What Does it Mean to Be a Mother in One Piece?

Last year, I wrote up an honorary piece for the mothers in One Piece - Belle-mére, Portgas D. Rouge, Banchina, Nico Olvia, and Otohime. Since beginning my “Philosophy of One Piece” I have had to reflect, however loosely, on two of these women, which led me to wonder: what is the role of mothers in One Piece? 

Including anyone who not only gave birth, but also raised a child (or more), with the exception of Kureha and Dadan, very few mothers survive flashbacks. What does this mean about what a mother is supposed to represent? And in the case of those two, they are not portrayed as serene or motherly as the others (though is that actually true?). To answer these questions, let’s look at the various mothers in One Piece and their function within the story. 

Love Revolution

It’s interesting to compare couples. While it may certainly be biased, as people have their own personal fondness for particular ones, I was struck by the outward similarity of Anthy Himemiya and Utena Tenjou’s relationship to Megara and Hercules’. The former appear in the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena, famous for it’s symbolism and redefinition of fairy tale and gender norms and expectations. The latter appear in the Disney animated film Hercules, known for its unique style inspired by Gerald Scarfe and it’s looser interpretation of the Hercules myth -- it’s like superheroes and capitalism meets Greco-Roman mythology.

At its core, each relationship revolves around an imprisoned character who is able to find happiness and freedom through their developing feelings for another character, one usually construed as "heroic" or "princely". But despite the outward similarity, the crux of each relationship is portrayed in a very different light. In Utena, the relationship is expressed in terms of friendship between women. And while this is lovely in it’s own right, there is definitely a strong romantic ambiance, which if not intentional, is certainly a viable and valid interpretation of Anthy and Utena’s feelings as they develop through the anime. In Hercules the couple is decidedly romantic, but Megara and Hercules are also decidedly heteronormative.

But even if one is (allegedly) about friendship and the other is about romance, the way the relationships, from the imprisoned character's point of view, are constructed are based on parallel character arcs and history wherein each are categorized as a "bad woman". Furthermore, upon inspecting this similarity and considering the differences in how each relationship is portrayed, I feel that it exposes that gender shouldn't limit a good romance and that just because a man and woman are together at the end does not mean it is the best happy ending we could get.

Let's begin.

The Measure of a True Hero

A/N: a little analysis I posted last week

The designation and achievement of heroism is a prominent theme in Disney’s 35th animated feature Hercules. In particular, I feel that the definitions implicated in “One Last Hope” by Hercules’ trainer Philoctetes, the lecherous and tough-talking satyr, present an outline of heroism that is distinctly male, even considering that the one quality of heroism not presented in the song (namely, sacrifice) which allows Hercules to regain his godhood is still touted as a male achievement.

Read more...

Philosophy of One Piece: Self-sacrifice -- The Falcon Guardian

Self-sacrifice is a means of love and protection -- Part 5: The Falcon Guardian

Last time, we left off with Luffy and Ace’s brother, Sabo, sacrificing his freedom for their safety. The same sentiment has been previously expressed in the earlier examples -- one sacrifices for the safety and welfare of another, be in brother(s) or daughter(s), which have actually been the only examples so far.

But near the end of the last segment, a theory arose that that which is sacrificed for could be deemed a treasure for the one sacrificing. With that in mind, I wanted to look at one of the earliest, in-time, self-sacrifices in One Piece -- the falcon guardian of Alabasta, Pell.

Luffy and his pirates have accompanied Princess Vivi back home Alabasta with the intention of helping her stop the rebellion brewing there. Three years ago, the desert kingdom suddenly entered a severe drought. There was no rainfall anywhere in Alabasta except at the capital where it was called the “king’s miracle”. This acclaimed miracle turned into a disaster when dance powder, a forbidden substance that creates rain but sucks the clouds dry so they have no more moisture and thus creates droughts where it was supposed to rain, was discovered to have been bought in the king’s name. Uncertainty and resentment mount and motivate the rebels Vivi wishes to stop.

Of course it is not as cut and dry as that...

Philosophy of One Piece: Self-sacrifice -- The Ocean's Treasure

Mini-Introduction

Last time, I think might have spent too much time reflecting on Ace’s situation and characterization and less on the philosophical implications. To be honest, I am beginning to wonder if I’m overstaying my welcome, if you will, in the concept of self-sacrifice. The problem in, my mind, is that One Piece is full of examples of this idea and the trouble is deciding where to stop and whom to include.

Originally, I was only going to have one more after this, but then I realized there were at least two or three more I wanted to address. I shall see if I still follow through on this. As far as I can see, the only downside might be the repetitiveness of each example; I can only discuss how each shows off the concept of self-sacrifices as a means of love and protection for so long.

Self-sacrifice is a means of love and protection - Part 4: The Ocean's Treasure

Regardless, we left off with Ace’s self-sacrifice for Luffy and the question as to why a sacrifice derived from love and protection could be such a potent, emotional concept. One answer offered, in relation to Ace anyway, was that it came from his realization of the value of life itself. Previously that sentiment was linked to Ace’s revelation during the Marineford War, but it could also be linked to the death of Ace and Luffy’s third brother.

Alluded to in Part 3: The Highest Fire, Luffy and Ace self-formed brotherhood included not only them, but “Ace’s best friend” and the son of aristocrat, Sabo (GN 59, 202). Together they went about their business beating up thugs and preparing to be pirates and live as freely as they could. But the contours of their brotherhood are, technically, a subject for another essay (despite my fascination with it). To stay on track – as I alluded to in Part 3, Sabo’s death is not a result of self-sacrifice; it is the result of elitist Celestial Dragons.

Upon hearing news of their brother’s demise...

Philosophy of One Piece: Self-sacrifice -- The Highest Fire

Mini-Introduction

In retrospect, I think some of the difficulty in writing the previous segment was that there wasn’t much to say about Rouge. She sacrificed her life to ensure her son could live; it was done to ensure a very basic quality of life – being alive. Additionally, it was slightly a repeat of what had been said in Part 1: The Beautiful Mother; namely, a mother sacrifices her life so that her child(ren) would not be killed by an immediate threat, thereby exemplifying a mother’s love.

Whether Belle-mère and Rouge’s self-sacrifices actually do depict a supreme example a mother’s love is not the direct concern of this conceptual investigation. This is about self-sacrifice as a concept and how that is embodied in One Piece. The former could make another interesting essay itself, though. But onward!

Self-sacrifice is a means of love and protection - Part 3: The Highest Fire

Last time, Portgas D. Rouge finally gave birth to her son. Being the child of her and her lover, Gol D. Roger, she aptly named him Gol D. Ace. But Ace, for his part, decided that “‘I’d rather forget about my good-for-nothing father. I don’t owe him anything. I don’t even remember him’” (GN 54, 48). And thus, he took his mother’s name instead, owing her “a great debt” for the life she gave in exchange for his (GN 54, 48).  

Despite his self-conducted name change, Ace’s life as the secret biological son of the Pirate King was far from easy. Most people claimed they would rather he (as a Roger’s theoretical son) had never been born. But there was one person to verbally contradict this, thus far – his younger brother, Monkey D. Luffy.

Brothers!
(please, note Ace's arm tattoo; I specifically chose this image for that reason)

As a child, Luffy was captured by the pirate Porchemy who tried, through tortuous bullying, to pry Ace’s location out of him. (Ace had earlier stolen money from Porchemy and he was trying to get it back.) 7-year-old Luffy refused to tell and was, as you would expect, rescued. Later that night, Ace demanded “‘Why do you want to be friends with me so bad anyway?!’”.  At Luffy’s quick retort that “‘I got nobody else!!”’ and the knowledge that Luffy has no family except his grandfather Garp, Ace hesitantly asked “‘Do you…want me to be alive?’”.  And Luffy loudly affirmed that yes, “of course!!”  he does (GN 59, 199-201).

Thus, even though other people certainly wanted Ace to be alive (Rouge, Garp, the Whitebeard Pirates, Whitebeard himself…), Luffy so far is the only one I can recall who verbally stated it. The reason I’m making such a point out of this is because of what happens at the end of Marineford.

Philosophy of One Piece: Self-Sacrifice -- The Red Hibiscus

Mini-Introduction

As sincerely excited as I am to write and reflect on One Piece philosophically, I have to admit that this part was much more difficult to write.  This may have been partly because my internet connection decided to take a holiday for three or four days so it wasn’t until Sunday that I was able to finalize it. Bear that in mind then, if this part seems slightly more rambling and disjointed.  Though I hope I conveyed, a least a little, the potency of the self-sacrifice discussed. Thank you.

Self-sacrifice is a means of love and protection - Part 2: The Red Hibiscus

Continuing my philosophical interpretation of One Piece, let’s now turn to another mother in the manga. While having much less time “on-screen” than Belle-mère, Portgas D. Rouge probably exemplifies one of the more concentrated self-sacrifices in One Piece.

Her introduction begins in Chapter 550: Navy Headquarters while Ace is on the execution platform. Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the marines (in terms of definition, they are a navy, but Oda uses the word “marine” on their buildings and clothes), asks for transponder snail or den den mushi so he can give a message to the waiting marines and watching civilians on Sabaody.

To set the stage for a moment: Portgas D. Ace has recently been defeated by the now-Shichibukai Blackbeard. His execution is eminent, and owing to Ace’s position as the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, the marines are expecting an all-out war with Whitebeard. This is because Whitebeard never forgives anyone who kills one of his men’” (GN 25, 139). Thus, everyone is highly on edge.

It is into this mix that Sengoku calmly proceeds to explain, rather succinctly, just who Rouge is and what she did. Obviously she is Ace’s mother, since as Ace himself says “‘I owe the name Portgaz [sic] a great debt. I got it from my mother’” (GN 56, 191). But she was also the lover of the most infamous pirate in history – the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Consequently, since Ace is the biological son of Roger, he is deemed an (apparently) immediate threat to the World Government and must be disposed of. (The merits and mistakes of this attitude are for another essay).

But what is actually astounding about Rouge’s pregnancy is how long it lasted...