It's sweet to me how when one is upset the other is shown to comfort them or at least show heavy concern. They're both people who make an impact on and connect to the people they meet and we know Luffy doesn't like being alone and that Sanji has low self-esteem, so them supporting and holding onto each other so strongly feels healing and really intimate.
Sanjis go-to line being "I understand how you feel" is so comforting like as he said when Luffy was unable to find his hat, and there's also how he supports him just being near him as company like when Luffy was contemplating what to do with the Merry and Sanji was standing below ready to hear his verdict.
With Luffy, he's been shown to consistently ask Sanji what's wrong when he notices something troubled about his expression, and during wci he often spoke aloud to Sanji despite their physical distance telling him he'll find and help him. Each of their worries can be calmed or at least understood by the other essentially.
One of their earliest scenes being Luffy sleeping in Sanjis room and having his hat, a symbol of his relationship with Shanks, sit next to child Sanjis photograph of him with Zeff sets the stage of their dynamic well imo. We have Luffy being invited into Sanjis personal space, being the only one to be shown to go in there, and when he wakes up they talk, being overjoyed at chatting about things deemed childish by some, then go to eat together. It's such a cute and deep setup for them. It's also relevant how Luffy is shown to be Sanjis first friend his own age, it makes their bond even more special.
Luffy was always excited at the idea of having a cook even since childhood, meanwhile Sanji was across the sea wanting to be a cook but being in an unaccepting environment. Reiju told him he'd find someone who cares about and accepts him, and so her then later saying for Sanji to never let him go specifically makes it feels as though they were destined to be together, or at the very least that they mesh super well they may as well have been anyway. So many aspects of them either connect or contrast I will never get over it.
It's a shame the anime didn't animate some manga scenes of it, but I think Sanji was the one saving luffy the most in the beginning, at least in the period after his debut. Being the main swimmer out of the former joining members makes him a perfect pair to Luffy, the "anchor". But it wasn't limited to underwater of course, as we had Sanji come to his aid during his run in with Smoker, and he blocked Don Kreigs men from shooting at Luffy as the two fought.
Anyway their relationship has always been very comforting to me I wish they'd be acknowledged more for what they really are. They're clearly very special to each other and are both major characters to the series with their dreams even having that theory of being connected if it ends up being true they're canon idc.
The lack of video content is what kept us here... I thought we all agree that the best feature of this hellhole was and always will be anonymity.
Tumblr's not asking for my phone number. It's not going through my contacts to try and connect me with my fucking colleagues. I can come here and talk about whatever I want without anyone ever seeing my face or hearing my voice. I don't have to censor myself and hide my interests or enthusiasm out of fear of consequences it might have in my real life.
I think the biggest misunderstanding they have of Tumblr is that they think of it as a social media platform when in actuality it's a blogging platform with social features.
hi guys on today's episode of "vi can't be normal about one piece" we are talking about the insane parallels between zeff and sanji and luffy
guys. guys this is happening exactly as both zeff and (adult) sanji give up on their dream. zeff is at this point all but given up on the all blue and sanji now has resigned himself to the fact that he has to die to save the crew.
enter: the ones that fight for their dreams kicking screaming. stubborn and relentless.
look at this scene. this fucking scene. the blood in sanji's face and how stubborn he is about not giving up on his dream. he will not let it end here. he will weave the strings of fate himself if he has to. he will drag himself through hell. he will not give up. it doesn't end here.
this is so fucked up. luffy is fighting for his dream when he has given up on it. he is thinking "sanji can't be strong for himself now, so i will be strong for him. i will save him. from everyone waiting to harm him and from himself." sanji has buried the kid in him that longs to find the all blue and here we see luffy dig the ground the child lies in with bare hands. he will not let it end. not here. not now.
this is what kept him alive. zeff's sacrifice. zeff's gamble and belief that this kid that he doesn't even know will find the all blue. that he will do what he couldn't. now what makes this scene so important is the two ways this can be seen. in zeff's eyes, it's his choice. he chose to save sanji with no prior knowledge about anything about him because whatever he saw in sanji at that moment in the ship, he wanted to keep alive. it is an ultimately selfish motive. is it kind? yes, definitely. but it's not selfless. the other way you can see this through sanji's eyes. sanji, who has been told all he is is a burden and that his life is worthless is now being kept alive by a man who he doesn't even know. he has thrown his life away for sanji. sanji looks at it like this: "zeff is a kind man. he helped me because he couldn't let a child starve. what he did for me is an obligation where he was forced into a corner." sanji interprets this as an altruistic action and that he is now indebted to him forever.
luffy didn't sacrifice a leg for sanji, but he was ready to die. he KNEW he wouldn't, though. because he knows sanji and his bleeding heart and his love. once again, sanji and his dream is saved by another person starving for him. the main thing that distinguishes this scene from the zeff one is that this was a choice, without doubt. luffy KNOWS sanji. he has seen the ugliest parts of sanji and he still loves him. he is ready to give up his life forever sanji with no ulterior motive. he doesn't want sanji to carry on his dream or do anything for him. he knows what sanji wants, but after this scene, he still asks. "what does sanji want?" he pulls the truth out of the hollows of his chest. he doesn't flinch at what he sees there. he sees sanji's hunger, want and kindness so vast that it can even be considered naive. he doesn't flinch. he simply smiles.
