The Genius of LUFFY | The Anatomy of One Piece

you know what I hate about online anime discourse you could be writing high off the back of watching your favorite show you could be expressing why you love it so much and inevitably you'll get someone chiming in with a comment like chill out it's not that deep Bro like there are most certainly ways of overintellectualizing our favorite stories and hey if your relationship with a movie ends with the credits then more power to you but I think the idea that there's nothing more to discuss Beyond General momentto moment content is a real disservice to well all of fiction really if all that mattered were those plot beats then I'm sure a work like one piece wouldn't be held up as a once in a generation type story let alone one its fans painstakingly dissect take the sport of boxing for example anyone can jump in for big fights and have a great time but those that follow the buildup of the fights the psychology of the fighters and the histories between them will no doubt go in with greater anticipation but will also gain a greater deal of meaning from the actual event itself and well the way in which context and subtext informs events in real life is a pivotal function when applied to fiction so I guess what I'm saying is it actually is that deep Bro and that has been my motivation behind delivering this series of video essays beginning right here with this one a series where I explore how the key players of One Piece function why they are amazing and through doing so gain a deeper appreciation for a od's story and where better to start than with a character many people love but some find one-dimensional and I think is genius I am of course talking [Music] about Luffy's pronounced smile and boundless optimism conceals a much lonelier character one filled with love and ambition yes but also one that deeply desires companionship this need early on speaks to a childhood we won't see for quite some time but the seeds are all there this is all to say that while Luffy himself is an interesting character where he shines best is through those he interacts with in John Troy's book the anatomy of story he mentions that a common misconception about main characters is that they themselves are the reason the story is interesting now he's certainly not suggesting Luffy isn't interesting what trbi means here is that in isolation a character is made up of many different attitudes opinions and backstories but it's how those aspects of their personality inform their interactions with the world and its characters that make them interesting in other words or to put it more simply our interest in them is born worn from how our main character interacts with those around them for example Tony Soprano is a huge personality but it's how he navigates the world and speaks to people that brings all of the qualities we love and hate about him to the surface highlighting and defining what makes him so iconic and while Tony isn't a hero the same applies to heroic stories like one piece quote the single biggest mistake writers make when creating characters is that they think of the hero and all other characters as separ seate individuals their hero is alone in a vacuum unconnected to others the result is not only a weak hero but also cardboard opponents and minor characters who are even weaker in other words your hero can only be seen or felt as righteous by contrasting him or her to the Allies that have their backs or the villains slinking around each and every corner and if we keep that in mind it becomes apparent that Oda has designed Luffy from the ground up to be a character that necess necessitates great writing fundamentals you've no doubt heard this piece of writing advice before it's everywhere show don't tell while not a hard rule in of itself it's certainly a valuable piece of advice to heat if all your hero does is talk about how great of a person he is ironically you'll not only fail to convince your audience of his virtue but through doing so you'll unconsciously demonstrate how he's in fact a narcissist So to avoid this Robert mcke says in his book story quote true character can only be expressed through choice in dilemma how the person chooses to act under pressure is who he is the greater the pressure the truer and deeper the choice to character in other words if you place your character in high pressure situation the decisions they make in those moments matter far more and mean far more to us reading along than whatever they could try to convince us of by yammering at our faces it's like real life words are cheap people can lie and what what's genius about Luffy's design is how he engages with the world he inhabits how he forces those situations to take Center Stage naturally because of who he is Kobe is one of the earliest characters introduced in one piece and Oda uses him as a sort of audience POV character a litmus test of Luffy's qualities he comes to understand that Luffy is a righteous person the same way we at home do at least if you're watching the anime once Luffy reveals himself to Kobe as a stowaway Kobe is put in a very difficult circumstance he's low on the totem pole within his pirate crew and he's got an obligation to reveal Luffy to a superior but he doesn't now this doesn't stop lady alvita later on from discovering Luffy and once she does she begins verbally disparaging and degrading the young Kobe who's now visibly terrified after being discovered and this all takes place in front of Luffy however like we will see with practically every single instance Luffy encounters potential new crew members Luffy doesn't take what others say very seriously he looks at their actions and for Kobe he saw how scared he was how much he stands to lose by not ratting him out and has learned his dream he knows that nothing lady alv Bellows can possibly be true about Kobe because Luffy has already seen Kobe respond to a difficult situation by making the choice that was right for him free from the shackles of his own mental and physical prison Luffy was able to see what and who Kobe truly is and this is powerful because we at home get to experience that too we get to appreciate Kobe as a character now all the more because we too have seen him perform in this high stake situation and this pattern is expanded upon with practically every Straw Hat pirate for instance when Kobe someone who Luffy now trusts warns him about how dangerous Zoro is Luffy remains consistent words are cheap he knows Kobe doesn't have firsthand experience and he knows what others have said about himself and Kobe maybe they're wrong too about Zoro and through this approach Luffy Waits For a Moment of character Revelation he waits for Oda to write a scene that demonstrates zoro's true nature [Applause] this is what makes Luffy such a mechanically useful character in The Narrative like the rule of thumb he demands to be shown who people are instead of being told who they are it's a simple but geniously elegant character mechanic and nowhere is that more true than in arlong park for many this is the first moment one piece quote gets good and while I don't agree with that statement as I thought it was great from the start this is the AR where Oda really places this trait of Luffy's front and center for all of us to enjoy and as a result facilitates one of the most timeless story experiences I've ever had while reading manga a series of deceptions are made by Nami who's fooled her whole town into hating her but not Luffy who Bears witness to another emphatic action from Nami stabbing her own shoulder where the symbol of her enslavement resides a surface level observation of Nami would suggest she's part of arlong's crew but the actions taken here shows that there's far more to this character both literally and metaphorically reinforcing this principle that actions speak more than words do no matter what anyone on the island says about Nami no matter what she says to Luffy's face her actions tell a very different story a story of a young girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders now crushing her to her knees Moving Mountains to push away those she loves in order to protect them and in that moment and in that emotional Crescendo between Luffy and Nami she Cycles through all of her defense mechanisms right before his eyes she physically throws dust at him verbally berates him and lies further but as soon as she realizes that he knows who she really is she breaks down in front of him pleading for help this same Narrative Approach can be seen with his recruitment of Usopp Robin and a host of others too every one of the straw hats is a lost toy cast aside in one shape or form ignoring their dreams for one reason or another Luffy despite being a boisterous and upbeat character demonstrates moments of quiet contemplation and observation as every single one of the straw hat Pirates proves themselves either when they think no one is looking or when they are under serious pressure to act this is taken to an extreme on HK Island there are a host of elements to discuss when analyzing the katakuri fight and one can certainly point to a number of of instances in this conflict where Luffy allows katakuri to discover more about himself but it's his hunger strike with Sanji following their bout that left me utterly speechless as a reader this is of course sanji's Arc so to speak and there's plenty of time to talk about him in another video but with regards to Luffy's involvement this is by far the most he's been pushed away by a member of his team and this push from Sanji is carried out through action he physically assaults Luffy and tears down his character much like nami's behavior in arlong park this is all in the name of protecting him from the monsters in his closet Luffy sees this recognizes what's happening and understands that Sanji needs to find his own way back to him and where he waited for Nami in arlong park Luffy takes this up a notch here reserving himself to a hunger strike until his return however while I have explored this quality Luffy brings to the likes of the straw head crew this altercation with Sanji as well as his runin and subsequent conflict with Usopp in water 7 speaks to another interesting area Oda explores with great results and I think this element of Luffy's character has offered my three favorite moments in the entire series for me the leadup two and subsequent eruption of Uso versus Luffy Remains the single most compelling sequence of character exchanges I've ever come across this is taking into stories like berserk and every film I've seen since I was a child to say that this scene captures magic in a bottle would be an understatement and it has everything to do with a narrative technique called structural opposition of Desire dramatic situations are made most compelling when conflict exist as a structural opposition of goals now that is some weird word spaghetti but put simply it means that if one character gets what they want the other character can't while it's true that Luffy's goal is to become king of the Pirates and to find the one piece Oda took the seeds planted in those early chapters and built on them over time throughout childhood flashbacks Luffy's upbeat and ambitious nature is underpinned by abject loneliness a desire for companionship becomes crystal clear and it's not hard to see why his mom is absent his father has left Shanks his Hero has left he was led to believe one of his sworn Brothers was dead and the other like everyone else left him alone to embark on his own adventure and so although that initial naivity may have been resolved in chapter 1 Luffy embarked on his journey into the East blue harboring a flaw that would not rear its head until much much later Luffy is surprisingly ill equipped when it comes to emotional conflict with his crew and in being forced to deal with it here this goal of persistent companionship bubbles up to the surface as Usopp lets forth a devastating Outburst brought on by insecurity Luffy is put in a position wholly new to him rather than being an observer of tough decision- making like he did with nami and Zoro he becomes a participant he's forced to choose between his two goals he doesn't want to break up his family but in order to be the captain the rest of his crew deserves he must this is why I love this scene for the first time in the series Luffy is offered a dma that speaks to his deepest desires and forces him to choose and through doing so brings out the very best of his Supporting [Music] Cast for me my favorite part of One Piece has never been the fights or the Grand Adventure or even the colorful locasion we all get to explore and enjoy all of those offer a tremendous amount to appreciate but nothing compares to the dynamic Luffy has with his crew within one piece the story itself isn't so much the story of Luffy alone but instead his relationship with his crew members and the enemies he faces think about it Luffy's ultimate goal is to become the king of the Pirates to find the fabled one piece treasure he's unabashedly himself loud in your face and will literally move Heaven and Earth for his friends in spite of his boisterousness he feels like a righteous and well-intentioned character that deeply cares for his friends but he only feels as righteous as he does because of the characters that don't align with these beliefs within the story arlong was cruel vengeful and dishonest crocodile was cruel too and deeply manipulative this even extends to the world government or emu these are characters that are totally antithetical to what Luffy has been designed to be where Luffy loudly declares his desires and goals U hides and operates in the shadows where Luffy will die for his team and carry the Lion Share of the burden when necessary those in power within the world of One Piece not only Force others to enact their bidding but also tear those less powerful than themselves down further those are the components that make Luffy stand out and it works both ways those aformentioned villains feel all the more monstrous when put up against Luffy himself if you plop Luffy into another story he might still feel like a fun character but suddenly he's a lot less interesting this is because the world of of One Piece has been defined and designed around highlighting all of Luffy's strengths and weaknesses to this end his crewm mat shine a light on his best qualities and in some instances expose his weaknesses painful as they are to see but for me insight into weakness is far more effective than any highlight of strength or to put it another way great characters are often defined by who they are not and what they cannot do I've often spoken about how I love Goku and Luffy in the same breath but what they offer mechanically and emotionally within the respective stories is vastly different I think part of Goku's appeal for me is how much emotional space there is between him and most every other character heck even the audience really he doesn't look at situations very often the same way many others do there is an emotional disconnect that creates this almost superhuman Presence at times where he acts as this entity descending from on high to save the day through circumstance he values his friends their safety and all the rest of it but that often takes a back seed to his desire to satiate this need for combat a desire that is almost impossible for us to fully rationalize whereas Luffy as made evident numerous times throughout his journey is specifically driven by his desire to protect his friends to protect their dreams to protect their treasure through his journey to Gyer crew Luffy in pursuit of his own treasure has created this secondary treasure one I do not think he would give up to achieve his primary goal when Goku lost Krillin on Namek to Frieza he snapped into a violent rage it was no longer about saving his friends or being the strongest he can be for that instant it was just rage and Vengeance when Luffy lost his crew in Sai one by one they were taken away from him and after each and every one was taken Luffy became more and more desperate and incensed until they were all gone and what happened then he collapses to the ground with nothing left this is a remarkably special moment in this series and it is such because it's the first time we've seen what Luffy looks like in total despair every Beacon of Hope in the series now there is none he's lost his crew he's lost his friends his family he's lost his treasure each and every time you compare a character to the hero unconsciously you're forced to distinguish and Define the hero in new ways but what I love about this scene and the arc that precedes It Isn't So Much what other characters can do for Luffy but instead what he as a character does to enhance and highlight The Supporting Cast without any of them being present in the scene what follow Saudi is perhaps the single best way Oda could have ever employed this writing principle and it's all contained in what I think is one of the most critically underrated arcs the series has seen Amazon lily as I mentioned earlier a large part of what defines a character especially a main character are the choices they make and the differences that come about thanks to the comparisons between them and other characters normally this technique is used to serve the main character and the main villain of a given area or segment but what what makes this segment of Amazon Lily so impressive to me is that without anyone other than Luffy himself he raises his own stock the villains of this Arc stock and without anyone else to share the screen or page with he improves our appreciation and consideration of the straw hat Pirates just by existing that is incredible design and I don't know if I've ever seen any other character do that and how does Oda achieve this simply by allowing Luffy to be Luffy alone in Amazon Lily he falls sick reminding us of Chopper usefulness he becomes hungry reminding us of how important Sanji is to him he gets lost informing us on how important nami's navigation is he's alone without backup showing us how important his crew is and most specifically Zoro it intentionally goes on like this until he runs into a situation with boa hanock and her crew where again simply by Lu marching to the beat of his own drum he enhances her appreciation of him and emphasizes the antagonist defining characteristics normally when I'm reading a story I can appreciate the writing based on what I see happening where I see the story going and how I can see the author deciding to get there but when we arrived at Amazon Lily I've never been so taken aback and impressed by a Shonen story like this writers like air Oda want us to resonate with their tales on a deep and personal level to get lost in them and through doing so gain deeper insight into our own feelings and emotions this is made evident through the countless flashbacks he incorporates and his dedication to establishing each and every character the crew interacts with little their role might be in oda's one piece there are no vapid characters everything is deliberate everything has life sometimes the art of of Storytelling is best delivered when you don't notice the subtle techniques and themes that reside underneath the surface and far be it for me to deny anyone the wonderful experience it must be to get sucked away into a world to enjoy it how you want to and if all you get from Luffy's character is the amusement of a funny stretchy rubber man who hits the bad guys hard and loves food then so be it there's certainly value in that form of escapism but it's important to realize that that is not all there is to one piece and that's okay it is precisely why Aira Oda is a once in a lifetime Storyteller in his immersive and colorful world where people can wield the power of supernatural beings bending elements and people to their will through magic and political influence when all of that is present in your story and your most powerful moments can still be a kid placing a hat on a young girl's head or a moment of utter despair when one falls to his knees then that is when you know you dealing with something truly special something with artistic substance and in the case of Monkey D Luffy an unmistakably genius character if you want to make sure you see my coverage of the other straw head pirates in this video series be sure to subscribe and ring the bell icon or if you want to see early cuts of these videos before they're posted to YouTube you can support us on patreon the link is in the description once again thank you all so much for watching guys and we will see you in the next [Music] [Music] video

Channel: Totally Not Mark

Views: 219,855

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Id: S63luLJUTmo

Length: 22min 53sec (1373 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 29 2024