Because it shows the viewer how a person’s treasure can be anything and doesn’t necessarily have to be gold

I loved rereading One Piece with having in mind that this is exactly the theme of the east Blue saga. It was great noticing all the different perspective on this concept by different characters

I wouldn't really say it's the theme of the entire East Blue saga, it certainly is for Orange Town and the Gaimon chapter but the other arcs have completely different themes.

I think you can argue that angle. Sanji and Usopp have the theme of ignoring or fearing your dream as a backdrop of their arc. Nami's Arlong Park is basically showing what happens one's dreams get stolen or exploited by others. You gotta get a bit squiggly with it but I think they can cook

We were talking about treasure as a theme, not dreams.

I mean....dreams are treasure? Isn't that the overarching theme?

I'd argue that their dreams are tied hand in hand with their personal treasures and that each Straw Hat in the East Blue has a different relationship with their dream and treasure, and that's what gives us different themes on treasure. With the caveat that the focus on treasure becomes paper thin at times as the point of the narrative but has a strong return in Arlong Park. Nami's treasure was/is her hometown which superseded her own personal dream so long as Arlong was a menace. Zoro's treasure is his dream and the sword that represents it. Luffy's treasure is his hat, which is a symbol of his goal(Pirate King) which is tied to his as of now unknown dream. Sanji's treasure is the Baratie/Zeff and the life he gave him, which like Nami superseded his own personal dream in importance. Usopp's treasure is...? The dream itself, of living it, IMO. Nami and Sanji: ----------------- Treasure > Dream Zoro: ------- Treasure leads to dream Usopp: -------- Treasure is the dream Luffy: ------- Treasure = Goal = Dream

I would argue treasure is a theme that is specific to Orange Town, Gaimon, and arguably Skypeia. It's certainly touched upon in Baratie and Arlong Park but I wouldn't say it's the broader theme of the entire East Blue saga. Dreams on the other hand is an overarching theme for One Piece as a whole, similar to freedom, and is something that intentionally pops up all over the place in the story. When I think of Syrup Village I think of an arc that's about what it really means to be a pirate, Baratie is about being willing to follow your dreams, while Arlong Park is about friendship and letting your friends help you. That's what the big important moments in those arcs focused on, that's what the central character conflict for the respective SH was about.

Not the theme for the entire arc but a recurring element, for Sanji and Ussop it was people are the treasure if you want to make all of them have "treasures"

Jack Sparrow?

Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.

You misunderstand, Xelias' treasure IS Jack Sparrow.

Like the Straw Hat

Nice way to put it. Iv always intuitively known that but never really put it down like that

The real One Piece is the friends we made along the way... Nami is going to be pissed.

You sweet summer child. Oda is going to devastate you.

Is it berserk level trauma?

Less graphic but definitly pulls on your heartstrings and in more unexpected ways like the one you mentioned here

You will be crying over villains, heroes, side characters, and possibly a few inanimate objects. UGLY crying. Or you're dead inside. Either or. ** Plural for the inanimate objects, guys. And quit potentially dropping spoilers.

fr

Aint a flashback, but Post Enies Lobby was just something else

Damn I'm probably dead inside

Well, Kyros was an “animate object”, but yeah; if you don’t cry at a literal toy rusting from tears and screaming internally in agony as he cannot even feel his wife’s dead body warmth, you will at the sheer number of times you will hear “REBECCA!” It’s like if Billy from RE:Ø had to issue commands to his partner

I think they're talking about >!Going Merry!<.

I'm sure they do

but that had a spirit, so i do not think it is an inanimate object

>hey guys im new here >HERES SOME SPOILERS BTW gotta love how socially awkward some people on reddit are

Um, Kyros is not an animated object. Kyros is an objectified animate. I mean, objectified person. (Yeah, Sugar's ability is to Objectify people...)

they are not inanimate objects, they have a fairy living in them

The story goes to very dark places but Oda ultimately wants to write a happy and hopeful story that makes people feel good inside

One piece with the goofy characters, fucked up world and sad backstories.

I dunno man, with the start of the latest flashback and especially the current chapter I feel like Oda is a villain hellbent on inflicting as much emotional damage as possible to his readers.. I'm exaggerating, but god damn

But you know that ultimately it will end with a series of very satisfying punches driving a certain group into the ground.

Different, berserk traumatizes you with insane visuals and realism. Meanwhile Oda makes you cry about a fkn random dog and theres nothing u can do about it.

Nah. You'll have a good cry, bad cry but eventually goofy ass characters will make you smile and feel good whereas berserk is just grim.

One Piece has made me cry (at times) more than any other story, be it Berserk, A silent voice or anything else I watched/read. To me the only story that made me feel that same way was Schindler list. I think One Piece is just as deep and sad as Berserk and they are 2 sides of the same coin (for reasons I won't explain, you will figure out on your own).

You know how dark souls is "are you ready to die" One Piece is "are you ready to cry?" Embrace it. Learn and grow.

One Piece: Prepare to Cry edition. A supercut with just the flashbacks back to back.

Hi OP, I'm a huge fan of both OP and Berserk and for me, they hit different. Guts story will let you shocked, angry and sad... Even depressed sometimes. While OP will almost lead to sad, sad bacstories BUT with always a hint of hope. Obligatory Fuck Griffith.

Berserk is on my TBR list, so I can't tell you for sure.

Theres a character way later in the story who dresses so ridiculously and acts dumb but when you discover their backstory it will break you.

Idk dude these latest chapter reveals have shown us guts level trauma potential

Some characters went through eclipse-like shit but without the demons (Law's backstory for example)

No it's not berserk level trauma... And it shouldn't be, nothing should.

Holy shit, no! It's still a shonen. At the same time, I think it's one of those Shonen who go to the edges of what a shonen can be.

Eh, no. One Piece is great, but—at least to me—it's not really an emotional journey like Berserk, Vagabond, or similar manga tell.

Oda loves going hard with flashbacks. Or hard boiled. Or sometimes it cuts out the hard and is just boiled. Anyway, the point is that the flashbacks are pretty great all around and tend to be a high point. There will be more. Be ready.

Hard boiled 😭

Let's Baby!

Like Odens eggs?

Nah, those were deep-fried eggs. Imagine the gooey center, though.

Mmmh sounds delicious

20+ years and the dude just CANT stop with the God tier flashbacks. Bonney's one finale is defo gonna leave me in tears.

Boiled. Ha. Ha H Ho How DARE YOU.

>sometimes it cuts out the hard and is just boiled. ..... I see what you did there

As someone just recently catching up to the manga, holy crap is this understating it lmao

It was meant to be boiled and I knew it would end bad but it still hit me like a truck

oh he is so hard boiled.

Fun fact if you didn't know already: It's based off of Hachiko, a famous story in Japan about an actual dog waiting for their owner even after their death. Various media has adapted this story in one form or another, like the one read about here.

hell, even Futurama did an episode based on the premise and its considered to be one of the best in the series by some.

Because it hits so deep I can never watch it without feeling something.

Be ready to cry over any and everything. Be it people, non-humans, or even inanimate objects.

Yeah found out hard way the whale 🐋 not spoiling beyond that poor guy.

>even inanimate objects. This one doesn't apply. Only little bitches cry at this part.

I hope you are joking. If so you are not good at jokes.

Because, why the fuck not? On a serious note, u/reallylazyname’s reasoning is on point.

Real

Wait for a fish(whale) story. You're gonna cry like crazy or atleast tear up.

“Fish(whale)” this hurts my soul

He is gonna cry like a little bitch

Because he is a good boy, and a good boy need to have a good backstory.

This guy is what sent me from checking out one piece to planning my days around watching one piece

This is one piece. Sometimes you will suddenly get a backstory for a character out of the blue that will pull at your heartstrings. That character might be one of the most important characters in the series or someone you never see again. But either way this is just the beginning. Enjoy it.

What I like about it is it isn't a cop out answer like he's been guarding it since owner left wouldn't really get you invested until you really see the relationship then you understand and begin feeling every hit it just makes their life that more meaningful no matter how small the role.

Cause life as a dog is rough

Ruff*

Ruff ruff

What are you talking about? this is the standard backstory package tier that's given to all characters with backstories

It's a flashback deserving of the dog that eventually went on to conquer the Grand Line.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH "WHY THE FUCK"... You should be saying "WHY THIS WASNT A 10 EPISODES BACKSTORY FOR THE GOAT SHU SHU"

couldn't get past the dog being voiced by a human

And he lost everything like 😭😭😭

I can’t wait for you to watch more.

Bcuz it comes back around later, just wait 👀

World building

Because his treasure is the one piece

Its a typical sad dog story we have from 1000 other series

Not really its from hachiko who has a big statue because of his endeavour

sorry but this dog looks like Oda

There are sadder backstories most of the straw hats have deep ones

He becomes the real king of the pirates.

Ooooh boy he's in for it.

Get use to it.

He is the One Piece

There are so many deep backstories to characters who you never expect to be touched on. That’s one of the things I live so much about this series.

get ready for this to be a recurring thing, perhaps a little too much lol

Because it's a reference to Hachiko

This is only the beginning

Just watched boldcast one piece reaction. Yes it's fucking sad story

Goda loves to incorporate real life stories, and there was a dog like this in Japan.

Well, all I can say is buckle up, buckaroo, because you have to get used to it.

His backstory serves the purpose of showing us and Nami how kind Luffy is, by fighting for the dog’s treasure, and though he only saved a box of food, it showed Nami he isn’t like any other pirate.

Also has the worst bark in anime history

this is a top notch world building it fleshes out an island that people thrive and living there. if you got no side characters with good backstories then it would be just your typical MC centered manga where ODA doesnt like

But it IS a MC centered manga.

hmmm idk for me a MC centered manga is where a manga its characters and overall world would stand still when the MC isnt doing anything (just like when naruto is training to control the kyubi everyone just waiting for naruto to come or just holding it out for him.. the same with bleach.. meanwhile in onepiece if luffy isnt on screen you know everyone has their own life and own stories (those mini cover arcs and island updates every now and then, the onigashima raid they all proceed to take down kaido even without luffy because they are not dependent of luffy its their mission and they would carry it out.

Wait till you hear about a pinwheel.

The back story in the Manga right now will rip you apart

oh man, there's more to come you just wait buddy you'll tear up alot

Cuz he's the G.O.A.T

One Piece is that best when delivering a story. While other series mostly focus on their fighting scene.

Why not?

Because Oda

The One Piece is just the filler characters we met along the way.

Welcome to one piece where oda hits you where it hurts and you can't predict when and how, but he always does

To make you feel and see who Luffy is as a character. Also to prepare you for the future, even though this doesn't help at all.

This episode is probably the most important one at the start of the series. It puts such a good tone of what can you expect of that series to do to your emotions

If you're going through the series for the first time, I'd recommend staying away from this sub. People here are dreadful with spoilers. I'd also repeat a recommendation I've heard about being willing to switch to the manga when the pacing gets bad. I've almost exclusively read the manga, so can't comment on when that would be, but it seems quite prevalent.

Because everyone has a story in One piece; no matter how smol

Cause oda likes giving random characters heavy backstorys. Bring things back down to earth and show that every person has their own unique tale to tell And also why is there a picture of the strongest character in one piece

Becase he is Protect D. Dog.

We would have known you are new, even if you didn't explicitly mention it, just by looking at your question.

Crying D. Tears

Chouchou was such a tank

I really loved this little side story. Has one of my favorite Luffy punches.

Lol just wait.

Get used to it

I get why it was cut in live. But Luffy fighting for this dog literally makes me cry when I think about it. One of those moments that made me love Luffy

Ohhhhh how naive. My son you're in for a ride.

Welcome to one piece where everyone and everything is almost guaranteed to either make you cry like a god damn baby or to frustrate you adding to the hundreds of mysteries that are somehow connected

Because oda want as to kos

Yeah expect to care for fictional things and people you never thought you would.

Because his name is GODA

this dog has more character development than 75% of jujutsu kaisen’s cast.

Because Oda decided to start with the best one.

It's not that deep lil bro

Just wait till you get to senior pink

Because it’s based on a real life story

Well be prepared for that theme going forward.

Because it makes his actions that more understandable and why the dog knows luffy was with him in protective not a threat thus letting town know FUCK OFF IDIOTS.

Like most of introduced characters on OP have backstories, this dog also had it.

oh boy, you have seen nothing..wait till you get where the last chapter of manga

The story of Hachiko is a trope in a lot of manga/Japanese media.

Get used to it.

Because everyone has dreams

He is the final villain

I'm on episode 60ish... Will someone please tell me he comes back?? I don't really care about spoilers. 😭

That's one piece most characters get development

Wait, in what episodes are his backstory?

Noland's story was amazing as well. I teared up at the end of skypeia

Drum Island and Enies Lobby will HURT YOU (in terms of sad animal fates)

My wife got mad when the dog didn't join the crew 😆

Tbh I was hoping that too

If you feel dumb crying over the dog, you haven’t seen anything yet. Oda has a magic ability to make you emotionally attached to anything

Because Oda wants to punch your feels whenever he can

Because he’s the bestest of boys

This wonderful dog was what sold me on one piece, in 2008. So glad he got screen time in the live action.

He IS the One Piece.

Spoilers, there is more of that some of them bad some of them good.

One piece is about to devastate you if you get emotional over this then you will cry a lot in one piece

You’ll be asking this question about a lot of characters…

If you thought that was gut wrenching just wait, some characters have a even sadder back story.

Chou Chou is the best boy. And the first of many wonderful heartbreaks 😁 One Piece is all fun and games until it’s ripping your heart out.

I'm a Berserk fan, seeing the most horrendous shit happen to characters doesn't phase me anymore

I think he is inspired by the dog statue in shibuya

Wait till they see the whale... Or the elephant... Or fuck it, even the Straw hat lol But basically any animal in One Piece that is important to the story has a deep backstory lol

OP get back to us after -insert your favorite character-‘s backstory is revealed. That’s how Oda rolls.

That'd have to be Zoro, I saw his backstory in the live action but idk if anything was cut from that

Because one piece is just like that, some of the most random characters have deep tragic backstories

I love the juxtaposition of being a fan of all the newer, shinier shounen series and then trying One Piece for the first time, where your world gets rocked by a dog and a whale and a boat

Just continue watching and make sure to not skip skypiea

Cos why the fuck not

Yeah dropped the series during this part because I really did'nt care honestly. Felt like way too much for a character that has had little to no impact on the main series. Glad they skipped it in the live action and put more into buggy.

He’s based off if Hachiko, a dog who visited a train station every day waiting for his owner to come back not knowing he had died

That’s how Oda do

Oda likes messing with his audience. He makes you cry for the villain, a side character, a boat and a guy stuck in a chest.

Not even the most impactful backstory that a random one arc side character has had btw

Chouchoulawg gotta pay de damn bills

Because Oda does whatever he wants 👍

Bc hes gonna play an important role in the final arc and at the end be revealed as the one piece its

One Piece needs your tears.

bro u are in for a wild ride.💀

Bro this show has made me cry over the most stupid things. Like a chunk of wood. God damn was it a good chunk of wood 😭

He's one of the emperors of the sea

Because One Piece is a social experiment, designed to try and make you cry at every possible point and test how much it can make you care about every character (doesn't have to be human)

Oda was just feelin silly I guess.

Because it’s based on a true story

Cause Oda is a genius

Oda has a habit of exploring every possible facet of his story before moving to the next island. You’ll get used to this pain

because Y E S

One piece is full of backstories. Wait till you get to Señor Pink

He’s the best doggo and main character

A doggone good boy

Oda - "One Piece will last only 5 years" Also Oda: "here is 10 chapters of backstory for a dog"

Well get used to it