Nico Robin is a special character in the story of One Piece. I´ve always felt deeply intrigued
by her personality. Because her actions invoke a series of emotions and thoughts in me, like
no one else in the story does. As if there was something about her character that was
speaking to me on a level that my mind wasn´t really expecting from a story like One Piece.
A sense of destiny and importance that usually is reserved for no one less than the protagonist
…or maybe the antagonist. Despite being one of the main characters of the series and
holding a unique position in the world, Robin somehow always manages to stay in the background,
shrouding herself and her thoughts in deep mystery. As a result, there are several reasons
why I´ve found the epithet of “light bringer” so incredibly fitting for her character. Light
bringer is the literal translation of Lucifer. An angel fallen from god’s grace. Or in
other words: The Devil. As the sole survivor of the genocide on the island of Ohara, throughout
her life Robin has been marked as the “Devil child”. An attempt by the world government
to silence and discredit her. Because Robin´s knowledge and interest in the history of the
world is one of the, if not THE biggest threat to the world government. Being the only person
left in the world that can decipher the language of the ancient kingdom, she is the only person
capable of learning the truth about the void century. But while knowledge of the true history
is something the Gorosei and Imu want to keep buried, the Poneglyphs hold the key to even
greater threats: Namely, Information on the 3 ancient weapons, that are capable of waging
a war on a global scale. AND the location of the final island in the grand line: Raftel,
that is closely connected to the birth of a new pirate king. In other words, Robin is
the key to everything that is a real threat to the system of power that the world government
has established. The only person in the world that can bring destruction and chaos to the
world order they built for the past 900 years. It is no wonder then, that Robin is seen as
the “Devil” of the One-Piece world. The person capable of breaking the wheel, if you
want. Good thing Robin doesn´t have a dragon though. Ironically enough though, all these
reasons have also led to Robin´s second epithet: “The light of the revolution”. Her unique
skills and positioning in the world have become a source of hope in the opposition to the
world government, the revolutionaries. Without her, the world will most likely never be changed.
So, while Robin is the Lucifer to the world government, she is also the light of hope
for the revolutionaries, fighting for a better world. I think, calling Robin the “light-bringer”
reflects really well on her character being a two-sided coin. Since we have no real idea
of what Robin already knows about the world and how she plans on using that knowledge,
she is a real wildcard in the story that could get grave importance at any moment. Combined
with her calm and quiet personality, I think it is fair to say, that maybe next to Zoro,
she is the most mysterious of the Straw hats, since there is so little, we truly know about
her. So, who is Robin, and what makes her character so unique in the story of one piece?
The way we got introduced to Robin was very different from anything we had gotten for
any of the other straw hats up to that point: Robin was a mysterious and immensely interesting
antagonist of the straw hats during the baroque work arc. Her contradictive actions, helping
the straw hats in some ways while then opposing them again in others, lead to a quick fascination
with her character for me. Only slowly do we learn that Robin only joined forces with
the Warlord Crocodile to follow her own ambitions. The image we get of her is that of a ruthless
assassin, that uses any means necessary to get what she wants. So, despite Luffy´s kindness
towards her, it was a true twist in the story, when she suddenly appeared on the ship, inviting
herself to join the crew. In retrospect however, I think it makes a lot of sense that Luffy
saved and accepted Robin on his ship. Because, as we learned from Rayleigh during the time
skip, Luffy has the ability to sense a person´s true intentions. So, while Luffy was already
aware of Robin´s true nature, it took us a whole lot more to truly understand Robin´s
character and motivations. And I dare say, that this process led to some of the best
arcs in the story. The timing and pace that Oda used to place Nico Robin in the story
was simply amazing when looking at the story up until the time skip. Having a mysterious
and complex antagonist, with a cool and dark vibe, turn into an ally and then slowly revealing
the history and impact of that character? Everything about this character introduced
a new level of complexity and heaviness on the story, that didn´t really exist up to
this point. Robin´s past, the genocide of her people, her lifelong run from the grasps
of the world government and the loneliness and heartbreak she experienced, really hammered
in what One Piece was going to be about in the long run. With Robin, we were introduced
to the Poneglyphs and with them to the mystery of the ancient kingdom, it´s weapons and
the source of injustice in the world. With the introduction of the CP9, we were shown
the cruelty and ruthlessness with which the government operates and how corrupt and unjust
the entire system was. With Robin, One Piece changed its nature and scale completely. It
went from a young boy, trying to find the ultimate treasure in a world of pirates together
with his friends, to a political and complex story about healing the world and breaking
the unjust and cruel system under which, the world is suffering.
Robin as a character is constructed in a way, that mirrors everything that is wrong with
the current system. When she joins the crew, her greatest weaknesses are her deep lack
of trust in anyone but herself, a great lack of self-confidence self-worth and a strong
sense of loneliness and isolation. All these things can easily be tracked back to her past.
While she had already been tormented by her uncle and his wife and feared by the other
children for her devil fruit powers, it took the entire cruelty of the world government
to rob young Robin from all positivity and hope. First her mother and everyone she knew
were murdered in front of her eyes. Then they brainwashed the public into believing that
Robin was the last survivor of a group that was trying to destroy the world, by finding
the ancient weapons. They robbed her of any chance of refuge or care. So, Robin had to
grow up on her own, hiding and on the run. As a result, Robin has a clear moral problem
that her character needs to solve. Her inability to trust and open up to others keeps her from
following the path she actually wants to go, learn and live in peace. While she is actually
a very kind hearted and caring person, her tragic past has forced her to put up a wall
around herself that keeps her from making any friends. Since she doesn´t trust anyone,
she ends up hurting those around her as well by manipulating and using them for her own
interests. When she is taken by the CP9, even though she wants to protect the crew, her
inability to share her thoughts and feelings with others, end up hurting her friends. The
big challenge for Robin´s character was therefore to overcome this wall she has built around
herself and once again allow herself to open up and trust others.
On the surface, at first glance, Robin´s dream doesn´t really seem to be connected
to this need. Her dream is to learn the true history of the world and uncover what was
lost and hidden. Given her heritage of Ohara and her passion for archeology, this of course
makes sense. And I hope you agree with me, when I say that Robin´s dream is a lot more
relevant to the actual plot than some of the other straw hat´s. Compared to Brook or Sanji
for example, who´s dreams are more personal, Robin´s dream is directly connected to opposing
the strongest political and military force on the planet. Her dream goes hand in hand
with reaching Raftel and making Luffy the pirate king. I had a real click-moment in
my head when I saw how perfectly that dream fit in with her character. But going back
to her moral problem, Robin also has a second dream, that is actually on a more personal
level. Robin wants to find someone to protect. And in that sense, she is already in the unique
position, where she is aware of her moral problem. Something that usually takes a very
impactful event to uncover. In Robin´s case though, it simply shows how deep her vulnerability
goes. Even though she knows that she wants to love and trust someone, she has suffered
too much to overcome it herself. Both of these dreams also go really well hand
in hand with the values that Robin holds. As we keep learning over the course of the
story, Robin is a much more positive person, than she appeared at the beginning. She actually
strongly values trust, kindness and relationships in general. Her twisted sense of humor seems
to be a result of these ideals and the harsh reality she had to live in. Being a woman
of science, similar to Chopper, she also highly values knowledge and the way it is used. Also,
as you know, being the most political amongst the crew, Robin dearly values peace. Which
is why we can see Robin at her happiest when she is reading a book on board of the ship
out at sea. Most importantly though, Robin finally learns to value life. Not only that
of others, but especially her own. Which is one of the greatest moral messages of Oda
in the entire story I feel. Because being able to love yourself for who you are is probably
the most important factor in growing as a person and finding happiness.
Based on these values and her past, Robin is an incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable
character. Being at the center of political interest, she probably has the most realistic
and complete view of the world in the crew. And having to survive all this time by herself,
she has learned to play smart and dirty if necessary. Together with her calm and collected
manner and her, for me personally, hilarious dark humor, I would say she has developed
a really strong personality. And since she plays such an important role
in the story, Robin has gathered a number of powerful opponents, that only maybe Luffy
can come close to. Being on the top wanted list of the World Government and all its organizations,
Robin has enemies all over the world, including the citizens. Additionally, Pirates and other
Organizations also crave her skills, putting her at danger anywhere she goes. To best illustrate
how all of these factors come together in the story, let´s look at Robin´s character
arc. I think it will not come as a big surprise
to you when I tell you that Robin´s main character arc took place over the course of
2 major arcs: The Baroque Work Saga and the Water 7 and Ennis Lobby Saga. First being
introduced as an antagonist, we got to know of Robin´s dark and mysterious side. Basically,
the result of her tragic past. Her character only begins to truly change though, when she
is rescued by Luffy from the tomb in Alabasta. Upon deciding to join the crew, since she
had nowhere to go, Robin slowly starts to experience friendship and kindness, as she
hasn´t since she met Saul on Ohara. She was slowly accepted by the crew, and even though
she didn´t truly feel like a part of them, she still learned to appreciate this new and
positive environment she found herself in. So after simply being a normal part of the
crew for the entirety of the Skypeia arc, Robin started to feel connected to the crew.
Her moral problem and lack of self-confidence though, lead her to leave the crew behind,
to protect them from the influence of the world government. She wanted to shield the
straw hats from the greater scheme of things and keep them out of the world politics and
safe from prosecution. By Oda making Ennis Lobby into a major developing arc for the
entire crew, he made the message to Robin even more powerful. Her friends would not
only stand behind her but overcome their limits and become stronger just for her sake. They
were prepared to take on the biggest power in the world just for her. Luffy did not simply
put her above his interests. He made her part of them. The entirety of the Ennis Lobby arc
is simply amazing, how Oda was able to bring together so many different elements and push
the story in so many ways, all by creating Robin the way she is. So, when she sees, how
important she actually is to others, she is finally able to overcome her inability to
put trust and hope into others and opens herself up to the straw hats. I think it is no surprise
then, that this moment is one of the most impactful ones in the entire story (Audio
+ pic). At the same time Robin is able to achieve one of her dreams and has finally
found someone she can protect and care for. She was truly able to challenge her basic
beliefs and, in the end, managed to overcome her weaknesses and break down her wall. I
can say with confidence, that Robin´s character arc up until the time skip is one of my favorite
ones in fiction. So, if you watched my video on Chopper, you
probably know what is coming now. Because same as Chopper, I feel like Robin´s character
has a big problem. Because in more than just one way her character arc has already finished
by the time skip. And I do not complain about that, as I just said, I believe her arc was
simply incredibly and greatly set up by Oda. The problem is that I don´t see anything
new happening with Robin. Similar to Chopper she has lost her mysterious and cool vibe
and has now become someone with a funny hat that keeps in the background most of the time
and smiles. It sometimes literally feels like Oda has sucked all excitement out of this
amazing character. And especially in Robin´s case I feel that that is such a waste. Because
her character is so complex and has so many sides, that there was more than one option
to keep Robin relevant and fascinating. Isn't her character interesting enough to serve
as more than a technical piece in reaching Raftel and learning the truth? Because even
though Robin has changed, the fact that she is still one of the most notoriously wanted
people in the world, shouldn´t have changed. Robin has so many capabilities and yet never
has played any major role in any arc since the time skip. She is so well versed in the
political structures of the world and part of the underworld herself. And yet in Dressrosa
as well as in Whole Cake Island, where the underworld and political structures played
such a big role, she didn´t play any. And apart from that, Robin has one of the most
amazing Devil Fruits in the story. She could literally spy on anyone, by creating eyes.
She can create clones, but only uses them in very limited ways. She could maybe create
additional muscles to power up her physical strength. But how does it fit her smart and
witty character that she decided to use her fruit to make giant arms and legs that aimlessly
stomp around? Isn´t that rather something Luffy or Franky would do? With all the opportunities
this fruit has? Especially for her character? Outside and inside of combat this power could
be used so much smarter. Even though I think her character change was handled amazingly,
I don´t think that overcoming her weaknesses and finding friends necessarily had to mean
turning her into a plain character. Why not keep her edge and sinister vibe? Her smooth,
confident, attractive & dangerous personality is gone and she is now easily overshadowed
by strong personalities like Luffy, Zoro or even Usopp. Now don´t get me wrong, as we
have established before, Robin still has to play an important role in the story. We pretty
much don´t know what she was up to with the revolutionaries during the time skip and she
might very well still keep her secrets. She will play a decisive role in tumbling the
world government and maybe even in creating a new and just world order. But I still wish
that Oda would have left some of the fascination I her character and gave her some new character
arc in the new world. Because Robin is the light bringer. The Devil for the world government
and the light of the revolution. And I think both of these roles deserve a little more
attention and development. And maybe a new leather jacket.