Eiichiro Oda might have created One Piece as a mere Shonen manga, but to fans, it holds far greater significance. Over the course of its decades-long run, One Piece managed to show not only realistic evil but also realistic friendship. The one character who stands at the forefront of it is Nico Robin.
Yes, one of the most attractive One Piece characters, who always has Sanji drooling over her, has been the center of many important arcs. In fact, this lady has gone through hell and still manages to be the most intelligent and calm person among the crazy crew of the Straw Hats.
Nico Robin Finds Friendship and Herself in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece
Out of all the Straw Hat members, Robin can be called the most in-control person. She does indulge in some of the silly businesses of her nakama, but you can rarely find her losing composure. She approaches everything in a calm and collected manner, and she treats Luffy with respect even when others are ready to kick his face.
It’s not just Luffy who gets such respect from her; she treats each of her fellow Straw Hat members with kindness and patience. However, her calmness came at a huge cost. If you know Nico Robin’s history, you will know how intricately she is linked with Ohara. Her homeland was destroyed by the World Government, and all she could do was fan the urge for revenge. Her mother was cruelly taken away from her, and the scholars who she grew up with were brutally murdered.
Despite facing the worst possible fate, Robin didn’t give up; she became a wanted criminal at a tender age and had to hide her Devil Fruit abilities while living a life of fear. When she met the Straw Hats, things began to change; she found a home in a crazy crew headed by a childish rubber-guy. When Luffy stretched his hands to save her (literally), she realized that for the first time in her life, she had made friends and a family.
Eiichiro Oda’s Message of One Piece is Best Portrayed Through Robin
The first time the Straw Hats encountered Robin, she was a major antagonist in the Alabasta Arc. After the arc concluded, she joined the Straw Hats temporarily, but after a slight bout of suspicion, she received respect and friendship. She realized how much the Straw Hats cared for a stranger like her.
This is especially noticeable in the Water 7 arc in which the whole crew got together to save Robin, who herself had given up on her life just to save everyone else involved. She knew the horror of a buster call and did not want anyone to face the same fate as Ohara. However after seeing Luffy and the others’ endless effort to save her, she finally realized that she could be selfish from that moment forth and choose herself.
Robin’s character proved that it is never too late to find true friendship, and you will find it in the most unlikely of places. She found her true purpose and could decipher Poneglyphs, just like how she was meant to, given her relation to Ohara. In fact, she could reconnect with her lost childhood once again due to the endless craziness of her crewmates. Eiichiro Oda took a traumatized and depressed woman and gave her purpose, true friends, and happiness in life. It is characters like her who preach the true message of One Piece in a silent yet loud manner.
One Piece is available to read on Viz Media, and the anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
