- [Liam] Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro.
Name a more iconic duo, I'll wait.
Except that I won't
because the most dynamic duo
in all of history, fictional or real,
is in fact, you,
and the subscribe button for the Grand Line Review,
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Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review,
your source for everything "One Piece,"
and today, I'd like to take the time
to examine not a character, not an event,
not a piece of story but a bond.
A highly underrated bond forged between the captain
and swordsman of the Straw Hats,
the OG crew, Luffy and Zoro.
And it might seem like a bit of a weird topic
to dedicate time to,
but at the same time,
this relationship actually forms quite a massive core
of everything that is "One Piece"
and apart from the early days of Romance Dawn,
it almost never becomes a major feature
of any arc within the series.
However, it is always present
and acting very much as a backbone of this whole journey.
And I think it's safe to say,
that without this particular duo,
almost none of "One Piece" happens
in regards to our main characters.
And yes, you can say that
about pretty much every member of the crew
because they have all been integral
in an almost fated way to Luffy's journey,
but at the same time,
a lot of those are pretty super obvious.
For example, without Nami,
they quite literally could not have gotten anywhere.
In the same vein, without Chopper,
the crew likely wouldn't even be alive right now.
And without Franky, they wouldn't even have a vessel
capable of sailing comfortably within the New World.
And so on and so forth.
But in regards to Zoro,
his role is generally accepted to be that of a pure fighter.
Technical aspects like sailing and cooking
are handled by others
but when an opponent of overwhelming power appears,
well then, that is Zoro's time to shine.
And that's not an entirely inaccurate characterization,
however such a simplification
neglects the true benefit of Zoro,
which is to act as a second-in-command
and to provide a presence
capable of keeping his captain in line.
And no, Zoro has never actually been referred to
in any capacity, as a first mate,
or official second-in-command,
but that does not mean
that that is not the role that he quite blatantly serves.
And as such,
he does have a very unique relationship with Luffy,
in a capacity in which the two can very much
be considered equals,
which Oda makes clear
through a variety of factors throughout the series.
For example, Zoro is often mistaken
as the captain of the Straw Hats,
which generally speaks to his raw presence,
and also the fact that he is considered
a member of The Worst Generation alongside his captain.
Zoro is not just a subordinate of Luffy,
he is a contemporary, a colleague if you will,
or in a much less formal sense, a true friend,
despite the technical crew hierarchy structure
that separates them.
And I would describe what Luffy and Zoro have
as more of a partnership.
Think of some of media's greatest duos,
Captain Picard and Commander Riker,
Denny Crane and Alan Shore,
Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh.
In each of these situations,
there is a distinct technical separation,
however the bond between the individuals
was always one of innate trust
that forged a partnership
rather than a boss and subordinate relationship.
And part of the reason
why this dynamic works so well for Luffy and Zoro,
can be seen right in the beginning of "One Piece,"
back in the days of Romance Dawn.
And originally, like, very originally,
"One Piece" does sell itself as a story about Luffy,
a boy entirely on his own wavelength,
making his way through the world,
to the shock of everyone around him.
That doesn't last very long though
because upon his arrival in Shells Town,
Luffy immediately discovers another individual
who shares his wavelength,
in the green-haired swordsman.
And before everyone scrolls to the comments
to point out how dissimilar Luffy and Zoro are,
yeah, they're obviously not interchangeable beings,
and they do have great differences in terms of personality.
However, when it comes to what actually matters,
being their core beliefs,
these two are entirely in sync.
Think about it.
Both of them are incredibly similar beings,
characterized by simple minds and big dreams.
Here you have what is effectively two children
in this gigantic dangerous world,
each with their hearts set on conquering
their chosen aspect of it,
whether that's to be the world's greatest swordsman
or to become the Pirate King.
Desires that the large majority of the planet
simply scoff at.
However, when Luffy and Zoro reveal their dreams
to each other for the first time,
it is startlingly casual.
For example, when Zoro says that he wants
to become the world's greatest swordsman,
Luffy just replies, "The world's greatest swordsman?
"Hah, that's great!
"And it's fitting since your new boss
"is going to become the King of the Pirates.
"Anything else would make me look bad."
And Zoro's response to hearing about Luffy
wanting to become the Pirate King is just a,
"Hmph. You talk big."
And that is kind of that.
From this moments onwards,
these two figures acted as a multiplying factor
for the other,
combining their power and wills
in order to push each other forward in this world.
Two dreams entwined as one,
which can be seen
slightly further on in the series during Baratie,
where after losing to Mihawk,
Zoro makes the famous claim that he will never lose again
which technically, true or not,
serves not only as a newfound resolution to his own dream,
but this time, it also incorporates Luffy's dream,
because Zoro does go on to say,
"Got a problem with that, King of the Pirates?"
And this is actually huge
because it shows that Zoro and Luffy's desires
have truly amalgamated.
They are no longer working solely for themselves
but for each other as well.
And this is true for most of the Straw Hats,
they do all greatly respect
the dreams of the rest of the crew,
and given the opportunity,
they would do whatever it takes
to help them achieve said dream.
But this is the first tangible example
of that in the series.
And in many ways,
this is almost Luffy and Zoro taking direct responsibility
for the dreams of the other,
which means that in a scenario
where one may falter on that path,
it is the job of the other to step in
and right the situation.
And in the series,
this mostly comes in the form of Zoro
needing to step up from time to time
and use his unofficial status as second-in-command.
And there is probably no better example of this
than the Water Seven Saga,
quite specifically with the rift between Luffy and Usopp.
Now this is a situation
where Luffy's unconventional style of captaincy
came to serve as a detriment
because he became embroiled
in a highly emotionally charged situation
and at times, he very much lost sight
of his role as a leader.
And the first instance of this
was immediately after the physical fight with Usopp.
Luffy was a wreck
and on the verge of complete emotional collapse.
So it fell to Zoro to back him up
by stating that this is the burden of being a captain.
And he also then told Luffy not to doubt himself
because if he does, then who could they have faith in?
And furthermore, this is kind of weird to look back on
but Zoro is the one who actually made the order
to vacate the Going Merry,
and stated that they could never return to the ship.
He basically saw Luffy's moment
of being taken out of commission
and immediately stepped into the role of leader
to ensure that even with the ensuing chaos around them,
that this crew still proceeded on the path of their dreams
as best they could.
And this is why it kind of irks me
when people say that Zoro is here just to be a fighter
because he is so much more than that.
It's just almost never seen
because his action is a rarely required,
but he does effectively serve as a backup captain
because as we know, Luffy is far from perfect,
and from time to time,
he will either be on the verge of making
or even make great mistakes,
and it is on those occasions where we see Zoro truly shine
in this crew.
And we can go to the end of the Water Seven Saga
to see another example of this
during the moment where Usopp eventually rejoined the crew.
Although this time, Luffy had a solid grasp on the situation
and while Luffy was pretending to ignore Usopp,
Zoro was directly backing him up
by also saying that he couldn't hear anything,
until, of course, Usopp offered a proper apology.
And this is a much more subtle moment,
as is most of the Luffy and Zoro partnership,
but I find it so interesting
that Oda chose to focus on their reactions
whilst the rest of the crew was either
trying to bring Usopp to their attention like Chopper
or just silently caught in the middle,
not really sure of how to act.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro were on the exact same
plane of thought,
which is what makes them such an effective duo.
I honestly don't think there is anybody else on the crew
who has the ability to identify with Luffy
as strongly as Zoro does.
And as such, they are an incredibly powerful combination,
ready to tackle this world.
And of course, we should move to Thriller Bark
to discuss probably the most obvious example
of this relationship in action
during the whole conflict against Bartholomew Kuma.
In this situation, Luffy had just finished
dealing with Gecko Moria,
and he was down for the count.
So the Straw Hats were in a rare situation
where they found themselves without a captain.
And so, what happens?
Well, this is another situation
in which Zoro stepped up into that role
by taking on Kuma and even making a deal with him,
not just to preserve the life,
the freedom, and the dream of Luffy,
but the entire crew as well.
I mean he even knocked out Sanji
and very much forced him into a state of unconscious safety.
And this is where that Baratie scene
comes back in full force.
When I said the dreams of Luffy and Zoro
were now entwined,
this is where that whole idea bears fruit,
because here, Zoro was more than willing
to sacrifice his life and his dream for that of Luffy's,
which of course, resulted in the iconic, Nothing Happened.
But further on right before the Time-Skip,
a similar action occurred
where Zoro essentially abandoned his quest
and begged his ultimate hurdle, Dracule Mihawk,
to train him so that he could better serve Luffy's dream.
Although it's not an issue
that's as simple as, say,
Zoro finding something more important than his own desires.
In effect, it's because he and Luffy
have this symbiotic nature.
He needed to get stronger for Luffy's sake
and Luffy needed to get stronger for Zoro's sake.
And speaking of,
most of the examples I've given here
paint a very one-sided picture,
that seems like Zoro
making very consistent sacrifice for Luffy
but that's really only because I don't think
we've truly been put in a situation
where Luffy has needed to act
to preserve this the other way around.
But there is no doubt in my mind that he would
because you can see countless examples
from other crew members' situations.
I mean he declared war on the World Government for Robin,
he invaded the territory of an emperor of the sea for Sanji,
as well as all of our classic stories.
Zoro has not required that kind of intervention
because he has ultimately
always been something of a wall behind Luffy,
ensuring that his captain always moves forward.
And apart from the battle on Baratie,
Zoro has not had a moment of pure crisis,
but if he were to,
then these roles would be instantly reversed,
with Luffy becoming a wall behind Zoro,
and the two would continue on into the world
to cause more chaos and reach for the peak of their pursuit.
And this partnership
has continued well into the New World era
with another example of a Zoro wall moment
happening on Punk Hazard,
where after initially being beaten by Caesar,
Zoro issued Luffy with a reminder/warning,
that this was the New World and not to get careless.
I mean, who else speaks to Luffy like this?
Sure you have characters like Nami
who will always be a constant source of logic
but Luffy heeds the words of Zoro
with a far more serious resolve.
They are not the kind of statements
made by a subordinate to their superior.
They are the words of equals.
Although sadly in the Post-Time-Skip era,
we have had a bit of an extended
period of absence from this duo,
however, that was rectified almost immediately on Wano,
when the two reunited,
and the atmosphere of the series immediately shifted.
This was no longer a case of Luffy
bumbling his way through the world
like much of the Whole Cake Island arc.
No, the moment these two joined forces again
and prepared to take on Basil Hawkins,
was like a narrative explosion of conquerer's haki,
crashing like a wave
against the faces of the readers and watchers of the series.
But that feeling simply would not be possible
without all of the work
that Oda has put into building this pair
over the last two decades.
No, this is not always the most focused on relationship,
in fact, I would probably say it's the least focused upon.
And Luffy tends to have far more moments
with other members of the crew,
but it is always within the context
of this original partnership.
Luffy leads the crew from the front
and Zoro pushes the crew forward from behind,
which is probably for the best,
given his sense of direction.
But that dynamic is of the utmost importance
on this journey.
There can be no Luffy without Zoro pushing him,
and there can be no Zoro without Luffy leading him.
And by the end of the series,
I believe that this dynamic will be remembered
as one of the most revered partnerships
in the history of storytelling.
But what do you guys think?
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But for now, this has been the Grand Line Review,
and I'll see you next time.
(dramatic music)