This is very interesting! Thanks for the tag! It does seem like the Wano/Japanese and Elbaf/Mythology are the real players and influence in the OP world and I think this is why Shanks has a Norse themed ship and also why Elbaf is being saved for last. Also with it being connected to Big Mom, Usopp, most likely Shanks and who knows who else too?
Oda was inspired by the comic Vicky the Viking for OP so he would definitely make Norse culture and mythology significant in OP somehow naturally.
It makes me think of AOT and Naruto, the latter had Ymir and incorporated mythology about her and giants. Naruto had the Indra and Ashura and we've had a mysterious, all important and powerful clan emerge who are from the moon in that too. I think AOT could be said to be about passing on Wills much like Naruto and OP which makes the connections between all 3 even stronger too?
To focus on your theory though, I do feel Joyboy was a giant and wore the giant Stawhat, I really like that. Maybe Imu even has his body in that frozen tomb we saw him in?
These fanarts really helped to inspire me on what Joyboy could look like and I love them! I really hope Joyboy is something like this!:
I do believe Imu is a D too, it would be wonderfully ironic and I do think they know Joyboy somehow, in some capacity. I suspect Imu is Immortal (Imu the Immortal has a ring to it imo) and I really like that reference to jötunn , which I don't know much about but I'll be extremely surprised if Oda doesn't reference/incorporate them somehow in the story!
Nephilim oh man, that is such a great word, I never knew what it meant, I thought it was their name for their underworld or something, which shows how little I know about Norse mythology lol.
I really think King's race is of fallen angels, we've had demon type figures in OP especially at Impel Down, who haven't been explained yet and King has those Luciferian/fallen angel vibes to me. Impel Down was meant to represent Hell itself and King seems to be from there blatantly so it would tie together perfectly.
I do think the fact there are 6 moons in the OP world, Ohara were researching them and the moons in general will be extremely important to the lore/history/world building of OP and thus the endgame of the story. Oda even wanted to draw a sci-fi mecha manga or w/e after OP (although that seems very unlikely now ofc, unless its very short and or monthly maybe), but I see space being extremely important in One Piece by EOS or for a successor story at least somehow.
Im being a title would be pretty cool, I do wonder what it's meant to mean. "I am"?
"Im-mortal" ? lol" Im (is) above mortals" and is immortal?
I really liked Ohara Arturs idea of Imu meaning to be "Umi" the goddess of the sea or something I believe? There's also some interesting stuff about Imu/Umi here too, well worth a look:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/kzm3dl
I think Yggdrasil (as well as the actual Odin and Thor maybe) will feature in One Piece too, given the relevance of Norse mythology and we have references to Adam and Eve with the respective trees in One Piece too, as Oda is blatantly incorporating a lot of Christian/Biblical themes too naturally.
I really like those concepts about Dawn and Dusk, that would be extremely fitting for the narrative and thematically. That's a great point about Cain and Abel, maybe this is why Mihawk seems to have the same exact eyes as Imu and is still a complete mystery until now?
That would mean one of the brothers would have to kill the other, for the "Cain" to kill the "Abel" in this context if Oda is really pulling through with the references to them though? On that note, I think Doflamingo and Rocinante were like Cain and Abel, Doflamingo murdered his own brother after all. Although that does beg the question, who is Doflamingo's "Lilith" in this context? LOL
I think Cain was denounced and punished by God? I know he is meant to the be "original of all vampires" in some vampire lore/mythology at least too? (Caine?) I have suspected both Imu and Mihawk could even be vampires and there might be actual vampires/an actual vampire race in OP?
I'm making very loose references here but I've suspected the D could be to do with the Devil and go against the "Gods" of the worlds, the Celestial Frauds I mean Dragons, the Gorosei and Imu. "Heaven" not being what it seems and the Devil being misunderstood, betrayed even maybe? There is mention of "The Sea Devil" at some point in One Piece and we have "Devil Fruits" ofc so this all has to come to a head somehow, there has to be some kind of grand, important explanation for all of this.
The Dawn and Dusk idea is really drawing my attention though. Teach being the Dusk would be absolutely perfect, I even theorised he wants to bring "Eternal Darkness" (not the brilliant Gamecube game but still!) to the world and trap them in never ending Despair, fear, Darkness and so on. But maybe he could also believe there is more "freedom in the dark", that people are more free to do what they like in "The Darkness" (not the band but they might be involved too) or and maybe he wants to expose what has been hidden in the Darkness for so long too, the truth of the Void Century and even Imu, if he knows about Imu or not? I would expect him to know or find out about Imu very soon at least though.
Oh you mentioned the "Eternal Darkness" too! I just saw that hahaha! That's what I get for responding pre-emptively!
I do believe in evil D clan members and Luffy being the "Dawn" would be very fitting. Japan is known as the "land of the Rising Sun" ofc and Luffy might represent that for the people of Wano, being that rising sun of hope and thus shining rays of hope, peace, happiness, inspiration and so on to the people of Wano after Kaido and Orochi are truly gone.
It really makes me remember and think of Okami, the villain of Okami was called
Yami too and Orochi was a recurring villain in that too, along with the Nine Tails/Kyuubi as a major villain too!
That would be so cool regarding Dragon and Imu/Im whatever, I would LOVE to see that happen narratively and thematically. I need to see a Luffy, Dragon and Sabo teamup vs the WG at some point, especially to avenge Kuma too!
That's exactly what I'll think will happen with Luffy vs Teach too, they'll either fight at Lodestar or Laugh Tale over the Pirate King title. Or maybe they will both be at Mary Geoise and fight there? Idk. I also thought of Blackbeard becoming PK first somehow but "unofficially" in the same manner Luffy was declared the "the 5th Yonko", maybe BB gets Morgans to announce him as PK or something somehow, he fakes finding the OP and Laugh Tale on purpose or worst case scenario which I doubt will happen but still, he might actually find LT and the OP, either by being ahead of the SHs or following them there and taking them down so he can claim it for himself?
But I would love to see Blackbeard play the role of a "false Pirate King" and Luffy will demonstrate directly to him what it truly means to be the Pirate King, he will be the one to truly earn the title unlike Teach (the Cheat) and maybe Teach will even the spirits of Ace, Roger and Whitebeard in Luffy as he realises the truth.
I have thought of Blackbeard actually succeeding and ruling the OP world, not even just as the Pirate King but somehow taking down Im/Imu and being the new "public" King of the World and the world suffers and ironically also benefits from the sheer chaotic, absolute freedom, no holds barred tyrannical rule of his for a while. Similar to Wano with Kaido and Orochi and Dressrosa with Doflamingo, with how they terrorised it for so long.
Anyway my nonensical, tangential essay is over, I hope what I said made sense somehow throughout this and that it was an interesting and even worthy respond and read for you?
My way of thinking is very erratic and involves a lot of rapid, loose associations/connections as I imagine you can see? What you posted was very interesting and worth the read though, thank you again for tagging me and asking my opinion on it, much appreciated!
:yasu:
