#but its not really as 'wg' as I very normally go so I'm lost | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

supernovaken · 3 years

Text

Why I don’t like Sanji - One Piece Discussion

Sanji used to be one of my favourite characters up there with the other two-thirds of the monster trio, mostly because of his calm attitude, debonair persona and strategic thinking. A lot of people enjoy the swagger he brings to the Straw-Hat crew’s dynamic, and the way his personality compares and contrasts with everyone's favourite swordsman Roronoa Zoro.

Don’t get me wrong, this post isn’t a Sanji bash, and it certainly isn’t the Sanji vs Zoro toxic rant that we have in the fan base, so if that’s what you came here looking for it may be best to click away now. Hopefully I still get the click bait credit hahahaha [laughs in evil].

All I'm trying to do here is delve into Sanji as a character; from his introduction into the storyline through to his current state of characterisation, along with how my impression of Sanji has changed over the course of the so far 1000 One Piece chapters GOda has blessed the world with.

I work on the rule that once a chapter is animated it is no longer considered spoiler territory and my main focus will be on the Whole Cake Island Arc and the character nuances presented leading up to that. I’ll be avoiding discussing anything happening in Wano mainly due to the fact that I haven’t seen much in terms of new characterisation for Sanji - so before anyone jumps down the comments with the argument that it all makes sense during Wano, i’d say just give that one a miss.

Anyone who isn’t caught up with the anime, here’s your fair warning…

Let me tell you Why I Don’t Like Sanji

Throughout the story Sanji has always been the more aloof, somewhat guarded character in the crew - at least on a surface level. His introduction was as the charming pirate restaurant chef that had a way with words and a ferocity when it came to his food. The Baratie Arc is where we were introduced to the rough and tumble fighting chef and most importantly where we were shown his passion; for women, family, life and of course food. Skip forward an odd 800 chapters and although we are shown moments that may have seemed slightly off putting for the character (don’t even get me started)... where I really lost touch with Sanji was during the Whole Cake Island Arc (WCI).

Caveat

Now I've had a few back and forths over this online so I want to make a few things clear from the offset. The issues that I will be delving into are all from a character and characterization point of view.

I have no issues with the plot of WCI but I did feel that Sanji wasn’t being himself (or at least the version of Sanji as a character that I along with many other fans had gotten to know up til this point).

I’ll be breaking down my understanding of the plot as best I can going off all the information we have on it and I'll be evidencing what I say with Manga panels to reduce the amount of dispute I'm likely to get from this.

Saying that, I will ask that as you run through this you allow a little room for perspective. I will be commenting on Sanji and the decisions he made at the point in time that he was making them, this means that we’ll need to come from a perspective of understanding all the information that was available to Sanji at the time, not just what the audience knew or what other characters were planning or doing. In order to comment on Sanji's behaviour we have to go off what he knows in the moments he takes action.

Whole Cake Island

Before I go into Sanji's character throughout the story here's a quick synopsis of everything that happens in the WCI

After arriving at Zou and dealing with a few Beast Pirate stragglers, Sanji was essentially taken hostage; physically through the Power of Bege’s Castle-Castle Fruit, then later with the use of the exploding cuffs, and taken hostage emotionally through the threat made on Zeffs life and the immediate threat Bege posed on the members of the Straw-Hat crew that were there at the time.

The plan was to use Sanji in a political wedding to unite the Charlotte Family/Big Mom Pirates with the Vinsmoke Family. Being a political wedding there were motivations on boths sides to attain the power offered by the other; and thanks to an underlying conspiracy plot led by Big Mom, the plan was to kill Sanji along with the Vinsmoke family and take their technology.

Fortunately the plan was ruined by non-other than our very own Straw-Hat Luffy and his pals (after an initial skirmish with Sanji's Black leg), and Sanji returned to the crew as they escaped a rampaging Big Mom.

My issues with Sanji that crept up over the course of the arc:-

Sanji left the crew (albeit to protect Zeff but more on this later)

Sanji attacked his Captain

The timing for when Sanji returned to the crew (AFTER he discovered pudding was gonna betray him)

For that third point I'd like to put heavy emphasis on ‘timing’. I don’t have any issue with the fact that he returned, I love Sanji as a member of the Straw-Hat Pirates and it’s clear the dynamic is not the same without him. I also don’t have an issue with how he returned to the crew as the way he broke down in front of Luffy was one of the most heart-string pulling, tear-jerking scenes of WCI (although I will be getting into his apology/ lack of one in that scene). But the timing of his decision to return to the crew really irritated me as a long time fan of the character, all I could ask was, after everything that’s happened, why now?

Leaving the Crew

Pre timeskip the story addresses a lot of themes surrounding the topic of what it meant to be a Straw-Hat pirate. All the way back in East blue where the story of the Straw-Hat crew was born we were given storylines around the value of friendship (NAKAMA!!), the important roles each member had, their individual struggles against adversity up to the point Luffy came to save their spirits and ignite their dreams. And we had all that both for Sanji and with Sanji as he experienced the emotional battles every member of the crew faced when they came into contact with their soon to be Captain, (including Usopp's turmoil at Water 7).

He knew what it meant for each member to join Luffy and he knew what it meant to leave the crew. He experienced first hand with Nami, Luffy didn’t believe Nami would steal from them and kill Usopp even though she had only been with him for a short time. And he waited for her response to challenge Arlong.

When Usopp clashed with Luffy at Water 7, Sanji was there knowing what it meant for a crewmate to clash with his captain and the weight of leaving the crew. He lashed out at Luffy when he was about to say something reckless,

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji lashes out at Luffy's reckless speaking, Chapter 331 page 15]

and after showing he understood Usopp's feelings of inadequacy within the crew he made it clear that everyone has something they can do best when supporting Luffy and the crew. Even still he later agreed with Zoro's reasoning in the epic speech given to Luffy about the importance of respecting your Captain as these are not Pirate games they are playing.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji agrees with Zoro, Chapter 438 page 5]

When Robin left the crew Sanji saw how Luffy responded and without hesitating he was there to challenge an entity as great as the World Government (WG) just to bring her back. He wasn’t even patient enough to wait for the crew on the Sea Train because as Luffy said to Zoro, would any of them have been able to sit back and wait.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji impatient to challenge the World Government, Chapter 367 page 12]

These moments, for me, shaped a character trait in Sanji showing how much he values his crewmates but also shows how relentless both he and Luffy are when it comes to getting someone back. So I couldn’t reconcile this character that we’ve been shown across the story with the one in Zou who thinks it's ok to leave the crew on a false promise to return and think no one in the crew would challenge that decision. A lot of people say that he was planning to come back but even in the moment it was clear to the crew that Sanji was lying.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji’s lie, Chapter 813 page 17]

Nico Robin

I want to compare Sanji’s plan to leave and save the crew against Robin's plan during the Water 7 arc. My aim is to show how similar their reasoning is but why the decision only makes sense from Robin's perspective as a character at the time of her decision and not for Sanji during WCI.

When Robin left the crew it really was to protect a group of people she only just became acquainted with so understandably would not want them facing a power as huge as the World Government or alternatively resenting her for staying with the crew as she’s experienced in the past. Her sacrifice was to protect a crew of 6 people from the full power of the World Government. She had seen their power destroy her home ISLAND in the past so it is very understandable to assume the crew wouldn’t have a chance in hell of surviving an attack.

Robin didn’t know the capability of the Straw-Hats and their willingness to challenge a huge organisation like the World Government. What she did know was the power of the WG and that a normal crew would not survive the immediate threat of a Buster Call along with the power of the CP9 at Water 7.

Robin's wish was for them to be able to leave Water 7 safely which is why Lucci spared them during their battle in Icebergs mansion. Some fans question if the WG would have actioned a Buster Call on Water 7 because without it there was still an option to escape, plus the CP9 were on the island undercover. Why would the government destroy it? Why wouldn’t Robin just run from Water 7 and let the Straw-Hats escape?.

Enies Lobby is a much more important location to the WG than Water 7 due to its position in the world as the Judiciary island. It’s a symbol of the World Governments power. CP-9 were in Ohara when a buster call was actioned which goes to show the lack of hesitation the government had during these attacks, even when its own personnel are on the Island. Also CP-9 as well as a number of government officials, and their families that lived on the island, were on Enies Lobby at the time and in both cases they still attacked without hesitation, they still attacked the island indiscriminately. They had no reason not to attack Water 7 if a buster call was issued, so I don’t see how calling one on Water 7 would have been impossible.

At that time Robin was already aware of that scary power and it had haunted her her entire life, so if it were called on Water 7 assuming the Straw-Hats didn’t chase her (she wouldn’t have accounted for this at the time) it makes sense for her to want to save them from it. Let’s not forget that they really only escaped the Buster Call thanks to a massive Deux Ex Machina. I can suspend disbelief long enough to say a worn down ship was able to traverse ‘Aqua Laguna storm level waves’ and reach another island with no crew or navigator thanks to the power of friendship but damn, lets just call it what it is, Shonen Magic.

CP-9 weren’t on Water 7 to get Robin, they were there on an undercover mission to get the Pluton blueprints from Iceberg, so I’m guessing rather than snatching her and potentially blowing their cover too soon, they met with her to explain the threat they could be to the Straw-Hats and pressure her into coming with them peacefully which was an added benefit of their mission. A well calculated move from Lucci. Also remember that they had recently just lost to Aokiji, who was the shadow behind the threat since a buster call can only be issued on his authority as an Admiral (he gave permission to Spandam after encountering the Straw-Hats). In the end they had to escalate the plan and force Iceburg to give them the blueprints rather than wait for him to hand it over to an apprentice, they assumed if they threatened his life he would hand it over sooner to Paulie, then in the middle of their attack deduced that he had already handed it to Franky years beforehand. (Off topic but basically they had a plan and Robin landing on Water 7 was just a perk they took advantage of).

The bond she got with Luffy and the crew came from having nowhere else to go after Luffy saved her from killing herself at Alabasta, then was reinforced when she realised her dreams weren’t dead in Skypiea with the revelation that the true history of the void century does exist and she only needs to follow the log to the end of the grand line to find it. Even though it was a small timeframe she was able to build that bond with them, but even still it was clear that not enough had happened for her to ever think the Straw-Hats were any match for the WG.

In-world no one would believe that, this is why the Straw-Hats are the only pirates to ever attack Enies Lobby. Even Yonko crews don’t attack the WG without reason or backup of more than a 6 person crew. Even though they survived in the end, at the time it was a deal to protect the crew at the cost of her life so it made sense.

We can see afterwards that she’s grown out of not believing in them as when they got to Zou, Neko and Duke said she’d be a target for being able to read the Poneglyphs - to which she replied it’ll be fine because she had her crew to protect her.

Her deal made all the sense in the world.

Sanji on the other hand benefitted from a much longer, much deeper experience with Luffy and the crew by the time it came to his ‘ultimate sacrifice’. He was there at Water 7 when the entire crew rejected Robin's reasoning (even Usopp) for leaving the crew. He chased her onto the Government filled Train with no guarantees, no background and no hesitation with the greatest takeaway from that arc being to believe in Luffy. That belief in the captain wasn't there when it came to facing off against a member of the Yonko and protecting his extended family - a huge character step back I think.

Sanji's downfall here was not believing in his crew even after experiencing the other side of things with Robin. Why wouldn’t Luffy come for him? He’s never experienced Big Moms power (not that he needed to) in the same way Robin was traumatised by the WG’s display of power in her childhood. He knows enough about his captain to know Luffy would still challenge Big Mom as Luffy had already said he was planning to challenge each member of the Yonko. He had already challenged Big Mom on Fishman Island and the plan to challenge Kaido was already in motion. I understand challenging both at the same time might make him think it’s a bit much, but I disagree with him not bringing the issue to his crew considering all they had been through. It shows the biggest problem of Sanji not believing in Luffy and the crew.

His Faith Wavered

Protecting Zeff

At the time Sanji made the decision to leave the crew he thought Zeff was in danger, a threat delivered by Big Mom. He also believes Big Mom herself would be an added threat too difficult for the Straw-Hats at this time.

I don’t want us to get bogged down in the details of Big Moms plan. I very much agree with the point that she truly didn’t care about Zeff at the Baratie, she only threatened Zeff to get Sanji to the wedding (A Big Mom Tea Party Invitation Standard) in order to lay the trap for Germa.

But character moments all come from the decisions they make based on the information they have at the time. At the time Sanji made the decision to leave the crew, the threat on Zeff was real enough to him so in Sanji’s mind if he ran from the wedding or challenged Bege and Big Mom she probably would have actioned the threat. To Sanji, his only option here was to go along with the wedding.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Vito informing Sanji about the threat on Zeff, Chapter 813 page 9]

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Baron Tamago of the Big Mom pirates giving Judge the leverage they have over Sanji, Chapter 839 page 12]

Battling Luffy

Sanji understood that by getting married he’d automatically force the Straw-Hats into being subordinates of the Big Mom crew. Initially he thought saying he’d handle it himself would be enough to stop Luffy from coming and by officially leaving the crew he’d absolve them from a fate as underlings similar to the portrayal of Bege at the time. (Going back to my initial point I think this reasoning doesn’t make sense as we all know Luffy's character). This is why after Luffy came after him he tried to make it clearer that he'd left the crew and Sanji did this by fighting Luffy and telling him to leave.

When he battled Luffy (who didn’t fight back) it wasn’t over a huge disagreement and insecurity in his own strength like Usopp's battle with Luffy. In fact if we compare this to Usopp's moment when both he and Luffy got heated and ended in a similar battle of pride/ clashing views I see no reason why Sanjis isn’t as bad.

The Luffy vs Sanji clash came about due to a lack of understanding which came about because Sanji had not been clear in explaining his position and why he made this choice to leave the crew, instead he kicked sand in the face of his crew and captain.

I believe he went too far here, although he deep down had good intentions, I see it as a clear showing disrespect. It was all an act with a brave face from Sanji's point of view and Luffy could tell straight away.

Comparatively, Usopp also put on a brave face with an understandable battle for him to establish his place as a pirate, but it was the challenge of Luffy’s authority in itself that was a showing of disrespect to the captain.

In essence it was a clash of pride where Sanji challenged his captain’s abilities, with the belief that his method of dealing with the issue was right and Luffy’s was wrong.

His Respect Wavered.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji vs Luffy, Chapter 843 page 19]

Returning to the Crew

Redemption is a huge part of character development and usually always comes from a lie the character has told to themselves they battle to make a reality. Any story worth its ink will give us characters with strong traits and equally strong flaws that they later resolve within themselves and grow from.

Sanji had a lot of character development during the WCI arc including accepting his past/background, dealing with the trauma caused by his father, his siblings and the death of his mother, and probably quite importantly, believing in himself, his crew and his captain. But there was one character moment that I feel was flawed enough to reduce the impact of his redemption moment and therefore reduce his standing as a character for me… His reconciliation with Luffy.

During the Arlong Park arc Nami lied about her feelings toward the crew and her village. Her redemption came in the form of saving Usopp from death at the hands of Arlong by stabbing through her hand and facilitating his escape, this showed how much she cared about the crew. And her lie towards the villagers was resolved when her backstory was established and showed her intentions to protect them, the redemption here came the moment she asked Luffy for help and also established her belief in her new Captain.

At Enies Lobby Robin lied about her desire to die so as to not live in a world where no one cares for her and see her as a burden. Her redemption came when she acknowledged she does have a place in the world and had finally found people who care about her. She immediately screamed from the top of her lungs that she wanted to live and in doing so established her new found belief in her crew and Captain.

The segmented parts of Water 7 displayed Usopp's lie about being too weak to be part of a crew of ‘monsters’ along with his fear of being discarded due to his lack of belief in his own abilities and the strength of his friendship/place in the crew. His redemption came when he acknowledged that everyone has something they can do that makes them strong even if it's not physically, and his unyielding resolve to save his crew mates when he tagged along for the mission to rescue Robin. Notice that Usopp's flaws never included losing faith in Luffy, his flaw was always pride and the redemption note for his pride was different to Nami and Robins. Usopp had to apologise, direct and on his knees before he could be fully redeemed as a character.

Sanji's storyline in WCI came with a double whammy. Not only did he show a lack of faith in his captain, he also allowed his pride get in the way of showing respect to his captain. A pirate no go area.

Before overhearing Pudding he was resolved to getting married and living his life with her, but when he found out it was a lie why did this change his resolve of protecting the crew and Zeff. I’d say all other factors *at this point* are exactly the same for Sanji and he had already accepted his death (or a version of it through his freedom and his cooking being taken away).

First, technically Zeff was still in danger as far as he knew. ReijI didn’t say Zeff was safe, she asked him to escape, let Germa die and figure it out [what to do about Zeff] afterwards, her reasoning was Big Mom had no interest in Zeff as long as she got Germa, but Sanji wanted to save both. So in Sanji's mind Zeff is still in danger, but now he has an added problem as he wants to save Germa.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Reiju explains the threat on Zeff still exist unless Big Mom gets Germa, Chapter 852 page 16]

Secondly the crew still can’t challenge Big Mom head on. If he had continued with his plan to go through with the wedding, whether they got married or he was killed, his plan still would have worked. Zeff and the Straw-Hats would be safe. The same way Robin would have died at Enies Lobby and Nami would have given her freedom to forever be part of Arlong's crew. At the cost of Sanji’s life his plan would have worked and made sense.

So should I now take this to mean that he really wasn’t resolved to dying for his ideals. (I’m not saying he should have, the entire point of Luffy’s character is a challenge to this statement, believe in Luffy and he’ll fix it)

But for some reason, the moment he discovers the wedding is a sham and Germa is doomed he decides out of desperation that now is the time to return to the crew and ask Luffy for help. It’s not only hypocritical but it’s shameful and damaged Sanji as a character for me.

During his reconciliation with Luffy I’m sure Sanji acknowledges these points when discussing why he can’t go back but he isn’t held accountable for it.

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji 3 reasons Chapter 856 page 12]

[Eiichiro Oda 'One Piece' (1997) Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump - Sanji 3 reasons Chapter 856 page 13]

Sanji’s redemption, like Nami and Robin, included a moment where he had to re-establish his belief in Luffy and the rest of the crew. But I argue that his cause for losing faith in Luffy was, in the first place, unwarranted and a step backwards for the character.

And unlike Usopps, his redemption did not include a moment of humility where he would need to swallow his pride and apologise to Luffy for putting his own ideals before his captains.

I know in the end everything worked out but at the time Sanji’s actions didn’t make sense for the character I had come to know throughout the story and there was not enough impact in his redeeming moment to allow me to see the character as he once was. Now he’s just that badass monster fighter on the crew and he’ll forever be removed from my list of favourite Straw-Hats. Black Leg Sanji.

#one piece #vinsmoke sanji #nico robin #monkey d luffy #pirate hunter zoro #big mom #charlotte linlin

6 notes · View notes