- [Narrator] Sanji, a member of the Monster Trio
being used for comedy?
Such disrespect.
Big Mom, an emperor of the sea being used for comedy?
Such disrespect.
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You know what I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say it anyway,
such disrespect.
Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review,
your source for everything "One Piece"
and today I am warning you,
the title of this video probably says "One Piece" Discussion
but it's probably going to be more of a sprawling
and hopefully at least semi-coherent rant,
although I promise very little.
But we have a big topic to cover which is a pun, a bad pun,
I did it anyway,
because Big Mom exists and some people don't like it.
That really is the basic summary of this video.
And to get this right out of the way at the beginning,
anime-only watchers, yes this is a direct response
to manga events.
However, there will be no spoilers
so please do feel free to stay a while and listen
because here is the thing.
Even if I described the events that happened in the manga
in the greatest of detail,
I would still argue that it wouldn't actually be a spoiler
because Big Mom has not done anything new, unexpected,
out of character or particularly world-shaking.
Big Mom has done nothing except be herself,
the same old character
who we got to know on "Whole Cake Island."
And that, that's a problem apparently,
because basically what happened
in the vaguest possible terms,
is that in the latest chapter,
Big Mom was used for gasp, a comical scene,
which I don't know about all of you,
but I'm simply aghast at Oda's transgression here.
Big Mom is an emperor of the sea.
She is a super powerful Yonko-level
S-plus serious mastermind who must,
I repeat must be taken seriously
by not only all of the characters in the world,
but also the audience at all times.
And even though "One Piece"
is admittedly a highly comical manga series
and has always been sold for almost 1,000 chapters now,
I as a reader have differing expectations of this story
that simply must be met.
And Oda should abide by my own personal expectations
because he clearly doesn't know
how to write compelling characters on his own
and ignoring me in particular makes him a dick.
Yeah, that's right, I said it.
But TLDR this entire situation can be summed up
as many things can, within a single Reddit post.
Oda, writes Sanji and Big Mom
in slightly comical situations.
Fans, Oda, stop disrespecting your characters.
And once again, this is nothing new.
All throughout "Whole Cake Island,"
online discourse has been plagued with comments
about how Big Mom is a joke Yonko,
and the word disrespect gets thrown around in ways
that it was most certainly
never etymologically intended to be used.
But before we dive further into Big Mom,
I think it's important to note that this sentiment
is not exclusively directed at her
and it pops up in almost any given situation
where a serious character
is given any sort of comical scene.
The example that most immediately comes to mind
would be Kaido's drunk dragon in act one of Wano.
So when I read this scene, I burst out laughing
because I thought it was incredibly unexpected
to see this fearsome dragon man break that impression
and reveal another quirky layer to himself.
It was really fun and a definite highlight
of that particular chapter as well as Kaido's character
in general to me.
However, the sheer amount of people who saw this panel
and were like legitimately angry that Oda had dared
to be goofy with a "One Piece" character was quite shocking.
And I mean properly upset as well,
as if they'd just discovered
that that magical unicorn they bought
was really a painted cow with a cardboard horn,
by which I mean the value proposition
that they were allegedly sold
turned out not quite to be the case.
But the thing
that those individuals neglected to keep in mind
was that the store in which they bought the unicorn
was a multipurpose joke store
where almost every product sold
comes with an inherent element of comedy.
So if one does buy the unicorn from the joke store,
then in my opinion, it is fairly unreasonable to assume
that it is going to fulfill its function
as a mythical beast.
And yes, that is a very, very roundabout metaphor,
but in Kaido's case, the value proposition
would have been a big badass stoic serious powerhouse
capable of bringing the world to its knees in sheer terror.
Kaido, one of the four emperors.
However,
the store that we are buying this Kaido product from
was "One Piece"
and "One Piece" is most certainly known
for its superb action, heart hugging drama
and general lust for adventure.
But spliced in with everything,
is also a massive element of comedy.
And I think that that is perfectly personified
in its main character, Monkey D. Luffy.
This character is capable of striking pure awe into you
through his drive to become the Pirate King,
and he's also capable of evoking very serious drama.
But then again, he's also a supreme joke.
He always has been, and he always will be.
So it's very interesting
that whenever Luffy gets used as a joke,
nobody comments that Oda
is disrespecting him as a character,
or at least I hope they're not.
Maybe they are, but in any case, that might just be
because they've come to understand Luffy
after close to 1,000 chapters with him,
which you would hope would be the case.
This understanding does not seem to extend
to the entire cast though,
which brings us back to Big Mom,
who her value proposition was very similar to that of Kaido.
Her introduction,
both in silhouette at the end of the "Water 7 Saga,"
and even her first appearance during "Fishman Island"
were designed exclusively to evoke fear.
A sort of ultimate figure of the world
and someone who is clearly not to be taken lightly
or even heavily for that matter,
someone who is just not to be taken, full stop.
And that's fine,
that's actually how most "One Piece" characters
are initially introduced to us.
But for the most part, there is a definite pattern
because once we receive their full reveal,
that character's true nature
becomes fairly immediately apparent,
and it's usually some form of subversion.
So let's take an extreme example of this
and cast our minds to Duval, which I don't think I ever do.
But the chapter in which this character
was initially introduced,
ended on him being portrayed as this vessel
of sheer power and seriousness,
only to have that completely undermined
by his actual reveal which resulted in many alow.
Duval is of course obviously very different
due to his position in the world,
and I suppose you could argue
that he can afford to be a throwaway character.
Alright, cool.
So let's step up a bit
and look at some Marine admirals maybe.
Both Kuzan and Kizaru are I think great examples
of high-ranking characters who are often wield
for great comedic purpose.
Kizaru is a slow, forgetful
and often downright, criminally negligent old man,
whilst Kuzan is just lazy dudebro.
They both have their extreme comical quirks
but that does not stop them from earning their spots
at the pinnacle of this world
because Oda has designed them
so that they can be both funny and badass, hmm.
And that is very much the same with Big Mom.
Oda has made her raw power clear over and over and over
and over and over again.
She is effectively unstoppable in this world.
However, in addition to power,
Big Mom comes equipped with a personality
and that personality is that of a volatile child
who is heavily prone to tantrums.
And ever since being introduced
to Big Mom on "Whole Cake Island,"
we knew that this was exactly how she was.
She was never portrayed as any kind of master strategist
or even a master combatant actually.
In fact, thinking about it,
every time we've seen Big Mom in action,
she has shown us a wildly unrefined style.
She is basically a flailing child
who has only gotten as far as she has in this world
through raw strength,
which allows her the luxury of not really needing to think.
It's like putting God-mode on in any video game.
You become very careless with your actions but in the end,
you still slaughter all of your enemies anyway,
and that is the whole appeal of Big Mom.
The fact that the most potent raw power in this world
is condensed into the body of an individual
who will never be capable of actually wielding it
to its full potential.
And along with that, comes very natural comedy
because the less, let's say mentally inclined characters
in the series, are perfect vehicles for such thing.
And it really does not matter where in the world they stand.
Warlord, admiral, emperor or even Pirate King,
this is "One Piece"
and you will be used for a comedic purpose.
What I will concede, however,
is that Big Mom is used much more often
for the sake of comedy than her top tier counterparts.
Every emperor, and I mean every Emperor,
has been the subject of gags,
but Big Mom certainly has the most to her name
at this stage anyway.
And one of the reasons for that is like I said,
her natural characterization lends her existence
towards humor rather than someone like say Kaido
who is a more calculated sinister being.
But a lot of this also comes down to the fact
that out of all of the emperors, Big Mom is also the one
that we have spent by far the most time with,
if you don't include Luffy that is,
and I know many of you don't, tsk-tsk.
But Big Mom has now been the focus of two mega arcs,
while the others have remained primarily shrouded
in mystery, even Kaido.
And I think that very, very much
skews the general impression of Big Mom
in comparison to her contemporaries.
So say for example, with figures like Shanks, Blackbeard
and Kaido I guess, when we think about them,
there is so little to cast our minds to
that it usually ends up being some amazing feat,
like Kaido jumping off the sky island,
Shanks clashing with Whitebeard,
and Blackbeard's actions during the Paramount War.
We haven't really had enough time with any of them
to really dissect who they are
and dive deep into their more quirky nature.
And so there is this impression that these figures
are super-amazing, serious, respected beings.
But in reality, each and every one of them
is a walking joke just waiting to be made.
It's just that none of them have had the benefit
of two mega arcs to explore these lighter moments.
And really, the only comparison
that is even acceptable at the moment would be Whitebeard
because we have had a ton of time with him.
But even then, that does not mean
that we should expect Big Mom
to act in any way close to Whitebeard.
They're very different characters,
and while they have similar strength
that is going to be put to use in different ways.
And many people refuse to accept that I suppose,
in their minds, all emperors of the sea
must follow the Whitebeard mold
of being an almost paragon of perfection.
They all need to have it all, world shattering power
and exceptionally sharp intellect
and above all, the respect that they deserve,
which is in some instance a very subjective thing.
In fact, it's so subjective that even Oda
who created all these characters
is apparently completely incapable
of meeting the correct standard.
And yes, there are definitely many stories
in which characters can be quite inconsistent,
and certain authors have not been able to do justice
to their original ideas.
But in this case, "One Piece" is certainly not one of them,
that's what I would argue anyway.
Big Mom has always and will always
continue to fulfill her established role in the story,
which basically boils down to all of the power in the world
in the hands of an eclectic child,
that is the character and I personally love it.
I really don't want a second Whitebeard or a second Kaido,
we have one of each of those already.
And that's why I'm really thrilled
that Oda has decided not to be as precious
about Big Mom's status in the world,
as many fans would prefer him to be.
And I suppose the general message of this video
is always remember not to let your own headcanon
get in the way of the actual story or the actual characters.
This is actually something
that I very much need to remind myself of,
because I do get locked into certain impressions
which my mind sets in stone
and then when that stone is inevitably shattered,
it is a bit off-putting.
But whenever that does happen, it is entirely my fault
for going down that path in the first place.
And in this case,
I would say the same about the Big Mom haters.
Just because she does not fulfill your own personal idea
of what an emperor should represent,
that does not mean that Oda is showing her disrespect
by not meeting your set personal ideal.
You are warping the character into something
that she never was
and placing far, far too much emphasis on a title,
while simultaneously very much forgetting
exactly what series it is that you are reading.
And that isn't to say
that you need to like Big Mom's character.
That is completely subjective,
go nuts with your thoughts in that regard.
But there is a big difference in saying, you know what,
I think that Oda might be undervaluing the Big Mom character
and here's why, as opposed to,
oh my God, Oda is showing such disrespect for a Yonko.
One of those statements begins an intriguing discussion
about the portrayal of characters in general
and what Oda is trying to accomplish with them,
while the other is effectively a tantrum
because Oda isn't writing this character
according to your headcanon.
And just in conclusion here, I'll state that "One Piece"
has become one of the greatest stories ever told,
because it does not do what most of us think it should.
Oda takes this world and its characters
into some very left-field places, Big Mom included.
And without stuff like this,
I guarantee that none of us would even be talking
about "One Piece" right now.
It would have been canceled long ago
and forgotten in the deep panels of history.
So just sit back and remember
that the exact thing you're annoyed about
is also more than likely the reason
why "One Piece" captivated you to begin with.
So what do you guys think?
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and I'll see you next time.