The Importance of NAMI | The Anatomy of One Piece

characters mean different things to different people and Nami is no exception to some she's a fun and emotionally intelligent counter to Luffy and to others she's simply one small part of the greater Straw Hat crew to me she was the deciding factor that determined whether or not I would continue the series at all for me she's the character that elevated one piece from a story I was enjoying to when I knew I was going to obsess over for years to come where characters like Zoro and Luffy are deceptively complicated on a narrative level Nami is the doorway through which the true depth and quality of One Piece was first explicitly revealed to the world and her complexity doesn't extinguish at arlong Park in Grand fashion like many might assert instead it lays the kindling that ignites throughout the series burning bright Nami has been among my favorite characters in one piece since the very beginning here's [Music] why I think the most powerful element found in nami's character early on can be observed in one of the very first lines Luffy ever shares with [Music] her I don't want to team up with you this one line is nestled within a scene that is often forgotten and where Nami demonstrates to Luffy and do at home the depths of her own misplaced values when she wrongfully questions why his hat is a treasure at all often times folks will refer to the east blue material as a disperate tale compared to the blocks of lengthy arcs found in the rest of the story but this scene this conflict between these two characters and this quality of namis is what transforms what could be seen as a collection of short story arcs within the East blue into one contiguous story arc one that helps to shape the character Nami will become and unearths the trauma that made her the person Luffy refused the moment he met her what makes this first meeting interesting in hindsight though is the contrast it invokes with the iconic moment many say is the highlight of this part of the story in Prior videos I've spoken at length concerning the importance of a character's introduction how when one pays attention to it and understands its messaging they stand to yield a brand new or deeper appreciation for these characters the same is true for Nami but to an extent while she does share in and enjoy this narrative pattern Oda has said up unsurprisingly as I alluded to just moments ago Nami is a little more complicated than that arlong Park is undoubtedly nami's story however as noted earlier the quality that makes Nami and by extension Arlon Park so effective in one piece isn't just what's contained within the pages of this island but instead the emotional baggage that's carried in from Beyond its Shores coloring the various scenes that comprise orange Town syrup Village the barade and all the parts in between is a tension a dissonance between what Luffy knows about Nami and what Nami tells Luffy Luffy very quickly warms up to Nami he learns her goals he learns of her dream and through understanding this dream he begins to understand her an important narrative component to the story told in arlong park is that of how Nami consistently keeps everyone in her life that means anything to her at a distance all her life the only person she's felt comfortable with putting In Harm's Way was herself either not trusting or not wanting to risk the lives of those she loved it's for these reasons one could surmise that she was so determined not to establish any friendship with the likes of Luffy Zoro Usopp or Sanji but she did having not made any meaningful friends all these years what made Luffy and the straw hats the ones to break that pattern of destructive Behavior in narrative Theory character arcs are defined as the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of the story in the case of Nami she undergoes something called a positive change Arc this journey that defines her type of Arc is one that establishes a misbelief that she holds to be true having grown up on a peaceful Island under the adopted and loving care of bamir Nami as well as her sister's lives are totally upended by the tyrannical psychotic and and LLY selfish fishmen called arlong nami's first run in with arlong sees him murder her mother in Cold Blood for totally frivolous reasons this is therefore then the template Nami believes Pirates to be in this world this is the foundation for the misguided presumption she holds to be true it's the very belief that allows Nami to get closer to Luffy than she otherwise would have ever allowed had he been a regular civilian through this disregard for all Pirates nami's first interaction and coming together with l Luffy is brought about through her manipulation and use of him and it results in her betraying Luffy moments later when she offers him up as a sacrificial lamb to Buggy however thanks in part to her not being entirely morally bankrupt this added time she spends with Luffy opens her up and allows her the time to warm up to him creating the first major in her armor the first sign that her belief about a pirate's nature is not universally true that's what the story of orange town is in actual ity the story of Nami learning that not all Pirates are ruthless thugs branching out from that the subsequent arcs highlight more issues Nami has namely her inability to consider herself part of the crew in any meaningful capacity often times she's off doing her own thing trying to gather berries for her ultimate goal of freeing her Village it never occurs to her once that she may or could rely on others this is the second and final misbelief Nami holds that she is the only one that should be allowed to shoulder this burden She carries these two misguided beliefs are precisely what makes the story of arlong Park so powerful and easily one of the most emotionally resonant pieces of Storytelling one piece has ever offered let get it this is the moment a young girl who once believed all Pirates were monsters who believed she was alone in the world after trying and failing to push Luffy and the straw hats away in last desperate gasp of air before drowning in this sea of Horrid circumstance Nami reaches out to her pirate friend to help her and in response Luffy Zoro Usopp and Sanji demonstrate why she was correct in allowing them the chance to help it's easy to see why many might cite arlong Park as nami's character defining moment in the series with her adventures across the East blue establishing and paying off a fantastically compelling and thoughtful positive change Arc one which saw a flaky untrusting and manipulative solo actor with crushing responsibilities transform into a loving member within a new found family the straw hats despite all of this being true however I don't think I could consider arlong Park to be the end of her story in fact it's far from it I would personally describe it as more of a catalyst a launching off point for her true story to begin in a way Nami a character that always knew how to talk the talk and Bluff her way through everything now needs to learn how to walk the walk to go against every Instinct she's had beaten into her to learn what being a part of a loving family requires and what trust truly means while still true to Nami as a person this scene demonstrates a host of useful characteristics she's been able to take with her from her time under Arlon demonstrating that she retains The Savvy to lead negotiations in whiskey Peak as well as the emotional maturity to know when to turn tail and run with these elements still present it is also around this time we get our first glimpse into her accepting help and totally relinquishing control to the other straw hats [Music] again it should come as no surprise that each member of the straw head Pirates offers a unique talent or skill to help bolster the crew on their mission to successfully Traverse the grand line in search of the one piece treasure Usopp is a terrific inventor and hand on Deck Zoro is a powerful Warrior to help protect everyone Sanji prevents them from starving to death when resources are scarce and Chopper ensures that good health they enjoy is maintained across their Voyage Nami too offers her own talents in navigation a genius wayfinder naturally this was the quality arlong himself coveted within her Nami spent her life navigating her captors and oppressors control by embracing what made sense and came naturally to her a sneaky Mindful and measured approach and as we saw countless times throughout this series since she joined the crew that approach was tremendously effective for her now that being said it worked well for her singularly this approach worked as a solo Venture but now she's forced to step out of her comfort zone to work as part of a team which means direct confrontation is is unavoidable and due to this she can't always have control of how situations escalate nami's physical strength and combat capabilities in battle aren't a natural extension of her character she even says as much herself during this encounter with usop in alabasta she isn't a fighter however instead of running from this truth she Embraces discomfort and changes Desiring deeply not to be a burden and to help her friends pushing against her ego she places her faith in Usopp humbly requesting him to Aid her in this Venture by devising a weapon to help her in her quest to help someone she sees a tremendous amount in common with Viv as soon as she meets Viv something becomes immediately clear Nami has a soft spot for her Vivi a young woman that feels a tremendous amount of responsibility to protect her people from an oppressive coercive and cruel Outsider that has stolen her life from right beneath her feet one that threatens the life of her family remind you of anyone much happens in alabasta but with vivv circumstances weighing heavily on her mind despite avoiding this direct conflict for as long as she possibly could eventually for the very first time Nami is able to push past all of her dormant instincts and quite literally put her foot down taking action against a force looking to do harm to her and her friends taking a literal and metaphorical step step in the right ethical [Music] Direction it might appear as though compared to the others I've covered in this series I am diving in much deeper into nami's story and honestly I'm intentionally doing so not necessarily because the others didn't deserve this attention but more so because unlike other characters much of her development is subtle and it's at this point in the story I began to feel as though Nami was unlike anyone else in the crew not to say she didn't belong she absolutely did but she did feel different and I couldn't understand why until now looking back right from the moment she debuts in the story she has held the position that all Pirates are bad eventually this misplaced belief gives way to a much more mature position that just like everyone else Pirates are people some are good and some are bad however since arlong Park there's still something that sets her apart from the rest of the crew a negative quality that needs to be addressed she's got no backbone no true principles or convictions she can stand up for there's a moment during GA where Zoro and Luffy are passed out at the feet of Bellamy in a bar upon discovering this situation Nami screams at both of them to get up to clobber them before Heating B's jabbing suggestions retreating while carrying Luffy and Zoro in toe this entire sequence with Bellamy shows a confused and ultimately sassy Nami in the face of adversity still not truly understanding that fighting isn't always the answer as I explained she's used to either running away or just Flatout battling tooth and nail like a cornered animal the concept of standing On's ground on principle doesn't come to her mind once and this precise aspect of her character and the the fear she exhibits is explored thoroughly at the end of skypia cornered and with all of her immediate allies compromised Nami reverts back to her old habits trying to manipulate the situation to stay alive in whatever way she can pretending to be someone she isn't to appease others but this time it's different this time she's conflicted about something and it's here we get one of the best Nami Luffy interactions ever once her Captain rejoins the fry there is no greater example of a character that will on a moment's notice stand by his principles than Luffy he is the embodiment of everything Nami is lacking in this moment and for the very first time in her life something clicks but when it comes to creative writing simply accepting a character has changed based on Words is cheap and Oda understands this he knew that in order for us to appreciate nami's struggle we would need to see them in order to believe Luffy's conviction in her during arlong Park we needed to see him stand in the face of her lies and Odin knew in order to deliver one of the most emotional moments in the series he needed to show Nami physically break down before picking her back up again and so once Luffy is thrown from the Maxim in his fight with enel with all hopes seemingly lost Nami still totally at the mercy of this walking God complex is offered a chance of survival precisely the offer she jumped to with the likes of buggy exactly what she would have wanted moments prior he accepts her company but on one condition she must Bend to all of his demands a growing part of nami's character is her fondness and love for those she can now call her family Luffy Zoro Usopp Sanji Chopper Robin all of these names represent something Nami wants to live for to fight for and when presented with this offer from anel she says that if she were to go with him she would lose the one thing she desires that through accepting this she might as well be completely and totally alone and the best part of this entire scene is that she draws this Line in the Sand establishes and stands behind this principle when she thought she was as good as dead for doing so unbeknownst to her Sanji and Usopp are after sneaking aboard to rescue her it seems that this principal she finally stood behind was the correct Choice the one element that stood to distance herself from the crew that she loved now acts as the anthem through which they are banded back [Music] together surprisingly as it happens positive change arcs can often times be marred with tragedy and sorrow doing the right thing accepting a healthy mindset often times opens one up to hurt and Misfortune in nami's case during arlong Park she very much held the belief that she was the only person she could rely on that she deserved to be a alone however thanks to Luffy and her friends never abandoning her she came to realize the depth of her mistake and over the course of this series through to water 7 established a growing conviction in her family and love for them but the tragic thing about love is that by accepting it into your life you're also opening yourself up to being hurt tremendously now I've spoken at length in the prior videos concerning the impact of this scene on the likes of Luffy and Zoro but in truth what makes this this scene so powerful is how it impacts each of the straw hats individually that are present bringing out of them the elements that either highlight their strengths As Leaders or negative traits that they themselves need to work through at some point in the future for the majority of the story so far Nami is often seen as the maternal figure of the group offering compassion when necessary and steering the gang clear of unnecessary trouble using her gift of the Gap however during long ring long land a short scene demonstrates tunami and us that she has more demons to deal with than anyone might have realized fear of being alone fear of her family fracturing there's a time and place for most approaches in complicated relationships and Zoro solve the situation for what it was Chopper didn't need to be cuddled he needed to be held to a higher standard Nami couldn't see this unlike Zoro nami's entire life has been ruled by a palpable fear that one day everyone she knows and loves will eventually die ever since she was a kid she took it upon herself to manage the safety and well-being of all those she cared for around her she sees love for other people as something that needs to be protected at all costs by her never tested this is what happens during Usopp and Luffy's argument Nami someone who's never lost for words is remarkably quiet on the verge of a breakdown because she's losing one of the only familyes she's ever had and the worst part is there isn't anyone to fight there's no great tangible threat forcing them apart instead it's being ruptured From the Inside Out by the very people she loves so much there's no one to fight there's nothing she can control before the fight she only has one goal to prevent the fight Itself by getting Luffy to to apologize to Usopp however in reality that is the opposite of what is needed in this circumstance and Zoro understands this a character that rarely Speaks now finds himself contributing to this with the most substantial and helpful dialogue all the while Nami following the Battle can only bring herself to say water 7 in general is a very tumultuous time for the crew and most definitely Nami the relationship between Luffy and Usopp has fractured to such an extent that Usopp himself has been exiled from the crew in addition to that Robin has unceremoniously left and following these wretched set of circumstances Sanji soon too goes missing for Nami her family is quite literally falling apart because she has opened herself up to caring and depending on others this is the negative blowback that she is receiving but she pushes through and grows from this experience I've touched on how important principles and convictions are to the straw head Pirates I mean I don't even need to think about one piece in this Regard in anime belief in oneself and your mission is often the deciding factor upon which the outcome of pivotal battles are determined fighting for or against something in the name of what you believe in is and can be powerful and in one piece that's even more true hockey or willpower is the source and power system through which the strength of our heroes and antagonists is determined after the fracturing of the straw hats themselves Nami and her crew fall into increasingly worse circumstances more uncertainty Luffy is trapped between two buildings for God's sake Nami as well as the crew have dealt with insurmountable odds before from as early as the baradia to recently as alabasta and skypia however during each of those struggles there was a pointed direction in which to Target something a clear goal they all believed in as one save and help Viv ring the bell Etc but during this water 7 material they've had to wonder whether Robin was actually a friend or Foe and that lack of clarity dulled their conviction or willpower and remember willpower hacky is literally the power structure in this series however the moment Nami learns the truth about Robin she picks herself up and immediately what was once a dire set of worsening circumstances suddenly is washed over with an entirely different mood the atmosphere has changed the government cannot stop her and her faith and conviction grows upon learning that Sanji was one step ahead of them this entire time her goal her Mission becomes clear the woman that once ran away from her friends is now recognizing that Robin is making the exact same mistake she did no longer running away not Nami charges head first into an oncoming tidal wave in the hopes that she can deliver this great news to Luffy and she's the perfect candidate to deliver this inspiring message where Nami was trying to protect her own village by pushing her family away Robin is applying that same strategy to protect them from her injecting Luffy with the same purpose and vigor he's demonstrated many times before in this series It's a Wonderful coming together moment where two characters have come full circle Luffy who once inspired Nami to trust in them is now able to become inspired by the very woman he helped [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] save nami's journey across these short arcs tells the tale of a girl terrified to lose what she was so scared to one day obtain friendship and family you can see it in the inspiration that surges through her body after discovering the truth of Robin and sanji's faith and you can most definitely see it on full display once all was said and done after the events of an's lobby after reconvening with Sanji learning that Robin was an ally all along running to her successful rescue much the same way she wanted to apply a gentle hand to Chopper in Long ring long land so too did she want to welcome back Usopp with open arms she thinks of her family as this fragile entity that needs to be protected at all costs that could be blown over with a stiff breeze this is why she was so scared to have a family in the first place they are fragile she doesn't want to risk turning Usopp away however as we all know Zoro steps in to bring everyone back to reality a reality that Luffy Nami and some of the others were willing to to ignore for the sake of reunification but Zoro was right Usopp needed to apologize he needed to acknowledge that he did something wrong when he abandoned them the reason I harp on and on about this scene in reference to Nami despite her role being minor is that for me it highlighted one of the last remaining hurdles her character needed to overcome a lesson anyone who is terrified to love must learn in order to be at peace Nami needed to learn to trust in the strength of others I haven't spoken much about the events Post Time skip yet but today the events that follow must be addressed if I am to Grant Nami the respect her character deserves as she does undergo a considerable amount of personal development both off and on screen during some of this material what makes the first half of the story so fascinating and well easy to dissect and analyze on a narrative level is that the straw hats are quite fragile then I think a lot of people look more favorably upon the first half of the story because it felt as though the crew spent so much more time together that they depended on each other to cover each other's weaknesses for fear of death and this is certainly true some of it even remains True to this day but casting your minds back for a second to the first half of the story much of the conflict stems from or includes the crew being forcefully separated and fighting to get back together think arlong park with nami think alabasta with Luffy think skypia think water 7 any's Lobby the story of one piece's first half is that of the straw head Pirates trying to pull themselves back together amid circumstances and forces that try to rip them apart and the drama stems from that conflict however when we look at the story through this lens something becomes abundantly clear and it happens to be the goal of the straw hats during the time skip itself to get stronger to get more reliable to get ready for the next half of this story a defining feature of the postwar material has to be that of the crew constantly being split apart only this time there's significantly less drama and struggle instead of Oda manifesting some storyline or Arc to help explore how independent the crew has become during their time away he has instead decided to tweak elements of the story and through doing so sent a shock wave through the narrative that entirely change the atmosphere every single person in the crew including Nami now totally trusts that not only will they all be safe if they split up for a bit but they also trust that they will inevitably get back together and I love that it doesn't shout in your face how much everyone has changed but it is there floating around in the subtext of the story changing the vibe of the entire section it's wonderfully creative and it's another indication that Nami has become virtually unrecognizable in terms of a character when compared with who she was in chapter 10 but this isn't to say that she has no more growth to discuss there is something else and it's one last relic of her time spent under arlong's thumb one last test for Nami to pass Nami this small exchange from shabti is a nice encapsulation of an issue Nami faces on Fishman Island if ever there was an arc that would test nami's growth it would be this one Fishman Island the debut Arc of the straw hats reunion tour and just like every other aspect of nami's character development across the series it's kept relatively lowkey at the heart of the story taking place on Fishman Island are faint but everpresent Echoes of arlong's influence here Nami and the rest of the straw head Pirates have to contend with the ugly Shades of Gray This complex world is painted with what was once thought of as a comparatively black and white scene in Arlon Park is now shown to possess elements of nuance none that would excuse arlong's actions but certainly context that helps us sympathize with his people's plight and appreciate where this poison in his mind originally stemmed from eventually it comes to light that jimbe another soon to be addition to the crew has a significant history within this story one that is intertwined with nami's past through one fatal error he missed arlong it was his job to re in arlong if he ever was to run a monck however due to arlong's bribing of the Navy the necessary information never reached jimbe leading to the horrors that beell Nami her family and her Village as a whole in times like this all you can do is think back to when we first met her in this story how she might have reacted had she learned the truth of Jim Ba's failure then and that's when Oda hits us with [Music] this no longer ruled by a desire for revenge or a hatred in her heart instead she chooses life she chooses to appreciate the good she has right now rather than sink into the horrors of her past this is a blink and you miss its scene but in reality speaks to the woman she has become and the best part is you can tell how heavily this sense of guilt weighed on jinbe's heart and how much it means to him to have nami's blessing it's a powerful scene in the beginning of a series of character revealing moments throughout the second half of the story that demonstrates the person Nami has become whether it be nami's dedication to not abandon any of the children in Punk Hazard where she Echoes actions taken by her adoptive mother bamir or perhaps my favorite a short but powerful scene from wano where faint Echoes of Luffy's criticism of Nami during skypia can be heard reverberating in the background in onigashima when faced with certain death Nami breaks down yes but instead of begging for forgiveness or saying what her attacker wants her to say she instead says [Music] this [Music] proving once and for all that when the cards are down it isn't your demeanor or Warface that makes you a force to contend with but the conviction in your heart and determination to see that conviction through to The Bitter End what an incredible moment and one that is often overlooked in this deceptively complicated and exciting story the prevailing theme that permeates through all of One Piece has been that of fighting against tyrannical individuals and systems in the name of achieving Peace and Freedom with every passing Island our group of Heroes encounters trials and tribulations they must overcome each more fearsome and challenging than the last in the hopes that on the other side they will achieve their goals their dreams together what made Nami special to me is that she embodies one piece of struggle for Freedom initially a freedom from her captor sure but also eventually a freedom from her own perception of the world a freedom from her own fear in a story that could have remained extremely simple she injected Nuance a Nuance that demonstrated that those who claim to be at peace can be the most at war with themselves and those who fight the most can often times be the most terrified I love nami's character because she represents everything we as individuals wish we could be a fulfilled member of a loving family family free from the shackles of our own past traumas through courage and acceptance of what was and thinking about it now I don't think there's anything more one piece than that once again thank you all so much for watching be sure to subscribe and ring that Bell to see the rest of my straw hat analysis videos as I release them and if you really want to gain access to these videos before they are released on YouTube you can support us on patreon thanks again everyone and I'll see you in next video when we tackle [Music] Usopp

Channel: Totally Not Mark

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Id: I4nvBF3yyeQ

Length: 32min 46sec (1966 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 02 2024