Rarely is it as emotional and heartwarming to talk about a fictional character as is
the case with Donxiquote Rosinante. Despite his very short appearance in the story, as
well as a complete lack of interaction with any of the main protagonists, Corazon, as
he was known within the Doflamingo family, is one of the most beloved characters in the
entire story. How come then, that a side character with no badass devil fruit powers, no advanced
Haki and - due to his early death - no active impact on the current story line, has become
such a fan-favourite that is almost as iconic for the story of one piece, as his older brother
Doflamingo, the main antagonist of the longest story arc until Wano? In this video, we will
not only answer this question, but explore in depth why Corazon is actually one of the
best-written characters in the entire story. Oh, yeah and if you haven’t done so already,
make sure to subscribe to the channel. It’s free and you get updates on any of my future
videos.
The secret behind Oda’s success with Corazon’s character lies in his interaction with two
other, by the time of his first appearance already strongly established characters in
the story. We have known Doflamingo from way before the time skip with Oda revealing more
and more of his narcissistic and tyrannical nature over time as we approach Dressrosa.
And while it’s true that we didn’t get to meet Law until we reached Sabaody, he has
been present in almost every single arc since his first introduction, interacting and traveling
with the crew. Between these two characters, Oda has established Corazon as the missing
puzzle piece to link both Law and Dofi, and has used Corazon’s relationship with both
to give deep-reaching characterisation to his character in a very short time, through
both Doflamingo’s and Law’s respective flashbacks. So, let’s look at both of these
relationships in a bit more detail.
Just as his older brother Dofi, Rosinante was born into the ranks of the celestial dragons,
but left Marijoe very early on in his life to live among the commoners with his family.
While right from the start Doflamingo was shown to be engulfed in feelings of superiority
and anger, Rosinante was quite the opposite. Even as a child he was a very sensitive and
kind boy, that in direct contrast to his brother expressed a deep love for his family. When
their father’s decision ultimately lead to the doom of their family, Doflamingo felt
nothing but rage and hatred for everyone involved, which resulted in him executing his father
Homing while he was holding the young Rosinante, who had reacted to their tragic circumstances
with sadness and an even stronger emotional connection to his family. Seeing his brother
spiral into deeper and deeper darkness, and witnessing him murdering their father while
being embraced in his arms deeply traumatised him. And so while Dofi was busy bringing their
fathers head back to the celestial dragons and started gathering power-hungry people
around him, Rosinante was found by none other than the future fleet admiral Sengoku, who
took him into the Marines and raised him.
From very early on, Corazon knew that Doflamingo’s cruelty & tyranny was not caused by the tragic
events surrounding their family, but merely amplified by them. Thus, both brothers are
the perfect example of nature vs nurture. Despite growing up the exact same way and
experiencing the exact same pain, both of them turned out to be as different as one
could imagine. Nonetheless, despite their polar personalities. both brothers still felt
connected in some strange sense. Rosinante felt responsible for reigning in his brothers
actions and thus returned back to his side as a Marine spy fourteen years later. When
he ultimately was on the run with Law, his true identity was revealed to Dofi. Both brothers
were evidently not eager to go against each other. But while Corazon was ultimately unable
to shoot his brother, Doflamingo, although clearly troubled, didn’t hesitate to shoot
his little brother, once again putting himself above everyone else, as he had done his entire
life.
The point of all this, is that through Dofi Corazon is characterised as his polar opposite.
Two strikingly different paths, based on the same starting point. Thus, in stark contrast
to his brother, we get too know Corazon as someone who is able to feel and express real
emotions and who has a strong sense of compassion and altruism. Thus, the major difference between
Doflamingo and Rosinante that I think Oda tried to drive home, is the concept of self-sacrifice.
A
parent-figure sacrificing themselves for a beloved child is a consistent theme throughout
One Piece. While Doflamingo's character carries his own tragedy in many ways, as I thoroughly
discuss in his video, the major difference between him and his brother is that to Dofi, no
one will ever be as important as himself. He might care for others to a certain extent
as long as they are useful and loyal to him, but ultimately, he will always choose what's
best for himself - Dofi First. Rosinante was just as traumatised as Doflamingo in his own
way. And yet he chose to act on those feelings in a completely opposite way. Instead of choosing
to make himself and his own ambitions a priority, dedicating his life to protecting others from
experiencing the same kinds of pain and trauma he lived through as
a child.
As a result, next to relying general intel back to the Marines, Corazon’s main goal
was to keep Doflamingo from recruiting more and more children into his ranks, including
the likes of Dellinger, Baby 5 , Buffalo and of course - the young Trafalgar Law. Law’s
relationship with Corazon might well be the most well-written in the entire story outside
of the main straw hat crew. The level of passion and thought that Oda evidently poured into
these two characters and their time together, to me is clear proof of how important Law
has become to Oda himself and to the story. And while he isn’t an official straw hat,
he certainly has received a flashback and tragic backstory worthy of one.
How this relationship formed and how Oda chives this incredibly powerful sentiment throughout
the flashback, in my opinion deserves its own video. Thus we will explore this in a
thorough scene analysis. What we should take away for Rosinante’s character here however,
is that right from the start he cared for Law and wanted to ultimately free him from
Doflamingo’s grasp as soon as possible. However, over time, Corazon’s motive shifted
away from doing everything in his power to stop his brother’s tyranny, to doing everything
in his power heal Law’s sickness, protecting him from Dofi and giving him a real shot at
a happier life.
And I think it was exactly this decision, to chose Law over both his real family Doflamingo
and his duties within the Marines, that truly made his character so powerful and likeable.
Not only did he give the traumatised Law a sense of hope again, but he also gave him
unconditional and genuine love and care. This way he was not only able to heal Law’s body,
but also his heart, and so put him on the right track to live a good life and keep him
from becoming the next Doflamingo. Due to his own childhood, he was able to look past
Law's deep-rooted anger and hatred and see the suffering that caused them. And so, while
Dofi was willing to give Law what he wanted - the opportunity to inflict his own pain onto
others until his inevitable death due to his sickness - Corazon was able to give Law what
he actually needed: A chance to heal enough to live a good life and leave behind all his
pain and sorrow.
I think the best way to truly understand the essence of Rosinante’s character, is through
the symbolism that Oda has integrated in his character. Corazon unites a number of central
themes and symbols in One Piece, that we have already discussed in detail throughout this
series of videos. For example the concept of dreams, as he is fully convinced that he
will find a way to save Law, something seemingly impossible. The concept of inherited Will,
as he pushes Law to find the truth about the will of D and his heritage. And the concept
of immortality according to Dr. Hiruluk, that people only die when they and their dreams
are forgotten. By showing true love to Law, he managed to gain the immortality, that his
brother was yearning for so badly.
All of this is wonderfully reflected in the main theme of Rosinante’s character - the
heart - which goes far beyond his choice of fashion. Corazon, which means heart in Spanish,
is what Dofi wanted from Law. Consume the heart-shaped Op-Op no Mi and give him immortality.
But I think most importantly, Corazon was able to heal Law’s own heart through his
love and kindness, which is why ultimately Law became captain of the heart pirates, in
memory of his father-figure. In the end, while Doflamingo themed his crew around the concept
of a family, Law’s and Corazon’s relationship was way more real a family than Dofi’s could
ever have Benn. And so, to answer the question once and for all. The reason why Donquixote
Rosinante is such a fantastic and beloved character, is the immense sense of love and
kindness that Oda was able to portray through his character. A character written so well,
that his pure & selfless actions couldn’t help but transcend the story itself and touch
the hearts of its readers. If you want to dive even deeper into this, you can watch
my entire analysis of Doflamingo on the top, and the analysis of Corazon’s and Law’s
backstory below. Thanks guys. Peace.