I was working on my Japanese Homework when I had a revelation about Law at the end of Dressrosa as well as about Corazon’s “I love you” and figured I might as well share:
When Bellemere died, she looked to Nami and Nojiko and said “I love you” And used the Japanese word “Daisuki (大好き)” When Corazon last looked at Law he said “I love you” but used “Aishiteruze(愛してるぜ).”
Suki (好き), in Japanese, means “To like.” Making it Daisuki turns it into “really like” “am very fond of” or “I love you” depending on the context. It’s the most common form that the phrase “I love you” takes the shape of and is often the only form used between people.
Aishiteru (愛してる), on the other hand, is a very heavy, strong, and rarely used word in Japanese. Many Japanese people go their whole lives without ever using it because in Japanese culture, verbally expressing Love is something they are hesitant to express openly (preferring to show love instead) and especially of the Aishiteru kind. To use Aishiteru is to, in effect, tell someone that “I love you so much that I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” It’s never something that you use casually (if you ever use it at all). The “ze” attached to the end of Aishiteru just makes it a more casual and “cool” or “manly” way of saying it. So when Cora-san looks at Law and says “Aishiteruze” he is, in effect, saying: “I love you and I literally can’t imagine you not being a part of my life anymore, and I am saying this in the most casual and manly way possible, okay?” That was the strength of Corazon’s love for Law. But Law didn’t know that at the time. He was young and had probably never once heard the word being used before and probably thought Cora-san was just being a dork. He wouldn’t really understand it until his talk with Sengoku among the rubble of Dressrosa. Sengoku had told him to stop sullying Rosinate’s love with imagined requirements and conditions and then Law remembered. With wide eyes, he remembered Corazon’s exact words to him: “Oi, Law. Aishiteruze.” I love you, and it finally hit him. He finally realized and understood just how strong and unconditional Corazon’s love for him had been and that he hadn’t had to do anything to validate it. Corazon loved him for him and not for what he was. And finally, finally, Law found the resolution he had been searching for. The relief that Doflamingo’s defeat hadn’t given him. The freedom from his past that he so desired… and it brought him to the brink of tears. (let’s admit he would have cried if Fujitora hadn’t ruined the moment)
(All I wanted to do was write that I love cats, not punch myself in the face with feels about Law’s flashback again. Excuse me while I cry in the corner.)
(It’s a shame these things don’t translate well into english)
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