One Piece: The Reality of Fantasy

YAAAAY it's a topic I've been dying to talk about! Expand your mind and have fuuuun!

Artists:

0:00 Intro
6:58 The Reliance of Themes
11:02 Skypiea's Substance
15:31 The Brutality of Flevance Town
19:39 The Vinsmoke's Grim Reality
24:48 'What If?'
28:30 Ending

[alexcurtis]

The fact that Oda has written multiple genocides into the series and still gets dismissed as "cartoon trash" just goes to show that people cannot understand this series until they experience it. One Piece is the epitome of "don't judge a book by its cover"

[MegaRay]

Checklist for a MelonTeee video:
1.) Skypiea
2.) Law Backstory
3.) Sanji Backstory

[iamdivan]

The two part two hours Luffy video is coming, Mel. You can't run from it forever

[MakkenziKreiga]

One of the most impressive things about Oda's work is "One Piece" can be described with deadly seriousness or as goofy beyond belief. And both work equally.

[KejaxXashy]

The biggest thing I get from Skypeia specifically is the theme of history and it’s ramifications. Montblanc Noland, as opposed to the lying fool we were first told about, was a badass and a hero to the early Shandians, as well as a great friend to Calgara. But due to a circumstance that neither of them could’ve ever predicted, Noland was put to death for lying and acknowledged as a joke for generations. And when ever I think about it, I can’t help but wonder: “What about us? How many Montblanc Nolands exist in our world? How many historical figures that we acknowledge as failures were actually noble people?”

I didn’t sign up for an existential crisis when I first started One Piece, but that’s the kind of stuff folks mean whenever they say it’s not your typical Shonen.

[DuckyPeaches]

Just want to say that you convinced me to start watching One Piece so now we're both stuck in this for life

[notationmusical]

Since Fishman Island isn't talked enough, I want to mention how this arc parallels Skypiea and other arcs with how fear and hatred of others warps people.
While Fisher Tiger experienced the suffering of being enslaved, this did not stop him from freeing both fishmen and other slaves like Koala. But he could not let go of his hatred of humans as he was dying and refused the blood transfusion.
Otohime was aware of the situation, having experienced none of the traumatic experiences, yet still trying to find peace.
And while Hody isn't as memorable as other villains, I feel that was intentional. People can just see him as another bad guy Luffy has to punch, but what interests me about him is that he hadn't suffered like Fisher Tiger or even Arlong, which reminds me a little of Wyper. He was in an environment where it was encouraged for fishmen to hate humans. This drove him to the point of showing no remorse to even the fishmen wanting to befriend the humans and assassinating Otohime.
All these people feel real in a setting with mermaids and fantastical sea creatures.

[dpvxdim]

"What if we can solve all these problems with just a punch? What if one funny monkey boy could lift you out of that hole and take your hand" hits so hard. This, I think, is a big part why Luffy works so well as a protagonist and why fans get so attached to him. Even subconsciously, we see him as a wish-fulfilment relief from all our possible problems.

[DurianKing]

Oda is like a historian who's read many, many examples of human depravity and atrocious behavior, but still haven't lost faith in humanity.

[WackoXJacko]

Baby 5's need to be useful to someone is definitely a story from OP that can hit really close to home imo. I'm sure there are plenty of people who have known someone similar to her, who constantly tries to be of help even at the cost of their wellbeing. Baby 5's story is very brief but you feel for her immediately

[bitterchco]

NEVER STOP TALKING ABOUT ONE PIECE PLEASE i love when you take this series and put it under a microscope and study it it's amazing

[docileventriloquist]

One Piece is just so great at making it's worldbuilding mean something to the story. It really makes the difference to just having a crazy in depth world, when every part that's shown adds to whatever story is currently being told.

[ninnoofthelastunicorn]

That last bit, regarding the catharsis in the simplicity of the answers. I'm so glad you brought that up after what so many of us talked about recently.
Wano is still haunting me because of the violence and hurt that was out into one good punch. Everytime Luffy punches a tyrant, dictator, or a selfish despot, I heal a bit more.

[primarybufferpanel]

Water 7 hit me like a brick. The themes in Usopp and Robin's stories were pretty personal. A lot of people struggle with their worthy and I think that's one of the reason's it's viewed as potentially the peak of One Piece.

[spacepiratecaptainrush]

One Piece is cartoon introduction to Anarchism. It's quintessential Shonen power fantasy but the fantasy is "what if I could make people's lives better by punching entrenched power structures?"

[chriszorander]

"I just want to die" -> "I want to live" hit very hard. I connected a lot to that arc.

[andrelobato]

I know it sometimes seems like the solution boils down to a punch, but quite often Luffy is only able to get as far as he has because of real grassroots movements in the lands he saves. The small, seemingly insignificant decisions of millions of people to topple that which is oppressing them, being given strength through Luffy’s fist and vice versa. Man I love Oda

[becca_]

So... about the really close to home part, my cousin (who was like a big brother to me) died, and when I was watching Marineford (one year after his passing) Luffy's pain while losing Ace shook me...
In that case I was gratefull to Oda because, even as weird as it sounds, I felt less alone in my pain, having Luffy going through the same! And dont let me get started on Jimbei speach! Like... it was what I needed at the moment ❤

[DuckyPeaches]

24:18 This has to be my favorite aspect of the show. The grand story, characters, and worldwide politics are all amazing, but nothing beats the comfort of knowing that trough it all, the strawhat crew is going to be alright. After the big bad is defeated their going to have a HUGE party until, everyone is tired, and the call of adventure starts tugging away at Luffys heart. Love these silly pirates

[CreepyGralloch]

The thing that most often gets me in the world of One Piece is that things are never purely black and white, and nobody is perfect. Every character, culture, and island is somehow flawed. Every conflict has deep roots, and despite there being that big bad thing you can slap out of the way, and you can throw a big party to feel better, we're still left with no perfect ending. When we leave, there is still work to do. The world lives and breathes outside of the main characters' sphere of influence and things don't exist in a vacuum. It's something that many series don't do correctly, or even show, and it adds to the realism and grounding of the series, since it echoes a lot of what we go through in our own lives.