Redraw of Sanji and Zoro scene after Arlong Park, but a lil gayer.

Bonus

Confidence: Sanji

Sanji x F!Reader

Summary: Sanji is taken with you from the moment he lays eyes on you at the beach. And when you come up to him at the small tiki bar, flirty and all so confident, he can't help but become fully enamored with you. You hitch a ride with the Straw Hat crew and grow ever closer to their chef, but will you let go of all the things that keep you from giving in to his enamored feelings for you?

Warnings: tiniest bit of angst, some fluff, some alcohol use, mild talk of age difference (like mild, mild--also everyone in this fic is 18+), smut (p in v, oral (f!reader receiving))

Word Count: 4.0K

A/N: Here is the first part of the four-part, requested mini-series I couldn't just keep sort and sweet lol

(@fanaticsnail I couldn't help but add in his tongue piercing cause you've brought it to my attention and I can't not unsee it and I need it in my lifeee!!)

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It doesn’t take much to get Sanji falling head over heels for you.

A beautiful lady in a bikini all stretched out over a beach towel for all to see??

He’s dying to know you in an instant--to wine and dine you with a meal prepared just for your delicate and, obviously, refined taste buds.

He hasn’t even spoken a word to you and he is imagining his life with you by his side.

His crew mates are less than love-struck. 

They grumbled and repairman him before Nami was grabbing him by the scruff of his collar, dragging him away from your beauty. A beauty which shone as bright as the sun you bathed in. Shone maybe even more so bright than the sun.

Your attention was pulled away from your book upon hearing a forlorned shout, looking up just in time to watch a flash of sandy hair and black fabric disappear into the seaside town. You gave a little shrugging humph before returning to your romance novel.

That night, you made your way into the tiki bar that boarded the beach you had reluctantly left once the sun had set, it a crowded mess of tourists visiting from the other side of the island and locals of this town.

You weren’t local, neither from the town or the island it was on, but had been here long enough to learn a few names and have a few learn yours.

You were a traveler. Someone whose broken heart drove you from your home in the South Blue to brave that of the Grand Line. 

It was a feat you were proud of in itself, having made it with no harm to your person and with just a few less berries to your name. A few thousand barries you had paid a pirate crew to bring you here, only for them to leave you stranded on this island, whose people never left and never had any reason to sail the seas. 

“Pirates.” Was the first thing the bartender you had gotten to know all too well said.

Pirates. It was very rare anyone came to this island, let alone pirates. So rare that the last time a pirate had stepped foot on this island, it had been to dump you here. 

That had been a year ago.

He pointed out two standing at the other side of the bar, one green-haired and brooding while the other was blond and flirting up a storm with Mia, the second bartender, who smiled and nodded at whatever he was saying.

The rest of them sat by the back of the tiki bar, waiting for their friends. Two were a constant stream of words and bouncing energy, while the girl looked very much unamused at their shenanigans. 

They were too--young. Too happy looking. Too un-pillagey. Very un-pirate like in your opinion and experience. 

You took your chances with the two at the bar, thinking the green-haired one looked the most captain-y.

You grabbed your drink before walking over to the two, running a hand over the blond’s broad shoulders and leaning against the bar next to him in one fluid motion. You pulled your most playful and flirtatious smile on your lips, taking hold of the curly straw in your drink as he stopped his conversations with Mia to look upon you with sea-blue eyes, one of which hid behind a lock of his blond hair.

“Hello, handsome.” You all but purred up at him. He stared down at you in something like shock. Shock that quickly turned excited and, if you weren’t just seeing things, all but enamored. 

Sanji was enamored by you. By your bright smile and voice and utter confidence as you stood next to him. A confidence he gravitated towards like you were the center of his universe.

“It’s you,” Sanji said, his breathy voice accented in a way you adored. “Such a beauty I had thought lost to me.” He continued, taking hold of your hand in his own.

“We’ve met?” You questioned, watching as he placed a soft, warm kiss on your knuckles that had your cheeks heating.

A kiss your skin burned through Sanji’s lips like the hottest of fires--a kiss he yeared to place on your lips. A kiss he wished to press along every inch of you skin you had to offer. 

“Unfortunately not madam. I saw your stunning glow on the beach upon our arrival. I’m Sanji.” You thought back to the beach. To that shout and flash of sandy hair you had seen. 

Him. It had been Sanji who you had caught a blurred glimpse at.

“Y/N. And how unfortunate indeed, right when I was in need of some help applying lotion to my back. I’m all burnt to a crisp now.” Sanji’s eyes widened as he scanned over your body, which still wore your bikini top and now a tie-on skirt. His cheeks flushed at your comment making a giggle spill from your lips.

“Forgive me. How could I have allowed such a thing happen to skin as fair as yours?” He was quick to say back in a flirty tone to match your own.

My oh my was he handsome and charming and--young. He was young. It was a fact that had you pulling your hand away from his despite the near heartbroken, puppy dog-like look he gave you.

“Allow me to make it up to you,” Sanji said, moving just the much closer in your hand's absence--needing to be closer to your glorious smile and confidence. 

“Allow me to rid myself of this horrible situation.” Sanji’s green-haired crewmate gruffed, pushing off the bar with two beers clutched in one hand, a cocktail in the other, and what looked like a glass of milk tucked against his scarred, exposed chest and the crook of his elbow. 

“I am actually looking for your captain.” You spoke quickly before the green-haired one could rush away. He narrowed his eyes down at you suspiciously. “I assume that must be you?” Sanji scoffed, gaining your attention once more. You watched him grab up the wine he had ordered, his half-obscured blue eyes returning back on you in seconds.

“That old mosshead? I think not.” The green-haired one huffed, thoroughly annoyed, before walking off towards where the rest of their crew sat. “Our captain would be one who ordered a chilled glass of milk.” He said with an amused chuckle as you watched the green-haired swordsmen hand out drinks. The milk went to the bouncy, straw hat-wearing boy who looked the youngest of the bunch. 

That was their captain?

“Come, I’ll introduce you.” Sanji introduced you to his captain, who had been very excited to meet you. You sat, drank, and bartered with their navigator for passage off this little isolated of island for the rest of the night. 

A good handful of berries had won her over and the next day you had been sailing off aboard their ship; The Going Merry.

And two months later you were still sailing with them, despite the various islands you had come across. None had felt right. None had been as full of adventure and fun as it was on the Merry with the Straw Hats. 

It had been two months you spent helping Sanji in the kitchen. Two months of dishwashing, food prepping, and constant flirting back and forth with the crew’s chef. 

Two months Sanji spent pining and pining after you. He had done everything to try and win your affections. Flirting, cooking meals, buying you gifts. But nothing. Nothing besides a thank you and a sad little look as you pulled away when he started trying to confess such feelings for you. 

But Sanji was determined to win your heart. To win your playful smile, your kind soul, and your electric confidence. To have you be his. 

So, on a night when your brightness had been overwhelming and the kitchen was all cleaned up and empty, he confessed his feelings for you. Confessed them quickly and all too rushed for his taste, but it was necessary when he knew you would be quick to shut him down--to laugh it off as more filtrations. 

“Y/N, sunshine--I am deeply and utterly enamored by you.” You stared up at him. Stared up at him as your face grew more and more panicked. A panic he felt himself become as well. He grabbed hold of your hands, holding them gently as he pulled you closer. Holding onto them as if they were a lifeline. He leaned down so he could look into your eyes--eyes that had crept into his dreams. Eyes he wished to look into until he turned to dust and returned to the earth. 

“You are who I wish to spend my days and nights with--and I mean it. You are stunning--and kind and confident. You give me the strength to find my own confidence.” 

“I--Sanji…” His heart beat painfully in his chest as you hesitated. As that panicked look turned near saddened--hurt. It was an old hurt, he knew. A hurt you had told him little of. Just enough to know you had been hurt horribly, it sending you from your home to wonder about the dangers of the Grand Line. 

“I can’t--you don’t mean that.” He pulled your hands to cradle them to his chest, where his heart beat like some drum. 

“I do. Every word.” You swallowed against the dryness in your throat. Because you wanted to accept his words. You wanted to allow your feelings to rush free to meet Sanji’s own feelings, but you couldn’t. You shook your head, feeling your eyes burn. Sanji’s face stayed so--loving. So ready to give you everything he had to give. 

“Tell me why? If you feel even an inkling of what I do for you, please, please tell me why?” Sanji pleaded--begged you. 

“Because…Sanji, you deserve someone better than me. I-I’m broken. Too old and too hardened by past mistakes and loves. And you--” You gave a sad little sigh, looking into those blue eyes of his. “You’re bright and shining and so full of life and love. You have your whole life ahead of you--dreams to keep you going and I--”

“How could I ever possibly wish to achieve my dreams without you by my side every step of the way? How could I possibly even dream if I didn’t have you near?” You shook your head to disagree, but Sanji was quick to take your face in his warm hands. Hands you grabbed onto, squeezing your eyes shut. 

“Too old, too hardened, too broken.” He said with a shake of his head, thumbs brushing over your cheeks. You reopened your blurry eyes to look up at him, to find a small, comforting smile on his lips. “Hardly. Not when you make me feel so alive. When I wake up excited to see your smile and hear your voice and bask in your utter confidence I could never get enough of. You make me feel alive--you make me feel everything you think I am without you.” 

Hot tears escaped your eyes as you reached your hands to brush over the skin of his cheeks. To brush his face gently down closer to your own, which he did eagerly. 

Noses brushed, then lips, until Sanji was closing the microscopic distances between you two. He kissed you soft and sweet. Kissed all the sweet, sweet words he had spoken into your lips. 

You kissed him back just as sweet. Just as soft. A kiss you pressed all the devotion and love you held for him into. A kiss you deepened by allowing his tongue access to your mouth--a tongue that a bit of metal was pierced under. A piercing he had shown you after you had playfully teased him about being too much of a goody-to-shoes. He said it was his own little bit of rebellion. 

Sanji’s hands moved over your back until they came to rest on your hips, grabbing you closer to him. You allowed your own hands to roam over his strong body, feeling the muscle hidden beneath his blue and white striped shirt--muscles you had seen on the special occasions he decided to train out on the deck. He grabbed your wrists just as your fingertips reached his belt.

He pulled away, looking so cutely flustered with his lips all swollen from your kiss, breath coming out in short puffs, and face almost as red as a tomato. 

“Here?” He questioned.

“Unless you wish for an audience? Then in that case, let us pick a room--” You teased, turning to walk towards the exit.

“No.” Sanji grit, cutting you off before you could keep agonizing him. He gave your waist a small little tug back into himself. “Only I get to see you--devour you and your beauty.” That playful smirk of yours pulled to your lips in a way that had Sanji’s stomach twisting and heart nearly stopping at its beauty. 

“Oh? Is that so?” You continued to tease, making Sanji’s flush deepen. You brushed your fingers over his cheek, feeling the warmth of the flush you had put there. “Then that must mean you’re only mine to see?” You traced the heart-shaped curve of his upper lips on feather-light fingertips. “To devour?” Sanji nodded--nodded in a rush that had you chuckling. 

“Yes.” He said, his voice as low and as breezy as a whisper. 

“Good.” You said just as whispery low and breezy before gently pulling Sanji back in. Back into that soft, devotion-filled kiss that sent warm strings of warmth flowing from your lips throughout your entire body. 

Sanji’s grip grabbed for your waist again, holding you close once more as he turned and guided you backward until the backs of your hips hit the island you had just helped clean. Before you could protest against dirtying it once more, Sanji was hosting you up to sit on its gleaming surface. 

“Sanji, you prepare food--” You started, but he silenced you with another warm kiss. 

“You were the one who suggested the kitchen, sunshine.” He said, kissing down your jaw and throat. Your fingers brushed through the bits of blond hair on the nape of his neck. “And I will be having one last meal for the night, so it is only reasonable I prepare it here.” 

You hummed as he kissed over your collarbone, hardly registering what he had truly said. Words that processed in your brain as he placed an open-mouthed kiss over the swell of your breast. Your fingers tightened in his hair as he licked a wet strip over your cleavage. 

“Yes. Only reasonable.” Sanji paused, those beautiful blue eyes flicking up to meet your own.

“Really?” You nodded in a yes that had that charming smile, which had stolen your heart the moment you had first laid eyes on it, cross his features. A smile that made him look all that much more bright and handsome. You felt his hands move from your hips downward over your legs, which you had wrapped around his waist. 

“You know,” You said, voice faltering the slightest bit when his hands found the bare skin of your legs, running right back up them. The feel of his warm palms and the cold metal of the ring he wore on his middle finger sent goosebumps rising over your body, their tingling only spreading and staying. “most men wouldn’t be so…eager to suggest such a thing.” 

“Most men waste without a second thought.” He said, fingers finding the edge of your underwear. His eyes lit with the same excitement you saw in him when you would compliment his meals using specific cooking lingo you had learned from listening to him talk about it. “May I?” You nodded on a breathy yes that lodged in your throat the second he began pulling the thin fabric down and off your legs. 

He placed them on the countertop with a care that you knew wasn’t needed but was grateful for seeing as those were your favorite pair. It only added to your ever-growing liking of the chef, now placing one of your ankles over his shoulder, blue eyes filling ever more in that excitement as he gazed upon your needy pussy. 

“So beautiful, sunshine. So perfect.” You couldn’t help the little whimper that spilled from your lips at the words. Words that had your body zapping and singing in need right alongside your core. 

You leaned back on your elbows as you helped along the process your pussy was begging to end. A process of trailing kisses up your inner leg and fingers that traced shapeless figures into your skin. 

“Sanji--please.” You begged, lightly tugging at him with the foot lying behind his neck. Sanji's breath brushed over your throbbing core and made another whimper fall from your lips. 

“Yes--yes, of course.” He grabbed your other leg and wrapped it over his shoulder where you hooked your legs together to pull him ever closer to your pussy, which begged right alongside you. 

Sanji placed another kiss to your inner thigh--then to the bit of skin that connected your core to your hip before running that pierced tongue through your all but dripping folds. He moaned against your taste and you felt your body burn from it. From just the mere knowledge that he was enjoying tasting you. 

He did more than taste you. He sucked and licked and devoured you like he was eating his favorite meal. 

He ate you in a way that had your heart beating fast against your chest and your body squirming in his sold grip around your hips. Ate you in a mind-numbing, pleasure-rolling way that had you moaning his name so loud you had to slap a hand over your lips to keep from alerting the rest of the crew. 

That pleasure built and built in you until it was pouring out of you in a viciously electric wave. 

Your head fell back against the countertop as you finished, chest heaving up and down rapidly.

But Sanji didn’t stop. He dipped that pierced tongue deep within you, collecting all you had given him into his mouth before attacking your clit once more. 

“S-Sanji--oh my gods--” You whimpered out as you grabbed hold of his writs, which hardly faltered under your weak attempt to pull him away. It was too good--too much for you in your recent, post-come state. “Holy--I’m gonna come again--” You whined out, feeling that electric pleasure begin to build again. An electricity that zipped and zapped around your body before releasing it in a shaking flood. 

You didn’t hold your moan back as you came yet again on his tongue. 

Sanji pulled away then, looking as if he had come himself--his eyes lust-glazed and lips puffy from use. 

“F-fuck Sanji.” You breathed, reaching for that soft face of his. He let your legs fall from his shoulder as he leaned into your touch. 

“I’m sorry, sunshine…” He said sheepishly, his nose brushing against your own. “You just tasted too good to let go.” You gave a low curse before claiming his mouth against yours once more. A mouth you could taste yourself on--a fact that had your body buzzing again.

Your hands roamed over his strong neck, over his broad shoulders, and down his chest and muscle-ripped abdomen before finding their home at his belt. Your fingers made quick work of undoing his belt, which you placed just as gently on the countertop as he had done for your underwear, before going for his button. 

“Are--are you sure, sunshine?” He asked, pulling away enough to look into your eyes. 

“Yes. I want to repay you.” Sanji shook his head the slightest bit.

“You don’t need to repay me for anything.” You kissed his chin as you unbuttoned and zipped down his pants, loosening them around the erection that had been trapped beneath them.

“But I want to.” You kissed his chin again as you slowly pulled his pants down. “Unless you wish to stop?” Sanji’s grip around your hips tightened the slightest bit. 

“No. Not unless you wish it.” You smiled, running your finger over the edge of his underwear. 

“No. I want to have you in every sense of the phrase.” A small little noise sounded in his throat that had your smile widening. Had you slowly pulling his underwear down and allowing his cock to spring free, its warm skin hitting your hand. You bit your lips as you looked over the wonderful sight, it twitching under your gaze. 

“So beautiful, sweetheart. So perfect.” You said, mimicking his earlier words and meaning every one of them. He kissed your temple.

Wrapping your fingers around the smooth bit of flesh, you gave him one, gentle pump that had Sanji all but gasping for air. He fell forward, face burying itself into the crook of your neck and hands clutching at your dress for dear life. 

So sensitive You thought as you kissed the shell of his ear. If he was this sensitive against your hand, you were eager to see his reaction to being inside you. You pumped him again as you scooted yourself closer to his awaiting cock. 

“Ready, sweetheart?” You murmured into his ear, your other hand coming to run through his hair in comfort. He nodded, kissing your neck. 

You hummed as you ran the tip of his cock through your folds, lining him up perfectly against your entrance, allowing him to easily sink into you. Your hum turned into a moan as your pussy stretched and flexed deliciously around his cock, allowing him to sit within you comfortably. 

“Darling--sunshine--gods you feel so, so good.” He huffed against your throat, making you wrap your legs fully around his waist to pull him deeper within you--so that his hips pressed against yours in a way that had him gasping for air all over again. 

“So good, sweetheart.” You praised back, letting him adjust to your warmth. You nudged his face with your own, kissing at his cheeks so that you could claim his lips against yours again. Lips that, once molded against yours, spurred him to move within you. Move in small thrusts that kept him close to you. Kept every little bit of skin that was exposed to the world covered and touching. 

Breath became heavy against each other's lips. Lips that parted and allowed your tongues to dance with each other in a wet dance of passion. 

You tugged lightly at his hand to unravel itself from his white knuckle grip on your dress so that you could direct him to your clit. 

Sparks shot through your body as he began to rub circles into it. Circles that copied his shallow thrusts making your mind spin with it. 

Sanji moaned a warning into your mouth about his quickly approaching end. You nodded, wanting him to come whenever he needed to--wanting him to feel no pressure when it came to such a thing because he had already given you more than most ever would. But he held out. Held out until you were moaning your own warning, the walls of your pussy fluttering around his cock until that build became unbearable to stop. 

As soon as you came, Sanji buried himself deep and spilled strings of come into you. 

Your body slumped against Sanji’s body, which slumped right back against you. Your panting breaths melded together and filled the once more quiet kitchen. 

“Sun-sunshine?” You hummed in acknowledgment, running your fingers up and down the back of his neck. “I think--I think I might love you.” Your heart fluttered like some caged bird in your chest at his confession. 

His second confession of the night. 

“I…” You started as your mind thought of the reason you had even come to the Grand Line in the first place. A reason that had whispered sweet nothings in your ear before tearing you down on the next breath. 

This--Sanji--was not them. Sanji was different. It was something you had come to know early on. Sanji was someone you could laugh with and be around without feeling less than yourself. Without having to prove yourself worthy of his attention. Of his love.

“I love you too.” You confessed back.

Tags: @writingmysanity

Nami analysis: Luffy will definitely become the Pirate King

This was originally meant to be a collection of a few Nami character moments to defend her from the trend of hate against her. But, a friend of mine got me to make an actual analysis about her given the recent manga developments. It's mostly about some aspects of Nami's growth throughout the series.

Let's start with one memorable scene from Skypiea...

...when Nami kept panicking, Luffy told her she shouldn't stop acting so pathetic for she's a companion of the future Pirate King.

Here, Luffy makes a connection between their success and the certainty of his dream. As in Nami shouldn't fear because Luffy being the future Pirate King means they'll always succeed at the end.

After Luffy gets BFR'd, Nami makes this her earnest belief. Instead of submitting to Enel in fear, or playing along with his plan to ensure her survival, she draws enough courage to take a firm stand...

...and face Enel on her own.

There's even a subtle symbolism in both scene. When Luffy is giving Nami the reason why she shouldn't panic, he gave Nami his treasured hat. And when Nami is about to finally challenge Enel, she grips Luffy's hat. (Oda is an amazing writer!!!)

It's subtle, but you can see Nami drawing courage from Luffy, his values, and his dream, to challenge a monster she had no way of beating

Oda decided to continue Nami's character growth in the movie he wrote, Strong World.

After realizing Shiki (and his army of mutated animals) headed towards East Blue, which included the hometown where her sister and other loved ones lived in, her first response was looking for Luffy...

...instead of panicking like she did in Skypiea, she sought the person that could reassure her everything would be all right. We went from symbolism to something a little bit more straightforward.

Even when Shiki defeated the East Blue team, Nami managed to keep her cool, so she could mess the plans of a legendary pirate who could easily crush her. Even when was caught and left to die, she didn't give up and proved she was willing to die to protect her hometown.

Huge displays of selflessness and actual courage. However, it's interesting to see that, as character moments, they were built upon her growth in Skypiea and Arlong Park. Why can we say that?

In Arlong Park she realized there are burdens, and even emotional luggage, she couldn't carry on her own so she had to rely on others to keep going. In Skypiea, she drew the strength needed to face overwhelming odds from Luffy.

Now, Luffy described Nami as their vanguard against Shiki, which indicates he knew that Nami was trying to fight Shiki's army from the inside. But, she never planned to carry this burden on her own. Luffy instilled in her the belief that being the companion of the future Pirate King means they'll suceed regardless of the setbacks they may suffer. At the end of the movie, we get the twist that Nami not only believes in Luffy...

...she gets embarrassed about the recorded proof of her faith in her captain when she realized Luffy didn't hear it. Arlong Park and Skypiea laid the groundwork for her belief, while Strong World solidified it.

Also, it’s worth noting her stand against Shiki is reminiscent of the brave attitude displayed by Silk (Nami’s earliest prototype) from One Piece’s first pilot: Romance Dawn V.1

A girl who was more than willing to fight in order to protect her hometown and her loved ones regardless of the foe. Was that intentional on Oda’s part? Who knows...

Now, how did Nami character change post-timeskip?

If we stick to the manga, everything they've been through so far had strengthened her faith and trust in Luffy and his dream. We can see it in the Wholecake arc...

... when facing Cracker, Nami declares with absolute confidence that the fact Luffy is the future Pirate King is pretty much the guarantee of their victory. Not everyone invokes a NLF when talking about Luffy.

So, when Sanji goes as far as brutalizing Luffy, and trash-talking his dream, Nami's response was... 

...which makes a lot of sense given how her confidence on the future, and part of her growth as a person, are tied to Luffy's dream.

The disrespect Sanji was forced to show now can be used as a contrast given recent developments; when Nami was in a life-or-death situation, scared and helpless before an enemy she couldn't beat on her own, she was offered a way out: disavow Luffy's dream of becoming the Pirate King...

... However, even when facing certain death, having no other way to defend herself or run away, Nami couldn't lie about Luffy becoming the Pirate King, not even to say her life. In the japanese version she answers: "Luffy will become the Pirate King... definitely"

We've seen Nami lying to weasel her way out of danger, but this time, she's literally incapable of lying about the fact Luffy will reach his goal. From her perspective that's a truth you simply cannot deny or reject under any circumstances.

That's an outstanding display of loyalty, but the overall theme connecting this moment to previous showings is "faith."

From Skypiea, she was told being a companion of the Pirate King ensured success, in Strong World, she was embarrassed to admit how strong was her faith and trust in Luffy. Post-timeskip, we now see her shouting it confidently to the enermy, and now she believes in Luffy so much, that not even facing death can make her say otherwise. That's how you develop a character!

I know I left out the Drum arc, Water 7, Shabaody, Fishman Island, Punk Hazard (Bellemere would be proud), Dressrosa, and Zou... but, it would take months and a kilometric post to cover hundreds of chapters worth of development. I only covered the essentials.

If you want more, check out the author's works; the manga and the Film series (SW, Z, and GOLD).

Point is, Nami is a great character who truly deserves to be described as “queenly,” not only because Oda said so, but also for her progression during this long-running story

BONUS:

Finally, I’m going to address an ugly trend in the west. Nami had been getting a lot of hate as of recent years. Even highly influential figures within the fandom tend to put down Nami. Many belittle her character, and they even compare her to other series’ characters that get treated as “chew toys” by their respective fandoms.

Why so much hate for Nami’s character?

Short answer: she has been dealt a bad hand

First, her role in the story and the crew puts her at odds with fans of characters they usually hype as greater figures of authority and power within the strawhat group. She commands too much authority, and that make fans pretty insecure about their favorite character’s position.

Along with this factor, there’s the fact she’s the most “human” in a crew (and a world) filled with superhuman people. Haters probably feel that someone so normal shouldn’t have so much agency. Specially when compared to other women

Speaking of which, that’s another reason why Nami gets so much hate. Her role as a heroine, and her superior navigation skills, makes her an incredibly important character to this story. And that makes the fans hyping other females see her a threat to their favorites’ position, like some sort of competion.

Which leads me to the other point people hate her: Nami’s relationship with Luffy. She’s closer to Luffy than many other women, which include more powerful and overhyped girls, and yes I said girls, because there’s more than one powerful female characters getting that hype

Last factor I’m going to mention is the pettiest of all: the way she responds to other characters. You probably realized that she reacted quite well to Inuarashi’s and Tonoyasu’s compliments, right? Well, thing is many fans want her to respond in a similar manner to their favorite character(s). Problem is that she doesn’t...

She’s a fiery woman with a lot of agency that doesn’t fall for flirting nor physical aesthetics, while challenging the main characters’ decisions, and/or questioning their idiocy. Meanwhile, there are physically stronger women who are far more submissive and/or subservient...

Overall, she’s on a bad position in the west.

Regardless of what haters feel or think, Nami is an amazing character that deserves as much love as she gets in Japan (probably even more). So, screw the morons trying put her down and/or failing to understand her worth. She’s the “queen,” and people should bow

the fourth

Tags: Physically Strong Nami, canon divergence, this wasn’t supposed to be a fic but here we are, Nami-centric, I love her

She becomes a member of Arlong’s crew when she’s a little kid, months after she saw him take her mother’s life right in front of her eyes. Nami is accepted maybe a bit too readily, in hindsight. It’s not only for her maps why Arlong wants her but also because she’s painfully human, a tiny girl amongst grown fishmen. A ragdoll he can beat up easily when he’s drunk and sees a light brown head of hair instead of orange - when the faces of two girls overlap until there’s only Koala left. The brat who was responsible for Fisher Tiger’s death.

Nami endures, mainly because she has no other choice. She is thrown, hit, slapped, burned and held under water until she nearly passes out. She is ten, eleven, twelve years old and all she can do is endure the pain. Somewhere in her heart, she thought Arlong would become less cruel with time. Maybe, she’d thought, he’d slowly accept her as a true crewmember of the Arlong Pirates. She draws maps for him, she goes on robbing missions for him - but, on top of it all, she bleeds for him. She bleeds... never stops bleeding and hurting for the killer of her mother.

And Arlong never treats her better. No, he’s becoming worse. The beatings are getting harsher the longer Nami’s a part of this scheme. She’s at 10 million beri, a tenth of what she needs to buy Cocoyashi. (Nami wonders if Arlong’s going to let her buy it. He’s a bastard. He’s the worst... so why should he bother keeping his word?) However, at this point, she doesn’t know if she survives long enough to even make it till 20 million. Her whole body is a mess of blue and black. Every time she wakes she’s barely able to heave herself up and when she does so too fast she runs the risk of vomiting all over her bedroom floor. She doesn’t want to worry the doctor – he’s a good man and she’s a... she’s a bad person. She doesn’t deserve his kindness anyways.

But she needs to do something – everything – to keep going. Everything to ensure she gets back her village. Everything to come out of this ordeal alive. She’ll never forget Bellmere’s sacrifice and dying without putting up a fight would be a dishonour to the woman who’d taken her in. Nami starts out slow. She buys a bo staff. In all honesty, she’d probably done so even without the constant threat of Arlong accidentally bashing her head in. Maybe she’d have trained a little bit, not too much to put on serious muscle mass because she always wanted to have a body like Nojiko’s or her mother’s – feminine, toned but not too athletic. She’s thirteen, empty-eyed and hurting all over... and she thinks: “I can’t be like them.” They’re not fighters (Bellmere hasn’t fought in a long time before Arlong’s arrival) but she is. Nami’s life tells her she isn’t made to be curvy and feminine. She isn’t made to wear dresses and skirts. Instead, she was made for battle. Her body’s not a temple, it’s a bastion. It has to be.

She neither parts from her V-cut t-shirts nor from her girlish haircut. Those are the two things she’s able to keep. Nami begins wearing leggings or boys’ shorts while swinging her staff in the silence of Cocoyashi’s nights. The night time is when she can refine her swings and build her muscles. Nami’s thirteen and fourteen.

Slowly, she puts on weight. The good kind of weight. The kind of weight that lets her absorb blows and anchors her feet to the ground. They’re clad in boots light enough to run in, but nothing fancy. No impractical heel that could make her stance weaver. She has abs and muscular upper arms. When she looks at herself in the mirror, she’s both proud and strangely sad for the person she’ll never be. In another universe, she’d have had a pinup girl’s frame. Now only the curves of her breasts and hips show that she’s a girl. Even her face has lost its cuteness. She’s raw, she’s stronger than she’d ever been; she can withstand Arlong’s drunken hits... And she starts wanting to strike back. She’s sixteen, seventeen and simultaneously collecting money for Arlong and training to kill him – to rob him of his existence just as he’d done with her mom. Nojiko’s looks towards her are indecipherable. Nami doesn’t know if she wants to know their meaning.

Nami’s seventeen when she hits back for the first time.

She loses. Badly.

There’s a large scar on her forearm. If she’d been a bit less muscular, she’d have come back with one arm less. Nami doesn’t stop trying, though.

At eighteen years old, she’s tried to kill her boss 66 times. None of those attempts have truly done any good. She starts to grow tired... tired of living like that. When she isn’t running towards Arlong with yet another new bo staff in her rough hands, she’s tricking pirates into accepting her as their crewmate. Then she betrays them for their money. She doesn’t feel remorse but the faces of those men are haunting her dreams. There’s blood on her hands. The deal between Arlong and her still stands and he luckily has always just laughed at her “fierceness” instead of punishing her for it. She nearly has the 100 million. (She’ll try it this way... although there’s a voice inside her head telling her not to be so damn naive.)

She comes across Luffy and Zoro and then Usopp and finally... Sanji.

“Wow! What a strong beauty you are, madam! A rose for you and I’ll of course give a discount to such a stunning lady as you!” Something in Nami breaks a tiny bit. Perhaps it’s her heart. She still remembers how she’d bitten her lip to stop herself from crying when she realized she’ll never look like Nojiko or Bellmere. She remembers a thirteen year old girl who’s sworn herself to become stronger to survive.

“Thank you.” she says and smiles brightly to cover her surprise. Sanji finds her attractive. It shouldn’t matter but it does. He’s... charming and even though she could never imagine herself loving him romantically, he’ll hold a special place in her heart nonetheless. (That’s why Sanji beating up Luffy on Whole Cake Island hurts her so much. Because they’re both so goddamn special to her. Luffy is the boy who saved her from Arlong but Sanji’s the one who saved her from the poor image of herself.)

She steals a ship.

Arlong betrays her. (Of course he does.)

Nami kneels on the ground. She has had enough. She grabs her knife and stabs her tattoo – over and over and over again. She curses his name. She... cries. She’s eighteen and she feels broken and bone tired.

A straw hat lands on her head. “Save me” she whispers.

“OF COURSE I WILL!” the only one she’ll ever willingly call captain answers.

Nami’s eighteen when Arlong Park falls to the hands of her friends. She’s eighteen and she’s strong but apparently not strong enough to... “Stop.” Zoro flicks her head. “Stop thinking you’re weak when you’re not.”

“But I couldn’t beat him.”

“Of course you couldn’t.” It hurts to hear that. Of course she couldn’t have... another flick to her head. She looks at Zoro. Zoro looks back. “You had no teacher who could have taught you how to fight, right? You had no-one, didn’t you? Why would you think you could go up against Arlong – who came from the Grandline – without someone teaching you how? Why would you think you could beat the other fishmen when you were having a mental breakdown? Of course you couldn’t. That’s why we did it instead. You’re nakama and you’re at least ten times stronger than Usopp” “Hey!” Usopp cries but is ignored, “but you don’t have a proper technique. That’s why I’m gonna teach you.” Zoro smirks.

“You’ll teach me?” Nami murmurs, absorbing the rest of the swordsman’s words. He’s... right. She never had a teacher. Of course she wouldn’t be able to beat Arlong that way. She swallows, nods. “I’d like that.” she says, voice sounding small.

“Good. I wouldn’t have accepted a no.”

Nami’s eighteen and she learns how to fight for real. She becomes a monster. She wants to be. Nami’s eighteen and she’s a navigator; she’s strong and muscular, she fights alongside Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. She wields a bo staff – one that soon contains the weather itself – and she’ll unlock armament haki. But she’s nineteen when she does and that’s another story altogether.

For now, Nami’s eighteen and she’s strong and... she’s happy.

So, I wanna talk about him

[sighs] Ok, I'm doing this with no deep reasons, i think, but anyway, it's just about one of my favorite character from one of my favorite anime, Zoro from One Piece.

(And I don't mind that no one's gonna see this, I actually know that.)

Take a seat, this gonna be long...

I often hear/see things like people talking about his "lack of development" as a character, his "inhuman qualities" or even, his "cliche and standard personality" (the badass, in this case). And the most annoying, hearing comparisons between him and Sanji. 💨 Ok, ok, hands down, no one here is going to talk shit about Sanji, because, SURPRISE~ I like him, I'm a Zoro fan, and I like both!

So...

As a fan that's nearly enough of hearing so much bullshit all the time about him, I thought that it was time to talk about this in somewhere, and here I am.

The First Mate and (yes, he is) the Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat crew is contanstly said as <Ahem>:

- Cliche badass guy

- 0 personality development

- Shallow character

- "All about strenght"

- Little elaborated etc, etc...

And u wanna know something?

This is partly true!

No, don't kill me, this isn't a troll post. I said "PARTLY". Yes, let's confess, it's obvious that he IS the badass archetype of the damn anime, such as a bunch of other animes does have. Not even 5% of his backstory was shown, and the little part that was, wasn't thaaat deep, I'll get there. Oda loves to show how he's totally obsessed with training and make look like he's just that: all about training, sleep, drink and fight. But he ISN'T just this..!

Remenbering well, in East Blue saga, he used to laugh a lot and even make jokes at some point. It all changed after Mihawk beat him and after he realize how little he was next to him. He was just a frog that didn't knew the sea. Is not a coincidence that after this, his behaivour turned more serious, grumpy and kinda mature? He was the first damn one to realize the life and the path that they was about to take, and take it seriously! Something that not even the freaking captain did!

In the most serious and delicate situations he always was the only one to have a cool head and not be taking by the moment or feelings. He looked at the situation like no one in the crew did in first place, putting Luffy in his Captain place. (Water 7, anyone?? C'mon, THAT was trully badass!) And being rational and calm in this kind of situation don't make him "inhuman" or "antipathetic", it does exist real people that's way worse than that... (And that speech that he had with Luffy in W7 made me fall in love with him.) Srly, his sense of responsability is one of the pillars of the crew.

His arrogance it's based on his swordsman skill, not more, not less. He's actually pretty chill, quiet and rly mature, he even acts like an old man sometimes, reading journal, fishing and declaiming "swordsman poetry" in the middle of a fight like some wise elder hermit (nobody else but that guy use a haramaki, i mean, how old is he? 80?) XD; not to metion his "paternal side" that's just so adorable.

Wise. That's the word. This guy is wise af for someone that young. Again, like an old man. And is a swordsman thing, u know, drink alcohol and be wise. :P

Oh yea! Can I remenber of the "badass cliche guy" and remenber u guys that, besides he being that "awesome" and "cool"... He's a total dork!!

WHO THE FUCKING FUCK GETS STUCK ON A CHIMNEY!?!? FREACKING SANTA DOESN'T!

So don't come to me and say that he's just the "100% badass shitty thing all the time", that man fought with a BIRD because of food! And NO, don't make me mention his most famous gag, we all know that if Zoro takes the helm, they find One Piece in 2 episodes..!

We still have the humanity and simplicity of his past story. Some people like to call that "without depht", knowing well the way OP is, this may be true; Putting his backstory side to side with the crew ones, his is sure rly "shallow". But that can also be his differential, like not needing an oversad (dunno if that word exist) and overwhelming depressing backstory, to be a good character. Simple things could have been enough to make him who he is. And we have Wano coming~ So m a y b e we still can have more from him to come, just time and Oda can say that... #wanohype

About the "tough manly powerful" image of him, he IS a good guy. Even if he likes to pass the image of a cool, strong, fearless and without weak spots dude... He is totally soft and protective with a stranger girl and got arrested in trade of her security. The "hard outside, soft inside" type, and that's precious.

He being psychological strong don't demerits him! A lot of people in OP are weak or disturbed internally, and he doesn't follow this is, someway, amazing! It's not because he don't shows it, that he doesn't feel pain. He just don't want and don't like to be reason of concern to anybody, and to me, this is as hard, as this is brave. ("Nothing happened", huh? *shivers*)

Of COURSE... <Sighs> let's go.💨 He and Sanji are 2. Different. Characters; They have different personalities and ideologies; They were made in different ways; This CAN'T BE COMPARED, OK..? Just because Sanji had his own "year", and added more things to his story like a 2nd flashback (that only LUFFY HAVE!), "family", origins and stuff don't automatically makes him "better" than anyone. Sanji, in fact, is at the moment more developed "historically" than almost all of the crew💧. He have waited a damn long time for this to happen, so as Zoro too. We just need to wait. Maybe Oda is also planning more for him, that we just don't know. The point is DON'T. COMPARE. THEM. JUST... They r 2 different and singular characters, if u have your preference like me, great. So STOP this shit, is annoying as fuck, thanks. (Sorry, but I needed to say this 😒)

I left this one to the final. No, I didn't forgot his greatest, most beautifull and (to me) captivating quality. His incredible loyalty.

If in W7 speech scene I fell for him, in this he just broke in the gate to my heart and stole it for him forever.

What to say about this? Not only one of the most epic scenes of all OP and animes, but also a powerful and perfect resume of who is Roronoa Zoro. I always say to my friends, "his best scenes, isn't the fight ones";

The fact that this proud man bowed in favor to someone else, asked to be stronger so they never pass trough that again; always surpass the limits of his own body to protect the crew, not even bothering If he's going to die or not; seing Luffy not just like a helper for him to be the greatest swordsman, but the man that he handed over his own life to protect him...

And Kuina.

He carries the dream form both, his and hers. The honor of her it's with him, and just like her Wado, his will to protect the dream never broke.

This was to everybody that insist to talk shit about him, I won't stop anybody to think in some way different, that's NOT my purpose! But if it's just hate and shit... Just. Don't.

WUF! 💨

That was WAAAY more than I expected.. 😅

It got damn long! But I don't regret it. Call me "tard" If u want, I don't care, nothing will change what I feel about him XD

That post will probably not be useful anyway, but well, that's my thought, and simply this. A little more of love to the wronged marimo <3 (I probably made this in my apex of my missing of him) (and because I'm done with this shit)

Sorry for bad english~!

Sleep well, mossy guys~ ( °v°)

Fuck, I forgot to sleep.

op oc #3: APRIL

im baaaaaaack

u are about to read about my prime DAUGHTER april. the rogue princess. a real pokemon! hahahhahaha she nabbed herself the AURA AURA FRUIT yo this is wild so get ready to learn about ol’ blue eyes!!!!!!!!!!

NAME: april (i dont have a surname for her i cant think of anything and ive had her for 8 years im sorry) EPITHET: “aura shooter” ooOOoOOoOoo AGE: 18 (pre) 20 (post) BIRTHDAY: april (incredible would u have ever guessed) 5th!!!  BIRTHPLACE: nimbasa island in the south blue SEX: female HEIGHT: 5′6″ WEIGHT: 122lbs HAIR COLOR: sandy brown EYE COLOR: blue APPEARANCE: before she escaped her home, she wore an icy blue dress underneath a navy blue cloak and her hair down with a CROWN of course but she hated wearing it a lot. her hair when worn down reaches the middle of her biceps. after she escaped she ONLY wore her hair in a ponytail and she always wore a red bandanna with a white arch atop her head at all times!! it was a gift from her mamma the QUEEN herself. she also wore a white t-shirt with red triangles bordering the collar and the ends of her sleeves. does that make sense? i sure hope. she wore a red sash around her waist and then she popped on some black pants and boots. real piratey. also some of her hair kinda pops out in the front so theres a good chunk that sometimes covers her left side. look at u go princess. AFTER the timeskip she cut her hair so it reaches just above her shoulders, and instead of wearing her hair up and with the bandanna, she wears it down but with a black headband. her bandanna is tied around her left bicep (fashion inspo: zoro). she wears a green sleeveless crop top, and theres a scar that reaches from the back of her shoulder to the end of her collarbone. she earned that shit from her wild timeskip training. oof. shes ok. she wears light-washed pants and some addidas-lookin shoes lmao she also wears a rly loose belt too. also she has gold earrings and thas about it. her eyes are round and just v pretty and blue. her nose turns up at the end just a tad bit and it’s so cute she’s so cute. she has a dimple on the right side of her mouth. her mommas face :’) shes fairly skinny but after the timeskip she gained some muscles made 4 punching douchecanoes  REPRESENTATIVE SMELL: vanilla FAVE FOOD: pasta FAVE DRINK: lemonade  FAVE SEASON: fall REPRESENTATIVE NATIONALITY: australian BOUNTY: initial bounty was 60,000,000 (for being runaway royalty) but after dressrosa she SKRTED up to 155,000,000 DEVIL FRUIT: aura aura fruit a paramecia type. the fruit allows the user to manipulate their energy. with the aura aura fruit, users are able to detect the aura of others, repel the aura of others, and project their own. the power of aura is mood-sensitive and can change a lot. can u believe april is lucario 6 forms of aura: red is physical nature, orange is intelligence, yellow is sheer willpower, green is healing, blue is emotion, vioilet(i THINK) is mental communication. i forgot what i wrote down for the aura types lmaoooo the biggest drawback of this fruit is that the user can only use a limited amount at one time. another drawback is that they cant manipulate other people’s aura??? it’s rly hard to explain this but trust me it makes sense when it’s put into action i promise SKILLS SET: most of her attacks are used with red aura since it relates to physical nature. wild. “aura bullet” is just shootin aura goodbye. i love pokemon. lmao. uh “aura detect” is when she can see what someone else’s aura looks like, so basically she can determine if someone is a bastard or not before they even open their mouth. “aura clone” clones herself with aura and that takes a LOT of effort to pull this one off especially when she wants to use multiple clones. “aura bomb” yo this one is wild she uses it for diversions and escaping since it kinda acts as a smoke bomb but when she uses this thing in battle OOOOH BOY. “starstorm” ok this is like the “im going to die after i do this move” kinda thing. it combines all the damn types of aura and it just RAINS down on ppl. goodbye april. anyways there are more basic moves but i dont rly wanna get too into that rn im sorry PROFESSION: runaway princess lol CREW: straw hat pirates  PERSONALITY: an easygoing girl. v mellow for the most part but there are times where she can get pretty goofy (thanks jack). if the wrong buttons are pushed, she becomes a HURRICANE. she does have confidence issues but since she met luffy, she’s really started to overcome them. shes got a horrible habit of being sarcastic and also she asks a LOT of questions holy SHIT honey. she is TERRIFIED of heights so when franky lays down a good ol coup de burst, her soul leaves her body. g o o d b y e. she was very cold when she first met luffy and the gang bc she lived with the person who killed her mom AND jack left sooooo she was a little bitter. eventually she learned to rly live with the mugiwaras. when she first joined the crew, she was very shy and timid and tried hard to fit in. she was SO intimidated by zoro like he genuinely scared the fuck out of her so she always tried hard to not be a Fool around him but once she got comfortable with everyone she just had a good ol time. “hey grassy ass!! :))” “can u fucking not call me that”. she has the CUTEST laugh oh me oh my. honestly just a rly passionate gal, she just wants to be strong and be able to protect her pals. refuses outside help. bros out with luffy and usopp and chopper sometimes but also judges them from afar like nami does. it all just depends on the day. truly. i once wrote a series of one-shots where each one was an adventure that april had with one other straw hat. luffy was the first one, and THAT was wild. zoro’s was fucking baller. so on and so forth. rly shows off her dynamic with each member. april? shes honestly just a good person and im proud of her bc she works so hard  LIKES: training, traveling, every single animal ever, reading DISLIKES: heights, the marines, the heat, people who walk horrifically slow in crowded places WEAPON(S): aside from her devil fruit shes got a dagger she sometimes uses. jack gave one to her right before he left HISTORY: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO king jed and queen serena had a baby girl. APRIL. that made her the princess. anyways she grew up as any princess would--spoiled. however the spoiling never got to her head bc serena was so good about teaching her things like that. serena was a goddess i love her pls come back. serena was wildly popular with the citizens of the kingdom bc of her caring and friendly personality. she would always take april into the kingdom every day and pay visits to the citizens. out of all the citizens they paid visits to, the most common faces she saw were those of the solo family. cain was jed’s most talented and trusted knight. he and his wife celeste had 2 kids: jack and sho YO. jack was 7 yrs older than sho and 3 yrs older than april. april and jack became fast friends and often explored the kingdom together. regular kid stuff u know. jack’s mom was always like “jack NO u CANNOT take the PRINCESS to the farms thats FILTY” hahahah but they went anyway.  jed? a dark man. idk who hurt him or what made him so murderous. but. he was tired of serena treating the citizens like equals. he believed that royalty should be viewed as gods.  when april was 8 jed killed serena oh god there it is theres the tragic anime mom death. as soon as serena died, the dynamic of the kingdom instantly changed. soon after jed took total control, people began leaving the island. eventually, the island became so empty that only a handful of families remained. jed did not allow april to leave the castle at all, and with that rule, it damaged the friendship that she and jack had. ofc around that time jack’s dad ran off as well so he stopped tryin to visit her for a bit. but then once he got back into his groove hed sneak all about, avoiding the night patrols, and hed just sit outside of april’s window and talk to her.  when april was 11 she discovered a devil fruit hidden away in the trashed artifacts that belonged to her mother. she ate the devil fruit and was like “now im strong, fight me JED” but lol she got her ass whooped poor bby when april was 16 jack left the island, leaving her completely and utterly alone. the exposure to such loneliness began to change april into a more reserved, bitter person.  2 yrs later the STRAW HATS stumbled upon the island. at that time april had started a habit of sneaking out of the castle to roam the empty streets of nimbasa, but during one of her strolls, she encountered robin, franky, and brook. she ended up knocking them unconscious bc she felt threatened. the second group she met consisted of zoro, chopper, and sanji. they had been captured by guards and were brought into the throne room to be interrogated by jed. april was required to be there as well so she kinda sat in her throne and looked mad the entire time. sanji was like “NO WHY DOES SHE LOOK SO MAD SHE NEEDS TO BE HAPPY” and zoro was like “ive never seen someone so happy to see my face” and chopper was just having a crisis bc they were abt to be tossed into the shadow realm at the hands of the king. zoro got mouthy and jed didnt have none of that shit so he told april to kill zoro but she just knocked him out instead. that pissed jed off. THE NEXT person she met was luffy. she only met luffy bc he infiltrated a banquet thing by sitting underneath a cart. classic luffy. she didnt meet nami and usopp until WAAAAY later. yadda yadda yadda shit goes down (i wrote a whole arc for this. it’s called the princess and the pirates lmao original but yes i wrote an entire arc for her recruitment and it’s A Lot) ANYWAYS luffy asked her to join the crew but she declined at first bc she thought pirates were just like her father: power-hungry and murderous. however that obv changed when she was exposed to the straw hats more when luffy defeated jed who ate the ___ ___ fruit (tbh i forgot what fruit he ate im sorry) she KNEW she belonged with the straw hats. :’) she still be sailin with the legends. shes had some wild times obv. her arc comes a bit after thriller bark. woopie!!!!!!! like always, lemme know if u wanna know more about her!!!

The Top 10 Most-Watched One Piece Episodes Of The Decade

There is, to put it simply, a whole lotta One Piece. For most of my adult life, there were more One Piece episodes out there than numbers in my bank account, and if you wanted to start in 2020 watching an episode a day (and considering that we get a new episode almost every week,) you wouldn’t catch up on the series until 2023. 

But which episodes have people watched the most over the past decade? Of course, you should plow into the series head-first and never skip a bit of it, but with a series this size, inevitably some episodes will be watched more than others. And since I have the almighty data, I’m gonna share those top episodes with you now.

1. Episode 1

Fans know that, as soon as the drums kick in on “We Are” and the narrator begins running down the final words of Gold Roger, it’s on. I honestly envy anyone who is starting this series for the first time. You have a lot to look forward to, and I can’t wait to burst through your wall, Kool-Aid Man style, to ask your opinions of the latest arc.

  2. Episode 2

As someone who’s basically made it his whole dumb job to write about One Piece on Crunchyroll, I look at these numbers like a proud parent. A lot of people liked Episode 1 enough to move onto the second one. You go, team! I’m gonna yell support at you from the sidelines like a middle-aged soccer Dad, and then give you all orange slices when the eyecatch comes on.

  3. Episode 3

This is when the episodes start to really heat up, with Zoro and Luffy teaming up to take on the Marines and Axe-Hand Morgan. When I first watched the beginning of the episode, I thought “Man, Zoro carries a third sword in his mouth? That’s kinda dumb…,” but by the end, I was 100% sold. How else would he hold it? Why would anyone carry two swords when they can put another one under their molars? Why is Zoro just so, so cool?

  4. Episode 4

Here, the adventure takes a quick breather so we can bone up on Luffy’s backstory. If you don’t get goosebumps when Shanks gives Luffy his straw hat, you’re either not human or Blackbeard. Fun fact: Though this episode adapts most of the manga’s Chapter 1, they wouldn’t show how Luffy got his trademark facial scar until the Episode of Luffy TV special in 2012, 13 years after this anime episode debuted. 

  5. Episode 726

This is the first time that we see Luffy’s Fourth Gear in action and it doesn’t disappoint. Doflamingo taunts Luffy and Luffy responds by turning Doffy’s spine into paste. 

  6. Episode 521

  As the Straw Hats slowly return to Saobaody, they (and the rest of the pirates there) find themselves cornered by the Pacifistas. Of course, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji have got a time skip under their belts, so they make short work of the Kuma Klones and get ready to head to Fishman Island. 

  7. Episode 733

Okay, from the looks of it, y’all really enjoyed Luffy’s fight against Doflamingo, as it takes up 30% of the list. And why shouldn’t you? It’s great and it ends with the ol’ Luffy special: A warlord getting punched into the ground of the city he terrorized. Worked on Crocodile and it definitely works on ‘mingo. 

  8. Episode 20

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised here - Most of the Straw Hats get great introductions in the anime and Sanji is no different. Luffy’s chef makes his first appearance in episode 20, right after Luffy accidentally deflects a cannonball into his restaurant. Some may say “Man, that’s awfully convenient plotting,” but it’s Luffy. They’re lucky that he didn’t somehow destroy the entire thing. 

  9. Episode 522

The Straw Hats are all together here after over two years of being separated, and it’s a welcome reunion. Don’t get me wrong, I’d watch a spinoff show based around any Straw Hat pirate and I can only hope that after One Piece ends, we get Sanji’s Floating Kitchen Nightmares and Usopp’s Fables. But there’s just something special when they’re all on the same boat and having the same adventure.

10. Episode 728

And we end this list with another great installment of Luffy v. Doflamingo. In this episode, we learn that while Gear Fourth is powerful, a candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long. Basically, Luffy has to finish off Doflamingo fast, otherwise he’s gonna need to stall and take a quick nap. Also, I chose this image because I totally forgot about this hilarious-looking (but extremely effective) headbutt maneuver. 

Did you watch any of these One Piece episodes this decade? What is your favorite one from this list? Let us know in the comments!

➡️ Watch One Piece Today! ⬅️

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Daniel Dockery is a writer for Crunchyroll that somehow talks about One Piece for a living. You can find 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!

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