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.