Every now and again it hits me that Caesar once kidnapped children and got them addicted to drugs so they'd never leave. Really wouldn't have expected something like that from a story revolving around a happy, idiotic, pure rubber boy lol
As a fellow enjoyer of mind-altering substances who create content about One Piece Said: you are a grown ass Man dressed as a clown with no parents in sight! Anything you do around children is wrong.
Fisher Tiger's story is one that fascinates me. To know what the right thing to do is but to be so deeply scarred that you are unable to move past your biases is both painfully tragic and so true to life.
His death hurts real different because he knows he's making the wrong choice on every level. He knows it's stupid and he's so mad and ashamed of himself, but is literally incapable of making the right choice to save his life. And rather than being angry with him I'm just sad for him.
@@ricksly8354 Yeah, it weridly enough reminds me of a quote from an overlooked show called 'God, the Devil, and Dave' For context, the main character is angry because his father made it to heaven, despite being a borderline abusive/neglecting shitbag to him. And god answers like this 'You have never met your grandfather. Now that was one scary dude. Imagine humanity like a punch being passed from father to son. Starting with Adam down to your kid. Every generation gives on a softer punch. Which is what your father did. He passed on a softer punch.' It doesn't excuse his bad behavior but it clearly shows that they were aware of their problems and tried their best to make things better for the next generation, even if they themselves carry some heavy trauma and they know, they will never be able to make it right, they still choose to be better.
The ATLA comparison is intriguing and reminded me of something these series share: the reason they can be kind of “timeless” and/or “ageless” with fans ranging from kids to us 30 year olds is because even though they are designed to appeal to a younger audience, they don’t talk down to that younger audience. These series don’t shy away from tough topics or sad realities just because the audience is young and needs to be sheltered. Instead they help them confront those darker subjects while pairing with sparks of hope that we all can revel in, no matter how much we grow up
Oda said he always writes One Piece with 15 year old boys in mind as the audience but he obviously does not shy away from including adult themes for his more mature readers.
I would argue he doesn’t shy away for his 15 year old boy audience. Some of my strongest held beliefs are rooted in my experiences as a teen. It seems Oda doesn’t just sim to entertain his boys but to confront them with injustice, much like they might see in their own world and in their own lives, and shown them that they can overcome, if those boys relate to the trauma in his story I believe Oda writes his characters to bring them hope of a better tomorrow. when Saul tells Robin no one is meant to live in this world alone and encourages her to live and find friends that will love her Oda is saying the same thing to a 15 year old somewhere who needs to see that there is a reason to go on. 15 year old boys live in the real world, experience real trauma, and process deep existential thoughts, Oda’s writing respects that. Edit: and now that I read your comment again I see that you said mature which ironically I took to mean older when you may in fact have been agreeing with my point all along by referring to the more mature 15 year olds lol. I just love this series, on some level I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended with Oda popping out of the treasure chest at laugh tale and explaining that Luffy the sun god Nika exists to bring joy and a spirit of liberation and opposition to all the worst impulses of humanity, that the celestial dragons have not done more evil that various governments around the world have carried out even in the last 100 years, that you readers are the coming dawn and I leave you with this tale of joy boy in the hopes that you will fight injustice wherever you find it, that you will be joyboy in our world and stand against oppression. Haha that would be quite hack, I don’t think that is what we will see, but I don’t think Oda is coy about his themes, he really is pouring into the next generation just like all the mentor characters of his story, pinning his hopes on the new dawn.
some of One Piece still feels like it will appeal mostly for 12 year old boys even today. while other parts seems to appeal mostly to fully grown adults. no way 12 or even 15 year olds can appreciate a ton of things Oda wrote into One Piece. even if we talking about Japanese boys and not western ones.
that's part of the "problem". One Piece IS a goofy pirate Manga. but it's not that in a similar way to some American cartoon for children, it's much, MUCH more than that.
I was about 15 years old when I saw the Episode in which Bellemere got killed by Arlong. As a child with a single mother that hit hard... Those cruel moments make me reflect on my own life and attitude,; they elevate One Piece.
@@jackthompson7546wowwwww hey there old timer! My first week to week was Egghead, I have huge respect for people who have been on the ride as long as you have
That scene litterly traumatized me as kid when I first saw it and was thw reason I didn't watch One Piece for YEARS. When I started to watch it again, the first moment which made me really emotional was Choppers backstory.
@@jackthompson7546my first was Alabasta even tho it was reruns an the time. Enies Lobby was the first I remember to actually come out weekly in like 2006/07 but at that time I wasn't really invested in the story. I think the first arc I really watched week after week when it actually aired must've been Thriller Bark.
The way i like to think about one piece is less that it's a childish show that deals with dark topics but that its a childish group of protagonists tackling a realisitic world, braving the world with the childish positivity and pure heartedness and goofiness in the face of tragedy and oppression is exactly what Sun God Nika represents which is why i think One Piece is one of the most perfect themeatical pieces of media I've ever read
7:41 is so well said. one piece IS a goofy pirate manga, not because it isnt dark but because it asks the people that have been through the most to push forward and seek joy and laughter. in this case joy is brought by the most dense and fun-loving pirate to ever live
This is one series you can't really "spoil", I think. A) The spoilers are what got me into it (because some of the really meaty themes etc take a while to develop) and B) they aren't really "spoilers". Because there's lots of moments I knew about in advance...and, damn it, they still made me cry or laugh out loud!
To be fair it's tough to sell One Piece to people who haven't seen it. Me: "You see this guy right here?" *Shows him Senior Pink* "He has the saddest backstory in all of One Piece" My friend: "No way that's true. How can a man dressed as a baby have the saddest backstory? He looks ridiculous. No way people take him seriously" Me: "It makes sense when you read the story" My friend: "Uh-huh. Sure it does" Me: "Dude. Trust me" My friend: "No"
Yeah just in general that's kind of a problem I've encountered. Like, obviously no show or story is gonna appeal to everyone and for some people, One Piece just might not be for them and that's totally cool. But I've also ssen people full-on bash the story and attack the quality of it rather than just saying it isn't for them, despite what they are attacking being A. cherrypicked of the least good stuff in One Piece and claiming thats how the whole thing is, or B. totally out of context since they got the information second hand from another friend of theirs who expressly doesn't like it.
Absolutely agree, the way Oda juxtaposes a light and cartoonish style with these heavy themes is amazing. Still in keeping traditional Shonen feel whilst giving people food for thought about the characters and the world.
Honestly I think the strength of the series is that the show itself isn’t childish; the main cast starts off being very childish and having to adapt to a cruel world. And it does this by having a world that is both extremely fantastical and incredibly realistic in how it stays grounded. An absolute masterclass in world building.
0:58 - 2:24 What a perfect summation of the Darkness in One Piece! I think I'll share this clip when I try to convince someone that One Piece isn't a kids series
Honestly, this probably is the 2nd best thing to do that isn't outright forcing to watch the show with them. Sometimes, people just needs someone to be with them to start that journey.
Its never the trauma and darkness that moves me to tears, but the hope that shines despite. It wasnt namis backstory, it was her last plea of hope to a friend that made me a one piece fan for the rest of my life
I also love how Oda always couples dark and traumatic topics and events along with hope. Having lived through a few situations of total helplessness left me more or less unable to enjoy the stories that mirror the depth of bleakness of real world and offer up nothing more (growing up in a time of a bombardment will do that to a person). That is why I have have such a deep affection for OP side characters that are not the superhumans that our crew is, that are just regular people with regular abilities - like Conis or Toto-ojisan, but still have the courage to stand up to an overwhelming force
My favorite things about introducing One Piece to new people is how they immediately think its just a kids cartoon and has childish animation, then they watch it more and realize oh no this is not for kids.
What I love about OP is that even when it's dark there's always hope at the center of the series. OP doesn't just leave it at how horrible everything and everyone can be, but also showcases what we can be or achieve at our best!
This... this was so well said. I, cannot agree more. This is the type of tackling serous situations that gets me, not wallowing in it for the sake of being 'edgy' or 'mature' but treating it seriously, and realistically.. and that means acknowledging that there is still hope even in the darkest times. This is the best kind of storytelling for me, where the darkness isn't used just to be dark for it's own sake, but as a contrast for the light of hope and just shines all the brighter the darker it gets, and no darkness can ever truly extinguish. Stories that always make clear, no matter how long, or dark the night, there will come the a new Dawn eventually.
This is such a perfect video about this. When I first started One Piece, I was immediately taken aback by Zoro and Sanji's backstories. To see a kid die, and then see a child starve, I knew this manga was going to have some darker themes as progressed. I think while not every subject matter is given the breathing room sometimes it might need immediately, I think every time Oda drives a character (or us as readers) to a new low, we are met with a new high. I can't think of a more perfect representation than the Kaido/Luffy fight. We were shown 100+ chapters of stakes, starving children and enslaved parents, a country turned into ruin, and yet here comes this silly boy made of rubber to bring liberation and full stomachs to everyone who was able to make it. This series has meant so much to me since I started it, but the hope specifically is what makes me hungrier and hungrier to read it each chapter.
A lot of fans, myself included, always talk about how One Piece was there for us during our darkest times - this is largely due to how Oda portray hope, even in the darkest of times.
One of the things I love most about One Piece is how it flip-flops between being lighthearted and super dark. I have cried several times while Watching/reading it. Oda is a master of his craft and I wouldn't change a thing.
Sometimes the tragedy being the "after thought" instead of the picture in displayed may hit harder then showing something graphic. And its even sadder knowing that this story resonates with so many yong people because some of them went through their own tragedies
There are only very few manga out there that aren't dark. You will notice that with Naruto, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man too. You could say the japanese people have a lot of faith into their young children to digest these themes and stories
...That's not really specific to those stuff. Japanese stuff in general can have two contrasting tones while also hitting both of those tones and not feeling out of place. The game Nier Automata, for example, has a lot of comedic moments and light-hearted stuff and yet it's also fucking dark and serious at the same time. Japanese media do this all the time and that's why lot of their stuff hits.
Murphy's statement about how even though you go through something terrible, there's always someone e to help is really powerful. And it's true! There's always good people out there who can help you. We as a society should talk about them more & the resources that can help people. Because there are a lot.
Like when big mom ate her family, it adds a different level of horror because you don't see it happen but soon realize what happened and are left to fight with yourself about how dark it would be if you're right
New here! I’ve Been binging all your reviews for each one piece arcs all day and you’re voice is literally so relaxing to listen to while i do work stuff. Good stuff, Merphy!
While it’s not necessarily a dark theme, the most adult lesson that OP helped me learn a decade ago is the necessary feeling of letting things go, with the Going Merry. When first reading that part, lot of people (including myself) go something like “I can’t believe I’m crying over a ship lol”. But it is more than that, it is someone(thing) that we’ve grown attached to, and Oda managed to convey the feeling of loss when we learned that it couldn’t go on further. It is difficult to let things go, to feel like we’ve “given up” on it, but it something we have to go through to grow as a person and to move on, for new tides await us. It is a lesson that a lot of people need to learn especially when entering adult life, and something I wish more anime/manga depicted, especially shounen.
I literally just started OP I'm about 18 chapters in. I'm completely BLOWN AWAY 😁 But to go with the theme of the video, the part with ChouChou the doggy and his pet food store...EMOTIONAL DAMAGE 😢😭
I like how you are sitting in front of a different background for the manga-only channel. Visually, you are saying, "now these are two different channels." I started watching your book videos, although I originally came here for "One Piece." It's the only manga/anime I read/watch. I used to watch anime with my kids and on Adult Swim. My kids are grown now and moved out. I came back to "One Piece," and I'm glad that I did. For other stories I might like, I'll see what you read and liked. It's a good place to start. Thanks! Much love and blessings! 🤗❤💖💜🙏
i love how childish OP is. Never a tear shed. Never an asthma attack… never a sleepless night. Never ME SHOUTING “KUUUUUMAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”… Never me wishing Luffy could travel to the past and punch flashback villains… I’m perfectly fine.
Big Mom literally eating her adoptive family while high will live rent free in my head as “one fucked up backstory that still makes me feel sorry for the villain”
I had a friend introduce One Piece as "a Sadness factory walled in by laughter" then they said it's "the Pixar of manga" when the first line didn't work.
I honestly couldn't agree more on the "leaving the reader to reconcile on the implications" part. Maybe it could have been better if Oda flat out showed us all the dark stuff he was implying. However, when I think back to that woman in sabaody archipelago who Charlos "chose" as his wife, being left there to wonder what awful things he's done to her instead of being shown makes it so much more impactful. I honestly can't help but skip that scene because it's honestly too hard to watch.
Brook's fifty years of solitude is so gut wrenching. Alone adrift on a ship in fog, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of his close friends and colleagues with the only thing to comfort him, the desire to one day return to Laboon and play some music for his friend who he had left those fifty years prior. The fact he came out of that ordeal with the only issue of asking to see women's panties speaks volumes of his mental fortitude. Not even mentioning the fact that the first people he meets after those years of solitude were horrid people who took his shadow, isolating him even further.
I absolutely loved this video!!!❤ You emphasized some of the things that make One Piece so good. You can read it nonstop because it's such a light hearted series but still manages to touch on such deep topics. It's subtle enough that children wont even notice half of them yet leaves it open to your own imagination to know the true horror (Like Boa and her sisters. Imagining what they went through is so impactful just showing her sister basically having PTSD thinking about it.)
One thing that still irks me about a lot of conversation on seinen is how readily some people joke about things like the eclipse in berserk, etc. I just feel disconnected, like did we even read the same thing? I cant truly locate why it is, but I've never felt that dissonance in conversation about One Piece. I think it could be from how Oda doesnt get gratuitous with violence and other dark themes. It leaves little room for people to get enjoyment out of them.
People tend to think "for kids" means that it must be sterilized and free from any weightier topics. But every time I think of my favorite shows you have things like how greed turned a brilliant doctor into a lizard in Swat Katz, how a good cop got shot by a friend who was playing with her gun in Gargoyles, how to work smarter not harder from Ducktales, an HIV conversation in Captain Planet, Arnold freezing himself in Magic School Bus and so on. Those shows had heart. And you can't have heart without pain. I feel the trauma in One Piece is wonderful to have in the series because new audiences aren't being talked down to with a "All of these people good all those people bad" story or a "Nothing too bad ever happens" story. It's a story about pirates, but also one that doesn't forget that pirates aren't the only people in the world. It's a story about people and the many complexities about them while also showing the many ways you can be strong and stand up to injustice and the price for doing so fairly honestly. In fact, I love very much that One Piece heavily warns the price for standing up for what's right. It's often a thankless and costly thing to have integrity, but it shows refusing to have any is often what puts so many people in these traumatic events and times. Not many stories that are positive over all dare to do that, and those that do often depict integrity or standing up against injustice as stupid since people tend to do so at a loss. But Oda often shows it as it's a loss if all you're worried about is just yourself, but worth it if you have anyone else you care about. That's powerful.
Oda is really good in showing just enough to allow for the older part of the audience to connect the dots in their head, while remaining suitable for a younger audience.
I started One Piece because I was struggling with depression and wanted some joy… 😢 (But seriously, the joy is there and wouldn’t be as bright without the darkness.)
This recap makes me love Luffy even more ❤. He's our goofy rubber boy standing before all these forces of darkness but still smiles and inspire those around him just by being himself. I cant wait to see how Oda continues Luffy's story as a liberator
I think what makes One Piece's darker tone hit a lot more is the art style, you really don't expect the series to go to those places especially with how relatively light the series started out as.
As someone actively going through trauma recovery, I haven't found an author who writes trauma better than Oda. Sometimes the effects of trauma are all that remains and those traumatized don't even recall the reason but they still have chocolate a personality based off the fears of those past actions.
I really like that OP isn't torture porn, where I feel like stuff like goblin slayer and sometimes even berserk is cheapened by the use of gore and SA.
So goofy haha! Look at Luffy he's just like a cartoon haha! Nothing bad happened ever hahaha... Look at the funny skeleton doing bone jokes! He certainly laughs a lot from someone with no lungs yohohohoho!
I love that One Piece, in the end of every arc, always ends with a celebration.The sense of freedom (payoffs/rewards) that is always included in between the 'serious' parts of the arcs feels very well earned because of the suffering everybody went through... and also the length of the story which gives a lot of time for the story to breathe and flesh out every important details.
It's weird saying this, but what you're describing about this mixture of showing the darkness of humanity but also showing room for hope is reminding me a lot of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
I agree. Both series show unrelenting optimism in the face of a world so full of grief and injustice. And both series place an emphasis on the importance of holding onto hope and fighting for a better future. And they're both really funny.
Something that people don't seem to fully grasp or even realize that they like or prefer but that I've always been passionate about is the concept of the "media ACTUALLY made for ALL ages", not 'for kids' or 'for adults' but this combination of technically being safe enough for a younger audience to read while having elements and/or just quality-enough writing to appeal heavily to adults who try it out as well. When I was a kid I loved stuff like this more than stuff made *just* for kids, and as an adult I love stuff like this than stuff made *just* for adults. A lot of people may imply they'd prefer a series like this even more if it was in a seinen magazine and could 'get away' with showing much darker stuff outright, but in my opinion the very REASON One Piece is SO appealing to SO much of the world and SUCH a massive age range is not only just because of its general quality, but in fact partly, I truly believe, *BECAUSE* this 'limitation' allows it to go as dark/mature/serious as it wants *without* going overboard to a point that would not only make it just plain unappealing to a large swath of humanity (see: Game of Thrones, while massively popular, certainly 'turned up the edge' so hard that a lot of grown adults wouldn't watch it for long) but would actually, imo, potentially WEAKEN and CHEAPEN the message Oda's trying to get across compared to the artistry he has to pull to make it work as a Shounen Jump series. I could go on and on about this concept and how One Piece and its massive popularity is sort of the quintessential example of it but I've rambled enough for now lmao
I like that One Piece doesn't shy away from mature themes. One Piece's target demographic are the shonen audience, which means teenage boys in Japanese. Kids may be naive, but they're not dumb. Especially teenagers.
I like how Oda balances dark, hope and other themes. He does this better than any other storyteller I'm aware of. Others are definitely capable but there is something about the way Oda does it is better that I can't really explain. Not many can make me care so much about a character from just two chapters to the point I want justice for that character.
Just to add to Murphy's point about things being left to imagination (its funny because the silhouette of a monster at the end of Thriller Bark is a blatant example of Oda leaving things to the readers imagination), we're getting to see the tragic story's of people who do eventually get to meet their liberators and step in to the dawn. What we don't see are the stories of the millions of hopeless individuals who, as a consequence of the world government, always believed in a liberator but died never being set free (think Kuma's dad).
This was an amazing video! I love watching your videos and this is one that I desperately needed because chapter 1098 was extremely dark. Great motivational speech. Thanks for all you do!!
I think it’s a common misconception that you need a tragedy/horrendous acts in full detail to feel them. Too much detail, too much shown violence can actually cause overload and make you feel more numb to it because nothing is left to imagination. You don’t have to try and put yourself into the shoes of anyone to get the full tragedy if all of it down to the smallest detail is on display. So, hinting at things or just showing parts can actually be more effective in engaging the readers, make them think about it and feel with the characters. And Oda does that wonderfully.
I have not read one piece yet, but it sounds amazing. These videos you make on the series are brilliant, and it makes me want to read it evn more. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on this and other books and manga.
One Piece handles dark moments very effectively to me, things like Ace's death, Brook's backstory, Robin's backstory and even something as recent as Kumas backstory have all affected me way more than most dark moments from other anime/Manga and I think it's because of the little semblance of hope he leaves in their despite our characters suffering massively, which makes me even more happy when justice is served. Oda understands almost more than anyone that you need to lows to have effective highs and uses that to his advantage in a way no other storyteller I've ever seen has.
I dont think Oda would show those stuff even if he were allowed. Its not his style. The guy actually likes to see others enjoying his series when he takes a break Shonen jump works just fine for One Piece
It makes it much worse. He leaves it to our imagination. We like to imagine it's not that bad. But we don't stop at one panel we run with it. And it keeps getting worse and worse.
One Piece is like chlidren's nursery rhymes, the tune is happy but the meaning is dark. "London bridge is faling down, falling down falling down..." , "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall"
A lot of what you said made me think of how Sanderson handles tone in his books. There's deep dark traumas and devastating moments of darkness, but there's always hope in the end.
7:06 - Kind reminder that you're not shouting at a camera, we're here with you, listening your incredible knowledge while explaining new points of view. Thank you for shouting at us lol
I've been told folks about this being one of the Top 5 Darkest worlds in Fiction when you strip away the goofiness and Comedy. It's darker than Berserk, Game of Thrones, Hunter x Hunter, the world of Arda, and more.
3:56 Even as a reader of Berserk, I firmly agree with that and is something I can parallel. While it is a dark fantasy that has the liberty to show everything and pull no punches, it only does so with a very specific intent. Shock value wasn't the goal with Gut's childhood or the Eclipse, but to rather characterize why Guts is the way he is and why his journey for healing is SO GODDAMN HARD! Berserk focuses on the journey of healing rather than the trauma itself and the ability to hold onto your humanity with all the shades of gray thrown in between. Guts is heartless at times, but he's human. He's afraid of attachment from time to time and struggles to express himself openly. But when he does, it's awesome regardless of if he's happy but especially true when he isn't. THAT is why I preach about Berserk so much
I watched this video just after crying because I finished Enies Lobby Arc. I loved how One Piece can be goofy but leads you on a truly emotional adventure. I still have a lot to read but I am enjoying every bit of it. ❤
Been loving the new set up for the manga videos, even if that means you're yelling at a camera in the basement.. 😂 Hit the nail on the head, he goes incredibly dark places but hope is never lost. Makes me wonder how close he'll get to sniffing out hope when we confront Imu...
I've said this on other videos, and I will say it again here. Whoever underestimates One Piece because all it is is "Oh goofy rubber pirate does Gum Gum funny things" is going to be hit with the hard reality that One Piece is a dark world. The One Piece world has the perfect candy coated sugar layer aesthetic to mask the fact that this world can contend with the Berserk world in terms of darkness, not surpass, but contend. Oda can and will make anyone regret saying that One Piece isn't a dark story. It's a dark story that focuses on the hope and light that things can get better, that a new dawn will always come.
1. Oda is fully aware that the audience who started with OP are now adults (some middle-aged even). Yes, it is a Shonen, but a Shonen with a wide age demographic (especially in Japan). 2. Oda has been working on this opus for 25 years. Many writers of his age and experience would want to try and explore newer or more mature themes than the ones he started out with - so he just puts it all into OP. It's a tribute to him as a writer that it works - just think of how Kubo tried (and failed IMO) to try adding new themes to Bleach with the Fullbringers and Quincy War arcs. It just didn't gel and flow.
With everything that's happening in the world right now, I constantly go back to thinking about OPs messages of liberation, fighting and hope. In my darkest times, OP's hope has always been a light that I've drawn from
One thing that i dont think non One Piece readers understand is that it is very childish to offset the amount of darkness in the story. If the goofy and childish nature of Luffy and the story was removed and replaced with normal shonen seriousness it would be way too dark constantly. Which makes gear 5 make way more sense. Could you imagine having a super serious conflict and then have Kums backstory happening without Gear 5 existing? That's too much for a shonen it needs some light to balance out the dark
One of the things I've always enjoyed about this series is the juxtaposition of the silly and fun absurdity of life alongside the tragedy and depiction of truly despicable human acts. Life is both, and not shying away from the cruelty really makes the hope that much more impactful. It means so much more to see characters endure such suffering but not only find reasons to keep going, they have to confront their own sense of morality afterwards, like Sanji choosing to save his family despite everything, Nami having to reckon with the realities of the injustice done to fishmen and how that directly impacted her own life (I wish this had gotten more focus), everything about Law's backstory, everything about Jimbei's backstory, etc. They not only had to endure tragedy and survive unthinkable situations, but to not let those experiences justify the vicious cycle of violence and hatred that they could easily fall into afterward. We see this reflected in characters like Arlong, Doflamingo, Kaido, and Law prior to Corazon. Sure, One Piece is a fairy tale so of course it's not going to get into the most horrific depictions of the terrible things humans are capable of doing to each other, but I really appreciate that it doesn't shy away from them, entirely, either. Kids are a lot smarter than they get credit for, and capable of handling more than we tend to think. I don't think sheltering them from knowledge that bad things happen does them or us any real good, but teaching them that bad things don't last forever, that living is worth it, that there are happy and joyful and silly, absurd things in the world worth persevering and fighting for, that's really important.
I’ve always felt that the childishness of one piece is great when you contrast to the darkness. We always have this feeling of hope and happiness that travels within our crew. Every place we travel to is suffering in ways that our characters have all endured in their own ways. It’s about pushing forward and becoming better and stronger against all odds.
I think that by having that contrast between the silliness and goofiness, the more mature themes are allowed to hit us that hard and the way that Oda navigates us through that is nothing short of impeccable. It rarely feels jarring and that's what makes Oda a master storyteller. I've read a fair bit of manga and there are so many that confuse adult themes with mature ones. One of the more popular ones, just as an example, I would say is Goblin Slayer. It's mostly gratuitous violence, but because of its worldbuilding, it's mostly violence against women. Men are killed, but women are dealt a much worse hand because...? It's more mature? At least, that's what it feels like the mangaka of that series is trying to get into, but misunderstanding what mature themes actually encompass. Stories with mature themes can be told to anyone regardless of age, it just needs to not treat its audience like idiots. Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece are pieces of fiction that treats itself like we should treat ourselves. Not to take ourselves too seriously until the circumstances call for it. It's been really fun and interesting to see Merphy dive into One Piece and I look forward to more videos!
You might not realize it but the gore and more mature aspects of Shounen jump have gone up in the last few. I recommend checking out the Elusive Samurai for this.
What I really like how Oda did to his series that differs other is the portrayal of emotion he wants to show us as audience. Such as a boy yelling and screaming out loud as his eyes turned all white while his older brother died in his own arms as he try to protect him, a young lady both arms got tied up and bites the terrace so that she can see her friends try to save her or a poor young slave girl got smacked on her face and still smiling while wiping her own blood on the floor just saying repeatedly "I was a mess, please forgive me. I will do anything, just don't kill me." Remember its a childish and goofy story 😂😅😢😭
Vegapunk was right when he said there's nothing but pain in that bubble
Truly unspeakable pain. If ever there was a character that deserved so much better than what they got, it was Bartholomew Kuma.
Oof.
Vegapunk was talking to us not just to Bonnie
I forgot about that line. But it's so real. Like it's unbelievable how much pain is in there
This "OnePiece Bubble" is pain man. 😅
Every now and again it hits me that Caesar once kidnapped children and got them addicted to drugs so they'd never leave. Really wouldn't have expected something like that from a story revolving around a happy, idiotic, pure rubber boy lol
Thanks for making me remember that clown 🤡
@@audreym3908the disrespect on buggy, I can't believe what I'm seeing
As a fellow enjoyer of mind-altering substances who create content about One Piece Said: you are a grown ass Man dressed as a clown with no parents in sight! Anything you do around children is wrong.
Yeah Ceaser sucked. Our boy Ganster Gastino on the other hand is a top tier character
@@bc1176 Miss Gastino! Wonder what he's up to 🤔
Fisher Tiger's story is one that fascinates me. To know what the right thing to do is but to be so deeply scarred that you are unable to move past your biases is both painfully tragic and so true to life.
His death hurts real different because he knows he's making the wrong choice on every level. He knows it's stupid and he's so mad and ashamed of himself, but is literally incapable of making the right choice to save his life. And rather than being angry with him I'm just sad for him.
Sometimes, there's just too much bad blood between people.
@@ricksly8354
Yeah, it weridly enough reminds me of a quote from an overlooked show called 'God, the Devil, and Dave'
For context, the main character is angry because his father made it to heaven, despite being a borderline abusive/neglecting shitbag to him. And god answers like this 'You have never met your grandfather. Now that was one scary dude. Imagine humanity like a punch being passed from father to son. Starting with Adam down to your kid. Every generation gives on a softer punch. Which is what your father did. He passed on a softer punch.'
It doesn't excuse his bad behavior but it clearly shows that they were aware of their problems and tried their best to make things better for the next generation, even if they themselves carry some heavy trauma and they know, they will never be able to make it right, they still choose to be better.
The ATLA comparison is intriguing and reminded me of something these series share: the reason they can be kind of “timeless” and/or “ageless” with fans ranging from kids to us 30 year olds is because even though they are designed to appeal to a younger audience, they don’t talk down to that younger audience. These series don’t shy away from tough topics or sad realities just because the audience is young and needs to be sheltered. Instead they help them confront those darker subjects while pairing with sparks of hope that we all can revel in, no matter how much we grow up
Agreed life is not meant to be dark all of the time there always gonna be hope at the end of the tunnel.
Oda said he always writes One Piece with 15 year old boys in mind as the audience but he obviously does not shy away from including adult themes for his more mature readers.
I would argue he doesn’t shy away for his 15 year old boy audience. Some of my strongest held beliefs are rooted in my experiences as a teen. It seems Oda doesn’t just sim to entertain his boys but to confront them with injustice, much like they might see in their own world and in their own lives, and shown them that they can overcome, if those boys relate to the trauma in his story I believe Oda writes his characters to bring them hope of a better tomorrow. when Saul tells Robin no one is meant to live in this world alone and encourages her to live and find friends that will love her Oda is saying the same thing to a 15 year old somewhere who needs to see that there is a reason to go on.
15 year old boys live in the real world, experience real trauma, and process deep existential thoughts, Oda’s writing respects that.
Edit: and now that I read your comment again I see that you said mature which ironically I took to mean older when you may in fact have been agreeing with my point all along by referring to the more mature 15 year olds lol.
I just love this series, on some level I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended with Oda popping out of the treasure chest at laugh tale and explaining that Luffy the sun god Nika exists to bring joy and a spirit of liberation and opposition to all the worst impulses of humanity, that the celestial dragons have not done more evil that various governments around the world have carried out even in the last 100 years, that you readers are the coming dawn and I leave you with this tale of joy boy in the hopes that you will fight injustice wherever you find it, that you will be joyboy in our world and stand against oppression.
Haha that would be quite hack, I don’t think that is what we will see, but I don’t think Oda is coy about his themes, he really is pouring into the next generation just like all the mentor characters of his story, pinning his hopes on the new dawn.
some of One Piece still feels like it will appeal mostly for 12 year old boys even today. while other parts seems to appeal mostly to fully grown adults. no way 12 or even 15 year olds can appreciate a ton of things Oda wrote into One Piece. even if we talking about Japanese boys and not western ones.
Totally agree. And to be fair, the 15-year old boys back then are grown men now lol
@@Lackadais1cal Yeah, I started reading One Piece when I was 13. I'm 33.
I started One Piece when I was 15. Now I’m 20 and I still love it the same, if not more so
This is far from the “goofy pirate manga” that some say it is. Kuma’s backstory has broken me the last few weeks. I can’t take much more 😢
Kuma Backstory Top 1
We likely will get a little more the next chapter and a half but I'm predicting it ends at 1100
It is a goofy pirate manga at its core. And that's not a bad thing!
It just does a lot more than being goofy, but goofy it undeniably is.
And some says One Piece is only for 12 yr old kids. They have no idea
that's part of the "problem". One Piece IS a goofy pirate Manga. but it's not that in a similar way to some American cartoon for children, it's much, MUCH more than that.
I was about 15 years old when I saw the Episode in which Bellemere got killed by Arlong. As a child with a single mother that hit hard... Those cruel moments make me reflect on my own life and attitude,; they elevate One Piece.
Sky island was my first week to week arc, its surreal just howlong i have been reading/watching xD
@@jackthompson7546wowwwww hey there old timer! My first week to week was Egghead, I have huge respect for people who have been on the ride as long as you have
That scene litterly traumatized me as kid when I first saw it and was thw reason I didn't watch One Piece for YEARS. When I started to watch it again, the first moment which made me really emotional was Choppers backstory.
@@jackthompson7546my first was Alabasta even tho it was reruns an the time. Enies Lobby was the first I remember to actually come out weekly in like 2006/07 but at that time I wasn't really invested in the story. I think the first arc I really watched week after week when it actually aired must've been Thriller Bark.
@-Teague- OLD TIMER!? I'm only 31!!!! Hahaha it really has been quite some time damn lmao
The way i like to think about one piece is less that it's a childish show that deals with dark topics but that its a childish group of protagonists tackling a realisitic world, braving the world with the childish positivity and pure heartedness and goofiness in the face of tragedy and oppression is exactly what Sun God Nika represents which is why i think One Piece is one of the most perfect themeatical pieces of media I've ever read
This is the take 🤘
7:41 is so well said. one piece IS a goofy pirate manga, not because it isnt dark but because it asks the people that have been through the most to push forward and seek joy and laughter. in this case joy is brought by the most dense and fun-loving pirate to ever live
I am very early in One Piece, but am not spoiler sensitive. I totally agree, this is something that I keep enjoying in the anime.
Good luck with your journey!
This is one series you can't really "spoil", I think. A) The spoilers are what got me into it (because some of the really meaty themes etc take a while to develop) and B) they aren't really "spoilers". Because there's lots of moments I knew about in advance...and, damn it, they still made me cry or laugh out loud!
Where are you in the series? I'd love to chat about it!
To be fair it's tough to sell One Piece to people who haven't seen it.
Me: "You see this guy right here?" *Shows him Senior Pink* "He has the saddest backstory in all of One Piece"
My friend: "No way that's true. How can a man dressed as a baby have the saddest backstory? He looks ridiculous. No way people take him seriously"
Me: "It makes sense when you read the story"
My friend: "Uh-huh. Sure it does"
Me: "Dude. Trust me"
My friend: "No"
See that's why you start by showing him Law since he has that classic cool design and a sad backstory.
I don't consider his backstory sadder than Brooks or Kuma's but it still hurt me.
@@maiqtheliar789 You are then smarter than me in this scenario lol.
Yeah just in general that's kind of a problem I've encountered. Like, obviously no show or story is gonna appeal to everyone and for some people, One Piece just might not be for them and that's totally cool. But I've also ssen people full-on bash the story and attack the quality of it rather than just saying it isn't for them, despite what they are attacking being A. cherrypicked of the least good stuff in One Piece and claiming thats how the whole thing is, or B. totally out of context since they got the information second hand from another friend of theirs who expressly doesn't like it.
Why would you ever open your One Piece sale with Senior Pink tho 🤣🤣
Absolutely agree, the way Oda juxtaposes a light and cartoonish style with these heavy themes is amazing. Still in keeping traditional Shonen feel whilst giving people food for thought about the characters and the world.
Honestly I think the strength of the series is that the show itself isn’t childish; the main cast starts off being very childish and having to adapt to a cruel world. And it does this by having a world that is both extremely fantastical and incredibly realistic in how it stays grounded. An absolute masterclass in world building.
This chapter got her uploading multiple videos lol Oda doing his job.
0:58 - 2:24 What a perfect summation of the Darkness in One Piece!
I think I'll share this clip when I try to convince someone that One Piece isn't a kids series
Honestly, this probably is the 2nd best thing to do that isn't outright forcing to watch the show with them. Sometimes, people just needs someone to be with them to start that journey.
Its never the trauma and darkness that moves me to tears, but the hope that shines despite. It wasnt namis backstory, it was her last plea of hope to a friend that made me a one piece fan for the rest of my life
I also love how Oda always couples dark and traumatic topics and events along with hope. Having lived through a few situations of total helplessness left me more or less unable to enjoy the stories that mirror the depth of bleakness of real world and offer up nothing more (growing up in a time of a bombardment will do that to a person).
That is why I have have such a deep affection for OP side characters that are not the superhumans that our crew is, that are just regular people with regular abilities - like Conis or Toto-ojisan, but still have the courage to stand up to an overwhelming force
My favorite things about introducing One Piece to new people is how they immediately think its just a kids cartoon and has childish animation, then they watch it more and realize oh no this is not for kids.
What I love about OP is that even when it's dark there's always hope at the center of the series. OP doesn't just leave it at how horrible everything and everyone can be, but also showcases what we can be or achieve at our best!
This... this was so well said. I, cannot agree more. This is the type of tackling serous situations that gets me, not wallowing in it for the sake of being 'edgy' or 'mature' but treating it seriously, and realistically.. and that means acknowledging that there is still hope even in the darkest times. This is the best kind of storytelling for me, where the darkness isn't used just to be dark for it's own sake, but as a contrast for the light of hope and just shines all the brighter the darker it gets, and no darkness can ever truly extinguish. Stories that always make clear, no matter how long, or dark the night, there will come the a new Dawn eventually.
This is such a perfect video about this. When I first started One Piece, I was immediately taken aback by Zoro and Sanji's backstories. To see a kid die, and then see a child starve, I knew this manga was going to have some darker themes as progressed. I think while not every subject matter is given the breathing room sometimes it might need immediately, I think every time Oda drives a character (or us as readers) to a new low, we are met with a new high. I can't think of a more perfect representation than the Kaido/Luffy fight. We were shown 100+ chapters of stakes, starving children and enslaved parents, a country turned into ruin, and yet here comes this silly boy made of rubber to bring liberation and full stomachs to everyone who was able to make it. This series has meant so much to me since I started it, but the hope specifically is what makes me hungrier and hungrier to read it each chapter.
A lot of fans, myself included, always talk about how One Piece was there for us during our darkest times - this is largely due to how Oda portray hope, even in the darkest of times.
One of the things I love most about One Piece is how it flip-flops between being lighthearted and super dark. I have cried several times while Watching/reading it. Oda is a master of his craft and I wouldn't change a thing.
Sometimes the tragedy being the "after thought" instead of the picture in displayed may hit harder then showing something graphic.
And its even sadder knowing that this story resonates with so many yong people because some of them went through their own tragedies
Oda’s favorite D clan member is All D. Pain.
Oda lives off our tears.
There are only very few manga out there that aren't dark. You will notice that with Naruto, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man too. You could say the japanese people have a lot of faith into their young children to digest these themes and stories
...That's not really specific to those stuff.
Japanese stuff in general can have two contrasting tones while also hitting both of those tones and not feeling out of place.
The game Nier Automata, for example, has a lot of comedic moments and light-hearted stuff and yet it's also fucking dark and serious at the same time. Japanese media do this all the time and that's why lot of their stuff hits.
nah americas are crying and literally having anxiety over one piece at the moment ..sad to say we can't handle it@@GutsTheBeast
Most Asian movies/shows have different blend of genre in the same movie/series. They can be hilarious and dark at the same time.
Murphy's statement about how even though you go through something terrible, there's always someone e to help is really powerful. And it's true! There's always good people out there who can help you. We as a society should talk about them more & the resources that can help people. Because there are a lot.
LOVE THE NEW SETTING!!!
Like when big mom ate her family, it adds a different level of horror because you don't see it happen but soon realize what happened and are left to fight with yourself about how dark it would be if you're right
New here! I’ve Been binging all your reviews for each one piece arcs all day and you’re voice is literally so relaxing to listen to while i do work stuff. Good stuff, Merphy!
This is why I love you Merph! Loved the way you said it!
While it’s not necessarily a dark theme, the most adult lesson that OP helped me learn a decade ago is the necessary feeling of letting things go, with the Going Merry.
When first reading that part, lot of people (including myself) go something like “I can’t believe I’m crying over a ship lol”. But it is more than that, it is someone(thing) that we’ve grown attached to, and Oda managed to convey the feeling of loss when we learned that it couldn’t go on further. It is difficult to let things go, to feel like we’ve “given up” on it, but it something we have to go through to grow as a person and to move on, for new tides await us.
It is a lesson that a lot of people need to learn especially when entering adult life, and something I wish more anime/manga depicted, especially shounen.
I literally just started OP I'm about 18 chapters in. I'm completely BLOWN AWAY 😁 But to go with the theme of the video, the part with ChouChou the doggy and his pet food store...EMOTIONAL DAMAGE 😢😭
I like how you are sitting in front of a different background for the manga-only channel. Visually, you are saying, "now these are two different channels."
I started watching your book videos, although I originally came here for "One Piece." It's the only manga/anime I read/watch. I used to watch anime with my kids and on Adult Swim. My kids are grown now and moved out. I came back to "One Piece," and I'm glad that I did. For other stories I might like, I'll see what you read and liked. It's a good place to start. Thanks!
Much love and blessings! 🤗❤💖💜🙏
i love how childish OP is. Never a tear shed. Never an asthma attack… never a sleepless night. Never ME SHOUTING “KUUUUUMAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”… Never me wishing Luffy could travel to the past and punch flashback villains… I’m perfectly fine.
Saying without saying has always been a strong way of writing, and often harder than 'just saying'.
Big Mom literally eating her adoptive family while high will live rent free in my head as “one fucked up backstory that still makes me feel sorry for the villain”
I had a friend introduce One Piece as "a Sadness factory walled in by laughter" then they said it's "the Pixar of manga" when the first line didn't work.
Pixar is a really good comparison
I honestly couldn't agree more on the "leaving the reader to reconcile on the implications" part. Maybe it could have been better if Oda flat out showed us all the dark stuff he was implying. However, when I think back to that woman in sabaody archipelago who Charlos "chose" as his wife, being left there to wonder what awful things he's done to her instead of being shown makes it so much more impactful. I honestly can't help but skip that scene because it's honestly too hard to watch.
Then there's also the lady that he dumped back into the real world in order to add her to his harem.
That's what she said, it's an effective way but not the only way.
Brook's fifty years of solitude is so gut wrenching. Alone adrift on a ship in fog, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of his close friends and colleagues with the only thing to comfort him, the desire to one day return to Laboon and play some music for his friend who he had left those fifty years prior. The fact he came out of that ordeal with the only issue of asking to see women's panties speaks volumes of his mental fortitude. Not even mentioning the fact that the first people he meets after those years of solitude were horrid people who took his shadow, isolating him even further.
I absolutely loved this video!!!❤ You emphasized some of the things that make One Piece so good. You can read it nonstop because it's such a light hearted series but still manages to touch on such deep topics. It's subtle enough that children wont even notice half of them yet leaves it open to your own imagination to know the true horror (Like Boa and her sisters. Imagining what they went through is so impactful just showing her sister basically having PTSD thinking about it.)
Getting a One Piece vid from Daniel and now one from you was something I wasn’t expecting this week haha
Wanted to mention the WG also killed/took mothers and babies searching for Rogers kid aka Ace.
One thing that still irks me about a lot of conversation on seinen is how readily some people joke about things like the eclipse in berserk, etc. I just feel disconnected, like did we even read the same thing?
I cant truly locate why it is, but I've never felt that dissonance in conversation about One Piece. I think it could be from how Oda doesnt get gratuitous with violence and other dark themes. It leaves little room for people to get enjoyment out of them.
People tend to think "for kids" means that it must be sterilized and free from any weightier topics. But every time I think of my favorite shows you have things like how greed turned a brilliant doctor into a lizard in Swat Katz, how a good cop got shot by a friend who was playing with her gun in Gargoyles, how to work smarter not harder from Ducktales, an HIV conversation in Captain Planet, Arnold freezing himself in Magic School Bus and so on. Those shows had heart. And you can't have heart without pain.
I feel the trauma in One Piece is wonderful to have in the series because new audiences aren't being talked down to with a "All of these people good all those people bad" story or a "Nothing too bad ever happens" story. It's a story about pirates, but also one that doesn't forget that pirates aren't the only people in the world. It's a story about people and the many complexities about them while also showing the many ways you can be strong and stand up to injustice and the price for doing so fairly honestly.
In fact, I love very much that One Piece heavily warns the price for standing up for what's right. It's often a thankless and costly thing to have integrity, but it shows refusing to have any is often what puts so many people in these traumatic events and times. Not many stories that are positive over all dare to do that, and those that do often depict integrity or standing up against injustice as stupid since people tend to do so at a loss. But Oda often shows it as it's a loss if all you're worried about is just yourself, but worth it if you have anyone else you care about. That's powerful.
7:50
This part honestly made me cry
I don't know why anyone would think a series with slavory , racism , death , war , famine , grape and governmental opression is " too goofy "
Oda is really good in showing just enough to allow for the older part of the audience to connect the dots in their head, while remaining suitable for a younger audience.
I started One Piece because I was struggling with depression and wanted some joy… 😢
(But seriously, the joy is there and wouldn’t be as bright without the darkness.)
This recap makes me love Luffy even more ❤. He's our goofy rubber boy standing before all these forces of darkness but still smiles and inspire those around him just by being himself. I cant wait to see how Oda continues Luffy's story as a liberator
Drug abuse in fishman Island
I think what makes One Piece's darker tone hit a lot more is the art style, you really don't expect the series to go to those places especially with how relatively light the series started out as.
I love how it shows unconditional love a love that doesn't go away just because of hard times.
As someone actively going through trauma recovery, I haven't found an author who writes trauma better than Oda. Sometimes the effects of trauma are all that remains and those traumatized don't even recall the reason but they still have chocolate a personality based off the fears of those past actions.
I really like that OP isn't torture porn, where I feel like stuff like goblin slayer and sometimes even berserk is cheapened by the use of gore and SA.
when I tell someone about one piece I always tell them little bit of everything is in it
Same, unless they're the type to hate spoilers
So goofy haha! Look at Luffy he's just like a cartoon haha! Nothing bad happened ever hahaha...
Look at the funny skeleton doing bone jokes! He certainly laughs a lot from someone with no lungs yohohohoho!
1:12 sounds like something going on right now 🍉
Thanks! This came just when I really needed to hear these things. ❤
I love that One Piece, in the end of every arc, always ends with a celebration.The sense of freedom (payoffs/rewards) that is always included in between the 'serious' parts of the arcs feels very well earned because of the suffering everybody went through... and also the length of the story which gives a lot of time for the story to breathe and flesh out every important details.
It's weird saying this, but what you're describing about this mixture of showing the darkness of humanity but also showing room for hope is reminding me a lot of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.
I agree. Both series show unrelenting optimism in the face of a world so full of grief and injustice. And both series place an emphasis on the importance of holding onto hope and fighting for a better future. And they're both really funny.
@@kirbytaylor8629 Well then, that's a recommendation that has bumped One Piece way up my priority list.
Something that people don't seem to fully grasp or even realize that they like or prefer but that I've always been passionate about is the concept of the "media ACTUALLY made for ALL ages", not 'for kids' or 'for adults' but this combination of technically being safe enough for a younger audience to read while having elements and/or just quality-enough writing to appeal heavily to adults who try it out as well. When I was a kid I loved stuff like this more than stuff made *just* for kids, and as an adult I love stuff like this than stuff made *just* for adults. A lot of people may imply they'd prefer a series like this even more if it was in a seinen magazine and could 'get away' with showing much darker stuff outright, but in my opinion the very REASON One Piece is SO appealing to SO much of the world and SUCH a massive age range is not only just because of its general quality, but in fact partly, I truly believe, *BECAUSE* this 'limitation' allows it to go as dark/mature/serious as it wants *without* going overboard to a point that would not only make it just plain unappealing to a large swath of humanity (see: Game of Thrones, while massively popular, certainly 'turned up the edge' so hard that a lot of grown adults wouldn't watch it for long) but would actually, imo, potentially WEAKEN and CHEAPEN the message Oda's trying to get across compared to the artistry he has to pull to make it work as a Shounen Jump series. I could go on and on about this concept and how One Piece and its massive popularity is sort of the quintessential example of it but I've rambled enough for now lmao
I'm so happy when I see a Merphy deep dive!! I love that every point is backed up with panels from the manga, genuinely so well done
I like that One Piece doesn't shy away from mature themes. One Piece's target demographic are the shonen audience, which means teenage boys in Japanese. Kids may be naive, but they're not dumb. Especially teenagers.
I like how Oda balances dark, hope and other themes. He does this better than any other storyteller I'm aware of. Others are definitely capable but there is something about the way Oda does it is better that I can't really explain. Not many can make me care so much about a character from just two chapters to the point I want justice for that character.
Just to add to Murphy's point about things being left to imagination (its funny because the silhouette of a monster at the end of Thriller Bark is a blatant example of Oda leaving things to the readers imagination), we're getting to see the tragic story's of people who do eventually get to meet their liberators and step in to the dawn.
What we don't see are the stories of the millions of hopeless individuals who, as a consequence of the world government, always believed in a liberator but died never being set free (think Kuma's dad).
This was an amazing video! I love watching your videos and this is one that I desperately needed because chapter 1098 was extremely dark. Great motivational speech. Thanks for all you do!!
I think the nuance and care One Piece uses is infinitely better than the kind of thuggish bluntness of spelling everything out.
I think it’s a common misconception that you need a tragedy/horrendous acts in full detail to feel them.
Too much detail, too much shown violence can actually cause overload and make you feel more numb to it because nothing is left to imagination. You don’t have to try and put yourself into the shoes of anyone to get the full tragedy if all of it down to the smallest detail is on display.
So, hinting at things or just showing parts can actually be more effective in engaging the readers, make them think about it and feel with the characters. And Oda does that wonderfully.
i like the new set a lot! gj putting it up, looks amazing in the back, specially that light!!
I can finally watch these as they come out!! Woohoo!
The thing about oda's storytelling is that it still leaves you room for imagination.
I have not read one piece yet, but it sounds amazing. These videos you make on the series are brilliant, and it makes me want to read it evn more. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on this and other books and manga.
I love the new set up Merphy!
One Piece handles dark moments very effectively to me, things like Ace's death, Brook's backstory, Robin's backstory and even something as recent as Kumas backstory have all affected me way more than most dark moments from other anime/Manga and I think it's because of the little semblance of hope he leaves in their despite our characters suffering massively, which makes me even more happy when justice is served. Oda understands almost more than anyone that you need to lows to have effective highs and uses that to his advantage in a way no other storyteller I've ever seen has.
It's just a fictional pirates story they said it's always funny, zany and whacky they said lul
I dont think Oda would show those stuff even if he were allowed. Its not his style. The guy actually likes to see others enjoying his series when he takes a break
Shonen jump works just fine for One Piece
It makes it much worse. He leaves it to our imagination. We like to imagine it's not that bad. But we don't stop at one panel we run with it. And it keeps getting worse and worse.
@kyokokirishima8922 it's the reason why he doesn't kill characters that often because it makes him sad.
One Piece is like chlidren's nursery rhymes, the tune is happy but the meaning is dark. "London bridge is faling down, falling down falling down..." , "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall"
@@D__634 Aokiji: No , Heaven's falling down
A lot of what you said made me think of how Sanderson handles tone in his books.
There's deep dark traumas and devastating moments of darkness, but there's always hope in the end.
7:06 - Kind reminder that you're not shouting at a camera, we're here with you, listening your incredible knowledge while explaining new points of view. Thank you for shouting at us lol
I love the new setup.
i love your new set for the manga channel!
I've been told folks about this being one of the Top 5 Darkest worlds in Fiction when you strip away the goofiness and Comedy. It's darker than Berserk, Game of Thrones, Hunter x Hunter, the world of Arda, and more.
3:56 Even as a reader of Berserk, I firmly agree with that and is something I can parallel. While it is a dark fantasy that has the liberty to show everything and pull no punches, it only does so with a very specific intent. Shock value wasn't the goal with Gut's childhood or the Eclipse, but to rather characterize why Guts is the way he is and why his journey for healing is SO GODDAMN HARD! Berserk focuses on the journey of healing rather than the trauma itself and the ability to hold onto your humanity with all the shades of gray thrown in between. Guts is heartless at times, but he's human. He's afraid of attachment from time to time and struggles to express himself openly. But when he does, it's awesome regardless of if he's happy but especially true when he isn't. THAT is why I preach about Berserk so much
I watched this video just after crying because I finished Enies Lobby Arc. I loved how One Piece can be goofy but leads you on a truly emotional adventure.
I still have a lot to read but I am enjoying every bit of it. ❤
Been loving the new set up for the manga videos, even if that means you're yelling at a camera in the basement.. 😂
Hit the nail on the head, he goes incredibly dark places but hope is never lost. Makes me wonder how close he'll get to sniffing out hope when we confront Imu...
I've said this on other videos, and I will say it again here. Whoever underestimates One Piece because all it is is "Oh goofy rubber pirate does Gum Gum funny things" is going to be hit with the hard reality that One Piece is a dark world. The One Piece world has the perfect candy coated sugar layer aesthetic to mask the fact that this world can contend with the Berserk world in terms of darkness, not surpass, but contend. Oda can and will make anyone regret saying that One Piece isn't a dark story. It's a dark story that focuses on the hope and light that things can get better, that a new dawn will always come.
One piece is the only story where we cry over a boat 😭 RIP Merry
I loved this video. Please make more like this
1. Oda is fully aware that the audience who started with OP are now adults (some middle-aged even). Yes, it is a Shonen, but a Shonen with a wide age demographic (especially in Japan). 2. Oda has been working on this opus for 25 years. Many writers of his age and experience would want to try and explore newer or more mature themes than the ones he started out with - so he just puts it all into OP. It's a tribute to him as a writer that it works - just think of how Kubo tried (and failed IMO) to try adding new themes to Bleach with the Fullbringers and Quincy War arcs. It just didn't gel and flow.
The fact that nika is kumas idol and the sun took the woman he loved away from him is so beautiful man tragically beautiful.
With everything that's happening in the world right now, I constantly go back to thinking about OPs messages of liberation, fighting and hope. In my darkest times, OP's hope has always been a light that I've drawn from
One thing that i dont think non One Piece readers understand is that it is very childish to offset the amount of darkness in the story. If the goofy and childish nature of Luffy and the story was removed and replaced with normal shonen seriousness it would be way too dark constantly. Which makes gear 5 make way more sense. Could you imagine having a super serious conflict and then have Kums backstory happening without Gear 5 existing? That's too much for a shonen it needs some light to balance out the dark
One of the things I've always enjoyed about this series is the juxtaposition of the silly and fun absurdity of life alongside the tragedy and depiction of truly despicable human acts. Life is both, and not shying away from the cruelty really makes the hope that much more impactful. It means so much more to see characters endure such suffering but not only find reasons to keep going, they have to confront their own sense of morality afterwards, like Sanji choosing to save his family despite everything, Nami having to reckon with the realities of the injustice done to fishmen and how that directly impacted her own life (I wish this had gotten more focus), everything about Law's backstory, everything about Jimbei's backstory, etc. They not only had to endure tragedy and survive unthinkable situations, but to not let those experiences justify the vicious cycle of violence and hatred that they could easily fall into afterward. We see this reflected in characters like Arlong, Doflamingo, Kaido, and Law prior to Corazon.
Sure, One Piece is a fairy tale so of course it's not going to get into the most horrific depictions of the terrible things humans are capable of doing to each other, but I really appreciate that it doesn't shy away from them, entirely, either. Kids are a lot smarter than they get credit for, and capable of handling more than we tend to think. I don't think sheltering them from knowledge that bad things happen does them or us any real good, but teaching them that bad things don't last forever, that living is worth it, that there are happy and joyful and silly, absurd things in the world worth persevering and fighting for, that's really important.
I love Oda so much. He’s one of my main inspirations. Cant wait how this series will end. Egghead arc has been nothing but 🔥
I’ve always felt that the childishness of one piece is great when you contrast to the darkness. We always have this feeling of hope and happiness that travels within our crew. Every place we travel to is suffering in ways that our characters have all endured in their own ways. It’s about pushing forward and becoming better and stronger against all odds.
I think that by having that contrast between the silliness and goofiness, the more mature themes are allowed to hit us that hard and the way that Oda navigates us through that is nothing short of impeccable. It rarely feels jarring and that's what makes Oda a master storyteller.
I've read a fair bit of manga and there are so many that confuse adult themes with mature ones. One of the more popular ones, just as an example, I would say is Goblin Slayer. It's mostly gratuitous violence, but because of its worldbuilding, it's mostly violence against women. Men are killed, but women are dealt a much worse hand because...? It's more mature? At least, that's what it feels like the mangaka of that series is trying to get into, but misunderstanding what mature themes actually encompass.
Stories with mature themes can be told to anyone regardless of age, it just needs to not treat its audience like idiots. Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece are pieces of fiction that treats itself like we should treat ourselves. Not to take ourselves too seriously until the circumstances call for it.
It's been really fun and interesting to see Merphy dive into One Piece and I look forward to more videos!
You might not realize it but the gore and more mature aspects of Shounen jump have gone up in the last few. I recommend checking out the Elusive Samurai for this.
This is such A+ unique OP content
What I really like how Oda did to his series that differs other is the portrayal of emotion he wants to show us as audience. Such as a boy yelling and screaming out loud as his eyes turned all white while his older brother died in his own arms as he try to protect him, a young lady both arms got tied up and bites the terrace so that she can see her friends try to save her or a poor young slave girl got smacked on her face and still smiling while wiping her own blood on the floor just saying repeatedly "I was a mess, please forgive me. I will do anything, just don't kill me."
Remember its a childish and goofy story 😂😅😢😭
@MerphyNapier 💯 %Agree with what you say in this video. I couldn't have said it better.