Here's a super easy question for you: Why does Zoro want to become the strongest swordsman
in the world?
As a loyal one piece fan this should be pretty easy to answer for you, right?
Or...is it really?
See, I recently asked myself the very same thing and just like you right now was shocked
to find out that we actually have no idea what Zoro's main motivation for his big dream
ACTUALLY - IS.
We know it for all the other straw hats.
Sanji wants to find the all blue BECAUSE he loves cooking.
Robin wants to learn the true history BECAUSE she wants to honor the sacrifice of Ohara
and take down the world government.
Chopper wants to become a great doctor, BECAUSE he wants to help even the sickest people.
The only two people where neither you nor me have any idea what their true motivation
is are, Luffy and...yeah Zoro, the two most popular characters of the series.
Luffy wants to become pirate king, but Oda purposefully doesn't tell us his reason for
it.
And Zoro of course wants to become the worlds strongest swordsman, because, yeah because
why exactly?
I hope you agree that it's probably not because he needs to stroke stroke his own ego.
And while Kuina was undoubtedly a big catalyst for his growth, he wanted to become the strongest
even before meeting her.
So, what is it, that drives Zoro to put his life on the line over and over again for this
goal.
And you're in luck, cause I think I managed to find the key to fully unlocking Zoro's
character, by doing a complete socratic deep-dive into his character, as deep as no-one has
ever done before, probably.
And let me tell you in advance, I think you will be surprised by who Zoro really is and
what he knew all along.
But be warned, this video WILL contain some manga spoilers.
Okay, so I have to shamelessly disclose here, that Zoro is my favorite character and that
the original idea for this video was finding out what made Zoro so incredibly likable and
popular.
Only by doing that research did I accidentally stumble onto the mystery behind his character.
So allow me to guide you through my thought-process here.
If I held you at gunpoint to tell me what makes Zoro so likable you'd probably say something
like this.
Yo, tell me right now.
And no games.
Why do like Zoro.
Who- who are you?
You like a Sanji fan or something.
What did you call me?
Nothing.
Why do like Zoro?
Oh jeez, I dunno.
He's badass.
Uhu.
Go on.
Swords?
Nice okay.
Something like that.
Zoro is a true badass.
No question.
But there are clearly many other characters that fit the stoic, cool warrior trope, that
are not as popular as Zoro.
So I figured there must be SOMETHING - MORE to it.
Something I really can relate to, that speaks to me on a fundamental level.
However, instead of trying to analyze Zoro, I decided to flip this on its head and start
with the audience, myself.
One of my biggest insecurities is that I personally sometimes feel pretty lost in this vast and
rapidly-changing modern world that we live in.
Now I asked myself: what's the deeper truth behind that.
Well I guess it's that I don't have a clear path in life.
And the deeper truth behind that?
Is that I sometimes feel like I can't do anything.
Going deeper, that means I sometimes don't have confidence in myself.
Meaning that I think that I'm not strong or capable enough to change and influence the
things I want to change.
Going one level deeper again, the meaning behind this is that I am of no use to anyone.
It means I don't deserve attention.
And the truth beneath this is of course, that I do want attention and purpose.
In other words, I feel alone.
Now if you like Zoro as well, I think you might be able to relate to this break down
I just did of myself.
Because as it turns out Zoro is a character that has a clear answer to each and every
one of these questions.
Even though he GETS lost a lot, he doesn't FEEL lost.
Just the opposite, he has a very clear place in the world, fighting next to Luffy.
He also has a clear path.
He wants to become the strongest swordsman, no matter what.
And because he has centered his entire existence around this goal, he is actually strong.
Strong enough to change things.
That means Zoro is confident in his skills and in his ability to always improve.
He knows he's strong and that he can help others.
And so Zoro is of use to those he cares about.
As a result he deserves the positive attention of the the people around him, friends and
foes alike, who respect him for his path.
But Zoro doesn't need this attention in the first place.
He is okay being alone, but even more importantly, he now has people around him that genuinely
care for him.
If you share my fundamental insecurities, Zoro is like the cure to that.
He's not relatable, as much as he is an inspiration and role model for me.
Someone who fits the archetype of the true hero, an ideal man that is very easy to look
up to and be inspired by, especially for guys but for many girls as well.
He's like a Japanese version of Hercules: The silent, but gentle warrior, that follows
the way of the samurai, to defend those who need him and who never leaves his path, even
when faced with death.
Except if its a literal path, then you can be damn sure Zoro will leave that shit faster
than you can say Onigiri.
And what I realized in this moment, is that this is also the root cause for all the conflict
between people who like Sanji and people who like Zoro.
I love Sanji because he is relatable.
He arguably is the character with the most human and emotional character development
in all of one piece.
Sanji is all about growing as a person and facing his insecurities.
Zoro on the other hand is not really relatable, but an ideal to strive towards.
And while some people prefer to suffer with Sanji and empathize with his journey, others
prefer seeing an idealized, but unrealistic version of what they want to become.
And that makes sense.
Zoro's arc so far in the story has been very focused on getting stronger physically.
Otherwise he has been the very disciplined, kind-hearted and loyal person he is right
from the very first chapter we meet him.
Now I DO think that Oda has given him a little bit of a personal arc as well, where being
with Luffy and the other straw hats has made him ease up a bit more and show more of a
human side, which is why we all love the rare scenes Zoro laughs or has a human moment with
some other crew member.
But overall, he is already a close to complete character the moment he joins Luffy.
And that brings me back to the original question: Why does Zoro want to become the strongest
swordsman?
Now, I think it's absolutely plausible, that this is all Oda ever wanted to do with Zoro.
Have him be the perfect greek-god type of character, that is easy to look up to.
Which many many people already do, me included.
So, you could definitely argue that Zoro doesn't need any deeper motivation or a stronger theme
than he already has.
But the recent developments in Wano have been challenging that perspective drastically for
me.
And I want to convince you that there is a much more to Roronoa Zoro than you previously
thought.
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Just like many of the other straw hats, Zoro didn't join Luffy because he wanted to become
a pirate, but because Luffy offered them the chance to reach their goal.
And why does he have that goal?
Well, thinking about that question, made it painfully clear to me, that we actually don't
know Zoro all that well, when you think about it.
He doesn't talk much in general and the moments where he shares something about himself are
very very rare.
So, I thought to myself: Let's try the same deconstruction technique I just used on myself,
but this time with Zoro.
We know for a fact that Zoro wants to become the strongest swordsman.
So what's the deeper truth behind that?
Is it because he wants attention?
Because he needs people to stroke his ego?
You know just as well as me, that that's not what Zoro is about at all.
So there must be some other deeper meaning behind it.
The idea behind that dream is basically: I want to be the strongest.
Swordsmanship is simply the way Zoro grew up with, given that he has roots in Wano,
which has now been pretty much confirmed.
So swords are just Zoro's way to become strong, just as his devil fruit is for Luffy.
Now being the strongest means that Zoro wants to be stronger than anyone else.
The deeper meaning behind that is that he wants to be able to do what he wants or needs
to.
There is something he wants to change or defend or take back that he only can do if he is
stronger than anyone else.
And given all the hints we have gotten to Zoro's connection to Wano and the Shimotsuki
family, I strongly believe that Zoro's real goal is and always has been - to free Wano.
I'm gonna give you a second to process that and what better way to do that then by subscribing
to the channel.
Now, I totally understand that at first it sounds strange that Zoro wanted to free Wano
all this time.
After all he never mentioned it before.
But has he ever mentioned ANYTHING really about his personal history or goal, like ever?
No, I think that Zoro, just like Robin, is a member of the straw hat crew, that knows
much much more about the world, than they let on.
Think about it.
Doesn't it make all the sense in the world.
No matter if Zoro was born in Wano or simply was told of his home after being born in the
east blue, he grew up with the knowledge that Orochi and Kaido were tyrannizing his country.
Zoro being related to the Shimotsuke family, that Ryuuma is also a part of, makes it very
likely that he would have a very deep emotional connection to the place, despite growing up
in the east blue.
The Dojo where he met Kuina is also heavily connected to Wano.
And seeing his resemblance to the Daimyo of Ringo, of course they wanted to keep him there.
So for the sake of argument, let's just assume for a second that this is actually true and
Zoro wants to free Wano despite never having been there.
So.
much of the story.
suddenly.
makes.
sense.
Of course he'd want to become the strongest swordsman if his goal was taking out Kaido
and Orochi.
Zoro joins Luffy because he sees in him a chance to get closer to Wano and his goal.
Throughout the story HE is the most serious about their journey and Luffy being a good
captain, because HE has the highest stakes in them actually making it to the new world
and Wano, knowing right from the start what sort of beast they are up against.
Seeing how far he is from Mihawk at the Baratie, I even made a whole video about it, shows
Zoro that he is not even close to beating the man who might just barely have a chance
against Kaido.
And let me blow your mind about something else.
The scene on thriller bark, where Zoro sacrifices himself for Luffy, is one of the most famous
in the story, something I made a video about as well.
Generally, people tend to take Zoro's sacrifice here to mean that Luffy's dream is more important
than his own.
Same when he asks Mihawk to train him for Luffy's sake, throwing away his honor.
But when you look at it through the Wano lens, Zoro KNOWS that Luffy is the person who will
have the best chance at taking on the likes of Kaido and Orochi.
He is convinced that Luffy is the one who can free Wano and change the world.
It's not that he is willing to give up his dream in exchange for Luffy's, he inherits
his will to liberate Wano TO LUFFY to carry it on.
Similarly, how does Zoro know that Ryuma is from Wano?
Zoro is fully aware of what Wano is like, all along.
When they receive the SOS call form Punk hazard about a samurai, Zoro immediately mentions
it to Brook, who is the one who explains it to us.
But Zoro knows.
When they pick up Momo and Kinemon on their way to Dressrosa and Law explains Doflamingo's
connection to Kaido, we see the famous dots from Zoro.
And what I found really interesting is that Oda did not show us any of Zoro's reaction
to all the Wano-related reveals on Zou.
The only time we see his face is when Kinemon and Momo reveal that Oden had been killed
by Kaido.
Literally everyone is shocked, except Zoro.
He just looks more determined.
And then of course, we have Zoro in Wano, being like a fish in the water.
Basically, all moments with Zoro fit really nicely into the idea that this is the place
he wanted to come to all along, but I want to pick out a few scenes in particular.
For one we have the entire plot-line between him and Hiyori.
Seeing Orochi's execution of Yasuie, he goes for Orochi's head right away.
If he had grown up with the sole goal of killing this man, and then seeing his cruelty in action
for the first time himself, of course he wouldn't be able to hold back and go right for his
head.
Now, I agree that Zoro also always wanted to take down Kaido, but he has decided long
ago, that he will leave Kaido to Luffy if necessary, just as it happened in the Manga.
Orochi on the other hand I'm convinced will fall to Zoro's hand.
This scene here with Hiyori basically confirms this and I'm pretty sure it's Zoro talking
here all the way.
This would also fit in really nicely with the Japanese legend of Orochi, who was slain
by the wind-god Susanoo by getting the snake drunk on sake and then killing it with the
sword Ame-no-habakiri, the sister sword of Enma in One Piece.
Zoro loving sake, having been shown a certain affinity to wind-style attacks and a close
relation to Shinto-buddhism overall.
Once again, Zoro willingly is putting his life on the line just to keep fighting, drinking
the special medicine of the minks.
As he says in the panel here: All that matters, is being able to fight right now.
He can't leave this one to Luffy alone.
It's what he trained for his entire life and he has to do everything he can possibly do
to see this battle through.
When Kaido told the scabbards that Wano will never see a monster samurai of Oden's like
again, it only takes a few chapters, until Zoro is called the mirrored image of Ryuuma,
the most legendary Samurai of them all.
Zoro says he will have all the samurai of Wano follow him in no time, and indeed he
is a true king, being able to use conqueror's haki.
I'm convinced that very soon we will get a lot of reveals surrounding Zoro's origin,
and based on what I just told you, I'm pretty sure that Zoro knew way more about his and
Wano's past than Oda let us on to believe.
If you truly want to understand Zoro's character however, you really have to watch my analysis
of him here, next.