Current Events Kuma’s backstory is TOO sad

Shiroyru

Shiroyru

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#1
#1
One of my problems with this flashback, other than the snail’s pace pacing over the past 3-4 chapters, is that it feels like Oda is just turning Kuma’s backstory into misery porn to make extra sure you feel sorry for the guy. I prefer flashbacks like Brook’s where it’s just 1-2 sad things (in Brook’s case it’s his crew dying and Laboon waiting decades for them to return).

With Kuma’s backstory, he has like a million terrible things happen to him. First he and his family become slaves, and then his mom dies, and then his dad gets shot dead right in front of him, and then he and the other slaves get hunted for sport at God Valley, and then Kuma starts taking in the pain of the southern half of Sorbet every week, and then Ginny gets kidnapped and raped, and then Ginny dies, and then Bonney gets a disease that will kill her before she turns then, and then Kuma has to agree to become a mindless cyborg to save his daughter

It’s too much imo. It feels like Oda’s trying too hard
 
Yoho

Yoho

✌𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓛𝓲𝓯𝓮✌
‎
#3
#3
Kuma's backstory and Doffys back story are Two sides of the same coin

Kuma was a slave to the celestial dragons

Doffy was a former celestial dragon forced to live upon the people his family once enslaved

Doffy took control of dressrosa by way of force and manipulation

Kuma was named King of sorbet by ousting a tyrannical and manipulative king

Kuma adopted Bonney and was willing to do whatever it takes to give her a good life and cure her disease

Doffy wanted to adopt Law not to cure his disease but to force law to give him immortality by having him eat the ope ope and perform the special surgery

Kuma was blackmailed into becoming a Shichibukai

Doffy blackmailed his way into becoming a Shichibukai

Kuma's friend Ginny was implied to have Been sexually assaulted

Doffy was implied to have sexually assaulted Viola

Doffy and Kuma's flash back are Two sides of the same coin
 
silverfire

silverfire

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#19
#19
Shiroyru said:
One of my problems with this flashback, other than the snail’s pace pacing over the past 3-4 chapters, is that it feels like Oda is just turning Kuma’s backstory into misery porn to make extra sure you feel sorry for the guy. I prefer flashbacks like Brook’s where it’s just 1-2 sad things (in Brook’s case it’s his crew dying and Laboon waiting decades for them to return).

With Kuma’s backstory, he has like a million terrible things happen to him. First he and his family become slaves, and then his mom dies, and then his dad gets shot dead right in front of him, and then he and the other slaves get hunted for sport at God Valley, and then Kuma starts taking in the pain of the southern half of Sorbet every week, and then Ginny gets kidnapped and raped, and then Ginny dies, and then Bonney gets a disease that will kill her before she turns then, and then Kuma has to agree to become a mindless cyborg to save his daughter

It’s too much imo. It feels like Oda’s trying too hard
Click to expand...
Misery porn is right on. A saintly character with excessive tragedies. Oda's gotten worse at making grey characters.
 
Logiko

Logiko

‎
#20
#20
Shiroyru said:
One of my problems with this flashback, other than the snail’s pace pacing over the past 3-4 chapters, is that it feels like Oda is just turning Kuma’s backstory into misery porn to make extra sure you feel sorry for the guy. I prefer flashbacks like Brook’s where it’s just 1-2 sad things (in Brook’s case it’s his crew dying and Laboon waiting decades for them to return).

With Kuma’s backstory, he has like a million terrible things happen to him. First he and his family become slaves, and then his mom dies, and then his dad gets shot dead right in front of him, and then he and the other slaves get hunted for sport at God Valley, and then Kuma starts taking in the pain of the southern half of Sorbet every week, and then Ginny gets kidnapped and raped, and then Ginny dies, and then Bonney gets a disease that will kill her before she turns then, and then Kuma has to agree to become a mindless cyborg to save his daughter

It’s too much imo. It feels like Oda’s trying too hard
Click to expand...
The quality of a flashback is not - at least in an objective storytelling sence - linked with the level of sadness of happyness that the character faces, it could be ten time worse and this wouldn't change anything. The quality is mesure by the why the flashback makes our emotions flow. Let me explain:

In One Piece, the point of the flashbacks for a non mugiwara have one major goal : To make us understand the deep motivation and root for a character who possess the will of another character that helped them move forward. To do that, they need to do two things:

- Create emotional empathy for the characters in the flashback (the character/s that will passes the will)
- Create emotional empathy for the situation of the character who possess the will outside of the flashback after it ends

To create those two things, Oda must not only creates exceptionnal sadness (one of the main particularities of One Piece is exageration of concept and situations) but also very impactfull and mepathic moments of happyness.

So the quality of the flashback depends on the contrast between those two colors.

This flashback was a rollercoaster of emotions, each moments of hapyness where follow by moments of despair but also moments of great sacrifice (the thematic of Kuma). Therefore the flashback did its job perfectly.

THe point is for you to feel that this is too much, because no one should live so much misery, but the point is that Oda makes you understand that beyond that, Kuma still remains an amazing dads. Which is why you can see everyone rooting deeply not only for Bonney but also and moreso for Kuma.
 
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