I think a quintessential Zoro moment is at the end of the Water 7 arc, when he refuses to let Usopp rejoin the crew without proper atonement. It shows that he holds not only himself, or Luffy, but EVERYONE on the crew to the highest standards. He says something along the lines of "Is quitting the crew such a minor thing?" By far one of my favorite Zoro moments.
@HotShotMamma idk man Usopp left on his own accord over something minor, if they just accept him back with no questions asked then it shows that he has 0 respect for his captain, like h acted on the beach as the ship left, he acted like they needed him to come back and that he was the greastest, not that i dont like him its just that behaviour like that isnt something you can have on your crew
@HotShotMamma Um, because he hurt Luffy? Yes, he saved Robin, but he DID have a reason: she had sacrified for himself too, soo... the conflict wasn't about Robin. He didn't respect Luffy because of his own insecurities, insecurities about something that the crew never believed, even. Also, actions speaks louder, but when you do wrong, you have to deal with it and be humble and apologize. It is necessary, may be as awkward as it is. I'm sorry, but that's just it, period. If he wanted to come back, then prove it. Unless you don't want them to trust you anymore... because who's to say you won't betray them again? Show how much you actually want it. If you DO want it, then it means you're just being honest, right? Usopp wanted to avoid passing through his own consecuences, but you should know that's not possible. You con't just mistreat someone and laugh as friends as of nothing ever happened two days after that, because that's not how a good friendship/crew works.
@HotShotMamma No. Merry was gonna *die* and couln't take them to the next island, that's for sure. He/she was like a dying nakama who gives his/her last effort, I don't think that makes Usopp right lol. But this is no "who has the reason" problem, don't misunderstand. It was about Usopp not respecting his captain's decision because of his own insecurities as the weak member, misunderstanding that they all *had* to be strong what it was not like that and comparing himself to others, period. That was weakness. And that kind of weakness could condemn a crew's destiny... If they'd continued like that, they would have no doubt sucumb as they were no real pirate crew until this happened. This happened *because* Luffy wasn't a good leader until Enies Lobby happened and he was suddenly reminded that he had to live up to his role in the crew (again, Morj can explain way better than me this point, please, see his video so that you can see the real point Oda was making with all this arc). Zoro is the only one that already understood what a captain's burden is, even before Water Seven, and seeing as Enies Lobby didn't made the others realize the problem they had just passed through and why, he had to tell them at the moment *so that they wouldn't repeat it again, suffer and condemn the crew... He was probably one of the members who wanted him to come back the most, but he knew that not telling them would be unrespectful to all the friends and members of the crew, including Luffy and Usopp* -this philosophy is hard to accept and difficult to understand, that's why Oda chose him to explicitly point it out. They are not just a family or a group of equal friends going on a happy trip. They're fighting putting the lifes at risk. Yes, they're still a family above their "crew role/side" and everything, and then they have all the same rights and can even mock Luffy *as a friend* and just in that friendly role... until important decisions are to take or their lives are at risk. Then they can't afford themselves to be doubting Luffy's word, and Luffy had to becaome a real leader too so that his crew won't feel lost, start doubting again (him or themeselves) and destroy the others (or their relationships) in the process... They could remain friendly and all, but he has to have the authority when to do what. After this arc, he started finally giving them orders *actually* If there is no important matter, all of them KNOW so that's when they "don't follow his orders", but that's just Oda writing comedy generally. When they're being silly or in a more relaxing context, Luffy still doesn't mind if they "mistreat" him (again: for the sake of comedy, it's not like they're actually abusing him lol). BUT, if the captain says anything should be this or that way now in a serious matter, then they're all prepared to follow rules loyally because they actually trust his guidance. *That's a strong crew* . They still can be afraid, like Nami and Usopp, or not entirely agree with him, like Zoro sometimes does himself. That does not in any way mean that they won't follow the order, period. (-Also, Zoro demonstrated that he's the most loyal crewmember Luffy has with this Thriller Bark scene, so discussing about him not following Luffy as if it was a status quo is quite... ironic lmao-).
@@sakura5sango6 Also the fact, that Usopp disguised himself to help them at Enies Lobby, because he was afraid to actually apologize, is a point to not ignore. Yes, he fought along their side to safe Robin, but still, he disguised himself as Sogeking to avoid an actual apology. (If this disguise was on point or not is another discussion.) Actions speak louder than words, but sometimes words are needed to state a point. The actual worded apology in the end was needed to show honesty. If you make a mistake, than you need to show honesty through actions and words. Even a shy person, who barely can't talk to others, because the person is too afraid, needs to speak out sometimes to state a point or get what they actually want.
The way luffy and zoro develop pre timeskip fit so well, Luffy's development was becoming a better leader, while zoro's was becoming a more loyal follower
I think luffy was one of zoro’s first tastes of how big the world is. He saw luffy as this ridiculously strong guy with a power considered a legend by many in the east blue. Zoro was strong for the east blue and perhaps he grew a bit content, but he meets luffy and sees how his ambition mirrors his own and his striking fearlessness. These qualities he sees in luffy immediately promises Zoro a grand adventure pitting their skill against the world in a journey to become the very best. Zoro recognizes the fearlessness in luffy better than any one in the crew because he shares the same exact trait. Luffy is not one to play to his level very often, so when they encounter a challenge as a crew it will often be one that pushes them beyond their limits. I noticed early in the series that the rest of the crew develop a view of luffy that he’s almost infallible because he is so dauntless. Zoro does not see him this way because he understands luffy isn’t fearless because he thinks of himself infallible or unbeatable, but because he has the unwavering belief that somehow he will accomplish his goal of being pirate king and that that means overcoming every challenge along the way. Because he understand luffy isn’t infallible or unbeatable it puts more pressure on him to face threats with everything he has and not as if luffy can just come and save him. He’s always chasing luffy, because he understands he must stick close to him in order to reach the stratosphere of the very best and that often means taking on the bigger threats and pushing himself past his limits.
Honestly I think that’s a great way to put it I would have said something like this but would have had no idea how to say it and I think you summed it up great
Honestly, this character analysis really clicks with Zoro's reaction to meeting Mihawk in the east blue. He didn't realize just how strong *The Strongest* really is and had grown content and just a tiny bit arrogant from the weak foes the east blue gave him. Mihawk handily handed him his own ass while his Captain beat the breaks off the strongest foe they had yet encountered and I think it was then that he truly realized just how strong he'd need to become to be worthy of being First Mate of the Straw Hat crew
Luffy and Zoro also seem to have a unique bond. Zoro is one of the only characters that Luffy will actually listen too. For example, on Punk Hazard when Zoro yells at Luffy that this isn't a game anymore, Luffy takes him seriously and actually listens.
Yeah, also we can see with Sanjis interaction in the same scene Zoro is actually talking to himself. Sanji says "he is so hard on himself" after hearing what Zoro said to Luffy. Luffy and Sanji know that Zoro wanted to push himself into the right mindset. Seeking validation from his captain to know they are on the same page.
@@safecyn8688 Thank god someone besides me has the balls to say Nux, is a trash RUclips, annoying as hell ego, and way to popular for no good reason, and i just don’t understand how anybody can like someone with that mentality.
Nah with He’s personally , he wouldn’t do anything but fighting and I don’t see Zoro trying start fights or anything like luffy , he’s not that’s funny either I don’t see him caring the show unless there’s others good Side character then Sure he would be a Ok Mc
That Thriller Bark scene was definitely the most impactful to Zoro’s resolve. For the first time another character was able to truly experience how much Luffy is dedicated to his own dream. He realized Luffy’s drive is even greater than his own and that Luffy is willing to truly give everything for his own dream. I don’t think people realize how important that scene was.
nah.. everyone realized.. everywhere i go, whenever something like this about zoro is brought up, either Thriller Bark scene or Water 7 sceen were brought up..
@@rhniloy9590 anyone who hails their fav character to extreme lengths and in doing so forgets who their character is and confuses what they want the character to be with what the character wants to be. Sanji is not and will never be equal to or stronger than zoro.
What's also interesting about Zoro's insane loyalty to Luffy and how far he'll go for him is that it's not played as coddling, hyper-present or catering to Luffy. What I mean by that is, when I think of other highly loyal characters, their loyalty is often displayed like an oveprotective parent, always noticeable whenever they are with the person they're most loyal to, or watered down to the fact that they will do whatever the person says, no arguements. Zoro obviously saves Luffy from drowning if he has to and has his back in a fight, but he is never overbearing with Luffy and lets him do his own thing unlike protective loyalty where characters often concern themselves with worries big and small. Zoro doesnt display his loyalty vocally much or show Luffy constant reverance like a soldier to your commander and he doesn't always agree with Luffy like letting Usopp back on the crew at Water 7. Zoro certainly expects a standard from Luffy when it matters and speaks out as much, but his loyalty is otherwise very subtle which I think is what is so intriguing.
Also, he actually tells Luffy whren he thinks he's doing wrong (like the Usopp scene). Yes, he loves his captain as much as they all do. He is by far his most loyal crewmember. But this shows how much he actually respects Luffy. He's usually willing to do whatever his casptain tells him to do or not to do, yet he won't just obey for the sake of it. If he thinks Luffy's doing a bad job at his role, he will honestly show him. Because he wants Luffy to be a good captain. As a good friend would do too: being honest and telling you when you're not exactly behaving or being the best person ever, or being wrong, etc.
that also comes from respect. Which is a huge concept in, not only oda's work, but in japan's sociaty. To him, luffy is not only he's captain, but mainly a man he respects and blindly trusts. Both want to become the best, and just like luffy believed since minute 1 that zoro would become the greatest swordsman, zoro ended up doing the same because luffy backed his words with action, which zoro, as a man of action himself, blindly respects. Usopp, as much of a friend and a "naka,a" he is for zoro, he doesnt hol that much respect and blind trust, as luffy does. However he does get respect in a way. When he disrepcts his captain, and turns his back, not only on zoro and luffy, but all the other "nakamas", whom as long as they fight for the same cause will have zoro's respect (because how huge and ambicious their enterprise is)(which is not to take away the fact that he considers them friends and the emotional consecuences that carries, of course). The moment Usopp betrayes that common goal and dream for his own selfish (and separate) believes (which zoro clearly does not share as much as he doesn't like getting rid of Going merry) he is no longer a holder of such respect. But what's even more, zoro sees him as a man, and understands why he behaves like that and respects his own decission (which is why he doesn't really step in appart for saying a word or two). So once he decides to come back, as a man, zoro holds him accountable of his actions... LIke damnnnn thats so well written
Zoro stands back until 1 of 2 things. 1. Luffy tells him to step in, 2. They're in a rare scenario where Luffy has been rendered temporarily rendered unable to fight, is too tired, fell into water, etc
i think you’ve definitely got a point there about Luffy not considering his goal of becoming the pirate king being a zero sum game. in 507, the conversation with Rayleigh in Sabaody, when Usopp asks about the one piece, Luffy doesn’t say he’d rather die if he heard the answer, he says he’d quit being a pirate
I love this. It really hits on something incredible, Zoro's flaw of taking on everything himself, but I strongly disagree that this hasn't been explored enough to be viewed as Zoro's character flaw. Thematically Zoro's weapons show how he tries to do too much himself. Wado Ichimonji represents Zoro taking on Kuina's dream of becoming strong. Yubashiri represents Ipponmatsu's desire for his family's swords to be the best. Shusui represents Ryuma's desire to be strong. And now Enma represents Wano's desire to be free from Kaido. The other noteworthy detail showcasing Zoro's unwillingness to rely on others as a meaningful character flaw is the parallelism in One Piece. There are a lot of obvious parallels in One Piece, but one of the more interesting ones is Luffy and Zoro being paralleled to Roger and Rayleigh. And in the few scenes Rayleigh has been in he's always trying to do everything himself. Rayleigh was freeing slaves by himself. Rayleigh tried to protect the Strawhats on Shabody by himself. Hell, Rayleigh even swims to the amazon island instead of taking a ship. Rayleigh trains Luffy in Haki alone despite having Boa and Jinbei there to help. Zoro's inability to rely on others is paralleled in Rayleigh significantly enough that I'm fairly certain that it is a significant character flaw that will be explored further.
@@shonenbois nothin much, I was curious how he would make sense of Zoro dying for his own dream and Luffy's and he seemed to find some conclusion. I liked the video. Have you seen my video I Zoro?
The Dynamic between Zoro and Luffy is truly perfection. Because in the eyes of Luffy, he believes in Zoro as much as himself, and I do not believe he thinks he can be the true pirate king, without Zoro being the worlds greatest as well.
At the beginning of the series, Luffy even states how in order to be the pirate king he needs to have only the best crew mates (if i remember correctly). Him believing that Zoro will be the worlds greatest makes perfect sense and both of their ambitions and determination definitely fuel each other endlessly which is such an amazing dynamic.
@@omegacloud222 I know that statement, which the statement speaks volumes, he has even stated similar things in whole cake, and I believe part of his dream, is the ability for all of his crewmates to recognize their dreams as well. Basically Zoro and Luffy are tier 1 characters by themselves, but together, they make one of my favorite duos in all of anime/manga history
I believe it's not about him being pirate king, but about his promise to Shanks. As I remember, he actually promised to have better crew and this is where this situation comes from. On the other side, this specific part of their promise never played a major role in the story, so maybe you are right as well
I mean, after all nobody can fight the world alone. One Piece is truly the shounen series that showed the value of charisma and teamwork at its best if you ask. Rarely they stop and do big plans, but it always feels like they play off each other strengths and cover their weak points. Sure, being saved at a vulnerable moment Is a common trope in all of fiction, but when I see it in OP It feels like a natural result of how the characters are written. Nobody can take on an army alone, and even when things turn into separated 1vs1 fights there is the feeling that the characters are relying on each other to win.
Zoro’s character has been greatly misunderstood by most of the fan base. I feel like even a lot of Zoro fans don’t realize just what exactly makes Zoro as great as he is. They’re just more captivated by Zoro’s coolness.
His badass behavior and coolness is just the most striking feature of him. Thr things morj mentioned are deeper character traits that only observant zoro fans will notice
What I most like about Zoro is his whole dynamic with Luffy which more often than not, it’s the catalyst for his best moments in the series. There’s a whole Reddit page about how those two are kindred spirits and I couldn’t possibly agree more, Zoro is as cool and strong as he is because of his loyalty to Luffy while also being true to himself, thanks to being in a crew he had the pleasure to fight and lose to his biggest rival in Mihawk and through the series he had battles with the most intense of enemies, Zoro has to become stronger not because of his own ambition, but to also uphold the standard Luffy put on his shoulders, Luffy can not have anything less than the most powerful swordsman in the world and Zoro ain’t gonna be lacking when his captain is crowned. I swear, I love the dynamic between the two, they compliment each other so well yet also share so many similarities between them. That’s true brotherhood.!
The reason I think people think of Zoro as the one dimensional badass who doesn't change, is his change is in passing by. For example Sanji got his own arc and had small passing by growth, same with Nami, Robin, Chopper (although, it was Choppers initial arc), and Usopp. Maybe I think you could say Franky when he changed his attitude about being on the crew. Luffy as the Protagonist has also had time spent with each character and had a whole 2 arcs and time skip revolved around his growth as a character. Zoro's growth is passing by because the arcs do not surround him, same with his strength. The arcs he is in, he affects greatly, but is not the focus. His growth in bowing his head to the man he put on a pedestal asking for help. His growth in being willing to give up his dream if he cannot make the dream of his Captain who he is sworn to come true. Him being willing to save another and show his strength by going 30 days without food. His determination to never lose another fight until he meets Mihawk again. Everything he did pre-time skip shows growth and determination. Him threatening Luffy when Usopp did the thing in Water seven, showed he will not let his Captains chain of command die because he will not follow a man who cannot control his crews behavior toward him, the Captain. I'm hoping he gets more growth time skip wise and maybe a little more backstory such as his parents or something.
I think this video still analyses Zoro under just one perspective. This is Zoro the swordsman: what about Zoro the person? His ambiguous relationship with women, his need to appear tough and serious when he hides a great kindness. One of my favourite scenes is Zoro drinking the water he was gifted by the inhabitants of Okobore.
Zoro is a great person, natural leader and cares for everyone, in alabasta he was the only one worrying for chopper hydration/ fatigue in sky island he was the only one worrying about nami's inexperience with jungle adventure also in a cute scene when usopp went pissing and saw the "magical guardian angel of merry" it was zoro who got up to check in on him because he was late, im still only in water7 arc but zoro is just a character that needs more recognition
@@jpem4664 true, I just really enjoy her character and I wanna know what he can pull from her writing that I might’ve overlooked. He can do it the same way he did the wano theme video where he’ll make a more complete one when the arc finishes if needed
@@Kanemakii Let's just say he's not happy about her motherly side nor her mental instability/amnesia moment. Perhaps by the end of the arc Oda will make him change his mind tho
Zoro wanted to be #1 before making the pact with Kuina, yes... but I also think that pact still weighs heavy on his heart. Yeah, the pact was made after the fact, but at that point, it felt more like a kid's dream and boasting with youth. After her death, he became a lot more motivated to that goal. Also, the fact that he was NEVER able to defeat Kuina before her death, I feel like Zoro partially wants to keep that part of her alive inside him - no one else is able to defeat him before he had a chance to become stronger than them. Kuina represents someone that he can never prove he is stronger than - because she died before he could defeat her and before either of them could grow into their full potential. Don't get me wrong - I'm 99% sure Zoro would have continued his "Worlds Strongest Swordsman" goal/journey with or without her, but I feel her death plays a bigger part in his development than not.
I think Zoro also wants to fulfill Kuina's dream by becoming the strongest swordsman, therefore making Kuina the real strongest swordsman (because he couldn't beat her). He's essentially carrying both his dream and her dream at the same time.
@fk5774 Exactly. He brings it up multiple times and I felt like the video was severely downplaying how important that promise and the weight of that promise, is to him. It's a huge part of what drives him.
The way he took both Big mom and Kaido attacks to protect Luffy in Wano war. I wasn’t expected less, but it always gets me his character. When someone asked me who was my favorite character I immediately said “Zoro”. He has been my favorite since the beginning. Then I also fell for the other members of the crew but Zoro stands up for me.
I always wondered what made the "nothign happened" moment so insanely loveable, and I had just thought of it as a show of loyalty by taking the greatest sacrifice without ever wanting/ getting recognition for it, but hearing you linking that to the other side of the coin- his personal drive, really makes so much sense and elevates that scene and his character to a whole other eschelon...
@@grantisshananaa4906 we all know it wasn't because he really wanted to bea leader, he was seeing the opportunity of fighting stronger opponents in that ordeal.
Thank you for this vid, Zoro always has been my favorite character but I couldn't really tell why and that's exactly it : he's the most determined and dedicated to his dream, but also the most loyal to Luffy, putting his dream aside for him. Absolutely amazing but Oda has the presence of mind to remind us that this kind of mentality, as admirable as it is, doesn't lead you very far and that in comparison, Luffy and his ability to rely on others is more likely to succeed. Or at least "as likely". But yeah, I "feel in love" two times with Zoro and that's the two moments you picked to describe and you've chose the right words to express why it was so deeply meaningful, thank you.
I'd say the fight against Kaidou has been showing that Zoro is capable of leaving things to others, he's so completely sure that luffy can beat Kaidou alone that he leaves to help somewhere where others need help.
How would he ? Do you want him to cry or something What ? He’s done as a character , Zoro is Zoro this is him nothing else Jut accep him lmao isn’t he y’all’s man ? Y’all fav
I expect for him to have a wholesome, good character moment when all is said and done with Otoko and Hiyori (whether there's a romantic thing there or something open like with Pudding and Sanji), specially if he goes to Oden and Yasuie's graves to pay his respects.
I think that's the main problem with Zoro's character, he is just a shonen trope, strength or death, good or evil, loyalty or cowardice. In 1000 chapters he hasn't moved from this binary mindset as a character and I'm afraid to say that Oda doesn't intend to move him from that spot. Zoro doesn't have deeper things to show, he is a cool character and that's it.
Damn, i had tear in my eyes when i realized how much zoro trained for his dream and to just let go it all for his captain makes me respect him even more. Thanks for the video
But a lot of his theory videos are just him falling victim to the hype of other people online? (lol raid is gonna fail guys) Though I do agree that his analysis videos are some of the best on RUclips, at least in regards to One Piece. Would prefer if he stuck to those, but I like his content either way so I can't really complain.
i've been reading one piece weekly for the last 12 years and i just wanted to thank you for this video. it brought back so much nostalgia and appreciation for the series, i actually teared up from all the emotion i felt watching your video and reliving/ remembering what i'd forgotten.
In alabasta when robin saw that the rio poneglyphs weren’t there and her dream was not achieved , she also was ready to die because her dream failed. She even got mad at luffy for saving her life instead of letting her die when she didn’t achieve her dream.
Yeah, but that was also because at that point she was at rock bottom. She had nothing else to live for beside her dream, and the loneliness and despair were slowly killing her. I don't think she'd react the same post-Enies Lobby, with the crew having her back she's keep looking for a workaround, different poneglyphs, etc.
When Morj opens up a video with THAT tone in his voice, you know it's gonna be killer. You know the tone, it's the lower, slower register he whips out for serious videos.
Zoro is one my favorite characters in anime period. Just his guts and respect to his captain are so admirable. He's a man's man of course but he's so honorable and committed to Luffy's dream that he will bow and accept help from others to help Luffy. He's a true friend and Vice Captain. I'm so excited to see him evolve even more.
Why everyone calls him vice-capitain Well, I know why, but he isn't He is referred everywhere as a "swordsman". I believe it to be actual plot point at some moment, maybe connected to his conqueror's haki and gaining responsibility over others
@@iamdivan7368 yh i see what u mean. Like bda said in the chap where hes being treated by hiyori he says something along the lines of "too many captains sink the ship, best if i dont think too hard about it". So bda said that this isnt very vc like and yh once he starts taking the role his coc is gonna start showing through even more.
I think Zoro has come a long way in be able to delegate ability and ask for help since the time skip. Acknowledging he needed Orlumbus’s help in Dressrosa to get to Pika, having Kine’mon teach him Firefox, acknowledging Drake and letting him handle Apoo, and leaving the Main Stage to Chopper after he went to the rooftop. Their could be more, but I don’t think he’s trying to carry too much on his shoulders anymore.
One aspect that I love is how Zoro's individualistic dream gets entwined with his objective as Luffy's right hand. He can't be the greatest swordsman if he can't even protect his captain is such a (true) view that encompasses both his level of strenght and turns his individualistic goal, who by itself is an end, into a mean to another end, that is to protect Luffy and the crew. He doesn't make compromises, but rather, sinergizes his dream with his duty.
Zoro's one of my absolute favorites. I know there really doesn't seem to be a clear point where the change in Zoro happens, but I believe it is something that was already a part of him, just more dormant. From the very beginning of his journey to become the best swordsman, he showed absolute *loyalty* towards chasing his dream in a sense, especially after meeting that girl as a kid, his first rival. Through his relationship with her, I could see that meeting her and then losing her is what would later make him convinced that if he would be capable of protecting someone he loves with his swordmanship, only then would he know he is also capable of becoming the number 1 swordman. Being the #1 swordsman for him means both defeating all other swordsman and living to protect those he is loyal to. In a sense, if he were to die against a non-swordsman after becoming the #1 swordsman, what would that say about swordsmanship? Since that time when he met the girl, while she immediately became the first big rival he wished to surpass, there was also a connection between them. As swordsman, as rivals, as people striving to be strong against all odds, as friends in that respect. Several times, he is reminded of the words she told him once and her personality. When Zoro was saved by Luffy in the beginning, he didn't like it because he saw it as a trial that if he did not live, his dream wasn't meant to be. After, albeit involuntarily, spending a decent time with Luffy after being rescued, Zoro saw that there was something about him. Luffy had a drive as strong as his while also jumping headfirst into any enemy that would stand in his way. Luffy jumping in can be considered more or less reckless, but that in itself influences Zoro later. At first, he was mainly a bounty hunter, and he's pretty much more level-headed than Luffy in battle, but then we get that part in the story where Zoro keeps getting into battle after battle while he still has wounds that aren't done healing. From the beginning, just being around Luffy, he comes to understand that if Luffy is to become the king of the pirates, that would only up his chances of developing as a swordsman. Luffy, while inherently free-spirited, never fails to give it his all at any point in time if it means reaching his goal. It's the same for Zoro. Consequently, If either are to be #1 or die trying, *that* is the kind of comrade you'd want to team up with. Due to the similarities in their strive, Zoro *knows* he can entrust his own dream to Luffy and vice versa. Their dreams get to coexist because Zoro inherently is not anti-social (on the contrary, his fuse isn't that long, which we often see with Sanji), but rather knows the value of devotion and loyalty thanks to the girl that died. He was a lone wolf for a long time because he never came across someone he could respect enough to bother with friendship or the like, especially after having lost his friend and rival in such an unfortunate way. It was as if it was natural selection, the way that she died. His competitive streak for becoming #1 was never so he could just showcase it to the world from the very start, even before he met the girl. It's a personal goal that coincides with his pride as a person. This is why he is also capable of loyalty. Having spent time around Luffy, you see him slowly soften up. By soften up, I mean come to appreciate life with people around him. His strive will never break, so really, his bets are on Luffy in the sense that if Luffy is on the brink of failing, his sword will be there. His interest in Luffy comes from Luffy's free-spiritedness, ability to unite people, and similar drive. He sees in Luffy what it takes to become King of the Pirates, and he wants to be a part of that, so instead of being too stubborn, he decides that if he can't protect another's dream with his sword, then he might not be worthy of being #1 swordsman after all. Their bond didn't form from fighting, but how similar they are in drive and how Luffy is as much of a wonder to Zoro as that girl was back then, someone he respected and saw strength in. He could see himself fighting her into adulthood. With Luffy, he can see himself rising to the top *with* him. It's really just as simple as Luffy being stubborn until he grew on Zoro because Zoro couldn't dispute Luffy's own stubbornness and drive and came to respect Luffy's dream. He just saw the right attitude in Luffy and I think that it in turn also inspired him to strive toward his goal while helping someone else achieve their dream because he *could* . I think at least a little of that had to do with the girl, because the girl died before even living a decade or two and he's carrying her memory with him on his journey to #1 swordsman (he saw great things in her future before she died). Zoro inherently is someone capable of loyalty while also striving to be the best to the point that he will give everything except the lives and dreams those he's sworn loyalty to. If you had just one characteristic or the other, it wouldn't be Zoro, it would just be another one-dimensional character or someone who never got the memo that friendship is the ultimate power in Manga and Anime and their dream would be short lived if they thought they could go through life alone. Like, while he's made to be inherently driven to be the #1 swordsman, he's literally also given me military vibes, like someone who's only goal is being the best but shines the most when he's part of a team. Luffy is one of the purest characters you'll come by and the girl he met as a kid was also someone with pure motivations. Zoro is drawn to other idealists, but not just any idealist, idealists with a clear and pure intention. He's a swordsman. He has honor. So in reality, there are 3 qualities to him rather than just being #1 and loyal. He also has his honor as a swordsman which bleeds into his honor as a man. At his core, he would never do anything that would dishonor the respect he had for the girl he met as a kid. (Ok this is long, but I had to. All I'm saying is that the girl had more of an impact than I felt was portrayed in the video and that he basically knows right from wrong despite his black and white ambitious mindset so he has no choice but to forge a harder path where he's not only #1 but strong enough to take on anyone who has a problem with someone he's sworn loyalty to out of respect). That's what I really love about Zoro. He won't run away from his own feelings inside, even if he usually plays coy on the outside. If you show a strong will and determination with clear goals and non-evil intentions, it is more likely Zoro will like you lmao. If it's a rival, he'll respect their skills at most if their intentions are not up to par. Edit: I also agree that he needs to learn to get help. This would again make sense with the explanation I gave for his characteristics and stuff. He's essentially a one-man show and feels he needs to be in order to be #1 and trust that he can protect those he's loyal to and cares about. I myself can have trouble asking for help a lot *sigh*. That's where I relate to Zoro on a personal level lmao.
I still cannot believe Oda actually confirmed zoro conqueror's even though we as fans of zoro have wanted it for so long. If anyone in the whole series actually deserved CoC, it is none other than Zoro. Unbelievable and yet so much excitement at the same time as well. Let's hope luffy gives him a few pointer on how to use CoC both for crowd control and weapon coating. Luffy and Zoro could end up having an insane version of something similar to the Ocean Sovereignty attack both kaido and big mom did. like the time luffy and zoro did in Ennies lobby arc to blow a hole in the wave.
Yes ! But I don't think Oda kept us waiting for hundreds of chapters to show us Zoro having conquerors haki , as Morji said there's gotta be a character development behind it ! I can't wait for that moment 😳
Zoro's change of heart may be hard to point when it happened but you can notice on Alabasta that he's changed when Chopper ask him why everyone follows and trust Luffy, and asks about their group dynamic, since everyone does their own thing
As you said in the video, Zoro wants to be the best at what he does, and that's not only swordsmanship, but also a vice-captain. This "duality" of "contradictory" ideals works because people who pursue perfection like that tend to act this way in everything they deem important, that's why he's relatable.
I really can't wait to learn more about Zoro. Even though we are 1000s of episodes into the show I feel like there's just so much we don't know about him. Why did he want to be the World's Greatest Swordsman in the first place? His family? Backstory? Or even later stuff like the scar on his eye he got during the timeskip.
@@RandomHer03 What? I didn't miss anything. We don't actually know why he wants to specifically be the greatest swordsman. Nor do we know anything else about him other than his mindset and little bits of his backstory. Relative to the other strawhats, we know nothing. Zero clue what you mean by "he doesn't need that stuff". Learning more about him wouldn't take away from who he is lol.
Video sparked a new theory: What if the reason Kuma chose to have Zoro go through that on Thriller Bark is because he made Zoro do literally for his Captain what Kuma has done figuratively for his Captain, in his case Dragon. Maybe there was a situation where Dragon was either going to be captured or was captured by the WG and Kuma traded his life Dragon's becoming a slave of the CDs, thus taking on all of Dragon's "pain, suffering, and exhaustion." If that's the case it'd give new context to the "Nothing happened" moment as Kuma would've seen himself in Zoro and wanted to test his resolve & loyalty to the son of his former leader.
I personally don't think this is true, because we have no other parallels between any of these characters whatsoever, but I respect the creativity. May be there is more to this idea
@@iamdivan7368 I mean yeah, obviously Oda has shown us next to nothing about either of them and this would all have to be revealed in a hypothetical Kuma backstory. I will say though that I definitely think we will get a Kuna backstory just given his actions throughout the series, and we do know that he used to be a Revolutionary. It just seems like the type of thing Oda would do to give greater meaning to an event that happened like 700+ chapters ago and blow our minds, plus it'd track with the little knowledge we do already have.
I’m hoping you will eventually dissect Characters in One piece just as much as you do the themes and story’s. You truly do show me why One Piece is the greatest manga of all time!
Would be best if he waits until Wano is done. Seems like the strawhats will get major development here when the raid fails. Plus he needs to finish his other analyses first.
Guys, what do you think about possibility of Zoro being afraid of stairs because of Kuina? In Enies Lobby he tries to run in a wrong direction, ignoring stairs right in front of him, but it might be just him being dumb as usual In Dress Rosa, chapter 735, he makes Luffy activate the lift for him, Kinemon and Viola instead of just going up the stairs with him I understand, that both of these situations can be explained by other means, but it just sounds so interesting to consider
To sum up: he's a madman but also a softie inside uwu. Thanks, Morj. As a Zoro fan (and so, hater of his haters), I've already pinpointed more or less many fof the ideas you explanined (way better than what I could try lol). This needs more recognition, and even if I die, I'm sharing it so that many more people get to see it :)
Amazing video! Zoro has always been one of my favorite characters and I think you summed up why in this video. In particular his relationship with Luffy. While Usop and Luffy are like best friends, Luffy and Zoro are like brothers. They have a bond that runs so deep they need no reason. It's just fact that Zoro will always be Luffys right hand. I do think we have seen Luffy face his dream ending, tho, and what he would do if that would happen. The first thing you have to ask is what Luffy means by being free. I believe he wishes to be free with those closest to him. His goal is to always be with the ones he loves and would do anything to keep having a fun adventure with them. When Kuma sends the crew off before the time skip i think we get a glimpse into how broken Luffy would be if his dream was taken from him. I think, should his dream be taken away, Luffy wouldn't care for his own life anymore. He would let himself be killed, or still fight but no longer inorder to servive.
Zoro has been my #1 since I began watching and reading OP in 2013, it hasn't changed since then.. Even still, this excellent analysis really made me reflect on why I love this character so much, it completely reaffirmed my beliefs and even made me think about Zoro in new and exciting ways. Thanks.
I would like to point out, Zoro seems to be slowly losing that flaw of juggling the most he can. At least in post ts, there are a few moments where he finally has to settle for some help (whether it was necessary or not); Tashigi and Monet moment, Orlumbus and Pica finisher, and now being as cooperative as possible with the other rooftop SN. Just a slow build up of him being vunerable.
Zoro is my #1 favorite One piece character. Not only his fights are cool but I love how stoic and honor bound is character is. He's always willing to put others ambitions before his own.
If he cannot protect his captain, he's not worthy of the title "strongest", and that includes his captain dream. At least, that's how i see his resolve and loyalty. The same way Luffy believes that if he can't protect his crew, he's no pirate king.
7:03 I think with Luffy we can be pretty sure that he wouldn’t give up life without one piece, but there is something else he’d give up life for, the one thing you have mentioned: Freedom, which is why he even pursued one piece in the first place. But what does he want with that freedom? Well, from what we’ve seen there are things in life that he just *likes*…adventure, meat, and nakama…and for a more solid proof of this, when they first met Rayleigh at Sabaody Archipelago Usopp asked Rayleigh for the “answer to everything”…which Luffy objected to, boldly saying he’d rather die than being denied of the ADVENTURE in order to obtain the one piece. I think for many that was character-defining moment where his intent and drive has been very clearly established
I found it awesome when I saw zoro winning the popularity role for a good minute.. Also I wanna say that one of the reasons why Zoro is a great character depicted in one piece is due to him being one of the first created characters somewhat.. We know Oda did wanted[which is canon] before one piece & even helped launch one piece..For any who seen it then you know zoro is a psuedo clone of ryuma...That is key because Oda made zoro essentially before luffy.. Good Vid Morj
We still have a lot to learn about Zoro's past though. What's his story before visiting Kuina's dojo? we don't know anything. I think taht for Zoro and Nami we will get additional details about their past like we had for Sanji.
there's not a lot to infer on Nami that's actually relevant to her though, unlike Sanji would got with Zeff as a slighly grown kid who had experiences with his biological family Nami was a War Orphan who never got to meet them and who's childhood centered more about Belle-Mere who we already know
I think we'll get something, I find it highly unlikely that we are really in the final round of the fight and that the arc is almost over. I think there will be time to dive deeper in his past and link with Wano, not just a small scene at the end. But I also don't expect anything too deep or complex, as I feel that part of the appeal of his character is that he's just simply a man from a small village with a big dream. I'd like to see his family when he was a newborn and how he ended in Shimotsuki village. I think a chapter devoted to it could be enough to tell this tale.
i tihnk robin's goal is similar in a way to zoro. After Alabasta Robin believed there was no reason for her to live because she could not find out about the void century
@@Peepeepoopoo-rp9vm Both. Cursed weapon he uses led all its users to their deaths in one way or another. In Zoro's case - apparently literally dragging him from one opponent to another which is just so happens to be Zoro's desire so he not only completely ignores this fact but absolutely sure that it's everyone else who are lost and he is exactly where he wanted to be.
@@Kurayami_13 im answering late but if i remember correctly, zoro always had a bad sense of direction, correct me if im wrong. i used to think his bad orientation was a way to show he wasn't really a good leader and that he needed a captain to follow in order to find his way. I always thought zoro was a bad leader bc he tends to immediately make drastic decisions when facing a problem instead of thinking of a better solution (like cutting his feet off in little garden). but now that he has CoC, i was definitely wrong. his bad direction could just be a random running gag after all.
@@arlxquin Yes he always had a bad sense of direction but before obtaining cursed blade he was literally lost all the time. with the curse he is always where he wants to be - fighting. As for gag - while it is a running gag, notice that zoro starts "lost in life" - he had a vague goal but no understanding on how to achieve it nor knowledge of the world hence constantly "lost", but after obtaining clear understanding of said goal and a way to achieve it he stops being lost and just doesn't care about a path since it doesn't matter on a road of carnage. So while everyone continue to mock him for bad sense of direction he is actually always where he wants to be. As for bad leader - it was shown via how he treated his bros.
@@Kurayami_13 you got a point but imo he just stopped being lost when he joined luffy. that curse on his blade has no effect on him since that one scene in loguetown
This was an exceptional character analysis, one of the best I can recall seeing. You've enhanced my appreciation for Zoro and helped me fully understand some of the concepts I was subconsciously grasping at. Thanks Morj 👍
Honestly the way you explained Zoro's absolute loyalty to Luffy and revisited the "nothing happened" moment made me tear up a bit I basically got more emotional from the words you chose to explain it than from actually reading it in the manga and from seeing it in the anime. Well done, i take off my strawhat as a gesture of honor
18:51 He says "I think the fire festival is gonna fail" instead of "I think the fire festival is going to fail" I think this is a sign that it's genuine.
I agree with this and I think it's why both Zoro and Robin are my favorite characters. Robin screaming that she wants to live, that Luffy and the Straw Hats have given her another chance to achieve the dream she had already given up on achieving was when I realized that she and Zoro are much, much more similar than we were led to believe. She was the lone wolf.
And can we just remind ourselves that to this day, right from the beginning we were introduced to one of the strongest one piece chatacters on the planet, and that statement still stands. God I wanna see more Mihawk
Im not a zoro fan or a sanji fan infact i like zoro a little more. But i really dont understand how sanji's sacrifice is less than zoro's. In fact, what he did at wci was mentally way harder than simply giving up your dream because he went even further. Not only did he give up his dream for the sake of the strawhats and zeff, he tried playing the bad guy in hopes that luffy doesnt miss him. This is what makes sanji's sacrifice even more epic than zoro's. Going back to thriller bark, sanji literally did the exact same thing as zoro. He was ready to die for the sake of saving luffy and more importantly zoro aswell. Considering all this, i dont understand how you can put labels like most loyal strawhat. Zoro is the vice captain and his moments feel more impactful because they are presented in a cooler way. But i cant point at a single incident to conclude if one strawhat is more loyal than the other.
Thank you! There is no such a thing as most loyal in the Strawhat crew. They are all equal loyal to Luffy wich Oda constantly tries to show. Like the moment Nami would have rather got killed by Ulti than saying that Luffy isn't going to be the next pirate King. People where complaining what a dumb thing that is to do, but i am sure they are the same people that would praise Zoro for the same thing.
I love when people try to act like they clearly don't have a bias towards a character then immediately reveal there bias in their comment. It's literally a meme template at this point.
@@blindSharingan i love when people got no logical argument so they try to imply whats not implied to divert the argument. my bias is with zoro dummas. But logically sanji got better moments the truth is the truth regardless of who i like the most. I happened to like zoro a little more because i have that burning ambition and desire to be the best at what i do and zoro inspires me the most. ( for example Luffy is my fav character but most if not all his fights are quite lame. ) Sanji (as well as me) knows this is immature behaviour. If it werent for plot armour zoro would be a dead man with that attitude. Sanji has a lot more realistic approach to his dreams. He prioritises the gift of life rather than his dream (as he told zoro when he faught mihawk) also he isent obsessed over strength as he knew what happens with that (judge) I will still like zoro more for the time being because logic doesnt command feelings.
7:14 When Ace died, Luffy said that he wasn’t worthy of becoming the Pirate King and it felt more like he was considering just quitting the pirate life and going home, not like he was considering resigning himself to death or suicide
Agreed to. People always mad when i told them that sanji is nowhere near zoro level. Even up to this point sanji has no respect for luffy. I mean tell me has he ever apologize for what he did to his captain in big mom territory? First he tried to leave the crew without even saying it right to his captain face. Second he beat his own captain just to imply that he doesn't want to go back, this here is so worst why? It shows u that even up to this point sanji have no believe on luffy to be able to become a pirate king. Sanji simply bow down to big mom and asked her to forgive luffy. Yuck. Third after this painful event where luffy could DIE anytime he doesn't even say sorry. He doesn't even want to listen to his captain request to put the suit on just because he hates how it will entitle him with germa but u know what ? If it's for peeking a woman in bathroom he certainly do. Sorry but sanji is the worst wingman in my opinion, so fucking disrespectful. And please don't bring the zed and crew here. Yeah their life is in danger. So did jinbei entire race. My man sit down and tell big mom that he left the crew to join someone who's at the moment wrecking havoc on her territory like jinbei hands down is the true wingman after zoro. My man just joined the crew and immediately say fuck u to a yonkou and punch her in her stomach. Damn.
Do you plan on doing character analyses for the other Straw Hats as well? Or at least the ones with a lot of character focus like Luffy, Usopp and Sanji?
I'd like it too, but I feel he considers the videos he made on Sanji for WKI and the video "The Strawhat Oda hates" as analysis videos for him. If that's the case then it's unfortunate since Sanji is my favorite along eit6 Luffy. We night get all the others in the future though.
No cause people understand those characters easily as it’s abundantly hand fed to us the reader. No straw hat characters are as misunderstood as Zoro, and possibly Nami in my opinion and it’s funny cause they are two of the most popular.
@@lukerne9260 not at all Sanji is the most trolled he definitely isn’t misunderstood at all it’s just you have people that praise him for his ideals and those who vehemently disagree with his ideals. It’s not about misunderstanding it’s about accepting him for who he is see the difference?
Zoro carrying a load that he does not need to carry is a trait he grew out of. Just look at wano and Zoro realising that there are plenty of people more invested in avenging Tonoyasu and kill Orochi...
I have seen zoro do amazing things many times but it’s something about how you describe him...... your verbiage really puts him in a different light. Also makes his sacrifice in thriller bark all the more enticing.
If zoro took my girlfriend I’d be upset he didn’t choose me
Spittin
Literal facts
If zorro took my grandma I'd be upset he didn't also choose my mom
If zoro took me my mom would be mad because im 13
Ong bruh
I think a quintessential Zoro moment is at the end of the Water 7 arc, when he refuses to let Usopp rejoin the crew without proper atonement. It shows that he holds not only himself, or Luffy, but EVERYONE on the crew to the highest standards. He says something along the lines of "Is quitting the crew such a minor thing?" By far one of my favorite Zoro moments.
Same that's my favorite Zoro moment
@HotShotMamma idk man Usopp left on his own accord over something minor, if they just accept him back with no questions asked then it shows that he has 0 respect for his captain, like h acted on the beach as the ship left, he acted like they needed him to come back and that he was the greastest, not that i dont like him its just that behaviour like that isnt something you can have on your crew
@HotShotMamma Um, because he hurt Luffy? Yes, he saved Robin, but he DID have a reason: she had sacrified for himself too, soo... the conflict wasn't about Robin. He didn't respect Luffy because of his own insecurities, insecurities about something that the crew never believed, even.
Also, actions speaks louder, but when you do wrong, you have to deal with it and be humble and apologize. It is necessary, may be as awkward as it is. I'm sorry, but that's just it, period. If he wanted to come back, then prove it. Unless you don't want them to trust you anymore... because who's to say you won't betray them again? Show how much you actually want it. If you DO want it, then it means you're just being honest, right?
Usopp wanted to avoid passing through his own consecuences, but you should know that's not possible. You con't just mistreat someone and laugh as friends as of nothing ever happened two days after that, because that's not how a good friendship/crew works.
@HotShotMamma No. Merry was gonna *die* and couln't take them to the next island, that's for sure. He/she was like a dying nakama who gives his/her last effort, I don't think that makes Usopp right lol.
But this is no "who has the reason" problem, don't misunderstand. It was about Usopp not respecting his captain's decision because of his own insecurities as the weak member, misunderstanding that they all *had* to be strong what it was not like that and comparing himself to others, period. That was weakness. And that kind of weakness could condemn a crew's destiny...
If they'd continued like that, they would have no doubt sucumb as they were no real pirate crew until this happened. This happened *because* Luffy wasn't a good leader until Enies Lobby happened and he was suddenly reminded that he had to live up to his role in the crew (again, Morj can explain way better than me this point, please, see his video so that you can see the real point Oda was making with all this arc).
Zoro is the only one that already understood what a captain's burden is, even before Water Seven, and seeing as Enies Lobby didn't made the others realize the problem they had just passed through and why, he had to tell them at the moment *so that they wouldn't repeat it again, suffer and condemn the crew... He was probably one of the members who wanted him to come back the most, but he knew that not telling them would be unrespectful to all the friends and members of the crew, including Luffy and Usopp* -this philosophy is hard to accept and difficult to understand, that's why Oda chose him to explicitly point it out. They are not just a family or a group of equal friends going on a happy trip. They're fighting putting the lifes at risk. Yes, they're still a family above their "crew role/side" and everything, and then they have all the same rights and can even mock Luffy *as a friend* and just in that friendly role... until important decisions are to take or their lives are at risk. Then they can't afford themselves to be doubting Luffy's word, and Luffy had to becaome a real leader too so that his crew won't feel lost, start doubting again (him or themeselves) and destroy the others (or their relationships) in the process...
They could remain friendly and all, but he has to have the authority when to do what.
After this arc, he started finally giving them orders *actually*
If there is no important matter, all of them KNOW so that's when they "don't follow his orders", but that's just Oda writing comedy generally. When they're being silly or in a more relaxing context, Luffy still doesn't mind if they "mistreat" him (again: for the sake of comedy, it's not like they're actually abusing him lol). BUT, if the captain says anything should be this or that way now in a serious matter, then they're all prepared to follow rules loyally because they actually trust his guidance. *That's a strong crew* . They still can be afraid, like Nami and Usopp, or not entirely agree with him, like Zoro sometimes does himself. That does not in any way mean that they won't follow the order, period.
(-Also, Zoro demonstrated that he's the most loyal crewmember Luffy has with this Thriller Bark scene, so discussing about him not following Luffy as if it was a status quo is quite... ironic lmao-).
@@sakura5sango6 Also the fact, that Usopp disguised himself to help them at Enies Lobby, because he was afraid to actually apologize, is a point to not ignore. Yes, he fought along their side to safe Robin, but still, he disguised himself as Sogeking to avoid an actual apology. (If this disguise was on point or not is another discussion.) Actions speak louder than words, but sometimes words are needed to state a point.
The actual worded apology in the end was needed to show honesty.
If you make a mistake, than you need to show honesty through actions and words. Even a shy person, who barely can't talk to others, because the person is too afraid, needs to speak out sometimes to state a point or get what they actually want.
The way luffy and zoro develop pre timeskip fit so well, Luffy's development was becoming a better leader, while zoro's was becoming a more loyal follower
Shit. Didn't even think of that. Nice catch.
Your logo is great but also disturbing
Btw, great point about our Dinamic Duo
@@iamdivan7368 it's an old drawing of mine so its not the best lol
They are my fav duo in fiction!
@@jamie2232 still great, well done
Understandable, their dinamic as characters is something really special
Might be mine as well
I think luffy was one of zoro’s first tastes of how big the world is. He saw luffy as this ridiculously strong guy with a power considered a legend by many in the east blue. Zoro was strong for the east blue and perhaps he grew a bit content, but he meets luffy and sees how his ambition mirrors his own and his striking fearlessness. These qualities he sees in luffy immediately promises Zoro a grand adventure pitting their skill against the world in a journey to become the very best. Zoro recognizes the fearlessness in luffy better than any one in the crew because he shares the same exact trait. Luffy is not one to play to his level very often, so when they encounter a challenge as a crew it will often be one that pushes them beyond their limits. I noticed early in the series that the rest of the crew develop a view of luffy that he’s almost infallible because he is so dauntless. Zoro does not see him this way because he understands luffy isn’t fearless because he thinks of himself infallible or unbeatable, but because he has the unwavering belief that somehow he will accomplish his goal of being pirate king and that that means overcoming every challenge along the way. Because he understand luffy isn’t infallible or unbeatable it puts more pressure on him to face threats with everything he has and not as if luffy can just come and save him. He’s always chasing luffy, because he understands he must stick close to him in order to reach the stratosphere of the very best and that often means taking on the bigger threats and pushing himself past his limits.
Honestly I think that’s a great way to put it I would have said something like this but would have had no idea how to say it and I think you summed it up great
Great summary
This is rly good comment!
Honestly, this character analysis really clicks with Zoro's reaction to meeting Mihawk in the east blue. He didn't realize just how strong *The Strongest* really is and had grown content and just a tiny bit arrogant from the weak foes the east blue gave him. Mihawk handily handed him his own ass while his Captain beat the breaks off the strongest foe they had yet encountered and I think it was then that he truly realized just how strong he'd need to become to be worthy of being First Mate of the Straw Hat crew
Luffy and Zoro also seem to have a unique bond. Zoro is one of the only characters that Luffy will actually listen too. For example, on Punk Hazard when Zoro yells at Luffy that this isn't a game anymore, Luffy takes him seriously and actually listens.
and then he goes on to do gomu gomu no ufo
@@NaNa-cq8ck yeah man I remember that, I laughed like crazy.
and when he said they cant just accept usopp after he left
Yeah, also we can see with Sanjis interaction in the same scene Zoro is actually talking to himself. Sanji says "he is so hard on himself" after hearing what Zoro said to Luffy. Luffy and Sanji know that Zoro wanted to push himself into the right mindset. Seeking validation from his captain to know they are on the same page.
He listens to his whole crew actually Nami too
You made "Nobody Understands Zoro" before Nux
Literally my exact thought when I saw this video lmao
Morj has to take the torch and be the new nux
Nuk, has literally nothing on Mr Morh, and you.
@@slippythefrog41 And he’s actually good. Sorry i hate Nux, and his obnoxious personality like ugh, but Mr Morj, has a very good one.
Nux used to be cool man. Fuck that guy now. Morj the goat
Nux: hasn't made the "no one understands Zoro" video
Morj: *"fine, I'll do it myself"*
I mean hey, this means the video was actually good, right?
@Safecyn Lmao TRUE
Screw Nux.
@@safecyn8688 Thank god someone besides me has the balls to say Nux, is a trash RUclips, annoying as hell ego, and way to popular for no good reason, and i just don’t understand how anybody can like someone with that mentality.
Nux is garbage and isn't capable of doing Zoro justice. Nux is all drama and sensationalism
zoro could be a main character in his own series thats how elite he is
Nah with He’s personally , he wouldn’t do anything but fighting and I don’t see Zoro trying start fights or anything like luffy , he’s not that’s funny either I don’t see him caring the show unless there’s others good Side character then Sure he would be a Ok Mc
He is a bit generic badass but yeah he could carry a spinoff probably
he has no direction, he probably would just stand in the same spot all day
Kinda like Yami from Black Clover
@@A-Ylover0FtheLordJesus Oh, look the world's biggest Zoro hater, hating on Zoro as usual. Jesus Christ, you really have an obsession.
That Thriller Bark scene was definitely the most impactful to Zoro’s resolve. For the first time another character was able to truly experience how much Luffy is dedicated to his own dream. He realized Luffy’s drive is even greater than his own and that Luffy is willing to truly give everything for his own dream. I don’t think people realize how important that scene was.
nah.. everyone realized.. everywhere i go, whenever something like this about zoro is brought up, either Thriller Bark scene or Water 7 sceen were brought up..
nothing...... happened!
luffys drive isnt more than zoros and nothing happened is proof of that but W nonetheless
Already badly wounded Zoro endured ALL THE DAMAGE that knocked Luffy out and was still standing saying nothing happened. That's a lot
THIS is why i love Zoro. The Loyalty and the dedication to his goal. The swordsman part is just a bonus at this point.
I love how he started by dissing zoro stans
Yeah, I'm sure you love that.
@@lowend1324 i love dissing "Zorotards"
@@bad8367 what about Lanjitards?
@@rhniloy9590 anyone who hails their fav character to extreme lengths and in doing so forgets who their character is and confuses what they want the character to be with what the character wants to be.
Sanji is not and will never be equal to or stronger than zoro.
we love to see that
What's also interesting about Zoro's insane loyalty to Luffy and how far he'll go for him is that it's not played as coddling, hyper-present or catering to Luffy. What I mean by that is, when I think of other highly loyal characters, their loyalty is often displayed like an oveprotective parent, always noticeable whenever they are with the person they're most loyal to, or watered down to the fact that they will do whatever the person says, no arguements.
Zoro obviously saves Luffy from drowning if he has to and has his back in a fight, but he is never overbearing with Luffy and lets him do his own thing unlike protective loyalty where characters often concern themselves with worries big and small. Zoro doesnt display his loyalty vocally much or show Luffy constant reverance like a soldier to your commander and he doesn't always agree with Luffy like letting Usopp back on the crew at Water 7. Zoro certainly expects a standard from Luffy when it matters and speaks out as much, but his loyalty is otherwise very subtle which I think is what is so intriguing.
Also, he actually tells Luffy whren he thinks he's doing wrong (like the Usopp scene). Yes, he loves his captain as much as they all do. He is by far his most loyal crewmember. But this shows how much he actually respects Luffy. He's usually willing to do whatever his casptain tells him to do or not to do, yet he won't just obey for the sake of it. If he thinks Luffy's doing a bad job at his role, he will honestly show him. Because he wants Luffy to be a good captain.
As a good friend would do too: being honest and telling you when you're not exactly behaving or being the best person ever, or being wrong, etc.
Show it dont say it. Actions speak louder than words. I like this analysis of his loyalty alot
ong the way he slurps up Luffy is GOATED
that also comes from respect. Which is a huge concept in, not only oda's work, but in japan's sociaty. To him, luffy is not only he's captain, but mainly a man he respects and blindly trusts. Both want to become the best, and just like luffy believed since minute 1 that zoro would become the greatest swordsman, zoro ended up doing the same because luffy backed his words with action, which zoro, as a man of action himself, blindly respects. Usopp, as much of a friend and a "naka,a" he is for zoro, he doesnt hol that much respect and blind trust, as luffy does. However he does get respect in a way. When he disrepcts his captain, and turns his back, not only on zoro and luffy, but all the other "nakamas", whom as long as they fight for the same cause will have zoro's respect (because how huge and ambicious their enterprise is)(which is not to take away the fact that he considers them friends and the emotional consecuences that carries, of course). The moment Usopp betrayes that common goal and dream for his own selfish (and separate) believes (which zoro clearly does not share as much as he doesn't like getting rid of Going merry) he is no longer a holder of such respect. But what's even more, zoro sees him as a man, and understands why he behaves like that and respects his own decission (which is why he doesn't really step in appart for saying a word or two). So once he decides to come back, as a man, zoro holds him accountable of his actions... LIke damnnnn thats so well written
Zoro stands back until 1 of 2 things. 1. Luffy tells him to step in, 2. They're in a rare scenario where Luffy has been rendered temporarily rendered unable to fight, is too tired, fell into water, etc
i think you’ve definitely got a point there about Luffy not considering his goal of becoming the pirate king being a zero sum game. in 507, the conversation with Rayleigh in Sabaody, when Usopp asks about the one piece, Luffy doesn’t say he’d rather die if he heard the answer, he says he’d quit being a pirate
Great observation, actually very important for Luffy's character
Exactly
These are the little things die hard one piece fans notice
Was just thinking the same thing.
but then... what would he do??? Im actually interested
When Zoro offered himself to Kuma in Luffy's stead and kept what happened to himself, he simply solidified himself as the best there is.
I love this. It really hits on something incredible, Zoro's flaw of taking on everything himself, but I strongly disagree that this hasn't been explored enough to be viewed as Zoro's character flaw. Thematically Zoro's weapons show how he tries to do too much himself. Wado Ichimonji represents Zoro taking on Kuina's dream of becoming strong. Yubashiri represents Ipponmatsu's desire for his family's swords to be the best. Shusui represents Ryuma's desire to be strong. And now Enma represents Wano's desire to be free from Kaido.
The other noteworthy detail showcasing Zoro's unwillingness to rely on others as a meaningful character flaw is the parallelism in One Piece. There are a lot of obvious parallels in One Piece, but one of the more interesting ones is Luffy and Zoro being paralleled to Roger and Rayleigh. And in the few scenes Rayleigh has been in he's always trying to do everything himself. Rayleigh was freeing slaves by himself. Rayleigh tried to protect the Strawhats on Shabody by himself. Hell, Rayleigh even swims to the amazon island instead of taking a ship. Rayleigh trains Luffy in Haki alone despite having Boa and Jinbei there to help. Zoro's inability to rely on others is paralleled in Rayleigh significantly enough that I'm fairly certain that it is a significant character flaw that will be explored further.
Minor correction, but he took a ship to Amazon Lily, it just sank halfway through, which forced him to swim the rest of the way.
can you really say he tries to take on too much when he always succeeds? Thats just extremely dependable
@@thebadluckraven8217 I think it will have backlash later on though and that will be some kind of character arc.
The Nothing Happened Scene in One Piece is still an Amazing Scene and is honestly one of MY favorite top 5 favorite moments in all of anime
Probably my favorite in all of anime with one piece exists
Hey I know you LOL. We have similar taste in RUclipsrs
It’s in my top 5 as well. My favorite Zoro feat until recently in the manga!
@@DrUpauli oh shit what’s up Dude. And yeah we definitely do Lmao
@@shonenbois nothin much, I was curious how he would make sense of Zoro dying for his own dream and Luffy's and he seemed to find some conclusion. I liked the video. Have you seen my video I Zoro?
The Dynamic between Zoro and Luffy is truly perfection. Because in the eyes of Luffy, he believes in Zoro as much as himself, and I do not believe he thinks he can be the true pirate king, without Zoro being the worlds greatest as well.
At the beginning of the series, Luffy even states how in order to be the pirate king he needs to have only the best crew mates (if i remember correctly). Him believing that Zoro will be the worlds greatest makes perfect sense and both of their ambitions and determination definitely fuel each other endlessly which is such an amazing dynamic.
@@omegacloud222 I know that statement, which the statement speaks volumes, he has even stated similar things in whole cake, and I believe part of his dream, is the ability for all of his crewmates to recognize their dreams as well. Basically Zoro and Luffy are tier 1 characters by themselves, but together, they make one of my favorite duos in all of anime/manga history
I believe it's not about him being pirate king, but about his promise to Shanks. As I remember, he actually promised to have better crew and this is where this situation comes from. On the other side, this specific part of their promise never played a major role in the story, so maybe you are right as well
That's so cool. One piece characters/relationships are so dynamic, interesting.
I mean, after all nobody can fight the world alone.
One Piece is truly the shounen series that showed the value of charisma and teamwork at its best if you ask. Rarely they stop and do big plans, but it always feels like they play off each other strengths and cover their weak points.
Sure, being saved at a vulnerable moment Is a common trope in all of fiction, but when I see it in OP It feels like a natural result of how the characters are written. Nobody can take on an army alone, and even when things turn into separated 1vs1 fights there is the feeling that the characters are relying on each other to win.
Zoro’s character has been greatly misunderstood by most of the fan base. I feel like even a lot of Zoro fans don’t realize just what exactly makes Zoro as great as he is. They’re just more captivated by Zoro’s coolness.
To be fair...I mean...he is cool
Can't blame them
His badass behavior and coolness is just the most striking feature of him. Thr things morj mentioned are deeper character traits that only observant zoro fans will notice
"even a lot of Zoro fans don't realize" I feel like its the Zoro fans mostly that don't realize it lmao.
Spoiler alert-Chapter 1013 ends with luffy falling towards sea from top of onigashima 😎
What I most like about Zoro is his whole dynamic with Luffy which more often than not, it’s the catalyst for his best moments in the series.
There’s a whole Reddit page about how those two are kindred spirits and I couldn’t possibly agree more, Zoro is as cool and strong as he is because of his loyalty to Luffy while also being true to himself, thanks to being in a crew he had the pleasure to fight and lose to his biggest rival in Mihawk and through the series he had battles with the most intense of enemies, Zoro has to become stronger not because of his own ambition, but to also uphold the standard Luffy put on his shoulders, Luffy can not have anything less than the most powerful swordsman in the world and Zoro ain’t gonna be lacking when his captain is crowned.
I swear, I love the dynamic between the two, they compliment each other so well yet also share so many similarities between them. That’s true brotherhood.!
The reason I think people think of Zoro as the one dimensional badass who doesn't change, is his change is in passing by. For example Sanji got his own arc and had small passing by growth, same with Nami, Robin, Chopper (although, it was Choppers initial arc), and Usopp. Maybe I think you could say Franky when he changed his attitude about being on the crew.
Luffy as the Protagonist has also had time spent with each character and had a whole 2 arcs and time skip revolved around his growth as a character.
Zoro's growth is passing by because the arcs do not surround him, same with his strength. The arcs he is in, he affects greatly, but is not the focus. His growth in bowing his head to the man he put on a pedestal asking for help. His growth in being willing to give up his dream if he cannot make the dream of his Captain who he is sworn to come true. Him being willing to save another and show his strength by going 30 days without food. His determination to never lose another fight until he meets Mihawk again. Everything he did pre-time skip shows growth and determination. Him threatening Luffy when Usopp did the thing in Water seven, showed he will not let his Captains chain of command die because he will not follow a man who cannot control his crews behavior toward him, the Captain.
I'm hoping he gets more growth time skip wise and maybe a little more backstory such as his parents or something.
You described how he has way more growth than 99 percent of the strawhats. He doesn't even need a good backstory to accomplish this.
I think this video still analyses Zoro under just one perspective.
This is Zoro the swordsman: what about Zoro the person?
His ambiguous relationship with women, his need to appear tough and serious when he hides a great kindness.
One of my favourite scenes is Zoro drinking the water he was gifted by the inhabitants of Okobore.
Maybe cus all we seen for like 7-10years now is Zoro the swordman beating all is opponents in the nw
well because those things aren't important so much so that it comes btw Zoro as a person and Zoro the swordsman.
Yup! Zoro is kind in a more subtle way, i wish the show let us see some more of his kindness without being so subtle.
Zoro is a great person, natural leader and cares for everyone, in alabasta he was the only one worrying for chopper hydration/ fatigue in sky island he was the only one worrying about nami's inexperience with jungle adventure also in a cute scene when usopp went pissing and saw the "magical guardian angel of merry" it was zoro who got up to check in on him because he was late, im still only in water7 arc but zoro is just a character that needs more recognition
@@H1nted he gets recognition already
A round of applause for Morj's editor for being able to find all those panels with the appropriate dialogue!
morj actually hired someone a few months back for that exact reason. Im not sure if the Editor gets the credit for this one
@@MagnesLux Kudos to them too!
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
@@KaIIavan 🥴🥴
We need more character analysis like these, hopefully big mom next
Big Mom shouldn't really be done until the end of Wano when he story wraps up.
@@jpem4664 true, I just really enjoy her character and I wanna know what he can pull from her writing that I might’ve overlooked. He can do it the same way he did the wano theme video where he’ll make a more complete one when the arc finishes if needed
Lmao let's not have Morj talk about Big Mom, it wont end well for anyone
@@MarcoDToon damn has he already shared his thoughts on her? Tuff
@@Kanemakii Let's just say he's not happy about her motherly side nor her mental instability/amnesia moment. Perhaps by the end of the arc Oda will make him change his mind tho
Zoro wanted to be #1 before making the pact with Kuina, yes... but I also think that pact still weighs heavy on his heart. Yeah, the pact was made after the fact, but at that point, it felt more like a kid's dream and boasting with youth. After her death, he became a lot more motivated to that goal. Also, the fact that he was NEVER able to defeat Kuina before her death, I feel like Zoro partially wants to keep that part of her alive inside him - no one else is able to defeat him before he had a chance to become stronger than them. Kuina represents someone that he can never prove he is stronger than - because she died before he could defeat her and before either of them could grow into their full potential.
Don't get me wrong - I'm 99% sure Zoro would have continued his "Worlds Strongest Swordsman" goal/journey with or without her, but I feel her death plays a bigger part in his development than not.
I agree with everything you said
I think Zoro also wants to fulfill Kuina's dream by becoming the strongest swordsman, therefore making Kuina the real strongest swordsman (because he couldn't beat her). He's essentially carrying both his dream and her dream at the same time.
@fk5774 Exactly. He brings it up multiple times and I felt like the video was severely downplaying how important that promise and the weight of that promise, is to him. It's a huge part of what drives him.
@@fk5774to further support this.
Kuinas sword, the Wado Ichimonjo is translate dto the Straight Path To Harmony.
The way he took both Big mom and Kaido attacks to protect Luffy in Wano war. I wasn’t expected less, but it always gets me his character. When someone asked me who was my favorite character I immediately said “Zoro”. He has been my favorite since the beginning. Then I also fell for the other members of the crew but Zoro stands up for me.
*Someone else finds the one piece*
Luffy: *Dies*
Luffy finds the one piece
Luffy: Also dies
@@iamdivan7368 yeah that gear second shortened my boys lifespan as soon as he gets the one piece he dies
@@bigfatha5120 you should watch mr morj's video on this topic, it's quite accurate about this theory
@@iamdivan7368 you should watch me morj quite accuracy good meals eat dinner
@@bigfatha5120 imagine if that actually happens
I always wondered what made the "nothign happened" moment so insanely loveable, and I had just thought of it as a show of loyalty by taking the greatest sacrifice without ever wanting/ getting recognition for it, but hearing you linking that to the other side of the coin- his personal drive, really makes so much sense and elevates that scene and his character to a whole other eschelon...
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
Small nitpick: Zoro wasn't a total lone wolf before meeting Luffy. He had Johnny and Yosaku.
They insisted on following Zoro , Zoro never had the interest to be their leader just like how scabbards were to Oden
Nah, they just follow Zoro
@@harrison6032 Zoro also said he would join Barroque works if they made him leader, that's not exactly some lone wolf shit
@@grantisshananaa4906 yeah he's more introverted than lone wolf. Doesn't actively avoid people but seems to prefer being alone
@@grantisshananaa4906 we all know it wasn't because he really wanted to bea leader, he was seeing the opportunity of fighting stronger opponents in that ordeal.
Thank you for this vid, Zoro always has been my favorite character but I couldn't really tell why and that's exactly it : he's the most determined and dedicated to his dream, but also the most loyal to Luffy, putting his dream aside for him. Absolutely amazing but Oda has the presence of mind to remind us that this kind of mentality, as admirable as it is, doesn't lead you very far and that in comparison, Luffy and his ability to rely on others is more likely to succeed. Or at least "as likely". But yeah, I "feel in love" two times with Zoro and that's the two moments you picked to describe and you've chose the right words to express why it was so deeply meaningful, thank you.
I'd say the fight against Kaidou has been showing that Zoro is capable of leaving things to others, he's so completely sure that luffy can beat Kaidou alone that he leaves to help somewhere where others need help.
Zoro NEEDS a deep character moment in Wano. I love all his feats and confirmation of conquerors but I always imagined Wano would grow his character
How would he ? Do you want him to cry or something What ? He’s done as a character , Zoro is Zoro this is him nothing else Jut accep him lmao isn’t he y’all’s man ? Y’all fav
I expect for him to have a wholesome, good character moment when all is said and done with Otoko and Hiyori (whether there's a romantic thing there or something open like with Pudding and Sanji), specially if he goes to Oden and Yasuie's graves to pay his respects.
Wait till he visits Ryuma grave
I think that's the main problem with Zoro's character, he is just a shonen trope, strength or death, good or evil, loyalty or cowardice. In 1000 chapters he hasn't moved from this binary mindset as a character and I'm afraid to say that Oda doesn't intend to move him from that spot.
Zoro doesn't have deeper things to show, he is a cool character and that's it.
@@unknownvariable9239 I’d love that to happen he could give shisui a final goodbye before leaving wano
Damn, i had tear in my eyes when i realized how much zoro trained for his dream and to just let go it all for his captain makes me respect him even more.
Thanks for the video
x2
This is why Morj is so important. Tells the true elements of a character without falling victim to hype.
Jerry this is why your important we love you jerry
But a lot of his theory videos are just him falling victim to the hype of other people online? (lol raid is gonna fail guys)
Though I do agree that his analysis videos are some of the best on RUclips, at least in regards to One Piece. Would prefer if he stuck to those, but I like his content either way so I can't really complain.
i've been reading one piece weekly for the last 12 years and i just wanted to thank you for this video. it brought back so much nostalgia and appreciation for the series, i actually teared up from all the emotion i felt watching your video and reliving/ remembering what i'd forgotten.
In alabasta when robin saw that the rio poneglyphs weren’t there and her dream was not achieved , she also was ready to die because her dream failed. She even got mad at luffy for saving her life instead of letting her die when she didn’t achieve her dream.
Yeah, but that was also because at that point she was at rock bottom. She had nothing else to live for beside her dream, and the loneliness and despair were slowly killing her. I don't think she'd react the same post-Enies Lobby, with the crew having her back she's keep looking for a workaround, different poneglyphs, etc.
Alright, but zoro picking out kitetsu in loguetown was so epic
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
You know he’s gonna be no.1. Luck is on his side!
zoro wanted to like this video but couldnt find the like button
😂
Hyuh hyuh hyuhhhhh
Zoro is bad with directions not retarded😂😂
Poor guy can we get him one of those Jaya/Skypea birds and an eternal pose
@@jovannydiazabad6123 We need a west bird, north bird and east bird while youre at it
When Morj opens up a video with THAT tone in his voice, you know it's gonna be killer.
You know the tone, it's the lower, slower register he whips out for serious videos.
You want me to whip out ?!
*And that , ladies and gentlemen , is how you make an awesome character*
“Fans aren't toxic, they are passionate about the things they love"
- Henry Cavill
Zoro is one my favorite characters in anime period. Just his guts and respect to his captain are so admirable. He's a man's man of course but he's so honorable and committed to Luffy's dream that he will bow and accept help from others to help Luffy. He's a true friend and Vice Captain. I'm so excited to see him evolve even more.
Same
Why everyone calls him vice-capitain
Well, I know why, but he isn't
He is referred everywhere as a "swordsman". I believe it to be actual plot point at some moment, maybe connected to his conqueror's haki and gaining responsibility over others
@@iamdivan7368 he is tho
I understand what you say and I agree, but I think Oda wouldn't make such a big deal out of his position for it to not play a role for his character
@@iamdivan7368 yh i see what u mean. Like bda said in the chap where hes being treated by hiyori he says something along the lines of "too many captains sink the ship, best if i dont think too hard about it". So bda said that this isnt very vc like and yh once he starts taking the role his coc is gonna start showing through even more.
I think Zoro has come a long way in be able to delegate ability and ask for help since the time skip. Acknowledging he needed Orlumbus’s help in Dressrosa to get to Pika, having Kine’mon teach him Firefox, acknowledging Drake and letting him handle Apoo, and leaving the Main Stage to Chopper after he went to the rooftop. Their could be more, but I don’t think he’s trying to carry too much on his shoulders anymore.
Correct me if I’m wrong but it think Zoro actually stole the technique from Kinemon w/o needing him to teach it to him
We need a Franky analysis, my dude is so underrated
@@TierOneDKJ Based 💯
SUPERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Let’s be real big mom trumps kaido with fire and lightning homies plus her sword
Fo Real
One aspect that I love is how Zoro's individualistic dream gets entwined with his objective as Luffy's right hand. He can't be the greatest swordsman if he can't even protect his captain is such a (true) view that encompasses both his level of strenght and turns his individualistic goal, who by itself is an end, into a mean to another end, that is to protect Luffy and the crew. He doesn't make compromises, but rather, sinergizes his dream with his duty.
Zoro's one of my absolute favorites. I know there really doesn't seem to be a clear point where the change in Zoro happens, but I believe it is something that was already a part of him, just more dormant. From the very beginning of his journey to become the best swordsman, he showed absolute *loyalty* towards chasing his dream in a sense, especially after meeting that girl as a kid, his first rival. Through his relationship with her, I could see that meeting her and then losing her is what would later make him convinced that if he would be capable of protecting someone he loves with his swordmanship, only then would he know he is also capable of becoming the number 1 swordman. Being the #1 swordsman for him means both defeating all other swordsman and living to protect those he is loyal to. In a sense, if he were to die against a non-swordsman after becoming the #1 swordsman, what would that say about swordsmanship? Since that time when he met the girl, while she immediately became the first big rival he wished to surpass, there was also a connection between them. As swordsman, as rivals, as people striving to be strong against all odds, as friends in that respect. Several times, he is reminded of the words she told him once and her personality. When Zoro was saved by Luffy in the beginning, he didn't like it because he saw it as a trial that if he did not live, his dream wasn't meant to be. After, albeit involuntarily, spending a decent time with Luffy after being rescued, Zoro saw that there was something about him. Luffy had a drive as strong as his while also jumping headfirst into any enemy that would stand in his way. Luffy jumping in can be considered more or less reckless, but that in itself influences Zoro later. At first, he was mainly a bounty hunter, and he's pretty much more level-headed than Luffy in battle, but then we get that part in the story where Zoro keeps getting into battle after battle while he still has wounds that aren't done healing. From the beginning, just being around Luffy, he comes to understand that if Luffy is to become the king of the pirates, that would only up his chances of developing as a swordsman. Luffy, while inherently free-spirited, never fails to give it his all at any point in time if it means reaching his goal. It's the same for Zoro. Consequently, If either are to be #1 or die trying, *that* is the kind of comrade you'd want to team up with. Due to the similarities in their strive, Zoro *knows* he can entrust his own dream to Luffy and vice versa. Their dreams get to coexist because Zoro inherently is not anti-social (on the contrary, his fuse isn't that long, which we often see with Sanji), but rather knows the value of devotion and loyalty thanks to the girl that died. He was a lone wolf for a long time because he never came across someone he could respect enough to bother with friendship or the like, especially after having lost his friend and rival in such an unfortunate way. It was as if it was natural selection, the way that she died. His competitive streak for becoming #1 was never so he could just showcase it to the world from the very start, even before he met the girl. It's a personal goal that coincides with his pride as a person. This is why he is also capable of loyalty. Having spent time around Luffy, you see him slowly soften up. By soften up, I mean come to appreciate life with people around him. His strive will never break, so really, his bets are on Luffy in the sense that if Luffy is on the brink of failing, his sword will be there. His interest in Luffy comes from Luffy's free-spiritedness, ability to unite people, and similar drive. He sees in Luffy what it takes to become King of the Pirates, and he wants to be a part of that, so instead of being too stubborn, he decides that if he can't protect another's dream with his sword, then he might not be worthy of being #1 swordsman after all. Their bond didn't form from fighting, but how similar they are in drive and how Luffy is as much of a wonder to Zoro as that girl was back then, someone he respected and saw strength in. He could see himself fighting her into adulthood. With Luffy, he can see himself rising to the top *with* him. It's really just as simple as Luffy being stubborn until he grew on Zoro because Zoro couldn't dispute Luffy's own stubbornness and drive and came to respect Luffy's dream. He just saw the right attitude in Luffy and I think that it in turn also inspired him to strive toward his goal while helping someone else achieve their dream because he *could* . I think at least a little of that had to do with the girl, because the girl died before even living a decade or two and he's carrying her memory with him on his journey to #1 swordsman (he saw great things in her future before she died). Zoro inherently is someone capable of loyalty while also striving to be the best to the point that he will give everything except the lives and dreams those he's sworn loyalty to. If you had just one characteristic or the other, it wouldn't be Zoro, it would just be another one-dimensional character or someone who never got the memo that friendship is the ultimate power in Manga and Anime and their dream would be short lived if they thought they could go through life alone. Like, while he's made to be inherently driven to be the #1 swordsman, he's literally also given me military vibes, like someone who's only goal is being the best but shines the most when he's part of a team. Luffy is one of the purest characters you'll come by and the girl he met as a kid was also someone with pure motivations. Zoro is drawn to other idealists, but not just any idealist, idealists with a clear and pure intention. He's a swordsman. He has honor. So in reality, there are 3 qualities to him rather than just being #1 and loyal. He also has his honor as a swordsman which bleeds into his honor as a man. At his core, he would never do anything that would dishonor the respect he had for the girl he met as a kid. (Ok this is long, but I had to. All I'm saying is that the girl had more of an impact than I felt was portrayed in the video and that he basically knows right from wrong despite his black and white ambitious mindset so he has no choice but to forge a harder path where he's not only #1 but strong enough to take on anyone who has a problem with someone he's sworn loyalty to out of respect). That's what I really love about Zoro. He won't run away from his own feelings inside, even if he usually plays coy on the outside. If you show a strong will and determination with clear goals and non-evil intentions, it is more likely Zoro will like you lmao. If it's a rival, he'll respect their skills at most if their intentions are not up to par.
Edit: I also agree that he needs to learn to get help. This would again make sense with the explanation I gave for his characteristics and stuff. He's essentially a one-man show and feels he needs to be in order to be #1 and trust that he can protect those he's loyal to and cares about. I myself can have trouble asking for help a lot *sigh*. That's where I relate to Zoro on a personal level lmao.
I still cannot believe Oda actually confirmed zoro conqueror's even though we as fans of zoro have wanted it for so long. If anyone in the whole series actually deserved CoC, it is none other than Zoro.
Unbelievable and yet so much excitement at the same time as well.
Let's hope luffy gives him a few pointer on how to use CoC both for crowd control and weapon coating.
Luffy and Zoro could end up having an insane version of something similar to the Ocean Sovereignty attack both kaido and big mom did. like the time luffy and zoro did in Ennies lobby arc to blow a hole in the wave.
Agreed
Yes ! But I don't think Oda kept us waiting for hundreds of chapters to show us Zoro having conquerors haki , as Morji said there's gotta be a character development behind it ! I can't wait for that moment 😳
@@harrison6032 same
Well, he has now, if you read the new chapters.
Zoro's change of heart may be hard to point when it happened but you can notice on Alabasta that he's changed when Chopper ask him why everyone follows and trust Luffy, and asks about their group dynamic, since everyone does their own thing
Zoro is a brilliantly layered cactus- I mean, character. His premise may seem one dimensional, but he's as far removed from that as it gets.
Cactus always grows in one direction, so in some ways he is one-dimentional
Cacti are near unkillable, so yeah
@@GladiusTR truuue
Damn bbg you got that long face
@@iamdivan7368 😂
As you said in the video, Zoro wants to be the best at what he does, and that's not only swordsmanship, but also a vice-captain. This "duality" of "contradictory" ideals works because people who pursue perfection like that tend to act this way in everything they deem important, that's why he's relatable.
I really can't wait to learn more about Zoro. Even though we are 1000s of episodes into the show I feel like there's just so much we don't know about him. Why did he want to be the World's Greatest Swordsman in the first place? His family? Backstory? Or even later stuff like the scar on his eye he got during the timeskip.
I think you've missed the point of this video. It explains why he wants to be the greatest swords man and he doesnt need any of that stuff
@@RandomHer03 What? I didn't miss anything. We don't actually know why he wants to specifically be the greatest swordsman. Nor do we know anything else about him other than his mindset and little bits of his backstory. Relative to the other strawhats, we know nothing. Zero clue what you mean by "he doesn't need that stuff". Learning more about him wouldn't take away from who he is lol.
Video sparked a new theory:
What if the reason Kuma chose to have Zoro go through that on Thriller Bark is because he made Zoro do literally for his Captain what Kuma has done figuratively for his Captain, in his case Dragon. Maybe there was a situation where Dragon was either going to be captured or was captured by the WG and Kuma traded his life Dragon's becoming a slave of the CDs, thus taking on all of Dragon's "pain, suffering, and exhaustion."
If that's the case it'd give new context to the "Nothing happened" moment as Kuma would've seen himself in Zoro and wanted to test his resolve & loyalty to the son of his former leader.
Nice idea, I can see that happening
I personally don't think this is true, because we have no other parallels between any of these characters whatsoever, but I respect the creativity. May be there is more to this idea
@@iamdivan7368 I mean yeah, obviously Oda has shown us next to nothing about either of them and this would all have to be revealed in a hypothetical Kuma backstory. I will say though that I definitely think we will get a Kuna backstory just given his actions throughout the series, and we do know that he used to be a Revolutionary.
It just seems like the type of thing Oda would do to give greater meaning to an event that happened like 700+ chapters ago and blow our minds, plus it'd track with the little knowledge we do already have.
Can see it happening for sure
Has anyone else slowly found themselves using Morj talking points unintentionally in OP debates in their friend group or is that just me?
I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE
Lmao facts
I can tell when people are using morj points they are usually long and thought out discussions
I’m hoping you will eventually dissect Characters in One piece just as much as you do the themes and story’s. You truly do show me why One Piece is the greatest manga of all time!
Would be best if he waits until Wano is done. Seems like the strawhats will get major development here when the raid fails. Plus he needs to finish his other analyses first.
One piece is not the greatest manga of all time lol
He's easily one of the best OP you tubers out there.
He always showcases one piece's depth and greatness with his videos
Guys, what do you think about possibility of Zoro being afraid of stairs because of Kuina?
In Enies Lobby he tries to run in a wrong direction, ignoring stairs right in front of him, but it might be just him being dumb as usual
In Dress Rosa, chapter 735, he makes Luffy activate the lift for him, Kinemon and Viola instead of just going up the stairs with him
I understand, that both of these situations can be explained by other means, but it just sounds so interesting to consider
@@iamdivan7368 very very unlikely
To sum up: he's a madman but also a softie inside uwu.
Thanks, Morj. As a Zoro fan (and so, hater of his haters), I've already pinpointed more or less many fof the ideas you explanined (way better than what I could try lol). This needs more recognition, and even if I die, I'm sharing it so that many more people get to see it :)
Amazing video! Zoro has always been one of my favorite characters and I think you summed up why in this video. In particular his relationship with Luffy. While Usop and Luffy are like best friends, Luffy and Zoro are like brothers. They have a bond that runs so deep they need no reason. It's just fact that Zoro will always be Luffys right hand.
I do think we have seen Luffy face his dream ending, tho, and what he would do if that would happen. The first thing you have to ask is what Luffy means by being free. I believe he wishes to be free with those closest to him. His goal is to always be with the ones he loves and would do anything to keep having a fun adventure with them. When Kuma sends the crew off before the time skip i think we get a glimpse into how broken Luffy would be if his dream was taken from him. I think, should his dream be taken away, Luffy wouldn't care for his own life anymore. He would let himself be killed, or still fight but no longer inorder to servive.
Nux: “I’ll never release No one understands Zoro vid”
Morj: “fine I’ll do it myself”
Zoro has been my #1 since I began watching and reading OP in 2013, it hasn't changed since then..
Even still, this excellent analysis really made me reflect on why I love this character so much, it completely reaffirmed my beliefs and even made me think about Zoro in new and exciting ways. Thanks.
Tbh...I haven't met anyone other character like him
This is not the No one understands Zoro video we were promised, but it is the one we never knew we needed.
But do we really need it ?
@@bigfatha5120 lord nux fail failed us 🥲
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
This was extremely well done. I love Zoro. He's one of my favorite characters
I would like to point out, Zoro seems to be slowly losing that flaw of juggling the most he can. At least in post ts, there are a few moments where he finally has to settle for some help (whether it was necessary or not); Tashigi and Monet moment, Orlumbus and Pica finisher, and now being as cooperative as possible with the other rooftop SN. Just a slow build up of him being vunerable.
Zoro is my #1 favorite One piece character. Not only his fights are cool but I love how stoic and honor bound is character is. He's always willing to put others ambitions before his own.
Never heard of him
"I think fire festival will end in failure" 😂😂 best meme made out of a theory 😄👍
It's not a meme when it's true
Spoiler alert-Chapter 1013 ends with luffy falling towards sea from top of onigashima 😎
@@marshalgaming8883 as if luffy will win just like that,these are just minor setbacks raid wont fail and make this arc another 10years long lmao
It definitely if both zoro and Luffy are done and kid going to get recked by big mom
@@bmoney3837 "Intensified Sanji noises"
If he cannot protect his captain, he's not worthy of the title "strongest", and that includes his captain dream. At least, that's how i see his resolve and loyalty. The same way Luffy believes that if he can't protect his crew, he's no pirate king.
If I can’t protect you I’m not big fatha but if I can I am big fatha
7:03 I think with Luffy we can be pretty sure that he wouldn’t give up life without one piece, but there is something else he’d give up life for, the one thing you have mentioned: Freedom, which is why he even pursued one piece in the first place. But what does he want with that freedom? Well, from what we’ve seen there are things in life that he just *likes*…adventure, meat, and nakama…and for a more solid proof of this, when they first met Rayleigh at Sabaody Archipelago Usopp asked Rayleigh for the “answer to everything”…which Luffy objected to, boldly saying he’d rather die than being denied of the ADVENTURE in order to obtain the one piece. I think for many that was character-defining moment where his intent and drive has been very clearly established
Zoro is the shonen protagonist of one piece that isn't actually the main character
I found it awesome when I saw zoro winning the popularity role for a good minute.. Also I wanna say that one of the reasons why Zoro is a great character depicted in one piece is due to him being one of the first created characters somewhat.. We know Oda did wanted[which is canon] before one piece & even helped launch one piece..For any who seen it then you know zoro is a psuedo clone of ryuma...That is key because Oda made zoro essentially before luffy.. Good Vid Morj
How he executed that lil roast about the zoro fan base in the beginning always shows imma love this
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
We still have a lot to learn about Zoro's past though. What's his story before visiting Kuina's dojo? we don't know anything. I think taht for Zoro and Nami we will get additional details about their past like we had for Sanji.
Don't think everyone needs a backstory. Hope his the reason to be the best strongest swordsman is never stated.
there's not a lot to infer on Nami that's actually relevant to her though, unlike Sanji would got with Zeff as a slighly grown kid who had experiences with his biological family Nami was a War Orphan who never got to meet them and who's childhood centered more about Belle-Mere who we already know
I think we'll get something, I find it highly unlikely that we are really in the final round of the fight and that the arc is almost over. I think there will be time to dive deeper in his past and link with Wano, not just a small scene at the end. But I also don't expect anything too deep or complex, as I feel that part of the appeal of his character is that he's just simply a man from a small village with a big dream. I'd like to see his family when he was a newborn and how he ended in Shimotsuki village. I think a chapter devoted to it could be enough to tell this tale.
i hope so
ruclips.net/video/SkAuHgLrxe8/видео.html
The fact that “nothing happened” is so known in the fanbase shows how much of a badass this man is
i tihnk robin's goal is similar in a way to zoro. After Alabasta Robin believed there was no reason for her to live because she could not find out about the void century
Also the fact that Zoro has a poor sense of direction because all he cares about is finding a strong combatant. Extreeeeeme tunnel vision.
I think he has bad direction cuz of his cursed weapon
@@Peepeepoopoo-rp9vm Both. Cursed weapon he uses led all its users to their deaths in one way or another. In Zoro's case - apparently literally dragging him from one opponent to another which is just so happens to be Zoro's desire so he not only completely ignores this fact but absolutely sure that it's everyone else who are lost and he is exactly where he wanted to be.
@@Kurayami_13 im answering late but if i remember correctly, zoro always had a bad sense of direction, correct me if im wrong. i used to think his bad orientation was a way to show he wasn't really a good leader and that he needed a captain to follow in order to find his way. I always thought zoro was a bad leader bc he tends to immediately make drastic decisions when facing a problem instead of thinking of a better solution (like cutting his feet off in little garden). but now that he has CoC, i was definitely wrong. his bad direction could just be a random running gag after all.
@@arlxquin Yes he always had a bad sense of direction but before obtaining cursed blade he was literally lost all the time. with the curse he is always where he wants to be - fighting. As for gag - while it is a running gag, notice that zoro starts "lost in life" - he had a vague goal but no understanding on how to achieve it nor knowledge of the world hence constantly "lost", but after obtaining clear understanding of said goal and a way to achieve it he stops being lost and just doesn't care about a path since it doesn't matter on a road of carnage. So while everyone continue to mock him for bad sense of direction he is actually always where he wants to be. As for bad leader - it was shown via how he treated his bros.
@@Kurayami_13 you got a point but imo he just stopped being lost when he joined luffy. that curse on his blade has no effect on him since that one scene in loguetown
This was an exceptional character analysis, one of the best I can recall seeing. You've enhanced my appreciation for Zoro and helped me fully understand some of the concepts I was subconsciously grasping at. Thanks Morj 👍
Zoro confirmed for Morj's Favorite Character.
I always had the hinch that Zoro was his. Law as his previous profile was a bait.
It's sanji
@@wisdommanari6701 You sure? Like 100% certain?
It’s pretty obvious
Given haki is a manifestation of will power, I’m curious to see how this will manifest in Zoro going forward. Especially given how strong his will is.
Bro you forgot to mention his great sense of direction that makes him such a key piece of the crew
Honestly the way you explained Zoro's absolute loyalty to Luffy and revisited the "nothing happened" moment made me tear up a bit
I basically got more emotional from the words you chose to explain it than from actually reading it in the manga and from seeing it in the anime.
Well done, i take off my strawhat as a gesture of honor
Thank you for this video! Was worth waiting, and Zoro is my favorite Character in Fiction.
He's my favorite One piece character as well.
In other words Zoro is just built different.
This video deserves millions, great stuff
hands down hes the GOAT. I dont know any character that could slop down Luffy like there is no tomorrow hands down. Best head in the series
Ayo?
I mean, as a Zoro Stan, this video makes me happy.
Same
18:51
He says "I think the fire festival is gonna fail" instead of "I think the fire festival is going to fail"
I think this is a sign that it's genuine.
yeah sus af
Sincerely,
Captain Raymond Holt
It would be a lot funnier if he made a new "raid will fail" video right now
reading this after seeing chapter 1013 spoilers 😳
@@shiner4l exactly what I meant
Morj is having a field day after chapter 1013
I agree with this and I think it's why both Zoro and Robin are my favorite characters. Robin screaming that she wants to live, that Luffy and the Straw Hats have given her another chance to achieve the dream she had already given up on achieving was when I realized that she and Zoro are much, much more similar than we were led to believe. She was the lone wolf.
And can we just remind ourselves that to this day, right from the beginning we were introduced to one of the strongest one piece chatacters on the planet, and that statement still stands. God I wanna see more Mihawk
Im not a zoro fan or a sanji fan infact i like zoro a little more. But i really dont understand how sanji's sacrifice is less than zoro's. In fact, what he did at wci was mentally way harder than simply giving up your dream because he went even further. Not only did he give up his dream for the sake of the strawhats and zeff, he tried playing the bad guy in hopes that luffy doesnt miss him. This is what makes sanji's sacrifice even more epic than zoro's.
Going back to thriller bark, sanji literally did the exact same thing as zoro. He was ready to die for the sake of saving luffy and more importantly zoro aswell.
Considering all this, i dont understand how you can put labels like most loyal strawhat. Zoro is the vice captain and his moments feel more impactful because they are presented in a cooler way. But i cant point at a single incident to conclude if one strawhat is more loyal than the other.
Thank you! There is no such a thing as most loyal in the Strawhat crew. They are all equal loyal to Luffy wich Oda constantly tries to show. Like the moment Nami would have rather got killed by Ulti than saying that Luffy isn't going to be the next pirate King.
People where complaining what a dumb thing that is to do, but i am sure they are the same people that would praise Zoro for the same thing.
I agree. I even heard some people talk shit about Sanji and say that he is not loyal because he kicked Luffy, some of the dumbest takes ever.
I love when people try to act like they clearly don't have a bias towards a character then immediately reveal there bias in their comment. It's literally a meme template at this point.
@@blindSharingan i love when people got no logical argument so they try to imply whats not implied to divert the argument.
my bias is with zoro dummas. But logically sanji got better moments
the truth is the truth regardless of who i like the most. I happened to like zoro a little more because i have that burning ambition and desire to be the best at what i do and zoro inspires me the most. ( for example Luffy is my fav character but most if not all his fights are quite lame. )
Sanji (as well as me) knows this is immature behaviour. If it werent for plot armour zoro would be a dead man with that attitude. Sanji has a lot more realistic approach to his dreams. He prioritises the gift of life rather than his dream (as he told zoro when he faught mihawk) also he isent obsessed over strength as he knew what happens with that (judge)
I will still like zoro more for the time being because logic doesnt command feelings.
Thanks for this video and btw One of your Big Theories just got confirmed in the spoilers of 1013, reddit is going crazy atm.
Oh, so Big Mom IS going to Wano? Great to know
7:14
When Ace died, Luffy said that he wasn’t worthy of becoming the Pirate King and it felt more like he was considering just quitting the pirate life and going home, not like he was considering resigning himself to death or suicide
I don't agree this time. Sanji is definitely better character, not really likeable, but he is written better.
Agreed to. People always mad when i told them that sanji is nowhere near zoro level.
Even up to this point sanji has no respect for luffy. I mean tell me has he ever apologize for what he did to his captain in big mom territory?
First he tried to leave the crew without even saying it right to his captain face.
Second he beat his own captain just to imply that he doesn't want to go back, this here is so worst why? It shows u that even up to this point sanji have no believe on luffy to be able to become a pirate king. Sanji simply bow down to big mom and asked her to forgive luffy. Yuck.
Third after this painful event where luffy could DIE anytime he doesn't even say sorry. He doesn't even want to listen to his captain request to put the suit on just because he hates how it will entitle him with germa but u know what ? If it's for peeking a woman in bathroom he certainly do.
Sorry but sanji is the worst wingman in my opinion, so fucking disrespectful.
And please don't bring the zed and crew here. Yeah their life is in danger. So did jinbei entire race. My man sit down and tell big mom that he left the crew to join someone who's at the moment wrecking havoc on her territory like jinbei hands down is the true wingman after zoro. My man just joined the crew and immediately say fuck u to a yonkou and punch her in her stomach. Damn.
This video was amazing made me tear up so much. This made me realize the depth of zoros character like never before. Love the analysis content morj! 💚
Do you plan on doing character analyses for the other Straw Hats as well? Or at least the ones with a lot of character focus like Luffy, Usopp and Sanji?
I'd like it too, but I feel he considers the videos he made on Sanji for WKI and the video "The Strawhat Oda hates" as analysis videos for him. If that's the case then it's unfortunate since Sanji is my favorite along eit6 Luffy. We night get all the others in the future though.
PLEASE YES
No cause people understand those characters easily as it’s abundantly hand fed to us the reader. No straw hat characters are as misunderstood as Zoro, and possibly Nami in my opinion and it’s funny cause they are two of the most popular.
@@Aacezay Sanji is far and away the most misunderstood in my opinion. I agree with Nami though.
@@lukerne9260 not at all Sanji is the most trolled he definitely isn’t misunderstood at all it’s just you have people that praise him for his ideals and those who vehemently disagree with his ideals. It’s not about misunderstanding it’s about accepting him for who he is see the difference?
Ppl really sleep on zoros writing glad morj made a video of him. He is my fav character next to luffy
Zoro carrying a load that he does not need to carry is a trait he grew out of. Just look at wano and Zoro realising that there are plenty of people more invested in avenging Tonoyasu and kill Orochi...
The fact he’s the Rayleigh of the crew makes Zoro one of my favorites
As a commander of the ZoroStans, we approve this message.
W
Here, here, here. #Facts
So even Zoro is just a subordinate of a true God? I see
omg I can't wait for Morj to read new chapter!!! all I wanna say is I've been loyal to the raid failing theory since the beginning!!!!
I have seen zoro do amazing things many times but it’s something about how you describe him...... your verbiage really puts him in a different light. Also makes his sacrifice in thriller bark all the more enticing.
I’ll refer this video to anyone lacking on their definitions of loyalty. 🙏🏿💯
i will tell my children. "even if you don't know where to go and you will be lost sometimes. just be like zoro"