The One Piece Project (Parts 1-2)

[I wrote this from Oct-Nov 2015 as two separate posts. They were first published on wongyann.wordpress.com]

[OPP Part 1] A Salute to Beauty, Goodness and Truth

[The One Piece Project (OPP) is an attempt to write a one reflective article for every single narrative arc of the manga/anime One Piece. As we will be discussing narrative elements, SPOILERS should be expected. In Part 1, we examine a single scene in Chp 7 of the manga in the first arc, Romance Dawn]

There have been many tear-jerking moments when I read through the One Piece manga, and I suspect I am not the only one. The very first scene which moved me to tears came early in Chp 7, and is the scene depicted below:

In the narrative, Luffy and Zoro had just defeated the tyrannical Captain Morgan and freed the villagers of Shells Town and the marines under his unreasonable leadership. Yet, since Luffy is a pirate (and thus, an outlaw), the marines cannot allow Luffy to remain in the village (although they gave him time to rest and prepare to leave). Luffy also leaves behind Coby, a friend he has made, but who aspires to be a marine and thus a future enemy of Luffy. Coby bids a tearful farewell to Luffy with a salute, and (quite surprisingly) the entire marines contingent followed suit, even subjecting themselves to a punishment of no rations for this act of professional misconduct.

A voluntary military salute is a rare occurrence, and is an expression of deep respect and admiration, and is sometimes an emotionally charged moment. A voluntary salute towards your natural enemy is an even rarer occurrence and is most worthy of note. Why did the marines salute Luffy? Was it in gratitude for freeing them from Captain Morgan? While certainly that is part of the reason why, but I would like to suggest there is more to their respect and admiration than that. The marines were terrified of Morgan because he would shoot and kill anybody who disrespected his command. In contrast, Luffy and Zoro displayed not just great courage in the face of such a cruel and fearful man, but also showed compassion and trust towards his friends and the villagers in general. Courage, compassion, trust and friendship. Even though these were displayed by their natural enemies, in their hearts the marines know this to be good and beautiful traits, and their hearts responded with deep respect and admiration, even to the cost of their own stomachs.

Why then did I find this scene moving to the point of tears? I must have found something very beautiful in the depiction of showing deep gratitude and respect to your natural enemies, which moved me so, even when displayed in a fictional medium.

You see, this is why I write.

I subscribe to a somewhat neo-platonic philosophy of art and aesthetics.  Modernists and post-modernists would disagree with me, (and this is somewhat a simplification of my views) but to most lay people, art is considered good art when their hearts are moved. And hearts are moved when there is some resonance with universal transcendental qualities of goodness, beauty and truth portrayed. My heart was moved when I saw fictional marines salute a fictional pirate, because there was something genuinely beautiful, good and true depicted there in that piece of fiction. It is actually, not that much different from how the marines’ hearts were moved when they saw something genuinely beautiful, good and true depicted via Luffy’s and Zoro’s actions.

I believe, when hearts are moved, people change for the better. This is why I believe it is worthwhile (despite some very real pitfalls) to view, reflect and write about anime, movies and even videogames as a genuine art form. This is why this blog exists.

[OPP Part 2] For Where Your Treasure Is

[The One Piece Project (OPP) is an attempt to write a one reflective article for every single narrative arc of the manga/anime One Piece. As we will be discussing narrative elements, SPOILERS should be expected. In Part 2, we examine the scenes depicted in Chapter 12 and 13 of the Orange Town Arc]

A mini-story during the Orange Town arc revolves around Chouchou the dog, and his insistence to stand guard at the pet shop of his deceased owner. As Boodle the mayor explains to Luffy, Chouchou is already aware that his owner has passed away, but the pet shop contains the precious memories between him and his owner, thus the shop is his “treasure” worth guarding and protecting, even to the cost of his life.

The manga clearly regards Chouchou’s actions as admirable instead of foolish. In fact, Luffy was so moved by Chouchou, this was the reason why he decided to battle Mohji (who burned down Chouchou’s pet shop), and the same reason why Nami was moved and changed her views towards Luffy. Yet, let us consider this a bit more deeply. Why exactly was Chouchou admirable in risking his life to protect the shop? Wouldn’t preserving his life and living on longer be a wiser course of action?

This brings us to the theme of “treasure”, which the manga will explore several times over the course of the story. As exemplified by Chouchou, and later by Boodle, one’s treasure is something that you cannot live without – indeed, life will be devoid of meaning or purpose if you are forced to depart from your “treasure”, which is why it is worth risking your life to defend or to obtain such “treasure”. Indeed, when the pet house was burned down by Mohji, this treasure was robbed from Chouchou, and the tears he shed would not just be tears due to loss, but also due to despair, for the object which has given his life purpose and meaning was robbed from him.

Yet, after Luffy defeated Mohji and salvaged the last pack of pet food and returned it to Chouchou, we see that Chouchou has managed to find newfound purpose in his life. Perhaps it was the kindness and empathy of Luffy which helped him to realize this, but the destruction of the pet shop doesn’t have to spell despair for Chouchou. The memory of his owner can continue to live on in the way Chouchou lives his life from now onwards (which is why it would have been wiser for him to stay alive). In that sense, as admirable as Chouchou was in his feelings towards his previous treasure, he has matured in his understanding, and obtain a new treasure, one which is better than the one he had before.

Is this not true for us as well? At various stages in our lives, we have certain things we treasured greatly, perhaps even to the point of risking our own lives. Yet, on retrospect, some of these treasures appear to be immature and naive when we get older. How about the treasures we hold dear now? Will we one day realize that these two are insignificant, and discard them for something more worthwhile?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)