Author: admin

From the flashbacks, we see how Arlong dressed 8 years ago, when he was a bit younger before growing his crew to the empire we see today. His choices remind me of an edgy teenager in a fedora and trenchcoat, trying to seem much cooler than they think they really are. In a certain sense, it does appear as a somewhat more “professional” outfit than the beach-casual clothing he wears in the present day, but it also seems like an attempt to be intimidating or convey a tough-guy persona. The clothing represents a desire to be taken seriously, sharply contrasted with his more comfortable clothing choices after he established Arlong Park with steady income & a terrifying reputation.

Arlong’s language about Nami only living up to her true potential if she serves his goals indicates much about his worldview, showing that he believes his goals & his success are truly the only important things in the world to such an extent that even other people should only find meaning & purpose in their own lives by assisting him in conquering the East Blue. He then projects that same mentality onto Luffy, assuming that the Straw Hats only seek to “rescue” Nami so that they may “own” & “use” her in the same manner. Fascists only see fascism wherever they look.

Luffy destroying the sea charts does more than simply hinder Arlong’s pursuit of domination. By erasing the years of work Nami was forced to complete, he has also stolen her labour back from Arlong, even if it is still now useless to everyone. This is mental & emotional vindication for Nami, allowing her the peace of mind that the actions she took which helped Arlong, even under duress, will no longer serve the fish people’s goals, which evokes closure on that period of her life without worry about what harm they will continue to invoke using her skills.

While Luffy’s immaturity & lackadaisical attitude are often shown to be beneficial, we are given an example of how his lack of focus & determination hinders his ability, or at least how it is determined by his state of mind outside of his own agency. The battle between him & Arlong is fairly steady & evenly matched for quite some time with both characters seeming equally matched until they enter the map room. Upon discovering the facts of history, and realizing the depth of Nami’s mistreatment over the better part of a decade, something snaps within Luffy, allowing him to vanquish Arlong & crush the entire building with relative ease. Had he full self-control & mastery over himself, he could lead with this level of combat prowess, ending the fight much sooner.

The Marines are all bark & no bite, utilizing their reputation & image as keen soldiers to impose fear & control over their subjects, taking whatever they want with impunity. However, we see Zoro, still suffering from his critical wounds, easily dispatch the entire group within seconds. It has been made clear that some Marines are better than others, and a few dozen episodes ago, they were able to capture & imprison Zoro, but many are indeed just living fat on the general conception of what the other ones are capable of. In fact, most real world governments also rely on these same tactics of propaganda to convince their populations to fall in line & obey unjust laws under threat of punishment, when it is rather obvious that the oppressed & working classes could overthrow their authoritarian dictators were they to band together and resist.

Last note, I have absolutely zero comment on these snail radio devices, like what the fuck even is that, why is that a thing, how does it work, holy shit, I have no idea what I just saw.

When Arlong states “you can’t even crush a pillar with your jaws,” as if it is a necessary skill to conquer the grand line and become king of the pirates, he is betraying his small minded perspective. For the fish person captain, his teeth are his greatest asset and a large part of what allows him to lead his crew to success; to a hammer, every problem is a nail, and to a shark, every problem can be overcome by biting it. Arlong relies on this single ability for the majority of his conflicts and so it is inconceivable to him that someone without access to the same skillset would be able to accomplish much of anything. The fish person hubris, believing that they outclass humans in every possible manner, avoids understanding that there is more than one way to achieve a goal, similar to a wealthy person believing all problems are solved with money or a motorhead thinking an automobile is the only way to get anywhere. Even if these methods have previously always worked for them, other people can still do things and get places without great wealth or a fast car.

An interesting scene is when Luffy knocks out Arlong’s teeth and everyone prematurely begins to celebrate the victory before Arlong simply grows more teeth. This trope is seen in many aspects of our existence, where we think we have defeated an obstacle only to discover that we have actually done almost nothing of merit because we did not fully understand the situation at hand. Of course, without this “failure” to help show us the way, we would not be able to continue trying fresh solutions. It is vital to our personal growth to try things to the best of our ability even if they don’t always work perfectly so that we can learn more and expand our horizons. If Luffy encounters another shark person in the future, he will be better equipped against their regenerating teeth.

Even though we see that Luffy is ultimately the only character who can even approach a fair combat with Arlong, his words “I’m worthless without my friends to help me out” still ring true because they propelled him to this position in the first place. Between rescuing him from the depths and annihilating the lieutenant fish people, the Straw Hats & the Cocoyashi villagers have set the stage for Luffy’s victory. Everyone here brings different traits to the table, and while some may appear more or less powerful or valuable at first glance, they all combine to create a positive outcome for all of them together.

Last note, these heavy combat episodes don’t always have a lot for me to discuss. I could probably dive into more specific pieces of dialogue and interpret plenty of philosophical meaning to analyze at length, but much of what I could expand on has already been touched on in previous entries and would contain a lot of conjecture and babble. The overarching themes of confidence, reputation, & friendship are present in almost every episode, so I try to focus on new and novel topics in an attempt to add value to the experience and explore relevant issues without injecting too much of my own opinions or outside knowledge. I appreciate you reading this blog.

These rare but poignant animal metaphors are powerful artistic expressions. Seeing the butterfly getting caught in the web, representing Nami’s hesitation to continue opposing Arlong, adds nuance to the tension of the scene. When Arlong is making his threats, as the spider launches towards the trapped insect, the audience can feel both levels of fear simultaneously, worried as much for Nami & the people of Cocoyashi as we are for the butterfly. Witnessing the winged creature escape and land on Nami’s hat foreshadows the success of the Straw Hat crew. Of course, much like Arlong & the fish people, the spider is only following its own innate nature.

Arlong licking the blood from the small cut on his face also presents a deeper metaphor. To “lick one’s wounds” means to recover strength or confidence, but is typically done in hiding after a retreat. In this case, though, Arlong is doing it while in the midst of combat, without moving away from Zoro at all, representing both a persistent confidence and also a lack of shame or fear. This action presents both a physical advantage, preventing more blood from dripping on his face, potentially inhibiting his vision or breathing, as well as a mental advantage, conveying resilience to all onlookers.

Luffy is ever present in the moment, focused on here & now instead of past or future. Upon being revived, his primary concern is for Genzo’s pinwheel hat which he covets. It was one of the first things he noticed upon arriving on the island and left a major impression on his mind. As much as Luffy knows he has to protect the lives of his friends and the entire village, he also knows he is protecting the beauty of their lives, such as an unusual headpiece. Maintaining peace & serenity in the face of danger, his choice to stretch his body before continuing the battle also offer both physical and mental advantages. Physically, of course, being limber & flexible offers greater fighting prowess, but it also demonstrates conviction to his preparedness for the battle. Instead of rushing headstrong immediately after being revived, Luffy takes a moment to get ready, regardless of looming threats.

Last note, I find the contrast between Arlong & Usopp’s noses to be rather amusing. Both are noticeably longer than most characters, summoning thoughts of Pinocchio, a fitting facial feature for 2 dishonest people. However, like his smooth & round nose, Usopp is an “honorable liar” trying to bring smoothness to the situations of himself & others, while, much like his rough & jagged nose, Arlong lies to create chaos only for his own gain, regardless of the difficulty or pain this instigates.

Sometimes I wonder if this show could make their moral & philosophical points without all the violence, but the world isn’t always a safe & wholesome place, and what makes these ethical hero friends so inspiring is exactly that they are able to stay positive in the face of adversity and danger. When Usopp has his enlightening revelation, thinking “when you live your life on the edge, you savor every moment; that’s why they laugh so much,” it serves as a lesson for the audience as much as Usopp. The real world is full of struggle & suffering and it is our job to rise to the occasion to not only be successful, but to be happy while succeeding and to enjoy our moments being alive, even if they are difficult & scary. Freedom & liberation requires us to fight for it and it is worth the fight. 

We get a similar lesson from Sanji when he is underwater and thinks to himself “if I want to save Nami, first I have to save myself.” He is stating this in a purely physical sense of protecting his own safety from the fish person before he can continue on and protect Nami, but it also applies in a socio-emotional sense of having to find our own liberation & freedom before we can adequately help others to find theirs. Setting the example of being confident & joyous during tumultuous events demonstrates to others that they, too, can maintain a positive attitude while confronting their own problems in life. There are many elements of “self-care” that express differently for different people, but finding the activities that bring us a sense of peace & serenity & optimism provide us with the proper mental state to continue helping other people. If we run ourselves too ragged, spread ourselves too thin, even if we are trying to do good, we will burn out and be unable to keep serving our communities. This symbiotic relationship counters the fish person’s claim that “your love is worthless” by showing that our ability to care for others encourages our own self-care so that we can continue to care for others and ourselves.

Last note, as much as it is a bit of a silly anime trope, I believe there is true value in the nature of characters shouting the names of their attacks during combat. Zoro often yells different attack names while brandishing his swords, not the least of which is just “three sword style,” and we also see Sanji naming the body parts he is kicking as he performs the martial art. Both of them are confident & powerful in combat, but we also see Usopp calling out his attack names with much less bravery. In the end, when he is just shouting “Usopp Hammer” repeatedly, it seems much more for his own mental & emotional benefit than to inspire fear in his opponent. The repeated phrase gives him comfort and serves as a verbal expression of his anger & desperation. The evil cat pirate butler guy also shouted his “out of the back attack” ability in a previous episode which seemed to be part of his concentration or process to enact the attack, a familiar phrase to set his body & mind into motion.

I guess the character I have been calling “Octojohn” is actually named “Hatchan” so that is a little funny.

The fish people’s sense of superiority is pretty clearly just an analogue for racism. There have been a number of allusions to this point in previous episodes but it is exceptionally clear here. Beyond Arlong’s crew treating human settlements as cattle to bring them unearned income, or even comments about how pathetic it is that humans cannot breathe underwater, we see Hatchan repeatedly state things about how weak human-made swords are and that he is a better swordsman than any human because he has 6 arms, even though Zoro is able to defeat him while gravely injured & fighting a fever. This mimics real world racism that will often focus on real, but arbitrary, genetic differences between people, such as hair or skin color, different facial features, or other minor traits. There are also mildly consequential things that bring about racism, such as lactose intolerance, sunburn resistance, or even cultural elements, but none of these deserve hatred or disdain, including if someone were to have some extra arms (or less arms).

Zoro is so skilled in combat in no small part due to his mental fortitude and sheer determination. He has made promises & set goals, so his memories of these events push him to persevere because there are people other than himself depending on him to secure victory. This confidence is an advantage but also a heavy weight that he bears in all situations he crosses. Zoro is motivated not only to succeed & win but to truly be better than anyone else without making excuses.

Last note, I really appreciated how Nojiko & Genzo were able to communicate so clearly & efficiently while underwater. Their use of facial expressions & simple gestures to convey complex meaning demonstrates their close relationship & long past living together in Cocoyashi village. They have a shared culture and similar lived experiences, giving them access to similar thoughts & ideas that formed their personal worldviews. Even if they are not best friends or anything like that, they can still get their points across with minimal communication options available.

Following up the previous post, the Straw Hats being open about fighting Arlong’s crew simply because they made Nami cry is not only a sign of good friendship but also demonstrates their belief in the validity of emotional value. The impetus for the battle was not directly the fish people’s oppressive actions towards the people of Cocoyashi, but was the way in which those actions made Nami feel. The objective or tangible results of Arlong’s actions, such as the villagers living in perpetual fear & poverty, are only secondary motivators that give the Straw Hats confidence in their decision, while the primary driver is the emotional state of one of their crew. It is likely that Luffy would want to help free Cocoyashi no matter what, especially if anyone on the island requested his assistance, not just his friend, but seeing Nami crying in despair made the issue more personal and dire.

What I found most enlightening in this episode was noticing the distinctly different personality types in the Straw Hats as they approach this battle together being their first major conflict since Sanji joined the crew. While Nami is not present here, we know that she is already an incredibly complex character, blending her deep compassion for her community with her flexible moral compass into a Robin Hood-esque mentality of lying, cheating, & stealing in order to help the innocent people she holds dear. It reminds me of Soren Kierkegaard’s “teleological suspension of the ethical” on which I wrote my college philosophy final about, positing that the Blues Brothers are the ideal Christians for the same willingness to lie, cheat, & steal in order to save the orphanage they grew up in from being demolished.

A defining moment demonstrating the other 4’s personality types is when Sanji saves Luffy from Octojohn and then calls Luffy an idiot. Sanji loves to run his mouth & talk shit, such as when he tells Octojohn about how he would cook him into a snack to enjoy while drinking alcohol; not a delicacy or full meal, just a casual snack he may not even remember eating the next morning. Growing up around the sailor chefs who are always rude to each other has absolutely informed Sanji’s use of language & communication, so insulting an enemy and insulting a friend may sound similar, but there is a distinct use of context to indicate more than the surface level of his words. Still, Sanji speaks from emotion in either situation.

Conversely, although Zoro is very quick to agree with Sanji that Luffy is an idiot, Zoro has a much more reserved attitude about the subject and nothing to prove to anyone. He isn’t necessarily afraid to voice his rude opinions about his captain, but he also would not be the one to bring it up because it isn’t a particularly important thing to him. He is aware of Luffy’s sometimes immature personality, but has great respect for his heart & ideals, so the often silly choices he makes are easily forgivable by Zoro, who keeps his mind focused on important details, even in the midst of combat. When Luffy is thrown into the water, Sanji immediately reacts, beginning to dive into the water to save him, but Zoro calmly reminds him that the fish people would have the advantage and that the smart move is to finish the combat before trying to save their captain.

Usopp, on the other hand, never seems to have much of a plan at all, and is also quick to defend Luffy’s honor when the other 2 are insulting him. Sanji & Zoro consider being brutally honest a friendly trait, whereas Usopp includes polite & supportive language to be a critical element of his loyalty to his captain. Usopp very much will make crass bluffs when he believes it will help his goals, but would never just insult a potential enemy to their face simply because he is upset with them. Quite the opposite, in fact, he is typically willing to say anything they want if it might help him survive a little longer. Even still, his method of being “cowardly one minute & brave the next” offers its own advantages by throwing his opponents off-guard so he can surprise attack them. He is innately filled with more reactive fear than the other Straw Hats, trying to avoid combat when possible, but would never try to escape a difficult challenge if people need his help.

Whole Luffy has many of the same immature & childish tendencies of both Usopp & Sanji, such as when he yells “ouchie” after being hit, he also has much of Zoro’s calm pragmatism, as well as Nami’s flexible morals. When Sanji calls him an idiot, he doesn’t respond or even acknowledge the insult because it doesn’t matter or affect the battle and Sanji is his friend so there is no malice to interpret, as far as Luffy is concerned. The Straw Hat captain uses clever methods, such as grounding his feet in the concrete, yells insults at Arlong, stay focused on the problem at hand, and will do anything he can to help the people he loves, ultimately embodying characteristics of the rest of the crew. In many ways, he may be learning how to be a better pirate from his own crew, but in another sense, he chose his crew based on their similarity to his own personality.

Last note, I talk a lot about how much reputation matters in the One Piece world, and I really enjoyed how Octojohn recognized Luffy as “that guy who likes to take walks.” Luffy was a new person on the island that Arlong’s crew had never met before, but they remembered as much as they could because of how much these details matter in the setting. If a new person only describes themselves as enjoying walks, then that becomes their own defining characteristic, something that other people would use to describe them, something that sets them apart from others. The way that we describe ourselves and each other absolutely matters in how we are perceived by others and how we perceive each other, as well as how people perceive people they have never met based on verbal descriptions. While this specific reputation is not especially vital, it is still an example of word-of-mouth rhetoric and how it spreads.

When Genzo asks “why would those men defend our village?”, he is displaying a sentiment shared by most, if not all, oppressed peoples of the world. After being trapped alone & without help for nearly a decade, the entire village has truly lost hope in salvation from the outside and has determined that others must be as selfish and self-centered as the pirates & Marines they have encountered in their lives. The Straw Hats represent something pure & unexpected in society: revolutionaries who truly care about all people & embody the notion that “until we are all free, we are none of us free” (Emma Lazarus). Of course, Luffy does nothing until Nami finally asks him for help, but this echoes a classic Buddhist parable.

The legend goes that a student approached a monastery and knocked on the door and asked to be taught and they told him to leave. He stayed, knocked again, asked again, and was again told to leave. He again stayed, knocked a 3rd time, asked a 3rd time, and they then invited him in to learn. I once experienced this exact tradition at a Hare Krishna temple in Florida, being repeatedly told they had no time to speak to me and leaving me on the porch with a book, but I persevered until after the sun had set and the monk eventually sat with me and helped me better understand our existence. Without using direct language, Luffy makes his desire to help Nami apparent and she rejects him time after time until she accepts his aid, at which point the Straw Hat crew is fully prepared to storm Arlong’s fortress.

Much of this episode explores the reality of corporations uniting with governments to extract wealth and labour from the common people. Arlong & his pirates represent corporations charging exorbitant prices for essential goods & services, and the Marines represent government agencies who aid & abet immoral & often criminal behavior from these corporations. Arlong makes promises to Nami, much like corporate advertising, but works with the Marines behind the scenes to prevent her from achieving her goals, much like government laws, regulations, & enforcement are typically enacted only to protect the capital of the elite and not to help the unwashed masses. Arlong paying tribute bribes to Nezumi is clear lobbying tactics to influence the government to act on his behalf instead of the regular citizens.

Nami begins with a healthy respect for the Marines as her surrogate mother was once enlisted, much like many Americans (& surely other countries) have personal connections to politicians & military veterans. These anecdotal experiences cloud their judgement into thinking these organizations serve the greater good. However, when the truth of their corruption is revealed to her firsthand, she finally grasps the symbiotic relationship between the pirates & the Marines and how they both serve only themselves, much like real world corporations & governments. After this is revealed to the other villagers, they collectively “awaken” as a society pushed too far and revolt against their oppressors without regard for their own personal safety, understanding that they “have nothing to lose but [their] chains” (Marx/Engel).

Last note, watching Nami attempt to cut off her own tattoo is reminiscent of people traumatized by awful situations outside of their control until they are conditioned to blame themselves for these problems and seek self-harm, both to punish themselves for what they perceive are their own mistakes and also to inflict violence against the only individual they feel they can attack. Bordering on mental illness, this self-harm can take many forms, including addiction & self medication, acting with reckless impunity for one’s own safety, wasting money & other resources, pushing away friends & loved ones, and much more, although it is sometimes just inflicting wounds on one’s own physical body. Nami’s trauma informs her actions not only in blaming herself for the fate of Cocoyashi, but also in rejecting help from the other villagers or the Straw Hats because she believes she doesn’t deserve their help. We see this same mentality in many people in the real world today.

A running theme in One Piece is excellently summarized by Bellemere here when she says “If you can smile in the face of it all, that is the greatest strength,” which is essentially the same thing Zeff said about Luffy’s a few episodes ago. This concept that confidence & a positive attitude are greater advantages than more typical assets is a powerful metaphor which not only pervades the show but also carries over into reality. As this contemporary string of Gen Z protests & revolutions across the world continues to grow, we can easily see their contempt for power shining through the darkness. When the young adults of Nepal placed the Straw Hat flag on their burning parliament building, it combined dark humour with real societal change and beckoned to the morals & ethics presented in One Piece.

Much like the Nepalese government’s corrupt actions collecting large wages for their families while the common folk starve and die, we see the Marines accepting bribes from pirates to look the other way while the pirates rob the people of Cocoyashi monthly. What’s more, we see them march into the tangerine field where Nami keeps her cache of treasure and demand she give them everything she has, even though they have never protected her or her fellow villagers from Arlong and his crew. This same tragedy is commonplace in America, as well, where the corporate elite’s politicians collect salaries, healthcare, & more, plus engaging in insider trading & accepting bribes from lobbyists, while they cut services to regular Americans, grant contracts to low-quality providers full of graft & greed, and waste taxpayer money on a fascist military that carries out violent corporate missions across the planet like simple mercenaries.

The young revolutionaries across Nepal, Indonesia, the Phillipines, & now Mexico echo a sentiment clearly stated by the Cocoyashi villagers in this episode: “If just one of us fights, they’ll blame us all, so let’s do it!” The individuals of the world are unstoppable when united because the elite ruling class relies on obedient subservience to carry out their authoritarianism. Isolated acts of protest or rebellion in the real world result in new draconian laws greatly restricting the freedoms of everyone, which we currently see across the United States, so people who try to stay neutral are still subjected to punishment and a loss of human rights.

However, if a peaceful place such as Cocoyashi is subject to attacks from violent outsiders, what protections can they expect without any type of unified government? A thriving business community selling fruit to merchants and such will inherently attract selfish types eager to steal their wealth and hoard their resources. It is a lofty goal to remove enough trauma & struggle from the world to eliminate theft & other crime as a whole, and so some type of protections seem necessary for any semblance of a cohesive society. The anarchist principle of “take anything, not everything” only works if everyone agrees to the mantra, yet an overbearing government is still perfectly capable of stripping wealth from a community without offering adequate services & protections in return. Somehow, people must be able to both create & control a system that maintains significant order without allowing for too much chaos.

This same episode gives us a glimpse into another easy failure of society that often creates these selfish thieves & pirates & criminals: poverty. When Arlong confronts Bellemere and the other villager tells Nami & Nojiko that they must run away and never come back if they want to live, Nami hits the nail on the head with her complaint of “It’s because we’re poor!” These two innocent orphans spent years developing a bond with their surrogate mother, only to be told they cannot continue on because they don’t have enough money. The privilege of sufficient family income does not only bring material goods, such as food & shelter, but it also allows for close emotional connection with one’s family. Parents that must spend more time at work making less money will have less time with their children and less energy to expend when they are with their children, creating a weaker familial bond among other shortcomings. 

The children raised in poverty have little to no control over these factors, but they learn quickly that money is more important than so many other things, including morals or ethics. In Cocoyashi, the other villagers never offer to use their money to pay the tribute so Nami & Nojiko can stay with Bellemere because they desire to keep their own material assets more than they wish to help the young orphans. As a result, Nami believes that becoming a pirate to steal gold & treasure will help her achieve her goals, but even then, the other villagers turn their backs on her. They refused to help her when she needed their money but when her trauma guides her to make her own selfish choice, they cast her out of the village entirely.

Last note, I wonder if all fish people are cold & cruel to humans. Is Arlong & his crew a small subset of this species or do they represent an accurate depiction of fish person culture? Perhaps it is an evolutionary trait which aids survival by eliminating the emotional attachments to kindness & empathy, or perhaps they are closer to wild animals which also lack empathy & kindness. In either direction, whether they have evolved from humans to no longer have those traits, or from animals who never held those traits, it certainly does seem objectively advantageous to have a complete lack of morals or ethics.

One of the opening lines about friends being synonymous with pain hints at a pessimistic mentality about an otherwise beautiful concept. When we form close bonds with others, we are being vulnerable and sacrificing emotional safety to feel deep connection with those other people. Whenever we become close to someone, there is always a risk of hurt or regret, but it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all (Tennyson). A person unwilling to take a chance on friendship because it may make them sad in the future will never experience an intimate relationship, missing out on a fundamental element of life. A yoga mantra I am fond of is “I am vulnerable. I am strong. I can be vulnerable because I am strong,” and I believe this applies to so much in our lives, including friendship.

Bellemere is a fascinating & compelling character, the likes of which we have not encountered on this One Piece adventure thus far. Her “tank girl” esque hairstyle sets the tone for a reckless & emotionally driven soul without fear but full of compassion for the world around her. The visual metaphor for her anger being the rainstorm which subsides to sunshine when she calms down really drives home the type of living situation her adopted daughters face each day, but sometimes we must ride our bicycle through the rain to remember how the sun shines (me). Her powerful emotions, potentially related to bipolar manic states, are highly relatable to me as I have known similar women & admittedly act that way myself on occasion.

I, too, completely left my old life behind when I had children, two daughters, who made me want to live again, even if everyone around me expected me to fail as a father and fall back into my old habits. I never enlisted in the military but I spent much of my life making dangerous choices without regard for the future, but also put effort & energy into improving the world around me in the small ways that I could. I learned many lessons firsthand and suffered in all types of novel ways for decades, considerably longer than Bellemere, before discovering a better way to live. When my daughters came into my life, it was easy to shift my entire personality & lifestyle to become a full-time parent without feeling a sense of loss for the person I left behind. Other’s perception of me had little bearing on my new choices or my dedication to give these 2 girls the best life I possibly can. All that to say, this episode really hit home & left me in tears. The villagers discussing how impressed with Bellemere was especially impactful as I navigate repairing relationships I never thought would return, but love & friendship often involve some pain we must overcome, as noted earlier.

Last note, watching the tangerines reminded me of the stark contrast between the term “berry” for currency & the literal paper cash we have seen used in the One Piece world, particularly lately by Arlong. He collects bundles of traditional money from the villagers as tribute and uses the same type of money to pay his bribes to corrupt Marines, yet he uses the term “berry” when discussing his deal with Nami. Is that just a slang term for paper currency that has developed or is a berry an official term for some sort of regulated money backed by a fruit bank or something?

Although we have previously seen the Marines to be generally corrupt, including the “rat” colonel who both looks like a rat & acts like the archetype often associated with the vermin, we do get an example of their battle prowess here. The single cannon shot flying right over the gates to hit Arlong directly in the face demonstrates supreme skill & ability, even though it is ultimately just a plot device to show how tough & resilient Arlong & the fish people are. Even unprepared, he is able to easily take the blow & stay not only alive but conscious & uninjured. For pretty much anyone else, such a shot would be mortally devastating, but this scene cements Arlong as a stronger opponent than most characters we have seen, some of which may be able to dodge such an attack, but Arlong takes it straight to the face. The fish people’s response of moving the coral reef to create a whirlpool seems like an artistic choice to handwave the physics & leave the audience as confused as the dying Marine, but perhaps I am misunderstanding the scene.

Much like previous villains, such as Gin, Arlong has his own code of honor & ethics that guides his choices, making him a fully-fleshed (pardon the pun) character despite first appearance. As we have discussed before, most people are grey actors without distinctly virtuous or evil lifestyles; like Mary Shelly said, very few individuals choose evil for evil but merely mistake it for the good they see in life. I will not be necessarily surprised if Arlong pulls some devious shenanigans in a future episode but he seems particularly committed to respecting the deal between himself & Nami. This dedication to honoring his word on all matters of money, of course, is not merely altruistic but in fact sets a strong precedent and reputation for dealing with anyone in the future who will believe his negotiations and not try to backstab him before Arlong backstabs them or whathaveyou.

Even though Nami has known the Straw Hats for a short time compared to the years she spent chasing her goal of owning Cocoyasi, she is quickly willing to take some risks to protect her new friends. Every human longs for personal acceptance from their friends & peers, and this crew has repeatedly shown that they genuinely see value in Nami as more than just a navigator so her attachment to the Straw Hats echoes this common desire for kinship and positive social interactions. Even when Johnny is recanting seeing her murder Usopp, Luffy is very quick to deny such things and defend Nami’s honor.

Last note, I know that Sanji’s somewhat creepy “love face” scenes are meant to be slightly comedic & fall within a classic Japanese anime trope, but it also makes sense for his character because he has probably never met a woman before. Working on the Baratie, he would have mostly interacted with sailors & pirates, of which we have seen very few women involved with. Luffy grew up in a port town or something, so he would have seen plenty of women in his life. Besides Kuina, Zoro is very worldly & likely has had romantic adventures in his past. Even Usopp had Kaya to give him some experience talking to a girl. This detail makes Sanji’s cringe behavior towards Nami & her sister contextually understandable.