Zoro and Sanji from One Piece

SUMMARY

  • Ever since One Piece started, it is known for its unique character development.
  • Every character in One Piece has an individual story that helps fans connect with them.
  • However, a flaw in Zoro and Sanji's character is ruining their development.

Even though Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece holds the title of being one of the greatest stories of all time, it still has some flaws that have led to its criticism from fans. One of the significant ones was its pacing issue, which stretched the series for over 1000 episodes and chapters. However, there is one other problem that affects the One Piece story majorly.

One PieceOne Piece by Eiichiro Oda | Credit: Toei Animation

This issue is the Flanderization of one particular aspect of almost every character to the point where it started hurting their development within the narrative. One Piece may have some of the best-written characters in the history of anime and manga, but these characters often become victims of Flanderization, which eventually ruins them.

The biggest example of this is the wings of the future Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Vinsmoke Sanji. Both of them are incredibly important to the One Piece storyline, but their characters have been tagged with a particular aspect of their personality that has become their identity. And Eiichiro Oda needs to work on it as fast as possible.

The importance of character traits in One Piece

Eiichiro Oda is particularly famous within the manga industry for refining the One Piece characters and giving almost every one of them an intriguing storyline. This storyline defines their actions and gives a reason behind their personality in One Piece. And oftentimes, a particular aspect of their personality becomes a character trait.

For example, Luffy’s character trait is his goofiness and his inability to understand or care for what others think about him. In Nami’s case, it is his love for money and treasure, while Usopp’s character trait is his cowardice and his lies. Most of these character traits have a reason behind them, and they eventually get embedded into the central storyline of One Piece.

Straw HatsThe Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

It shows Oda’s creative thinking and his ability to create complexities while still keeping the story interesting. This is also the reason why most of the major characters in One Piece have their personal fanbase, who love and support them deeply because of the connection they build with their individual narrative.

Flanderization is taking over Zoro and Sanji’s character development

While the exploring of character traits is incredibly important in One Piece, it has evidently taken over Zoro and Sanji’s personalities and has overshadowed their character development. For Zoro, it is his inability to understand directions, and for Sanji, it is his “overexaggerated” love for women.

Zoro and SanjiZoro and Sanji in One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

Although these traits were only introduced by Oda for comedic elements that eventually took over their entire personality, developing a serious case of Flanderization. It has now become one of the biggest flaws of One Piece, and while it does not hurt the central narrative, it creates issues for the individual development of both Zoro and Sanji.

Thus, Oda needs to come up with a way to reduce these gags to the point where they are just seen as a humorous addition rather than personality traits for the wings of the future Pirate King. Hopefully, One Piece will not put much focus on them from now on, considering the fact that it has entered the final saga.

One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.

One PieceRoronoa Zorovinsmoke sanji

Written by Tarun Kohli

Articles Published: 2103

Konichiwa! With a Master's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a 2-year experience in Digital media writing, I am on my way to becoming one of the biggest anime content writers in my country. My passion for writing and Anime has helped me connect with Fandomwire, and share my love and experience with the world.