Many of times I hear, "Sanji doesn't care about ambition", "Sanji has weak will", etc.
This all stems from his characterisation in Baratie. However the perception of people who say this are clouded in hate and animosity. They take one piece of information, and discard the rest of it. However let's character dive on Sanji now....
First let's start of with Sanji's backstories....
Sanji Backstories
In his first backstory, Sanji as a kid was always strong willed, and wasn't a coward. He may have been bullied by his genetically superior brothers...with iron bodies. But that doesn't mean he would accept shit from them.
After being deemed a failure, Sanji then spent 6 months in confinement, in that space instead of cowering and becoming subservient. Sanji's resolve and will became even more stronger.
He then first developed his ambition to become a cook. After 6 months of his father locking him up due to his love of cooking, and his brothers bullying relentlessly, Sanji still held firm to this resolve.
And when threatened with death, he held firm to his resolve and defied his father and his threats...
Judge: "You will die"
Sanji: "So what !!"
We then go on to his second flashback....
Sanji has now been working as a chef for a cooking ship for a while. He finally accomplished his dream of being a chef. He also has gained a new ambition....and that is to find the legendary ocean.....All Blue
However as usual, Sanji is mocked and belittled about it. However that doesn't kill his drive...
It finally comes to a time they are attacked by pirates. The Cook Pirates were merciless men who robbed and hurt people...
Sanji believed they for sure would kill him as well. However instead of cowering like the rest of the fodder on the ship, Sanji was pissed.
Sanji then only as a child, stood his ground and was the only one to fight. All the adults cowered away
Sanji in comparison to the adults...
Adult Sailors....possibily Marines:
Kid Sanji:
With his chefs friends pissing their pants
As you can see, Sanji's will was strong even from a young age...far above normal adults and possible navy men.
Zeff then himself aimed to kill Sanji with a kick.....
However after tasting that kick. These kicks that could destroy granite and cause footprints in steel. Sanji not only remained concious, but recited his ambition and showed off his strong willpower.
To the point he moved Zeff by his dedication....
Sanji's last immense showing of willpower, was shown after starving for 70 days....
And whilst most would faint and die of starvation after a week, Sanji remained concious and alive for more than 2 months without food.
Not only was he alive, but his will to survive was still alive. He still had strength to keep going no matter what was thrown at him...
Sanji's will was so strong here that he wouldn't mind dying as long as he attempted at living once
However soon Sanji found out about Zeff's sacrfice of eating his leg for his sake. Self-cannibalism for the sake of Sanji's survival....and Sanji's immesnely shocked.
Sanji has lived a life of torment by his blood family. So this true act of kindness, hit him even more immensely.....and that was the start of Sanji's extreme debt to Zeff.
Before going further, let's rehash the showings of willpower and ambition Kid Sanji has shown:
- Iron-clad resolve after 6 months of imprisonment
- No fear of death for the sake of his dream
- Fortitude in his ambition when faced against an entire pirate crew
- Immense will to survive after 70 days of starvation
It's absolutely disgusting when people say Sanji's will is too weak or his weak willed....Anyways moving on..
Debt to Zeff
It's no surprise that when you have never felt much kindness before.....someone sacrificing themselves for you...becomes an even bigger deal. Sanji grew up with Zeff and never left his side. He became the second in command of his restaurant, helping them fend off from pirates every single day.
Now it's no suprise....that after the sacrifice done by Zeff, Sanji put his dreams on hold. An extreme hold, that he nearly forgot about them. As you see, Sanji's new dream was repaying Zeff, and looking after his treasure. As we all know....treasures are very important in OP. Whilst also being very simplistic.
Such as a hat:
Or in Zeff's case....the Baratie
Like I said, Sanji's ambition was reborn, into protecting Zeff and his treasure....as a form of repaying his debt.
Now theres a certain panel people love to bring up......to show "Sanji has a weak will" or "Sanji doesnt care about dreams/goals"..
More specifically this panel.....
On first sights....yes this looks bad in Sanji's case. However are we forgetting that this man was the same dude, who as a kid would rather die fighting for the All Blue then drop his own ambition....
Now if we equalise Sanji's old ambition, with his new resolve to protect Zeff and his treasure....we can see that Sanji is in fact the same person.
He instead now is determined in protecting his debt to Zeff, instead of following his ambitions. There's no doubting Sanji's strong fortitude and resolve in protecting Zeff and the Baratie, which is pretty much his secondary dream at this point. So saying Sanji has weak will due to that panel is embrassing to say, and gives you the comprehensions skills of a toddler.
In truth, all that panel shows is the state Sanji is in. To be peccimistic about dreams, since he hasn't thought of his in so long.
However it's clear that his current goal and dream, which was protecting Zeff and the Baratie...was something Sanji would never throw away.....and would gladly die for. Sanji however has foresaken his old Ambition of the All Blue for this....
Sanji's journey to find his old ambition
Luffy and Zoro, from childhood have been training for their goals and getting stronger for it. Whilst in comparison, Sanji was training in getting stronger to protect the Baratie and not for the goal to find the All Blue.
His entire goals became morphed and shared with Zeff, something that funnily enough happened to Gin
Whilst Sanji's willpower was strong and he was relentless in all his goals....his reasoning and mentality was flawed. He was so obsessed with repaying back the debt for Zeff....that he didn't realise that dying for Zeff...makes Zeff's sacrifice meaningless.
It's highly likely this mentality of severely being indebt to Zeff, has come from Sanji's childhood of trauma. Sanji suffering all this time, would latch on to the first stranger to show him kindness. Thus feeling extremely loyal and indebted when they do something big for him. Whilst Luffy in this case, never had a traumatic childhood prior to meeting Shanks. Thus didn't feel the same lvl of debt as Sanji did. Again this isn't a discredit to Sanji's willpower, and even his mentality can be justifiable.
Zeff's sacrifice in truth, was due to the All Blue and their shared dream. He wanted Sanji to find it for them and not for him to waste away on the Baratie
However Sanji interpretated it wrong due to immense sense of gratitude
And whilst the actions of Luffy and Zoro, reminded Sanji of his old dream...and how important Ambition is....
Sanji still needs that final push from Zeff, to get the all clear that he can leave behind the debt and pursue his dreams.
However Luffy and Zoro's actions aren't in vain, since it reminds Sanji of his long forgotton ambition. The ambition he wanted to die for before he met Zeff....
However, Sanji at first is still reluctant with going with Luffy, since he doesn't have it in him to leave Zeff without the indication of Zeff wanting him to leave....
Until Sanji finally hears Zeff wanting him to leave....
Allowing Sanji to finally be true to himself, and decide to follow his old dream. And with that Sanji has made it his goal to find the All Blue and to cherish his Ambition. Shown by his idea of reciting each others Ambitions before entering the Grandline
In summary:
- Sanji's will was strong af....even as a child
- His Ambitions and dreams were iron-clad and no type of trauma could deteriote them
- The only way Sanji's ambition got broken was due to his debt to Zeff, and his flawed thinking which was a result of his childhood trauma
- Sanji's peccimistic way of thinking of dreams was due to the fact of him neglecting his ambitions for years
- Sanji's ambition for the All Blue was reborn into an immense loan to Zeff
- However Sanji's will of preserving the Baratie and Zeff's life was further proof that his resolve was still as strong as it always was.
- After Sanji agreed to join the SHs, his goal for the All Blue was reignited
This all stems from his characterisation in Baratie. However the perception of people who say this are clouded in hate and animosity. They take one piece of information, and discard the rest of it. However let's character dive on Sanji now....
First let's start of with Sanji's backstories....
Sanji Backstories
In his first backstory, Sanji as a kid was always strong willed, and wasn't a coward. He may have been bullied by his genetically superior brothers...with iron bodies. But that doesn't mean he would accept shit from them.
After being deemed a failure, Sanji then spent 6 months in confinement, in that space instead of cowering and becoming subservient. Sanji's resolve and will became even more stronger.
He then first developed his ambition to become a cook. After 6 months of his father locking him up due to his love of cooking, and his brothers bullying relentlessly, Sanji still held firm to this resolve.
And when threatened with death, he held firm to his resolve and defied his father and his threats...
Judge: "You will die"
Sanji: "So what !!"
We then go on to his second flashback....
Sanji has now been working as a chef for a cooking ship for a while. He finally accomplished his dream of being a chef. He also has gained a new ambition....and that is to find the legendary ocean.....All Blue
However as usual, Sanji is mocked and belittled about it. However that doesn't kill his drive...
It finally comes to a time they are attacked by pirates. The Cook Pirates were merciless men who robbed and hurt people...
Sanji believed they for sure would kill him as well. However instead of cowering like the rest of the fodder on the ship, Sanji was pissed.
Sanji then only as a child, stood his ground and was the only one to fight. All the adults cowered away
Sanji in comparison to the adults...
Adult Sailors....possibily Marines:
Kid Sanji:
With his chefs friends pissing their pants
As you can see, Sanji's will was strong even from a young age...far above normal adults and possible navy men.
Zeff then himself aimed to kill Sanji with a kick.....
However after tasting that kick. These kicks that could destroy granite and cause footprints in steel. Sanji not only remained concious, but recited his ambition and showed off his strong willpower.
To the point he moved Zeff by his dedication....
Sanji's last immense showing of willpower, was shown after starving for 70 days....
And whilst most would faint and die of starvation after a week, Sanji remained concious and alive for more than 2 months without food.
Not only was he alive, but his will to survive was still alive. He still had strength to keep going no matter what was thrown at him...
Sanji's will was so strong here that he wouldn't mind dying as long as he attempted at living once
However soon Sanji found out about Zeff's sacrfice of eating his leg for his sake. Self-cannibalism for the sake of Sanji's survival....and Sanji's immesnely shocked.
Sanji has lived a life of torment by his blood family. So this true act of kindness, hit him even more immensely.....and that was the start of Sanji's extreme debt to Zeff.
Before going further, let's rehash the showings of willpower and ambition Kid Sanji has shown:
- Iron-clad resolve after 6 months of imprisonment
- No fear of death for the sake of his dream
- Fortitude in his ambition when faced against an entire pirate crew
- Immense will to survive after 70 days of starvation
It's absolutely disgusting when people say Sanji's will is too weak or his weak willed....Anyways moving on..
Debt to Zeff
It's no surprise that when you have never felt much kindness before.....someone sacrificing themselves for you...becomes an even bigger deal. Sanji grew up with Zeff and never left his side. He became the second in command of his restaurant, helping them fend off from pirates every single day.
Now it's no suprise....that after the sacrifice done by Zeff, Sanji put his dreams on hold. An extreme hold, that he nearly forgot about them. As you see, Sanji's new dream was repaying Zeff, and looking after his treasure. As we all know....treasures are very important in OP. Whilst also being very simplistic.
Such as a hat:
Or in Zeff's case....the Baratie
Like I said, Sanji's ambition was reborn, into protecting Zeff and his treasure....as a form of repaying his debt.
Now theres a certain panel people love to bring up......to show "Sanji has a weak will" or "Sanji doesnt care about dreams/goals"..
More specifically this panel.....
On first sights....yes this looks bad in Sanji's case. However are we forgetting that this man was the same dude, who as a kid would rather die fighting for the All Blue then drop his own ambition....
Now if we equalise Sanji's old ambition, with his new resolve to protect Zeff and his treasure....we can see that Sanji is in fact the same person.
He instead now is determined in protecting his debt to Zeff, instead of following his ambitions. There's no doubting Sanji's strong fortitude and resolve in protecting Zeff and the Baratie, which is pretty much his secondary dream at this point. So saying Sanji has weak will due to that panel is embrassing to say, and gives you the comprehensions skills of a toddler.
In truth, all that panel shows is the state Sanji is in. To be peccimistic about dreams, since he hasn't thought of his in so long.
However it's clear that his current goal and dream, which was protecting Zeff and the Baratie...was something Sanji would never throw away.....and would gladly die for. Sanji however has foresaken his old Ambition of the All Blue for this....
Sanji's journey to find his old ambition
Luffy and Zoro, from childhood have been training for their goals and getting stronger for it. Whilst in comparison, Sanji was training in getting stronger to protect the Baratie and not for the goal to find the All Blue.
His entire goals became morphed and shared with Zeff, something that funnily enough happened to Gin
Whilst Sanji's willpower was strong and he was relentless in all his goals....his reasoning and mentality was flawed. He was so obsessed with repaying back the debt for Zeff....that he didn't realise that dying for Zeff...makes Zeff's sacrifice meaningless.
It's highly likely this mentality of severely being indebt to Zeff, has come from Sanji's childhood of trauma. Sanji suffering all this time, would latch on to the first stranger to show him kindness. Thus feeling extremely loyal and indebted when they do something big for him. Whilst Luffy in this case, never had a traumatic childhood prior to meeting Shanks. Thus didn't feel the same lvl of debt as Sanji did. Again this isn't a discredit to Sanji's willpower, and even his mentality can be justifiable.
Zeff's sacrifice in truth, was due to the All Blue and their shared dream. He wanted Sanji to find it for them and not for him to waste away on the Baratie
However Sanji interpretated it wrong due to immense sense of gratitude
And whilst the actions of Luffy and Zoro, reminded Sanji of his old dream...and how important Ambition is....
Sanji still needs that final push from Zeff, to get the all clear that he can leave behind the debt and pursue his dreams.
However Luffy and Zoro's actions aren't in vain, since it reminds Sanji of his long forgotton ambition. The ambition he wanted to die for before he met Zeff....
However, Sanji at first is still reluctant with going with Luffy, since he doesn't have it in him to leave Zeff without the indication of Zeff wanting him to leave....
Until Sanji finally hears Zeff wanting him to leave....
Allowing Sanji to finally be true to himself, and decide to follow his old dream. And with that Sanji has made it his goal to find the All Blue and to cherish his Ambition. Shown by his idea of reciting each others Ambitions before entering the Grandline
In summary:
- Sanji's will was strong af....even as a child
- His Ambitions and dreams were iron-clad and no type of trauma could deteriote them
- The only way Sanji's ambition got broken was due to his debt to Zeff, and his flawed thinking which was a result of his childhood trauma
- Sanji's peccimistic way of thinking of dreams was due to the fact of him neglecting his ambitions for years
- Sanji's ambition for the All Blue was reborn into an immense loan to Zeff
- However Sanji's will of preserving the Baratie and Zeff's life was further proof that his resolve was still as strong as it always was.
- After Sanji agreed to join the SHs, his goal for the All Blue was reignited
