thought of the day

[xparrot]

As a writer myself, I'm often intrigued by where writers get their inspiration. Talking with naye today, I had an odd thought about something in One Piece. Oda-sensei has many Q&A's throughout the manga; I haven't read most of them, and I'd be really curious if this has been asked. If it hasn't, I'd be tempted to ask him myself.

Oda-sensei is really into pirates, we know. A couple of the chars in One Piece were named after real pirates, and he likes the fictional ones, too; in the first volume he talks about a series about Vikings he watched as a kid (later the inspiration for the Elbaf giants). So there's a good chance he knows one of the most famous fictional pirates.

Crocodile is the main enemy of the Arabasta arc, my favorite One Piece villain. He's got a weird scar on his face, a fur coat, and a giant hook for one hand.

And there's a certain other fictional pirate who has a hook for a hand, because that hand was bitten off...by a crocodile. Crocodile is somewhat obsessed with his namesake; he keeps a whole bunch of them around to feed annoying people to. He's also obsessed with time; he can become sand (as in an hourglass) and there's several parts in the Arabasta arc where the time of an event is important, including an unforgettable scene near the end with a ticking clock...

What is with Oda-sensei's head...Peter Pan goes in, and out comes Crocodile! (it also begs the question...does this make Miss All Sunday Smee, or Tinkerbell?)

Comments

[ex-naye320.livejournal.com]

...Tinkerbell? Wow. Overdosing of the weird, here. ^^;

[suffire.livejournal.com]

ergh, Tinkerbell? because it's just impossible putting the image of Robin right next to Smee and equate them mentally? With those hands blooming around her back you could almost see them as wings. Well, you could also really stretch the matter by elaborating on the fact that both Tinkerbell and Robin tamperered with the side of good for personal selfish reasons, Robin for her beloved True History, Tinkerbell for her jealousy of Wendy. They are both essentially decent, good-hearted person, but sometimes they make compromises and do things against their nature because of a certain intensely obsessive desire.

Great observation on Crocodile there, Oda-sensei must be fond of boyhood stories, Pinocchio, Rudolph, and now here's Peter Pan, OP really is the story that he wanted to read as a child, all these things must be favourites leftover from that time in his life.

I also see Crocodile as the perfect example of the classical Bond villain, you have the doomsday weapon, the plot to take over the world, the maniacal laughter, the beautiful femme fatale sidekick that eventually wanders off to the other side, a wardrobe that make absolutely no sense (fur coats in the *dessert*?), and the tendency to tell his opponents the details of his diabolical plan before their certain death...etc.

You know, the more you talk about this, the more it's becoming apparent the degree of influence that western culture has on Oda-sensei, while I was watching the series I already felt that this series is just made for a western audience, perhaps this is another reason why american companies were so eager to grab the series, *sigh*, if only they weren't so touchy about certain issues.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

...Umm, I hope this comment doesn't repeat. I was mostly done writing this reply, and then lj freaked and seemed to have erased it...urgh >____>

Also was wondering if pixie dust = sand. Or Robin might be Wendy, swept away by the eternal boy in the straw hat...

The influences on OP are many and varied, and I love the unique twists Oda-sensei gives on them. One of the first things in the series that really made me go, 'huh, now that's a cool idea' was Usopp's variation on the boy who cried wolf - it's an oft-told story, an old lesson, but I'd never seen this before, the liar protecting his honor by making sure his lie remains only a lie.

I've wondered, too, if I might be missing references to Japanese stories, because I'm not familiar with them. It is interesting that Oda-sensei knows so many Western stories. And it probably does make OP more accessible to a Western audience, though I don't think 4Kids was really looking at the series at all...just the money made off it. >_>

And I've thought myself that Crocodile is a James Bond villain! Only even more evil...he doesn't leave obvious escape routes. That's not the real key. And he doesn't leave the murdering up to his hapless henchmen, either...you can't blame him for being flabbergasted at Luffy's survival...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

--For that matter, Vivi is a twist on the classic Disney heroine, the beautiful, plucky young princess running away from her kingdom. Except with Vivi, it's not for her independence, but her kingdom's; she's a princess who is going to be a queen someday, with responsibilities that no fairy tale royalty ever have to deal with.

[suffire.livejournal.com]

These beautiful, plucky princesses of Disney fairytale kingdom also have this tendency to end their quest with a marriage, not so much a path to independence as to catch the right man. For Vivi it will always be country first, and no matter whom she marries the country is hers to govern, leadership is hers, this is how the people will see her, respect her, and love her. As opposing to the Disney case where it becomes apparent that men still hold power, the wives have the right to throw a fit about dresses and furnitures, but when it comes to leadership, the people will look for the men. I'm not sure if I explained it well, but it irritates me. OP is really a breath of fresh air when it comes to this regard.

And yes, poor Crocodile, there were people who felt sorry for Kuro who spent three years plotting and waiting only to be foiled by Luffy's appearance, Kuro's plan is nothing when compared with the level of complexity, ambition and majesty within Crocodile's schemes, yet, all it took was two more battles and three more people on Luffy's crew to make Crocodile go the way of Kuro, really, you'd feel sorry for them if they weren't such heartless bastards.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Really, in most fairy tales, royalty does little enough actual leading. Definitely more for "laissez-faire" governing, in which, other than battles (wars and dragon-slaying), the main things kings do to the population are negative - cruelly taxing, executions, burning spinning wheels, etc. But yes, I do know exactly what you mean; Disney princesses can be "independent" and "spirited", but the only women who ever have real power are the villains. And One Piece is a great change from this more subtle sexism.

I love the female chars of One Piece. At first you may get the mistaken impression that they're weak, because none of them are as strong fighters as some of the guys - but there are plenty of male chars who also are not fighters, and the reason the women aren't is because that kind of physical strength isn't the goal of any of them. (Except for Kuina, of course, and she would have been a match for most of the guys, had she lived.) And they're all incredibly strong in other ways. I think Oda-sensei must have a great female role model in his life, to write women like he does.

And one of my pet peeves for forever with fiction in general is that so many times, the female character's main role is love interest, so I love that the OP girls are pretty much romance-free (Vivi does have Kohza, but Kohza's more the love interest in that case than vice versa...)

*laughs* Crocodile, yes, you can almost feel sorry for him. His brilliance and power are his only positive traits, so it's almost tragic to see them smashed.

Re: Oh boy!

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

<<coming in the middle of all this from far corner of center field Earth. USA. rec-sf-arts-ql. Long time no hear:) Various friends have been blogging here from weeks to years ago. I joined them a month or so ago. I was just recounting to one of them that your then-roommate passed me on the NYS Thruway on her way from CA back to ME- the epitome of small world. Or this is, I'm not sure. Hope you're well. Friendmeback if you want to read all make and manner of less cosmic stuff than you have.

Re: Oh boy!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

*blink blink* ...Ray? wow! talk about yer blasts from the past...or somesuch. How'd you find me? I wasn't all anime-freakish back in college... ^_^ Welcome to lj, hope things are treating you well!

and you seeing Oscar (the car, not the roommate) remains my favorite "small world" story.

Re: Oh boy!

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

Google is frightening. I just put "Emilie" and "quantum leap" into Google, which brought me your site, and from there your LJ page.

The box set of season one just came out. Haven't seen if it has any good extras (and I still have tapes of most of that season from sci-fi, so I won't bother if it doesn't). SCTV season 1 came out the same day, which was my indulgence.

I had another "small world" story arise just last night. It's on le blog.

You went to Japan. I am jealous. Friends of ours lived there several years and loved it. "Lost in Translation" was as close as we're likely to get.

Let me know how you're doing:)

[anim3fr3akprson.livejournal.com]

Well... I read somewhere that Crocodile, Pell, and Chaka were based off Egyptian myths. Chaka would be Anubis, the jackal headed god and Pell would be Horus, the bird headed god, and Crocodile was... Eh, I forgot. But, Crocodile (in the Egyptian myth) was Anubis' and Horus' enemy... So, Oda-sensei has really done some research. Or so I've heard/read. ^_^;;