I started rating arcs by how they treat Nico Robin and Cole got mad at me). Enel is a pretty funny villain and the fact that he’s basically invincible if it wasn’t that Luffy is his natural enemy because he’s made of Rubber is a pretty cool idea (and also gives us the immortal Enel Face that will accompany us throught the rest of One Piece), introduces some new interesting mechanics, foreshadowing Haki, and some really interesting parts with Nico Robin and the Poneglyph and the way Oda deals with the colonization theme could be a lot worse. UNTIL the fucking Noland and Kalgara backstory. That is white man savior narrative 101 and alone it drags Skypiea down from a Solid B to a C

LONG RING LONG LAND: C - A filler arc until it is not. And gooddam when it is not it’s really good. Unfortunately there is all the rest.

WATER 7: S - Water 7 is not my favourite arc but it is objectively the best arc. It’s Franky and Usopp and Nico Robin arc. The story is intense and filled with government conspirations. The first actual fight inside the crew is intense and perfectly places and completely understandable and you wished it didn’t happen and it’s heartbreaking. And while dealing with all of this, Nico Robin it being taken away to Enies Lobby

ENIES LOBBY: S - I want to live.

THRILLER BARK: B - Thriller Bark is uuh. It’s okay? It doesn’t add much to story or character development until Kuma arrives, Brook is sort of the weakest link of the crew and Moira is a forgettable Villain. But it is hilarious, it finally has a group fightand the Nothing Happened moment. I think it’s one of the arc one would reread or rewatch without effort but that doesn’t give that much as the good one piece arcs.

SABAODY ARCHIPELAGO: A - A great arc that adds a lot to the worldbuilding of One Piece and has the crew completely annihilated at the end

AMAZON LILY: B - It does a good job at showing us how important is the crew to Luffy, the fight scene is great but could be a lot better all around.

IMPEL DOWN: A - Absolute adrenaline rush from start to finish, it just lacks that ultimate emotional climax that would shoot it to S but a great arc

MARINEFORD: S - And let’s not talk about it shall we

POST WAR: A - The backstory of the ASL brothers is great and gives us a whole new context to Luffy and Ace relationship and seeing Luffy going into a crazed self harming rampage after Marineford and then think about his friends is heartbreaking. A+ tears

RETURN TO SABAODY: C - It’s a transit arc that’s pretty okay on his own, unfortunately it introduces the very bad post skip designs

FISHMAN ISLAND: D - So one would think this arc is bad because it’s a follow up of Marineford but it’s just bad on his own. The oppression narrative is confused and not that great, Otohime and Shirahoshi are insufferable, Sanji is undergoing one of the worst character assassinations in the history of mangas and the fucking nosebleed gag goes on for 20 chapters. Not only it’s boring and bad but it’s not even funny. There is nothing funny to make up for it. I’d rate it lower than D.

PUNK HAZARD: C - The peak of Oda’s misogynist writing. I’d rate it lower than C but there are a few good moments and Law’s reintroduction and seeing him being forced to interact with the strawhats is actually kinda funny. C-

DRESSROSA: A - I was actually scared this moment would never come, but the post skip is good again. Doflamingo is the best One Piece villain, Law’s backstory is tragic, the worldbuilding is really good but above all, it’s really fucking funny. The weakest spot is that the underuse of the female characters and it’s ongoing senseless sexualization of women drags it down to a A- for me

#one piece

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misqnon · 1 month

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its march :3 (side note i think its funny that i chose march .. as a name.. to call myself. because i just like the name (and secretly i was thinking of the character from to you, my immortal/to your eternity) but it.. it was just march. march just ended. i only realized this connection yesterday.)

you would be CORRECT..!! see its Obvious. i think i would be way more embarrassed to pretend like ur wrong or gloss over ur guess bc thats ... .. the 2nd one just proves u right and the first one... is... is humiliating .... i will not go off anon tho this is comfy for me <3 (another side note. 20 minutes after giving myself a name . for ease. i was so embarrassed and ashamed LOL. like wow... i named myself when its already so obvious who i am....)

im really not much of a shipper tbh, especially with the straw hats cuz i love to see them as having familial relationships or just being real close friends but!!! one piece has definitely awakened something in me.. to ship characters. bc before i would never ship characters in media. i have.. various reasons for this. but the one piece fandom is so into shipping it has rubbed off on me a bit. i cant help it. i love hannyabul x magellan.

zoro is the perfect mix of cool and goofy, its so wonderful!!! using 3 swords is like the silliest thing in theory and then he busts out the most awesome moves with it and its like wow .. look at him. i cant imagine being zoro levels of bad at directions tho that is... impressive... /lh. DO PEOPLE CHOOSE LEAST FAVORITE STRAW HATS??? HOW DO THEY DO THAT .. tbh i dont consider people old til theyre in like their 50's or 60's (partly bc my parents are nearing their mid 60's and i see them as eternally youthful) but i feel like old man yaoi can include middle aged men!??? also tbh rayleigh (when hes old man-ified...) is really hot.. like young rayleigh is fine but old man rayleigh??? wow....

GOOD THING UR IN WHOLE CAKE ISLAND ARC SO U GET TO SEE KATAKURI SOON!!! cuz omg.... he is so lovely. he deserves so much love. crocodile is so popular!! i get the hype n i used to love him like that too.. but my interest has faded.. 😔 i do love the trans man croc and crocodad theories tho theyre so fun even if theyre not true. i love to imagine dragon (oh my god imagine dragons ...) as a guy whos still in love with his ex. i think that would be so silly .. and if his ex was croc??? that would be even sillier ... theyre perfect.

don't worry i have the sanji tiktoks saved for the day i work up courage 🫡!! pls DO send me more op stuff i love it !!!!

YES YES YES YES THATS THE WXACT VIDEO I WATCHED AHIFHSDJD!!! i was rly converted into a dub liker by That Alone!!!!

im real picky about voice acting tbh and japanese just makes it easier for me to like bc they have way cooler sounding voices. that "luffy... help me" scene with nami in arlong park will forever sound better to me in the sub rather than the dub . the voice crack!!! the helplessness!!! the way she squeaked it out, like it was the most painful thing to ask for help!!! ugh... big fan. i looked it up just now to rewatch and yeah i cried a bit 😎. also i just noticed her tears are rolling down her neck that is so real. anyways back to luffy,, yeah his voice acting makes him sound kinda more like... mature?? perhaps?? and he is a guy with endless youth and childish energy.. i dont like a luffy that sounds like. a teenager ... ofc i say all this having never watched a full episode of the dub so i could be super off LOL

the live action seems to play nami and zoro as much bigger grumps and ive heard zoro doesnt joke around much and im.... honestly rly worried to watch and be disappointed by that. although tbh nami not being super goofy makes sense to me .. zoro... my beloved zoro.. mackenyu (?) is a perfect zoro in terms of looks so i just hope i love his characterization of him too!!

i watched the april fools video!!!! i recognize that blob but idr the comic name.. very silly though i loved it. i guess i will have to do some pirating.. yarr mateys.

i can sit and watch shortform content for like 6 hours straight but as soon as i feel like i have to pay attention because im afraid of missing any context. suddenly my brain is out the window. i cant handle it anymore. ALSO IVE NEVER SEEN THAT COLORSPREAD??? DOFFY TONGUE PIERCINGS CANON??????

i ALSO loved younger joseph like he was so fun and goofy!!! and then he comes back as a gross old man who not only cheated but cheated with a MUCH younger woman.. and i was like wow!!!! suddenly you are disgusting!!! i will never pity that old man >:( (i will a little)

taking sanji away from oda and dressing him like a doll is Perfect. wonderful analogy. i love it. i keep thinking about dressing characters up like dolls so its topical to me specifically.

admittedly even as a transmasc person i didnt pick up on yamato being a trans guy at first. but all i had to do was look it up.. and read some ppls thoughts on it . and now i will defend him to the ends of the earth. its not hard to learn things that change ur perspective in this age of the internet !! i also agree he's done yamato dirty a few times . honestly when i see people listing reasons yamato isnt trans as like "he was drawn in a womens spread" or "he only identifies as a man because he idolizes a man" its. first of all its so exhausting. bc they always say the same few things. but also!! why did oda have to do him dirty like that!! 😭😭. i genuinely think that him being in a womens spread is probably just transphobia on oda's part (yes i think u can be transphobic towards ur own characters). but the whole "hes not trans because he wants to be *this* man not just *a* man" is so Weird?? like i usually love things being up to readers interpretation (even/especially lgbtq rep tbh) but i think yamato being trans could have been left up to interpretation in a better way?? or like he couldve just said "im a guy" at any point without the whole "because of this man i idolize" thing tacked on. idk if any of this makes sense. I'm trying to explain without spoiling anything LOL. hopefully i succeeded and ur still mostly spoiler free..

i havent written for any op characters before but i can imagine how easy it is!!! and somehow people still butcher their characters LOL its fucking insane. (im bitter)

law!!! yes hes SUPER popular. tbh i liked him real quick after the timeskip. it didnt take much for him to become one of my favorite characters!! all he has to do is make a shocked face every time he ends up going along with the straw hats antics. that is enough. sanji making sandwiches when theyre talking abt the alliance and law says "i dont like bread!!" and then his face of horror when he realizes what hes done .... its so beautiful... i love law and straw hat dynamics!!!

YEAH THATS FROM ONE PIECE PARTY. he actually shows up a lot in that series. i couldnt find all of it online but of what i could find... he was in almost every chapter. it was great. another amazing one piece party moment with law is. the sauna scene where they ask about his tattoos... i . i. i cant even explain how funny it is to me. my explanation could never do it justice.

actually a tierlist sounds Genius.. i am going to make a tierlist. wait for me... i will send it.. whenever im done .. although i dont kno w how to send images... ill find out .

choso is seriously the love of my life (i have many) hes so .. he is so special to me. i have been drawing for a large portion of my life but i spent a long time not taking it seriously out of fear . fanart has reignited my ambition to get better at art!!! its great. thank u hyperfixationions. thank u special interests. thank u audhd.

ok honestly ive never abt eye colors?? i saw recently that robins eyes are actually supposed to be brown not blue tho.. and like... wow... both are so lovely i cant decide what i like more.

to give u an answer though i will brainstorm what eye colors i think they all have!!

luffy: tbh.. like a light reddish brownish color.. i have reasons for this but i cant tell u yet.

nami: a soft orange. she is just so orange. or green!! like the leaf on an orange..

zoro: i... i have no idea for him??? grey?? white?? pink???? green?? im just listing colors?? actually white sounds pretty cool tho.. or maybe a super pale yellow?? that also sounds cool to me..

usopp: his eyes r definitely yellow or green

sanji: ive seen blue and brown for him but tbh as a blue eyed dirty blonde.. i like brown eyes better. i choose brown

chopper: theyre brown. he has big doe eyes. i love deer and their freaky giant eyelashed eyes.

robin: yeah blue or brown are both lovely on her!! tbh i loved her pre timeskip design especially bc the highlights in her hair matched her eyes.. and it was such a nice contrast with her skin color. so i have to choose blue.

franky: my blue eyed king. i love u american boy. they match his hair

brook (for funsies, despite never seeing his eyes): hes gotta have something wacky... rainbow eyes... rainbow.. yes rainbowm.. perfect . ok but actually if i were to choose id choose purple. light purple.

overall i think i chose pretty basic answers (lotta brown and blue). i love brown eyes they r so pretty . also this was very fun to think about???? thank u for asking??? pls tell me what ur headcanons r!!

no yeah i thought possibly it was a name but i was like “haha march anon. bc its march. yea”

jvbhc IT WASNT OBVIOUS WHO YOU WERE TO ME i did not have a guess at all until you said it was obvious and then i got a reply on my post that same day after that that had ur similar typing style and i was like. 👁️oh. KJFNKDSN but yes ur free to stay on anon if u want!! but my dms are always open too 👍

i was a big shipper when i was like. a teenager. and then i grew out of it UNTIL ONE PIECE…IDK WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED AND IM REALLY EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT </3 THOUGHT I WAS OVER THIS DAMN STUFF!! i jokingly refer to zosan as my one piece yaoi to my friends. they hate it. so do i,

p.s. the end of that paragraph. took me for a loop. i . WAS NOT EXPECTING HANNYABUL X MAGELLAN SKVNFKD BUT SO TRUE. SO TRUE ‼️

zoro IS a perfect balance its no wonder he’s so well liked (even tho...a lot of dudebros seem to ignore his silly side). whenever i ask someone their favorite one piece character im just expecting them to say zoro tbh. like yea that’s the correct answer. KDNKS not really but its definitely the one i see being most popular. and YES his 3 swords are cool enough but the earrings. does oda know how hard he went giving zoro 3 gold dangly earrings on one ear. like does he know

and you’re right about rayleigh. my friends tell me i am an old man chaser and therefore i am biased but u see my vision. he’s literally hotter when he’s old. it’s the silver fox look.

I KNOW I GOTTA BE SO CLOSE. AHHAGHHH. when i get to katakuri best believe the liveblog will go crazy

my interest has kinda faded with croc too as he hasnt shown up as much…but i know he comes back and when he DOES show up im always so pleasantly surprised i gotta list him. I 1000% think he’s trans (though i dont believe the part about him being luffy’s mom. however. i do enjoy the content that comes from it bc its an interesting concept. and dragon as his ex works weirdly well and is so fucking funny imagining dragon (oh my god i did it too…) missing his ex.

WOOHOO!!!! AWAITING THE SANJITOKS WITH BATED BREATH. i love that the brook video is making its way around bc its actually a joy. sub does sound “cooler” usually but it just sounds so foreign to me at this point (not foreign in the literal sense of being a diff language. like. just sounds Wrong after being so used to dub.) hold on i need to watch that scene sub now [...]

OKAY. SO. TWO VERY POWERFUL SCENES: i watched both nami’s “help me” at arlong park and robin’s “i want to live” at enies lobby in both sub and dub just now…and for those two in particular. damn theyre actually ALL GOOD?? LIKE ALL REALLY WELL DONE?? although. my favorite dub moment by far. is robin’s “i want to live” in dub. her english voice is my fav compared to the sub by far. if you havent heard it i HIGHLY recommend you check it out like please. for me. literally gives me chills every. time.

tbh that is one of my only major issues with the live action. i actually prefer live action luffy (DONT KILL ME. ITS ONLY BY A LITTLE BIT. INAKI IS JUST SO WONDERFUL AND ITS A COOL ALTERNATE TAKE TO HIS CHARACTER. HE’S..NICER. MORE KIND? BUT NOT IN A WAY THAT I FEEL ERASES MANGA/ANIME LUFFY) tbh the live action tweaked each character a bit. nami is more serious and grumpy, zoro is WAY TOO EDGY?? (zoro is the one i was least happy with) and isnt boisterous nor does he laugh enough (esp for early/pre ts zoro) he does great with the action scenes though. usopp is the closest but he feels more like. suave about his lying whether than nervous? i dont mind it tho. jacob is great. taz is a good sanji but melontee once called him “chad british sanji” and now i cant get tht terrible phrase out of my head KJDNFKVN it really is a fun ride tho!!

YES THAT COLORSPREADDDD i saw once that apparently the color spreads arent “canon” but whatever. thts not the point. the point is oda has drawn him with tongue piercings which mean he has considered doffy with tongue piercings. its canon to Me

im literally planning to write a fic where sanji goes back to kamabakka with the strawhats and gets forced into doing Kamabakka Island Things (read: gay shit) by Iva even tho he’s embarrassed bc his crew his there. rewriting kamabakka to be better is my favorite past time

u did a good job with the yamato explanation, i already was aware of a lot of that/dont feel spoiled at all! and i agree completely to all of those points. i feel like he Almost wanted to do trans rep but maybe wanted an out ?? or was too scared to go full send with it?? or is just being transphobic lmao. yea. yes to ur whole paragraph basically

law’s “i dont like bread” is iconic ksdnkdc. also ur description of “all he has to do is make a shocked face every time he ends up going along with the straw hats antics” just makes me imagine law pogging all the time. i think that alone just made me like his character more than before KSADNC

I LOOKED UP THE ONEPIECE PART PANEL. “PENIS DEATH” DFKN DF CHOPPA !?!?

if u make a tierlist i will make one…i might have made one b4 actually…i will look.

HELL YEAA i recently made a bingo for my fav characters across fandoms. u should tell me if u share any . and i think i have it turned on so people can send media in asks?? if not, my submissions are also open

and yes. keep drawing. always and forever as long as its fun!! dont be scared. ur supposd to enjoy it!

yea robin’s eyes are brown in the manga but blue in the anime! i think it was either an error or oda was like “yea whatever thats fine” lmao

luffy’s…”i have reasons for this but i cant tell u yet.” HELLO?? IM SCARED. personally i feel like he has dark brown!!

omg..i like nami’s canon brown eyes but orange or green would be cute!

i 1000% want grey eyes for zoro. i know whenever they stylize the irises in the anime they just color them grey for sanji and zoro but like. for zoro they actually really Work…though i think when u CAN see his irises in colored manga art they’re usually brown? the other most popular option i see people give him in fanart is gold/yellow tho!

VERY INTERESTING USOPP CHOICE?? I WAS GONNA SAY BROWN LIKE NAMI’S BUT MAYBE A BIT DARKER (lighter than luffy’s tho)

ive gotten so used to blue eye sanji bc thats how EVERYONE draws him but in the most recent colorspread…bro. tell me those arent brown. and i recently found other examples with oda colorign his eyes brown, so i think he has a situation similar to robin’s. i prefer brown eyes and brown eyed sanji is so hansome but like. i saw his blues so much that now im torn

i think i actually agree w you about robin for the exact same reason! and bc so many of his characters seem to have brown in “canon”

omg. i havent thought abt franky a lot but hear me out…pink?? i just think it would look good with his hair,

also i consulted this post for what i think their “canon” colors are (in manga)!

RAINBOW EYES FOR BROOK…GAY ASS OLD MAN…light purple would actually look good behind his glasses in his human form!

i might not be able to reply in the next couple days bc i always write so much in these that i sit down to do it at my laptop but i'll keep an eye out and get back to u when i can 🥸

ps...what are ur favorite arcs...

#asks #replies #march anon #should i call u april anon now /j #microphone effect #long post

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 3 years

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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!)

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #arc: romance dawn #arc: syrup village #arc: baratie #not japanese #long post

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Maffew

I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

My next guest in this series is Maffew, creator of the popular pro wrestling web series Botchamania. For my chat with him, he chose the Alabasta Arc, in which Luffy and his crew not only have to save a desert kingdom but also topple Baroque Works and its powerful leader Crocodile.

A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Alabasta arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Alabasta arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

Dan Dockery: So I guess my first basic question is, let’s say for some reason, I got to the end of Drum Island and I said “Well, One Piece ends here for me. This seems like a good finale.” What would you tell me to keep me going into the Alabasta Arc in one sentence?

Maffew: Well, after Chopper has made all the kids cry, you’ll need pickin’ up.

That’s pretty good! What was the impetus for you getting into One Piece? What made you want to jump into an anime that’s nearly one thousand episodes long at this point?

I think I tried watching it on YouTube back in 2009, and I just couldn’t get into it. At that point in my life, I wasn’t ready for a character like Luffy and his adventures, and I couldn’t wait for the villains he fought to kill him. So I dropped it. A year later, I’m in Germany and this wrestler ACH was doing a Q&A panel for this German wrestling organization called WXW. And ACH is a REALLY big One Piece fan, and even dresses up as Luffy in New Japan and Ring of Honor. And I was like “Hey, you watching JoJo?” because that was my thing at the time, and he was like “No, no. Just One Piece.” I said, “What else are you watching?” “Just One Piece.” And I’m like “Wait, what? Just the one?” But he was sellin’ it to me like he was a One Piece ad on QVC. And guys like Steve Yurko are so passionate about it, and if one person tells ya to watch something, you’re like “Eh, whatever,” but if five people tell you, you start to pay attention. So I’m gonna blame ACH and my good friend Steve Yurko for this.

What do you like about this arc in particular?

You get so much wonderful worldbuilding. They go to Alabasta, meet up with Mr. 2, and it’s one of those cool interactions where they’re meeting, but they don’t know who they are meeting exactly, like when they meet Blackbeard in Jaya. So later on, they’re like “Oh, it’s THEM!” There’s a real sense of everything not being really pre-determined at this point. It’s building everything through a bunch of pirates just doing stuff. Ace shows up, knocks out some assassins so he can get his royalty checks.

That’s such a funny way to put it.

Then we get Kung-Fu Dugongs, and they’re a pretty pure expression of One Piece. They’re all synchronized, they’re adorable, they play their part amid all the serious stuff, and they’re completely ridiculous, but they work anyway. And it’s with Alabasta that Eiichiro Oda starts to perfect the tropes that he puts into place throughout, with the new islands, the new leader who everyone loves but is actually a bad person, the crew having to deal with him and the Navy, them having to help put someone back in their position, etc. And even though, on paper, it reads like “Well, he’s gotta beat this dude and this dude and this dude,” it’s so much more chaotic and less formulaic than you’d expect. It keeps things interesting.

I agree. I like how he takes all of these pieces and he’s consistent with them, but Oda always plays around with how he sets them up.

But it’s all a foot massage before the real reason to watch Alabasta: Sir Croc.

Are you a big fan of him? That dude is so cool, conniving and powerful. He’s kinda the perfect villain.

Back when I was being miserable and first watching One Piece, I really liked him. I like the design, the sand powers that could actually pose a threat. I always appreciate it when a villain provides actual tension. It’s like why I think Goldeneye is still the best James Bond film. Because Alec Trevelyan is constantly reminding Bond “Remember, I could kill you. I’m from the same place as you. I can take your exploding watch and just, eh, I’ll stop that then. Thank you.” And Luffy loses twice to him in the three-match structure that really works here as it did for wrestling in the 70s.

How so?

So you’d have somebody like champion Bruno Sammartino and someone like Ivan Koloff or one of the Wild Samoans or Stan Stasiak. They’d have one match where the hero would beat Bruno by disqualification. Bruno’s still around to fight, but he’s lost. Luffy survives being thrown in the sand, but he’s been beaten. Then they have the second match, where Bruno would win because the villain would just give up and leave and get counted out. Luffy attacks Crocodile with water, but it’s not enough, and Crocodile just kinda leaves Luffy thinking it’s all done. And then Bruno would be like “Oh no ya don’t. Next time, you won’t be able to escape, because we’re gonna be in a cage match.” And then Bruno wins, just like Luffy wins by punching Crocodile up through that giant enclosed space. He escapes the cage.

It’s just so satisfying and that’s a great way to describe it. So, villains in the series have had extensive crew members before, but they haven’t been as recognizable and colorful as Croc’s crew, Baroque Works. Do you have a favorite member?

They’re all good in their own way, but at this point, I’m gonna go with Mr. 2. Eh, that’s probably too obvious an answer…

Mr. 2 is a lot of people’s favorite member.

Oh, who cares. I’ll go with Mr. 2. I like how Mr. 2 interacts with everyone, having fun with the boys and fighting Sanji with kicks but respecting him.

So, in this arc, there’s a lot of government intrigue and a revolution is about to happen, and everyone’s dissatisfied with their perception of the monarchy. How did you react to all of this political drama in One Piece?

Well, it’s great because you have Vivi, and you get to learn her motivations and because she’s on the crew, it gives you a reason to care for the crew and how all of the political intrigue affects them. Without her, you’d just hear about a war and say “Oh, sorry about that. Hope it goes well.” And with all this lore being thrown at you because you have Vivi and that connection, it’s adding to the main conflict, rather than distracting.

Yeah, Vivi really grounds it all with a personal attachment. Because otherwise it’s just savin’ the kingdom, which is cool and they’re good for it, but it doesn’t have the same impact. So, they did this back in the Arlong Park arc, but what returns here is the kind of 1 vs 1 match structure, where a member or members of the enemy crew are matched up against a Straw Hat or Hats. Mr. 1 has knife body parts, so he’s obviously gonna fight Zoro. Mr. 2 kicks and Sanji kicks, etc. What do you think about that kind of matchmaking, because it’s also a little wrestling-esque.

Yeah, right, like if you have D-Generation X fighting the Nation of Domination, you can’t just have The Rock fighting Triple H. Ya gotta have D’Lo Brown vs X-Pac and The Godfather vs Billy Gunn. I like it because the characters feel like they have to prove themselves, like Zoro’s a swordsman, and he’s gotta test himself against another swordsman. And Usopp does it when he fights Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas with Chopper, because they have a weird dynamic and they’re fighting two people and they have no clue what they’re up against.

So, at the end of the arc, they do the iconic “We can’t let Vivi become associated with pirates so we’ll hold up the X symbols on our arms in solidarity” pose. What did you think about that? Because it’s one of the most famous images in One Piece, and it’s hard to avoid it, even if you’ve never watched the series. Was that your first time seeing it?

It actually was. And I’m glad you brought this up because I was watching it and I thought “Wait, they’re just going? They’re not even keeping the duck?” And then they do that with the X and the original opening starts playing and I get goosebumps just remembering it. That really hit me. Because it finally got me really emotionally invested in the series. Made me feel a bit cheeky.

ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

So, considering you’re such a huge pro wrestling fan, your lightning round is gonna be a bit different. I’m gonna say a Straw Hat that’s in the crew at this point and you tell me which wrestler they’re the most like. You can also tell me what time period they’d fit the most in, since wrestler personalities tend to change. So, Luffy?

Gotta be Cena. Specifically? With Luffy’s attitude? Probably 2015 defending-the-United States-Championship John Cena.

Zoro?

He’s all business, he likes to fight. So I gotta go with Cesaro.

Sanji?

Going with Eddie Guerrero.

Usopp?

That character is all over wrestling - the underdog who isn’t very good and uses every trick in the book to win. Gonna go with MJF. He had one of my favorite matches of this year against Cody Rhodes and he just had to use EVERYTHING to beat him - brass knuckles, distraction, chairs, everything he could to get that win. But he could be MJF, could be The Miz, could be Mikey Whipwreck from ECW, take your pick.

Nami?

Hmmm. Becky Lynch.

Chopper?

KeMonito

Robin?

Oh, she shows up after being booed for ages and you’re supposed to like her, so 2019 Charlotte Flair.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with One Piece's official English manga translator Stephen Paul on his favorite One Piece arc: Skypiea!!

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: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years

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529-530: "The Fish-Man Island Will Be Annihilated?! Sharley's Prophecy!" and "The King of the Fish-Man Island! Neptune, the God of the Sea!"

A rare image of Hordy Jones stepping on a lego.

Only had time for two episodes tonight. Luckily, there was enough in them to write about: including the reveal of a villain (always exciting!)

His name is Hordy Jones. He is angry, he is a Fishman, he looks oddly like the guy from ACDC and he has... a dog slung round his neck?

Not to mention the prophecies, designer boutiques, royal invitations and awkward questions.

Dreams Do Come True in Fishman Island

The episode opened with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper rushing around the harbour town, looking for a human - any human - who could donate Sanji’s blood type.

Luckily, a pair of nice okama stepped up and saved Sanji’s life. Of course, when Sanji regained consciousness, he freaked out. Usopp and Chopper both had to remind him to thank the okama. Come on, Sanji. Not cool. They saved your life in a place where donating blood is an act of great political significance. Show a little gratitude, eh?

While taking a break from Sanji’s fool antics, Chopper examined a strange mark on Luffy’s arm. Turns out it was poison! Luffy took a hit from Hyouzou (how did I miss that?) Chopper declared it very potent and wondered how the hell Luffy survived it. He asked if Luffy had ever been poisoned before.

Oh boy, Chopper. Does Luffy have a story for you. It can be told in one word: Magellan.

(Seriously, though, did Luffy not tell the Strawhats what happened to him while they were sailing, or was it all so next level that being poisoned to near death was not one of the major highlights?)

Camie, who had come to see how Sanji was doing, took Luffy and Usopp back to the Mermaid Cafe dorms. On the way, they called in to see Madame Sharly: a beautiful shark mermaid with premises at the back of Mermaid Cafe. (I think she might own the cafe because she gave Camie the day off to show the Strawhats round Fishman Island?)

Not Unless You Play the Lottery

Oh, and she is also a dab hand at crystal ball fortune-telling and has been since she was little. She has correctly predicted a few cataclysmic events, including the war in Marineford and Whitebeard’s death. Recently, she’s stopped using the crystal ball because she can’t stand knowing bad things will happen. I suppose Whitebeard is the kind of guy that would go to war no matter what. I can’t see anyone convincing him otherwise, even if it was someone like Sharly, who knew he’d be killed in battle.

I wonder if she’s been burned before by using the crystal ball? She was all dramatic and stared off into the middle distance when she said, “It’s better not to know the future.” Something has clearly gone wrong in her life that she has that attitude to such a strong power.

Luffy, who seems to be living on another planet at the moment, said, “All very well and good but do you know how mermaids poop?”

That’s right, Luffy. Always asking those important questions!

It was round about then that Camie realised she’d forgot to deliver the clams to Pappagu! So they hurried off to find him at another, fancier cafe up in Fishverly Hills (lol), where they found Brook, aka Soul King, living it up with Pappagu and a couple of mermaid fans. (I love how famous Brook is in his own right and not just as a member of the Strawhats.)

There was a lot of good world-building here. Courtesy of Pappagu, who tried so hard to be a Good Exposition Starfish (why won’t anyone listen to him?), I now know that Merpeople don’t eat meat and fish (but Fishmen do). That King Neptune runs the Island. That, if a Merperson and Fishman marry and have kids, any children they have will either be a Merperson or a Fishman, not a harmonious amalgamation of both.

And the good news is that the Flying Dutchman/Captain Vander Decken stuff was not a random encounter character to be used once and disposed of! Not sure what his role will be yet, but Oda seems to have something planned, as he has been given backstory. Turns out Brook was right about the original Flying Dutchman crew being several hundred years old, but the original Captain Vander Decken reached Fishman Island and died there. The one manning the Flying Dutchman now is Vander Decken IX, his descendant. Apparently, the guy has a bounty and the whole island’s been looking for him for ages because he started sending unwanted love letters, packages and threatening marriage proposals that scared the princess to the point a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Looks like someone can’t take no for an answer, eh?

But the most interesting thing was this.

Big Momma’s House

Luffy noticed the sign on a candy factory. Pappagu explained that when Whitebeard had shuffled off his mortal coil, the role of Fishman Island Protector became vacant.

The position was filled by Charlotte Linlin (or Big Mom, to the rest of us): one of the four (now three) Yonkou. She hasn’t been mentioned since Thriller Bark, so I was excited for that miniscule teaser Oda gave.

Big Mom demands loads of candies as a fee for her protection. This confused Luffy. “But she’s protecting this land after old man Whitebeard died? Isn’t she a good person?”

Pappagu shrugged, as only starfish can. “Whitebeard didn’t demand anything, but maybe Big Mom sees protection more as a business.”

Interesting... she’s definitely a different kind of Yonkou.

But I didn’t have time to think about it for long because the action switched to Sharley, who had burst out onto the street, freaking out about Luffy, begging everyone she could grab hold of to “find Strawhat Luffy and throw him out of this country!”

Wait, what...? Wasn’t she happy to see them ten minutes ago? Why? What had caused the change of heart?

Apparently, she saw a vision of Luffy in her crystal ball: an image of him surrounded by fire. “At Strawhat’s hands, Fishman Island will be destroyed!”

Eh? Surely not. There has got to be some mistake here. There is no way Luffy would sink Fishman Island. Or at least not on purpose. That is the only way I could believe Sharley’s vision would ever come true.

Hmm....

This Guy Is So Hard, He Puts Sharks in Sweaters

Cliffhanger over, I steamed straight onto episode 530. After a dark and mysterious opening (more on that later), the action cut back to the Strawhats. Pappagu was explaining his job. Turns out he’s not just an adorable starfish on land: in Fishman Island, he is a Super Influencer: a rich designer and president of the Criminal Brand clothing company - a famous fashion line.

As they approached one of his shops, the Strawhats heard some serious, weapons-grade haggling within.

Of course it was Nami!

The harassed shopkeeper was pleased to see Pappagu. This lasted until his boss told the Strawhats they could have as much free clothing as they liked in return for saving his ass at Sabaody.

Pappag, that was a rookie mistake. Never tell pirates they can take as much free stuff as they want. THEY ARE PIRATES! xD

But that was not the only drama going down in Fishverly Hills. Outside, there was a commotion. The Strawhats, Camie and Pappagu went to check why everyone was shrieking.

King Neptune had arrived. The big, bearded, booming-voiced ruler of Ryugu Kingdom and Fishman Island. Golden rays of light bathed the spectators. I wondered why he kept mispronouncing the word “ham” in Spanish.

It was the first time Camie had ever seen him. The King only descended from the Upper World if there was trouble. He hadn’t brought guards. Very strange! Ryugu Palace is a sacred place for Fishmen. A celestial place where ordinary people aren’t allowed to go. Where the princes and princess live.

The King turned and said, “Oi, Megalo. Are you sure these are the guys?” When the cute, sweater-wearing shark popped out of nowhere and confirmed (I love that it has a name), King Neptune invited the Strawhats to Ryugu Palace.

“Is there good food there?” Luffy asked. Priorities, amirite?

“Of course. We’re planning a banquet,” Neptune answered.

Luffy couldn’t have accepted any quicker. He piled onto Neptune’s fishboat with Usopp, Nami and Brook, then looked back. “Aren’t you coming?” Camie and Pappagu were frozen in awe.

“We don’t deserve to go to Ryugu...”

That was the Wrong Answer. Rank and status does not impress or intimidate Luffy (and that’s one of the reasons I like him so much). He told them to stop being dumb and get on.

It’s funny how the rest of the Fishmen and Merpeople are so awed of Neptune, yet he was completely unbothered when Luffy invited some commoners to his house. Neptune is either more chilled than he seems, or he is up to something.

But not everyone is as enamored with King Neptune...

This Guy Is Not A Fan

This is the Fishman behind the New Fishman Pirates: Hordy Jones.

Now, I can’t help but compare this guy to Arlong. He’s a shark fishman and he has similar views to Arlong.

Hell, Arlong was the first real villain I took to in One Piece. The first real threat. He did horrific things. I’ll never forget that black and white scene when he shot Bellemere in the head. When Nami broke down and Luffy laid his straw hat on her head. Then there was the walk to Arlong Park. All those iconic moments.

Hordy Jones has big shoes to fill. It’s early yet, so I’ll wait until I’m further in to make any judgments. When I first watched Thriller Bark, I was kinda bemused by Moria, then he ended up one of my favourites.

This guy has got a hold of some Fishman Roids and likes necking a ton to gain super strength. Apparently, the Roids shorten lifespan but Hordy does not care. When a bunch of escapee human pirates were reported for desertion (they must have met Hammond and enlisted. Now I think I know why there haven’t been many visitors to Fishman Island lately!) Hordy ate a meaty fistful of those Fish Roids like they were candies someone had packaged up for Big Mom.

Then he swam off and deliberately crushed the deserters while handcuffed to show how strong he was. It was cool the way he punched through the ship like a cannonball. He also let the hapeless crew live because: “Humans killed Fisher Tiger and shattered Arlong’s dreams. The dark and tragic history of Fishmen Island will end with us, the New Fishmen Pirates. You humans, survive with cuts and bruises to show the people on earth what happened to you in the sea, and who you met. Tell them how horrendous it was. We’ll capture the centre of the world, Fishman Island, from the gutless god of the sea, Neptune, and drag you humans down to the dark sea bed. You’ll all learn that the Fishmen are the superior race.”

I can tell he’s ambitious, is this Hordy Jones.

Unfortunately, the very same humans who crushed Arlong’s dreams have just landed on Fishman island. And he knows it. I wonder what he’ll say to Luffy when he meets him. That should be an interesting conversation.

Oh yeah, and Caribou has escaped the barrel because some mermaids opened it. No idea what he’s up to now, but it won’t be anything good.

Say yes to drugs on Fishman Island!

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #monkey d. luffy #usopp #tony tony chopper #sanji #brook #nami #hordy jones #camie #pappagu #sharly #king neptune #vander decken #big mom #charlotte linlin

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creative-type · 7 years

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Chapter 218 is Amazing and Here’s Why (Continued)

So I had intended to finish my analysis of chapter 218 of One Piece in one post, but things were starting to run a little long and I split it in two. Here’s Part 1 for those who are interested. For the rest of you, let’s jump in where we left off

I know I say this a lot, but I really like that panel. For one thing, Usopp is using a desk lamp. Knowing him, he probably invented it himself just for the occasion.

On a more serious note, the entire feel of this scene is completely different than the last time the Straw Hats as a group interacted with Robin. I wrote extensively on chapter 114 here, but what I want to draw attention to now is how the tables have (supposedly) turned. Remember how Robin held all the power and was seated above the Straw Hats while tossing them around like a bunch of punks?

Yeah, that’s no longer the case. Robin is surrounded by Usopp, Zoro, and Nami, the three Straw Hats who distrust her most. And while Usopp’s too much of a chicken to be intimidating, there’s no mistaking Zoro and Nami’s body language. They’re closed off, guarded, and Zoro at least has his weapons close at hand.

At the same time, the way the speech bubbles are placed draw attention to Chopper and Luffy. You can barely make out a hand, and one might assume it’s Sanji’s, as he’s the only Straw Hat not visible.

Which, of course, it’s not

This set up is the impetuous for three hilarious pages where Robin one by one wins over the Straw Hats (except Zoro, because he’s a killjoy). I recommend reading the entire sequence to get the full effect. It’s classic Oda humor from start to finish that makes me smile every time I read it

(especially this)

Now going back a bit, Robin tells Usopp that she’s an archaeologist from a long line of archaeologists and has been on the run for twenty years. Never once in this entire “interview” does she lie. In fact, I can’t recall Robin ever lying in the entire series, except for when she didn’t give Crocodile Pluton’s location.

There are a couple of different reasons for this. For one, it’s convenient for the narrative if the audience doesn’t have to second-guess everything the main characters say. On the whole the Straw Hats are pretty honest people - Usopp being the obvious exception. (Nami is also a bit of a wheeler and a dealer, but since Arlong Park is more prone to using her good looks and force of will to get her way over straight-up lying. That, or stealing what she wants outright.)

Secondly, Robin has had a bounty on her head for a long time. The Ohara incident was publicized around the world. There’s no reason to hide certain aspects of her backstory when it’s essentially public knowledge.

Still, it’s interesting to note that the one Straw Hat who is known world-wide as a demon who has betrayed every group she’s joined tells the truth here. It’s obvious that in addition to winning the Straw Hats over, Robin is using her ability to direct the attention away from herself. One might even suggest that Robin tells Usopp she’s an assassin to rattle him enough to avoid more personal questions. She does a masterful job of using each of the Straw Hat’s weaknesses against them.

It becomes more apparent later on that Robin is an incredibly private person. When Chopper and Sanji are looking for her on Water 7 they don’t know where to even to start, because there are no ancient ruins about, and that’s the only place they can think of where she would go.

Now, this falls more into the realm of theories and head canons, but since Robin’s whole dream focuses around finding The Truth and since her whole life has been ruined by vicious slander and falsehoods, I would imagine that Robin hates lying more than the average person. She will misdirect, avoid questions, or tell bits and pieces of well-known information without giving context, but she won’t lie.

Moving on, Robin uses the same intelligence and playful nature that was established in chapter 114 to avoid any more of Usopp’s questions (consistent characterization, gotta love it) before having a private word with Zoro. I like how Robin doesn’t even try the same tricks she used with the rest, because I think she knows it won’t work. Instead she addresses him more or less as an equal.

Assuming this is a nuanced and accurate translation, when Robin says “This isn’t that bad” we can make the assumption that she thought it would be bad. It’s understandable that she would think this way - the Straw Hats were her enemies not too long ago - but it brings up the point that Robin willingly stowed away on a ship she knew she wouldn’t be welcome because she had no place else to go. When Zoro affirms that the Straw Hats are basically a bunch of dorks, Robin smiles.

Now Robin smiles an awful lot for someone who wants to die. It’s basically her default expression, and it’s nothing but a front to hide her real feelings. She even smiles when she’s just been stabbed and is about to be buried alive after living a miserable, meaningless life without accomplishing anything she’s ever set out to do. That’s one deeply-rooted defense mechanism.

This is the first time we see Robin really be happy, and her surprise at learning that the Straw Hat Pirates are fun-loving and cheerful even when traveling with a former enemy is the kick-start to Robin’s character arc.

Because make no mistake, the Robin who joined the Straw Hat Pirates was the same Robin who joined Crocodile. All the stuff at the beginning of the chapter helps flesh her out into a fully-realized character instead of a cardboard Vivi replacement, but at this moment Robin’s beliefs about the Straw Hat Pirates are challenged, and a character can’t change if they aren’t challenged.

There’s a cute Zoro-pouty face to that ends this scene, and our focus swings back to the Straw Hats as a whole. An undetermined amount of time has passed because now they’re talking about the weather and Zoro is back to lifting weights

I don’t know if you can have foreshadowing that’s paid off in one panel, but Oda doesn’t waste a beat with the little clacks of wood against wood. For the second chapter in a row there’s an amazing twist at the end that no one could have seen coming. I already shown this spread in my last post, but it’s so epic it deserves a second viewing

I can’t remember if this is the only time Oda has used a real life quote in One Piece, but if not, it’s one of very few. And honestly, what could be more appropriate for a series like One Piece? The whole composition of this page is beautiful, and all the little details take my breath away. I really don’t get it when people say Oda’s art is ugly, because they’re wrong.

Anyway, things get crazy for a couple of pages while the Straw Hats try not to capsize. Oda has this thing he does when he uses square or rectangular panels for his dialogue and uneven shapes like trapezoids for action scenes. I think that’s pretty standard procedure for comics (I’m by no means an expert) but here Oda helps sell the chaos by composing his pages so it feels like the panels are tilting with the ship

There’s also a nice gag with Usopp that doubles as a character moment. Instead of grabbing hold for dear life Usopp sits and closes his eyes to pray, completely ignoring the problem in hopes that it goes away. It’s funny here when he gets a skeleton to the face, but it highlights a huge flaw that finally comes to a head during the Water 7/Enies Lobby arcs.

After that we get this sequence of panels

Please forgive my horrendous edit, but I wanted to show how the speech bubble fits into curve of the wave in the second panel and leads the eye through the rest of the sequence even though the individual images don’t really relate to one another. Oda constructs this scene in such a way that we feel the chaos, but he does so in an orderly fashion. Each panel gets smaller and smaller - similar to the “fade to black” technique I talked about previously, and it leads directly the last splash panel on the page

The chaos ends just as abruptly as it began. The Straw Hats are mystified, and, honestly, Oda could have ended the chapter here. It’s such a high note, a good dose of Grand Line craziness after so much focus on the crew. But Oda isn’t satisfied with stopping here. He ends the chapter with what I believe to be one of the best story hooks in the series, tied only with Zou for sheer “WTF, the Straw Hats are going where?” moments in all of One Piece.

Skypea isn’t my favorite arc in the series. A lot of people say the same. But if you can pretend that you’d never read/seen what was coming next and take the end of 218 for what it is - and that’s pure hype - then you’ve got to admit that Oda has done his job.

So that concludes our look into chapter 218 “The Log Pose and Why It Is Round”. To summarize my thoughts on the chapter and why it’s amazing

Ships fall from the sky

Oda never forgets

But he does lure us into thinking he does

Ships fall from the sky

Robin is established as a “protagonist” without necessarily being a “good guy”

Symbolism

Excellent page composition

Gags that reveal character

Consistent characterization with hints of further development to come

and last but not least

10. Ships falling from the sky

(Thanks to everyone who has the patience to read this far. Next I’ll continue my Nico Robin study with chapter 253, specifically looking at Robin’s place in the Skypea arc and how Oda prefers stealth development over big character moments. See you next time!)

#One Piece #Eiichiro Oda #Analysis #Nico Robin #Straw Hat Pirates #Writing #Manga #Character Study #creative-type analyzes

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sanjiafsincedayone · 7 years

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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. :)

#monkey d. luffy #character analysis #one piece #StrawHat Crew #nakama #zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #chopper #Nico Robin #franky #brook #manga #relationship analysis #eiichiro oda

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tigerxfox · 6 years

Text

ZoSan colored panels

Made this ‘cause I have no life and also ‘cause I already had the panels for a gift I was making for a friend of mine

Largely helped by stillarium’s ship manifesto

This probably has been done to death but I was bored so here it is

First up we have Sanji confused by Zoro’s determination (chapter 52)

Then, he remembers what Zoro said before and desperately shouts his thoughts about Zoro’s match with Mihawk, which eventually will inspire him to also pursue his own dream I guess. Zoro is someone he just met but he’s clearly worried, also I think Zoro’s dedication to his dream makes Sanji feel bad for shuting down his own. Sanji before Zoro: “Just throw your ambition away”. Sanji after Zoro: talking about All Blue with a smile and joining Luffy’s crew to pursue his dream no matter what. (chapter 52)

Here we have him remebering Zoro’s (and Luffy’s) determination and his own lack of it (chapter 66)

First fight and also Sanji calling him Roronoa Zoro (chapter 76)

Here Sanji teases Zoro about his loss, even though he was pretty worried about him at the time (chapter 76)

Power couple (chapter 84)

Sanji is worrying about Zoro during his fight and even his enemy comments on that (chapter 84)

Zoro’s wound finally knocks him down and Sanji worries (chapter 84)

He receives a punch from his enemy because, again, he was paying more attention on Zoro than on his own fight (chapter 84)

He protects Zoro (chapter 85)

He puts himself in a very dangerous situation in place of Zoro (chapter 87)

Zoro covers for him (chapter 88)

Chilling after the fight is over (chapter 95)

Sanji casually asking Zoro if he believes in god (chapter 99)

They showing how similar they are (much like UsoNami) (chapter 102)

It’s funny ‘cause they switch places (chapter 103)

Sanji asks Zoro to bring him some meat and... (chapter 115)

The giants seem to relate to them (also being the best of friends and super competitive) (chapter 128)

Fighting over the size of their dicks hunts (chapter 128)

Celebrating together... (chapter 154)

...Until they’re bickering again (chapter 154)

Sanji overreacting to Zoro’s insult (chapter 158)

Supporting their son, Chopper (chapter 167)

And Zoro calling Sanji Prince <3 (chapter 168)

Zoro complaining about Sanji posing too much, even though he was pretty impressed (chapter 175)

And this scene (chapter 175)

Petnames (chapter 179)

Sanji making fun of Zoro’s lack of cleverness (chapter 183)

SYNC (chapter 200)

Serving real badass teamwork (chapter 200)

Sanji worrying about Zoro and...pretending he never worried at all (chapter 207)

Zoro half on Sanji’s bed while he sleeps on the floor... (chapter 212)

Their faces :> (chapter 213)

Completing each other’s sentences (chapter 221)

I love when Sanji agrees with him pt1 (chapter 222)

Their reaction (chapter 222)

Doing that thing with Chopper + Bickering (chapter 237)

Obeying the chef (chapter 253)

Eating together (253)

When Zoro decides who bottoms is the ball (chapter 309)

Love their annouciation together as a duo (chapter 310)

Zoro calling him handsome :> (chapter 310)

Prince of idiots is a classic (Wasn’t it prince of aho kingdom?) (chapter 310)

More bickeringm of course, and I love that they’re both fighting with their legs (chapter 310)

Sanji getting distracted by Zoro (chapter 310)

I don’t need you. (Even though we’ve teamed up lots of times before and had no problem with that) (chapter 311)

Finally they quit being stubborn iditos (well, for now I mean) (chapter 311)

Best sandwich ever (and classic nicknames) (chapter 312)

Best combo ever (chapter 312)

Back to being stubborn I guess (chapter 313)

Zoro is totally NOT worried about Sanji. (chapter 367)

Poor Sanji, I can’t stop laughing tho (chapter 436)

Their faces :> (chapter 447)

Some teasing after Perona’s negative hollow of course (chapter 448)

I love when Sanji agrees with him pt2 (chapter 449)

Their shadows’ only memory (besides women and kenjutsu) is fighting with each other (chapter 468)

Sanji protecting Zoro (very similar to when he did it in Arlong Park) (chapter 484)

This to me is very different than when Zoro takes Luffy’s place, because he said it was the only way to protect the whole crew and because Luffy is the captain. Even though Sanji and Zoro are nakama and supposed to be equals, Sanji literally thinks Zoro’s dream is more important than his. Zoro’s life is more important than his own. (chapter 485)

First thing on his mind: Zoro of course (even with his precious ladies being injured) (chapter 485)

Just...this (chapter 485)

I just love how tormented he looks on this and him thinking bout Zoro and keeping his wish. (chapter 486)

Brook talking about how they *moved him* and assuring Sanji he was great too (some fans should learn that actually) (chapter 486)

One of the scenes that makes me laugh the most (also pretty sure Sanji calls him Zoro-kun) (chapter 497)

Sanji tells Luffy not to worry about Zoro, even though he himself is worrying about him (chapter 510)

I don’t need your concern, baka (chapter 511)

Well, too bad for you Zoro ‘cause Sanji worries A LOT about you (chapter 511)

He leaves Nami to go after Zoro (even though he swore to protect her with his life and said only the ladies were worthy of his protection) (chapter 512)

Being a self-sacrificing idiot (512)

Carrying around Zoro’s bounty poster. “He a friend of yours?” “Boyfriend” (chapter 599)

Not that I care, OF COURSE (chapter 599)

Of course I’m not hanging around with you ‘cause I want to. Nope. (chapter 600)

Bickering after so long (chapter 600)

Sanji pretending Zoro is dumb (chapter 601)

Awesome combo (chapter 601)

I love this panel (chapter 601)

That lovely nickname and Zoro basically saying he would eat anything Sanji served him (chapter 653)

Also I hate this scene and Zoro represents me jealous as usual (chapter 653)

Bickering. Also, “The one idiot I can’t even share this happiness with” is there any point pretending Zoro’s straight by now? (chapter 665)

Cover art as The Tortoise and the Hare (Ch 672)

Sanji knows all about Marimo’s soft side (chapter 687)

Sanji going after his lost husbando (chapters 702 and 703)

Jealous marimo (chapter 703)

Damn it I lost my husbando the marimo. Also, he sure gets envy of the couples just as he loses his pair, doesn’t he? (chapter 703)

Jealousy reeks. (chapter 722)

Uchi no kokku = my cook or our cook Chapter (735)

Their last panel together ): I love that it’s Zoro’s thinking about him (chapter 723)

Bonus p&b (coincidentally the color stops when they are apart) EDIT: now with colour!

Trusts the cook (chapter 805)

Then he looks a little bitter...almost betraid (notice his trademark “I don’t care about him” pose) (chapter 814)

Funny how he never listens to anyones stories (he slept over Nami’s backtory and Law’s explanation of their plan) but went there specifically to listen to this one. But nope. He’s not worried. Not at all. But the captain knows it all ;) (chapter 815)

Anxiously waiting for their reunion <3

EDIT: It's been years since I made this post do I'm very very happy that now, in the future, we got such a nice reunion 💓 I'll try to update the panels whenever I can

Content crumbs from WCI, Zoro’s food in the bento he made while thinking about the crew and him nagging in Sanji’s memory just before “I want to go back to the Sunny” (Ch 850 and 856)

Sanji thinking about dear mosshead (Chapter 903)

This fed us so well while their reunion didn't come...fellas, is it gay to dream about your nakama? (Chapter 920's cover)

And now...*drumroll*

The moment we waited 5 whole years for (chapter 943)7

I think you mispelled boyfriend!

That time zosan adopted a child

jelly sanji (chapter 944)

and again XD

I love his impressed look (chapter 955)

53 chapters anticipating this teasing! (chapter 959)

In 2021 we had more ZS than all the previous recent years combined T_T Later I'll update the colored version, but, for now, b&w:

Exactly what says on the tin. Love that Zoro is just taking a nap, unaware (Ch 1011)

Protecting their son (Ch 1015)

Unconscious, dead to the world...still finds a way to argue with Sanji (Ch 1015)

I don’t usually do color spreads here but 2021 had some cute zs ones! (Ch 1011, 1019, 1081

Life changing stuff (Ch 1022)

They both share one single braincell and it is completely devoted to their captain (Ch 1022)

POWER COUPLE (Ch 1023)

Zoro immediately notices, asks about it and protects him (Ch 1023)

Back to back (Ch 1026)

I have so many questions... Remember the last time they spoke on the den den mushi and it was Zoro being worried af about Sanji??? And now...wow... (Ch 1031)

If I’m not myself anymore will you help me? Oda COOKED with this one...then pretended he never did. But it’s okay, the I trust you with my life and the safety of our family is enough for me. (Ch 1031)

+BONUS: Shougeki no Sanji is a spin-off written by the creators of Shokugeki no Souma and published in WJS just like One Piece. The chapters were later compiled into a single volume.

Chapter 2 reads exactly like a classic pre-ts zs dj and it is a wet dream for anyone who’s a fan of this ship, god bless:

#zosan #sanzo #zsz #one piece #zoro #sanji #zosanzo

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Greg Werner

Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

My next guest in this series is Greg Werner, the official One Piece columnist for Shueshia and Toei. For my chat with him, he chose the Arlong Park, in which Luffy and his crew take on Arlong and Nami officially joins Team Straw Hat.

A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Arlong Park arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Arlong Park arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

Dan Dockery: Sell me on Arlong Park, in one sentence. Let's say that I'd gotten to the end of the Baratie Arc, and I decided "You know what? I don't think this is for me." What would you say to convince me to keep going?

Greg Werner: I don’t know if I could sell a bottle to a milkman, but I’ll give it a shot ... Can it be in the form of a question?

Yes.

Do you want to know Nami’s backstory? And that seems so facile, but you’re coming off Baratie with the knowledge that Nami has betrayed the crew, she has left the crew, and she has stolen the ship. But it seems like she’s not acting freely, and she mentions the name “Bellemere.” So if you’ve gone through One Piece and you’ve come to that point, that’s simple enough.

So, you have Luffy who wants to go get her, an injured Zoro, Usopp, who's gotta be in a weird state, and Sanji who finds her extremely attractive and cool. It's a fun dynamic.

Zoro and Usopp are an interesting combination, they always are. Usopp always feels like Zoro’s little brother and Zoro kind of has to take a back seat due to injuries here. But I always find their interactions to be very sweet, and you get to see a kind side of Zoro, which is the antithesis of how he interacts with Sanji. And you’re getting hints of the rivalry between Zoro and Sanji here, one that ramps up to the hunting contest in Little Garden, at which point they cease to call each other by their names and just insult one another. And between Luffy and Sanji, you get these kindred spirits due to their dreams. Usopp and Zoro are a little more straight-faced about their dreams, but both Sanji and Luffy utter their dreams with these big smiles. So even though Oda has his pieces all over the map, it’s nice to see the freshness of all of them working together, which is something you won’t find in anything but the best shonen action series.

When you meet Arlong, he's kind of a jerk. He doesn't seem very nice. But he's one of the first One Piece villains who seems like a complete character. He's mighty but underhanded and deceitful. What does his introduction do for One Piece?

So I bought the first ten volumes for a co-worker because he’d seemed interested in it, and I said “There, you’ve got the first ten volumes. Now you have no excuse not to get into it.” And we’ve been talking about it recently, especially the little details, and we found something very interesting about Arlong. There’s one aspect of Arlong that is completely different from every villain up to this point and it’s how he treats his crew. Buggy starts off beating up one of his crew members. Part of Kuro’s plan is to kill his crew. Krieg only sees his crew as numbers and will gas them. Arlong, though, to members of his crew, he’s extraordinarily loyal. When he finds out that Zoro has beaten up his crew, Arlong is pissed. In some ways, he’s very similar to Luffy, but he’s despicable and terrifying and he’s one of my favorite villains.

That's a great point; Arlong is the first bad guy to have pride in his crew. Speaking of Arlong's crew, this is the first time we get the classic 1v1 where a Straw Hat member matches up against an antagonist crew member. When you first read this, because it's electric every time I watch it, how did you feel to watch it go full-on battle manga?

Zoro’s a beast. Sanji’s a beast. But Usopp? Facing down this insurmountable force? How is he gonna do this? And I think that’s the moment that got me. The others are awesome, and I love them, and they’re great, funny battles. But with Usopp fighting Chew, it showed Oda’s ability to shine in a certain way. Like Toriyama and Dragon Ball, Oda’s been very influenced by Jackie Chan, because Jackie Chan fights are awesome, visually stunning fights, but they’re funny. And that’s what Oda strives for sometimes. When you combine the action with the gags, you get something very special. You’re not just excited, but you’re laughing, too. And I think Usopp’s battles represent the pinnacle of that. It clicked for me there and it became a page-turner. It feels like what a shonen action series should be. And I enjoy Oda’s different takes on it, but he does it so well here.

I’m glad you bring up Toriyama and Dragon Ball because if you read any interview with any Shonen Jump author, they praise Toriyama. And it’s deserved. The man’s battle scenes and pacing have never been beaten and probably never will be. He’s the master. But one of the things I like about Oda is that he doesn’t try to copy them. Rather, he takes bits and pieces and spins it off into his own thing. Do you remember the Oda interview with Toriyama where he was like “I really liked Tao Pai Pai …”

From Color Walk 1.

And Toriyama was like “I ... drew that?” It’s the funniest thing in the world to me.

I think his exact words were “Now you’re getting into the minor characters.” And Oda’s like “MINOR CHARACTERS?”

He nearly killed Goku! But I dig that kind of reverence and inspiration. So Nami’s backstory — it’s heart-wrenching. Bellemere’s awesome. Makes you wish she was still around in the series.

Isn’t that perfect? That’s exactly what he goes for.

In the end, she refuses to say that she doesn’t have children, even after a bad spat with Nami. This flashback is one of my favorite ones. What did you get out of it and how did it take the story to another level? Because to match it, every flashback to come had to do some heavy lifting.

Every detail in this flashback builds on itself. There’s no excess. And maybe outside of the Chopper backstory, I can’t think of another backstory that is so full of necessary information that weaves into a single narrative. Every event evokes an emotion in the reader and pushes the story forward. Bellemere has the fight with Nami, makes dinner to reconcile with her, a Fishman crew member sees the cooking smoke from her house, the Fishmen find her, she refuses to discount Nami as her family, and she’s killed. It all comes together so neatly in three chapters, I think. Oda sets a reeeeeally high bar for himself, but to be able to match that through nearly a hundred volumes of story takes a special kind of manga genius. It’s also the very first time I cried while reading manga.

Next, we run through basically a Greatist Hits collection of One Piece moments: Nami asks for help, Luffy gives Nami the hat, the march to Arlong Park, Luffy slugs Arlong, the fights happen, Luffy brings down the Gum Gum Battle Axe, Arlong’s spine gets turned into clam chowder, etc. So much of what we think about One Piece is distilled into the final chapters of Arlong Park. So do you have a favorite moment from this climax? I honestly can’t pick.

I didn’t realize this when I first read it, and it took me several years to understand the importance of the giving of the hat. It’s one of only two times in the series that Oda uses five exclamation points in a row. The other one is when Luffy comes swooping in to save Vivi from Crocodile. Even the famous “dreams of mankind will never end” doesn’t get five. Luffy’s pissed and the best part about this is that he doesn’t have a single reason to be. He knows nothing about Nami’s history and actively refuses to listen to it. He takes a nap instead. He’s just ready to be a tool for her, so when she asks him to help her? YOU GOT IT. And then, the next thing he tells her, after the fight with Arlong, he tells her that she’s his crewmate. Nami has held this by herself for so long, she’s so strong, and she finally opens up to accept help from someone else. And it tells us that Luffy knows what kind of person you are, even if he doesn’t know that much about you. He might be dumb and reckless and strong, but there’s a spark there. He can read you.

One thing I like in the anime is that Nami is the first Straw Hat introduced in the story. She’s at the boat party that gets attacked by Alvida, and her showing up there and then being the main focus of Arlong Park bookends East Blue and kind of turns it into her saga. But as they leave this arc and head to Loguetown, what is new about One Piece? What's there that wasn't around before?

That’s a good question.

Because I hear many people say “Arlong Park is what made me a One Piece fan.”

You get to see their daily routines onboard their full ship. You have the established East Blue crew in one location and we get a slice of life. In just a few scenes or panels, you finally get to watch the crew relax. You get a window on their lives and there’s a sense of completeness. It’s a warm, fuzzy feeling.

ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

Favorite character?

Luffy, Franky, and Zoro.

Favorite villain?

Arlong.

Favorite fight scene?

Luffy vs Bellamy. It’s so satisfying.

One Piece island that you’d want to live on?

Skypiea.

What Devil Fruit would you eat?

Flower-Flower fruit that Nico Robin uses. I’d get so much work done.

One Piece moment that made you cry the most?

Bellemere’s death.

One Piece moment that made you cheer the loudest?

The defeat of Lucci. That was remarkable.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Aggretsuko and The Black Mage writer Daniel Barnes about his favorite One Piece arc: Marineford!!

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: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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sanjiafsincedayone · 7 years

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Happy Birthday Sanji~!

Today it’s Sanji’s birthday!

Exactly one year ago I was in Tokyo and visited the Mugiwara Store and enjoying the Day of Sanji in the Year of Sanji.

Now, I’ve been extremely busy for the last six months and I haven’t been able to write even half of the posts I come up with in my head. But today is Sanji’s birthday and he’s my favorite anime character of all time. So, I am going to talk about my love for Sanji, and all (some of) the reasons to why he’s my favorite.

Under the cut you’ll find a lot of love and me being biased! Now on to my list of reasons to love Sanji.

Sanji is versatile.

I was considering putting down other words to describe Sanji, like cool, suave, kind, emotional, funny or even dorky. But the thing is that I love Sanji for being all these things and more. It’s the wonderful mix that makes Sanji so interesting to me. He’s not just the cool guy or the comic relief which could be so easy considering how a lot of shonen writers can sometimes get a little one dimensional with their characters. I love how Sanji can make me laugh in one second and then go to being badass the next. Of course I also love that Oda has put at least some spin on the whole pervert trope, and Sanji is by far the best written anime-perv I’ve come across. He has his moments that are really bad of course, but I still think Oda manages to handle it well most of the time. His kindness and self-sacrifical side is no joke either, and I love that Oda is highlighting it in the Whole-Cake Island arc.

This is where I could list all of Sanj’s qualities that I love so much, but I’m just going to mention a few that stand out. First, I love how he’s literally the kindest person ever, even Luffy says so. He has such a strong sense of empathy and he’s actually one of the crewmembers that worries the most. I also love his I hate you but not really attitude, it’s why his interactions with the other chefs at Baratie, Zeff and Zoro are so wonderful to watch. Sanji cares the most, but he often pretends that he doesn’t. At the same time though I am very thankful that he doesn’t have to act though all the time, he has his moments of weakness or his moments where he becomes very emotional, and it’s great that he’s not embarrassed about it.

Honestly this is a subject that I could go on talking about forever, but I kind of want to mix it with another point, so I’m moving on to reasons number 2!

Sanji is well-written.

In my own (slightly biased) opinion Sanji is one of the most well-written characters in shonen manga. Why? Because he’s so much more real than most other characters. He has good and bad sides and he has so many different qualities and as mentioned above he’s far from one dimensional. His reactions and emotions feels genuine. Sanji is a deep character, and the way Oda has written him with only little hints over the years make people want to try and understand and analyze him. I’ve read a great deal of Sanji meta, and it’s so fascinating, especially now when Oda has revealed so much more about his background.

And that is a second part for how Sanji is well-written, Oda has built his story slowly over time with only small revelations that easily can go unnoticed by the casual reader, but when actually looking we can go back to 15 years ago and find moments that Oda has written with Sanji’s background in mind. So much makes sense suddenly, the mystery surrounding him that always pulled me towards Sanji is slowly starting to unravel. It’s fascinating and captivating and it just makes me realize even more what a wonderful character Sanji truly is.

Sanji is different.

Now, again, this overlaps a bit with the previous points, but I want to put some emphasis on it. Now, Sanji is a male shonen character that stands out in a lot of ways. And honestly some of these points are some of the biggest reasons why other One Piece fans doesn’t like him, but that is their choice. Anyways, I’m talking about Sanji not being a stereotypical shonen trope. I think Oda generally writes his characters quite uniquely, but even so he too writes his characters to fit into certain molds. With Sanji I personally always liked how he wasn’t just the cool character or the designated pervert. Oda found a good balance, that makes Sanji fit in well with both joking around with Luffy, Usopp or Chopper, being a dork over Nami or Robin, having his rivalry with Zoro but also being suave or serious when it’s required of him. Maybe I’m really just biased but since the beginning I loved how Sanji broke a lot of the stereotypes of males in anime and manga. He’s allowed to be showed crying, or loosing and still remain cool and admirable. Of course I know many disagree and feel like Oda is screwing Sanji over since after the timeskip, but I really love being able to see Sanji like this, almost broken. And it’s not because I’m a sadist, but because that’s realistic, Sanji reacts to things more like a real human rather than as a hero of a shonen manga.

He breaks a lot of stereotypes, and that makes him so much more interesting. I’ve also talked about him breaking a lot of sexist stereotypes as well, meaning he has a lot of stereotypically considered “female characteristics”. Such as he cooks, he’s very emotional (cries a lot despite being written in a mostly mature way), he wears a lot of pink or otherwise flamboyant clothes/patterns, he’s strong but not muscular, etc. These are qualities not everyone likes, but I love that Oda writes it and still maintains Sanji as a “cool” male character because it could so easily have turned into something different. Again, Sanji has so many sides and combined they make him very interesting and unique.

Sanji’s fights.

I loved Sanji’s fighting style even before he entered the series even from just watching that small clip of him in the first opening. It’s just a really great fighting style to watch! Kicking, and also having the no hands policy is so great to me. Because even though Sanji is limiting himself I just personally find his style really cool. He’s agile and moves a lot when he fights, and there is a lot of diversity in his moves despite him basically only using his legs. I think Oda makes some really awesome panels for Sanji fighting, and the anime usually makes it even cooler. Sanji’s finishing kick against Kuroobi was probably the first time in One Piece I really loved a specific move, and that fight still holds a special place in my One Piece heart.

Seeing Sanji fight with knifes was another big highlight for me, and a surprise. That is something I love too, because who would suspect that Sanji could do those things? Or that he could lit himself on fire? I love the surprises, and that Sanji fights using both strength, speed and brains. Sanji’s fights are always different and very fun to watch. And added bonus for Sanji usually delivering some nice one-liners. I am looking forwards to what he’ll do now when the final climax of Whole Cake Island draws near.

Sanji’s design.

I know this is very shallow of me, but way before I even knew One Piece and even when I knew it but hadn’t started watching it yet (because it was so long and looked kinda weird) Sanji was already my favorite. I didn’t know him, but I loved his design even when he was just the blond guy from One Piece. Through the years this has not changed, even though I obviously don’t love all Oda’s outfits for him. But either way Sanji is just very pleasing to look at, and he also seems to be one of the straw hats that changes his clothes the most, so that’s also fun.

Sanji’s voice.

It’s no secret, but Hiroaki Hirata is amazing! He’s also one of my favorite seiyuu of all time, if not my absolute favorite. He’s just a great voice actor and even before I watched One Piece I was in love with his voice. Hiroaki Hirata is actually (as I’ve talked about before) one of the main reasons I even started to watch One Piece to begin with. The voice acting is one of the great reasons to not only read the manga but also see the anime, and Sanji’s voice is just another great part of his character. It’s also pretty awesome how active and funny Hiroaki Hirota is, and he’s the only seiyuu I bother to even follow on twitter. Anyway, I’ve already talked and gushed about Hiroaki Hirata plenty of times before, but just know that I am just as in love with Sanji’s voice as I am with his character.

Sanji’s background.

Again we come back to Oda being a good writer. I know this is just opinion, but for me One Piece really took off after Baratie and Arlong Park, that’s when I started to love it and got really invested in the story. A big part of that was Sanji’s introduction and the way the whole Baratie arc was handled, it’s when things started to get bigger and the world of One Piece started to build properly. But back to Sanji, because his background story with Zeff on the island is such a good little story. But it was also a little bit weird, because it just began in the middle, and it had Sanji fans (including me) speculating for years about how he even ended up on the Orbit in the first place. Who is Sanji really? His story about starving and his debt to Zeff was wonderful and also it’s so fundamental to Sanji’s character, but even so there was always something kind of missing. Sanji’s past truly shaped him, and he seems to be the one strawhat that is still the most affected by his past. I loved Sanji and Zeff together and how their story was told, and after getting additional snippets recently, I just love it even more.

Speaking of recently there is of course the fact that Oda has dedicated a whole arc to add onto Sanji’s background story, and revealing more about him than possibly any other member besides Luffy. This was such a welcome surprise, and it shows how much Oda truly loves Sanji. I think that Zou and Whole Cake Island has been great arcs, and the reveals about Sanji’s character has been so good. Of course I don’t love everything, but it all just makes so much sense. When looking back at Sanji now I feel like I can understand him better than ever. It’s also great to see a person like Sanji still being able to be as good of a person as he is despite his past. He’s such a strong character with a great heart, and I love Oda for letting us all know just how his story began.

Sanji’s bonds and interactions.

Now I love all the strawhats and their bonds with each other, but since Sanji is my number one I can’t help but pay extra attention to his bonds with the rest of the crew. Just in the last few months we’ve gotten so many great moments between Sanji and Luffy and Oda has showed just how strong their bond is. I love it, and since Sanji is such a versatile character he can fit into pretty much any group on the ship. He can be one of the dorks with Luffy and Usopp, he can be one of the pervs with Brook (and Franky?), he can be strategic/serious with Nami and Robin, he can be an older brother (or father) figure for Chopper and basically just go from both being part of a serious or an unserious group depending on what’s happening. He’s levelheaded but also very emotional and has a huge range of emotions, thus he can relate to and understand most of his crewmembers really well. I especially love his bonds with Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Usopp, but that’s just because in general these five are more developed together. Either way, Sanji fits into so many groups on their ship and it’s lovely to see. His undeniable bond with Zoro is amazing and truly fascinating to follow. It’s all also very fun to watch. Basically I just love Sanji interacting with people in general… His bond with Gin was also great to see, and of course the same goes for Zeff. And also now his complicated relationships with his blood family, all new territory with Sanji-bonds to explore and I’m loving it.

Sanji’s dream.

I like Sanji’s dream a lot because it’s very romantic and in a way very naïve. It’s a child’s dream almost (actually it is, since he got it when he was a child), just like Luffy wanting to find the One Piece. No one knows if it even exists and they’ll get laughed at for even talking about it, yet they dream on. I also love that it’s not about achievement, it’s more a dream than a goal. I also like that it’s connected to the sea as well as him being a chef. Sanji is the one crewmember I most closely think of as a sailor, and having a dream like his about All Blue is very fitting with the sailors’ romance for the sea.

So this has been me ranting about Sanji, what else is new? But really, I think that Sanji is a wonderful character that Oda has put a lot of effort into. Today is Sanji’s birthday and I must say that the latest chapter was yet another great gift from Oda. Keep up the good work, I’ll keep loving Sanji and probably keep falling even harder for this lovely cook as time goes on. Thanks for reading~! And sorry for this being mostly just me ranting.

Happy Birthday Sanji-kun! And also, congrats about the nice SaNami you got from Oda in the latest chapter. A proposal huh? (god I love delusional Sanji) What a nice birthday gift. ;)

#sanji #Happy Birthday #one piece #manga #one piece spoilers #eiichiro oda #nami #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #meta #character analysis #whole cake island #my post #rant #love #bias

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