Summary

One Piece’sportrayal of womenhas been a raging topic of discussion for many year , and for good understanding . Eichiiro Oda ’s style of drawing women , which he himself has name as " three circles and an X " , has been heavily pick apart for its super unrealistic body proportions . However , a deeper look intoOne Piece ’s distaff casting hint the series ' sexualization of women need not necessarily be as fully grown of an issue as it seems and overshadows just how well - write its female characters are .

There is no denying thatOne Piecedoes sexualize its female charactersand this issue has only been made bad in the anime , which jumps at any opportunity for fan service . However , portraying a fictional character in a provocative way does n’t necessarily mean they are being objectify , andOne Piecemanages to continue within this okay line . One Piece ’s distaff role are never reduce to being simply object of fan service , nor are they treated as objects of desire because of their appearance within the universe of the serial publication ( except mayhap by Sanji ) .

The seriesempowers its female characters by make them assertive and present them exonerated goals and admirable aspiration , just like the male character . woman part of the independent cast like Nami and Robin are never concentrate to token love life interests , while side fibre like Boa Hancock and Vivi are still admirable for their leadership alongside many other empowering female role models in the serial .

Bonney gets serious in One Piece

The One Piece gum anime has accept a controversial scene from the manga and extend it , hit it even more problematic .

One Piece’s Female Characters Were Intended to Be Empowering

Women inOne PieceAre Well Rounded and Crucial to the Story

As a genre target at young boys , it comes as no surprisal that the shōnen musical genre severely lacks well - write female characters . Most shōnen serial publication project by female character entirely or include one or two tokenish female theatrical role who do not impact the taradiddle as much . Thesefemale fibre are often one - dimensional and can boil down to one or two mutual stereotypeswhere they are either stoical , savage , uninterested in men , tsunderes , or cheerleaders that dish up as a incite force-out for the male admirer . More common than not , cleaning woman in shōnen are depicted as weaker than the manly casting or considered completely useless .

Eichiiro Oda seemed to notice this lack of well - round female characters in shōnen manga , as he break in theOVER 100 Miracle Talkwith the generator ofDetective Conan , Gosho Aoyama . From Oda ’s comment , it is open thatOne Piece ’s distaff cast was always meant to be empowering . This purpose is reflected not only in the main cast , but also in several other iconic female characters that have been introduced with every new discharge like Vivi , Rebecca , Yamato , Koala , and Ginny .

masses seem so supportive of couples ! That ’s something I did n’t really study when I was a kid . During the old days of Jump , there were mangaka that would n’t even draw women . That ’s why I ’m one of those that sent submissions with female character . I did want to draw strong women , and I think characters like Nami were quite uncommon back in those days .

One Piece - Luffy looking shocked

— Eichiiro Oda to Gosho Aoyama in the OVER 100 Miracle Talk , 2022 .

appearance aside , One Piece ’s distaff characters have always been regale the same as its manful charactersin that they take on significant roles , are n’t cut down to bare stereotypes , and are given the same depth with complex emotions , personality , and backstories that feed their aspirations and activity . Writing respectable female theatrical role is about much more than merely crap them physically strong and Oda understands that well .

One Pieceproves it is possible for shōnen to incorporate well - rounded distaff grapheme while stick genuine to the genre .

Hunter x Hunter’s Gon is surprised and sad, crying with blank eyes.

Nami and Robin may not be stronger than the male gang member , but they do pull their own weight . More importantly , they roleplay a essential character in the serial publication , even hold intact arcs focus on their characters like the relief of the Straw Hats . Even before Nami begin fight alongside the balance of the crowd she played the part of the essential sailing master without whom the Straw Hats would never be able to coiffe sheet . Meanwhile , Robin is the only one who can decode the Poneglyphs , without which Luffy will never be able to find the problematic One Piece . As such , they areboth indispensable to the crew in their own unequalled way of life .

One Pieceproves it is potential for shōnen to contain well - rounded , authorize female characters while continue true to the genre and that even series that are place at men and boys can have female role fashion model and might profit from including them . WhileOne Piece ’s does leave more to be desire in term of multifariousness , its well - write female shape does partially compensate for this shortcoming .

One Piece Needs More Female Diversity

Women inOne PieceAre Either Conventionally Beautiful or Completely Ugly

It is deserving notice thatOne Piece ’s distaff charactersdid not always seem the agency they do at nowadays . Nami in exceptional await quite petite at the starting time of the serial publication and her eubstance proportions could still pass for realistic , albeit with foresighted legs than common . One Piece ’s art has changed radicallysince Romance Dawn , and it is about around Enies Lobby that Oda ’s flair seems to tilt towards more hyper - sexualized proportions .

It was also around this clip that representative of sports fan service became more apparent . An splendid example is the infamous scene of Robin fall down the stairs in Enies Lobby . Thisoverly exaggerated hourglass figureseemingly became the average for all female characters after the time omission .

Many have argued that Oda ’s distaff reference onlyfall on one of two utmost ends of a spectrum , where they can beeither typically beautiful or completely hideous , and there is no denying the statement . It is mostly the villain that fall into the latter " ugly hag " category , like Big Mom , Charlotte Brulee , and Mother Carmel , though there have been a few exceptions , like Kalifa , Ulti , and Black Maria arguing against Oda ’s villainization of characters that do not conform to traditional standards of beauty .

Luffy looking confused in the center with nami holding a white lion’s head to the left and robin holding a fan dressed in a blue dress and cape to the right in one piece

One Piece’s Women Don’t Need to Be Realistic But More Wacky

Admittedly , only portraying unrealistic body - type can have a negative impact on younger impressible audiences . However , one might also argue that Oda ’s distaff role design is so unrealistic that it is simply meter toseparate fact from fiction and cease carry a naturalistic portrayalfrom a narration with apower as ridiculous as Gear Five .

One Piece ’s male character also come in every shape and sizing , one uncanny than the last , but no one expects these character reference to resemble material - life man . likewise , perhaps it is time that fans stopped expectingOne Piece ’s women to look naturalistic , as it is quite apparent that such a physique is only unattainable in reality . Instead , it would be much appreciated if the series could be just as creative and whacky with itsportrayal of womengiving fans more of the diverse , empowering fibre that they caught a glimpse of during Whole Cake Island .

One Pieceis available from Crunchyroll and Netflix .

One Piece color spread featuring female charcters jumping down from the sky while others ride a massive fish. One Piece color spread featuring female charcters jumping down from the sky while others ride a massive fish. Characters included: nami, Robin, Yamato, Otama, Perona, Bonney, Carrot, Vivi Ulti and Boa Hancock

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.

Watch on Crunchyroll

Created by Eiichiro Oda , One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga serial and watch over the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as contribute by Monkey D. Luffy . Luffy , an enthusiastic pirate with a thirstiness for risky venture , is afflict by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends . The manga finally gave means to the anime series , with the two being some of history ’s longest - lean anime and manga serial publication . Along with over fifty TV games made over the years , the serial participate the lively - action world with Netflix ’s 2023 adjustment .

One Piece’s female character in a colo spread featuring Nami, Robin, Boa Hancock, Tashigi annd Reiju all wearing red gathered around a purple couch

Nami looking sadly at a tangerine in her hand in a one piece colo spread

Images of nami from One Piece pre and post time skip show her standing while drawn in two different designs. One from her first appearance in Orange Town and the second is her wearing a blue kimono from Wano.

Nico Robin prepares for battle in One Piece.

Four of Big mom’s daughters from one piece

One Piece franchise poster

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.

One Piece