OP: Backstory again
Oct. 26th, 2010 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainsometimesWithout having intended to I found myself re-reading the first few pages of One Piece, chapter 584 - and damnit, I had forgotten how much page 4 makes my heart ache. for the nth time, damn you Oda.
Which reminds me that I wanted to babble again a little bit about the chapters 583-589, although I daresay I'll likely repeat myself a lot.
I know it's been ages and this has been talked over plenty already, while there's a lot of shiny new canon to squee and wonder and speculate about in the latest chapters (and I do all those things!). But I'm slow in my thoughts, though, and I find the flashback still lingers.
For all that I had initial problems with some of its darkness - I still think some of the violence Luffy encountered in the first couple of chapters came across as a bit too much, for one thing - and a few other things (it would have been nice to see more female characters), on the whole these chapters really resonated with me. They felt thick, meaty, narratively satisfying. So much of Luffy's background and all of Ace's (pre-Marineford arc) had previously lay hidden: but now, there were roots.
It was disconcerting to find out that idyllic Fuchsia village was only a small part of Luffy's island - and after Shanks left, not the main location of his childhood anymore. The Goa Kingdom with its nobles' obsession with a clean city centre and the hard class distinctions was a shock at first - but one that eventually worked for me. It gave me the feel of the setting of a good historical YA novel. And when the noblemen calmly decide to burn the Gray Terminal down with its inhabitants, it was stark and evil but sadly, not unbelievable. I was all too reminded of South American militias who kill homeless children.
Then there's Sabo.
There's been plenty of mixed reaction to him: plenty of fans liked him from the start like I did, others were more sceptical but warmed up eventually; and still others couldn't make themselves care at all for the guy - this totally unforeshadowed Johnny-come-lately that was suddenly revealed to be so important for Ace's and Luffy's development. That's all valid.
For me he worked splendidly. But while I do think he has his own personality, I also thought both li'l Ace and li'l Luffy felt more complex than him (although it's hard to judge since for them we have their adult selves to compare and contrast with). I think it's mostly his role and function in the story that just clicks so well with me. For one thing, the revelation of a third brother none of us could have suspected made Ace and Luffy seem more real to me, with lives beyond the panels; with roots stretching down. Sabo's presence made their interactions more varied, too, and showed new sides of Ace particularly.
For another, as I have confessed before, I was getting just a little fatigued with the constant emphasis on Ace and Luffy the brother-duo. I missed the Strawhats so much. Though it should be noted that Sabo and the shared grief over him made the two of them that much closer, still for me at the time, I think Sabo came to stand in for "other people than Ace who are important to Luffy", particularly the crew. Paradoxically that made me feel even closer to Ace... ;__;
I also found it interesting that Sabo's upper-class origins specifically makes Ace and Luffy lower-class by contrast, as I don't think they quite were before. Of course Luffy's the grandchild of a Marine officer of high rank and grand reputation, while Ace is the secret child of what might be the most famous man in the world. But people around them don't see them that way: apart from Fuchsia village, the boys are mostly seen as small, dangerous, lower-class young criminals. Nor is there anyone to tells them "you're different from the riff-raff around you, you have standards you have to keep up", etc. (Luffy feels it's important that pirates are distinct from mountain bandits, but I don't think that has anything to do with class.)
It doesn't seem to have stuck, though - neither Ace nor Luffy seem particularly class-conscious. They'd probably say that pirates don't care about things like that.
Also, I might be wrong about this, but wouldn't the role played by Sabo in the backstory - the close childhood friend with heroic traits, who dies unjustly and tragically, but whose memory serves to guide and inspire the hero - wouldn't that role most commonly be taken by someone poorer than the hero, or less advantaged than him in other ways? Granted, there are heavy hints that Sabo may well have survived to show up in the story again at some point - but that doesn't change what grieving for him meant for Luffy as he grew up, or how Sabo's ideal and longing for freedom came to influence and motivate him just as Shanks' example and sacrifice did. In a more traditional story, Sabo's background seem more likely to fit the hero himself - or the hero's main rival or best friend. (Of course, even if something's original doesn't mean it's necessarily appealing or successful.)
Okay, that's it for my rambling backstory thoughts. Comments?
Which reminds me that I wanted to babble again a little bit about the chapters 583-589, although I daresay I'll likely repeat myself a lot.
I know it's been ages and this has been talked over plenty already, while there's a lot of shiny new canon to squee and wonder and speculate about in the latest chapters (and I do all those things!). But I'm slow in my thoughts, though, and I find the flashback still lingers.
For all that I had initial problems with some of its darkness - I still think some of the violence Luffy encountered in the first couple of chapters came across as a bit too much, for one thing - and a few other things (it would have been nice to see more female characters), on the whole these chapters really resonated with me. They felt thick, meaty, narratively satisfying. So much of Luffy's background and all of Ace's (pre-Marineford arc) had previously lay hidden: but now, there were roots.
It was disconcerting to find out that idyllic Fuchsia village was only a small part of Luffy's island - and after Shanks left, not the main location of his childhood anymore. The Goa Kingdom with its nobles' obsession with a clean city centre and the hard class distinctions was a shock at first - but one that eventually worked for me. It gave me the feel of the setting of a good historical YA novel. And when the noblemen calmly decide to burn the Gray Terminal down with its inhabitants, it was stark and evil but sadly, not unbelievable. I was all too reminded of South American militias who kill homeless children.
Then there's Sabo.
There's been plenty of mixed reaction to him: plenty of fans liked him from the start like I did, others were more sceptical but warmed up eventually; and still others couldn't make themselves care at all for the guy - this totally unforeshadowed Johnny-come-lately that was suddenly revealed to be so important for Ace's and Luffy's development. That's all valid.
For me he worked splendidly. But while I do think he has his own personality, I also thought both li'l Ace and li'l Luffy felt more complex than him (although it's hard to judge since for them we have their adult selves to compare and contrast with). I think it's mostly his role and function in the story that just clicks so well with me. For one thing, the revelation of a third brother none of us could have suspected made Ace and Luffy seem more real to me, with lives beyond the panels; with roots stretching down. Sabo's presence made their interactions more varied, too, and showed new sides of Ace particularly.
For another, as I have confessed before, I was getting just a little fatigued with the constant emphasis on Ace and Luffy the brother-duo. I missed the Strawhats so much. Though it should be noted that Sabo and the shared grief over him made the two of them that much closer, still for me at the time, I think Sabo came to stand in for "other people than Ace who are important to Luffy", particularly the crew. Paradoxically that made me feel even closer to Ace... ;__;
I also found it interesting that Sabo's upper-class origins specifically makes Ace and Luffy lower-class by contrast, as I don't think they quite were before. Of course Luffy's the grandchild of a Marine officer of high rank and grand reputation, while Ace is the secret child of what might be the most famous man in the world. But people around them don't see them that way: apart from Fuchsia village, the boys are mostly seen as small, dangerous, lower-class young criminals. Nor is there anyone to tells them "you're different from the riff-raff around you, you have standards you have to keep up", etc. (Luffy feels it's important that pirates are distinct from mountain bandits, but I don't think that has anything to do with class.)
It doesn't seem to have stuck, though - neither Ace nor Luffy seem particularly class-conscious. They'd probably say that pirates don't care about things like that.
Also, I might be wrong about this, but wouldn't the role played by Sabo in the backstory - the close childhood friend with heroic traits, who dies unjustly and tragically, but whose memory serves to guide and inspire the hero - wouldn't that role most commonly be taken by someone poorer than the hero, or less advantaged than him in other ways? Granted, there are heavy hints that Sabo may well have survived to show up in the story again at some point - but that doesn't change what grieving for him meant for Luffy as he grew up, or how Sabo's ideal and longing for freedom came to influence and motivate him just as Shanks' example and sacrifice did. In a more traditional story, Sabo's background seem more likely to fit the hero himself - or the hero's main rival or best friend. (Of course, even if something's original doesn't mean it's necessarily appealing or successful.)
Okay, that's it for my rambling backstory thoughts. Comments?
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no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 07:41 pm (UTC)(Strange, but somehow I haven´t thought about the flashback in some time. I mostly like it, but usually when I remember past stuff I skip it. Hmmm.)
Good point about Sabo´s background being unusual for his role. I thought it was a bit much that all the nobles are unattractive, even his little sister. I liked her in general - well, not the character, but she showed that being brainwashed as children it´s very unlikely that there are many other nobles possessing human decency.
And thanks for the link! All sites I knew took down the older chapters some time ago.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 08:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 08:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 01:19 am (UTC)Huh, that's an interesting point. I, like everyone else, was a little startled by Oda throwing in this new kid that you feel like would have been mentioned previously if he was really that important to the brothers. But I like what you say: it means that there's more to them than we know, like real people.
The class distinction is also interesting. I never thought of them as low-class, exactly, but I thought a lot of the point of "pirates" was that they were sort of the undesireables of the One Piece world. Like thieves, or outlaws, or something.
(I also really hope that we see him again. Somehow.)
no subject
Date: 2010-10-28 12:34 pm (UTC)Good point.
Come to think of it, most Strawhats were "undesirable" in some ways in their respective societies before joining up, even if there were some people who accepted them. Or believed themselves to be undesirable, like Nami. Zoro, Usopp and Sanji excepted, though. (Luffy was accepted and well-liked by the people of Fuchsia Village, but the Goa kingdom as a whole is a different story - not that it mattered to him.)
(I also really hope that we see him again. Somehow.)
Me, too. And I hope he's still a decent person who has a Really Good Explanation for not coming to Ace's aid at Marineford...
no subject
Date: 2010-10-27 06:45 am (UTC)Luffy has never seemed lower-class to me (unlike Ace who in reflection definitely comes across like a 'street-rat' in the flashback, especially given his resentment and distrust stemming from his father issues), rather someone who's ridiculously independent and sees the world in a unique way, much like his father and grandfather in the independence respects.
You're totally right about Sabo being in a role-reversal spot, but that could also be because Luffy IS so seemingly class-unconscious (unlike, seemingly, his own father). He learns similar lessons but they don't have a bearing on a class/economic level or even as much on a discrimination level. Rather it's the independence at all costs and the freedom of dreams that seem to stick with Luffy the most.
In any event, now you make me want to go back and read the flashback again (I skipped over it when I was so busy obsessing over the War Arc last month and its aftermath). I feel like I probably missed a lot.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-28 12:47 pm (UTC)He learns similar lessons but they don't have a bearing on a class/economic level or even as much on a discrimination level. Rather it's the independence at all costs and the freedom of dreams that seem to stick with Luffy the most.
I agree - I also think that's what Sabo himself would want to focus solely on as well, only his own origins won't allow him to. He pretty much has to reject his family and the other Goa nobles violently ("they're all rotten people") in order not to feel himself becoming one of them, which in the end is what he fears the most. Hence, the revolutionaries.