I think Kid has had one of the best character arcs in wano and so I figure I'd make this thread to break down exactly what Oda is doing with his character, and hopefully dispel any misconceptions people might have.
At the beginning of the arc, Kid was portrayed as this selfish asshole. Honestly, it kinda reminded me of Guts from the black swordsman arc. Kid had been destroyed by Kaido and tortured by him. His best friend, Killer, was fed a failed smile and was humiliated by the beast pirates. All Kid cared about was getting revenge on kaido and taking all the fame and glory of beating kaido for himself.
In Udon, Kid rejected Luffy's offer to form an alliance. Betrayed by Apoo and Hawkins, Kid was unwilling to trust others and wanted to do things his own way.
Then on the rooftop, something changed. First, Kid acknowledged Luffy's strength. He saw the damage Luffy was able to put on kaido and was impressed. Yet this damage ultimate wasn't enough as in chapter 1008, the yonko both looked near fresh. In that chapter, Kid made the comment:
Luffy:
Then when they are talking about separating kaido and big mom, Kid remarks that fighting 2 yonko at once is like hell. To which Luffy exclaims that its fine because he's been to hell and back. Kaido makes a comment about how the light never leaves Luffy's eyes.
Subsequently we see Kid working in a team with Law, Killer, and Zoro to send linlin flying. After this, to our surprise, Kid leaves the rooftop to go after Linlin. Why? I believe this is due to the impression Luffy had on Kid. Luffy showed Kid he was better equipped to deal with kaido and his perseverance in the face of what Kid himself described as "hell" made Kid entrust his vengeance to Luffy as he put his ego aside and went after Big Mom. Like is often the case, another character entrusted their dreams to Luffy.
But we're not done. Kid was still going after Linlin for selfish reasons. Beating an emperor was one of his dreams, as Hawkins said, and this was finally his opportunity to do so. In 1031, Linlin even makes this inference. However in 1038, we see yet another change from Kid.
Linlin:
Kid:
A lot of Kid haters interpret this line to mean that Kid has changed his objective and that he no longer is trying to beat linlin, just stall her. But this makes no sense as stalling linlin is useless since the alliance will be destroyed unless she is defeated. Kid didn't talk about getting new objectives, rather he said his motives for fighting have changed. His goal is still the same, to beat linlin, but he now has a new reason to do so.
Now Kid isn't just fighting for himself, as he has been for all of wano, now he is fighting to help Luffy beat Kaido. Luffy got Kid to entrust his dreams onto him and as a result, caused Kid to fight for something greater than himself, which is something Kid has never done. As a result, this has strengthened Kid's resolve to a completely different level.
Whereas before, Kid questioned if their attacks were even effective against the emperors, now Kid is confident that each attack is chipping away at them and that with enough effort, Luffy, Kid, and Law can all defeat their respective yonkos. imo Kid now has a massive chance of unlocking ACoC due to this strengthened resolve. He just parroted Luffy's line from 1008, which was only 2 chapters before Luffy unlocked ACoC.
I think 1039 will likely parallel 1009, with big mom using a massive attack and going all out, with linlin ultimately falling in 1040, which will parallel 1010 by Kid awakening ACoC.
At the beginning of the arc, Kid was portrayed as this selfish asshole. Honestly, it kinda reminded me of Guts from the black swordsman arc. Kid had been destroyed by Kaido and tortured by him. His best friend, Killer, was fed a failed smile and was humiliated by the beast pirates. All Kid cared about was getting revenge on kaido and taking all the fame and glory of beating kaido for himself.
In Udon, Kid rejected Luffy's offer to form an alliance. Betrayed by Apoo and Hawkins, Kid was unwilling to trust others and wanted to do things his own way.
Then on the rooftop, something changed. First, Kid acknowledged Luffy's strength. He saw the damage Luffy was able to put on kaido and was impressed. Yet this damage ultimate wasn't enough as in chapter 1008, the yonko both looked near fresh. In that chapter, Kid made the comment:
Luffy:
Then when they are talking about separating kaido and big mom, Kid remarks that fighting 2 yonko at once is like hell. To which Luffy exclaims that its fine because he's been to hell and back. Kaido makes a comment about how the light never leaves Luffy's eyes.
Subsequently we see Kid working in a team with Law, Killer, and Zoro to send linlin flying. After this, to our surprise, Kid leaves the rooftop to go after Linlin. Why? I believe this is due to the impression Luffy had on Kid. Luffy showed Kid he was better equipped to deal with kaido and his perseverance in the face of what Kid himself described as "hell" made Kid entrust his vengeance to Luffy as he put his ego aside and went after Big Mom. Like is often the case, another character entrusted their dreams to Luffy.
But we're not done. Kid was still going after Linlin for selfish reasons. Beating an emperor was one of his dreams, as Hawkins said, and this was finally his opportunity to do so. In 1031, Linlin even makes this inference. However in 1038, we see yet another change from Kid.
Linlin:
Kid:
A lot of Kid haters interpret this line to mean that Kid has changed his objective and that he no longer is trying to beat linlin, just stall her. But this makes no sense as stalling linlin is useless since the alliance will be destroyed unless she is defeated. Kid didn't talk about getting new objectives, rather he said his motives for fighting have changed. His goal is still the same, to beat linlin, but he now has a new reason to do so.
Now Kid isn't just fighting for himself, as he has been for all of wano, now he is fighting to help Luffy beat Kaido. Luffy got Kid to entrust his dreams onto him and as a result, caused Kid to fight for something greater than himself, which is something Kid has never done. As a result, this has strengthened Kid's resolve to a completely different level.
Whereas before, Kid questioned if their attacks were even effective against the emperors, now Kid is confident that each attack is chipping away at them and that with enough effort, Luffy, Kid, and Law can all defeat their respective yonkos. imo Kid now has a massive chance of unlocking ACoC due to this strengthened resolve. He just parroted Luffy's line from 1008, which was only 2 chapters before Luffy unlocked ACoC.
I think 1039 will likely parallel 1009, with big mom using a massive attack and going all out, with linlin ultimately falling in 1040, which will parallel 1010 by Kid awakening ACoC.
