- [Host] Hello, and welcome to the "Grand Line Review."
Your source for everything One Piece.
And today we are going to be focusing
on the core structure of the Straw Hat Pirates.
A little something that we like to call the monster trio.
Luffy, Zoro & Sanji.
Who together form a collective and insurmountable mountain
of power within the crew.
That or an unstoppable tsunami of power,
depending upon their targets at the time.
But these three aren't just pillars of the Straw Hats,
but it goes even further than that.
Because they form a foundation of One Piece itself,
which can be seen reflected in almost every popularity poll,
where they tend to be the top three in that exact order.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
There are only two exceptions to this.
One of which was the first poll
in which Shanks took the place And Sanji took fourth.
And the fifth poll,
where Trafalgar Law beat Zoro and Sanji
to claim second place.
These aberrations aside though,
when you really boil down the impact of One Piece,
you can generally find yourself falling
into one of, or even all three of these monster trio camps.
And once you fall in ever so deeply,
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so that we can become part of the monster trio of YouTube.
But as to something that's actually relevant,
I want to start this examination
with the name monster trio itself.
It's one of the most well established terms
in the One Piece fan vernacular.
And it's important to point out that monster trio
is not an official label
given to Luffy, Zoro and Sanji
anywhere in the actual series.
Not in the official translations anyway.
As far as I can tell we have a bit
of a chicken and egg scenario happening here.
The true origins of the term
have been lost in the void century of the internet.
And the earliest reference I can find
was on a forum in 2008.
The problem is that is almost certainly
not where the term was coined,
as I do recall it being used earlier than that,
because yes, I am old.
Thank you for asking.
And I remember One Piece forums in the times prior to 2008.
Oh no.
What I suspect happened though,
is that in some deep dark forum culture,
this term emerged as local cannon.
Which was then adopted by a variety of fansub
and scanlation groups,
which then proceeded to popularize it throughout the world.
Otherwise there's nothing in official One Piece
to indicate its origin.
Many people will point to a scene
during the Alabasta arc where Luffy, Zoro and Sanji
defeat a giant sandora dragon together.
And they'll say that Nami either called them
the monster trio right then and there.
Or said that the three of them was stronger than a monster.
And that may very well be true
in some sort of scanlation or fansub out there.
But in both the official manga and anime translations,
it just shows Nami feeling sorry for the dragon,
which I suppose she does call a monster.
And just as a quick side note,
anime Nami looks like she's seen
some pretty disturbing stuff.
But there are other instances in the series
where they are referred to much more vaguely
as like the three strongest guys and such.
But even though the term monster trio
is entirely a fan creation,
its core idea is pretty undeniable within the series.
And that's because there was a palpable atmosphere
whenever these three come together as a team.
Which generally involves combat, of course.
In the intro I called them unstoppable and insurmountable.
Which is very clearly shown in situations
like the aforementioned sandora dragon.
Or a similar situation which three of them were facing off
against Surume on their weight Fish-Man Island.
Or even immediately after the timeskip
where these three were the only ones
to face off against Pacifista.
And they dismissed the cyborgs quite comfortably.
It's always a special moment to see them working together.
Which doesn't actually happen all that often.
And it never happens against a primary antagonist,
at least not directly anyway.
Which is very purposeful by Oda.
And it works for a wide array of reasons.
One of which is that the idea and effect
of the monster trio is far more prominently on display
when the three of them are not together, weirdly enough.
In these situations Luffy, Zoro and Sanji
each effectively become crew leaders.
And the rest of the Straw Hats or specific arc characters
will gravitate towards whichever member
of the monster trio was closest.
Because it really doesn't matter
if it's Luffy, Zoro or Sanji.
Just being with any one of them provides you
with a feeling of safety and confidence.
A great example of which is when Sanji
led half the crew to Zou from Dressrosa.
Meanwhile if we do find ourselves in a situation
where we don't have a member of the monster trio present,
it is noticeably more uncertain,
perhaps even chaotic.
Such as Nami, Usopp and Chopper's
adventures on Thriller Bark.
A trio which presents their own fun dynamic.
But it really doesn't matter what the combination is.
We could also go with Robin, Franky and Brook.
They're more powerful,
but they are missing an essential foundation.
Which is usually represented
in one of Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji.
Furthermore I would argue that more often than not,
it's actually essential to keep these three separated.
And the video as stated by me thus far
would paint Luffy, Zoro and Sanji
as this kind of perfect team.
And that's not necessarily true.
Rather than a trio,
it could be argued that three form more of a triumvirate.
A set of leaders working towards a common goal.
Because each of them have their own individual methodologies
that don't necessarily mix with the other two.
For example,
Luffy is the kind of guy who prefers to rush
right into the center of the action fist first.
While say Sanji adopts a much more tactical approach.
And then there's Zoro,
who you would think as much the same as Luffy,
but he travels into battle at a much more casual pace
and often gets comically lost in the process.
And really the main times when we do see these three
acting together is probably when they're hungry
and keen for some giant monster meat.
In addition to this,
we also need to take personal relationships into account.
In this trio foundation
we have a series of volatile relationships.
Zorro and Sanji have this extreme rivalry
and a general distaste one another.
And while they do get along better with Luffy,
they also both become incredibly annoyed with their captain.
What makes direct team work as a trio very tricky.
In fact you could say that they are more or less
incapable of working together as a trio.
However,
they are more than capable of working in tandem
as a triumvirate.
Which is a significantly more useful factor
to have in the kind of crazy situations
that our crew finds themselves in.
An Oda even goes to further lengths
to highlight this trio mostly well apart.
Because in addition to core leadership,
they also possess a powerful aura surrounding them.
And I'm not just talking about
their various masteries of haki.
In fact, I'm not talking about that at all.
It's much more raw than that.
So as Zoro would be the most obvious example here
because he has been referred to as a demon
or possessing demonic qualities on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile Sanji replicates his feeling
through his own techniques.
With his signature combative form now being diable jambe.
Which literally means devil's leg.
Conjuring the searing flames of Hell
to dispatch whatever incredibly unfortunate opponent
just so happens to stand in his way.
And then of course you have Luffy
who being a member of the mysterious D people
is referred to as the enemy of the gods
and even a devil.
And is often depicted throughout the world
as this incredibly sinister pirate.
But even with what we know of Luffy,
his willpower is more terrifying
than anything Zoro and Sanji can muster.
So all three of them have this very otherworldly quality
that elevates them from the rest of the crew.
And does very much place them in their own canonic tier
one way or another.
Not necessarily to do with strength, mind you.
And now is probably a good time to ask ourselves,
could the monster trio dynamic be interrupted or expanded?
Traditionally this hasn't been possible
because most Straw Hat recruits
tend to fill a more technical purpose.
I mean going back to the days of East Blue,
there was an undeniable divide
between the monster trio as opposed to Nami and Usopp.
And Chopper started to blur that line a bit, I suppose,
because he was a capable fighter.
Then with Robin, Brook and Franky doing much the same.
But none of them presented the core qualities
that the monster trio possessed
that made them the monster trio.
However recently a certain whale shark
has upended things because a thought that pops up frequently
in fan discussion seems to be the idea
that Jinbe joining the crew
turns this into a monster quartet.
And there's good reason for that thought
because Jinbe is extraordinarily powerful in his own right.
I mean it's not clear how he would stack up
against Luffy, Zoro or Sanji.
But I suppose the fact that it's so unclear
is actually all we need to know.
Plus Jinbe is also a natural leader,
albeit with a much more classical style.
The one key difference between Jinbe
and our established trio
is that the former warlord does not possess
the same sort of otherworldly aura
that Luffy, Zoro and Sanji exude.
That's kind of it though.
And that's not necessarily a great reason
to automatically exclude him from crew prominence.
And I guess this is where the whole idea
that the monster trio name is fan made comes up again.
We really can't be taking the idea
of a definitive top three Straw Hats set in stone
too seriously anymore.
And using the idea of the monster trio
certainly is not something that should be invoked
if you were trying to say power scale Jinbe
with the rest of the crew.
What's going to be more important is Jinbe's dynamic.
Which I look forward to seeing more of.
I'd say that there's every chance he slips
into more of a Robin style role.
You know, confident, powerful,
and a wise background figure.
But it's haunted deny the possibility
of a monster quartet.
And it's something that we should probably
be open to exploring despite it contradicting fan cannon.
But dwelling on the trio for now.
I also think it's important to say
that this construct is unique within the world of One Piece.
It's very difficult to find a crew
who have this sort of semi-equal dynamic.
For example I think it would be a mistake
to compare the monster trio to something like the All-Stars
or the lead performers and whatever you wanna call them
of the Beasts Pirates.
And that's because there is a far clearer separation
of power and authority with Kaido than there is with Luffy.
And that goes for most of the other emperors as well.
Big Mom and her Sweet Commanders.
Whiteboard and his division commanders.
I suppose Blackbeard would come kind of close.
Because he does rely on his crew
in very much the same way Luffy does.
which is to say that they make up for his shortcomings.
And Blackbeard does like to roll the dice of fate.
And I suppose you could say that with Shanks,
he has a correlationship with figures like Benn Beckman,
Lucky Roux, and Yasopp.
Which without knowing more specifics,
does seem to emulate the Luffy, Zoro, Sanji feeling.
But otherwise I think difference is very purposeful.
And it goes on to him that the Straw Hats
are far more than just their captain.
Which I think is something the Emperors
have a hard time getting away from,
with such powerful figureheads.
A lot of those crews seem to exist with the sole purpose
of filling the wishes of their terrifying, powerful captain.
Whereas the Straw Hats have and always will be
a more collaborative effort.
With each crew member having their own independent dreams.
Which is another reason why this trio is just so solid
because they have multiple reasons to fight.
With a drive and willpower that just surpasses
and engulfs whoever, or whatever stands in their way.
And at the same time this monster trio idea
also provides a great mechanism of subversion.
Provided it isn't abused.
And what I mean by that is that
is because we're all so used to the thought that Luffy, Zoro
and Sanji are completely unstoppable,
it's very effective to put us in a situation
where all three of them are defeated right
in front of our eyes.
Like during a Long Ring Long Land
when the crew encountered Aokiji.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji each failed
to overcome this opponent.
And that provided us with a very deep sense of despair.
As well as perspective on the world
for us as readers and watchers.
And some of the One Piece films
try to take advantage of this as well.
Like when all three of them took on Zephyr in film Z,
and ultimately proved ineffective.
Seeing them beaten is a shock
right to the core of our system.
And it leaves us very bare with seemingly no defense
against whatever we're facing.
And on super-rare occasions,
it can even be used for comedy.
Once again,
returning to Thriller Bark where the defeat of all three
led to this wonderful moment.
But the really weird thing is that even though
this was played for comedy,
you can see everything I've spoken about
when they all wake up off to the beautiful swordswoman
with meat comment.
And they all have this similarly terrifying aura about them.
Which once again, yes, is played purely for comedy.
But it is yet another example of the trio motif at play.
And I guess most importantly,
this trio or brings with it a sense of completion.
The Straw Hats as a whole on noticeably impacted
by the absence of any one of these individuals.
That's a core reason why we had to go and take Sanji back
on Whole Cake Island.
Because what would even be the point
of approaching Wano without a completed trio.
It would have been very similar
to being on Whole Cake Island without Zoro.
And that's why Wano is a very exciting arc for me,
because it's the first time since what?
Mid-Dressrosa,
that the monster trio dynamic is in play once.
I have no doubt that they will prove to be as unstoppable
and insurmountable as ever.
But what do you guys think?
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