#pieced 2gether

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One thing that made the Baratie arc to me almost perfect is the sincerity of its side characters. Patty and Carne’s characterization and this whole new category of pirates that change their ways to follow a dream. This fits nicely with setting the tone of the series, in which the sea’s lawless nature allows for anyone to truly find their place. Criminals at sea are as welcome as anyone else and can make their journey about anything as long as they have a ship.

After Sanji’s easily defeating Fullbody who himself easily defeated Johnny and Yosaku, here’s another power scaling tool: Don Krieg, who’s gonna do a great job in showing how Luffy’s ideals surpasses his (another pirate who doesn’t respect his crewmates much like Kuro, although to a lesser extent) and will set a theme in the Grand Line and how the crew must approach it. Rereading has reminded me that one of the first things that set apart our main character from other pirates is how he approaches his crew and recruits them and how he feels about them. I think this blends in absolutely perfectly with the more recent themes in the series, where we learn that Luffy’s power, amongst many other things, is to rally people to his cause. Surely the drums of libération serve this exact purpose, and reading the early chapters shows that this has always been a structuring storyline. This also serves in showing the importance of food in the story, and, completely unrelated, how absolutely necessary Nami is to the crew in their hopes of reaching/navigating the Grand Line. And also the East Blue truly was the weakest sea because how is Don Krieg the strongest? Come on…

Sanji’s gimmick of using the word crap has seriously been one of the best jokes surrounding his character since the beginning. Also, after reading some of the most recent arcs, rediscovering Sanji’s character truly brings a deep sense of nostalgia in a way; upon first reading, I completely overlooked him and thought of him as another typical shounen character. But now I can’t help but see his deep sensibility in everything he does 😭 Oh Sanji of the true lost potential…don’t mind me thinking of what used to be, and what could have been!

(On a much less serious note, Oda again with the brothers dynamic! He truly is obsessed…sets a tone for how we should see the next brothers that will appear)

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I think apart from Luffy getting mad because of his precious straw hat, this is the first time we see him so mad about something. Great way showing it in his eyes, and of course the telltale use of bold lettering. I think a lot of people would recalibrate their understanding of the crew and of the dynamic between Luffy and Usopp if they remembered this scene and understood what it means. It’s true that Usopp’s a coward at times, but his bravery never fails to show when the time comes. We see this trait of his many many times! Usopp’s more the brave warrior of the sea than what he believes!

If I’m correct I don’t think this gimmick of Zoro asking Luffy if he has a problem with something remains for a while. I like it, it’s very characteristic of the conditions he gave Luffy to join his crew: never get in his way. I think this dynamic serves the first few chapters immensely and shifts after the fight against Mihawk. How convenient of Zoro to have joined a guy who just agrees with him almost completely…no, Luffy doesn’t seem to have any problem with what he does!

This reminds me of the SBS I posted just previously. Oda clearly explains that losing a fight is equivalent of losing in the face of your dream, and having to have said dream and ideals shattered, which is equivalent to death. I’ve questioned myself a bit on this answer from Oda— the question clearly mentions Helmepp, and since Oda points out that a defeat means the negation of one’s belief, you’d think this defeat would automatically point to the disappearance of a character in the storyline. It doesn’t happen to Helmepp though, and many many antagonists come back to have major roles even after getting defeated by Luffy. This puts this on the table: the shattering of one’s beliefs isn’t enough to stop them. This is a clear opening to question the characters who come back in the story and the validity of their beliefs. This might not be clear so I’m gonna use Helmepp’s example: his « ideals » can be summarized to profiting off of his father’s reputation to be a little tyrant, AKA, power means everything and being an oppressor works. By beating him, Luffy shatters those ideals. Helmepp comes back to the storyline with, one could believe, different ideals, or rather a different way to achieve them. This either brings up a narrative of resilience, or instead introduces the idea that not all beliefs are equal, and the way they are achieved certainly deserves to be challenged. This theme is explored through many characters, off the top of my head I’ll use Eustass Kidd as an example: he’s often used to be compared to Luffy, in the sense that they have the same dream of becoming pirate king, but take very different routes in achieving said dream. Having a story where the main character’s gauge for good and evil is heavily discussed and where his involvement in said evil is based on his own beliefs means that that kind of system needs to be thoroughly explained, and I think Oda does that pretty well in the story. This brings us back to this panel, where Luffy affirms that protecting Usopp’s village is enough to put his life on the line for, AND at the same time that he’s convinced he won’t die. According to what Oda said in the SBS, this could mean that Luffy’s convinced of the righteousness of his beliefs, especially when pit against someone as rotten as Kuro (who denied the pirate’s way of life, which is a big no no). A clash between pirates means a clash between beliefs (and the reasons behind risking getting your beliefs shattered matter), and Kuro’s lame ass beliefs stand no chance against Luffy’s iron faith in the pirate way of life.

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ZORO INTRODUCED! Such an iconic pose and outfit. Big bold letters too…really fits the vibe we’ve been getting from him since the beginning.

Here to compare our first impressions of a pirate crew (Shanks and his jolly gang of guys who wouldn’t give up on pirating for anything, not even to help Luffy, who talk endlessly about the joy and freedom they find in their lifestyle) VS of the marines (Helmepp and his selfish ways, Captain Morgan terrorizing the citizens, the little to no consideration they have for a child as well as their unorthodox methods of dealing with criminals), the reason for the writing of certain members of the marine corps becomes kinda easier to understand. I’m the first to argue that some marines are written very…cheaply, but when you’re confronted with the flaws of their organization first things first, their existence becomes necessary. One Piece constantly rewrites the basis of what justice and power are supposed to be, so nuance is a must. I’ll go more into detail when we actually do meet those marines (beyond Koby).

Zoro’s (in)famous will power! Some would even call him hard headed at times. I don’t necessarily think that he has more willpower than Luffy, but it’s certainly very different. They are definitely both hard headed, and in some ways they create a sort of unstoppable force VS immovable object dynamic (which they kinda both take turns being one or the other). Nami’s introduction in their dynamic is a great piece of the puzzle writing wise.

I don’t think we see Zoro interact with children much more after that, besides maybe Momonosuke, but I believe that doesn’t count on account of what Momo represents. Anyways, fantastic job done drawing wise in showing the effort it took for Zoro to actually eat that rice « ball ». When you become familiar with the story in its recent arcs, this scene becomes all the more meaningful - looking back on this scene after reading Wano, where Luffy and Zoro were both outraged at the spilling of red bean soup by Queen’s officers, you understand the importance of this kind of gesture to them. A child sharing food is much more than what it seems! This sort of theme that is portrayed almost strictly (unless I’m mistaken) between Luffy and Zoro fits perfectly with Sanji’s character and his convictions, but the puzzle piece doesn’t lodge itself as smoothly as it should, which is kind of a flaw in writing to me. I will go further into detail when the time comes. And you can see the precise moment where Luffy realized that he had just met his first mate.<3

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INTRO POST

Hello! I’m the owner of this blog, as well as @bimbopiece ; I go by N.A and I’m a university student. Since this, as well as my main One Piece blog, are sideblogs, I like/follow back from a blog I’ve since moved from. (you’ll know when you come across that notification teehee)

This blog is dedicated to the character writing in One Piece. I will be reading chapters in order, but I’ll be skipping a few chapters/arcs if I deem them less interesting. I will also frequently refer to more recent chapters and future arcs as a form or referencing, so this blog isn’t completely spoiler-free. I have no background in literary studies or anything of the sort, so this blog is gonna be a collection of my opinions and thoughts.

English is my third language, and although I am fluent, sometimes I will mix up my french and English grammar/syntax. FEEL FREE to correct me if I do so. I will be reading chapters in both languages, but I’ll make sure to translate the important lines to English when I do read them in French.

CURRENT ARC : EAST BLUE SAGA— USOPP