One Piece: Character Introduction

Hola, mis amigos! So, I am totally going to use this blog as an excuse to re-watch all 560ish episode of One Piece. I mean, how could I not write about my favourite anime of all time on my blog about anime? It is simply absurd. Since it is so supremely long I will write about one arc per post, including the filler arcs, so that you can decide it if it worth your time to watch them, as most filler arcs in my opinion are not of the callibre of those in the original storyline.

Before I start with the Romance Dawn Arc (of the East Blue Saga), I think I'll do a quick character introduction. The East Blue Saga introduces several core characters including our pirate heroes Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji. All minor or secondary characters will be introduced as they appear later on.

Monkey D. Luffy is the main protagonist of this series. He is many things I cannot tell you about yet but I'm telling you he is even more interesting than you may think!
He sets off from his hometown to become the Pirate King, a title left unclaimed since the execution of Gol D. Roger...and do I think he's capable of finding the One Piece? When I first started watching the series, yes. I fully believed Luffy could. Now? I'm not entirely, 100%, feel-it-in-my-bones sure. Blasphemous? Perhaps, but this is another story for a later time. However, I think it is safe to say that Luffy remains my favourite character in One Piece, and perhaps my favourite character in all of anime.

 

Why? He's likable, and he's honest. He's rubber. He's naive but he has values that he won't compromise. Yup. That, and he's so badass for someone who theoretically has such a useless, silly power (again, he's rubber).

Zoro was my second favourite character until Luffy's Strawhat crew reached the Grand Line. Now, he must be my third or fourth favourite. He's motivated to become the world's greatest swordsman. Yes, he is driven to reach a goal to fulfill his promise to his deceased friend and rival (awee).  He's extremely disciplined and has a love for solitude. He's focused, centered, as well as observant (but he lacks sense of direction.. =.=)

When we first encounter him in the story, he uses Santoryu (or three-sword style) which is the same style that he uses later on in the series. This isn't to say though that his skillz remain stagnant, because he becomes monstrously strong. Trust me, he achieves great things.

I hate the crew's chef Sanji. Yes, I said it. I don't like him at all. Actually, I'm not so sure if it's appropriate for me to be so blatantly biased in a simple character introduction, but it's my blog so I don't care! What can I say? His curly eyebrows annoy me, and I honestly don't understand how his kicks from his stick-like legs can be developed much further. Later on he requires new "skills" but it seems like a lame attempt at trying to make Sanji become the interesting character that he is everything but.

Although to be fair, he adds quite a bit to the comedy, but not nearly as much as Usopp. In my opinion, Sanji just stands to be a filler character, since he is neither super strong (although subjective) or super funny like Usopp (also subjective). I guess I do kind of like him, but only because he's a Strawhat and not for any other reasons apart from that. Oh right, his characteristics: he's horny and he is good at cooking.

I also disliked Nami before reaching the Grand Line because all I saw was a greedy, self-absorbed, conniving girl who always identified herself separately from the Strawhats. She retains much of her bossy, greedy personality in the future, but that image becomes completely clouded by her kindness and compassion for others.

She becomes extremely useful later on because although she lacks in fighting skills, there is simply no one else who could hold a candle to her navigation skills (eg. Strong World!!!!!!)

Usopp, the Strawhat's sharpshooter, is also pretty useless aside from the small victories he has, but he is so funny. When the audience first meets Usopp, there is an obvious allusion to the boy who cries wolf. Yes, he is cowardly but I believe he has the heart of a true hero. *blush*

He is also pretty smart as he revamps Nami's weapon in the future using science! He also acts as a fill-in shipwright until the Strawhats find a proper one in Water 7.

The reason I wanted to introduce the characters is because watching One Piece has become such a personal thing to me. I know I sound so lame, but I've become so attached to these characters and their stories. I plan to write in a way that you can comprehend my posts without being aware of this fact, but it'll probably be a much more enjoyable read with it in mind.