#saltey takes on one piece
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I love this very normal interaction.
It’s also good storytelling. It’s not just giving us an explanation for how Luffy gets a coat, (recall his old one was torn up to keep Nami from falling off his back while he climbed the mountain) it also tells us a lot about what is “normal” for the crew. Just a fight? Nothing to worry about.
There’s also some great subtle character development here, revealing the type of normal conversations they have and how they treat each other. Luffy may not care about fashion but he does want to look “cool,” and he’s happy to take Nami’s advice even if he doesn’t really understand it.
Oda spent a whole page on this in the middle of a fight, but it’s always been one of my favorite scenes.
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THIS SMILE
This scene illustrates something I think is really important and overlooked about Zoro and Nami’s relationship. And to be clear, I’m not talking a romantic relationship, just a relationship between two people.
I’ve mentioned before how Zoro and Nami carry the emotional balance of the crew, how when one of them is worried or freaking out the other will be calm, and vice versa. Zoro and Nami are characters that carry a lot of authority on the crew. Hardly anybody will outright refuse to do what one of them says when they bother to use that authority, and they both seem to be aware of each other’s role without having to discuss it.
Zoro feels the weight of responsibility more than anyone else on the crew, and I think he wants to reassure people that he can handle that responsibility by being strong and reliable. And to him, that means acting reserved and stoic. Zoro is, ultimately, a shy and awkward guy who doesn’t know how to express his feelings.
But Nami is the other person who carries that weight, and this is how Zoro reacts to Nami when he thinks the two of them are completely alone. He has this open, sunny, trusting smile. He, with all his pride, can be honest and a little embarrassed about getting lost. He doesn’t feel the need to act tough around her because he knows Nami understands something about him that nobody else on the crew does.
As the main two characters who manage Luffy, of course a lot of Zoro and Nami’s relationship hinges on their respective relationships with Luffy. But they also have their own relationship with each other and that’s one of my favorite dynamics in the series.
Also Oda, let our boy smile like this again, please. He deserves it. WE deserve it.
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Oh, he is SO HAPPY. Look at his cheerful smile! He’s gonna have SO much fun with this.
#one piece#op ch107#saltey takes on one piece#zoro#roronoa zoro#igaram#igarappoi#mister 9#mister 8#zoro's dimple#zoro's smile
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BIG DISHONORABLE MENTION FOR THIS WORD CHOICE. Zoro does not call Nami a “scheming woman.” What is with the translators making Zoro into a complete hater towards Nami?? Vivi says she can’t understand what Miss All Sunday is thinking, and Zoro replies “we’ve already got that type of person on this ship.” He never said anything about women at all! If you think of someone on the ship whose thought process is completely incomprehensible…
…HE’S TALKING ABOUT LUFFY.
#one piece#op ch114#saltey takes on one piece#vivi#nami#zoro#usopp#roronoa zoro#nefertari vivi#dishonorable mention#i am going to bite something#i really think these early translators looked at zoro's character design and were like 'i know what type of character this is'#and just translated all his lines like he was a complete asshole#because that's his 'type'#absolutely infuriating#i don't think any other character gets it so bad
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Everybody has their own beds but nobody wants to be too far away from Nami. I love that they do this but I especially love that she got to see it. Nami spent a long time suffering alone, so knowing she's surrounded by care like this is really important for her.
#one piece#op ch132#saltey takes on one piece#luffy#usopp#nami#vivi#zoro#karoo#monkey d luffy#roronoa zoro#nefertari vivi
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Your explanation about retconing made me think Oda's way of writing is exactly what bring people to think he has every single thing planed down from the start, even if he didn't.
The story has been going on for 20 years, and Oda himself has admitedly had ideas along the way that he added. But the fact he's still able to connect every new idea instead of having to retcon things is what makes one piece feel so perfectly planned and tied.
Anon, you innocently sent me this ask to share your thoughts and unknowingly triggered one of my rants. I’m sorry/thank you.
Anon is referring to this post.
Oda is just a good writer! He is good at the craft of writing! Even if you don’t like the story (I’m assuming you do, but for people who don’t…) it’s just WELL WRITTEN. People really aren’t used to seeing good writing anymore, to seeing tropes deployed effectively and having plot lines actually connect. This isn’t just me being cranky and old, it’s just truth. People are talking about this in film, TV, books… One Piece has been around so long that it comes from a generation of storytelling that is vastly different from our modern media landscape.
I think people are burned out on the way modern storytelling never delivers (looking at you, JJ Abrams) or constantly jerks people around to elicit a reaction, all for the sake of nabbing that viral moment. When they see Oda deploy a trope or a storytelling device they’re immediately suspicious and fearful that it’ll turn into another unsatisfying gotcha. They rush to look for proof that it’s either all part of a detailed master plan, or it’s just a cheap trick to sell more issues.
In both cases, people are looking for a reason to be LESS INVESTED in the story. If he has a master plan, they don’t need to get worried or excited because it’s all heading to some inevitable conclusion that’s been clearly telegraphed and once you’ve cracked the code then you can already tell what the ending will be, so you don’t actually have to care. If he’s winging it, then the story is just a sequence of loosely connected meaningless scenes whose only purpose is to get you hype about a plot leading nowhere, so you don’t actually have to care.
And it breaks my fucking heart.
When it comes to One Piece, so many people are insistent that One Piece is EITHER 100% planned in advance down to every minute detail, or Oda is completely winging the whole thing. But the real answer is somewhere in between, in some muddy grey area that people find really unsatisfying. They want one clear answer that they can hold up as “The Right One,” but life is not made up of black and white answers.
Honestly it makes me really sad that people can read ALL THIS - pirates are evil except actually pirates are good and the Marines are evil except the Marines are trying to protect civilians by keeping countries stable so that's good except the rulers are evil tyrants so that's bad except when they’re not and then they’re good but only sometimes and… - and what they come away with from it is, “Okay but what’s the RIGHT answer.”
The thing that makes One Piece feel like it’s so cohesive despite Oda constantly changing his mind and making shit up is that he has a very strong and clear idea about what’s actually important to the story and what’s flexible. Because he has that as a guide, he can add the Shichibukai and change Vivi from a villain to a princess and make up who Ace’s parent is without diluting what he wants to say.
That’s what it MEANS to be a writer. Foreshadowing isn’t “boring,” it’s good writing. A plot twist you didn’t see isn’t “cheap,” it’s good writing. Fleshing out a backstory isn’t “reconning,” it’s good writing.
#anon ask#asked and answered#saltey takes on one piece#sorry to bombard y'all with these walls of text#saltey says#<- is the tag to block if you don't want to see them
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This scene illustrates something really important about Luffy’s character. Luffy can be kind, if he likes somebody, but he can also be remarkably ruthless and unforgiving. If he doesn’t like somebody he’s downright cold. So why does he help the lapins? They attacked him, and worst of all they seriously endangered the lives of his friends.
But Luffy also understands something about power and responsibility. It’s something akin to the way Shanks didn’t let Higuma pick a fight with him, or how Luffy and Zoro let Bellamy’s crew push them around. When the gap in power is so big, magnanimity costs him nothing but callousness would make him a bully. In the earlier examples, Higuma and Bellamy were idiots (and bullies themselves) who thought they had won without realizing that in fact they had been spared.
This is part of the way the depths of Luffy’s character are revealed little by little, keeping him consistent while also allowing him to grow. It’s how we’re able to believe this weird goofy kid really can become a king, because there aren’t sudden revelations that drastically alter his personality. It’s all there already.
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Sanji is so delighted here. Is he proud or does he just think it’s fun? Either way, his smile is practically a mirror of Luffy’s in ch140 when he realizes Chopper can transform and decides to recruit him.
To Chopper “monster” has always meant something bad, but for the first time here someone is saying it in a way that isn’t negative. Despite being a “monster” Luffy clearly has friends who are important to him - so important he’d carry them up the whole mountain - and those friends feel the same about him.
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This little shithead, look how happy he is. He’ll finally be able to relieve some of the frustration of not being able to do anything but dodge Wapol’s attacks when he was carrying Nami and Sanji.
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I will FIGHT anyone who whines about Nami loving money.
Listen, real world poverty is traumatizing enough. They’ve done studies that show living in poverty literally changes your genes! It will easily fuck up a kid for the rest of her life. But to see a cash value placed on your life and your family and to know YOU CANNOT PAY IT and then see the consequences of that immediately…
Money is safety. Money is security. Money is survival. Of course Nami loves money. She SHOULD love money. It protects her and it protects the people she loves.
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It stands out that this spread doesn’t get a DON. Even though Luffy has done something incredible and the castle makes an impact on him (he even says it’s pretty) the actual scene is hushed. I really expected a DON and the lack of one created a totally different atmosphere.
Instead of the wind howling and whipping snow around, you can really feel the silence and remote, muffled feeling deep snow gives. It’s almost shocking how still this scene feels, and how serene Luffy looks after his panicked expressions earlier.
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The fact that we hardly ever get to see these two bantering anymore is really such a shame. Sanji usually gets the good quips but these two have better back-and-forth.
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Zoro looks like he’s teasing Usopp here, but really he’s just telling him it’s fine to be honest your weaknesses and limitations. Despite their gap in raw power, Zoro has a lot of respect for Usopp as a fellow warrior.
Nobody on the crew ever mocks Usopp for his fears, even if they don’t always take him entirely seriously.
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Sanji catches a T-rex because it has tiny, unusable arms. Zoro catches a triceratops because it has three horns.
Get it? Because Sanji doesn’t use his hands. And Zoro uses three swords.
This joke is so corny and yet I laugh every time…
#one piece#op ch116#saltey takes on one piece#sanji#zoro#roronoa zoro#somehow I feel disappointed in myself for finding it so funny#like it’s not even that funny#it’s more of an easter egg than a visual joke#and yet
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Something I appreciate more about Drum Island arc is the way we’re reminded how long change can take. Even though it looked like Hiriluk died in vain, those doctors who saw him held onto the inspiration and hope he gave them for five years, just waiting for an opportunity to take action.
This happens again and again, where Luffy and the Straw Hats blunder into a powderkeg of a situation that’s been simmering for years if not decades and become the catalyst that finally moves people into action. Obviously for narrative reasons more stuff happens around Luffy because he’s our protagonist, but it also ties into his personality and character. The simple fact of Luffy’s presence seems to electrify people and spurs them to finally rise up.
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One of my absolute favorite covers! It’s super dynamic and even though Usopp’s back is to us in a way that makes the scene feel more real. Normally a pose like this would be closing us, the viewers, off from the action. But instead it feels more spontaneous and less posed, like we’re running right along with them.
There are a some fun details in here. Everyone’s carrying a different type of backpack - Luffy and Zoro have bindles (because they don’t care about style) and Nami has a cute tiny backpack. Check out Usopp’s very stylish Swatch collection, plus his aloha print bandanna. I wonder what that long package is he’s got on his back?
I love the love that’s shown here. Luffy is having so much fun, and everyone is looking out for his hat for him. The reactions give you a sense for just how many fractions of a second ago it flew off his head and create a neat visual cascade.
#one piece#op ch148#saltey takes on one piece#straw hat pirates#luffy#usopp#zoro#sanji#nami#monkey d luffy#roronoa zoro
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