A few disclaimers. This thread is not made with the intention of convincing anyone to LIKE the characters or his quirks. This is purely to explain the narrative implications of a controversial plot about Sanji's character. There were so many Sanji threads these last days, that I actually wanted to postpone this one so it would not just "another one".
But @Blother basically begged me to do it, so I, being a benevolent entity that I am, answered his prays.
(Sanji is GOAT).
First point to be adressed. Sanji's refusal to hit a woman:
Why is that? Is it PURELY because Zeff told him its a bad thing to do? No. According to a SBS, Oda stated that Sanji is PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE of hitting a woman.
"bu-bu-but Big Meme...". Oda also stated that Sanji was not attacking BM, just blocking her strike at Reiju. Wanna complain about it? Complain it to the dude that wrote that technicality.
What matters is: the character can't do it. It's already in his subconscious. If you watched Inception, imagine as if it was an "idea" planted on Sanji's mind. It grows, it defines him. Now that we established that he will NEVER DO IT, let's talk about what he CAN DO.
Let's travel back to Ennies Lobby. He tried to take the key from Kalifa, but without being able to actually hit her, he fell victim to her "soap" power, that basically destroys brawlers. "He WaS gOinG tO lEt RobIN DiE". Yes. Does the character feel bad about it? Yes, he does. Can the character do anything about it? No, he can't. And if you think it's all a matter of "will", then we might as well make the entire field of Psychology irrelevant. So fuck that.
Dude feels bad about not being able to get the key, and feels guilty because it could fuck up Robin. He is not unaware of the consequences of this limitation. I'm also gonna briefly mention that he tells Usopp the "there are things you can't do, and there are things I can't do". So he understands his limitation but he counts on his friends to have his back, meanwhile he backs up his friends in any way he CAN. Nami confronts him and tells that he should just "run" when put in a situation like that, than proceeds to say she is impressed by his resolution.
Then, we get to Black Maria's plotline.
He got captured by webs. You know. Sticky things spiders use to trap stuff. Imagine that. Webs that do web stuff. What did Sanji do in that situation? Tried to beat Black Maria by not hitting her? No. He tried to....RUN.
HO.
LY.
FUCK.
YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT, THIS TIME, HE DID WHAT NAMI SAID HE SHOULD DO? HE COMPROMISED THE PART OF HIS CHIVALRY THAT HE COULD?????? IMAGINE THAT!
Now another topic.
Oda has a sense of "chivalry" completely outdated, that, in fact, actually reiterate a chauvinist way of thinking that is: "women are these weak and fragile creatures and must be protected at all costs". I REALLY am not going to extend a debate about feminism here because reasons. But that's irrevelant.
In Oda's mind, this "chivalry" is a good thing, and he expects his male audience to take a lesson here. Dont hit women. Wow, much complex.
During Kalifa's scenario, Sanji did not ask for help, because he could not simply ask "Nami", who is a person he views as a fragile creature he must protect, to fight for him.
Now we get back to Black Maria.
First, he tries to run away, but defeats all the male subordinates before that, so he made what he could to weaken BM's forces. But, spider, web. You know the drill. Good stuff to capture and restrain someone.
Then Black Maria proceeds to beat him and tells him there's a communicator that will resonate throughout the entire castle, so he should call Nico Robin, so BM can capture her.
Now, if it WERE the SAME Sanji we had in EL, he would view Robin as this weak and fragile creature that must be protected at all costs. Still a chauvinist way of looking at women. He tried to run already, but that didnt work. So, EL Sanji would just take the beating until passing out or dying.
HE IMMEDIATELY CALLS FOR ROBIN.
WHY?
Because he views Robin as a strong and capable woman and fighter, that can easily take care of Black Maria.
"But but trap".
Dude, he said he was being held captive. And there's a message resonating throughout the entire castle. Who the fuck needs more than 2 brain cells to realize there's an ambush waiting for her? Especially a woman that spent more than 20 years on the run? My goodness. If you think Robin would just barge him and consider this possibility, than you clearly think Robin is a freaking moron.
There. He learned from his past mistake, trusted his teammate, tried to do what he could. Did things differently from EL and now can run around the castle beating some Beast Pirate's ass.
Yay. Development.
"bu-bu-but CP0.."
Dude, look up something called "metagaming DnD". That's all I'm going to say about that.
Again, this is not a thread made to "convince" you that "sanji is actually cool" or whatever. I think we are all grown enough to make these kinds of decisions by ourselves.
But if you DID have any misconceptions about why that moment WAS a moment of development, there you go.
"But I think that's laaaaaame".
So? Do I tell you what you should wear, or eat or watch? I'm not telling you to "like the color blue". I'm just explaining to you that "the sky is blue". (if you come here with some "actually it's just a refraction event that makes the sky look blue" or whatever, a preemptive "nobody likes a smartass" to you).
Cheers.
:cheers:
But @Blother basically begged me to do it, so I, being a benevolent entity that I am, answered his prays.
First point to be adressed. Sanji's refusal to hit a woman:
Why is that? Is it PURELY because Zeff told him its a bad thing to do? No. According to a SBS, Oda stated that Sanji is PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE of hitting a woman.
"bu-bu-but Big Meme...". Oda also stated that Sanji was not attacking BM, just blocking her strike at Reiju. Wanna complain about it? Complain it to the dude that wrote that technicality.
What matters is: the character can't do it. It's already in his subconscious. If you watched Inception, imagine as if it was an "idea" planted on Sanji's mind. It grows, it defines him. Now that we established that he will NEVER DO IT, let's talk about what he CAN DO.
Let's travel back to Ennies Lobby. He tried to take the key from Kalifa, but without being able to actually hit her, he fell victim to her "soap" power, that basically destroys brawlers. "He WaS gOinG tO lEt RobIN DiE". Yes. Does the character feel bad about it? Yes, he does. Can the character do anything about it? No, he can't. And if you think it's all a matter of "will", then we might as well make the entire field of Psychology irrelevant. So fuck that.
Dude feels bad about not being able to get the key, and feels guilty because it could fuck up Robin. He is not unaware of the consequences of this limitation. I'm also gonna briefly mention that he tells Usopp the "there are things you can't do, and there are things I can't do". So he understands his limitation but he counts on his friends to have his back, meanwhile he backs up his friends in any way he CAN. Nami confronts him and tells that he should just "run" when put in a situation like that, than proceeds to say she is impressed by his resolution.
Then, we get to Black Maria's plotline.
He got captured by webs. You know. Sticky things spiders use to trap stuff. Imagine that. Webs that do web stuff. What did Sanji do in that situation? Tried to beat Black Maria by not hitting her? No. He tried to....RUN.
HO.
LY.
FUCK.
YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT, THIS TIME, HE DID WHAT NAMI SAID HE SHOULD DO? HE COMPROMISED THE PART OF HIS CHIVALRY THAT HE COULD?????? IMAGINE THAT!
Now another topic.
Oda has a sense of "chivalry" completely outdated, that, in fact, actually reiterate a chauvinist way of thinking that is: "women are these weak and fragile creatures and must be protected at all costs". I REALLY am not going to extend a debate about feminism here because reasons. But that's irrevelant.
In Oda's mind, this "chivalry" is a good thing, and he expects his male audience to take a lesson here. Dont hit women. Wow, much complex.
During Kalifa's scenario, Sanji did not ask for help, because he could not simply ask "Nami", who is a person he views as a fragile creature he must protect, to fight for him.
Now we get back to Black Maria.
First, he tries to run away, but defeats all the male subordinates before that, so he made what he could to weaken BM's forces. But, spider, web. You know the drill. Good stuff to capture and restrain someone.
Then Black Maria proceeds to beat him and tells him there's a communicator that will resonate throughout the entire castle, so he should call Nico Robin, so BM can capture her.
Now, if it WERE the SAME Sanji we had in EL, he would view Robin as this weak and fragile creature that must be protected at all costs. Still a chauvinist way of looking at women. He tried to run already, but that didnt work. So, EL Sanji would just take the beating until passing out or dying.
HE IMMEDIATELY CALLS FOR ROBIN.
WHY?
Because he views Robin as a strong and capable woman and fighter, that can easily take care of Black Maria.
"But but trap".
Dude, he said he was being held captive. And there's a message resonating throughout the entire castle. Who the fuck needs more than 2 brain cells to realize there's an ambush waiting for her? Especially a woman that spent more than 20 years on the run? My goodness. If you think Robin would just barge him and consider this possibility, than you clearly think Robin is a freaking moron.
There. He learned from his past mistake, trusted his teammate, tried to do what he could. Did things differently from EL and now can run around the castle beating some Beast Pirate's ass.
Yay. Development.
"bu-bu-but CP0.."
Dude, look up something called "metagaming DnD". That's all I'm going to say about that.
Again, this is not a thread made to "convince" you that "sanji is actually cool" or whatever. I think we are all grown enough to make these kinds of decisions by ourselves.
But if you DID have any misconceptions about why that moment WAS a moment of development, there you go.
"But I think that's laaaaaame".
So? Do I tell you what you should wear, or eat or watch? I'm not telling you to "like the color blue". I'm just explaining to you that "the sky is blue". (if you come here with some "actually it's just a refraction event that makes the sky look blue" or whatever, a preemptive "nobody likes a smartass" to you).
Cheers.
:cheers: