good essay; PLEASE understand that Okama does not mean a gay man. Okama means a person of the male sex who dresses in gender-non-conforming clothing; in English terms, this means this group of people includes drag queens, male cross dressers, transgender MtF, and queer individuals of the male sex....so anyone who was born male and does not identify with societal norms of what it means to be a man in Japanese society. The female sex version/wording of this is Onabe; ie. a person of the female sex who dresses in gender-non-conforming clothing; in English terms, this means this group of people includes drag kings, female cross dressers, transgender FtM, and queer individuals of the female sex....so anyone who was born female and does not identify with societal norms of what it means to be a woman in Japanese society. So Okama literally means queer and male at birth. Onabe means queer and female at birth.
Ther is a bit that crocodile allowed Bon curry to be Mr 2 and the female partner. Bon clay canoonically in that structure, is both. So bon is, both , or enby, anyways just not a gay man. croco allowed bon to be mr 2 and female partnr. Which why by the way is croco so progressive?! Just to add another croco thing.
17:00 I think one important thing people overlook is that ALL characters in OP are designed to be loud, extreme and bordering on caricature. Zoro's muscles? Nami and Robin's breasts? Sanji's suits? Chopper's cutenss? It's all cranked up to 11 and so are other characters.
I think Bon Clay being so conventionally visually off putting is a good thing. Sometimes it feels like to be accepted queer characters have to be attractive. Bony Clay's character design makes people go 'yikes' when they first see him, yet he wins everyone over with his great personality that shines through, to the point where you just learn to accept his outward appearance.
And I feel sort of the same for Ivankov! The citizens of his island are uhh...well, I'm on the fence about them, but Ivankov himself is someone that just seems so incredibly off with having basically every "out there" part of Raizo's physique but with giant cotton candy hair and the decorations of a stripper, but then you actually get to see him interact with other characters and he turns out to be...a really chill dude! It's why I kind of prefer the male form over the female one, the latter has that sort of moment of "wooaaahhh, Iva's sexy now?!", but the former never really has a moment where it *isn't* a smack in the face, and I think that's something Oda's pretty good with!
Lemme tell you something. I live in NYC and there are 1000% people who dress and put on makeup that bombastically on a daily. I think anyone who lives in a major world city would say they regularly see people dressed in a Bon Clay/Brook/Doffy style. (I think because it's less likely they'll be hate crimed on tbh) I truly see nothing wrong with how Bon Clay/Ivankov/etc are depicted in the first place because if people had the freedom to do what they wanted without being hate crimed on you would 100% see more people dressed to the absolutes. Also just like Bon Clay once you get to know one, I find they tend to be some of the most fun-loving and cool people ever.
I like "Dr Mrs The Monarch" from Venture bros for a similar reason, she's outwardly very feminine (because she is just a cis woman) but she has a very deep voice, its not even played for jokes a lot really and its kinda weird at first but you just get used to that voice coming from that body like noone there pays it any mind, and none of the viewers do either. Now obvs she isnt queer but you can see how this sorta plays into trans acceptance and people not being weirded out because some trans fem has been slacking with her voice training lol
I once saw someone saying Oda's presentation of queer people as "He seems to think queer people are freaks, but he also appears to think that being a freak is awesome" and I can't help but agree with that.
@@eliasbtzr I remember a certain scene (might be slightly misquoted): chopper: "what is a rubberman?" sanji: *smiling* "a monster!" (after chopper had been so ashamed to be a 'monster')
Something that always struck me as interesting and important is Luffy using honorifics when addressing and talking about 'Iva-chan' and 'Bon-chan'. Luffy remembering people's names is already pretty much the ultimate sign that he respects them, but he rarely ever uses honorifics. The fact that he clocked Iva and Bon Clay and immediately started using the more diminutive, typically more feminine 'chan' for them says to me that even beyond just thinking people should be able to live how they feel most free, he instinctively starts to support and validate that freedom.
This is definitely one of the reasons that I love love Luffy so much as a main character. Some other shonen characters are seen as being a little slow, a little dumb, just happy vibes without much brain. Luffy may not be the smartest of the group, and I do love watching him get confused over basic things, but something he does really REALLY well is understanding people. He has a natural talent for reading people. We see this with him immediately knowing when he’s met someone that he wants to be part of his crew. “I don’t know them, but they’re just the person I need.” He’s always good and kind and respectful to people who he gets good vibes from, and he has no shame in addressing them in a way that fits. Luffy is 100% the guy who does and says things to support others with zero embarrassment or shame, because he knows he’s in the right hahaha 😂
@atsukorichards1675 but "-chan" IS feminine. The normal way for a man to address another man would be "-kun" or "-san". If a man addressed another man with "-chan" it could be incredibly insulting unless they're good buddies doing it for a laugh. Because Bon is queer though, and presents himself in a very feminine way, it's sweet and respectful of Luffy to recognize that and use a feminine way to address him, rather that "-kun".
As an ace person, once I realized that the main character of the biggest manga in the world was ace (or at least coded, but until recently we really couldn't expect anything better) helped me a lot in accepting my identity. Also, the fact that One Piece puts so much weight in platonic relationships and not romantic ones made it a HUGE HUGE comfort. Because One Piece makes it very clear that these characters absolutely love each other without them being related or having any romantic expectations. And that is so beautiful and comforting.
Honestly, I was going through the comments of this video specifically to find a comment like this one- the fact that platonic relationships and friends being like that of a family is such a big thing in the series is one of the main reasons I've always had a respect for the series, despite not having the time nor energy to watch or read the whole series myself. As someone who is specifically aromantic asexual, the strawhat crew's friendship is quite honestly one that I hope to find myself in as time passes, and I have found that many of my other queer friends wish as well, whether do to their "original family" being unfitting or not. Even if none of the strawhat crew are canonically queer in any way, their love and respect for one another and their dreams is something that deeply resonates with me.
Funny retrospective… I was really into one piece before I’d ever even knew being aro-ace was an option, but the friendship portrayed was such a big draw factor for me
Ace rep is so difficult to find. Usually it's found in robotic or non-human characters, which doesn't have great implications. So to have Luffy, a protagonist who is technically _the most human to ever human_ thanks to [Spoilers lol], be asexual is freaking fantastic. Sure, some people will brush it off as "he's just too goofy to ever consider relationships!", but even though his personality is indeed silly at times and totally unlike my own personality as an ace/aro person, he's the kind of rep we desperately needed to subvert the stereotype of the unfeeling, inhuman robot that is forever unfufilled because "they can never understand _real_ love so they'll never understand what it's like to _really live,_ and isn't that just so sad to think about?".
A subtle detail that I love about Kiku as a trans woman is how she and Izo being siblings shields her from some transphobic talking points. Both of them are biologically male and were raised to perform while dressed as women, as seen when they met Oden, but while Kiku eventually came out as a trans woman, Izo continued to regard himself as a male, all while showing that he is not ashamed of his upbringing, seeing as he still wore lipstick every time we saw him. This shows that Kiku's trans identity doesn't come from how she was raised, and is simply who she is.
Whitey Bay was on his main crew as we saw in flashbacks, so even if Whitebeard himself said "he sent the women away before the fighting started", his choices in the past spoke otherwise. So i don't think Izo's identity choices was tied to Whitebeard either
I really like quote by Bon Clay, “one may stray from the path of a man. One may stray from the path of a woman, but there is no straying from the path of a human!” You can choose your own life, you may identify as masc or fem or neither, but it will never make you less of a person. One Piece pushes the belief that existence isn’t a crime and rightfully so. You are always worth it, even if the people around you don’t see it
honestly I'm just greatful Oda even tries. I love these characters and even though there might be some flaws in something or another it's still a million times better than what western media is able to put in their popular shows most of the time.
100% this, i'm bi and trans and while i understand why some people feel differently i tend to think the spirit of the thing matters a lot more than whether everything about it is... idk, perfect i guess? (and what's 'perfect' is EXTREMELY in the eye of the beholder anyway). it's very clear that oda cares and is trying and i really do think that's what matters most here.
Every One Piece character has flaws, they just overshadow them with their wholesomeness. This is why they're great, they're not perfect, they're special.
Oda literally wrote about a lgbt paradise in prison where people are fully free to express themselves, transition, and party. How do people miss the importance of lgbt characters and how they reinforce the theme of freedom in the story?
So basically, Oda is the " doesn't entirely get it but his heart is generally in the right place" guy when it comes to queer representation. Yeah, it checks out. It is clear that he has respect for the community. "Queers never die" is a mighty slogan, and I for one feel empowered by it. Fantastic video, Melon!
This pretty much describe me well, I don't get nor care too much about representation, but when I think an idea is fun, say genderfluidty or Intersex, then I'd do it.
Yeah. Someone who has a lot of love and acceptance, but doesn’t really know how to express it appropriately. But I find it all the more important that we treat those people with love and acceptance in return, even if they fuck up and say something offensive. (Obviously not if they’re just a bigot tho).
Nah he gets it perfectly, it's just that most audiences don't get it or misunderstand some aspects. For example most people feel like the crossdressers that Sanji meet in the Kamabanka Kingdom are offensive representations, but most people don't realize exactly why they look the way they do. Those crossdressers have Ivankov as their ruler and Iva is perfectly willing to use his Devil Fruit for Sex changes, but they still look the way they do 2 years after Iva returns to their Kingdom. Those characters look the way they do by choice, which is very interesting thematically, and is also similar to Mr 2, who could be using his power 24/7 to look like a woman, even mix several different factions to create his perfect composite female face that would not be equal to anyone else's. Hell even without going into his Devil Fruit, Mr 2 has enough skills with make up and disguise that if he so chose he could look as feminine as he wants. But the reason why these characters look the way they do is because they chose to look like that. Okama is slang for a gay man, but the literal translation for the term would be crossdresser, aka someone that dresses and acts as the opposite sex. Not looking like a woman from the get go could be argued to be a necessary step to be a crossdresser, if a character already looked as the opposite sex and behaved as such then that would be more akin to a transexual character, like Kiku. So yeah, Oda gets it perfectly, it's just that the brilliant bastard loves being subtle and leaving every single bit of evidence layed out for people to find and organize on their own.
Without any exageration, i have never EVER met or even read a post of someone saying they dislike Bon Clay in the slightest, i can only imagine how good that character did for queers, he's so loved both in the story and by the fandom that it probably helped open a lot of minds up, he's such a fantastic character.
I have one big problem with Bon Clay and it's the scene of him taking on Nami's form and showing her tits to the whole crew without her permission. I think if it wasn't for that he'd be a cool character but it's the only thing I can think about when he's mentioned and it gives me the ick
I've actually read a few comments on reddit from people who aren't queer saying that Bon-chan actually helped them work through their own homophobic views as they were growing up. Some people think that's "cringe" now I guess, but I think that's pretty neat.
@@kitty6113 I'm sure he did, and it makes me think the fact that he's soo cartoonishly queer has a weird positive of creating that situation where people who may hate queer people now have a character like this that they can't help but love... even if he completely embodies something they dislike to such a ridiculous degree, so yeah, i'm sure a lot of people changed their mind at least a bit about queers because of him, even if they didn't really realized it.
Sooo... you tell me... Homophobia finally is on the point? I mean... homophobia means "afraid of gay people"... and if you are afraid of Iva... well you are more Transphobic... but yk... wtf i am writing here?!
It’s freedom. The story has been always been about freedom. Everyone against that, has never understood the story. And sadly, there’s people who truly have never gotten there
I've recently started buying the manga after watching the anime for years as it aired, I'm currently like 3 volumes in, so shits still very fresh in my memory. Oda pretty much spells it out, multiple times, from the very start. The fact that freedom is the point of the whole series is not subtle in any way. So anyone who fails to catch on to that really has no excuse.
Even considering freedom, is not simply "FREEDOM" a some concept that exists in a vacuum not affected by reality and social reality. Most of the tines Luffy acts he does it to make someone unable to pursue their dreams because of one reason: they doing it by destroying other people lifes, Buggy, Kuro, Crocodile, Moria... all had dreams but where doing it by hurting people. It js about thenfreedom to pursue someone dreams.
Exactly, even Luffy refused to be a hero because that would mean he can't be free to do what he wants and that he wants "all the meat". He refuses to have his freedom constrained by being the good or the bad guy, he wants to be himself. Also he admired Roger because him being able to navigate every sea of that world made him the most free dude ever.
The thing on Bon Clay's coat actually says "Okama Way". Its their creed that they live by, much like how the Admirals of the series have their creeds like "Lazy Justice" and "Absolute Justice" plastered on their back. Also, something that I love is how all the numbered baroque works members are a male, female duo but Bon Clay is the only who doesn't since they are both.
As an aroace person, Luffy's character is one that brings me a lot of comfort. I feel so validated when Luffy has reactions similar to those I would have in sexual/romantic situations, and all of his crew being so accepting of the fact that he simply does not care about any of that is just amazing.
I'm a straight cis guy and I love Kiku. She gets her arm cut off, has the wound cauterized by a flaming sword, and then says "Tis but a scratch". She's such a badass. If Zoro did that shit, we'd never hear the end of it. And yet despite her being such a next level gigachad badass, she's still portrayed in a very traditionally feminine manner.
This isn’t my original idea, but I saw a comment that basically said that, yes, her character shines through via the way Zoro and Sanji feel about her. Sanji fawns over her (not knowing her biology) due to her kindness, care and loving nature. But then, Zoro juxtaposes this by allowing her to shine as a samurai, and doesn’t treat her like a damsel, as Sanji would. By doing this, Oda simultaneously deeply affirms her gender identity as a woman, but doesn’t portray womanhood as weak or lesser, in the way those two characters treat her.
I Never understood how people have a problem with this whole gender thing. I don’t get it but I really don’t care what people do. Do what you need to do to become happy but don’t be mad at me because I don’t care
@@inkognito3145 people never had a problem with genders , they do have a problem with the international medic board artificially ramping up new mental conditions to sell placebos and make more money . They also cooperate with the academic administration to teach useless degrees that are not profitable or useful but they still sell the courses to make bank . The problem is the capitalization of it , which also makes entertaiment show the 1% as if it was the 60%
"If Zoro did that shit, we'd never hear the end of it." So you are saying Zoro can't stop talking about what happened on Thriller Bark, the "Nothing Happened" scene? What you said about Zoro is a load of bull. Zoro has been through a lot of trauma but he never talks about it!!!
As a gay man, I never minded Bon Clay's appearance because it is "stereotypical" although it was not presented in a mocking way. Bon clay is respected and loved for what he is and some gay people like to wear more over the top looks. Not every gay man needs to be masculine. They just need to be respected by what they are and by the author
True i never really processed it as offensive its like oh cool outfits and as a straight man (probably idk) its easy to not notice it when the acting and their personality is so immersive
I feel like something we can explore if oda decides is why bon clay wears the homosexual coat. Because it could be like the scarlet letter. Where he wears it like a yeah I'm queer, and I'm here.
Exactly this, people who dress stereotypically exist. And Bon Clay as a character isn’t stereotypical. In impel down him fighting off wolves with his six pack out is badass. That’s not usually a stereotype we see in media for gay characters, the effeminate ballerina dude fighting like a demon for his friend. Bon clay may have a stereotypical appearance but his character is far from it. ❤
I think we need to consider with Bon clay & Ivankov, that if their visuals are stereotyped designs but there character doesn't lay on negative stereotypes. Then the purpose of the design is more to make sure the character can't be erased by audience members who find themselves uncomfortable with queer characters. You can't look at Bon clay and say someone is "projecting their queerness onto the character" because the characters visuals force the audience to accept the queerness at the gate. So when the audience are exposed to the positive aspects of the Bon clay's character, the queerness can't be erased for close minded comforts. If you are going to be a fan of these character you will be a fan knowing they are queer.
yhesss, i also see this point/perspective! it reminds me of punk. so many of punker queer buds are loudly/obnoxiously/amazingly flagging ""queer/faggot/trans/ACAB/ANTIFA/Nooneisillegal/no peace on stolen land/EatTheRich"" patches/outfits. I would wear bon clays outfit 24/7 if the lesbian in me didnt think it wasnt practical or if the gay fairy within me wasnt so worried my outfit would get dirty/ruined 😂 Like, i get that these character designs are stereotypical, but it's true:We ARE fABULOUS!! those outfits and looks are fire. The stereotype fits hunny. this would be a different story if those outfits were trash...
I really love that interpretation because there countless of characters that are obviously gay, only for people to strongly deny that because "they don't look queer, hence they aren't"
And Oda has written Bon's first appearance 23 years ago in JAPAN to boot, where the general public even in the west was barely acknowledge or accept even LGB. He is truly leaps and bounds beyond most as a writer and a human being.
I love that about them. I UNDERSTAND that it may be uncomfortable how they are portrayed on the outside (specially if you are queer), but it really amazes me that their characters are amazing and loved by (almost) everyone 😭 if anyone says something bad about them, I know for sure that they are not watching the same story as me, anime/manga is very biased and I really appreciate the way Oda made people (that were probably minority hating) LOVE these characters and what they represent, hopefully translating that to real life
I find the LGBT to be the ones that like to erase the stereotypes since they believe them to be "harmful" without ever really getting into specifics. And there are plenty of characters with gay characteristics that simply aren't in terms of both story and artist intention which the pride bashers like to ignore.
I was watching the live action series with my Nana and when it showed Luffy glance away when Kaya and Usopp kissed, she turned to me and said, "Aw, did Luffy like Usopp like Kaya did?" and I started to laugh and I said, "No, Nana, Luffy's asexual like I am". She said she had never heard this term and asked me about it. We had a nice discussion about asexuality and aromanticism and she was very accepting, Moreso than my own mother. It was a nice moment that I'll never forget.
oh, fucking mood. sanji was my awakening. picked up smoking because of my embarassing crush on a fictional character, which was probably the stupidest idea of my life but no regrets.
One of the funnier reasons why I think Yamato is a transgender man is with the General Franky test. In every single piece of one piece media, from the anime, manga, movies, and specials, anytime that Franky busts out his mech, the boys go absolute ape shit because "boys like robots" (something like that was said before iirc), whilst the girls just go deadpan silent. Trust me, go watch the intro to General Franky when he first busts it out in Fishman Island, at the end of the Punk Hazard arc with the giant children, Film Gold, Heart of Gold, there's probably others but I can't remember rn, each time without fail, when the guys go crazy for it, the girls just go ://. HOWEVER, in Wano, when Yamato encounters General Franky, he looks on in absolute wonder with stars in his eyes. This is the undeniable truth to the dilemma.
@@sillycookieyes, but tomboys are a thing. Yamato can be a woman with interests commonly associated with men. That doesn't make her a man. Otherwise we fall down the, girls only play with dolls cliff. And ya don't want that do ya
I don't know exactly why, but Oda saying like "i don't know, that's just how Luffy goes" and calling it a day kinda makes the ace codding even MORE strong. Many people on the ace spectrum feel like they are broken until finding the lable, but many just shrug and go "thats how i go" and live as they see fit, only finding about the sexually years after and going "well, that actually explains a lot". And i don't even talk about the ABSOLUTE ace family goal that the strawhats are :v
Lmao- that'd EXACTLY what I was like. I knew I was different, but I didn't care. I was happy when I found the label, of course, but in the end I kinda always knew.
i also identify with the shrug response. however i felt pressure to find a label from outside pressures which i then internalized as " something must be broken within me if i can't/don't want to ..... " and I found some solace/relief in the label of ace/the ace spectrum. However, now i see that I feel resentful of feeling the need to label a part of myself when I was originally happy with my shrug response!
I really like having the label, but I also have years of trauma of not having my support needs met because my parents refused to tell me about the neurodevelopmental disorder they had known about since I was three months old. Also I'm demi instead of fully ace, so I don't really ever describe myself as fully ace (I'll just leave it as "on the asexual spectrum"), the label is mostly for myself and for people who are curious enough to ask for specifics
If you ask me, Luffy seems Aromantic too, because he never seemed to be falling in love with boa or even notice anything she did that was to praise him and to show him affection, he always shook it off as her being very grateful or friendly towards Luffy, he's never been seen in love with anybody even in the slightest from what I could gather, but I might be wrong on this in some form or way.
It is true, but Oda said that Luffy has no love interest for now. Which means that he can feel romantic love, he's just more focused on his dream rather than his future love.
I once had someone genuinely try to tell me that neither Kiku nor Ivonkov are queer characters. I have never before wondered so strongly if the person I was talking to had even read the same series as I did. I think a reason why queerness in one piece isn't discussed is possibly because of people like this, who just simply refuse to acknowledge it.
@@Pinko-Diamond yes lmao, it did not matter to them. I was genuinely baffled. they said, and I quote "he just switches his gender occasionally such as to gain an advantage in fights." and no amount of evidence could convince them otherwise
I'd liketo think that these characters feel more like a person than any nowadays queer characters, who only exist to gain traction. They have their goals, beliefs and dreams, they are important to the plot and actively do something against or for it. They just feel more like other characters and they're as goofy as the others. I think with how strange the one piece world is... The fact that having a character (ivakov) look so stereotypical queer doesn't make them stand out as they would in the real world is really fascinating and beautiful. I for myself too didn't noticed at first ivankov was queer, though i thought about them being trans, but thought noway. It's all sub councious tho. But once someone straight up told me that... It clicked and it all made sense.
I love that even villains like Croco-boy and Kaido still respect people's gender identity. Like Bon-chan declairs themself, neither man nor woman so Croc says "sure you can have both codenames then" and even Kaido still calls Yamato his son, only really being upset at the Oden cosplay
Part of Crocodile accepting Bon Clay might be because of Crocodiles history with Ivankov. Ivankov knows one of Crocodiles weaknesses, so a theory is that Crocodile is trans as well.
kaido respecting yamato's choices might actually be bad writing. ok, hear me out before you come swinging. kaido is presented as the uber-gruff, no-nonsense psychopath until the exact moment he has a beer in him. i think it would be better writing if he was also just a complete piece of trash. he disrespects and kills underlings for zero reason, why would he respect yamato's gender identity? the way i've said it in the past is "feed my son? i'll kill you. call my son a girl? i'll kill you." it's inconsistent with the rest of kaido's character. so, here's the thought. everyone respects yamato and calls them "kaido's son", except for kaido. kaido calls them "child" or "daughter", _until he gets drunk._ then he starts calling yamato his son, but backpedals and says "daughter". see, the thing is, kaido when drunk is a much more accepting person, so it would be interesting if he accidentally accepted yamato while drunk, but otherwise didn't accept their choice.
yamato is a girl and does not identify as a man. She admires Oden and wants to be like him, just as everybody tries to identify with their hero. kaido puts this on her because he doesnt want to have a daughter. shes the best example of a reall strong woman in current ficiton literature. of course she is not joking when saying she wants to be oden, and the whole thing is not meant as a joke. From my inyterpretation, yamato demonstrates how women have always been belittled and the ongoing fight for gaining the same appreciation. She wins against traditional gender roles. Dont get me wrong, if oda would make a definitive statement about his/her gender, i would take it as it is. but alone the fact that kaido gave his daughter a male name supports the fact that he did not want to have a girl in the first place. One of my favorite themes to talk about, as I am a strong supporter of female empowerment, contrary to accepting man as better in the first place. PS: she says she 'chooses' to be a man because oden was a man too. what a ridiculous reason that would be to be considered actually transgender.
I'm a trans person myself, Talking about the scene where ivankov turns a guy into a woman against his will. The guy who came to kill ivankov, was upset because he felt he humiliated his father for turning him into a woman when he returned home to them. His son did not wanna accapt that. However, it is explained that his dad wanted to be a woman himself and came to ivankov. I felt ivankov made the guy a woman to teach him a lesson, on what it's like to be stuck in a body you're not comfortable with, in order to better understand his father, because he did not respect his decision and only saw it as humiliation. I might be heavily overthinking it, but that's how I like to see it at least.
Honestly, I really like that view! A lot. It makes me feel better about that scene, because I felt weird about it when watching it. At the time, it felt like an uno-reverse-card to that thing where a queer person is forced into a standardized cis box. Like they had forced someone out of their gender like they had been when forced by the people who rejected them. And all I could think was, "Why do the same thing to him that he wanted to do to you?" Because while that is an understandable way to handle that kind of attack, I don't like going down to their lows. And that was only compounded by time spent very soon after on Kamabaka Island. Kamabaka Island was described as THE safe haven for queer people. So when Sanji is there, and reacting...less than amazingly...but mainly in rejection of something he's not comfortable with and has the island's inhabitants fight very hard to force a dress onto him, I didn't like it. It felt like they'd escaped oppression just to take part a similar oppression in a place where they held the majority instead. Like a, "Hah! I have the high ground now! Suffer like I suffered!" To be just as unaccepting as the people whom they came here to escape from... It was a disconnect for me. It rubbed me the wrong way and my sentiment with it was: When someone shoves you into a box, that doesn't make it right to reciprocate by putting them in the same position-because then, you're just as bad as them. But by explaining the whole thing with that gun guy situation as a much needed experience to better understand those he was seeking a misguided revenge against makes it feel less sour. It makes takes away that disconnect and gives it a logic I couldn't see before. What Ivancov did was not for revenge, but rather for teaching a point of view that someone was blind to-and would never understand otherwise. It was to teach that guy empathy. So at the end of this long ramble, I just want to say, thank you for saying that. It cleared up an unease I had!
I also get the sense that Iva has a sense for this stuff. He doesn't transition the very fluid Bonclay, and leaves Luffy alone too, but correctly identifies the Impel Down guard and transitions her immediately. As for the person who was forced, they seemed to have reacted indecisively when they saw their new body and Iva claims that it seems their heart wasn't ready just yet, implying that the prince was in the closet (?) Iva also never did anything to any of their revolutionary buddies, so forceful transition isn't something they do willy nilly.
A bit late to the party - but I just rewatched Impel Down. Ivankov also invites the now woman to the Newkama Land. If the disgraced prince/ss would have stayed, she could have easily asked Iva to turn her back into a man and live their however they please. It really feels like it was just a move to teach this person a lesson.
I think Ivankov more rejects/accepts all genders. Body dysphoria isn't much established in the series, while going drag and other different gender expressions are. Both figuratively and literally anyone can be any gender/sex for Ivankov and he celebrates the idea. Beyond just being a convenient plot device to showcase Iva's abilities, the former prince was probably an example of Iva's philosophy of the Newkama and how the man was too attached to the norm in his eyes. "Embarrassed for being lady-like now? Why the hell would you, weak much?! Hee-haw!"
At least with Sanji he was exclaiming loudly, proudly, and very wrongly how much he loved flowery dresses. It's a misunderstanding at best. Granted the girls should've stopped when he said no, consent is king and all that. I did want to see Sanji in a dress though, he'd absolutely pull it off especially with long elegant gloves and a very low back. If the man wears a suit he can wear a sleek ball gown.
I'd like to bring up the topic of Inazuma, which is Iva's left hand person, whom is extremely genderfluid. Every other page or panel, he's asked Iva to flip his gender... Or rather her sex? Not sure, but each time they appear, unless it's the same scene, he has gone she or vice versa, and nobody comments on that, which I love.
I'm so so so happy that Kiku is in One Piece, she's lovely. With how it's implied Kiku used to put her feelings aside and bathe with Oden and the others in the past, I like how her being the one to ask Nami to join her in the bath shows she has grown more confident in her identity.
I'm not going to lie. There was a moment during Impel Down when Mr. 2 mentions Ivankov for the first time. Luffy responds like "The queers have a queen?". I paused it and laughed for maybe more than a day. The joke was just right there for decades, but it took One Piece to make it happen.
Hi I am a japanese bisexual woman viewer and I want to make a few notes about the original translation. Okama is a slur for trans people in japanese, that is also used against queer people generally. Directly translated, most one piece english translations have taken away the negative connotation, but in japanese media, the word has ABSOLUTELY been a slur. So for bon-clay, its not labeling them as gay or whatever, its literally calling them a (I'm typing this out with asterisks so its very clear what slur this would translate to) T****y. However, I don't think there are any words at all to describe trans people in japanese without using the word "okama", so I personally dont pin this as Oda's transphobia, rather transphobia coded within the japanese language itself. in short, lots of transphobic and homophobic jokes, slights, and stereotypes are made in japanese that are coded out in english translation and captions to make the characters more accepted, IMO. TBH i am a huge history buff and major in sociology and social justice, and also love anime, so I feel so seen to have this discussion, and love to give my two sense on the topic as a japanese american viewer. I wish I could talk to you as I was watching the video lmao, looking forward to your next vid!
I was searching for a japanese academic intake on gender representation in shonen manga for a long time, really nice to find it here! Usually, due to the fact that I don't speak japanese, I only watch english speakers (normally western based ones) videos. I have a question, if you are willing to answer... Don't you think, usually, that the western take on gender always resumes the topic to "identity"? Wouldn't the kind of analysis that this video makes benefit from understanding gender also from "performance" perspective?
I have a masters in anthropology, and recently been interested in how the concept of "bushido" (really sorry in advance if I have spelled it wrong) could be appearing in different performances of masculinities being protraited in shonen manga over the years.
Great explanation. I was going to comment something similar. The Japanese language, at least in the mainstream, does not have good ways to distinguish gender and sexuality. Prior to "gay" and "LGBT" being borrowed into the language, there seems to have been just this coded assumption that all homosexual men were okama and therefore feminine or transgender. Gay men and trans women are routinely lumped into the same category in media depictions. And gay women, of course, just Don't Exist (linguistically) because of sexism and comphet.
@@pyrrhicvictoly thats so true, btw, I had no idea that "gay" and "LGBT" were adopted words! is that like english words directly being used in japanese or has there been japanese slang created to describe queer people without using derogatory language? When did this happen? So curious
@@christianthorstensen386 I think i see what you're saying, and yeah, i feel most media worldwide talks about gender as identity, which is totally fair, but a lot of gender theorists (judith butler) makes a lot of good points about gender as performance. But honestly, if i were to talk about gender as performance, it would probably need a LOT of context to drive home the fact that we are all free to perform whatever gender we like, to live out our identity. I see what you're saying, performance is important, but for what the video is, i would say that focusing on identity makes the most sense. The concept of performance can be a slippery slope of implications without the proper context, so for a youtube video, where you need to be straightforward, the popular identity concept was probably the right call here.
Growing up, I was raised with the belief that being on the LGBTQ+ spectrum was a sin. I remember around my middle school years, when I was really trying to decide whether or not this was right, I had started watching One Piece due to a friends recommendation. I remember seeing Bon Clay and having a somewhat negative reaction to him, but overtime as I got to impel down, I found myself absolutely appreciating him as a character. It wasn’t the sole reason for my acceptance and appreciation for LGBTQ+ people, as I mostly attribute that to the friends I’ve made and who have helped me grow as a person, but Bon Clay and Ivankov remind me of how much I have grown past that since then. I absolutely love them as characters and I appreciate and fully support the LGBTQ+ community now!
I remember getting so much push back to saying the scene of Nami and Vivi in the bath at the end of alabasta and Nami's relationship with vivi in general had heavy queer vibes. makes me so happy knowing it wasn't just me
With Bon Clay it feels so comforting that they embrace the softness and "cuteness" of their clothes and makeup as just that, while still being an extremely strong and fierce person, like theyre just saying "yeah i like cutesy clothes, soft colors and nice makeup, but i WILL kick your ass if you get funny with me"
Absolutely love this video. Especially touching on the fact that oda is, well, a cishet Japanese man. He's a little confused, but i think he genuinely has a deep respect for the queer identity; being silly and free is literally the entire point of the story. I was hoping you'd talk about Luffy, too. The idea that oda especially doesn't understand what he's done there is hilariou; i love it
I think it’s so interesting how often times the unwillingly or unknowingly coded characters are the most natural representation. It’s like a lot of ppl agree Luffy being aroace without it being canonically stated and without oda planning to do this. 🙈
One thing I loved about One piece is that I did this a LONG time ago before it was popular to represent the LGBT community in media. One piece is truly a anime where seriously EVERYONE comes together no matter your background and just enjoy it. Ps. Plus i love how everyone in the one piece community no matter what we believe or what we think collectively just Loves Bon clay. Like how can you hate him???
Apart from saying Okama way everynow and then. He dont go around shoving his belief or demanding that he needs to be respected because he's a queer. His action speak for itself. His selflessness is second only to Luffy i think. Same with Yamato. His action was number one. Sacrificing his dream to protect Wano. Something perhaps, Oden may write in his journal as a bit of a regret(my head canon). Hence Yamato made the decision to stay in wano.
Gender was never Kaido’s problem with Yamato, just that Yamato identified as Oden. So Kaido at least wasn’t a bigot in the traditional sense, yay for being an accepting father on some parts of his kid.
@@collecter343 kaido is not an accepting father my god. the pronouns yamato uses in japanese do not mean he/him, in different languages pronouns are just different.
@@kckennedy1325 He refers to Yamato as ‘son’ specifically, not daughter *shrug* those words are different in Japanese. Characters who work for Kaido use the specific male pronouns when referring to Yamato, even if using gendering language at all can be rare in Japanese. Do I think Kaido is a nice accepting dad? Absolutely not, but those are indeed the pronouns he uses.
god i love kaido starve a population; kill a genocide worth of people; emotionally breakes people in his way; but misgender his son? damn that's too evil man
I would describe Oda's writing when it comes to queer themes as: he's a little confused but he's got the spirit. He's a japanese man who grew up in a time very different from our own,I mean the guy is almost 50 and started this manga in the 90s,and again he's japanese things there are a little weird in general when it comes to this topic I like to believe Oda's heart is in the right place,even with his lowest not so great examples of queer people. But I like to believe he's trying,which I can appreciate. So yeah,a little confused,but he's got the spirit.
In defense of the KamaBakka arc, Ivankov could inject them at anytime and make them look however they wanted. They actively choose to look how they look, They think they are beautiful and that's all that matters to them, they are living their best lives. As for how Sanji acted, how as is he supposed to act? His whole worldview is chivalry and chasing women, now he's on an island that goes against what he knows, challenges what he thinks a woman is, what he thinks a man is. Things he thought he knew, things that were integral to his personality were completely shattered so he ran. He's confused and doesn't know what to think or do. As for how everyone on the island acted they aren't being predatory think about it, they only act this way with Sanji. Did you ever stop to think why that is? Its because they get a wild reaction out of him whenever they do anything. They are just messing with him because they think he's closed minded. I've always loved how One Piece has treated it's queer characters because they are just another character. Not put on a pedestal for no reason, not torn down for no reason, not flawless, not completely flawed, people love and agree with them, people hate and disagree with them. It never felt like pandering or attacking to me they are just people in the story. Also I could be waaay off here but I think the point of the KamaBakka arc is supposed to be to show Sanji how fragile his ideology and worldview was. (a lesson that he doesn't fully learn)
Hell it plays on Sanji's whole womanizer thing, a taste of his own medicine so to speak. Would not be shocked if daddy dragon has kept an eye on his sons crew and given info on them to allies
It also plays a major role for Sanji's story arc: Sanji had this deep rooted hatred for himself his whole life, that he was useless the way he is - it was hammered down his throat by the Vinsmokes his entire childhood - - Sanji struggled to accept himself for who he is his entire life and found resolution slowly throughout Wholecake Island (Luffy saying: you are who you are) and then finally on Wano, when he asked Robin for help. So him, a person with huge self esteem issues and huge issues of feeling worthless - landing on an island of people, who can live freely just the way they want, loving themselves - maybe that is also an allegory, why he hated that place so much: because his and their views on him/theirselves and self identiy are just so drastically different. Sanji landing on KamaBakka was truely important, since in the end, he ultimately had to find a way to accept himself for who he is.
The one issue I have with this is that Sanji continues to be kinda shitty no matter how many highway exits he goes past. He's still a creepy sex pest constantly, and being on Kamabakka didn't change that (it actually made it worse, canonically). Really, when it comes to queerness in one piece, Sanji is just kinda the stinker at the picnic.
What is actually the problem with Sanji's reaction? Even recognizing them as females he does have to be attracted to them or more accepting of their advances, some people just aren't okay with that and will never see trans people as potential partners, and that should be accepted as well.
@ProjektTaku The reason is because they're both drawn as mean-spirited parodies of trans women (regardless of intent) and he refuses them in a very typical transphobic fashion, fortunateky not including violence (though these queers can fight back). While everything is played off as a joke, when it's not at all a joke when you've lived this life.
as a transmasc person, yamato means so much to me. i’ve got a big chest and i can’t pass, and i feel really seen by yamato in a way i haven’t felt seen by any other characters in media. the fact that luffy and most of the other straw hats - the people we’re rooting for - have no problem with his identity and exclusively refer to him as a man and with he/him pronouns?? even though he’s got his tits out on the reg?? that means so much to me. i love being non-passing. i love my appearance. i love having my tits out on the reg. that doesn’t make me any less of a man. so i’m super grateful for yamato’s existence
I was thinking about this at 29:10, like not every trans man presents masc, nor should you guys be expected to. Being queers all about choice and expressing yourself, shouldn't put people into boxes (not saying melon did just what comes into my head whenever the argument comes out) So cool gamer, glad you have your favourite club wielding wolf boy
Absolutely its very cool and a good way to expose people to the idea that gender identity and gender expression are different. Still its important to realize when talking to people that its a very difficult thing for most to understand and to be patient with cis people who can barely wrap their head around a passing trans person but still are open to learning.
all power to you my man, I'm glad you found comfort in your presentation and that you have a strong character to identify with. I wish you an amazing life.
Just a reminder to people that even if Yamato isn't trans they still identified as Oden for years making them a man for that entire period. People can still relate to Yamato during this period and see them as a trans icon. Please continue being supportive and don't try and win an argument that's been a stated fact, Stay cool everyone.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned here in the comments yet. I’ve seen a lot of one piece fans say that Yamato being in the all female color spread isn’t good evidence since we’ve seen Chopper and other canonically male characters shows up in all female color spreads before. Another thing to point out is that Yamato is the only not wearing a swimsuit in that color spread, it’s clear that he’s dressed more masculine than the other woman in the spread
I am trans, I will chime in here because this is important. Gender is made up bullshit and gender norms today like colors and clothing are pushed by corporations trying to sell you your gender. That being it still does exist for billions of people, just that those billions are men and women and understand themselves to be that, they are happy in their bodies until companies tell them they need to look younger, stronger, less hairy, more hairy, all to sell you something because they show you things to break your self imagine and cause a form of dysphoria. Yamato is genuinely refreshing to see and he does not give a fuck about having a huge male body, flat pectorals, giant hands and feet, and a squared jawline. No he doesn't compress his chest at all. He exudes an essence of transness that is NEVER explored, when you just don't have dysphoria for your body at all but know that you are the gender you say you are. I have never seen anything like it in media. Not everyone is going to want to go chopping bits off and sewing other bits on. There's something called trans meds who are basically purists that shut people out who don't want surgeries or don't hate presenting more as their agab but still identify as trans. This is extremely progressive, people don't seem to understand that yes he does kin Oden but that isn't cis of him to identify as a man regardless. He could've easily been a girl who said she wants to be like Oden. Instead we got someone who is absolutely trans, for the sole reason that he says he isn't cis. That's all it takes. He didn't even try to saw his horns down to cut familial ties he doesn't hate his body. Bless oda man I wish him a long fulfilling life. Not detracting btw just piggy backing a little. Yamato is male and so is chopper I just have no idea why they keep adding men to girls stuff. Make it equal put Franky in there with the ladies please.
@@autisticbraindamagedmoron Yamato literally said himself that he became a man to be more like Oden. Even after switching back to calling himself Yamato, he still uses he/him pronouns. Everyone is okay with calling Okiku a woman but when it comes to Yamato being trans, everyone freaks out. Just admit that you’re scared to be attracted to a queer person and move on. Also if Yamato still identified as a Woman, he would’ve gone to the female baths with Nami and the other woman. Yamato even tells Nami that there isn’t a mixed bath, meaning that Yamato sees himself as a guy. At least know the source material before making an argument that’s so easily debunkable. If Kaido can respect Yamato’s pronouns, why can’t you?
@@analyticsystem4094 Kaido can respect his own daughter calling herself Oden, lol. She didn't "became a man to be Oden", she started referring to herself as to man cuz Oden was a man. It isn't gender dysphoria, it's just her being fangirl. And I'm not afraid to be attracted to fictional character simply based on his gender, lol. Okiku identifies himself as a woman? Okay. There are trans people in One Piece? Okay. It isn't gender bs that freaks me out, it's that people do not understand that Yamato isn't trans, she is identity thief, lol. I have nothing against her calling herself Oden despite that being more weird than calling herself a man. And to be fair, you shouldn't use Kaido as example as he was the one who tortured his daughter for being Oden, lol.
@@autisticbraindamagedmoron pronouns do not always correlate with gender. Yamato uses masculine self-referential pronouns in the original Japanese. Regardless of whether or not HE identifies as a man or just wants to be like Oden, Yamato would use he/him pronouns in English as the official translations tell us.
I think Bon Clay's clothing may be stereotypical and potentially offensive to some, but I can't overlook this one fact: he is accepted. He is dressed queer, presents queer, and everything else queer... and is still accepted. If he didn't fit these stereotypes, then him being accepted for what he is wouldn't be as powerful to the reader. There would probably be a bunch of readers who deny his queerness out of homophobia. Instead, they have no choice but to view him as how he wants to be viewed, and if they don't like it, they can stop reading.
Community didn't accept him just because of his apparence, but because of the bonds he slowly created with straw hats and sacrifices he did, Bon Clay is just a good character overall.
Here is Bon Clay, the queerest of queers, and you WILL like him, because I will make him impossible to hate. I will make one of the most beloved characters in my story of the most absurd queers of all. - GOAT D A
I think aroace is what I would personally use for Luffy. After Marineford, Luffy explicitly said that he won't get married, so I assume he doesn't find anyone sexually or romantically attractive. Heck, he's more interested in food than anything else, which is kind of similar to the a-spec community joking about garlic bread. Whether or not people see Luffy as aroace coded, it feels amazing to have a protagonist who is more interested in adventure than romance as well as being a optimistic person. Ace/aro representation is rarely done in manga/anime let alone in media, and when it is portrayed in media, there is often the stereotypes of characters being emotionless or introverted. Luffy is the complete opposite of that. He cares about his friends, is outgoing, and deeply cares about his brothers. And like the series as a whole, it shows how important friendship and the bonds of a family is.
I definitely feel like Luffy gets the bones of that from Goku. While Goku is married with kids he always seemed to have no interest in sex and romance. And like like Luffy his friends all just accept that about him.
@@notationmusicalLuffy can't be aroace, he's obsessed with the romance of adventure, and Ace is his brother. (But actually, I believe he's pretty likely aroace.)
I think we have to look at this through Luffy’s eyes. Whatever the gender these characters identify with, Luffy accepts it and doesn’t question or debate it. Everyone need to be like Luffy.
I personally like Yamato as an enby person. He's me fr. The fact that he gets referred to as a man while having giant bedonkers honestly makes me want to cry because that's what I want. He gets completely accepted while not looking traditionally masculine. He gets called a man no matter what he looks like and I wish I had that. Even his parent kind of respects that he's a man. The only problem is that Odin is on Kaido's DNI and he kind of goes 'you kin some one on my DNI? Jail for a thousand years'
i find it both hilarious and sad that, aside from respecting his gender identity, kaido was an awful parent towards yamato. yet he was a pretty good parent for ulti and page one. he may be a terrible person and a terrible father, but at least he respects people's identities
Speaking of, I'll admit that I was always...interested in how Kaido treated that whole deal, because it's clear that he was willing to imprison Yamato for basically their (differing pronouns to separate the two) whole life with highly explosive cuffs and beat them senselessly throughout the years because of the fact that they idolize Oden...but he still refers to them as a man, despite that being *because* of their attachment to Oden It's like he both openly accepts Yamato as a visage of Oden and treats them with unbridled disdain for it
From what I gather Kaido was an abusive parent (possibly formed from his philosophy and experience growing up as a tool of war) but has progressive views on gender and personal identity (he's a pirate after all)
It's the same for me! It's super refreshing to me to see a trans character who doesn't conform to traditional gender norms but is still gendered correctly and respected bc I have never seen that before. It's also just plain relatable to me bc I am an enby and don't really read as androgynous and honestly don't care about it. So Yamato is my favourite trans character ever haha
The part about sanji not kicking the kamabaka kingdom civilians, that shows how strong his morals are when it comes to not hurting women. I feel like his main issue is not being attracted to them (to put it lightly). But if they say they are a woman or are presenting themselves as such, whole heartedly, I don't think he'll kick one of them. People confuse sanjis "not kicking women" trait with it being because😮 they're beautiful. We are blinded by his pervyness 😅. He doesn't hit women because they're beautiful. It's simply because they, to him, are women. Regardless of how he feels about it on the surface level.
This is a powerful aspect of Sanji character when he has his Shadow stolen by Moria and placed into a Zombie, The Zombie still refused to attack the Pig Zombie Lola because she is a Woman
People saying Sanji doesn't hit women cus he's pervy baffles me. Especially if they've seen his backstory. It's made clear he doesn't hit women because he respects them. The only 2 people who cared for him were his sister and mother. The only 2 women in his life having such a massive impact on him as person that he refuses to lay a hand on a single woman.
Basically, Sanji doesn't hit women for two main reasons his mom and sister were the only positive figures in his life when he was with the Germa and Zeff literally beat it in to him
Bro, I literally thought the same thing! He never went to attack them? I don't get why people have a gripe about Sanji not hitting Women *When We See Why He Is Like This In The First Place?*
While I can't comment on the trans, nonbinary, or gay/lesbian rep, I will say that I feel very seen by Luffy as an ace woman. He's still very much a romantic, loves his friends dearly, and finds genuine joy in the world, which is a stereotype that most ace people struggle wih - that we can't truly love someone on a deeper level or we are missing something/something is wrong with us from a natural point of view, if you don't want to have sex. Also, considering most other shounen at the time, it's very endearing that Luffy hasn't a single "pervy" bone in his body compared to someone like Naruto or Soul, without other characters making fun of him for being a prude or something like in Bleach with Ichigo. It's like OP is subtly holding your hand going, "hey. It's okay if you never feel a sexual attraction towards someone. You are still a fun-loving, adventurous, and lovable person, in fact, the mc is one of the most well-loved characters in the whole narrative, that's literally the running joke," and I personally find that wonderful.
THIS!! as a Demisexual, I knew I felt drawn to him for something! (There's many reasons why I adore Luffy but that's just one of many) but this definitely makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for pointing this out!!
I've always seen Luffy as aro/ace (aro as in not being attracted to someone in a romantic way, while he is still very much in love with all of his friends and nakamas and isn't afraid to show that). I am not in the spectrum myself, I have a lot of aro/ace friends who often feel very dehumanised in a world so romantically and sexually driven, often seeing themselves as lesser because they don't get this part of human interaction that seems so easy and obvious in the world. But just to echo what you said, Luffy being the very embodiment of loving life and being as free as possible while also being heavily aro/ace-coded, is incredibly beautiful to me. side note: also why I hate any fanfic ships of luffy
Same! I'm only demi though lol What I feel really connects me to Luffy is being autistic and adhd. This man is autistic, the one piece is his special interest, and I will die on this hill - he understands his friends' emotions, but not the bigger social structures those emotions stem from (see also: Nami's village arc). He also doesn't socially camouflage his goals or identity even when it would be extremely obvious to a nuerotypical that that would be in his own self-interest. I can't possibly list everything that makes me think he's autistic because I get that vibe from like 80% of the things he does. I have less evidence for him having adhd, most I can say is he's kind of impulsive and his fruit is very apt for implementing body motion into combat, not to mention the spoiler below as well. Adhd (and autism as well but for his vibes I lean adhd) is also highly comorbid with eating disorders. With how Luffy thinks, acts, and eats, he is essentially seven year old me to a T. (SPOILER) the constant motion of gear five might imply he always has a drive to move, since gear five is a representation of when he's at peak freedom
14:52-14:57 To exapand on Bon Kurei's name a bit: In Baroque Works, the codenames of top male agents were numbers(Mr. 0, Mr. 1, Mr. 3 and so on), while codenames of top female agents were holidays/weekdays(Miss Goldenweek, Miss Merry Christmas, Miss Valentine, Miss Wednesday and so on). With Bon Kurei, their full codename is Mr.2 Bon Kurei, showing how they presents both male and female. Bon Kurei comes from two Japanese holidays: O-Bon Festival and Kure(end-of-the-year festivity). Also, while in the manga the back of Bon Kurei's coat reads おかま道, Okama Way, in the anime it was changed to 盆暮れ, Bon Kure. In any case, Bon Kurei is the best!!! BON-CHAAAAAAAN!!!!!
Its also worth noting that each male agent in Baroque Works is assigned a female agent (Mr. 0 with Miss All Sunday, Mr. 1 with Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 3 with Miss Goldenweek, etc.) Yet Bon-chan is the only one without a partner, further signifying how they present themselves as both male and female and how that's recognized and respected by Baroque Works. BON-BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I may be a lame straight dude observing from the side on these topics but anything that adds variety is a big win in my book. Wano not only gave us better diversity in Queer characters but in having Kiku and O-Tsuru give us different body/face shapes for women. One Piece is a lot like Mass Effect in how it's core themes are bolstered and improved with each new perspective or identity added to the world.
I kind of agree but then don‘t. They way women are presented f.e (camera lingering on body parts, often moaning, focus on lips, boobs etc) it normalizes sexism. So technically if there were no women in one peace (because they write most of them bad and film them bad) it could not be normalized. Do you get what I‘m saying?😅
@@XyNameI think it speaks a lot that there's no panty shots in this show. and the women are empowered and actually have agency, stories, and aren't Just used for eye candy.
@@XyNameThat's how anime is,I'm sad to say this.He can't stray from these things if he wants sales in Japan.It's not like he also shies away from thirst trapping his female audience though,with absolute banger male character designs.Other anime do much worse fanservice,again a very sad thing to say because I think it honestly cheapens the genre as a whole.
Oda is definitely not perfect, but I feel like even though he's a bit clueless at times he's always been fairly open-minded and willing to show the good in the different. And with more modern additions like O-Kiku, I feel he's really made an effort to be good about queer topics, which I appreciate massively from one of the most influental manga authors ever. Happy Pride Month, everybody!
@@RoronoaZoroSensei yeah you also gotta figure that was almost 15 years ago when he wrote about bon clay and iva and the okama, times have changed and he's grown as a person. Of course that being said, when it comes to the San Francisco drag queen community, it's not like he was that far off hahaha
Honestly, thinking he wrote Bon Clay for the first time in 2000 and where we were as a society at that point... he was pretty ahead of the curve, it's easy to forget that those parts of the story were so long ago and how much society changed since then, and Oda himself clearly learned a lot (Kiku and Izo being the best examples) just as we all did... because at 2000 i was friggin 12 and i was still being teached to bully gay people by pretty much everything on tv and around me, i had to go trought a lot of personal growth to get out of that, so Oda already being on a point of presenting a character like Bon Clay speaks volumes for him... especially since japan is still very behind in lgbt representation stuff.
in regards to yamato: in one piece, he is his own person. trying to label yamato as anything is kind of difficult. he identifies himself as oden, a male. Just because he does something that is either feminine or masculine doesn’t verify or disprove anything. women can wear masculine clothes without it being trans. men can wear feminine clothes without being trans. on the flipside, trans women can wear masculine clothes, and nobody is going to say “well your not really trans” because that would be stupid, the same goes for trans men. yamato is yamato. he doesn’t need to fit into a specific gender role or do things just because “it’s what men normally do”, just like how real trans men don’t have to lift 350 pounds everyday to “be a man”
What I love about one piece, is that exactly that is one of the biggest points. For the main crew, people ar just people, doesn't matter their race, colour, sexualities or identifications.
Not LGBT myself, but as an autistic person i heavily relate to that bit at the end with the idea that Luffy copies the reactions of those around him when he's otherwise not sure what to do. Honestly luffy in general i find relatable in that regard. Both luffy and chopper both honestly give me that vibe, even if it's probably handwaved a bit for chopper with him not being human.
Okay, you just answered a major question for me. Luffy has always made sense to me. I never saw him as stupid, just simple. Takes things at face value, incredibly empathetic, fiercely loyal, and sometimes completely lost in social situations. It did cross my mind once or twice, and it's interesting to know I'm not the only one who saw that.
From what I've seen, most people who read one piece and are autistic read Luffy as autistic or heavily relate to Luffy. I personally head canon him as autistic.
i also headcanon him as autistic aroace and i realy believe one piece text backs me up on this, as a teen i also faked attraction to opposite sex because everone else was doing it and usally humans do very complex things, they wear masks and act a role in their lives, you're supposed to say things you don't mean all the time and it's very normalized, it's hard to understand so as a child acting like everybody else, even though they make 0 sense, was the safe thing to do
I agree with the Luffy thing but I will argue that Chopper at its core is a child, like, the youngest son of the strawhats by the social dynamics within the crew (especially his relationships with Zoro and Robin being kinda his parent figures within the SH)
A little while back there was a Tumblr poll on One Piece with the format of "which of these things does NOT happen in One Piece" and basically 90% (or so it felt like) of the notes on that post where something along the lines of "I don't know One Piece but I know it HAS to be the one about a secret society of trans people living in the walls of a prison, this is a shounen manga there's no way that's real"
As a trans woman, holy shit Kiku being invited to join the girls on the bath made me cry. It makes me so happy so see her enjoy herself and be accepted and I still think she is by far my favorite character in the series
Yamato and kiku both bout made me cry all the bs on yamato i took the bath thing as oda going ok here its confirmed shut up was in pride month to i believe when chapter dropped
i mean if everyone around her sees her as female and are willing to ignore the obvious male genitalia, its alright. Ultimately this is a show of trust from both sides: Kikus/Yamatos, as well as the straw heads and samurais etc. Kiku and Yamayo go eith the choice of bath theyre ultimately more comfortable with, AND their surrounding friends chose to 1. Accept/ignore their obviously different body and 2. Trusted them to not be any sort of standoffish and also 3. chose to not be stand offish themselves
@@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFistyou’re kinda emphasizing the difference in body a bit weirdly… and over explaining something that doesn’t need to be over explained. Sure, their bodies are different, but at the end of the day- it’s just a body. Everyone has one. There’s trust, sure, but there’s also a lack of judgement, worry, or care. It’s just a group of friends bathing together. Nobody is looking at Brook and his “obvious” body difference and asking him why he’s even bathing. He just wants to clean up, like everyone else! Bones get dirty too!
@@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFist same as @miznofiziksolajika470 said. The only person mentioning people's genitalia is you, when that's never been relevant in any way. They're not "willing to ignore her penis". It's not "the obvious male genitalia". She's a woman, and she has a penis, so what? They're not ignoring anything, they look at her as a woman (because she IS one) and they'll look at her the same way they look at any other girl.
As a genderfluid soon to be trans woman I've never seen the Kamabakkas as offensive in the slightest, because I always saw how proud they were of them selves and how obviously they cared about Sanji and the whole chasing him stuff to me was never more than a gag playing on how Sanji acts like a dick towards anyone he doesn't want to smash while making it obvious that he cares about them. And with them using terms on semselves which are usually bad words like in german Tunte(Tranny) and wear those usually insulting terms like an honorbadge was a real powermove and showcase of pride in themselves like how weebs simply startet to call themselves weebs proudly. The stereotypical designs of them has also always been something I see as a positive because it shows that they are proudly and unapologetically themself. I always loved all the Queer characters unconditionally and especially the hilarious looking ones were a huge cornerstone in me realizing that I was genderfluid, most of the time feeling to be a woman, and bisexual. My mother doesn't support me in my wish to have my transition from a male to a female body and even wants to forbid me because when I was a kid she never showed enough interest in me to see that I did show signs of queernes that others sometimes did see and I don't know if I had the determination to plan my transition anyway if it wasn't for the huge isnpiration to be myself that I learned from my beloved kamabakkas.
I like this take, honestly wished people had the same one like you do, I think it's the designs people can't see past. Otherwise you get a show of self confidence never seen in regards to Kamabakas appearances.
my thing with the okamas, is that ivankov exists. if they wanted to, they could all look like the binary of their preference. but they don't. they look like that, cause they want to. they are happy as they are. and I think that's awesome.
I really appreciate your outlook on this, I really do since the Kamabakka storyline always had my stomach churn. Yet I would also argue, that Oda probably didn't intend it the way (or not all the way) you read it. The predatoriness of the chasing and lusting is such a harmful stereotype, that it is still strong today in Japan.
@@jokerinke actually Oda did intend it like that, so much so that in one spinoff manga about Sanji cooking, Sanji cooks for all the people of Kamabanka and they have very friendly interactions. A bit like Sam the dog and Ralph the wolf in the Looney Tunes shorts, with their during job and out of job interactions being so different.
as a transfemme, One Piece in general means so much to me, and is my favourite piece of media ever. When I saw Kamabakka island I was indiferent about thinking of it as a joke, then when I realized that i am woman I felt weird about it. Mainly, I felt it was a bit of misrepresentation fo transfwomen since it can be seen as that. I am still feeling iffy about it, but I think it is mainly since I am very self aware about passing or not (this being a main topic of conditions of my mom basically saying if I want to transition I must to pass, adding pressure about it) and I see my insecurities being shown as being unapologetically themselves. I feel is empowering but still I am not confortable with the whole gag. I think Oda excuted Kiku perfectly, it feels like the best kind of representation. I was so happy when I read the bath scene with Kiku being in the women's bath and Yamato in the men's. It feels right to have them there. I feel seen by Kiku, since she is so tall and slender and makes me feel a little more confortable with my body. I guess there's kind of irony there with ny user name
I can relate so much with your comment! I was at first hurt by seeing Kamabakka. But the fact that Sanji doesn't attack them is very interesting. And passing for me is also very important 😅 My mom is on a similar trip🙈
I feel better about Kamabaka now that Kiku exists. She signifies to me that they are cross dressers and not trans women. Still not really good representation, but Sanji did want to steal their secrets and made the deal with them for training. It also makes sense that all of them identify as men because Iva would have been happy to fully transition them if they asked. And drag queens(kings)/cross dressers do tend to have those more exaggerated forms of gender expression than trans people. It’s a performance as opposed to trans people where it’s who they are
@@ceo9395 14 years ago, that is wild! Also worth keeping in mind he started OP when he was like 23, so I'm sure we saw a lot of personal growth in the last decades generally
Jo wtf is wrong with your mother. It is so fking awful to demand that you have to look like what society considers a woman to get the treatment that you need to be happy. Screw her honestly
the “forced transition” was a merciful punishment for a guy that literally just tried to assassinate Iva with a bazooka… yet still a great way to show how truly intimidating and powerful Iva is. I think that scene belonged 100% as part of our introduction to that character!
The latest "no rain, no rainbow" color spread I always took as Oda's subtle nod to Pride Month! I know it's based from requests but of all requests, he chose that for his single chapter to be released in June. Also I think it's really cool how Ivankov is one of the founders of the Revolutionaries and even one of its commanders is trans (Morley).
I might be remembering wrong but didn't Oda do the Wano bath scene last June? I remember thinking how cute it was that both Kiku and Yamato got to be in the right bathrooms during pride month.
As a trans man I really appreciated Kaido never misgendering Yamato and that scene in which he was in the hot springs with all the males fully accepted while Kiku was with the women
@@2crisp63as the video says, Oda is a wishy washy and doesn’t entirely get it but Yamato is in fact a man. Basically all it comes down to is does Yamato identify themself as a man, they do, then they are a man.
@@SawyerFools "Oda is a wishy washy" isn't exactly good enough and she identifies as oden if anything. Looking through the trans spaces I've also learn that you can utalise he/him pronouns without identifying as a man
Honestly never understood the copious amounts of -phobic people in the OP fandom when Luffy is objectively the most welcoming, respectful but also unbothered character ever, while every OP manga/anime chapter/episode comment section is a cesspool of hate, negativity and everything that Luffy stands against 😭 like these are the same people who preach about Luffy being the best character ever, but act like the exact same people Luffy would beat up
-phobes, bigots and the obnoxious “keep politics out of it” crowd are utterly illiterate and proud of it, so I wouldn’t worry too much. They’re the real-life equivalent of “useful idiot” Yonko crew fodder
Here in Argentina we say that those people are the ones that watch the show and align themselves with the tenryubito (eg when they selfproclaim as luffy's fans but vote fascist candidates for government... )
Bon Clay sacrificing themself for everyone TWICE were 2 of the few times I ever cried watching one piece. I thought they died the first time, but the slay queen came back to us… only to be one of the best characters and save everyone again. I’d say they’re like my 3rd favorite character overall 😭 just like the thumbnail, queers never die
I don’t usually comment but I just wanna say this was a very good analysis of the queer themes and I love the fact that queer people can find so much joy and reflection in my favourite story. Here’s to hoping Oda keep growing in this regard and so does your channel, Mel!
Luffy is legitimately the main reason why I don't feel alienated and ashamed of being asexual Admittedly, I am still irrationally ashamed of my Lithromantic Asexuality to this day, even if it has gotten better in recent years. Friends support me and it means so much but before I had these friends after high school it was very tiring having to explain what asexuality is to everyone who isn't... And when I couldn't explain it (confidence reasons or otherwise) being surrounded by people experiencing sexual attraction to characters and people is very uncomfortable and lonely at times. Now I am not as uncomfortable because there is much more mutual maturity on the topic and both me and the other people I talk to are for the most part very mature about it! I am also very grateful that as a closeted trans girl I was able to imagine myself as Robin with her tall beauty and introverted maturity one day, and both Nami's pre-timeskip more tomboyish traits and Tashigi's adorable, dorky adoration of swords making me feel like being a girl into Dragon Ball and also being a sword nerd doesn't make me any less feminine! And eventually going into Kiku being probably my favourite trans girl rep I have ever seen! Especially as I am very clearly presented as a very tall, 6ft 3 tall male who doesn't pass as a female whatsoever.. It does give me a little hope! Yes, One Piece has plenty of uncomfortable moments but I agree that it never comes off as malicious... And the fact I can say One Piece helped me come to terms with my identity when nobody-- not even my family could help me back in high school means so much to me... And I am glad Oda has provided several relatable and loveable queer characters for us to look up to! Happy Pride Month!
i am really so glad for Kiku's inclusion and both my wife(a trans woman) and i agree that she is likely an inclusion to show the fans what Oda has learned about trans women since the Kamabakka days. also, her english dub voice actor is also a trans woman, which i think is awesome. i will always be happy for people who are part of a marginalized group getting to represent their group in any piece of media :D
I think "unintentionally offensive but means well" perfectly describes Oda's humour. Most of the time, he always means well but ended up be a bit offensive. Which ironically embodies Luffy as well to since he always means well but ended up say or do things in the most offensive or hurtful way. Like saying how he dislikes Coby for being a coward. Oda himself always drive home the message of acceptance towards the different, eccentric, weird or outcasts. But in order to showcased them, he ended up made them overly weird which can come across as offensive. For example Abdullah, Jeet and Suleiman can be considered as a muslim and arab stereotype. They're violent, joke-ish and borderline crazy but ended up became a great ally to the SH. As muslim and half-Arab, I love their characters and the fact that there is a muslim/arabic representation that aren't overtly racist or portrayed as the bad guys/ weak victims that can't fend for themselves.
In my head cannon Luffy is not just Ace but autistic. So unintentionally offensive but means well makes perfect sense. I've had filters forcibly ingrained in me pretty much my entire life. Without that, I would probably be a lot more like Luffy.
As a cis white male, thank you for bringing this side of one piece to my awareness. Ibe known bon clay and iva were trans but i didnt know any context to how much just those two meant to your community. i love bon-chan and iva-cham and all of you.
I think the point of Ivankov forcibly turning that man into a women is to illustrate the point that everyone should be entitled to being what they want to be, and by forcing that gender change is to illustrate the constraints of societal expectations of gender that preceded the modern ability to change and to exist however you want. No malice
I agree, the way a lot of people act towards certain characters heavily implies that they can not separate how someone looks from their character and identity, which is utterly stupid. Yamato is male in heart and mind, but cares not at all for his appearance, thus has no reason to get rid of the boobs, via e.g. Ivankov. Okamaland and the scenario with Sanji is another such case. People judge others far too heavily by their looks and thus make assumptions about them that are plain wrong. After all, to assume is to make and a** of you and me. But many seem to forget that.
people really seem to forget that trans men do not have to adhere to typical expectations of masculinity or gender to still be considered men. if anything, yamato could be considered genderfluid - but honestly i feel like kaido acknowledging that yamato wants to be a man is in some part because he's fine with yamato wanting to be a man - he just doesn't want yamato to be like oden. i do think that yamato has idol worship, but in some regards i feel as though oden represents a sort of freedom to yamato that he previously did not experience under kaidou. ultimately, yamato being trans AND the confusion/lack of adherence to gender norms within his character perfectly represents the sort of freedom that yamato wants. yamato's freedom is through self expression and identity because kaidou wants his child to fit an ideal figurehead image for wano. he wants to use yamato as a puppet to control wano politically, whilst yamato refuses. i also want to mention my own personal experience that, as a trans man, i was very much a girl. i in fact liked girlhood, because i did not have the gender roles imposed upon me that are there with womanhood. kids do not have the expectations of gender forced upon them. i figured out that i wanted to be a trans man because most of my role models were other men. i wanted to be a man because of other men. i learned about gay men and felt such a tight twisty "i want to be a man kissing other men" that fucked with my head for such a long time because i didn't know if i was a woman fetishizing gay people or not - until i realized that no woman would ever have stark dreams of kissing other men as a man. this is why i do believe that yamato is a trans man, and that he has idol worship. both statements can be true at once. i think his initial introduction as a daughter, and then his cover appearance with the other girls, also could simply lend itself that sometimes a lot of trans men still feel more aligned with women / safer with women than they do other men.
One thing I've always noticed about Oda's character writing is that he uses sterotypes and people's instinct to judge books by their covers in a character's introduction to later uproot those assumptions through adding so much depth to those characters. Brook is probably one of the best examples of this being introduced as funny pervy skeleton man (who I know for me I rolled my eyes at) until you get into the fact that no there's much more going on with him and his story. And we see this happen with Bon Clay and Ivankov where you get the stereotype but later find out there's much more nuance to them besides their look and stereotype. And over the years you can see Oda seems to have realized he's needed to put in better representation on the looks side because I just got to Wano arc but I've noticed a few lesbians fawning over some female characters and straight up in the Nami bathhouse moment if you look you can see a lesbian get a nosebleed, maybe 2 lesbians.
this might sound weird but THANK YOU SO MUCH for talking about Yamato the way you did. So many people in the fanbase treat Yamato's gender as a debate to be won and they act so weird about it. Nobody ever acknowledges that Oda is either wishy-washy/unsure about how to properly portray Yamato’s gender and it's just....the past few years have been so tiresome with trying to discuss anything about him. So thank you. Loved your Zoro analysis btw you understand him so eell
I'm not trans, but I am queer and for the longest time didn't really know how to describe myself. It isn't that there aren't labels that I feel apply to me, but that there are multiple labels that feel right but seemingly contradict each other at first. I consider myself both Ace/Aro and Bi, and am pretty comfy with that now, but when I was younger I didn't have the words for those things and that inbetween. Because of that, I've always actually been drawn to ambiguous queer rep or rep that's explicitly queer but ambiguous in it's labels, even though I know that most of the time it's not done with intention and is often the outcome of misunderstanding/confusion at best. It's always interested me when a character felt a way about themselves we just don't have the words for, because that's how I felt most of my life. For Yamato, he does read as a trans man to my non-experienced eyes, but the thing that bothers me with how people debate his gender is that even if he was WAS a woman who just used he/him pronouns, that should still be respected??? There are plenty of gay men who dress in drag and use she/her while still considering themselves cis, or enby, or fluid, or transition later, and they all deserve to have their preferred pronouns respected despite how they identify in the moment. Yamato should be no different.
Shit, yeah, you just made me realize why I like those vague queer characters so much. Like there’s no denying that they’re queer, but just the idea that the world they’re in doesn’t even need labels or discussion to function is comforting somehow. Even if it’s unrealistic and I don’t actually want that in real life, it’s fiction, and it’s just nice to see people just *be* and have no problems with it. And yeah, people will act like they’re totally neutral about trans identities and people while also debating things they just don’t need to. Just use the pronouns that the media uses, it’s not that hard??
I'd say you were pretty spot on. All in all, it's about the freedom of choice and to be whoever you want to be, and no show represents that freedom better than One Piece
As a transmasc and aroace person yamato and luffy make me so happy. Its so normal and it makes me feel so valid, one piece turly shows freedom in every aspect. The freedom of being able to express yourself is such a wonderful thing that i would love to see in other series. Im so glad one piece treats queer people like actual people. happy pride everyone
FRFR AAA happy pride to 2 too!!!! for me im black, nb (gendersylphen to be exact) nd (adhd), neptunic, and ace and have been bullied and made fun of since day 1 and it means sm to me bc its nice to see hope tht we'll never be erased. It also fuels me to keep being tht hope to others! :DDD
I couldn't agree more ^w^ i'm an also aroace trans man and i share this exact opinion with you. I love them and one piece will always be one of my favorite anime.
Another point regarding Yamato's pronouns is that they're consistent across multiple languages. Every official translation of the manga and the anime uses he/him pronouns, so there's definitely a guideline in place regarding that
I never saw it as a gag at all. I just dont’t see how you could have that take at all. The story around him is super serious and I feel like not have if a stereotypical male body isn’t something that should make someone les than what they say they believe themselves to be.
It's mostly because Yamato uses masculine words that everyone does He/Him. Just referring to oneself can be done in a more masculine or feminine way, and it isn't tied to sex.
@@Olimar92 I mean, if someone as big and strong as Yamato, who is your even bigger, stronger, and much meaner boss' kid no less, says "I'm a dude" despite all appearances to the contrary, are YOU gonna argue with them? 😛The only person in a position to is Kaido, and he's probably just like "eh fuck it, I wanted a son anyway, if this is how I get one, so be it."
Honestly I really like things like Bon Clay's outwardly "stereotypical" appearance, as well as some of the others in the story. Oda shows multiple times that even if queer people are "weird" by everyones standards, even if they aren't conventionally attractive or have appearances playing into stereotypes others may see as negative, Oda doesn't write it as negative. Nobody cares about their "strange" appearance, its not seen by the characters as a bad thing. He allows queer characters of all kinds and appearances to be affirmed in it, not just ones that look or present "acceptably" to cishet standards.
Okiku is such a W for representation. Honestly she's probably my fave example of a trans character from any piece of media. It's especially cool that she has that historical basis too
Tbh i think the scene of iva transitioning that character without his consent was cruel in the most perfect way, i took it as "I'll make you see what your mother had to go through yourself"
As someone born female who is genderfluid, I honestly love Yamato. He continues to identify with He/Him pronouns, even though visually he looks like a woman, and that has been a big part of my experience. A lot of my gender identity comes from within myself so I don’t really care about presenting it to the world. Not to mention that I also still love to dress up girly and have fun that way even though I feel more neutral in gender. Someone does not need to look exactly how the world expects them to when they identify as a gender, what matters is their freedom to choose what it means to present that way.
I am not asexual, but Luffy copying Usopp's reactions to Nami is so relatable. At school, when I was hanging out with my straight girls friends I used to act like I was attracted to boys. I didnt want to feel left out and be part of the fun.
I always thought the people on kamabakka island were exaggerated because we were seeing Sanjis memory. It was super important for Sanjis development as a character to learn that gender is not binary and of course he arrived at the island with a super cishet mindset
Yeah I always viewed it as how a "straight male" would view queers. Not to mention that Sanji is in a literal sense trans-phobic he always acts terrified.
Sanji's reaction to them was perfect. One should definitely be terrified looking at those things. Sanji knows that they are males and that is what matters.
but you know it's not the truth, queer people are still presented in a ridiculous way after the arc. The truth is Oda thought it would be funny to have sanji running from trans women and gay men as karma for his own behavior with women. If Oda thought trans women are women then he wouldn't use a joke that has been used for decades already ("haha a man is being harrassed by a woman with penis" etc). I still think it's great writing but I'm sure its unintentional.
Well, to be quite honest. As a trans person, Kamabakka island is of its time. But I have never had an issue with the island? I felt that Sanji needed to get the shit kicked out of him. He DESPERATELY needed to get the shit kicked out of him. And I don’t think he would be able to do it if it was an island of women, and I don’t think he would get what he needed from an island of men. For me Kamabakka island was a necessity for Sanji to become a stronger more balanced individual. I think he needed a wake up call and Oda gave it to him in the Kamabakka. Which is why I think fondly of them, and don’t have a problem with them.
I like to think of the way they're acting as them being bullies and aggressive on purpose because they're so tired of Sanji being so far up his own ass. It's not an excuse for the way they are depicted but at least it makes it a little better.
i found the depiction of transwoman hunting a handsome man like they are an animal for what was obviously sexual reasons really offputting and gross. using the all trans women are sex predators is a false stereo type that needs to die
Basically I just saw it as an island full of Sanji’s showing Sanji what a creepy way he had been acting to make him face up to his nature against women… Is Sanji a predator? Or is he just a lech? Imagining I was the only guy on an island, and someone showed up- of course I’d be thirsty. I’m on a desert island. Desperation isn’t predatory. It’s the difference between a Raccoon and a Lion. Sanji would scoop scraps out of the trash (or off the floor) you don’t waste food. On an island full of Sanji’s it was just a way for Sanji to (as OP said) “Get the sh*t kicked out of him” because he sorely needed to be taught some humility with how he treats women, by being treated the same. Sadly they were all depicted as ugly, but if they were hot (like Bob Clay wearing Nami’s face) he might have settle for those scraps of all that was left and learned nothing. It should’ve been a dressing down of Sanji, tearing him down at his most toxic of all traits.
Was I wrong in understanding that the Kamabakkas were waiting for Iva in order to help them all do their transitions? Notice later they call it a queendom after she is freed not kingdom. The only reason they appeared as such was because Iva was currently in jail? It feels like a metaphor for how gender affirming care is being restricted from people who want/need it.
@@omfgcows Could be, it's a pretty generous interpretation of Oda's intentions, bad taste or no, but there has been plenty of that kind of blink-and-you'll-miss-it tidbits that aren't pointed out directly.
I know this isn't the type of content you normally make so I just wanted to say, it means a lot to me, as a queer one piece fan, to see a video like this. I definitely don't think any homophobia/transphobia was intentional on Oda's part, and Kiku is honest to God one of the most respectful and well rounded portrayals of a trans woman I've seen in fiction (love that Sanji genders her correctly, what with his hyper-heterosexuality, lol)
As a Japanese person, I think queer people were generally more accepted compared to the west as there were openly queer celebrities in Japan for a long time (note that this may not be the case for the average Joe, as many can be pretty closeted). I should clarify that the term doesn’t exactly mean homosexual but rather to be thought as more of an umbrella term for those who are queer, crossdress as women, or transgender. This could be the reason for the confusion because of the cultural difference in the language, which can be lost in translation. Examples of of there openly “Okama” as they describe themselves as, are Matsuko Deluxe and IKKO. I think more research into the Japanese language and culture would’ve helped reach your conclusion.
wow I'd argue the opposite for the Japan being accepted. The openly queer people in Japanese popular media are only visible because they use queerness as a selling point, and because society views queerness as a funny trait or character. The whole notion of オネェ系ORオネェキャラ is proof for this. If queer people were accepted, the laws would be accepting and people wouldn't be looked down or fetishized/dehumanised for being queer. The whole public discourse about Ryuchel's death was nothing of acceptance but just ignorance and hate. If anything I'd say the example you gave is how Japanese society doesn't accept queerness but uses it as entertainments sake.
Thank you for posting this! This is a great video but I do think that the fact that there is a difference with how the east treats homosexuality and the terminology associated is often lost in the mix. Everyone wants to examine things with a western lense.
Agree, Japans culture doesn't have the judeo-christian baggage attached to it. Japans views on gender/sexuallity don't really fit well into the western concepts. Would love to hear this discussion of one piece with native Japanese.
For the longest time, I loved one piece and adored all the characters. I was actually really happy with how little romance there was in the series! It wasn't until I was older and realized I was aroace that I understood why I liked Luffy so much. There are also so many other characters in the series that I relate to just because they give off ace vibes. But seriously, I love that Oda inadvertently made an asexual icon without even realizing it.
I think what makes Sanji interesting is that while he goes berserk for all women, I feel it comes from his mother complex. Even though he is a real flirt, he genuinely cares about the well being of women. He continually expresses this by not hitting women or taking a defensive stance whenever they are threatened. This is all indicated from the start, so even though there is some problematic humor, it also causes you to keep thinking about his role as a cis-man. I have always seen Sanji having obsessive behaviour around women as a complex, instead of some macho flirtatious male depiction.
As an asexual person myself, I have always felt seen by Luffy's mere existence, even when he's reacted to something which you probably wouldn't expect an asexual character to react to. In my experience, living in world that is incredibly tailored to sex positive people, being in social situations where people react to "sexual" cues and being the only person around to not have any reaction feels incredibly alienating. So I have occasionally found myself following the crowd in reacting to things which I wouldn't have batted an eye to if I were by myself. What I'm trying to say is that from my perspective, Luffy is written perfectly as an ace character, intentional or not.
It's very interesting to see how Oda presents queerness, becouse for how he draws women is very clear he is a very heterosexual men. He is also very, very left winged, and one piece shows it everywere. So him being suportive of the queer comunity even if he himself is heterosexual is incredible positive and to be expected, but also a recepy for ocational mistakes. That said, his positive depiction of queer characters in THE most popular manga in the world is always a welcomed surprise and as an heterosexual man myself I really hope I can live up to the lessons One piece has thought us about respecting the dignity and freedom of every human being, no matter sexual orientation, race, nationality, ideology or religion.
whenever I read a man being pursued aggressively in media, I'm just reminded about how women are pursued. I didn't pay thaaat much attention to Sanji on the island, but when I was reading it, I felt like he was kind of getting a lesson in what it's like to be so heavily pursued in an unwanted way.
I cant believe ive never seen anyone mention this before your video, but luffy's always appeared to be aroace to me. He was actually part of the reason i realized that i'm aro because watching him in amazon lily literally felt like watching myself from the third person, and i ended up looking more into it as a result cuz i was like "yo... wait a minute..."
I’ve always been hoping that someone would go over this topic about the series, and having MelonTree, whose content that I love, be the one to cover it is actually really nice.
15:18 to be fair, the full translation of the cape says おかま道 which roughly translates to “the gay way” or “the gay path of life,” and given the chance I think I would also wear that just as proudly.
Luffy's ultimate dream is freedom for everyone. Every. One. Luffy is accepting of everyone, so long as they aren't doing villain things of course. Even then, he is able to forgive villains if they seem to be making amends. Oda's message is about freedom. Freedom to live, freedom to eat, freedom to be you. That's why Enies Lobby was such a good arc. Robin lived her life thinking being alive was a "sin". Yeah, Robin is not an LGBT character as far as we know, but Luffy was pissed to know that people made Robin feel that way. And that feeling doesn't stop at Robin. Luffy hates when anyone makes anyone else feel that way. Oda's way of presenting things may not have been perfect, but his ultimate message is a powerful one.
Luffy himself is a villain, he's a pirate after all. His ultimate dream is freedom for himself and his friends, but he doesn't tend to much care for others dreams. There's a selfishness to Luffy I really appreciate, sort of a more morally gray Goku.
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Hi!
good essay; PLEASE understand that Okama does not mean a gay man.
Okama means a person of the male sex who dresses in gender-non-conforming clothing; in English terms, this means this group of people includes drag queens, male cross dressers, transgender MtF, and queer individuals of the male sex....so anyone who was born male and does not identify with societal norms of what it means to be a man in Japanese society.
The female sex version/wording of this is Onabe; ie. a person of the female sex who dresses in gender-non-conforming clothing; in English terms, this means this group of people includes drag kings, female cross dressers, transgender FtM, and queer individuals of the female sex....so anyone who was born female and does not identify with societal norms of what it means to be a woman in Japanese society.
So Okama literally means queer and male at birth.
Onabe means queer and female at birth.
Ther is a bit that crocodile allowed Bon curry to be Mr 2 and the female partner. Bon clay canoonically in that structure, is both.
So bon is, both , or enby, anyways just not a gay man. croco allowed bon to be mr 2 and female partnr.
Which why by the way is croco so progressive?! Just to add another croco thing.
17:00 I think one important thing people overlook is that ALL characters in OP are designed to be loud, extreme and bordering on caricature. Zoro's muscles? Nami and Robin's breasts? Sanji's suits? Chopper's cutenss? It's all cranked up to 11 and so are other characters.
You forgot about morley! Aso a member of the revolutionary army.
I think Bon Clay being so conventionally visually off putting is a good thing. Sometimes it feels like to be accepted queer characters have to be attractive. Bony Clay's character design makes people go 'yikes' when they first see him, yet he wins everyone over with his great personality that shines through, to the point where you just learn to accept his outward appearance.
SWANS NEVER DIE
And I feel sort of the same for Ivankov! The citizens of his island are uhh...well, I'm on the fence about them, but Ivankov himself is someone that just seems so incredibly off with having basically every "out there" part of Raizo's physique but with giant cotton candy hair and the decorations of a stripper, but then you actually get to see him interact with other characters and he turns out to be...a really chill dude!
It's why I kind of prefer the male form over the female one, the latter has that sort of moment of "wooaaahhh, Iva's sexy now?!", but the former never really has a moment where it *isn't* a smack in the face, and I think that's something Oda's pretty good with!
Lemme tell you something. I live in NYC and there are 1000% people who dress and put on makeup that bombastically on a daily. I think anyone who lives in a major world city would say they regularly see people dressed in a Bon Clay/Brook/Doffy style. (I think because it's less likely they'll be hate crimed on tbh) I truly see nothing wrong with how Bon Clay/Ivankov/etc are depicted in the first place because if people had the freedom to do what they wanted without being hate crimed on you would 100% see more people dressed to the absolutes. Also just like Bon Clay once you get to know one, I find they tend to be some of the most fun-loving and cool people ever.
@@damienearl8302I like that even though he could freely change his body from male to female at will, his truest self was a drag queen
I like "Dr Mrs The Monarch" from Venture bros for a similar reason, she's outwardly very feminine (because she is just a cis woman) but she has a very deep voice, its not even played for jokes a lot really and its kinda weird at first but you just get used to that voice coming from that body like noone there pays it any mind, and none of the viewers do either.
Now obvs she isnt queer but you can see how this sorta plays into trans acceptance and people not being weirded out because some trans fem has been slacking with her voice training lol
I once saw someone saying Oda's presentation of queer people as "He seems to think queer people are freaks, but he also appears to think that being a freak is awesome" and I can't help but agree with that.
Oh my goodness, that is an excellent way of saying this.
Everyone in one piece is a freak
Thats it thats the summary
Feel like this was also the theme of the drum kingdom arc
@@eliasbtzr I remember a certain scene (might be slightly misquoted):
chopper: "what is a rubberman?"
sanji: *smiling* "a monster!"
(after chopper had been so ashamed to be a 'monster')
Something that always struck me as interesting and important is Luffy using honorifics when addressing and talking about 'Iva-chan' and 'Bon-chan'. Luffy remembering people's names is already pretty much the ultimate sign that he respects them, but he rarely ever uses honorifics. The fact that he clocked Iva and Bon Clay and immediately started using the more diminutive, typically more feminine 'chan' for them says to me that even beyond just thinking people should be able to live how they feel most free, he instinctively starts to support and validate that freedom.
This is definitely one of the reasons that I love love Luffy so much as a main character. Some other shonen characters are seen as being a little slow, a little dumb, just happy vibes without much brain. Luffy may not be the smartest of the group, and I do love watching him get confused over basic things, but something he does really REALLY well is understanding people. He has a natural talent for reading people. We see this with him immediately knowing when he’s met someone that he wants to be part of his crew. “I don’t know them, but they’re just the person I need.” He’s always good and kind and respectful to people who he gets good vibes from, and he has no shame in addressing them in a way that fits. Luffy is 100% the guy who does and says things to support others with zero embarrassment or shame, because he knows he’s in the right hahaha 😂
"- chan" used by Luffy sounds more friendly and endearing than feminine or respect. Addressing a friend.
@atsukorichards1675 but "-chan" IS feminine. The normal way for a man to address another man would be "-kun" or "-san". If a man addressed another man with "-chan" it could be incredibly insulting unless they're good buddies doing it for a laugh. Because Bon is queer though, and presents himself in a very feminine way, it's sweet and respectful of Luffy to recognize that and use a feminine way to address him, rather that "-kun".
Argee to disagree. @@umbreoniteUwU
@@Disheartthorn What do you not agree with?
Bonus shoutout to the completely overlooked man in dressrosa who also faints when seeing cavendish in the colosseum
And the women who are effected by Hancock's devil fruit.
@@let_there_be_dark That... really doesn't count, seeing as the answer to "which women are affected" is "basically all of them".
@@ccggeniusAlright, the women (like whatshername on Teach’s crew) who are INSTANTLY affected by her powers (normally she has to work a bit more)
@@farfetchdthegamer3810 true, Catarina Devon is a real one
@@let_there_be_dark the women affected by Hancock's df have been mentioned towards the end of the video
As an ace person, once I realized that the main character of the biggest manga in the world was ace (or at least coded, but until recently we really couldn't expect anything better) helped me a lot in accepting my identity.
Also, the fact that One Piece puts so much weight in platonic relationships and not romantic ones made it a HUGE HUGE comfort. Because One Piece makes it very clear that these characters absolutely love each other without them being related or having any romantic expectations. And that is so beautiful and comforting.
Honestly, I was going through the comments of this video specifically to find a comment like this one- the fact that platonic relationships and friends being like that of a family is such a big thing in the series is one of the main reasons I've always had a respect for the series, despite not having the time nor energy to watch or read the whole series myself. As someone who is specifically aromantic asexual, the strawhat crew's friendship is quite honestly one that I hope to find myself in as time passes, and I have found that many of my other queer friends wish as well, whether do to their "original family" being unfitting or not. Even if none of the strawhat crew are canonically queer in any way, their love and respect for one another and their dreams is something that deeply resonates with me.
Funny retrospective… I was really into one piece before I’d ever even knew being aro-ace was an option, but the friendship portrayed was such a big draw factor for me
Well actually, the main character is luffy. Ace is his brother instead! /j
@@char1194 You really can't help yourself from making that joke huh? What are you? My dad?
Ace rep is so difficult to find. Usually it's found in robotic or non-human characters, which doesn't have great implications. So to have Luffy, a protagonist who is technically _the most human to ever human_ thanks to [Spoilers lol], be asexual is freaking fantastic. Sure, some people will brush it off as "he's just too goofy to ever consider relationships!", but even though his personality is indeed silly at times and totally unlike my own personality as an ace/aro person, he's the kind of rep we desperately needed to subvert the stereotype of the unfeeling, inhuman robot that is forever unfufilled because "they can never understand _real_ love so they'll never understand what it's like to _really live,_ and isn't that just so sad to think about?".
A subtle detail that I love about Kiku as a trans woman is how she and Izo being siblings shields her from some transphobic talking points. Both of them are biologically male and were raised to perform while dressed as women, as seen when they met Oden, but while Kiku eventually came out as a trans woman, Izo continued to regard himself as a male, all while showing that he is not ashamed of his upbringing, seeing as he still wore lipstick every time we saw him. This shows that Kiku's trans identity doesn't come from how she was raised, and is simply who she is.
I think Izo stayed the way he was because, he wanted to seen as Whitebeard's son.
@@JGdouble2white beard had daughters though, and everytime we've seen him he's been radically accepting. Your head canon seems weak imo
Did white beard let any of his daughters fight?
Whitey Bay was on his main crew as we saw in flashbacks, so even if Whitebeard himself said "he sent the women away before the fighting started", his choices in the past spoke otherwise.
So i don't think Izo's identity choices was tied to Whitebeard either
Or it simply implies that one of them got brainwashed by manipulative and abusive adults but ok lmao
I really like quote by Bon Clay, “one may stray from the path of a man. One may stray from the path of a woman, but there is no straying from the path of a human!”
You can choose your own life, you may identify as masc or fem or neither, but it will never make you less of a person. One Piece pushes the belief that existence isn’t a crime and rightfully so. You are always worth it, even if the people around you don’t see it
I love your comment (and this video)
yep, i dont support trans stuff, but its their life and their right as a human
@@YSleepish bro
@YSleepish that's a good sentiment
@@YSleepish
What do you mean
honestly I'm just greatful Oda even tries. I love these characters and even though there might be some flaws in something or another it's still a million times better than what western media is able to put in their popular shows most of the time.
100% this, i'm bi and trans and while i understand why some people feel differently i tend to think the spirit of the thing matters a lot more than whether everything about it is... idk, perfect i guess? (and what's 'perfect' is EXTREMELY in the eye of the beholder anyway). it's very clear that oda cares and is trying and i really do think that's what matters most here.
Every One Piece character has flaws, they just overshadow them with their wholesomeness.
This is why they're great, they're not perfect, they're special.
@@MalkuthSephira continue coping
@@prizma45about what?
@@destroyerofturtles5024 that oda is trying to be inclusive lol
Oda literally wrote about a lgbt paradise in prison where people are fully free to express themselves, transition, and party. How do people miss the importance of lgbt characters and how they reinforce the theme of freedom in the story?
But at the same time it is hell.
@@Novum_Caledonia Well... yeah, it's a prison. That's not the point.
@@Novum_Caledonia yeah a hell created by a tyranical regime that seek to control everyone and take freedom away they can...
@@Novum_Caledoniahell is the rest of impel down. The newkama paradise can almost be thought of as an oasis in the middle of a scorching desert
@@Spectra651all LGBT go to Hell.
So basically, Oda is the " doesn't entirely get it but his heart is generally in the right place" guy when it comes to queer representation. Yeah, it checks out. It is clear that he has respect for the community. "Queers never die" is a mighty slogan, and I for one feel empowered by it. Fantastic video, Melon!
This pretty much describe me well, I don't get nor care too much about representation, but when I think an idea is fun, say genderfluidty or Intersex, then I'd do it.
Yeah. Someone who has a lot of love and acceptance, but doesn’t really know how to express it appropriately. But I find it all the more important that we treat those people with love and acceptance in return, even if they fuck up and say something offensive. (Obviously not if they’re just a bigot tho).
We had this saying, "queers never die" in brazil for a some decades. I wonder if his research reached here
I think that's probably the case, well said.
Nah he gets it perfectly, it's just that most audiences don't get it or misunderstand some aspects.
For example most people feel like the crossdressers that Sanji meet in the Kamabanka Kingdom are offensive representations, but most people don't realize exactly why they look the way they do.
Those crossdressers have Ivankov as their ruler and Iva is perfectly willing to use his Devil Fruit for Sex changes, but they still look the way they do 2 years after Iva returns to their Kingdom.
Those characters look the way they do by choice, which is very interesting thematically, and is also similar to Mr 2, who could be using his power 24/7 to look like a woman, even mix several different factions to create his perfect composite female face that would not be equal to anyone else's. Hell even without going into his Devil Fruit, Mr 2 has enough skills with make up and disguise that if he so chose he could look as feminine as he wants.
But the reason why these characters look the way they do is because they chose to look like that. Okama is slang for a gay man, but the literal translation for the term would be crossdresser, aka someone that dresses and acts as the opposite sex. Not looking like a woman from the get go could be argued to be a necessary step to be a crossdresser, if a character already looked as the opposite sex and behaved as such then that would be more akin to a transexual character, like Kiku.
So yeah, Oda gets it perfectly, it's just that the brilliant bastard loves being subtle and leaving every single bit of evidence layed out for people to find and organize on their own.
Without any exageration, i have never EVER met or even read a post of someone saying they dislike Bon Clay in the slightest, i can only imagine how good that character did for queers, he's so loved both in the story and by the fandom that it probably helped open a lot of minds up, he's such a fantastic character.
I have one big problem with Bon Clay and it's the scene of him taking on Nami's form and showing her tits to the whole crew without her permission. I think if it wasn't for that he'd be a cool character but it's the only thing I can think about when he's mentioned and it gives me the ick
Without that LGBT layer he was already one of my favorite Crocodile henchmen.
I've actually read a few comments on reddit from people who aren't queer saying that Bon-chan actually helped them work through their own homophobic views as they were growing up. Some people think that's "cringe" now I guess, but I think that's pretty neat.
@@kitty6113 I'm sure he did, and it makes me think the fact that he's soo cartoonishly queer has a weird positive of creating that situation where people who may hate queer people now have a character like this that they can't help but love... even if he completely embodies something they dislike to such a ridiculous degree, so yeah, i'm sure a lot of people changed their mind at least a bit about queers because of him, even if they didn't really realized it.
@@alexfolmer2204 stupid complaint
Iva being a revolutionary means they basically went "Enough about gay pride, let's get some gay wrath!"
Stealing that quote
Two deadly sins and depending on the southern three
Sooo... you tell me... Homophobia finally is on the point? I mean... homophobia means "afraid of gay people"... and if you are afraid of Iva... well you are more Transphobic... but yk... wtf i am writing here?!
@@DoktorDaythaWhen somebody is bout 8 feet tall and their head is the size of their body, I don't think you're gonna be worrying about their gender
@@DhaniKong-o3d I mean i'd probably do female form Iva
It’s freedom. The story has been always been about freedom. Everyone against that, has never understood the story. And sadly, there’s people who truly have never gotten there
Facts
@@alvinj.6500 disgusting…
I've recently started buying the manga after watching the anime for years as it aired, I'm currently like 3 volumes in, so shits still very fresh in my memory.
Oda pretty much spells it out, multiple times, from the very start. The fact that freedom is the point of the whole series is not subtle in any way.
So anyone who fails to catch on to that really has no excuse.
Even considering freedom, is not simply "FREEDOM" a some concept that exists in a vacuum not affected by reality and social reality. Most of the tines Luffy acts he does it to make someone unable to pursue their dreams because of one reason: they doing it by destroying other people lifes, Buggy, Kuro, Crocodile, Moria... all had dreams but where doing it by hurting people. It js about thenfreedom to pursue someone dreams.
Exactly, even Luffy refused to be a hero because that would mean he can't be free to do what he wants and that he wants "all the meat". He refuses to have his freedom constrained by being the good or the bad guy, he wants to be himself. Also he admired Roger because him being able to navigate every sea of that world made him the most free dude ever.
The thing on Bon Clay's coat actually says "Okama Way". Its their creed that they live by, much like how the Admirals of the series have their creeds like "Lazy Justice" and "Absolute Justice" plastered on their back. Also, something that I love is how all the numbered baroque works members are a male, female duo but Bon Clay is the only who doesn't since they are both.
i just finished fishman island and im worried abt bon clay after impel down 😭
good catch i didnt realize that
I noticed bonclay not having a partner bit never grasped the significance. That's super clever.
@@halmittensHe's alive (shown by a cover story)
It's like having "DRAG QUEENS 4 LIFE!" on the back of your extremely flashy coat and honestly I love that so much about them
As an aroace person, Luffy's character is one that brings me a lot of comfort. I feel so validated when Luffy has reactions similar to those I would have in sexual/romantic situations, and all of his crew being so accepting of the fact that he simply does not care about any of that is just amazing.
Aroace = Asexual?
aroace = you cant any bitches
@@Moody.Smiruaiaroace means aromantic and asexual
What's even better is how romance is never really the focus at all in OP.
The crew are just friends, and I love everything about that.
@@notationmusical And Sanji is shown as a weird one for caring so much :D
I'm a straight cis guy and I love Kiku. She gets her arm cut off, has the wound cauterized by a flaming sword, and then says "Tis but a scratch". She's such a badass.
If Zoro did that shit, we'd never hear the end of it.
And yet despite her being such a next level gigachad badass, she's still portrayed in a very traditionally feminine manner.
This isn’t my original idea, but I saw a comment that basically said that, yes, her character shines through via the way Zoro and Sanji feel about her.
Sanji fawns over her (not knowing her biology) due to her kindness, care and loving nature. But then, Zoro juxtaposes this by allowing her to shine as a samurai, and doesn’t treat her like a damsel, as Sanji would.
By doing this, Oda simultaneously deeply affirms her gender identity as a woman, but doesn’t portray womanhood as weak or lesser, in the way those two characters treat her.
I Never understood how people have a problem with this whole gender thing. I don’t get it but I really don’t care what people do. Do what you need to do to become happy but don’t be mad at me because I don’t care
@@inkognito3145 people never had a problem with genders , they do have a problem with the international medic board artificially ramping up new mental conditions to sell placebos and make more money . They also cooperate with the academic administration to teach useless degrees that are not profitable or useful but they still sell the courses to make bank . The problem is the capitalization of it , which also makes entertaiment show the 1% as if it was the 60%
"If Zoro did that shit, we'd never hear the end of it." So you are saying Zoro can't stop talking about what happened on Thriller Bark, the "Nothing Happened" scene? What you said about Zoro is a load of bull. Zoro has been through a lot of trauma but he never talks about it!!!
@@mermaid_hina2713 he means from Zoro fans like you lil bro chill out
Bon clay will be a legend forever
Bon Clay > Ace
@@NoProtto Bon clay > Roger
Heck yeah!
🫡
Dude i love bon clay man they were the goat
As a gay man, I never minded Bon Clay's appearance because it is "stereotypical" although it was not presented in a mocking way. Bon clay is respected and loved for what he is and some gay people like to wear more over the top looks. Not every gay man needs to be masculine. They just need to be respected by what they are and by the author
True i never really processed it as offensive its like oh cool outfits and as a straight man (probably idk) its easy to not notice it when the acting and their personality is so immersive
As a German who is bisexual, I personally see him as french
(Jk)
I feel like something we can explore if oda decides is why bon clay wears the homosexual coat. Because it could be like the scarlet letter. Where he wears it like a yeah I'm queer, and I'm here.
Exactly this, people who dress stereotypically exist. And Bon Clay as a character isn’t stereotypical. In impel down him fighting off wolves with his six pack out is badass. That’s not usually a stereotype we see in media for gay characters, the effeminate ballerina dude fighting like a demon for his friend. Bon clay may have a stereotypical appearance but his character is far from it. ❤
I never saw him as a gay man, odd sure but never gay
I think we need to consider with Bon clay & Ivankov, that if their visuals are stereotyped designs but there character doesn't lay on negative stereotypes. Then the purpose of the design is more to make sure the character can't be erased by audience members who find themselves uncomfortable with queer characters.
You can't look at Bon clay and say someone is "projecting their queerness onto the character" because the characters visuals force the audience to accept the queerness at the gate. So when the audience are exposed to the positive aspects of the Bon clay's character, the queerness can't be erased for close minded comforts.
If you are going to be a fan of these character you will be a fan knowing they are queer.
yhesss, i also see this point/perspective! it reminds me of punk. so many of punker queer buds are loudly/obnoxiously/amazingly flagging ""queer/faggot/trans/ACAB/ANTIFA/Nooneisillegal/no peace on stolen land/EatTheRich"" patches/outfits. I would wear bon clays outfit 24/7 if the lesbian in me didnt think it wasnt practical or if the gay fairy within me wasnt so worried my outfit would get dirty/ruined 😂
Like, i get that these character designs are stereotypical, but it's true:We ARE fABULOUS!! those outfits and looks are fire. The stereotype fits hunny. this would be a different story if those outfits were trash...
I really love that interpretation because there countless of characters that are obviously gay, only for people to strongly deny that because "they don't look queer, hence they aren't"
And Oda has written Bon's first appearance 23 years ago in JAPAN to boot, where the general public even in the west was barely acknowledge or accept even LGB. He is truly leaps and bounds beyond most as a writer and a human being.
I love that about them. I UNDERSTAND that it may be uncomfortable how they are portrayed on the outside (specially if you are queer), but it really amazes me that their characters are amazing and loved by (almost) everyone 😭 if anyone says something bad about them, I know for sure that they are not watching the same story as me, anime/manga is very biased and I really appreciate the way Oda made people (that were probably minority hating) LOVE these characters and what they represent, hopefully translating that to real life
I find the LGBT to be the ones that like to erase the stereotypes since they believe them to be "harmful" without ever really getting into specifics. And there are plenty of characters with gay characteristics that simply aren't in terms of both story and artist intention which the pride bashers like to ignore.
I was watching the live action series with my Nana and when it showed Luffy glance away when Kaya and Usopp kissed, she turned to me and said, "Aw, did Luffy like Usopp like Kaya did?" and I started to laugh and I said, "No, Nana, Luffy's asexual like I am". She said she had never heard this term and asked me about it. We had a nice discussion about asexuality and aromanticism and she was very accepting, Moreso than my own mother. It was a nice moment that I'll never forget.
That's so sweet❤❤
The fact that she thought that luffy had a crush on usopp already made me smile, it's sweet.
@@solkizamora6629 I know, that was so cute and now it lives rent free in my head.
As a bi guy I appreciate oda for creating so many hot characters
You and me both, brother. You and me, both. I don't care what gender they are, they're hot and they got _character_ and well, that's all _I_ need! XDD
Wapol got me acting up fr
based
oh, fucking mood. sanji was my awakening. picked up smoking because of my embarassing crush on a fictional character, which was probably the stupidest idea of my life but no regrets.
real
One of the funnier reasons why I think Yamato is a transgender man is with the General Franky test. In every single piece of one piece media, from the anime, manga, movies, and specials, anytime that Franky busts out his mech, the boys go absolute ape shit because "boys like robots" (something like that was said before iirc), whilst the girls just go deadpan silent. Trust me, go watch the intro to General Franky when he first busts it out in Fishman Island, at the end of the Punk Hazard arc with the giant children, Film Gold, Heart of Gold, there's probably others but I can't remember rn, each time without fail, when the guys go crazy for it, the girls just go ://. HOWEVER, in Wano, when Yamato encounters General Franky, he looks on in absolute wonder with stars in his eyes. This is the undeniable truth to the dilemma.
I dunno about that one chief,, so you're saying you cannot be a girl if you like robot? everyone can like robot....
@@Ocean_Lord_derpfishthey are talking about how it's a running theme WITHIN One Piece. Obviously not real life. Don't be dense.
This is a REALLY interesting look at the gag!!
True true!
@@sillycookieyes, but tomboys are a thing. Yamato can be a woman with interests commonly associated with men. That doesn't make her a man.
Otherwise we fall down the, girls only play with dolls cliff.
And ya don't want that do ya
I don't know exactly why, but Oda saying like "i don't know, that's just how Luffy goes" and calling it a day kinda makes the ace codding even MORE strong. Many people on the ace spectrum feel like they are broken until finding the lable, but many just shrug and go "thats how i go" and live as they see fit, only finding about the sexually years after and going "well, that actually explains a lot". And i don't even talk about the ABSOLUTE ace family goal that the strawhats are :v
Lmao- that'd EXACTLY what I was like.
I knew I was different, but I didn't care. I was happy when I found the label, of course, but in the end I kinda always knew.
i also identify with the shrug response. however i felt pressure to find a label from outside pressures which i then internalized as " something must be broken within me if i can't/don't want to ..... " and I found some solace/relief in the label of ace/the ace spectrum. However, now i see that I feel resentful of feeling the need to label a part of myself when I was originally happy with my shrug response!
I really like having the label, but I also have years of trauma of not having my support needs met because my parents refused to tell me about the neurodevelopmental disorder they had known about since I was three months old. Also I'm demi instead of fully ace, so I don't really ever describe myself as fully ace (I'll just leave it as "on the asexual spectrum"), the label is mostly for myself and for people who are curious enough to ask for specifics
Oda himself inst interested in romance in One Piece.
This is absolute my case being agamic; people doesn't understand and I don't really care if they do lol
If you ask me, Luffy seems Aromantic too, because he never seemed to be falling in love with boa or even notice anything she did that was to praise him and to show him affection, he always shook it off as her being very grateful or friendly towards Luffy, he's never been seen in love with anybody even in the slightest from what I could gather, but I might be wrong on this in some form or way.
It is true, but Oda said that Luffy has no love interest for now.
Which means that he can feel romantic love, he's just more focused on his dream rather than his future love.
@@Wolf_Blob Noooooooooooo keep him alooooooooone
@@NeyamStar okay ✌
What are you talking about? Luffy very clearly is IN LOVE with food (mostly meat) and adventure 😂😂😂😂
I always liked the idea of Luffy being asexual and it also is a pun. He took after his brother and became ace.
Inheritor of the will of Ace
Ace left a real hole in his heart
@@higurashikai09YOU CAN'T
He did say he doesn't plan on marrying anyone
This is big brained
I once had someone genuinely try to tell me that neither Kiku nor Ivonkov are queer characters. I have never before wondered so strongly if the person I was talking to had even read the same series as I did. I think a reason why queerness in one piece isn't discussed is possibly because of people like this, who just simply refuse to acknowledge it.
that's just strange, did you show them the likeness of the Rocky Horror picture show its obvious basis for the Newkama.
@@Pinko-Diamond yes lmao, it did not matter to them. I was genuinely baffled. they said, and I quote "he just switches his gender occasionally such as to gain an advantage in fights." and no amount of evidence could convince them otherwise
@@michaelsokenis that's wild bc im pretty sure he also states he canonically does it for fun?
That's the problem with bigots, "I can sympathise so it can not be this thing I have villainised and demonised.
I'd liketo think that these characters feel more like a person than any nowadays queer characters, who only exist to gain traction. They have their goals, beliefs and dreams, they are important to the plot and actively do something against or for it. They just feel more like other characters and they're as goofy as the others. I think with how strange the one piece world is... The fact that having a character (ivakov) look so stereotypical queer doesn't make them stand out as they would in the real world is really fascinating and beautiful.
I for myself too didn't noticed at first ivankov was queer, though i thought about them being trans, but thought noway. It's all sub councious tho. But once someone straight up told me that... It clicked and it all made sense.
I love that even villains like Croco-boy and Kaido still respect people's gender identity. Like Bon-chan declairs themself, neither man nor woman so Croc says "sure you can have both codenames then" and even Kaido still calls Yamato his son, only really being upset at the Oden cosplay
Part of Crocodile accepting Bon Clay might be because of Crocodiles history with Ivankov. Ivankov knows one of Crocodiles weaknesses, so a theory is that Crocodile is trans as well.
kaido respecting yamato's choices might actually be bad writing.
ok, hear me out before you come swinging.
kaido is presented as the uber-gruff, no-nonsense psychopath until the exact moment he has a beer in him. i think it would be better writing if he was also just a complete piece of trash. he disrespects and kills underlings for zero reason, why would he respect yamato's gender identity? the way i've said it in the past is "feed my son? i'll kill you. call my son a girl? i'll kill you." it's inconsistent with the rest of kaido's character.
so, here's the thought. everyone respects yamato and calls them "kaido's son", except for kaido. kaido calls them "child" or "daughter", _until he gets drunk._ then he starts calling yamato his son, but backpedals and says "daughter".
see, the thing is, kaido when drunk is a much more accepting person, so it would be interesting if he accidentally accepted yamato while drunk, but otherwise didn't accept their choice.
yamato is a girl and does not identify as a man. She admires Oden and wants to be like him, just as everybody tries to identify with their hero. kaido puts this on her because he doesnt want to have a daughter. shes the best example of a reall strong woman in current ficiton literature. of course she is not joking when saying she wants to be oden, and the whole thing is not meant as a joke. From my inyterpretation, yamato demonstrates how women have always been belittled and the ongoing fight for gaining the same appreciation. She wins against traditional gender roles. Dont get me wrong, if oda would make a definitive statement about his/her gender, i would take it as it is. but alone the fact that kaido gave his daughter a male name supports the fact that he did not want to have a girl in the first place. One of my favorite themes to talk about, as I am a strong supporter of female empowerment, contrary to accepting man as better in the first place.
PS: she says she 'chooses' to be a man because oden was a man too. what a ridiculous reason that would be to be considered actually transgender.
@@lululemon70-16 incorrect on every point.
@@Yal_Rathol elaborate pls
I'm a trans person myself,
Talking about the scene where ivankov turns a guy into a woman against his will.
The guy who came to kill ivankov, was upset because he felt he humiliated his father for turning him into a woman when he returned home to them.
His son did not wanna accapt that.
However, it is explained that his dad wanted to be a woman himself and came to ivankov.
I felt ivankov made the guy a woman to teach him a lesson, on what it's like to be stuck in a body you're not comfortable with, in order to better understand his father, because he did not respect his decision and only saw it as humiliation.
I might be heavily overthinking it, but that's how I like to see it at least.
Honestly, I really like that view! A lot.
It makes me feel better about that scene, because I felt weird about it when watching it. At the time, it felt like an uno-reverse-card to that thing where a queer person is forced into a standardized cis box. Like they had forced someone out of their gender like they had been when forced by the people who rejected them. And all I could think was, "Why do the same thing to him that he wanted to do to you?" Because while that is an understandable way to handle that kind of attack, I don't like going down to their lows. And that was only compounded by time spent very soon after on Kamabaka Island. Kamabaka Island was described as THE safe haven for queer people. So when Sanji is there, and reacting...less than amazingly...but mainly in rejection of something he's not comfortable with and has the island's inhabitants fight very hard to force a dress onto him, I didn't like it. It felt like they'd escaped oppression just to take part a similar oppression in a place where they held the majority instead. Like a, "Hah! I have the high ground now! Suffer like I suffered!" To be just as unaccepting as the people whom they came here to escape from... It was a disconnect for me. It rubbed me the wrong way and my sentiment with it was: When someone shoves you into a box, that doesn't make it right to reciprocate by putting them in the same position-because then, you're just as bad as them.
But by explaining the whole thing with that gun guy situation as a much needed experience to better understand those he was seeking a misguided revenge against makes it feel less sour. It makes takes away that disconnect and gives it a logic I couldn't see before. What Ivancov did was not for revenge, but rather for teaching a point of view that someone was blind to-and would never understand otherwise. It was to teach that guy empathy.
So at the end of this long ramble, I just want to say, thank you for saying that. It cleared up an unease I had!
I also get the sense that Iva has a sense for this stuff. He doesn't transition the very fluid Bonclay, and leaves Luffy alone too, but correctly identifies the Impel Down guard and transitions her immediately.
As for the person who was forced, they seemed to have reacted indecisively when they saw their new body and Iva claims that it seems their heart wasn't ready just yet, implying that the prince was in the closet (?)
Iva also never did anything to any of their revolutionary buddies, so forceful transition isn't something they do willy nilly.
A bit late to the party - but I just rewatched Impel Down. Ivankov also invites the now woman to the Newkama Land. If the disgraced prince/ss would have stayed, she could have easily asked Iva to turn her back into a man and live their however they please.
It really feels like it was just a move to teach this person a lesson.
I think Ivankov more rejects/accepts all genders. Body dysphoria isn't much established in the series, while going drag and other different gender expressions are. Both figuratively and literally anyone can be any gender/sex for Ivankov and he celebrates the idea. Beyond just being a convenient plot device to showcase Iva's abilities, the former prince was probably an example of Iva's philosophy of the Newkama and how the man was too attached to the norm in his eyes. "Embarrassed for being lady-like now? Why the hell would you, weak much?! Hee-haw!"
At least with Sanji he was exclaiming loudly, proudly, and very wrongly how much he loved flowery dresses. It's a misunderstanding at best. Granted the girls should've stopped when he said no, consent is king and all that. I did want to see Sanji in a dress though, he'd absolutely pull it off especially with long elegant gloves and a very low back. If the man wears a suit he can wear a sleek ball gown.
I'd like to bring up the topic of Inazuma, which is Iva's left hand person, whom is extremely genderfluid. Every other page or panel, he's asked Iva to flip his gender... Or rather her sex? Not sure, but each time they appear, unless it's the same scene, he has gone she or vice versa, and nobody comments on that, which I love.
I always assumed Inazuma acts as a man when they are a male and as a woman when they are female. But we all know their real gender is W I N E
@@lysander3262
That's pretty much what genderfluid is
@@OtakuJuanma2 For a moment I thought you were saying that wine was genderfluid.
I'm so so so happy that Kiku is in One Piece, she's lovely. With how it's implied Kiku used to put her feelings aside and bathe with Oden and the others in the past, I like how her being the one to ask Nami to join her in the bath shows she has grown more confident in her identity.
I'm not going to lie. There was a moment during Impel Down when Mr. 2 mentions Ivankov for the first time. Luffy responds like "The queers have a queen?". I paused it and laughed for maybe more than a day. The joke was just right there for decades, but it took One Piece to make it happen.
Luffy is such an aro/ace icon lmao
yes he is. dudes my hero
fr 😭
Agreed
i love this silly little guy
@Endbringer-u3x are you stupid on purpose?
Luffy being an ace king is the best thing Oda has ever come up with
his brother's name is literally ace lol
He likes the booty golden.
What's an ace king?
@@indianathe3rd742 Think of assexual Giga Chad
@@heitorpedrodegodoi5646 society declares such ppl gay
Hi I am a japanese bisexual woman viewer and I want to make a few notes about the original translation. Okama is a slur for trans people in japanese, that is also used against queer people generally. Directly translated, most one piece english translations have taken away the negative connotation, but in japanese media, the word has ABSOLUTELY been a slur. So for bon-clay, its not labeling them as gay or whatever, its literally calling them a (I'm typing this out with asterisks so its very clear what slur this would translate to) T****y. However, I don't think there are any words at all to describe trans people in japanese without using the word "okama", so I personally dont pin this as Oda's transphobia, rather transphobia coded within the japanese language itself. in short, lots of transphobic and homophobic jokes, slights, and stereotypes are made in japanese that are coded out in english translation and captions to make the characters more accepted, IMO. TBH i am a huge history buff and major in sociology and social justice, and also love anime, so I feel so seen to have this discussion, and love to give my two sense on the topic as a japanese american viewer. I wish I could talk to you as I was watching the video lmao, looking forward to your next vid!
I was searching for a japanese academic intake on gender representation in shonen manga for a long time, really nice to find it here! Usually, due to the fact that I don't speak japanese, I only watch english speakers (normally western based ones) videos. I have a question, if you are willing to answer... Don't you think, usually, that the western take on gender always resumes the topic to "identity"? Wouldn't the kind of analysis that this video makes benefit from understanding gender also from "performance" perspective?
I have a masters in anthropology, and recently been interested in how the concept of "bushido" (really sorry in advance if I have spelled it wrong) could be appearing in different performances of masculinities being protraited in shonen manga over the years.
Great explanation. I was going to comment something similar. The Japanese language, at least in the mainstream, does not have good ways to distinguish gender and sexuality. Prior to "gay" and "LGBT" being borrowed into the language, there seems to have been just this coded assumption that all homosexual men were okama and therefore feminine or transgender. Gay men and trans women are routinely lumped into the same category in media depictions. And gay women, of course, just Don't Exist (linguistically) because of sexism and comphet.
@@pyrrhicvictoly thats so true, btw, I had no idea that "gay" and "LGBT" were adopted words! is that like english words directly being used in japanese or has there been japanese slang created to describe queer people without using derogatory language? When did this happen? So curious
@@christianthorstensen386 I think i see what you're saying, and yeah, i feel most media worldwide talks about gender as identity, which is totally fair, but a lot of gender theorists (judith butler) makes a lot of good points about gender as performance. But honestly, if i were to talk about gender as performance, it would probably need a LOT of context to drive home the fact that we are all free to perform whatever gender we like, to live out our identity. I see what you're saying, performance is important, but for what the video is, i would say that focusing on identity makes the most sense. The concept of performance can be a slippery slope of implications without the proper context, so for a youtube video, where you need to be straightforward, the popular identity concept was probably the right call here.
Growing up, I was raised with the belief that being on the LGBTQ+ spectrum was a sin. I remember around my middle school years, when I was really trying to decide whether or not this was right, I had started watching One Piece due to a friends recommendation. I remember seeing Bon Clay and having a somewhat negative reaction to him, but overtime as I got to impel down, I found myself absolutely appreciating him as a character. It wasn’t the sole reason for my acceptance and appreciation for LGBTQ+ people, as I mostly attribute that to the friends I’ve made and who have helped me grow as a person, but Bon Clay and Ivankov remind me of how much I have grown past that since then. I absolutely love them as characters and I appreciate and fully support the LGBTQ+ community now!
(Also you have convinced me that Nami is MOST LIKELY lesbian, I hope that’s something Oda chooses to expand on more with her character!)
I've shipped all the straw hats with a non straw hat character, and I came around to Naim being lesbian.
I remember getting so much push back to saying the scene of Nami and Vivi in the bath at the end of alabasta and Nami's relationship with vivi in general had heavy queer vibes. makes me so happy knowing it wasn't just me
A tale of corruption. And grooming.
What a shame.
With Bon Clay it feels so comforting that they embrace the softness and "cuteness" of their clothes and makeup as just that, while still being an extremely strong and fierce person, like theyre just saying "yeah i like cutesy clothes, soft colors and nice makeup, but i WILL kick your ass if you get funny with me"
Absolutely love this video. Especially touching on the fact that oda is, well, a cishet Japanese man. He's a little confused, but i think he genuinely has a deep respect for the queer identity; being silly and free is literally the entire point of the story.
I was hoping you'd talk about Luffy, too. The idea that oda especially doesn't understand what he's done there is hilariou; i love it
I think it’s so interesting how often times the unwillingly or unknowingly coded characters are the most natural representation. It’s like a lot of ppl agree Luffy being aroace without it being canonically stated and without oda planning to do this. 🙈
I have a question as a cis guy, but what does cishet mean? Is it different than just cis or is it the same?
@@Zeninaoya Cishet = cisgender and heterosexual.
@@caterpillarsss_ ah I see thank you I'll have to start using that
@@Zeninaoyawhat does aroace mean?
One thing I loved about One piece is that I did this a LONG time ago before it was popular to represent the LGBT community in media. One piece is truly a anime where seriously EVERYONE comes together no matter your background and just enjoy it.
Ps. Plus i love how everyone in the one piece community no matter what we believe or what we think collectively just Loves Bon clay. Like how can you hate him???
I have straight up seen people say “I’m Homophobic but Bon Clay is the GOAT”
Apart from saying Okama way everynow and then. He dont go around shoving his belief or demanding that he needs to be respected because he's a queer. His action speak for itself. His selflessness is second only to Luffy i think.
Same with Yamato. His action was number one. Sacrificing his dream to protect Wano. Something perhaps, Oden may write in his journal as a bit of a regret(my head canon). Hence Yamato made the decision to stay in wano.
Bon clay is impossible to hate. They're literally one of the most heartwarming and charming characters
@@azizanputra isnt it the opposite he was always open about his sexuality and most people cant do the same irl
As a straight man, bon clay is 100% goated and is a honory strawhat
i love the fact that kaido punish yamato for call himself "oden" and not for being he/him and actually call him "his son"
Gender was never Kaido’s problem with Yamato, just that Yamato identified as Oden. So Kaido at least wasn’t a bigot in the traditional sense, yay for being an accepting father on some parts of his kid.
@@collecter343 kaido is not an accepting father my god. the pronouns yamato uses in japanese do not mean he/him, in different languages pronouns are just different.
@@kckennedy1325 He refers to Yamato as ‘son’ specifically, not daughter *shrug* those words are different in Japanese. Characters who work for Kaido use the specific male pronouns when referring to Yamato, even if using gendering language at all can be rare in Japanese. Do I think Kaido is a nice accepting dad? Absolutely not, but those are indeed the pronouns he uses.
@@kckennedy1325Kaido uses the word Musuko and not Musume when refering to Yamato which means Son and not Daughter
god i love kaido
starve a population; kill a genocide worth of people; emotionally breakes people in his way;
but misgender his son? damn that's too evil man
I would describe Oda's writing when it comes to queer themes as: he's a little confused but he's got the spirit.
He's a japanese man who grew up in a time very different from our own,I mean the guy is almost 50 and started this manga in the 90s,and again he's japanese things there are a little weird in general when it comes to this topic
I like to believe Oda's heart is in the right place,even with his lowest not so great examples of queer people. But I like to believe he's trying,which I can appreciate. So yeah,a little confused,but he's got the spirit.
In defense of the KamaBakka arc, Ivankov could inject them at anytime and make them look however they wanted. They actively choose to look how they look, They think they are beautiful and that's all that matters to them, they are living their best lives. As for how Sanji acted, how as is he supposed to act? His whole worldview is chivalry and chasing women, now he's on an island that goes against what he knows, challenges what he thinks a woman is, what he thinks a man is. Things he thought he knew, things that were integral to his personality were completely shattered so he ran. He's confused and doesn't know what to think or do. As for how everyone on the island acted they aren't being predatory think about it, they only act this way with Sanji. Did you ever stop to think why that is? Its because they get a wild reaction out of him whenever they do anything. They are just messing with him because they think he's closed minded. I've always loved how One Piece has treated it's queer characters because they are just another character. Not put on a pedestal for no reason, not torn down for no reason, not flawless, not completely flawed, people love and agree with them, people hate and disagree with them. It never felt like pandering or attacking to me they are just people in the story. Also I could be waaay off here but I think the point of the KamaBakka arc is supposed to be to show Sanji how fragile his ideology and worldview was. (a lesson that he doesn't fully learn)
Hell it plays on Sanji's whole womanizer thing, a taste of his own medicine so to speak.
Would not be shocked if daddy dragon has kept an eye on his sons crew and given info on them to allies
It also plays a major role for Sanji's story arc: Sanji had this deep rooted hatred for himself his whole life, that he was useless the way he is - it was hammered down his throat by the Vinsmokes his entire childhood - - Sanji struggled to accept himself for who he is his entire life and found resolution slowly throughout Wholecake Island (Luffy saying: you are who you are) and then finally on Wano, when he asked Robin for help. So him, a person with huge self esteem issues and huge issues of feeling worthless - landing on an island of people, who can live freely just the way they want, loving themselves - maybe that is also an allegory, why he hated that place so much: because his and their views on him/theirselves and self identiy are just so drastically different. Sanji landing on KamaBakka was truely important, since in the end, he ultimately had to find a way to accept himself for who he is.
The one issue I have with this is that Sanji continues to be kinda shitty no matter how many highway exits he goes past. He's still a creepy sex pest constantly, and being on Kamabakka didn't change that (it actually made it worse, canonically).
Really, when it comes to queerness in one piece, Sanji is just kinda the stinker at the picnic.
What is actually the problem with Sanji's reaction? Even recognizing them as females he does have to be attracted to them or more accepting of their advances, some people just aren't okay with that and will never see trans people as potential partners, and that should be accepted as well.
@ProjektTaku The reason is because they're both drawn as mean-spirited parodies of trans women (regardless of intent) and he refuses them in a very typical transphobic fashion, fortunateky not including violence (though these queers can fight back). While everything is played off as a joke, when it's not at all a joke when you've lived this life.
as a transmasc person, yamato means so much to me. i’ve got a big chest and i can’t pass, and i feel really seen by yamato in a way i haven’t felt seen by any other characters in media. the fact that luffy and most of the other straw hats - the people we’re rooting for - have no problem with his identity and exclusively refer to him as a man and with he/him pronouns?? even though he’s got his tits out on the reg?? that means so much to me. i love being non-passing. i love my appearance. i love having my tits out on the reg. that doesn’t make me any less of a man. so i’m super grateful for yamato’s existence
u are so cool keep being cool
I was thinking about this at 29:10, like not every trans man presents masc, nor should you guys be expected to. Being queers all about choice and expressing yourself, shouldn't put people into boxes (not saying melon did just what comes into my head whenever the argument comes out)
So cool gamer, glad you have your favourite club wielding wolf boy
Absolutely its very cool and a good way to expose people to the idea that gender identity and gender expression are different. Still its important to realize when talking to people that its a very difficult thing for most to understand and to be patient with cis people who can barely wrap their head around a passing trans person but still are open to learning.
all power to you my man, I'm glad you found comfort in your presentation and that you have a strong character to identify with. I wish you an amazing life.
Just a reminder to people that even if Yamato isn't trans they still identified as Oden for years making them a man for that entire period. People can still relate to Yamato during this period and see them as a trans icon. Please continue being supportive and don't try and win an argument that's been a stated fact, Stay cool everyone.
Bon Clay is a ride or die and the fact they were introduced so early in the series is amazing.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned here in the comments yet. I’ve seen a lot of one piece fans say that Yamato being in the all female color spread isn’t good evidence since we’ve seen Chopper and other canonically male characters shows up in all female color spreads before. Another thing to point out is that Yamato is the only not wearing a swimsuit in that color spread, it’s clear that he’s dressed more masculine than the other woman in the spread
I am trans, I will chime in here because this is important.
Gender is made up bullshit and gender norms today like colors and clothing are pushed by corporations trying to sell you your gender. That being it still does exist for billions of people, just that those billions are men and women and understand themselves to be that, they are happy in their bodies until companies tell them they need to look younger, stronger, less hairy, more hairy, all to sell you something because they show you things to break your self imagine and cause a form of dysphoria.
Yamato is genuinely refreshing to see and he does not give a fuck about having a huge male body, flat pectorals, giant hands and feet, and a squared jawline. No he doesn't compress his chest at all. He exudes an essence of transness that is NEVER explored, when you just don't have dysphoria for your body at all but know that you are the gender you say you are. I have never seen anything like it in media. Not everyone is going to want to go chopping bits off and sewing other bits on. There's something called trans meds who are basically purists that shut people out who don't want surgeries or don't hate presenting more as their agab but still identify as trans. This is extremely progressive, people don't seem to understand that yes he does kin Oden but that isn't cis of him to identify as a man regardless. He could've easily been a girl who said she wants to be like Oden. Instead we got someone who is absolutely trans, for the sole reason that he says he isn't cis. That's all it takes. He didn't even try to saw his horns down to cut familial ties he doesn't hate his body.
Bless oda man I wish him a long fulfilling life.
Not detracting btw just piggy backing a little. Yamato is male and so is chopper I just have no idea why they keep adding men to girls stuff. Make it equal put Franky in there with the ladies please.
"he" come fucking on💀 Yamato is Oden's fanboy, not trans💀 she is not "I am a male" she is "I am Oden" who happens to be a different sex than she.
@@autisticbraindamagedmoron Yamato literally said himself that he became a man to be more like Oden. Even after switching back to calling himself Yamato, he still uses he/him pronouns. Everyone is okay with calling Okiku a woman but when it comes to Yamato being trans, everyone freaks out. Just admit that you’re scared to be attracted to a queer person and move on. Also if Yamato still identified as a Woman, he would’ve gone to the female baths with Nami and the other woman. Yamato even tells Nami that there isn’t a mixed bath, meaning that Yamato sees himself as a guy. At least know the source material before making an argument that’s so easily debunkable. If Kaido can respect Yamato’s pronouns, why can’t you?
@@analyticsystem4094 Kaido can respect his own daughter calling herself Oden, lol. She didn't "became a man to be Oden", she started referring to herself as to man cuz Oden was a man. It isn't gender dysphoria, it's just her being fangirl.
And I'm not afraid to be attracted to fictional character simply based on his gender, lol. Okiku identifies himself as a woman? Okay. There are trans people in One Piece? Okay.
It isn't gender bs that freaks me out, it's that people do not understand that Yamato isn't trans, she is identity thief, lol. I have nothing against her calling herself Oden despite that being more weird than calling herself a man.
And to be fair, you shouldn't use Kaido as example as he was the one who tortured his daughter for being Oden, lol.
@@autisticbraindamagedmoron pronouns do not always correlate with gender. Yamato uses masculine self-referential pronouns in the original Japanese. Regardless of whether or not HE identifies as a man or just wants to be like Oden, Yamato would use he/him pronouns in English as the official translations tell us.
I think Bon Clay's clothing may be stereotypical and potentially offensive to some, but I can't overlook this one fact: he is accepted.
He is dressed queer, presents queer, and everything else queer... and is still accepted. If he didn't fit these stereotypes, then him being accepted for what he is wouldn't be as powerful to the reader. There would probably be a bunch of readers who deny his queerness out of homophobia. Instead, they have no choice but to view him as how he wants to be viewed, and if they don't like it, they can stop reading.
Community didn't accept him just because of his apparence, but because of the bonds he slowly created with straw hats and sacrifices he did, Bon Clay is just a good character overall.
@@Ugarimpty I didn't say it was because of his appearance. It's despite it.
Here is Bon Clay, the queerest of queers, and you WILL like him, because I will make him impossible to hate. I will make one of the most beloved characters in my story of the most absurd queers of all. - GOAT D A
Crocodile being suprisingly open minded about that matters is quite refreshsing too
@@duyanhng8430 He even gives Bon-chan the dual designation. Mr. 2 for the male aspect, and Bon Clay(from Obon) for the female aspect.
I think aroace is what I would personally use for Luffy.
After Marineford, Luffy explicitly said that he won't get married, so I assume he doesn't find anyone sexually or romantically attractive. Heck, he's more interested in food than anything else, which is kind of similar to the a-spec community joking about garlic bread.
Whether or not people see Luffy as aroace coded, it feels amazing to have a protagonist who is more interested in adventure than romance as well as being a optimistic person. Ace/aro representation is rarely done in manga/anime let alone in media, and when it is portrayed in media, there is often the stereotypes of characters being emotionless or introverted.
Luffy is the complete opposite of that. He cares about his friends, is outgoing, and deeply cares about his brothers. And like the series as a whole, it shows how important friendship and the bonds of a family is.
Absolutely. As things are now, I really can't see Luffy getting in a relationship.
As someone who’s aroace, garlic bread is not a joke 🍞
I definitely feel like Luffy gets the bones of that from Goku. While Goku is married with kids he always seemed to have no interest in sex and romance. And like like Luffy his friends all just accept that about him.
@@alejandroseal3513 My bad. I'm also aroace XD.
@@notationmusicalLuffy can't be aroace, he's obsessed with the romance of adventure, and Ace is his brother.
(But actually, I believe he's pretty likely aroace.)
I think we have to look at this through Luffy’s eyes. Whatever the gender these characters identify with, Luffy accepts it and doesn’t question or debate it. Everyone need to be like Luffy.
I personally like Yamato as an enby person. He's me fr.
The fact that he gets referred to as a man while having giant bedonkers honestly makes me want to cry because that's what I want. He gets completely accepted while not looking traditionally masculine. He gets called a man no matter what he looks like and I wish I had that.
Even his parent kind of respects that he's a man. The only problem is that Odin is on Kaido's DNI and he kind of goes 'you kin some one on my DNI? Jail for a thousand years'
i find it both hilarious and sad that, aside from respecting his gender identity, kaido was an awful parent towards yamato. yet he was a pretty good parent for ulti and page one. he may be a terrible person and a terrible father, but at least he respects people's identities
Speaking of, I'll admit that I was always...interested in how Kaido treated that whole deal, because it's clear that he was willing to imprison Yamato for basically their (differing pronouns to separate the two) whole life with highly explosive cuffs and beat them senselessly throughout the years because of the fact that they idolize Oden...but he still refers to them as a man, despite that being *because* of their attachment to Oden
It's like he both openly accepts Yamato as a visage of Oden and treats them with unbridled disdain for it
From what I gather Kaido was an abusive parent (possibly formed from his philosophy and experience growing up as a tool of war) but has progressive views on gender and personal identity (he's a pirate after all)
It's the same for me! It's super refreshing to me to see a trans character who doesn't conform to traditional gender norms but is still gendered correctly and respected bc I have never seen that before. It's also just plain relatable to me bc I am an enby and don't really read as androgynous and honestly don't care about it.
So Yamato is my favourite trans character ever haha
The part about sanji not kicking the kamabaka kingdom civilians, that shows how strong his morals are when it comes to not hurting women. I feel like his main issue is not being attracted to them (to put it lightly). But if they say they are a woman or are presenting themselves as such, whole heartedly, I don't think he'll kick one of them.
People confuse sanjis "not kicking women" trait with it being because😮 they're beautiful. We are blinded by his pervyness 😅. He doesn't hit women because they're beautiful. It's simply because they, to him, are women. Regardless of how he feels about it on the surface level.
Kureha is a great example of this too. He clearly view her as nothing more than an old hag but he still protects her. Same with Chiffon.
This is a powerful aspect of Sanji character when he has his Shadow stolen by Moria and placed into a Zombie, The Zombie still refused to attack the Pig Zombie Lola because she is a Woman
People saying Sanji doesn't hit women cus he's pervy baffles me. Especially if they've seen his backstory. It's made clear he doesn't hit women because he respects them. The only 2 people who cared for him were his sister and mother. The only 2 women in his life having such a massive impact on him as person that he refuses to lay a hand on a single woman.
Basically, Sanji doesn't hit women for two main reasons his mom and sister were the only positive figures in his life when he was with the Germa and Zeff literally beat it in to him
Bro, I literally thought the same thing! He never went to attack them? I don't get why people have a gripe about Sanji not hitting Women *When We See Why He Is Like This In The First Place?*
While I can't comment on the trans, nonbinary, or gay/lesbian rep, I will say that I feel very seen by Luffy as an ace woman. He's still very much a romantic, loves his friends dearly, and finds genuine joy in the world, which is a stereotype that most ace people struggle wih - that we can't truly love someone on a deeper level or we are missing something/something is wrong with us from a natural point of view, if you don't want to have sex. Also, considering most other shounen at the time, it's very endearing that Luffy hasn't a single "pervy" bone in his body compared to someone like Naruto or Soul, without other characters making fun of him for being a prude or something like in Bleach with Ichigo. It's like OP is subtly holding your hand going, "hey. It's okay if you never feel a sexual attraction towards someone. You are still a fun-loving, adventurous, and lovable person, in fact, the mc is one of the most well-loved characters in the whole narrative, that's literally the running joke," and I personally find that wonderful.
THIS!! as a Demisexual, I knew I felt drawn to him for something! (There's many reasons why I adore Luffy but that's just one of many) but this definitely makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for pointing this out!!
I've always seen Luffy as aro/ace (aro as in not being attracted to someone in a romantic way, while he is still very much in love with all of his friends and nakamas and isn't afraid to show that). I am not in the spectrum myself, I have a lot of aro/ace friends who often feel very dehumanised in a world so romantically and sexually driven, often seeing themselves as lesser because they don't get this part of human interaction that seems so easy and obvious in the world. But just to echo what you said, Luffy being the very embodiment of loving life and being as free as possible while also being heavily aro/ace-coded, is incredibly beautiful to me.
side note: also why I hate any fanfic ships of luffy
Luffy isn't ace, he simply doesn't care for romance/sex since he puts his other priorities beforehand, it's very similar to Goku.
@@Not_Kritikal The original commenter never stated Luffy was canonically ace, just that they feel seen by him.
Same! I'm only demi though lol
What I feel really connects me to Luffy is being autistic and adhd. This man is autistic, the one piece is his special interest, and I will die on this hill - he understands his friends' emotions, but not the bigger social structures those emotions stem from (see also: Nami's village arc). He also doesn't socially camouflage his goals or identity even when it would be extremely obvious to a nuerotypical that that would be in his own self-interest. I can't possibly list everything that makes me think he's autistic because I get that vibe from like 80% of the things he does. I have less evidence for him having adhd, most I can say is he's kind of impulsive and his fruit is very apt for implementing body motion into combat, not to mention the spoiler below as well. Adhd (and autism as well but for his vibes I lean adhd) is also highly comorbid with eating disorders. With how Luffy thinks, acts, and eats, he is essentially seven year old me to a T.
(SPOILER)
the constant motion of gear five might imply he always has a drive to move, since gear five is a representation of when he's at peak freedom
14:52-14:57 To exapand on Bon Kurei's name a bit:
In Baroque Works, the codenames of top male agents were numbers(Mr. 0, Mr. 1, Mr. 3 and so on), while codenames of top female agents were holidays/weekdays(Miss Goldenweek, Miss Merry Christmas, Miss Valentine, Miss Wednesday and so on). With Bon Kurei, their full codename is Mr.2 Bon Kurei, showing how they presents both male and female. Bon Kurei comes from two Japanese holidays: O-Bon Festival and Kure(end-of-the-year festivity). Also, while in the manga the back of Bon Kurei's coat reads おかま道, Okama Way, in the anime it was changed to 盆暮れ, Bon Kure.
In any case, Bon Kurei is the best!!!
BON-CHAAAAAAAN!!!!!
Its also worth noting that each male agent in Baroque Works is assigned a female agent (Mr. 0 with Miss All Sunday, Mr. 1 with Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 3 with Miss Goldenweek, etc.) Yet Bon-chan is the only one without a partner, further signifying how they present themselves as both male and female and how that's recognized and respected by Baroque Works.
BON-BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We love Crocodile being an ally ❤ Anyways Bon-chan is love Bon-chan is life
I may be a lame straight dude observing from the side on these topics but anything that adds variety is a big win in my book. Wano not only gave us better diversity in Queer characters but in having Kiku and O-Tsuru give us different body/face shapes for women. One Piece is a lot like Mass Effect in how it's core themes are bolstered and improved with each new perspective or identity added to the world.
I kind of agree but then don‘t.
They way women are presented f.e (camera lingering on body parts, often moaning, focus on lips, boobs etc) it normalizes sexism. So technically if there were no women in one peace (because they write most of them bad and film them bad) it could not be normalized.
Do you get what I‘m saying?😅
@@XyNameI think it speaks a lot that there's no panty shots in this show. and the women are empowered and actually have agency, stories, and aren't Just used for eye candy.
@00Clank
u rock, dude!!!
@@XyNameThat's how anime is,I'm sad to say this.He can't stray from these things if he wants sales in Japan.It's not like he also shies away from thirst trapping his female audience though,with absolute banger male character designs.Other anime do much worse fanservice,again a very sad thing to say because I think it honestly cheapens the genre as a whole.
Oda is definitely not perfect, but I feel like even though he's a bit clueless at times he's always been fairly open-minded and willing to show the good in the different. And with more modern additions like O-Kiku, I feel he's really made an effort to be good about queer topics, which I appreciate massively from one of the most influental manga authors ever.
Happy Pride Month, everybody!
I think that's really a big point to take away from this.
He messed up with kamabakka kingdom, but he really nailed it in wano imo.
@@RoronoaZoroSensei yeah you also gotta figure that was almost 15 years ago when he wrote about bon clay and iva and the okama, times have changed and he's grown as a person. Of course that being said, when it comes to the San Francisco drag queen community, it's not like he was that far off hahaha
Honestly, thinking he wrote Bon Clay for the first time in 2000 and where we were as a society at that point... he was pretty ahead of the curve, it's easy to forget that those parts of the story were so long ago and how much society changed since then, and Oda himself clearly learned a lot (Kiku and Izo being the best examples) just as we all did... because at 2000 i was friggin 12 and i was still being teached to bully gay people by pretty much everything on tv and around me, i had to go trought a lot of personal growth to get out of that, so Oda already being on a point of presenting a character like Bon Clay speaks volumes for him... especially since japan is still very behind in lgbt representation stuff.
in regards to yamato: in one piece, he is his own person. trying to label yamato as anything is kind of difficult. he identifies himself as oden, a male. Just because he does something that is either feminine or masculine doesn’t verify or disprove anything. women can wear masculine clothes without it being trans. men can wear feminine clothes without being trans. on the flipside, trans women can wear masculine clothes, and nobody is going to say “well your not really trans” because that would be stupid, the same goes for trans men. yamato is yamato. he doesn’t need to fit into a specific gender role or do things just because “it’s what men normally do”, just like how real trans men don’t have to lift 350 pounds everyday to “be a man”
What I love about one piece, is that exactly that is one of the biggest points. For the main crew, people ar just people, doesn't matter their race, colour, sexualities or identifications.
Not LGBT myself, but as an autistic person i heavily relate to that bit at the end with the idea that Luffy copies the reactions of those around him when he's otherwise not sure what to do.
Honestly luffy in general i find relatable in that regard.
Both luffy and chopper both honestly give me that vibe, even if it's probably handwaved a bit for chopper with him not being human.
Okay, you just answered a major question for me. Luffy has always made sense to me. I never saw him as stupid, just simple. Takes things at face value, incredibly empathetic, fiercely loyal, and sometimes completely lost in social situations.
It did cross my mind once or twice, and it's interesting to know I'm not the only one who saw that.
From what I've seen, most people who read one piece and are autistic read Luffy as autistic or heavily relate to Luffy. I personally head canon him as autistic.
i also headcanon him as autistic aroace and i realy believe one piece text backs me up on this, as a teen i also faked attraction to opposite sex because everone else was doing it and usally humans do very complex things, they wear masks and act a role in their lives, you're supposed to say things you don't mean all the time and it's very normalized, it's hard to understand so as a child acting like everybody else, even though they make 0 sense, was the safe thing to do
I agree with the Luffy thing but I will argue that Chopper at its core is a child, like, the youngest son of the strawhats by the social dynamics within the crew (especially his relationships with Zoro and Robin being kinda his parent figures within the SH)
I HEAVILY read Luffy (and a lot of shounen protagonists for that matter) as autistic, so this adds up for sure.
A little while back there was a Tumblr poll on One Piece with the format of "which of these things does NOT happen in One Piece" and basically 90% (or so it felt like) of the notes on that post where something along the lines of "I don't know One Piece but I know it HAS to be the one about a secret society of trans people living in the walls of a prison, this is a shounen manga there's no way that's real"
lmao
As a trans woman, holy shit Kiku being invited to join the girls on the bath made me cry. It makes me so happy so see her enjoy herself and be accepted and I still think she is by far my favorite character in the series
Yamato and kiku both bout made me cry all the bs on yamato i took the bath thing as oda going ok here its confirmed shut up was in pride month to i believe when chapter dropped
i mean if everyone around her sees her as female and are willing to ignore the obvious male genitalia, its alright.
Ultimately this is a show of trust from both sides: Kikus/Yamatos, as well as the straw heads and samurais etc.
Kiku and Yamayo go eith the choice of bath theyre ultimately more comfortable with, AND their surrounding friends chose to 1. Accept/ignore their obviously different body and 2. Trusted them to not be any sort of standoffish
and also 3. chose to not be stand offish themselves
@@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFistyou’re kinda emphasizing the difference in body a bit weirdly… and over explaining something that doesn’t need to be over explained. Sure, their bodies are different, but at the end of the day- it’s just a body. Everyone has one. There’s trust, sure, but there’s also a lack of judgement, worry, or care. It’s just a group of friends bathing together. Nobody is looking at Brook and his “obvious” body difference and asking him why he’s even bathing. He just wants to clean up, like everyone else! Bones get dirty too!
@@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFist same as @miznofiziksolajika470 said. The only person mentioning people's genitalia is you, when that's never been relevant in any way.
They're not "willing to ignore her penis". It's not "the obvious male genitalia". She's a woman, and she has a penis, so what? They're not ignoring anything, they look at her as a woman (because she IS one) and they'll look at her the same way they look at any other girl.
@@pascallagann7699confimed? Did you see the new colorspread?
As a genderfluid soon to be trans woman I've never seen the Kamabakkas as offensive in the slightest, because I always saw how proud they were of them selves and how obviously they cared about Sanji and the whole chasing him stuff to me was never more than a gag playing on how Sanji acts like a dick towards anyone he doesn't want to smash while making it obvious that he cares about them. And with them using terms on semselves which are usually bad words like in german Tunte(Tranny) and wear those usually insulting terms like an honorbadge was a real powermove and showcase of pride in themselves like how weebs simply startet to call themselves weebs proudly. The stereotypical designs of them has also always been something I see as a positive because it shows that they are proudly and unapologetically themself. I always loved all the Queer characters unconditionally and especially the hilarious looking ones were a huge cornerstone in me realizing that I was genderfluid, most of the time feeling to be a woman, and bisexual. My mother doesn't support me in my wish to have my transition from a male to a female body and even wants to forbid me because when I was a kid she never showed enough interest in me to see that I did show signs of queernes that others sometimes did see and I don't know if I had the determination to plan my transition anyway if it wasn't for the huge isnpiration to be myself that I learned from my beloved kamabakkas.
I like this take, honestly wished people had the same one like you do, I think it's the designs people can't see past. Otherwise you get a show of self confidence never seen in regards to Kamabakas appearances.
my thing with the okamas, is that ivankov exists.
if they wanted to, they could all look like the binary of their preference. but they don't.
they look like that, cause they want to. they are happy as they are. and I think that's awesome.
I really appreciate your outlook on this, I really do since the Kamabakka storyline always had my stomach churn. Yet I would also argue, that Oda probably didn't intend it the way (or not all the way) you read it. The predatoriness of the chasing and lusting is such a harmful stereotype, that it is still strong today in Japan.
@@jokerinke actually Oda did intend it like that, so much so that in one spinoff manga about Sanji cooking, Sanji cooks for all the people of Kamabanka and they have very friendly interactions.
A bit like Sam the dog and Ralph the wolf in the Looney Tunes shorts, with their during job and out of job interactions being so different.
@@alicepbg2042not only does Iva exist but iva is their queen
as a transfemme, One Piece in general means so much to me, and is my favourite piece of media ever. When I saw Kamabakka island I was indiferent about thinking of it as a joke, then when I realized that i am woman I felt weird about it. Mainly, I felt it was a bit of misrepresentation fo transfwomen since it can be seen as that. I am still feeling iffy about it, but I think it is mainly since I am very self aware about passing or not (this being a main topic of conditions of my mom basically saying if I want to transition I must to pass, adding pressure about it) and I see my insecurities being shown as being unapologetically themselves. I feel is empowering but still I am not confortable with the whole gag. I think Oda excuted Kiku perfectly, it feels like the best kind of representation. I was so happy when I read the bath scene with Kiku being in the women's bath and Yamato in the men's. It feels right to have them there. I feel seen by Kiku, since she is so tall and slender and makes me feel a little more confortable with my body.
I guess there's kind of irony there with ny user name
Oda redeemed himself lol kamabakka was like 14 years ago
I can relate so much with your comment! I was at first hurt by seeing Kamabakka. But the fact that Sanji doesn't attack them is very interesting.
And passing for me is also very important 😅
My mom is on a similar trip🙈
I feel better about Kamabaka now that Kiku exists. She signifies to me that they are cross dressers and not trans women. Still not really good representation, but Sanji did want to steal their secrets and made the deal with them for training. It also makes sense that all of them identify as men because Iva would have been happy to fully transition them if they asked. And drag queens(kings)/cross dressers do tend to have those more exaggerated forms of gender expression than trans people. It’s a performance as opposed to trans people where it’s who they are
@@ceo9395 14 years ago, that is wild!
Also worth keeping in mind he started OP when he was like 23, so I'm sure we saw a lot of personal growth in the last decades generally
Jo wtf is wrong with your mother. It is so fking awful to demand that you have to look like what society considers a woman to get the treatment that you need to be happy. Screw her honestly
the “forced transition” was a merciful punishment for a guy that literally just tried to assassinate Iva with a bazooka… yet still a great way to show how truly intimidating and powerful Iva is. I think that scene belonged 100% as part of our introduction to that character!
The latest "no rain, no rainbow" color spread I always took as Oda's subtle nod to Pride Month! I know it's based from requests but of all requests, he chose that for his single chapter to be released in June. Also I think it's really cool how Ivankov is one of the founders of the Revolutionaries and even one of its commanders is trans (Morley).
I don't find it cool.
@@jeffyboi8192i find it cool :]
I might be remembering wrong but didn't Oda do the Wano bath scene last June? I remember thinking how cute it was that both Kiku and Yamato got to be in the right bathrooms during pride month.
As a trans man I really appreciated Kaido never misgendering Yamato and that scene in which he was in the hot springs with all the males fully accepted while Kiku was with the women
but later art shows yamato with all the women?
@@2crisp63as the video says, Oda is a wishy washy and doesn’t entirely get it but Yamato is in fact a man. Basically all it comes down to is does Yamato identify themself as a man, they do, then they are a man.
@@SawyerFools "Oda is a wishy washy" isn't exactly good enough and she identifies as oden if anything. Looking through the trans spaces I've also learn that you can utalise he/him pronouns without identifying as a man
Japanese doesn't really have pronouns so I wouldn't put any weight on them
Oda openly said Yamato was a women
It's funny to me that nobody calls Chopper on women only cover, but only once Yamato appears to make drama.
Chopper is a boy, but voiced by a woman.
Honestly never understood the copious amounts of -phobic people in the OP fandom when Luffy is objectively the most welcoming, respectful but also unbothered character ever, while every OP manga/anime chapter/episode comment section is a cesspool of hate, negativity and everything that Luffy stands against 😭 like these are the same people who preach about Luffy being the best character ever, but act like the exact same people Luffy would beat up
-phobes, bigots and the obnoxious “keep politics out of it” crowd are utterly illiterate and proud of it, so I wouldn’t worry too much. They’re the real-life equivalent of “useful idiot” Yonko crew fodder
fr luffy would definitely be an ally, some of those ppl get mad about fruity ppl when theres devil fruits
Here in Argentina we say that those people are the ones that watch the show and align themselves with the tenryubito (eg when they selfproclaim as luffy's fans but vote fascist candidates for government... )
Even when word of god says “Yamato isn’t trans, Yamato is a woman,” Luffy STILL calls him a dude, because that’s what he is. What a chad.
Bon Clay sacrificing themself for everyone TWICE were 2 of the few times I ever cried watching one piece. I thought they died the first time, but the slay queen came back to us… only to be one of the best characters and save everyone again. I’d say they’re like my 3rd favorite character overall 😭 just like the thumbnail, queers never die
I don’t usually comment but I just wanna say this was a very good analysis of the queer themes and I love the fact that queer people can find so much joy and reflection in my favourite story.
Here’s to hoping Oda keep growing in this regard and so does your channel, Mel!
Luffy is legitimately the main reason why I don't feel alienated and ashamed of being asexual
Admittedly, I am still irrationally ashamed of my Lithromantic Asexuality to this day, even if it has gotten better in recent years. Friends support me and it means so much but before I had these friends after high school it was very tiring having to explain what asexuality is to everyone who isn't... And when I couldn't explain it (confidence reasons or otherwise) being surrounded by people experiencing sexual attraction to characters and people is very uncomfortable and lonely at times. Now I am not as uncomfortable because there is much more mutual maturity on the topic and both me and the other people I talk to are for the most part very mature about it!
I am also very grateful that as a closeted trans girl I was able to imagine myself as Robin with her tall beauty and introverted maturity one day, and both Nami's pre-timeskip more tomboyish traits and Tashigi's adorable, dorky adoration of swords making me feel like being a girl into Dragon Ball and also being a sword nerd doesn't make me any less feminine! And eventually going into Kiku being probably my favourite trans girl rep I have ever seen! Especially as I am very clearly presented as a very tall, 6ft 3 tall male who doesn't pass as a female whatsoever.. It does give me a little hope!
Yes, One Piece has plenty of uncomfortable moments but I agree that it never comes off as malicious... And the fact I can say One Piece helped me come to terms with my identity when nobody-- not even my family could help me back in high school means so much to me... And I am glad Oda has provided several relatable and loveable queer characters for us to look up to!
Happy Pride Month!
Glad you feel so comfortable with who you are, trash
Thank you for sharing your story! Hope you’re doing well
Wish you all the best, thanks for sharing!
i am really so glad for Kiku's inclusion and both my wife(a trans woman) and i agree that she is likely an inclusion to show the fans what Oda has learned about trans women since the Kamabakka days. also, her english dub voice actor is also a trans woman, which i think is awesome. i will always be happy for people who are part of a marginalized group getting to represent their group in any piece of media :D
I had no idea about the voice actor in the English dub! That makes me love the dub even more.
Wait I didn’t know that Kiku’s dub va is trans that’s actually amazing and I love it!
Kamabakka isn't trans it's its own thing
@@ceo9395 I didn't say it was. I have worked with drag queens and I'm married to a trans woman, I do know the difference lol
I think "unintentionally offensive but means well" perfectly describes Oda's humour. Most of the time, he always means well but ended up be a bit offensive. Which ironically embodies Luffy as well to since he always means well but ended up say or do things in the most offensive or hurtful way. Like saying how he dislikes Coby for being a coward. Oda himself always drive home the message of acceptance towards the different, eccentric, weird or outcasts. But in order to showcased them, he ended up made them overly weird which can come across as offensive. For example Abdullah, Jeet and Suleiman can be considered as a muslim and arab stereotype. They're violent, joke-ish and borderline crazy but ended up became a great ally to the SH. As muslim and half-Arab, I love their characters and the fact that there is a muslim/arabic representation that aren't overtly racist or portrayed as the bad guys/ weak victims that can't fend for themselves.
In my head cannon Luffy is not just Ace but autistic. So unintentionally offensive but means well makes perfect sense. I've had filters forcibly ingrained in me pretty much my entire life. Without that, I would probably be a lot more like Luffy.
As a cis white male, thank you for bringing this side of one piece to my awareness. Ibe known bon clay and iva were trans but i didnt know any context to how much just those two meant to your community. i love bon-chan and iva-cham and all of you.
I think the point of Ivankov forcibly turning that man into a women is to illustrate the point that everyone should be entitled to being what they want to be, and by forcing that gender change is to illustrate the constraints of societal expectations of gender that preceded the modern ability to change and to exist however you want. No malice
the sad truth is that the One Piece fandom does not know how to handle the fact that Yamato has boobs.
the lengths some people who "don't care" will go through to "protect" yamato as a woman........
Theyre weaklings that don't respect man tits
It goes to show how transphobic many can be to trans men with visible cleavage
I agree, the way a lot of people act towards certain characters heavily implies that they can not separate how someone looks from their character and identity, which is utterly stupid. Yamato is male in heart and mind, but cares not at all for his appearance, thus has no reason to get rid of the boobs, via e.g. Ivankov. Okamaland and the scenario with Sanji is another such case. People judge others far too heavily by their looks and thus make assumptions about them that are plain wrong. After all, to assume is to make and a** of you and me. But many seem to forget that.
people really seem to forget that trans men do not have to adhere to typical expectations of masculinity or gender to still be considered men. if anything, yamato could be considered genderfluid - but honestly i feel like kaido acknowledging that yamato wants to be a man is in some part because he's fine with yamato wanting to be a man - he just doesn't want yamato to be like oden.
i do think that yamato has idol worship, but in some regards i feel as though oden represents a sort of freedom to yamato that he previously did not experience under kaidou. ultimately, yamato being trans AND the confusion/lack of adherence to gender norms within his character perfectly represents the sort of freedom that yamato wants. yamato's freedom is through self expression and identity because kaidou wants his child to fit an ideal figurehead image for wano. he wants to use yamato as a puppet to control wano politically, whilst yamato refuses.
i also want to mention my own personal experience that, as a trans man, i was very much a girl. i in fact liked girlhood, because i did not have the gender roles imposed upon me that are there with womanhood. kids do not have the expectations of gender forced upon them. i figured out that i wanted to be a trans man because most of my role models were other men. i wanted to be a man because of other men. i learned about gay men and felt such a tight twisty "i want to be a man kissing other men" that fucked with my head for such a long time because i didn't know if i was a woman fetishizing gay people or not - until i realized that no woman would ever have stark dreams of kissing other men as a man. this is why i do believe that yamato is a trans man, and that he has idol worship. both statements can be true at once.
i think his initial introduction as a daughter, and then his cover appearance with the other girls, also could simply lend itself that sometimes a lot of trans men still feel more aligned with women / safer with women than they do other men.
One thing I've always noticed about Oda's character writing is that he uses sterotypes and people's instinct to judge books by their covers in a character's introduction to later uproot those assumptions through adding so much depth to those characters. Brook is probably one of the best examples of this being introduced as funny pervy skeleton man (who I know for me I rolled my eyes at) until you get into the fact that no there's much more going on with him and his story.
And we see this happen with Bon Clay and Ivankov where you get the stereotype but later find out there's much more nuance to them besides their look and stereotype. And over the years you can see Oda seems to have realized he's needed to put in better representation on the looks side because I just got to Wano arc but I've noticed a few lesbians fawning over some female characters and straight up in the Nami bathhouse moment if you look you can see a lesbian get a nosebleed, maybe 2 lesbians.
this might sound weird but THANK YOU SO MUCH for talking about Yamato the way you did. So many people in the fanbase treat Yamato's gender as a debate to be won and they act so weird about it. Nobody ever acknowledges that Oda is either wishy-washy/unsure about how to properly portray Yamato’s gender and it's just....the past few years have been so tiresome with trying to discuss anything about him. So thank you. Loved your Zoro analysis btw you understand him so eell
I'm not trans, but I am queer and for the longest time didn't really know how to describe myself. It isn't that there aren't labels that I feel apply to me, but that there are multiple labels that feel right but seemingly contradict each other at first. I consider myself both Ace/Aro and Bi, and am pretty comfy with that now, but when I was younger I didn't have the words for those things and that inbetween. Because of that, I've always actually been drawn to ambiguous queer rep or rep that's explicitly queer but ambiguous in it's labels, even though I know that most of the time it's not done with intention and is often the outcome of misunderstanding/confusion at best. It's always interested me when a character felt a way about themselves we just don't have the words for, because that's how I felt most of my life.
For Yamato, he does read as a trans man to my non-experienced eyes, but the thing that bothers me with how people debate his gender is that even if he was WAS a woman who just used he/him pronouns, that should still be respected??? There are plenty of gay men who dress in drag and use she/her while still considering themselves cis, or enby, or fluid, or transition later, and they all deserve to have their preferred pronouns respected despite how they identify in the moment. Yamato should be no different.
Shit, yeah, you just made me realize why I like those vague queer characters so much. Like there’s no denying that they’re queer, but just the idea that the world they’re in doesn’t even need labels or discussion to function is comforting somehow. Even if it’s unrealistic and I don’t actually want that in real life, it’s fiction, and it’s just nice to see people just *be* and have no problems with it.
And yeah, people will act like they’re totally neutral about trans identities and people while also debating things they just don’t need to. Just use the pronouns that the media uses, it’s not that hard??
I'd say you were pretty spot on. All in all, it's about the freedom of choice and to be whoever you want to be, and no show represents that freedom better than One Piece
I like Felipe, why won’t you stayayay with me? We could be so freeeee.
As a transmasc and aroace person yamato and luffy make me so happy. Its so normal and it makes me feel so valid, one piece turly shows freedom in every aspect. The freedom of being able to express yourself is such a wonderful thing that i would love to see in other series. Im so glad one piece treats queer people like actual people. happy pride everyone
FRFR AAA happy pride to 2 too!!!! for me im black, nb (gendersylphen to be exact) nd (adhd), neptunic, and ace and have been bullied and made fun of since day 1 and it means sm to me bc its nice to see hope tht we'll never be erased. It also fuels me to keep being tht hope to others! :DDD
AGREED
I couldn't agree more ^w^ i'm an also aroace trans man and i share this exact opinion with you. I love them and one piece will always be one of my favorite anime.
Another point regarding Yamato's pronouns is that they're consistent across multiple languages. Every official translation of the manga and the anime uses he/him pronouns, so there's definitely a guideline in place regarding that
I never saw it as a gag at all. I just dont’t see how you could have that take at all. The story around him is super serious and I feel like not have if a stereotypical male body isn’t something that should make someone les than what they say they believe themselves to be.
Yamato is gender fluid
@@eldrickemc4602he is gender non conforming, and could be non-binary, but gender fluid? When does he swap up?
It's mostly because Yamato uses masculine words that everyone does He/Him. Just referring to oneself can be done in a more masculine or feminine way, and it isn't tied to sex.
@@Olimar92 I mean, if someone as big and strong as Yamato, who is your even bigger, stronger, and much meaner boss' kid no less, says "I'm a dude" despite all appearances to the contrary, are YOU gonna argue with them? 😛The only person in a position to is Kaido, and he's probably just like "eh fuck it, I wanted a son anyway, if this is how I get one, so be it."
Honestly I really like things like Bon Clay's outwardly "stereotypical" appearance, as well as some of the others in the story. Oda shows multiple times that even if queer people are "weird" by everyones standards, even if they aren't conventionally attractive or have appearances playing into stereotypes others may see as negative, Oda doesn't write it as negative. Nobody cares about their "strange" appearance, its not seen by the characters as a bad thing. He allows queer characters of all kinds and appearances to be affirmed in it, not just ones that look or present "acceptably" to cishet standards.
Okiku is such a W for representation. Honestly she's probably my fave example of a trans character from any piece of media. It's especially cool that she has that historical basis too
Ivankov transing that one person for being queerphobis is, in hindsight, the most based thing that Oda has ever done. 😂
Tbh i think the scene of iva transitioning that character without his consent was cruel in the most perfect way, i took it as "I'll make you see what your mother had to go through yourself"
As someone born female who is genderfluid, I honestly love Yamato. He continues to identify with He/Him pronouns, even though visually he looks like a woman, and that has been a big part of my experience. A lot of my gender identity comes from within myself so I don’t really care about presenting it to the world. Not to mention that I also still love to dress up girly and have fun that way even though I feel more neutral in gender. Someone does not need to look exactly how the world expects them to when they identify as a gender, what matters is their freedom to choose what it means to present that way.
I am not asexual, but Luffy copying Usopp's reactions to Nami is so relatable. At school, when I was hanging out with my straight girls friends I used to act like I was attracted to boys. I didnt want to feel left out and be part of the fun.
I always thought the people on kamabakka island were exaggerated because we were seeing Sanjis memory. It was super important for Sanjis development as a character to learn that gender is not binary and of course he arrived at the island with a super cishet mindset
Yeah I always viewed it as how a "straight male" would view queers. Not to mention that Sanji is in a literal sense trans-phobic he always acts terrified.
@@GodofGamesss The thought of Sanji literally being ‘Trans’ ‘Phobic’ is killing me rn 💀💀
Sanji's reaction to them was perfect. One should definitely be terrified looking at those things. Sanji knows that they are males and that is what matters.
but you know it's not the truth, queer people are still presented in a ridiculous way after the arc. The truth is Oda thought it would be funny to have sanji running from trans women and gay men as karma for his own behavior with women. If Oda thought trans women are women then he wouldn't use a joke that has been used for decades already ("haha a man is being harrassed by a woman with penis" etc). I still think it's great writing but I'm sure its unintentional.
@@zunairjamil6623shutting up is free, it literally costs nothing. You should try it
Well, to be quite honest. As a trans person, Kamabakka island is of its time. But I have never had an issue with the island? I felt that Sanji needed to get the shit kicked out of him. He DESPERATELY needed to get the shit kicked out of him. And I don’t think he would be able to do it if it was an island of women, and I don’t think he would get what he needed from an island of men. For me Kamabakka island was a necessity for Sanji to become a stronger more balanced individual. I think he needed a wake up call and Oda gave it to him in the Kamabakka. Which is why I think fondly of them, and don’t have a problem with them.
I like to think of the way they're acting as them being bullies and aggressive on purpose because they're so tired of Sanji being so far up his own ass. It's not an excuse for the way they are depicted but at least it makes it a little better.
i found the depiction of transwoman hunting a handsome man like they are an animal for what was obviously sexual reasons really offputting and gross. using the all trans women are sex predators is a false stereo type that needs to die
Basically I just saw it as an island full of Sanji’s showing Sanji what a creepy way he had been acting to make him face up to his nature against women…
Is Sanji a predator?
Or is he just a lech?
Imagining I was the only guy on an island, and someone showed up- of course I’d be thirsty.
I’m on a desert island.
Desperation isn’t predatory.
It’s the difference between a Raccoon and a Lion.
Sanji would scoop scraps out of the trash (or off the floor) you don’t waste food.
On an island full of Sanji’s it was just a way for Sanji to (as OP said) “Get the sh*t kicked out of him” because he sorely needed to be taught some humility with how he treats women, by being treated the same.
Sadly they were all depicted as ugly, but if they were hot (like Bob Clay wearing Nami’s face) he might have settle for those scraps of all that was left and learned nothing.
It should’ve been a dressing down of Sanji, tearing him down at his most toxic of all traits.
Was I wrong in understanding that the Kamabakkas were waiting for Iva in order to help them all do their transitions? Notice later they call it a queendom after she is freed not kingdom. The only reason they appeared as such was because Iva was currently in jail? It feels like a metaphor for how gender affirming care is being restricted from people who want/need it.
@@omfgcows Could be, it's a pretty generous interpretation of Oda's intentions, bad taste or no, but there has been plenty of that kind of blink-and-you'll-miss-it tidbits that aren't pointed out directly.
I know this isn't the type of content you normally make so I just wanted to say, it means a lot to me, as a queer one piece fan, to see a video like this. I definitely don't think any homophobia/transphobia was intentional on Oda's part, and Kiku is honest to God one of the most respectful and well rounded portrayals of a trans woman I've seen in fiction (love that Sanji genders her correctly, what with his hyper-heterosexuality, lol)
As a Japanese person, I think queer people were generally more accepted compared to the west as there were openly queer celebrities in Japan for a long time (note that this may not be the case for the average Joe, as many can be pretty closeted).
I should clarify that the term doesn’t exactly mean homosexual but rather to be thought as more of an umbrella term for those who are queer, crossdress as women, or transgender. This could be the reason for the confusion because of the cultural difference in the language, which can be lost in translation.
Examples of of there openly “Okama” as they describe themselves as, are Matsuko Deluxe and IKKO.
I think more research into the Japanese language and culture would’ve helped reach your conclusion.
wow I'd argue the opposite for the Japan being accepted.
The openly queer people in Japanese popular media are only visible because they use queerness as a selling point, and because society views queerness as a funny trait or character. The whole notion of オネェ系ORオネェキャラ is proof for this.
If queer people were accepted, the laws would be accepting and people wouldn't be looked down or fetishized/dehumanised for being queer. The whole public discourse about Ryuchel's death was nothing of acceptance but just ignorance and hate.
If anything I'd say the example you gave is how Japanese society doesn't accept queerness but uses it as entertainments sake.
Thank you for posting this! This is a great video but I do think that the fact that there is a difference with how the east treats homosexuality and the terminology associated is often lost in the mix. Everyone wants to examine things with a western lense.
Does openly queer artists also apply to visual kei artist? They're so queer coded but i don't really know if it's a queer dominated art form
Agree, Japans culture doesn't have the judeo-christian baggage attached to it.
Japans views on gender/sexuallity don't really fit well into the western concepts.
Would love to hear this discussion of one piece with native Japanese.
For the longest time, I loved one piece and adored all the characters. I was actually really happy with how little romance there was in the series! It wasn't until I was older and realized I was aroace that I understood why I liked Luffy so much. There are also so many other characters in the series that I relate to just because they give off ace vibes.
But seriously, I love that Oda inadvertently made an asexual icon without even realizing it.
I think what makes Sanji interesting is that while he goes berserk for all women, I feel it comes from his mother complex. Even though he is a real flirt, he genuinely cares about the well being of women. He continually expresses this by not hitting women or taking a defensive stance whenever they are threatened. This is all indicated from the start, so even though there is some problematic humor, it also causes you to keep thinking about his role as a cis-man. I have always seen Sanji having obsessive behaviour around women as a complex, instead of some macho flirtatious male depiction.
Man, Woman, I don't really care but someone has to tell Yamato that identity theft is a serious crime.
As an asexual person myself, I have always felt seen by Luffy's mere existence, even when he's reacted to something which you probably wouldn't expect an asexual character to react to.
In my experience, living in world that is incredibly tailored to sex positive people, being in social situations where people react to "sexual" cues and being the only person around to not have any reaction feels incredibly alienating. So I have occasionally found myself following the crowd in reacting to things which I wouldn't have batted an eye to if I were by myself.
What I'm trying to say is that from my perspective, Luffy is written perfectly as an ace character, intentional or not.
It's very interesting to see how Oda presents queerness, becouse for how he draws women is very clear he is a very heterosexual men. He is also very, very left winged, and one piece shows it everywere. So him being suportive of the queer comunity even if he himself is heterosexual is incredible positive and to be expected, but also a recepy for ocational mistakes. That said, his positive depiction of queer characters in THE most popular manga in the world is always a welcomed surprise and as an heterosexual man myself I really hope I can live up to the lessons One piece has thought us about respecting the dignity and freedom of every human being, no matter sexual orientation, race, nationality, ideology or religion.
whenever I read a man being pursued aggressively in media, I'm just reminded about how women are pursued. I didn't pay thaaat much attention to Sanji on the island, but when I was reading it, I felt like he was kind of getting a lesson in what it's like to be so heavily pursued in an unwanted way.
I cant believe ive never seen anyone mention this before your video, but luffy's always appeared to be aroace to me. He was actually part of the reason i realized that i'm aro because watching him in amazon lily literally felt like watching myself from the third person, and i ended up looking more into it as a result cuz i was like "yo... wait a minute..."
I’ve always been hoping that someone would go over this topic about the series, and having MelonTree, whose content that I love, be the one to cover it is actually really nice.
29:47 We all know Sanji goes bonkers for big honkers, he can’t help himself! That’s why he’s so deeply in love with Zoro…
15:18 to be fair, the full translation of the cape says おかま道 which roughly translates to “the gay way” or “the gay path of life,” and given the chance I think I would also wear that just as proudly.
Luffy's ultimate dream is freedom for everyone. Every. One. Luffy is accepting of everyone, so long as they aren't doing villain things of course. Even then, he is able to forgive villains if they seem to be making amends. Oda's message is about freedom. Freedom to live, freedom to eat, freedom to be you. That's why Enies Lobby was such a good arc. Robin lived her life thinking being alive was a "sin". Yeah, Robin is not an LGBT character as far as we know, but Luffy was pissed to know that people made Robin feel that way. And that feeling doesn't stop at Robin. Luffy hates when anyone makes anyone else feel that way. Oda's way of presenting things may not have been perfect, but his ultimate message is a powerful one.
Luffy himself is a villain, he's a pirate after all. His ultimate dream is freedom for himself and his friends, but he doesn't tend to much care for others dreams. There's a selfishness to Luffy I really appreciate, sort of a more morally gray Goku.