Not having "Emotions" 感情 or "Emotions" 情: Germa 66/Vinsmokes
Analysing the 3 Vinsmoke boys, because Oda-sensei should know that things like disgust or anger are also "emotions", and Ichiji/Niji/Yonji all have displayed "emotions". Negative ones, but emotions all the same. So there might be something else going on.
In the raw, there is actually a difference in the exact words that they say the boys don't/shouldn't have. I feel that this is might be important, because that's the way kanji is. The nuance of the word usage can be different depending on the context.
When the Germa scientists say that Sanji should not have "emotions", the word they use is「感情」, which does mean all emotions for the most part (including things like anger, joy, etc).
However, Sora says don't take their "heart" 心 away. When you say someone is heartless, it doesn't mean that they have no "emotions", but they have no "pity" or "compassion".
Reiju also says that what is removed from them is just「情」, not 「感情」. 情 is emotion, but also specifically have the connotation of empathy, sympathy and compassion.
The same word when she says she "still has it" in contrast to the boys:
And lastly, from Sanji himself, calling his brothers "monsters with no blood or tears" 血も涙もない. This idiom means the same as "heartless" or "cold-blooded", meaning no mercy, no sympathy, no pity, no compassion. It does not mean "absolutely zero emotions", unless additional context specifies so.
My conclusion is that either Oda-sensei has been playing word games, or there's a slip-up in translation. The boys seems to actually do have emotions. What they don't have are empathy, sympathy, conscience, and fear. Just look at them casually throwing themselves off the roof, and laughing off their potential deaths.
The reason why they act so cruel might be because they have no innate conscience, so they just parrot and follow whatever Judge told them.
And, since Reiju said she was reprogrammed to always obey, I suspect there's a little bit of that in the other boys too. See Niji, freeze-stopping his kick mid-air because Judge says no:
(the force of it was so strong that Cossette, behind Sanji, was blown away)
What they do to Sanji is really horrible, but little kids brawl and beat up each other all the time. It's the adults who have to teach them "don't do that". Without anyone telling them no, and Judge even permitting it, of course Ichiji and the others act the way that they do.
I think there is the possibility that the boys might still have the ability to feel genuine affection inside them (since, you know, having affection for someone is honestly nothing to do with compassion or mercy). They just might not know what that feeling is, because they've never been taught to understand that.
There's Niji and Yonji being worried when Reiju and Judge were hit:
And the whole "Emotionless Excursion" cover story sideplot.
This is why I say Ichiji and Niji are acting like particularly evil tsundere dumbasses. For all their horrible comments, they're clearly capable of feeling concern. Ichiji less obviously so than Niji, but same difference.
We'll wait and see, I guess, what exactly is the extent of the 情 that is missing from those three.
[id 1: 2 digital drawings of akane sawatari. in both, she’s drawn with a slit in her left eyebrow, a bridge piercing, stretch marks on her thighs, and hair on her legs. in the bottom-left, she sits cross-legged, looking up at the viewer; in the top-right, she sits with in leg bent and propped up, the other hanging down. there are two screenshots of her from the manga (1 full-body, 1 just her face) overlaid in the top-left. //// id 2: akane and katana man (drawn in his human form) sit next to each other on a bench, each holding a cup of boba. akane’s legs are extended and her head is tilted down, appearing bored. katana man has one leg crossed over the other, looking at akane with a mildly amused expression. //// id 3: katana man (drawn in devil form) and akane stand next to each other, the latter facing left and the former facing the viewer. katana man has blood on his clothes and the katana protruding from his head. akane is facing the viewer, holding up a “2” with her hand. she’s says, “2 tickets to the Barbie movie, please”. //end ids] [x, x]
areudirty
andulkaphoto
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
