I’ve increasingly come to feel that Oda intentionally sexualizes female characters in One Piece as a way to avoid giving them deeper personalities. It seems like their physical appeal is meant to do most of the work—almost as if it makes up 70% of who they are. The remaining 30% is then filled with shallow or cliché traits that lack real substance.
Nami is a good example of this. Especially after the timeskip, her personality seems to revolve mostly around two things: her obsession with money and her exaggerated fearfulness in certain situations. Everything else that once defined her—her emotional struggles, her growth, her inner strength—has been pushed to the background. Instead, her appearance takes center stage, as if that’s enough to make her an interesting character.
It almost feels like Oda avoids writing female characters who aren’t overtly attractive because that would require him to give them real depth, layered motivations, and believable development. And that’s something he often seems unwilling to do with the women in One Piece.
Nami is a good example of this. Especially after the timeskip, her personality seems to revolve mostly around two things: her obsession with money and her exaggerated fearfulness in certain situations. Everything else that once defined her—her emotional struggles, her growth, her inner strength—has been pushed to the background. Instead, her appearance takes center stage, as if that’s enough to make her an interesting character.
It almost feels like Oda avoids writing female characters who aren’t overtly attractive because that would require him to give them real depth, layered motivations, and believable development. And that’s something he often seems unwilling to do with the women in One Piece.
