do you think luffy and zoro's relationship has changed post timeskip? zoro seems a lot more severe towards luffy its really interesting to see how hes more like a strict big brother figure now in comparision their previous dorky bff relationship
No, I don’t think their relationship has really changed. Luffy and Zoro were never really “dorky bffs” in my opinion. Well, they had plenty of little interactions like that, but IMO that’s dwarfed by the amount of time that Luffy and Usopp spend goofing around. I think Luffy and Zoro possibly have the strongest bond among the crew, but in terms of who Luffy goofs around with the most that’s definitely Usopp (take a look at this post for examples of how much they love to have fun together). Zoro, on the other hand, takes his relationship with Luffy seriously. That’s not to say that Usopp doesn’t, but Zoro views himself in relation to Luffy very much along Captain-crew member lines, while Usopp seems to typically think of Luffy as his friend more readily than he thinks of him as his Captain.
It would be interesting to go through the manga and find how each of the crew members refers to Luffy, and add up how many times they refer to him as different things. I would guess that it’s Zoro and Robin who most often refer to Luffy as “Captain.” For example, this is how Usopp referred to Luffy when Miss Merry Christmas said that Luffy was dead and mocked him for thinking he could become Pirate King: “There are times when you have to fight… no matter what!”
Here he’s framing Luffy as his friend. Compare this to Zoro when Zoro was prepared to sacrifice his life for Luffy at Thriller Bark
For Zoro, this wasn’t about his “friends,” but about the crew he belonged to and protecting his Captain. Zoro has always been very conscious of the fact that Luffy is his Captain–that their relationship is not just one of friendship, but one in which Luffy is Zoro’s leader, and thus both of them owe things to each other beyond and independent of the fact that they’re also friends. And when the time calls for it, Zoro has always been strict with Luffy. He was strict from the very beginning
and he was strict after Luffy’s authority as Captain was challenged by Usopp
Even though Luffy and Zoro have occasional moments of mutual idiocy, Zoro is distancing himself here from Luffy’s “joking around,” and doesn’t think of himself as being a regular part of it. He thinks of Luffy as his leader, not as his goofy BFF. And so of course, he was strict on Luffy when he learned that Caesar had taken Luffy out on Punk Hazard
And Luffy isn’t bothered at all by what Zoro’s saying. Luffy understands that their lives are on the line with every single potential slip-up, and that he really does need to take things seriously if they’re going to survive. Zoro is the one who most readily calls Luffy on things like this, and he always has been. Zoro is somewhat of a compass for Luffy–how good of a job Luffy is doing as Captain can often be told by how readily Zoro agrees with him. For example, after Enies Lobby Zoro needed to scold Luffy in order to remind him how incredibly serious it was that Usopp challenged his authority and left the crew. What Luffy wanted didn’t matter, because Luffy just wanted to take Usopp back since they’re friends, even though it would undermine him as the Captain. But when Luffy gets something right, even if it is difficult and painful, such as Luffy’s order to Zoro not to fight back against Bellamy and his crew in the bar at Mock Town, Zoro followed orders without the slightest hesitation. Zoro understands what Luffy’s role as the Captain is, and if Luffy deviates from it Zoro will set him back on track. And the rest of the time, when Luffy is doing just what he should be, Zoro will back him up without a moment’s hesitation. If Zoro seems more serious with Luffy after the time skip, it’s because the New World is a more serious place. But they still have their little moments together
(For a little more on Luffy and Zoro’s relationship, ppl can read this post)
blakekathryn
baratheonpilled
areudirty
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
