One Piece leaves a lot to be desired in how women are drawn and included in the story most times, but it does a few things right, too, and I want to talk about that.
The women are exremely strong-willed. All of them. Unless being "weak" is a plot-relevant character trait (Shirahoshi), the vast majority don't sit back and let the plot happen to them while crying about it. They take charge of their lives and have their own stories separate from the main character's.
Robin's whole world was destroyed because her people wanted to learn forbidden knowledge? Better dedicate her entire life to figuring it out. Nami's village was seized by pirates? Better work to buy it back. Vivi's country is being controlled from the shadows by an evil warlord? Better go undercover and fix this shit. Otohime doesn't like the divide between fishmen and humans? Better inspire change in the hearts of the people. If I sat here and listed every example, we'd be here all day.
I hate how in most series there will be like one woman in the main cast and then when another woman comes along at some point they're both really catty towards each other and don't even try to get along.
They'll be jealous of any (male) attention the other gets, make unnecessary negative comments about the other's appearance, argue, and just be terribly hateful to each other in general.
Not so in One Piece. 99 times out of 100 the women are supportive of each other. Encouraging. Accepting.
I think about Komurasaki and how there were just as many women lined up to get a look at her as there were men and they were ALL thinking, "damn yeah, she's pretty attractive."
And while that does say a few things about male gaze, in my opinion, it's infinitely better than resentment and jealousy.
Nami's another prime example. While she was, for a while, the sole woman of the main cast, any time another came along they became instant friends. She had no problem sharing her space with Vivi or with Robin when she joined and she's stated on multiple occasions how determined she is to protect them.
Anyways, this got way too long but I feel like a lot of us gloss over the good qualities of women in One Piece so I just really wanted throw some positivity into the mix.
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