What I hope actually happens. Years later Fan: “Why was Saturn a spider?” Oda: “Spiders are gross and creepy.”

The long arm tribe (scratchman appo), long leg tribe (tamago), and snake neck tribe (bigmoms daughter) in one piece are based on yokai too

Murphy jumping into the world of One Piece theories love to see it

Merphy covering all her bases with multiple yokai for each elder. It'd be really slick if you got them right!

Spoileeerr I love how she did a whole video ttying to guess yokai but ended up guessing the non yokai one correctly lol

"you don’t care, we're talking about One Piece." Solid quote

If you're into yokai, I recommend Natsume's Book of Friends.

The five elders lining up with the classic star imagery and theory with imu being an onmyodo just makes so much sense im surprised i hadnt heard about it until now. Especially with the silhouette being reminiscent of their traditional garb. I still really like the imu = umi (ie sea) theory since that ties so well thematically to the lore of one piece but with the five elders pretty much being yokai im sold

One Piece theories with Merphy letss gooooo - Rip Akira Toriyama

The first panel in that chapter doesn't illustrate all the Gorosei Members. The better panel is the one of Sabo running away and in the background is 5 silhouettes, with 1 huge one in the background portraying Imu. The Slime like Gorosei member, who should be Ju Peter, isn't seen on the first panel of the chapter with the silhouettes. From left to right the order was Saturn (Bull Shadow), Jupiter (Slime/Blob Shadow), Venus (Long Neck Shadow), Imu (Large Central Shadow), Mars (Bird Shadow), and Mercury (Elephant Shadow). The problem with determining Mercury's Yokai is that his mustache could simply be the tusk like things we see in the silhouette.

The ,,wrap around`` thing you mentioned I think is a depiction of the cloud that appears usually around a awakened zoan devil fruit user, like Luffy, Lucci, Yamato, etc even Saturn has it!

I want to watch the video, but I just found out about Akira Toriyama passing away and my brains not working.

RIP Akira Toriyama

As a Monster Hunter fan, you have no idea how much appreciate this theory.

I think the big thing at the top likely IS imu. In the 2 panels side by side, the gaping mouth creature is between Saturn and the humanoid one with the cloud wreath. All their other positions are unchanged. And Imu’s eyes being dead center in the back of the second panel you show makes me think he’s the one coming down from the “empty” throne.

For yokai for Venus, I think Nurarihyon is a very likely candidate. One, because he already kinda looks like him, but also, Nurarihyon is a major, major, MAJOR yokai. It's probably one of the most popular "powerful" yokai and is used whenever bigshot yokai are used in Japanese fiction.

12:40 I could of course be wrong, but I'm PRETTY sure that that little "wrap around" part of the silhouette you're talking about is actually its "hagoromo." A hagoromo is that cloud-like scarf type thing that we've seen all awakened zoan type devil fruit users have. It's like some sort of traditional, spiritual Japanese thing often depicted around deities. I believe Oda included it in the silhouette to let us know that these are in fact awakened, mythical zoan devil fruit users and you can see that same sort of wrap going around a few of the elders, or at least my interpretation of the silhouettes look to me like I can see it around a few of them. Again, I could be wrong but that's my interpretation. And I believed this even before getting Saturn's reveal and after seeing his true form, I feel even more confident now that that's correct.

Saturn - Gyuki Mars - itsumade Warcury -fengxi Nusjuro - bakotsu Ju Peter - Sandworm According to the notes at the end of chapter 1110.

Small note for potential future reference: Onmyodo is the art. A practitioner of that art is called an Onmyoji.

When the actual forms are out... Pls make a comparison video with your predictions... Pls pls

"Onmyodo" are not beings, it is a system of beliefs and arts about the ying yang and balance of the universe. Wise practicioners of Omnyodo are called Omnyoji. I believe Imu has the devil fruit of a Kirin, a god-like creature, some of them malevolent. Look it up, some of them really resemble Imu's silhouette. Kirin are a whole level above Yokai.

6:03 there's a panel later in this very page where sabo, carrying cobra, runs away from the gorosei and we see the blob between saturn and nasujuro and it has eyes and a mouth, so two possibilities: a) the big creature is just imu b)ju peter jumped to protect imu and then, for some reason, shrunk down and went back between saturn and nasujuro.

6:44 i always interpreted that panel as the Gorosei as well

I'm currently writing my master thesis on yokai representations in modern popular culture and seeing you sharing my joy and excitement while diving into their little world made my day!

I love this!! It’s taking me back to the old one piece KZfaq! Everyone would have crazy discussions like this having cool theories with tangible stuff from real word material awesome video!

I'm so happy you're finally making a video on Yokai. There's so many of them and they're referenced in so many different manga/anime.

I remember when you were a noob still on skypiea look how far one piece takes you now I’m watching you put together your own head cannon theory’s they grew up so fast😢😂❤

Merphy the wrap-around thing on ghandi hitler is probably just the awakened zoan scarf that exists now; on saturn, luffy, etc.

A perfect timing for a guess! Your analysis is pretty interesting, I look forward to see what you did get right in the next chapter!

Im pretty positive Marcus is an Itsumade, the silloutte matches up basically perfectly and heres a description of what it does "Itsumade appear in the night sky during times of trouble-such as plagues and disasters, or flying over battlegrounds where many have died. In particular, they fly over places where there is suffering or death, yet little has been done to alleviate the pain of the living or pacify the spirits of the dead. The strange birds fly about in circles all night long, crying out in a terrible voice."

We saw Imu transform into that large creature though 🤔

This is just what I was looking for. Needed a new OP content creator. New sub for sure. Please keep this energy.

I love that you acknowledge that other people came with this, many youtubers omit that and take these theories as their own which is disrespectful. But not our beloved Merphy 🙏

I like getting to hear Merphy’s unique take on all this.

While I still think Imu is the one climbing down, I definitely think you’re onto something with the Hyakki Yagyō. It definitely reminds me of the Wild Hunt in Norse and Northern European mythology. And we know that those Allusions seem strongly connected to Elbaf, the highly foreshadowed next arc. Since Dory and Brogy distinctively recognize Nika, I think there’s a theory that this march of madness, akin to a chaotic social catharsis, is parallel to the “Dawn of the world” that Imu is trying to prevent in a contorted view of order. I may or may not make a Reddit post about it later. (This made more sense in my head.)

That scarf seems to be an indicator for awakening, so any of them could have a cloud scarf I think its called a higurama or something like that

Sweet video Merphy :D

Excellent video Murphy! I especially like the theories on Venus.

this doesnt discount the yokai theory, but my personal theory is that the elders are either: 1. pacifistas from the ancient kingdom. since they are planets orbiting 'celestial deity' imu would have the highest authority as geocentric, luffy would as heliocentric 2. creations of imu, likely from imus ink/nightmare based powers. similar to Kanjuro and an inversion of luffys rubber/dream powers

And there goes Oda throwing expectation out the window and having one of the Elders not even be a Yokai.

Im glad I get to enjoy another one of your videos. It's been a rough couple of days since learning about Akira Toriyama's passing. If anyone hasnt seen it, Oda wrote a beautiful tribute to him. R.I.P to an absolute legend

Just discovered your channel, probably recommended in my feed cuz I watch a bunch of tekking101 vids-- but really well put together vid. Definitely subscribing (and thanks for making my day a bit brighter in light of this very sad day).

nice theory at the end there, i really liked that

Very interesting thoughts and observations. Me personally, I think the Gorosei and Imu are the following creatures: - Saturn: Ushi Oni (kinda confirmed at this point) - Markus Mars: While there are many bird yokai, I think the one that fits the silhouette and Mars‘ appearance the best is the Itsumade. A serpentine Yokai with a bird like head and having a human like face with facial features like long hair, beards and eye brows. Due to the very sleek design of Mars beast form and his pronounced facial features, i think the Itsumade fits the best. Plus the thing around his neck is probably the awakening cloak of zoans - Topman Valcurie: Baku. The long appendage of Valcuries beast form is probably a tusk, which develops from Topmans big mustache. The Baku would fit because in One Piece, dreams are a key theme of the series and the characters we know, so a creature that can devour dreams, not necessarily nightmares, would be a perfect opponent for the straw hats. - Ju Peter: I believe as well that he’s an Akashita. The Akashita is said to haunt farmers who took more water for themselves than they‘re allowed to, so Peters huge mouth in the beast form, as well as his position as the „warrior god of agriculture“ would fit very well. Plus, in the scene where Sabotage runs away from the Elders and Imu, we can see right next to Ju Peters shadow on the ground a silhouette that looks like a claw, although that shadow part is often associated to be part of Nasujuro next to Ju Peter. But it could be Peters Akashita claw - V. Nasujuro is the most difficult: While many aspects point to a Nyudo (while the ribbon is definitely the cloak of awakened zoans as well, and I think all Elders will have those), I had a different theory: In the scene where the elders discover Wapol, the main shadow we see seems to be Nasujuros. If you look closely, then his legs kinda look like the front legs of a centaur. So I got the idea that V. Nasujuro might be a Kirin, a dragon like horse-ish beast important to Asian mythology, which fits his Asian monk outfit. And maybe he has a Kirin-centaur hybrid form? And now Imu. Since we saw what was presumably Imus tail, as well as the theme of Marie Geoise, which is heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian mythology (the architecture, it being referred to as heaven and the land of gods, the seraphim serving it etc.), I believe that Imu has THE devil fruit, which transforms them into a huge traditional devil, with humanoid base build and a arrow shaped tail. It would be fitting for a place that I referred to as heaven to be secretly ruled by a devil, which in mythology is a fallen angel, which on the other hand could tie in with Imus backstory and result them in having a more angel like hybrid form. And we know Oda combines Japanese mythology with Judeo-Christian themes, since the Elders can summon themselves with pentagram summoning circles, often associated with satanic rituals

Looking forward to the update video after this week's chapter!

Thank you for this very informative, exciting and well-researched video. So cool!

If you like yokai, you might like the manga: "Grandson of Nurarihiyon" In which Nurarihyon's night parade of a hundred yokai is depicted as chivalrous yakuza. And the main character is... wait for it, the quarter blood grandson of Nurarihyon.(¾th human and ¼th yokai)

this is nice.. its fast and you tackle a bunch of it so you probably get something right.. now we wait for the next chapter

One detail I think the English fandom overlooked is that Ushioni was actually brought up in One Piece world long before. The move Zoro used in Enies Lobby, Three-sword style Gyuki Yuuzume. It's the move he used with a silhouette of a bull's head. Gyuki is written 牛鬼 (cow demon), the same words as Ushioni (牛鬼) just a different reading. Zoro's move itself was a pun on Gyugyu-zume which means "cramped together", synonym to sushi-zume. Would fit his riceball theme lol.

Omg Merphy I got the same thoughts about Imu and The Elders.

merph in her bag rn with this one

I end up smiling till the end of the video, thank you merphy 😊

Amazing video Merphy! If you’re into onmyodo as a concept, give Shaman King a whirl!

OMG a Merphy theory!!

12:55 Merphy forgot how Zoan Awakening Works 😢

Why was I never suggested this channel before???

You might want to look into Gegege no Kitaro sometime. It's a very Yokai heavy set of stories with decades of different adaptations.

There’s a cool manga called nurarihyon no mago that goes into the whole night parade of 100 demons and the omnyodo, including Abe no seimei. It’s a completed manga series and it’s only a few hundred chapters so it’s a pretty quick read. I think you’d enjoy it :)

Really interesting learning about Onmyodos! In that context, Suguru Geto, one of the major antagonists of Jujutsu Kaisen, and his powers, are definitely modeled directly after one! Especially a certain event caused by him. Thank you for teaching me about the cultural background of a series you haven't even read, lol!

Oh boy she's fully converted. She's starting to do her own research on one piece lore

Can you do more folklore videos? It was really interesting to see the different ghosts and monsters the Japanese came up with. And I wanna hear you gush more about them 😊

Watching Merphy Napier videos made me fall in Love with One Piece (again).

Hello, Love the video. My investigation kept coming across the Yokai thing as well, I'm really happy to see you've done the legwork in attaching specific Yokai to the Gorosei. Did you happen to come across the 'Wufang Shangdi'? It seems like the basis for the Gorosei, and suggests that Imu might be based on Wujimu, or Xi Wang Mu, the 'Queen mother of the West'

Love this theory so much. I have a small love for yokai/onmyodo lore and mangas. It'd actually kinda cool if this has some stance.

Merphy is the coolest nerd. Thanks for this video

Will you do a Akira Toriyama remembrance? He has passed and I feel like a part of my childhood just left.

Oh my, I'm sorry for all the hours lost in yokai research. But also, thank you for all the hours lost in yokai research. A lovely theory video!

I remember the fandom going crazy into Yokai research Saturn's DF form first appeared. People saw he was a yokai, then went back to the sabo vs imu and gorosei chapter and speculated what yokai the others could be. It was really fun to see what everyone's suggestions were. The "Where the Wild Things Are" theory was really interesting when e just got the sabo vs them chapter. But now its moreso yokai inspired.

Murphy learnt a lot after Monday's video, about Yokai and that spiders aren't insects, learning is fun, especially when you go on wikiwalks. I can't wait to see how right she is when we see the Elders next week.

Nice theory on Imu. Why no one had the same idea indeed ? That is a good one.

damn, thx for this video! never heard of an Onmyodo before

I like your imu theory. That would be a real cool take for him

With your comment about some yokai being mischievous, I thought, maybe some aren’t for fighting. Maybe that’s why they sent Saturn instead of a few of the others. Sure some others may fight but I’m willing to bet maybe two of them are more of support. A bird yokai dropping bombs from way high, staying out of the fight to keep the collective stamina! Maybe another, needless to say I’m hyped for next chapter.

I’m still confused about the arrow thing that hit cobra

Love you Murphy!! 😊

Hey Murphy, I made this very similar theory about Onmyodo on discord in October making similar connections as you but much different yokai to pair with the Gorosei

Is your Naruto a once a month upload?

@merphynapier42 Actually the big thing behind the 5 elders is Imu. You can see it in the next panel in which ghe 5 elders are shown. On the right there's the Mammoth thing, then the bird, then the thing with ghe louds, then a worm or something like that and then there's Saturn. And Imu has eaten sabos fire a few panels before that I think

Merphy is going all in!

Oh thank you, love this video.

God you're literate, articulate, intelligent and charming. Truly you're the gem of OP youtube. Incredible video

In the manga panel you can see imu’s eye transform when he’s talking to cobra about lili. You can also see five sets of eyes chasing sabo and one large set of eyes behind them, so I’m 90 percent sure the shadow on the wall is Imu. Totally agree about the salamander though!

You really make a good point with "Oda will have fun with it". I feel like thats the best way to think about it cause Oda loves doing crazy designs and ideas.

I would look into the Taoist pentacle. It reveals a lot about what each Gorosei represents on an elemental level.

There's a bird depicted in the panel with Sabo and I'd say that's probably an Itsumade or maybe a Kotengu

So in this case the "parade of Yokai" that the Onmiyodo has to protect people from would be the pirates themselves.

13:57 For some reason this quote, "anyway he's a bald-headed goblin" just really tickled me for some reason. I imagine someone saying it out of context and it's a sick burn.

incredibly minute detail: the dragon horn thing in monsters was essentially as mini hyakki yagyo as cyrano (the villain) declares the town unsafe and orders the citizens to evacuate

7:41 Imagine Oda uses it as a way for Laboon to help by having Laboon eat it.

Truly, break week has really set in once more. Let's go One Piece Theories

watching this video after reading the latest chapter feels like Oda watch Merphy videos and just one upped it

13:27 If it helps, the wrap around is because if it's a DF, it's an awakened one, similar to Saturn's flaming black cloud, rather than something you need to link to a specific yokai :P

Great Theory. I love different mythologies so this was very informative, I can sea the imu-seagod theory, because umi means ocean, but could as well be a red herring. But I hope you are right, that would be cool.

That fire bird has a looong twisted neck, it fits perfectly!

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is a manga about the night parade of 100 demons, main character is their leader, if you wanna read a manga about it.

Merphy feeding the streets with a theory for break week 😌

My theory is that Imu is the Umibozu which is an ocean Yokai. It matches their silhouette and could mean the giant shadow at the end of Thriller Bark could be Imu since it also resembles the Umibozu.

i have a silly little theory for what v.nusjuro might be? after i saw the shroud on his shadow silhouette i was also thinking 'oh maybe divinity of some kind?' but not necessarily one from japanese folklore/religion, but maybe a deva from hinduism, specifically shukra. shukra is the deity/god of venus and has connections to wealth, luxury, basically any kind of material well-being, which matches perfectly with v.nusjuro and his title as god of finance. interestingly, all the other elders also have deva counterparts in terms of planetary alignments, though none of their secondary connections match with their elder titles. this is probably just a cultural overlap of venus the planet being associated with wealth in various cultures, but still just something that stuck out to me. another interesting thing about shukra is that he was blessed with the knowledge of what is essentially resurrection, which could be how saturn keeps regenerating? the elders' telepathic link isnt explained, but perhaps it extends beyond just telepathy and actually enables v.nusjuro to heal him from afar? granted, saturn is also healing from non-lethal wounds, so that wouldn't really count as resurrection, but i can definitely see it being extended in that way. just as far as i can tell, ushi-oni aren't known for being able to regenerate, so the source of the regeneration being one of the other elders makes sense to me (same as how i think the telepathic link is also one of the other elders' ability). granted, this theory is kind of cobbled together and it hinges a lot on the assumption that v.nusjuro does draw inspiration (at least visually) from gandhi, who was a follower of hinduism. i'm definitely also influenced by the thought that if we were to match up each of the elders with a straw hat to fight, v.nusjuro being zoro's opponent would be a given, considering that he's the only swordsman of the elders. shukra here actually also has a very interesting connection, since he is the teacher of the asuras. the difference here is obviously shukra being a hindu deity, whereas zoro's asura is the buddhist version. oda has included different versions of the same deity/concept from religions that are connected/parallel each other before though, most obviously pluton, poseidon and uranus all being greco-roman deities. there could also be a link between v.nusjuro serving a god in imu vs zoro's 'i dont believe in god' perspective (which from my understanding does somewhat align with the differences in hindu and buddhist beliefs), though i feel like thats stretching it. the shroud also does look like the one that comes with an awakened zoan devil fruit, but as someone else pointed out, none of the other elders had it in their silhouettes, which seems like a specific distinction that oda made. could also just be that v.nusjuro does just have a humanoid yokai devil fruit, and having him just be some dude in the silhouette would be a lil boring lol this could all be nothing but i had fun doing a lil bit of research. hopefully we get to see the elders' forms soon, please oda, preferrably next chapter ;-;

I have been saying this ever since we got a look at Saturn's design. So I am very happy, that someone else is saying this finally.

Not a favourite manga of mine but after watching this I think Murphy should check out Nurarihyon no mago, it's about yokai and onmyoji (Nurarihyon is the leader of the hyakki yagyo, and this story is about his grandson who is only a quarter yokai and kinda just wants to be a normal human but he still has responsibilities towards his family and subordinates and they are kinda depicted as Yakuza which I find both very funny and cool)