26 || she/her || one piece enthusiast [ art reblogs - fic recs - op meta posts ] i sometimes reblog 18+ stuff so MDNI please! i write fluffy little fics over at @chibinasuu
Doomed Siblings: The Vinsmokes Brothers & Sanji's Relationship with Zoro
At the risk of being booed off my soap box, I really like how Zoro and Sanji's relationship mirrors the relationship Sanji has with his brothers. Or rather, I like how the relationship 124ji believe they have with Sanji is what Sanji really has with Zoro
I think it's pretty obvious throughout the entire arc we get to meet Sanji's family that the poison Sora took did work on all of her kids, but the effects worked best on Sanji. Throughout the arc's present day and the past, you can see Sanji's brothers also display expressions of emotion
They get irritated, they get angry, they experience lust and attraction, excitement. During the early parts of the wedding, you see Yonji help another guest getting food, which minute it may have been it was still an act of compassion on his part which a person completely void of emotion wouldn't think to do
Most important of all, as children they expressed a desire to have their father's approval. It's just that for them, picking on Sanji is what got it the most and it eventually escalated into abuse and torment. Case in point, when after learning Sanji was alive in the dungeon, Niji says "if he were to actually die, Father would be happy about it, right?"
Othering Sanji was a learned trait they picked up from Father of the Year, who actively encouraged the treatment Sanji received from his siblings. He even went a step further in isolating his children from their mother as a control tactic, and if you combine their inability to recognize their own emotions minimal they may be with Judge's upbringing, it led the relationship the Vinsmoke siblings, primarily the brothers, have with each other
Really a lot of the initial disconnect they had with Sanji was more to do with the fact that Sanji was "different". I feel the biggest evidence for this comes from Ichiji when you get a brief look into the relationship Sanji had with his brothers before the main flashback in their early childhood when they took away a cake he was decorating
The first thing Ichiji says with a scolding look was, repeated words from their father: "Royalty mustn't cook. Royalty mustn't serve anyone". It isn't until Sanji tried hitting him with no effect due to Ichiji's steel-like skin enhancements, do you see Ichiji actually get upset and hit him back. While he does so, he specifically says "We were all born on the same day, so why are you the only failure?"
Why are you the only one that's different?
The Vinsmoke brothers are quadruplets, they're supposed to be a matching set. 124ji are clearly very close to one another and it's pretty apparent that what they really always wanted with Sanji was that same unity. Or, to pull from a friend's description of it, "they wanted a sort of camaraderie with him, which they couldn't because of how 'different' Sanji is"
But you can see that 124ji do care about Sanji in their own way:
When Sanji nearly drowned during a training exercise when they were children, it was Ichiji who asked where Sanji was first
When they were in the middle of the Brock Collie mission, Ichiji tells an enemy soldier his little brother is getting married and he wants to be there to see it
After the mission, the moment they touched toe on Germa, the first thing Niji asked was why Sanji wasn't there to greet them and after greeting Judge, he once again asks where Sanji is. The former scene being juxtaposed to Sanji calming himself during an anxiety attack over the prospect of seeing his older brothers again and seeing all of his brothers in one place after 13 years apart
Niji explicitly gets jealous that Sanji chose to side with a maid over his own family and goes as far as saying 「仮にもおれの弟を名乗るなら」 "if you're going to call yourself my brother"
When Sanji and Pudding arrive at the altar, the three of them do look excited and happy to witness the event
Even the three of them going out of their way to check on Sanji whether it be to irritate him or otherwise during Whole Cake, is their way of trying to check in on him
And of course, you can see that care for him when each sibling each gets their own moment highlighted to saving Sanji and in 24ji's case, having words exchanged that are fonder on their end with Niji going as far as saying Sanji is a troublesome little brother in the same cadence Ace and Sabo was talk about Luffy
Not to mention the fact, Niji went out of his way to give Sanji the raid suit that would have been given to him
In early Whole Cake when Sanji is still refusing to marry Pudding, Yonji hears this and takes it upon himself to scold him over it seeing it as when he and Ichiji and Niji were, essentially trying to get Sanji with the program (personality-wise). That scene alone does a great job to paint a picture in how differently they view things from Sanji/the reality of it all
Yonji sees this as, "once again the runt or proverbial baby of the family, is being difficult because he can't have his way"
Whereas Sanji is reliving his entire childhood trauma just by being back in the palace. It wasn't scolding for him, it was abuse for the sake of abuse
Niji saying "if you're going to call yourself my brother", juxtaposed to Sanji immediately telling his bio family that being a Vinsmoke is one of his greatest shames. That he doesn't want to be one
The gap in even the divide in their perceptions of reality is as wide as the Red Line stretching around the world
Because at the end of the day, they don't have the relationship they think they do with Sanji. They don't banter or bicker. This isn't just simply because of all the abuse, but they also plain and simple don't see Sanji as their equal. They were never taught to see him that way. To them, he will always be the 'runt' or 'weak baby' that they tried to beat into making him something Sanji wasn't, isn't and never will be
But a person Sanji does have that with is Zoro
They bicker, they banter, they like saying shit to get under each other's skin and, most importantly of all, they are equal in each other's eyes. As much as they like to compete over who is 'better' or who has the higher bounty, they ultimately view each other as standing on the same ground
Sanji can never have a real relationship with his brothers. He can never truly have that close a relationship with Reiju due to her guilt surrounding their childhood and how she was never able to bring herself to defend him publicly and in part, contributed to the abuse he faced, when in reality it's her father's fault for putting her in the position have to choose between her physical well-being or Sanji's. His father made sure none of his children would be able to be proper siblings to one another because he wanted soldiers at the end of the day, not children
They're numbered lab rats labeled 0 through 4, not his family. It's in their naming conventions. Reiju was his prototype, the boys were meant to be his successes
But while Sanji wasn't able to find brothers in his biological ones, he was able to find one in Zoro and I find that thematically satisfying
AKA What turns men into monsters; Is it ideology and propaganda? Projection and insecurity? Class and upbringing? Or perhaps, it is all of these combined.
A not-so-quick analysis of Vinsmoke Judge, what makes him so despicable and hate-able, why he works as a villain, what does this mean for Sanji as a character and WCI as an arc, and how the brains of awful men like his work.
Warning: this is very very long (around 2k words) and talks about topics of abuse and imperialism, obviously. Also, a lot of this hinges on personal subjective interpretation of the narrative and speculation, so please be patient.
For starters, let’s get a quick comparison between Judge as a villain and other antagonists throughout One Piece. There’s, in my opinion, something that quickly separates him from the rest.
While most villains in One Piece are often motivated to do horrible things because of personal pathos and experiences, wants, needs, desires and traumatic memories, Judge –at first glance at least, seems to be motivated by something very different: Ideology. He is an imperialist, a fascist, a eugenicist, a classist, a warmonger, and so on and so on.
He is most similar to a villain like Hody Jones in this regard. There’s no personal big event in their lives (that we know of, at least) leading this type of character to their horrible actions, but rather a worldview. Most other antagonists in One Piece are in my opinion written as “person first, ideology second”. They’re often motivated by their own specific experiences, even if they can be assigned an ideology on top of that. But Judge and Hody seem to be more symbolic of broader ideas at their core, so they’re in a sense the odd ones out. They’re the reverse; “ideology first, person second”, almost feeling like they’re representatives of broader harmful structures, rather than being their own individuals.
I think also it’s worth mentioning why the ideology is here, and what it offers in terms of the narrative of Sanji’s abuse. Some might think it was an unnecessary element that isn’t that thematically connected to Sanji’s struggles. Couldn’t his family simply have been abusive, without all that Germa nonsense? Well for starters, it’s mostly here for the pop-cultural Kamen Rider references, yeah. But getting that out of the way, I think Sanji’s suffering is connected to his father’s terrible worldview pretty directly.
For starters, fascism is all about control. It preaches scapegoatism, demonization of “weakness” and fetishization of strength. Judge is a man that runs his family the same way he runs his state; with an iron fist. Sanji’s abuse IS a direct result of him being unable to meet these horrific standards. It also helps that we know Sanji as a kind person, so juxtaposing him to his comically evil literal-supervillain family, makes it simply easier for us to root for Sanji and hate his relatives, from a narrative building perspective. Ideas around masculinity and what an “able body” is in Judge’s eyes, are both part of Sanji’s backstory of abuse. It is also important that the Vinsmokes are royalty, because the first thing we learn about Sanji in One Piece, is that he suffered through great hunger. These people are wealth itself; they have never experienced that hardship.
However, while I think it’s true to an extent that Judge at first is simply “walking ideology” without being much of an actual individual, the way WCI is written, he starts showing interesting cracks behind the mask that reveal hints of specific personal motivations. In other words, the awful person behind the just as awful ideology starts to subtly show, and can be pieced together by looking intently.
As we experience the arc through Sanji’s eyes, Judge is a man who initially seems like an intimidating “strongman”, an impossible-to-read stoic threat, with no thoughts of his own outside cruelty. He’s a walking stereotype without much depth to be found. But slowly, the faults of his character begin to show; he is hasty, he has emotional outbursts, he is pathetic and hypocritical, he is careless and thoughtless, falling easily into Big Mom’s trap. In other words the imperfection and insecurity that Sanji was never able to spot in his father as a scared kid, starts to reveal itself, as Sanji slowly overcomes his fear of this man. He is not terrifying anymore; he is pathetic. And he is human, the worst kind of evil. The image of a man who is as perfectly mechanical as his genetically augmented sons, is shattered. They have no choice in their cruelty (to an extent, at least, due to Judge’s actions no less), but Judge is perfectly capable of compassion. He simply chooses to disregard it. His evil, unlike his sons, is his own choice.
Judge often laments his own humanity, doing so multiple times throughout the arc. He complains about how he can’t bring himself to take “his own son’s life as a father” to Sanji’s face, or often shows his twisted love for the rest of his children. This is a man who wishes nothing more than to be like his so-called “perfect” cruel sons, these unfeeling warriors, soldiers with no fear or sorrow. He fashions himself after them, in a way. But that is not the truth of who he is, and he very very clearly hates that.
This is where his hypocrisy comes in; he punishes Sanji for the very same things he himself is very capable of. To me, that’s kind of the point of the scene of him crying during the assassination, a highlight of his “rules for thee but not for me” behavior. This might sound absurd at first, but don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say. I think out of the three parental figures Sanji has had in his life (Sora, Judge, Zeff) he is the least like his birth father. He is in every sense, much more like the other two. However, no matter how absurd it feels, out of all his sons, Judge is most similar to Sanji. And he hates every second he is reminded of it. Not in the kindness, of course, but in his emotional nature. This is a man who, I think is not a stretch to say, projected on his eight-year-old son.
But here comes the problem, of course. As I said earlier, I think this is a man whose ideology came first. He doesn’t latch onto it to cover up for his insecurities, but rather, they are comorbid, it’s the reverse. The elements he sees in himself as “weakness” are elements that he hates, precisely because they clash with his worldview, not the other way around. The ideology is a result of upbringing, similar to the Celestial Dragons; taught from birth that as royalty he is superior to others, that he deserves everything by existing, that his kingdom’s horrific nationalism is excused due to whatever scapegoatism the Vinsmokes have been propagandizing for centuries. So when he is reminded that these ideas might be false, when he looks at his own “weak” son and realizes he is more like him than he is like his other “perfect” sons, he lashes out in ways the escalate in cruelty. I think he is at his core, a disastrous mix of entitlement and insecurity. After all, secure and happy men don’t fall for such ideas.
There’s an interesting moment right before he gives his last horrid speech where he lists all of the things he hates about Sanji (that scene where Luffy lovingly responds with “Why did he list all the good things about you?”). Before he starts angrily and pointlessly rambling, there’s a panel where he looks down at Sanji, their faces juxtaposed, with his bandages covering one eye; just like Sanji and his hairstyle, and while making a similar facial expression to him. There’s a pause in that moment. I think the narrative is telling us in a way, and if you want to interpret it as such, about the insecurity and projection hiding behind this man’s “strongman” mask. Literally a mask- Big Mom broke his helmet. He is here without it. And of course, he cannot change. He will not change. He will keep acting out his cruelty; it’s too late for horrible old men like him. But not for someone like Sanji. This is the last moment where we see the two reject each other for good. And it’s a reminder of how that man’s shadow no longer looms over Sanji. Sanji can see through him, he sees the real, pathetic, sad man behind the intimidating persona. Maybe he does see himself a little bit too, but he rejects that. He rejects a future where he grows to be like this man.
The last element I want to talk about however, one that I didn’t touch on so far, probably has to do with Sora. There’s two things that stood out to me in regards to Judge’s relationship to Sora that I never see anyone talk about.
The first is the fact that Judge calls Sanji “his greatest failure”. Think about it for a few seconds. Why would a man so self-absorbed not simply blame Sora for what happened? He could have easily gone “Oh, there’s no failure on my part here, my science was perfect! I didn’t make any mistakes; I was simply sabotaged. Sabotaged by a third party.” But he doesn’t. He doesn’t use Sora as a scapegoat. I mean- it wouldn’t have been inaccurate either. The reason Sanji was born human IS because of Sora’s interference, not because of any mistake in the science. So why? Why does he not do it? Why is Sanji “his mistake”. I simply couldn’t figure it out at first, but then it dawned on me.
If Sanji is “Judge’s mistake”, than it can’t be “Sora’s success”. He is erasing her. He’d rather present himself as someone who messed up, than include her and acknowledge her actions. It’s about taking agency away from her. If HE is the one that failed when it comes to Sanji, he can make it about himself, and take her out of the picture. He can strip her of her power and decision. This is at his a core a man who is obsessed with control. Everyone else exists to serve him, in his eyes.
We see this even further in one of the most interesting and under-analyzed parts of Reiju’s speech to Sanji in WCI. While trying to figure out her father’s behavior, she makes the suggestion to Sanji that right after Sora died “he blamed you for everything that happened, and started to mistreat you accordingly.”
While Reiju is an unreliable in-universe narrator, she is one of the few people close enough to her father to be able to figure out his behavior. And here, she is suggesting that a big part of Sanji’s mistreatment is because, in his twisted mind, Judge blames Sanji for Sora’s death. This to me reads in a couple of ways. For starters, it’s once again taking agency away from her. It couldn’t have been her own decision; it had to be the fault of something or someone else. In this case… their unborn son…? Wild choice on who to blame. But it works in his head; Sora didn’t CHOOSE to disobey him, it was all that child’s fault. But also, it does beg that question again of what happens when you mix that complex villainous humanity with wretched ideology. Did he love Sora? Or is him mourning her just a feeling of loss of something he owned, a loss of ownership and control? Well, if I had to guess, it’s probably a bit of both. And that’s what makes Oda’s villains much, much more interesting to me, compared to simple walking stereotypes. Twisted abusive love expresses itself this way very often. To people like this, genuine feelings of love and horrific desire to control and hurt are the very same. And I think the same can be said for his “successful” children. I do think he loves them, genuinely, but a man like this experiences that emotion through a sense of ownership, control, and an extension of his own ego. It's not that is isn't love, or that it's performative. It is simply twisted, selfish, abusive, but it is there. But Sanji? He doesn't even get that.
God I hope this man suffers a terrible punishment for everything he’s done. An excellent villain, I need him dead and rotting in hell. Whole Peak Island. Thank you Mr. Oda.
i wish people who are complaining about the one piece anime going seasonal would think about what this means for the animators and the staff instead of just thinking about yourselves.
us getting less episodes means the animators are getting more breaks.
they’ve been working non-stop week after week to deliver high-quality episodes, and yet people — i admit i’m guilty of this too sometimes — will still find things to nitpick and criticize. i think we need to appreciate one piece animators more because doing a weekly anime and maintaining that quality within a tight schedule cannot have been easy.
yes, it sucks that we are not getting new episodes every week — it’s also one of things i look forward to the most every sunday — but please be understanding and kind with your words when reacting to this news, cause i know that many one piece animators are on twitter and there’s a chance they could see the hurtful comments.
i do believe that one piece being seasonal would improve the production quality and the pacing, and hey, we’re still getting a confirmed 26 episodes per year, which is way more than other animes that only get one season every 2-3 years.
anyway, i hope this change means the animators are getting the rest they deserve, which in turn would ensure the one piece anime will remain peak for elbaf and all the arcs to come!
personally, i’m excited and hope that this will bring the anime to an even higher level <3
I did the 100 Couple Questions as Luffy and Sanji!
If you’re a bored LuSan enjoyer, go read it 👊💛
※For those who don’t know:
Back in the golden era of personal websites in Japan, there was a fun trend called “Couple Roleplay Questions.”
The idea is simple — you pick your favorite pairing and answer a list of interview-style questions while staying in character. It’s silly, nostalgic, and surprisingly fun ✨
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1. What’s your name?
Luffy: “I’m Monkey D. Luffy! I’m a pirate!”
Sanji: “I’m Sanji. A cook — and a pirate.”
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2. How old are you?
Luffy: “I set out to sea when I was 17. That was something I’d decided long before. About two years have passed since then…”
Sanji: “Nineteen, right? I’m twenty-one.”
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3. What’s your gender?
Luffy: “Man.”
Sanji: “A man among men.”
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4. How would you describe your own personality?
Luffy: “I dunno. I just like going on adventures.”
Sanji: “Then that means you’re curious and adventurous, doesn’t it?”
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5. How would you describe your partner’s personality?
Luffy: “He’s an idiot. A good guy, though.”
Sanji: “He’s an idiot. But sometimes he hits right at the core of things.”
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6. When and where did you first meet?
Luffy: “At Baratie!”
Sanji: “For once, you actually remember the name of the place.”
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7. What was your first impression of him?
Luffy: “A good guy.”
Sanji: “A persistent one.”
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8. What do you like about him?
Luffy: “That he’s a good guy. But really, I think everything about him is great.”
Sanji: “The way he enjoys food. And that he never gives up.”
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9. What do you dislike about him?
Luffy: “There’s nothing I hate. But it annoys me when he does things on his own.”
Sanji: “He raids the pantry. And he’s selfish.”
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10. Do you think you’re compatible?
Luffy: “Compatible how? There’s never been a time I didn’t like being with him.”
Sanji: “If we’re talking about one who eats and one who cooks — yeah, I’d say we match. …Though I guess that’s not the kind of compatibility this question meant.”
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11. What do you call each other?
Luffy: “Sanji.”
Sanji: “Luffy. Captain. Stupid rubber. A lot of things. At first, he was just a chore boy.”
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12. What would you like him to call you?
Luffy: “Huh? Anything’s fine.”
Sanji: “Never really thought about it.”
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13. If you had to compare him to an animal, what would it be?
Luffy: “Maybe a snail.”
Sanji: “What part of me made you say that? He’s a monkey.”
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14. If you were to give him a present, what would it be?
Luffy: “He likes shells and flowers and stuff.”
Sanji: “I’m not the one who likes those. If it’s not food, then… maybe clothes, or an accessory. My taste, though.”
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15. If he were to give you a present, what would you want?
Luffy: “I’ll eat anything.”
Sanji: “I doubt I’d get what I requested. As long as it’s not a living thing.”
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16. Do you have any complaints about him? What are they?
Luffy: “He doesn’t say what he really feels very often.”
Sanji: “Same as before. He’s selfish and never gives up.”
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17. What’s one of your habits?
Luffy: “Maybe sitting on Sunny’s figurehead.”
Sanji: “When I see something rare, I can’t help but think how I’d cook it.”
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18. What’s one of his habits?
Luffy: “He smiles a little when he’s stirring soup.”
Sanji: “Sometimes he just quietly stares at me.”
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19. What’s something he do (like a habit) that you don’t like?
Luffy: “Nothing in particular.”
Sanji: “When he rushes me for food. I’ll make it even if he doesn’t push.”
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20. What’s something you do that makes him angry?
Luffy: “He gets mad if I reach for someone else’s plate. …Though he gives me plenty afterward.”
Sanji: “I feel like there’s a lot, but… nothing worth mentioning.”
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21. How far have you two gone?
Luffy: “How far… as in how far?”
Sanji: “Good question… how far have we gone?”
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22. Where was your first date?
Luffy: “Where was it again? That warm island, right?”
Sanji: “Yeah. The first time we intentionally went out somewhere together was there. We wandered around the town for a while, then headed back to the inn.”
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23. What was the atmosphere like then?
Luffy: “It was fun!”
Sanji: “Yeah… I guess it was.”
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24. How far did you go that time?
Luffy: “It was the same as always.”
Sanji: “Yeah. That’s about right.”
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25. Where do you often go on dates?
Luffy: “It’s always somewhere different.”
Sanji: “Depends on the island we stop at. Sometimes the town, sometimes the sea or the mountains. It’s not like we always stick together.”
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26. How would you celebrate their birthday?
Luffy: “Never thought about it. Is there something you want me to do?”
Sanji: “Not really. Either way, I’m the one cooking.”
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27. Who confessed first?
Luffy: “Huh? I never did.”
Sanji: “We never did. And you don’t need to.”
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28. How much do you like him?
Luffy: “How much…?”
Sanji: “You don’t need to go rubbery. Well… I love you, Captain.”
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29. Then… do you love him?
Luffy: “Sanji says ‘I love you’ a lot, but honestly, I don’t really get what it means.”
Sanji: “Guess that’s too early for a kid.”
Luffy: “How rude! I’m not a kid!”
Sanji: “Yeah… I know.”
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30. What’s one thing he could say that would make you weak?
Luffy: “Weak? I don’t have anything like that.”
Sanji: “You don’t really waver with words, huh… As for me… maybe when you say ‘I wanna eat.’”
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31. If you suspected him of cheating, what would you do?
Luffy: “Well, you are a ladies’ man!”
Sanji: “You say that with a smile… So? What would you do?”
Luffy: “Nothing.”
Sanji: “I see. Same here.”
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32. Could you forgive him for cheating?
Luffy: “Forgive? What exactly? I’m his number one, aren’t I?”
Sanji: “See, that’s the kind of thing you say. Unfortunately, I don’t really have the authority to ‘forgive’ or ‘not forgive.’”
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33. What would you do if he was an hour late to a date?
Luffy: “Has Sanji ever even been late…? I’d wait until he comes.”
Sanji: “You don’t have to wait, you know. I never told you to wait, but you always do.”
Luffy: “Huh?”
Sanji: “Never mind. He’s always late anyway, so I don’t care.”
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34. What’s your favorite part of his body?
Luffy: “His hands.”
Sanji: “That was quick.”
Luffy: “What about you, Sanji?”
Sanji: “Yeah… well… probably your eyes.”
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35. What’s something he do that you find sexy?
Luffy: “Hmm… I think his mouth looks kinda nice when he’s smoking.”
Sanji: “When he’s serious. It’s that contrast.”
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36. When do you get butterflies when you’re together?
Luffy: “Maybe when I get caught sneaking food.”
Sanji: “That’s not what the question means.”
Luffy: “Huh? Then what does it mean?”
Sanji: “Like now — when he insists on hearing everything in words.”
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37. Are you good at lying?
Luffy: “Lying, huh… I’m bad at it.”
Sanji: “Good thing you know that. I’m pretty good with words.”
Luffy: “Eh?”
Sanji: “Hm?”
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38. When are you happiest together?
Luffy: “When I’m eating delicious food! Sanji’s cooking has never been bad, not even once!”
Sanji: “Is that so.”
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39. Have you ever fought?
Luffy: “Yeah, we have.”
Sanji: “What did you just remember? …No, don’t say it.”
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40. What kind of fights do you have?
Luffy: “Even when there’s a massive enemy force, Sanji always tries to fight alone.”
Sanji: “Oh, that’s what you meant? Of course I do. It’s only natural to keep the captain fresh until the very end.”
(They start arguing out of concern for each other.)
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41. How do you make up after a fight?
Luffy: “Make up…?”
Sanji: “We don’t really have time for that.”
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42. If you were to be reborn, would you want to be lovers again?
Luffy: “There’s no such thing as being reborn.”
Sanji: “Way to reject the question from the premise… But yeah, I agree. I wouldn’t wish for that.”
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43. When do you feel loved?
Luffy: “I don’t really get it, and I’ve never thought about it… but I guess, always!”
Sanji: “Heh… what a coincidence. Same here.”
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44. When do you feel like maybe he doesn’t love you?
Luffy: “…Hmm. I guess… never!”
Sanji: “Why was there a pause just now?”
Luffy: “Well, Sanji does want to go on adventures with the Sunny!”
Sanji: “Huh? …Yeah. Right. Guess I didn’t answer the question. I’ve never felt that way.”
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45. How do you express your love?
Luffy: “Love expression…?”
Sanji: “It’s asking how you act when you feel like, ‘I like this person.’”
Luffy: “Oh. I don’t really think about that kind of stuff. I just do whatever I feel like doing.”
Sanji: “Yeah, sounds about right. For me… cooking, I guess.”
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46. Would you rather die before him, or after him?
Luffy: “Thinking about crap like that — where’s the fun in it?”
Sanji: “Same here. Though I won’t say the thought’s never crossed my mind.”
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47. Are there any secrets between you?
Luffy: “Nope!”
Sanji: “You think that. Everyone’s got one or two things they’d rather not say.”
Luffy: “I don’t. But if you don’t wanna talk about it, I won’t ask.”
Sanji: “Good. Always do that.”
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48. What’s your biggest complex?
Luffy: “Probably that I can’t swim.”
Sanji: “Oh? Just one?”
Luffy: “You’ve got more than one? What are they?”
Sanji: “You could call it an inferiority complex… or a conviction.”
Luffy: “Huh? Is this a riddle? Well, whatever. That’s just who you are.”
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49. Do the people around you know about your relationship, or is it a secret?
Luffy: “What’s there to hide, and from who?”
Sanji: “I don’t go out of my way to tell anyone. It’s not like we’re exactly a ‘romantic couple,’ anyway.”
Luffy: “…Huh?!”
Sanji: “What?”
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50. Do you think your love is eternal?
Luffy: “Dunno. I’ve never even thought about it ending.”
Sanji: “According to the ancient philosophers, love that isn’t eternal doesn’t exist at all. So… I guess that’s how it is.”
got the idea from @kantimplora 's post, tbh i don't know how i haven't thought of this meme for them yet since i have used it already in the past for other fandoms haha and like always i went WAY overboard with this ahhh
Can't stop thinking about the concept of most of the East Blue 5 being underweight or nutrient deficient when they join the crew due to various survival and coping circumstances and then, with Sanji's care, gradually getting up to healthy weights, getting stronger, having more energy, etc. and how day to day it might go unnoticed but at some point Zoro finds that he's less tired than he used to be 2/3rds through a fight. At some point Usopp holds his slingshot back as far as it goes and his arm doesn't tremble. At some point Nami gets up from her desk and her eyes don't cloud with stars. At some point Luffy actually fills out his clothes, and he can stretch that much further. And it's all so quiet, the way it happens. Subtle enough they don't know how to say thanks to Sanji, and they have no way to repay him. So instead they treasure him. They praise him. They fight for him. They make him belong. It may not always get through Sanji's thick skull, but in their own way, they try to feed him back. He doesn't even know that he's their life force.
After Luffy, Oda has a favorite Straw Hat and a shocking amount of people tend to think it's Zoro. I think they're being clouded by the fact that Zoro is Toei's favorite.
But by and large, Oda's favorite Straw Hat is Sanji.
After Luffy, he is the Straw Hat with the most amount of arcs where he is the focus. His arcs have a trend of having the rest of the crew be absent from the climax so there is a moment reserved for Luffy and Sanji alone because Luffy is the only one who Sanji can truly be vulnerable with. They also have a significant amount of parallels from Shanks and Zeff both sacrificing a limb for them, having a (bio) father that is a significant world leader, their love to eat/loves to cook dynamic, etc. Sanji was the first between him and Zoro to be declared as Luffy's wing.
Of course, it would be remiss to neglect mentioning how long Oda has been begging for a Shokugeki no Sanji anime. It would also be remiss to neglect mentioning that Sanji is, to this date, the only Straw Hat Luffy has explicitly told he needs to become Pirate King.
Sanji had a three year saga dedicated to him being a prince and learning about his family.
We had to learn Zoro is lost Wano nobility in an SBS and didn't even see him visit Ryuma's grave in Wano despite the buildup dating back to Thriller Bark. And yes, I'm still mad his parents were drawn as silhouettes when even Kid and Killer's childhood friend Victoria has been drawn. In the narrative, Zoro tends to only be used for fighting and aura farming and doesn't tend to get much else beyond that which is kinda sad when he was the first to join the crew.
Zoro is a simple character, not a bad one.
I like him having a simple backstory, I like him having simple motivations and I especially like him not finding out he is the closest thing to an heir the Shimotsuki Clan has with Kuina being dead and all because Zoro would not have cared about that. (To be honest, considering Wano's traditional patriarchal values, Kuina might not have even been considered due to being a girl.) But I still think, that if you're going to have the right wing of the future King of the Pirates also be nobility that should be confirmed in the story not a Q&A (even if through, someone in Wano going "omg guys, that guy was actually a descendant of Ryuma and Ushimaru. Damn it, the Straw Hats have already left though so we couldn't tell him").
So that got me thinking that even if it isn't intentional, Oda tends to channel his favoritism through Luffy.
Luffy tends to praise Sanji the most out of his crewmates even going as far as telling Dorry back in Little Garden if he had insulted Sanji's cooking, he would've beat his ass. Luffy's canonically become more possessive of Sanji since the events of WCI (ex. getting defensive when Bonney complimented Sanji to him out of nowhere when prior to WCI, Luffy would've agreed ecstatically with her praise). You can honestly say the same for Sanji, a la his behavior with Jinbei during the early parts of the Onigashima raid.
Luffy also tends to be blinded by things he otherwise would've noticed when it involves Sanji.
For example, back in Skypiea he was able to tell immediately that something was off with Conis after she sold them out to Enel and the White Berets. He noticed she'd been trembling the entire time despite choosing not to comment on it. He usually is able to tell immediately when he is being lied to. So, if anything, he should've been able to tell that Pudding was lying through her teeth the moment they met. But she complimented Sanji and he immediately started agreeing with her. Judge insults Sanji and everyone but Luffy is able to tell that Sanji is being insulted because for Luffy he can't fathom anyone hating Sanji.
Luffy and Zoro have a bond that's really special. Zoro chose Luffy as his captain as much as Luffy chose him as his swordsman but then I think about how...
Luffy derailed a coup 20 years in the making for Sanji and was fully prepared to abandon his promise to help Wano for Sanji. I don't think enough people think about how Monkey D. "Always keeps his promises" Luffy was about to break a promise for the first time in his life with extreme intention.
He was on a deadline, he explicitly told the Wano alliance he would be there to help them. Luffy never bluffs, he would've waited for Sanji in that spot for years.
He was about to doom an entire country for one cook.
He even tells Reiju he would head straight to the East Blue to save Zeff it's what he needed to bring Sanji back to him, derailing not only his dream at large but the dreams of the other Straw Hats. It's also up in the air if that would mean leaving directly from WCI to the East Blue leaving the rest of the crew stranded in Wano or stopping by Wano to get the rest of the Straw Hats and leaving immediately depending on the severity of the situation as it would've been a race against time to save Zeff's life.
He nearly tore off his arms twice in the same arc for Sanji and even told Nami to do it as well. Then after being freed by Jinbei, he proceded to run around Big Mom's castle screaming Sanji's name and beating up everyone in sight, especially though who insulted Sanji going as far as saying "Don't talk bad about Sanji!"
In both the Baratie and WCI arcs, there is a large focus on a family member Sanji respects (Zeff and Reiju) essentially giving Luffy their blessing to take Sanji away with him.
And crazy sidebar, what about that time Reiju sucked the life points out of Luffy and he immediately thought it was Sanji???
And partially related side bar, the translation here is incorrect. What Luffy says is 「サンジを返せよ！アイツは俺の仲間だ！」 which would be more accurately translated as "Give me Sanji back! He's my nakama!" followed by his statement of taking him back by any cost.
It's very interesting and sentimental and I think a lot of the fandom tend to overlook the bond Luffy and Sanji have with each other.
Thinking about all that, I wonder how if I was in Zoro's shoes as dedicated as I am to Luffy, how would I feel? Like, we get a glimpse of that during Zou when Zoro gets jealous when Luffy tells Dogstorm and Cat Viper Sanji is worth 1000 people. Zoro just has quiet, stalwart yearner energy and it makes me ill in the best way possible.
TLDR: I had a lot of thoughts about the Monster Trio and their Wings dynamic with their Captain and it turned into this. Also, Oda's favorite is Sanji, Toei's favorite is Zoro.
I am convinced this is a missing scene from the canon. Zeff, who took in a defiant young cook after months of survival on a deserted island and years of working side by side in the floating restaurant, never truly learned what had happened to him before they met. Sanji himself could hardly recall the horrors of Germa Kingdom that drove him across the Red Line. Memory has a way of blurring the most traumatic fragments. And even if he did remember, he would hardly share it with anyone — not out of distrust, but because he wanted to leave it all behind.
From the very beginning he was “different.” Too small to even reach the kitchen counters, yet stubbornly drawn to them. While other children played, he read books late into the night, scrubbed the galley and decks, and tried a hundred times to boil eggs just right. Sanji was sharp-tongued, resistant to affection, emotionally unreachable. The question lingered: what forced this child to build such high walls, to defend himself from the world?
Zeff noticed it at once. An old sailor and former pirate, he wasn’t a man of delicate sensitivity, but he wasn’t devoid of empathy either. He could feel the boy was hiding something. He didn’t know the details, yet he understood: something had broken this child so deeply that it still haunted him. It showed in the nightmares after which Sanji would jolt awake and rub his eyes raw. It showed in the way he gazed at the endless horizon with relief, as if the sea itself could shield him from his past.
At the Baratie, the cooks sneered that Zeff had been dragging that brat around his neck for years, and said Sanji was just biding his time to snatch his place. There’s a telling line in the manga: “Chef Zeff! He hit Sanji!” [only kicks few times]. So he doesn't beat him?
Why? Not because he spoiled him or looked the other way. Zeff yelled, scolded, punished — yes. But he doesn't usually raise a hand. Because he knew this boy had already endured more pain than anyone should. He's vulnerable inside.
Sanji, meanwhile, did everything he could to prove otherwise. He smoked like a grown man, cursed like a sailor, argued with the cooks, fought with them until they were bruised — even though he saw them as family. He needed to show: “I’m equal. I’m not weaker. I don’t need your help.” His stubbornness, his ambition, his passion all fused into a burning need to succeed, to prove his worth, to assert his value. And yet, if with all of that he still kept a kind heart — then its roots ran deep into pain.
And Zeff, hiding behind his outward harshness and gruff words, always treated him with special care. He called him “brat,” “little fool,” and most fondly — “little eggplant.”
In the eyes of this pirate, hardened by salt, gunpowder, and blood, there was always a rare softness when he looked at the boy. As if to say: “I see your wounds, and I will not touch them. I see the child within you — and I will not hurt him.”
