Monkey D. Luffy - Blog Posts
I love the way luffy cry whenever he wants and doesn't care a bit.
thinking about imu as the antithesis of luffy and what he wants to be. imu might be the most powerful person in the world, and yet they must have very little freedom. they could control most of the world, but only from the shadows. their very power is dependent on the world thinking theyâthe sole ruler of the entire worldâdon't exist. and to keep something so big a secret must come with a lot of restrictions on what they can and can't do. what imu has is exactly what luffy doesn't want: power at the cost of freedom.
JUST TWO DADS DOING WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS BEST FOR THEIR BABIES
Cover 91 redraw or something
I legit hate drawing zoro, I can never do it right for some reason. Nami is like the exact opposite, shes so easy to draw. She's the best. And Robin with brown eyes, I like it that way
OUTFIT SWAP BETWEEN THE VINSMOKES AND THE ASUL SIBLINGS YIPPIE
+yonji and Zoro because I didn't want to exclude him đđ«¶
And just when I thought the parallels between Loki and Luffy would stop...
And the Loki-Luffy parallels just keep growing!
This one is particularly poignant not just because of the fact they both looked up to strong pirates, but the circumstances of why they looked up to pirates are also connected.
From what little we can glean of Luffy's early childhood, he had basically no one looking after him and no other friends his own age. Makino is the only adult living on the same island as him who treats him kindly but even then she's not his guardian. Loki was the pariah of Elbaf who had even less of a support system than young Luffy.
When a child is abandoned and ostracized, they'll naturally throw themselves at any scrap of potential positive affirmation they can find no matter the source. Even if said source is socially frowned upon like piracy. Sometimes it works out really well like with Luffy and Shanks. Other times, it puts the child in danger and sets the wrong example like with Loki and Rocks.
Chapter 1124 Analysis: The Burden of Responsibility
Iâve seen a lot of people picking apart this interaction and what it tells us about Zoroâs character and the story, but while Iâve seen some good analysis in isolation, I find that a lot of it misses the overarching point and whatâs really going on. Half the fandom seems to be pissed at Zoro and saying his comment comes from emotional immaturity, which isnât entirely wrong. The other half are saying that Zoroâs words are correct and heâs acting as he always has, seeing the truth of the situation and holding Luffy accountable, which also isnât entirely wrong. Both of these angles are correct in their own ways, but both of these seem to only look at and analyze the behavior of one of these characters, deeming them correct and the other wrong. Those in the first camp see Zoro as solely in the wrong, while those in the second camp see Luffy as solely in the wrong. However, I believe both of these takes miss what Oda was trying to convey with this minor interpersonal conflict.
Luffy and Zoro are both flawed characters. Luffy is a person who wants freedom from everything, which sometimes leads into a desire to be free of responsibility entirely. However, he also wishes to be a Captain with a crew and to be seen and respected as said Captain. That means he has responsibilities to uphold for the sake of his crew and all those under his protection. Now that he is an Emperor, that responsibility extends beyond his crew to his fleet and his territories as well. A big part of Luffyâs journey throughout the manga has been learning what it means to be a good Captain to his crew and he has been growing every arc in this, learning that his duty is greater than he thought and changing to be better. Now that he is an Emperor, those responsibilities are greater than ever before, but he hasnât yet grown to shoulder them because itâs still so new.
Zoro, by contrast, is a person naturally bound by duty and responsibility. He takes promises and vows incredibly seriously, laying his life on the line for his own and expecting the same of others. For him to follow someone like Luffy and dedicate himself to him and his dream comes with the expectation that he will do all he can to honor his responsibilities as a Captain. This has its upsides as it leads to him being incredibly loyal and dedicated to Luffy and his goal to an almost obsessive degree, however it also means that when Luffy falls short of his duty, he is just as hard on Luffy as he would be on himself. And not just Luffy. This extends to other members of the crew to a lesser extent, especially Sanji who he sees as an equal and trusts to protect the crew in his absence. Which is one of the main reasons he was so upset when Sanji appeared to have just up and left them at a critical time when they had angered two Emperors, and all that for what appeared at the time to be something rather selfish and trivial in comparison the wellbeing of the crew.
The crew must respect and follow the Captain, but in return, the Captain must act in a manner that engenders that respect. In Zoroâs own words: â[He] may be an idiot, but heâs still the Captain... [and] a crew that doesn't respect their Capatin and a Captain who doesn't deserve that respect...is destined to fail!â But respect isn't inherent, it's earned, and it is only given so long as the person in authority is acting in a manner deserving of it. If they cease acting in a manner that does, that respect is revoked. This is a core theme of One Piece, so itâs no accident that this would be a core aspect of Luffyâs growth as a Captain as well.
Luffy being upset isnât showing weakness, and Zoro has never acted like it is. He was not weak in Water 7 when Usopp left them. He was upset, but he took it on the chin and remained a firm foundation for the crew. Zoro was able to provide him the support he needed to do that, but he also didnât treat Luffy as wrong for his emotions or for crying over Usoppâs departure. Zoro isnât a monster. He is kind and he has compassion and he was just as upset as everyone else. But he is also pragmatic, sometimes to a fault, and has a tendency to shove down emotion for the sake of what he sees as the reality of the situation. Thatâs what he communicated to Luffy in Water 7. The crew was falling apart and Luffy needed to remain strong or else they really would be destroyed. They arenât playing at being pirates. They entered into a race with very serious real-world dangers and consequences. Luffy, as the one leading them into it head first, needs to be able to keep a clear head and take things standing up so that he can be the anchor for the crew in times of struggle and hardship. To act in any other way would be an incredible insult to the people who chose to dedicate their lives to following his dream.Â
If Luffy was simply upset, Zoro would not be reacting like this. The problem isnât that Luffy is showing weakness by being upset, the problem is that Luffy is choosing to wallow in that upset, leaving his crew in the position of placating him. That is showing weakness and a lack of emotional discipline necessary for a good leader, and is inappropriate for a Captain. I know the Straw Hats arenât a traditional crew so theyâre not going to always follow traditional roles and that is fine, great even. But there still need to be boundaries, especially now that Luffy is an Emperor. He cannot act as he always has, he has more responsibility, more lives under his care, and his crew is in more danger now than ever before.Â
Zoroâs words were harsh, and the fact that he said them to other crew members instead of to Luffyâs face was absolutely wrong of him; it undermines Luffyâs authority in a way Zoro usually never does. He isnât off the hook for that at all, because talking like that about his Captain when he is seen as the defacto first mate by the rest of the world - and even the crew, to some extent - is very bad for crew cohesion and morale. If he were a part of a different crew with a different Captain, what he did could have been viewed as borderline mutinous, so this man does not get a pass here. It was immature and it was incredibly inappropriate. But his words also werenât wrong. Luffy wasnât acting like a very good Captain, and Zoro wasnât acting like a very good first mate, and, one could even argue, the latter is a natural consequence of the former. A crew is only as good as its Captain and if a Captain is not acting as he ought, the crew will not act as they ought. This does not at all excuse Zoroâs behavior, itâs simply stated to point out that Luffy bears the burden of responsibility when it comes to leading and disciplining his crew.
As a Captain, Luffy is not just responsible for the physical wellbeing of the crew, but also their morale and cohesion. By allowing himself to wallow in upset, as perfectly understandable as that upset was, he is unintentionally forcing them to take on that role with him, when it is his responsibility as the Captain to be their rock in situations like this. Luffy wasnât the only one that failed their objective. The whole crew failed, and by acting as he did, he put the onus on them to emotionally support him while they themselves were also upset. Itâs not responsible or mature, and itâs not fair to those under him, either. You cannot ask someone to follow you into hell and then leave them to bear the emotional burden of those consequences not only for themselves, but for you as well. The crew relies on the Captain to be strong in times of crisis and they canât keep relying on Zoro to be their anchor, because heâs not the captain. It would undermine Luffyâs authority and leave a crew that is constantly placating a man who would be viewed less as a leader and more as an emotionally volatile tactical nuke. If he wants to be the one in charge, he needs to also fulfill the responsibilities of the one in charge, and he wasnât doing that here. That is the burden of a Captain and it is a heavy one to bear, but itâs a burden he chose for himself nonetheless and he needs to grow to bear it.
Luffyâs big heart and boundless compassion is one of the greatest things about him. He loves people quickly and he loves them deeply and that is never something we would ever want to change. It is, in many ways, his greatest strength. But he cannot allow himself to be ruled by his emotions anymore. What Luffy needs to find is balance. Itâs okay for him to break down in private and allow himself to grieve, but he canât do it publicly in a way that affects the rest of the crew, especially now as an Emperor. He needs to find one person who he can be vulnerable with so that he can be the backbone for the rest of the crew. Thematically it would make sense for it to be Zoro, Sanji, or Nami, but, for multiple different reasons, I donât think they would be the best choices at the present moment. I think his best choice for now is Jinbe, his helmsman, the man who saw him at his lowest, helped him through his grief, and knows better than anyone else the burden of being a Captain. He can offer much needed compassion while also remaining level-headed and steering him in the right direction. I do think the other three have the potential to become that person for Luffy - Zoro, especially, who has already been shown thematically to be the one to take the Captainâs pain upon himself - but it will take some growth and development for them to get to that point.
Luffy and Zoro are both wrong. They are not wrong in their feelings, but they are wrong in their actions as they both acted inappropriately for their stations. Oda is showing us a case where both the Captain and the defacto first mate are not acting as they should right as the race to Raftel is beginning. This isnât good. This is a huge problem. These two need to find a way to grow and develop together as a cohesive unit or itâs going to cause potentially catastrophic issues later down the line. Both are right in their feelings, but wrong in their actions. Oda used Zoro to show that Luffy is not acting as an Emperor should and Jinbe and Franky to show that Zoro is not acting as a first mate should. This is a problem that needs to be addressed on both fronts, preferably together at the same time.
Iâve seen people saying Zoro is in for a world of hurt soon, and I absolutely agree, but heâs not the only one. Luffy needs to grow here, too, and itâs going to be painful not just for the both of them, but for the rest of the crew, because when those two are at odds, the whole crew is in a crisis. It may seem small right now, but something like this can easily snowball into a disastrous avalanche if left unchecked. This wasnât a good look for either of them, nor was the way it was resolved (or not, as it were). Lilithâs explanation sort of came as a copout. Luffy didnât pull himself together for the sake of his crew, he did because he was told that they hadnât actually failed, which means this problem wasnât addressed. Also because of this, Zoroâs frustration was rather quickly placated and his comment appears to have gone unaddressed as well. This leads me to believe that Oda was using this to show us two big flaws Luffy and Zoro have an how they come in conflict so that he can revisit them at a later date in a situation with higher stakes and actual consequences.Â
Zoro being upset that Luffy is "moping over one geezer dying" specifically is rather significant, not because he is being intentionally callous, but because Vegapunk wasnât a close friend of the crew. If this is how Luffy behaves when they failed to save âone geezer,â what about if they were to lose a close friend like Vivi? What about a crew member? What if, say, a crew member became a danger to the rest of the crew and another was forced to kill them to protect the others? What then? Will Luffy be able to become the anchor the crew needs in order to navigate something like that, or will he fall apart and the crew alongside him? There is no doubt in my mind that Zoroâs promise to Sanji isnât a constant companion, right alongside his promise to Kuina and vow to Luffy. There is no doubt in my mind that Zoro wasnât thinking about this very potential scenario when Luffy was breaking down in this chapter. Absolutely none. Especially not with how Sanji has been acting lately. If anything, I believe that this, that far more than his own personal upset over their failure, is what drove him to react this way in the first place. Zoro is always looking forward to the potential dangers to prepare and protect the crew and this is a close and personal one, a ticking time bomb that would be utterly catastrophic if there is no way to defuse it.Â
I know no one likes to think about the elephant in the room, but Zoro is always thinking of the elephant in the room. Itâs his job to. And this is a crucial detail that I think has been completely left out of this entire discussion which I believe completely changes the context of the situation. What if they lose Vivi? What if they lose Sanji? What if they also lose Zoro because he had to kill Sanji or dies trying? What if they lose a crew member to any one of their future enemies? What will Luffy do then? Will he be the Captain the crew needs if he canât even do it when all they lost was âone geezer?â Those are the sorts of thoughts that would trigger Zoro to talk like he just did behind his Captainâs back instead of to his face. After all, his promise to Sanji is one of the few things he is keeping secret from Luffy. It may seem like an overreaction here considering the stakes are so low at the moment, but itâs not if we consider the potential future dangers of Luffyâs behavior for those under him. Was Zoro's behavior immature? Yes. But likely fueled by a constant anxiety over the crewâs wellbeing? Also yes.Â
Zoro isnât just upset they failed, heâs worried for the future wellbeing of the crew. Itâs not just about image. Every single time he has acted like this it was because there was some perceived future danger to the crew. In Water 7 it was their cohesion and their ability to follow Luffy in times of crisis, in Punk Hazard it was their lives and physical wellbeing against the much-stronger opponents they were facing, in Zou it was the same but with the added context that they had made themselves active enemies of two out of the four Yonkou. So why would it be anything other than that now?
And honestly, it was about time something like this happened. These two have been too cohesive as of late while still having a lot of unaddressed, conflicting character flaws. It was about time there was some obvious friction of this magnitude so that it could be addressed. When they get on the other side of whatever Oda is planning to throw their way to excite this conflict, they and the crew will only be stronger for it. And I, for one, am very interested to see how this looming disaster is going to play out.
Luffy and the east blue crew đâïžđđŻđŹ
Okay but Jimbei is like, an old pirate. Joining the Strawhats is basically his retirement job. Heâs like âugh man Iâve been doing all this political maneuvering for decades itâs so exhaustingâ and Luffy pops up like âwow lame wanna join my Funtime crew instead? Iâll let you punch whoever you wantâ and Jimbeiâs like yeah. I do want that actually.
The grip these brothers have on me is crazy
I just saw someone say that Luffy, Ace, and Sabo aren't brothers because they're not biologically related, and I'm just... speechless. How can someone watch One Piece in its entirety and think this way?? I can't even express myself properly about this because it's just so obvious that the fact that they're not related by blood just... doesn't matter. Like, that's the whole point of their story, to show that even though they have different origins they still love and consider each other as brothers, that your blood doesn't matter, and that the people you choose as your family are your real family. How can you watch them become sworn brothers, their shared childhood, Ace and Luffy's grief when they are told that Sabo is dead, Luffy and Sabo's pain when Ace dies, their reunion, and how much effort they make to inherit Ace's will and honor him, and still believe that they are not brothers?? Found family is literally one of the biggest themes of One Piece??? I just can't understand how someone managed to simply not understand the most important part, not only of the story of these three, but of the story of One Piece as a whole.
for just another day in paradise
this was not the plan
y'know when you make a plan and you're about to execute that plan but then stuff happens and all of sudden you have to upload doodles instead of a finished drawing?
Yeah, me neither. Didn't draw art for it, but Chapter 1138 murdered me. It was so beautiful. I love One Piece so much
OMG JUST UNCOVERED: SHORT SEGMENT OF THE ANIMATION MEME I THOUGHT I HAD LOST FOREVER T O T!!!