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. 😅

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 🤔

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.

Agreed life is not meant to be dark all of the time there always gonna be hope at the end of the tunnel.

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

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.

This is the take 🤘

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

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 🤣🤣

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!

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.

Pixar is a really good comparison

...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.

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.

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

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.

Same, unless they're the type to hate spoilers

It's definitely a goofy kid's story. Japanese culture just respects the media literacy and maturity of its young demographic a hell of a lot more than similar media in mainstream American/western Hollywood influenced culture.