Hello, everyone!
A couple of months ago, chapter 1023 provided us with a fascinating update to one of my favorite topics: King's race! Even better, the fan translation of the chapter carrying this update came out on Monet's birthday, then officially on my birthday! What a glorious weekend it was for me!
I've talked about this subject at length in the past, specifically in my Grand Monet Theory and its offshoot, the Missing Race Theory, so I'm quite excited to share with all of you what's been confirmed, been debunked, or can be inferred based on the new information available.
Background Information
To begin, in ch.1022, Marco mentions to King that he once heard about a race that once lived atop the Red Line with the ability to ignite their bodies, clearly drawing a connection between said race and King's previously unnamed race that was established to be missing from Big Mom's kingdom of Totto Land in ch.951.
Then, in ch.1023, Queen questions how Sanji is able to ignite his leg if he supposedly doesn't have the same augmentations that his siblings do, as the only other logical explanation would be that he's a Lunarian, which he clearly isn't.
As this statement catches King's attention and Lunarians are ostensibly the only race naturally capable of igniting their bodies, we can safely conclude that King's self-igniting race and the Lunarians are one and the same.
After establishing that King is in fact a Lunarian, the first thing that should jump out about this race is their name: with the root word "lunar," it's immediately clear that this race is in some way related to the moon. What's more, the word "Lunarian" has been used in fiction to refer specifically to the denizens of the moon, implying that the Lunarians of the One Piece world may have originated from or migrated to the moon
Because King is our only confirmed example, we can't guarantee that the Lunarians are all winged, but given the fact that they once lived atop the Red Line, it would make sense for them to have wings, as that would allow them to easily travel between the Red Line and the Blue Sea. Furthermore, it would seem strange to me for Oda to give King functional wings and establish that he is a member of a unique race without connecting those two facts. This could also explain why their name implies that they come from the moon; we've seen both from Enel's Maxim (ch.300) and the Automata's balloons (ch.453) that powered flight and flotation are both sufficient for traveling to and from the moon, so a race with functional wings could easily be seen making that trip provided they have the stamina for it.
Their ability to fly could also explain why they seem to have once been considered gods, as evidenced by Whitebeard's conversation with Marco about a Land of Gods distinct from Mary Geoise that used to be atop the Red Line.
Humanoids flying down from a nigh unclimbable mountain, even disappearing into the sky towards the moon, while also being able to conjure flame certainly fit the bill for godly figures to ancient peoples, so it would only make sense for their home to be considered the Land of Gods. It is possible that they weren't necessarily seen as gods themselves, though, and possibly as the angels to another group that was considered gods, but for now we'll assume the former.
To summarize, we know the following facts about the Lunarians so far:
Quite...the web...
In order to untangle it, we're going to go over the connections categorically, then in the end arrange them all into one coherent narrative.
Since it flows the most naturally into all of the other ideas we'll be discussing today, let's start with the simplest connecting thread: the Lunarian's status as gods.
Lands of the Gods
Presumably, the Lunarians came to be seen as gods because of their ability to fly, which they used to travel freely across the oceanic world and ascend to the top of what was at the time an unclimbable mountain, and their ability to summon flames at will, a power that likely seemed to be a miracle in ancient times. Because they nested atop the Red Line, this summit came to be known as the Land of Gods.
Interestingly, though, the Red Line is not the only place to have been referred to in such a way: so has the moon.
To paraphrase Enel's speech in ch.274, "I want to return to the land of Endless Earth where God is said to reside."
We know that he was talking about the moon, but from the perspective of someone not of the White Sea, there's only one place in the Blue Sea that fits the description of Endless Earth: the Red Line, a supercontinent that perfectly encircles the planet. This brings up an interesting question: were the Lunarians only ever from the Red Line and were mistaken to have been from the moon because the Sky People couldn't have known about the Red Line, or did they actually live in both places at different points?
Personally, I'm inclined to think the latter. The name "Lunarian" seems to have come from the Blue Sea, implying that the Blue Sea people also came to be under the impression that the Lunarians came from the moon. Therefore, I posit the following:
I believe that the Lunarians evolved on Earth, same as the humans, Fishmen, Minks, etc., but using their power of flight, they were capable of reaching the moon. This, along with their powers of flame, led to them being revered as gods and were mistaken to have come from the moon by humans. One particular group of humans formed an actual religion around the Lunarians, going so far as to wear ornamental wings much as real-world religious people wear the Cross, Star of David, or other symbols of their faith. This group became the Sky People, who were likely brought to the Endless Earth by their gods as a reward for their faith, liberating them from the infinite oceans of the Blue Sea. Why they didn't bring them to the Red Line, I can't say, perhaps they offered it and were rejected because of the Sky People's belief that the moon was somehow better. Of course, eventually, the Sky People returned to Earth due to a lack of resources, only for the Skypieans and Birkans to end up in the White Sea where they didn't have access to Vearth to grow plants, so jokes on them, I suppose.
As a quick aside, I think it's very interesting that the half of Jaya that came to be known as Upper Yard, as that name could also easily describe both the Red Line for its height and the moon for its position above all else in the sky. One has to wonder if perhaps the name was a holdover from another time? Their worship of earth could also be seen as coming from their time below the clouds, as land is certainly a precious commodity in a world that is almost entirely water.
Aside from the wings they wear, the Sky People's current beliefs may also have been inspired by their ancient faith. The Skypieans revere their political leaders as gods, and the Shandians took to revering Kashigami, a snake that was seen as the god of rain, forest, earth, and sun (ch.287). Interestingly, this isn't the only time that we've heard about a sun god. Nika, the ancient sun god that represents freedom and laughter, was introduced to us in ch.1018. Though he was only shown in silhouette, his design appears to be wearing a grass skirt reminiscent of the Shandian style of dress.
How Nika is related to the Lunarians isn't clear yet, but given that he is associated with the sun and the Lunarians are associated with the moon, it isn't hard to imagine that there is some kind of link between them. Perhaps as the moon reflects the light of the sun, Nika somehow taught or granted the Lunarians the ability to conjure fire? Or perhaps as I suggested earlier, Nika was the god living in the Land of Gods with the Lunarians acting as his angels?
We likely won't know any of these details for quite some time, but we do know one thing for certain right now: the Lunarians haven't been seen as gods for several centuries. In other words, they are gods from ancient times. This brings to mind the Ancient Weapons, which have been stated to be named after ancient gods (ch.650), potentially implying that the gods they were named after were in fact key members of the Lunarian race. Granted, we already know that Poseidon was the name of a mermaid (ch.649), so perhaps it's more likely that the three weapons were each named for a representative from each race. As the God of the Sky, Uranus was undoubtedly a Lunarian. This leaves Pluton, an alternate name for Hades that denotes his role as God of the Land, who was likely a human, possibly from the Great Kingdom or from Water 7, as we'll discuss more in-depth later. If this is the case, these three likely came together to make the Ancient Weapons to represent the alliance of land, sea and sky.
This would play well into the theory that the Ancient Weapons are not actually weapons at all, but tools that simply can be used as weapons in the wrong hands. For example, as Otohime says in ch.626, Poseidon can just as easily be used for evil, such as having the Sea Kings attack a target, or for good, such as taming them to make the Calm Belts safer to navigate. Along the same token, Pluton is stated to be capable of destroying an island (ch.193), but many fans believe Pluton to actually be something of a terraforming tool that can be used to both build or destroy islands, possibly being the tool that was used to shape the world as it currently is in the first place.
In his video on the end of One Piece, Mr. Morj suggests that the Ancient Weapons will be used to create the All Blue, which he believes to be an alternate name for the One Piece itself. He suggests that Pluton will be used to destroy Reverse Mountain and Mary Geois while Poseidon will be used to clear the Calm Belts, but he neglects to speculate on Uranus' abilities. If Poseidon is a tool that can shape the seas and Pluton a tool that can shape the land, then logistically Uranus must be a tool that can shape the sky. Personally, I interpret this to mean a weather control device, likely capable of normalizing the erratic weather conditions of the Grand Line, which may in turn normalize the magnetic fields that necessitate a Log Pose. This is the final piece necessary to making the One Piece world truly free, and that may well be the key to understanding the creation of the Ancient Weapons: they weren't made to destroy the world, they were made to change it for the better. Naturally, the Celestial Dragons would reinterpret "ending the world as we know it" to "ending the world" for the sake of propaganda.
More important than why they were considered gods or what they did while in power, though, is what happened to strip them of their status. Given that the Lunarians are near extinct and definitely don't reside on the Red Line anymore, it really doesn't take much imagination to hazard a guess.
At some point in the distant past, almost definitely during the Void Century just before Mary Geoise was founded, the Twenty Kings decided to migrate to the top of the Red Line, necessitating that the current residents, the Lunarians, be killed. This event may have ironically repeated itself between two factions of the Lunarian followers' descendants when the Skypiean God Ubau invaded the land of the Shandians after half of Jaya was launched into the sky (ch.292).
Learning that others already lived on the miraculous plot of Vearth, Ubau's immediate decision was the remove the current, winged inhabitants, justifying his decree as his divine right. A clear metaphor for the colonization of North America in our world, but also foreshadowing that this was not the only time we would see such a thing in the history of the One Piece world, as the Celestial Dragons, or Gods of This World, have always been shown to be the types to take what they want when they want it, everyone else be damned.
Just as Ubau's desire for the Vearth was at least partially motivated by the desire to control the Vearth's resources, I don't think that the Celestial Dragons' reasons for seizing the Red Line were quite so petty as they just wanted the real estate. The Lunarians were considered gods, and the Celestial Dragons either believed themselves to be gods or wanted to become gods, so taking down the Lunarians and usurping their land seems like the most direct way to do that. Furthermore, as I alluded to earlier, a flying race that can travel freely across the world and link disparate cultures together is naturally a threat to a governing body that relies on segregation and lack of information.
The Land of Gods being atop a mountain also brings to mind the Olympians, the gods of Greek Mythology found atop Mount Olympus. Similar to the Celestial Dragons, the Olympians did not start out as the ruling gods, but rather took the title by overthrowing the previous gods, the Titans, in a battle known as the Titanomachy (War of the Titans).
If the Lunarians can be equated to the Titans, then there's one particular Titan that I think warrants mentioning: Prometheus, the God of Fire. Prometheus is best known for stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity, as referenced by Big Mom's fireball Homie of the same name. Because the other Greek Gods have parallels within the One Piece world, we can assume that a similar legend also exists for Big Mom to have taken inspiration from. As bringing fire to humanity is a symbol for humanity's attainment of forbidden knowledge, we can extrapolate that to the fiery Lunarians that were wiped from public knowledge by the Celestial Dragons: they gave humanity access to something that the Celestial Dragons didn't want them to have. Rather than literal fire, this may have been the freedom of travel and commerce that the Lunarians' flying ability provided as I mentioned before, the Ancient Weapons which could reshape the world (my personal choice), or perhaps even the ability to travel to the moon. Whichever one it was, it was undoubtedly something that made humanity freer, which obviously the Celestial Dragons couldn't abide.
Now, admittedly, the Titan metaphor isn't quite perfect, as the Titans actually lived on a different mountain, Othrys, but perhaps the Celestial Dragons came from a different mountainous "Land of Gods" before encroaching onto the Red Line, possibly even the now non-existent God Valley, so named for the canyon created by its tall cliffs (ch.957). Of course, there is one other location that could have served as the origin of the Celestial Dragons: the moon.
Winged Beings of the Moon
With the air-regulating bubbles they wear on their heads and the white, bemedaled robes they wear, many have noted that the Celestial Dragons' general design brings to mind astronauts. Coupled with the name "Celestial" Dragons, this has led to much speculation that the Celestial Dragons themselves may be from the moon. This is further enhanced by their similar appearance to the King and Queen of the Moon from the 1988 film, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, who sport upward curling headdresses that appear remarkably similar to the upcurled hair of the Celestial Dragons.
Whether Oda has ever seen this movie, I can't say, but the resemblance is rather striking. Speaking of striking resemblances, it's worth noting that the Celestial Dragons aren't the only group potentially associated with the moon that wears their hair in an upward style: the Skypieans are too. Or, more specifically, the Skypieans of the Divine Squad, the direct servants of God (ch.272).
It could be a coincidence, but the fact that both groups are associated with the moon, gods, and upwards hairstyles, it really feels like the Celestial Dragons' visual designs are meant to be at least vaguely reminiscent of the Divine Squad's. Interestingly, we see a batch of Divine Squad members that had escaped to the Blue Sea from under Enel's rule at the Human Auction House in ch.501 of the Sabaody Archipelago arc, the same storyline in which the Celestial Dragons are introduced, almost as if to remind us that this hairstyle exists.
To me, this implies that the Celestial Dragons weren't just a batch of humans that decided they wanted to be gods, but in fact may have been formerly devout Skypieans that, for whatever reason, decided to overthrow the objects of their worship. This would also tie into the Olympian parallel, as the Olympians were the children of the Titans, so it would make sense for the Celestial Dragons to have been the metaphorical children of the Lunarians.
If that is the case, though, it's curious that they've abandoned their wings, but perhaps that's a deliberate symbol of their rise in status. After all, all of the Sky People that have held the title of God - Gan Fall, Ubau, and Enel - have never been seen wearing their wings, perhaps symbolizing themselves as the leading God and all others as the subservient angels.
That said, the Celestial Dragons are the descendants of the Twenty Kings (ch.497), rulers of various nations across the world, so it doesn't seem too likely they were all followers. I think it's more likely that one person, in particular, was a former follower and may have been the one to convince the Twenty Kings to join them in rising against the Lunarians. Perhaps they adopted the hairstyle and the uniform from this leader, who likely stopped wearing their wings upon deciding to rebel.
Speaking of wings, though, the relationship between wings and the moon has come up surprisingly often, at least four times now.
The first and most obvious would be the Sky People who we've already discussed, whose ancestors once inhabited the moon before descending to Earth over 1,100 years ago (ch.262, Robin confirms Shandora existed as far back as Year 402, 1,100 years ago) due to a lack of resources (ch.470 & 472).
Also, it may be nothing, but notice on the left of Enel Cover 35 that there's actually the face of a fourth person peeking out from offscreen just beneath the Skypiean. It's too early to tell whether that's meant to imply a fourth group of Sky People, but it's definitely Oda's style to drop a hint like that so far in advance (thanks to Artur of Library of Ohara for pointing this out). If this is the case, this could either be the Lunarians themselves or the formerly devout Celestial Dragons.
Next is the Kozuki clan, whose symbol is a crane and whose name contains the kanji for moon, implying that these are both major symbols in their family history.
Similar imagery is depicted in Kinemon's hidden message to the samurai of Wano in ch.921 to convey the plan for the raid on Onigashima.
The fact that a reversed crescent moon represents rebellion suggests that a proper crescent moon represents loyalty to the crown. This seems especially likely when one considers that all of the royal families of Wano have the kanji for moon in their names. The flaming birds within this message, while not explicitly related to the moon and only there to convey the timing of the plan, do seem suspiciously appropriate for the arc that also introduced a race of flaming birdfolk that has been established to be related to the moon.
The Kozuki clan also has ties to the Tenguyama clan, the only current extant member being Hitetsu, a man who either has or wears wings (he is seen without them in ch.1016). We've seen that half-breeds are capable of retracting their animal traits in the past, such as Dellinger's Fishman fangs and fins (ch.772), so it's possible that Hitetsu can do the same with his wings. This is most likely the case, as both Hitetsu and King strongly resemble the two most major types of tengu, the long-nosed daitengu and the crow-billed karasutengu, a parallel I don't think Oda would throw in so casually if it's not relevant.
The name Tenguyama specifically means "tengu mountain," implying that this group of tengu came from a mountain. While there are mountains in Wano, we currently only have one confirmed mountain that housed a group that could be compared to tengu: the Red Line. This could well imply that the "tengu mountain" that the Tenguyama clan came from and is named for is in fact the Red Line.
It would be especially fitting for the Tenguyama to be Lunarians as the accompanying Ignition ability would no doubt be helpful in their swordsmithing (ch.912). Speaking of, we also know that the Kozuki were once skilled stonemasons capable of shaping the Poneglyphs and seastone (ch.818), so perhaps they learned these skills from or alongside the Tenguyama.
Speaking of swords, we see in King's battle with Zoro that he has a sword with the ability to collapse pieces of its edge to turn into a swordbreaker (ch.1023). This resembles the Trick Mechanism Swords of Sasaki (ch.1019) and Holdem (ch.917, though only actually seen in use in the anime, ep.905). What's interesting about this is that the Japanese name for these weapons is Karakuri-to, which brings to mind Karakuri Island, the island of Vegapunk's birth and where we meet the Automata built by Dr. Tsukimi. Dr. Tsukimi, a man named for the moon, who enjoys gazing at the moon, and who built robots reminiscent of those that can be found on the moon and are therefore associated with the Lunarians, lives on an island that shares a name with a weapon used by a Lunarian, who in turn may or may not be related to a family known for their skill in crafting swords. This convoluted string of parallels carries many interesting implications.
For one, if the Tenguyama are swordsmiths and Lunarians, and the Lunarians are associated with the Sky People that crafted the Automata, it's possible that the Lunarians are the craftsmen that taught the Sky People how to build such complex machinery. If there are Lunarians that are both swordsmiths and mechanists, it would certainly be possible for a Lunarian somewhere along the way to have combined those two ideas into mechanized swords like the Karakuri-to. Therefore, King, with his entire outfit having mechanisms for revealing hidden weaponry so as to make his entire body a weapon, may be the one who designed and crafted all of the Karakuri-to seen throughout the ranks of the Beast Pirates.
The idea that the Lunarians were a technologically advanced race ties back into my earlier suggestion that they had a hand in the creation of the Ancient Weapons, possibly granting their technological prowess to the other races so as to allow them to make the weapons. If King introduced Karakuri-to to the rest of the Beast Pirates, perhaps the past Lunarians also introduced "karakuri" to the rest of the world, possibly being the ones to found Karakuri Island? Perhaps this is why Oda decided to wait so long to introduce us to the single greatest technological mind in the One Piece world: Dr. Vegapunk is a Lunarian, and revealing him too soon would have spoiled all of these other plot points? It's hard to say at this juncture, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were somehow connected to the Lunarians. Considering that as of ch.1028 the Marines are on their way to Wano to annex it, we may we'll be seeing the good doctor and his new, anti-Yonkou weapon developed by the SSG (ch.957), so we'll likely get our answer as to his race soon enough.
If Vegapunk is in fact going to be making an appearance at Wano, the time may also be nigh for us to meet our final winged individual associated with the moon: it's the moment you've all been waiting for, we're talking about Monet!
Monet's wings go without saying, but less obvious for most people is her interest in the moon, evidenced by the stack of books with cut-off labels such as "ASTRO" (likely short for "ASTRONOMY") and "CLIP" (likely "ECLIPSE") seen in ch.666.
In my Grand Monet Theory, I suggested that Monet became interested in birds because of a Birdfolk who came to her island in North Blue, and later became interested in the moon because she desired freedom from her "misfortunate environment." I couldn't have imagined at the time that the Birdfolk directly inspired both of her interests, but knowing now that the Birdfolk are in fact named after the moon, it all fits too well!
With this new information, I have to imagine that the Lunarian that came to Monet's island when she was a child taught her about Lunarian society, their history, their culture, etc. Knowing that the Lunarians are near-extinct and that their homeland lies abandoned, it wouldn't at all be surprising for Monet to study birds to understand their biology (demonstrated by her "Bird" textbook from her childhood seen in SBS vol.80, and my icon) and astronomy to travel to the moon, potentially allowing her to revive their race and their civilization. This would also give Monet a grander dream than just "reach the moon," which gives her a goal that wouldn't be obtainable almost immediately after she joins the crew, an argument against her inclusion that I've heard many times.
It's also possible that Monet asked Law to make her into a harpy in an attempt to start a pseudo-Lunarian race. If all of the true Lunarians are gone, then a race of harpies could be the next best thing. Heck, knowing One Piece logic, the Op-Op Fruit actually encoded the bird features into Monet's genetics and she'd be able to have legitimate harpy children, why not?
Alternatively, Monet could be part Lunarian, but her bloodline is so diluted that she didn't inherit wings, similar to how Chimney is 1/4th mermaid and doesn't have fins, though she still retains her ability to swim exceptionally well (ch.403). In this scenario, she likely would have been told about Lunarian society by her parents and became interested in studying ornithology and astronomy for hints of her lost heritage and homeland. Perhaps lamenting her lack of wings, she jumped at the first opportunity she saw, but didn't quite understand that the wings were meant to be on her back. I don't necessarily think this is the case, as presumably King and Hitetsu are heavily diluted Lunarians, and yet both of them still have wings, but it's fun to think about.
I also think it's rather telling that Monet is designed after a harpy, a creature from Greek mythology. As the Ancient Weapons are named after Greek mythological figures, and at least Uranus seems likely to be named after a Lunarian, then Monet's Greek imagery could easily be meant to further imply her relation to the Lunarians.
As for how Monet ties into Vegapunk, I believe that the reason Monet didn't appear during the Dressrosa arc is because she chose to follow the children of Punk Hazard to Vegapunk rather than rushing to Doflamingo's aid (as I explain in more detail in the Grand Monet Theory). If this is the case, it may well be fate that she becomes acquainted with Vegapunk, either because he may be a Lunarian or because he is the one who has the technology to potentially revive a lost race as evidenced by his supposedly failed Ancient Giant clones, the Numbers (ch.989). Furthermore, he's also the one who is the most likely to have the technology for traveling to the moon (at least without being aware that balloons are apparently sufficient), so Vegapunk is really the best option for Monet no matter which of her potential goals she's trying to achieve.
As a quick aside, I also think it would be a fun little bit of irony for Monet to have been given the Snow-Snow Fruit if she feels such a deep connection to the Lunarians to emulate them; not only is she now the conceptual opposite, producing cold rather than heat, but she wouldn't even able to get near a Lunarian if they're using their Ignition as this ability would be her natural weakness. Alternatively, if she actually turns out to be part Lunarian, I think it would be really neat if Oda could figure out a way to justify her using Ignition and the Snow-Snow Fruit simultaneously, making her appearance in the Burning Lands of Punk Hazard some fun foreshadowing.
On the subject of the Ignition ability, let's take a look at what parallels we can draw from King's flames.
A couple of months ago, chapter 1023 provided us with a fascinating update to one of my favorite topics: King's race! Even better, the fan translation of the chapter carrying this update came out on Monet's birthday, then officially on my birthday! What a glorious weekend it was for me!
I've talked about this subject at length in the past, specifically in my Grand Monet Theory and its offshoot, the Missing Race Theory, so I'm quite excited to share with all of you what's been confirmed, been debunked, or can be inferred based on the new information available.
Background Information
To begin, in ch.1022, Marco mentions to King that he once heard about a race that once lived atop the Red Line with the ability to ignite their bodies, clearly drawing a connection between said race and King's previously unnamed race that was established to be missing from Big Mom's kingdom of Totto Land in ch.951.
Then, in ch.1023, Queen questions how Sanji is able to ignite his leg if he supposedly doesn't have the same augmentations that his siblings do, as the only other logical explanation would be that he's a Lunarian, which he clearly isn't.
As this statement catches King's attention and Lunarians are ostensibly the only race naturally capable of igniting their bodies, we can safely conclude that King's self-igniting race and the Lunarians are one and the same.
After establishing that King is in fact a Lunarian, the first thing that should jump out about this race is their name: with the root word "lunar," it's immediately clear that this race is in some way related to the moon. What's more, the word "Lunarian" has been used in fiction to refer specifically to the denizens of the moon, implying that the Lunarians of the One Piece world may have originated from or migrated to the moon
Because King is our only confirmed example, we can't guarantee that the Lunarians are all winged, but given the fact that they once lived atop the Red Line, it would make sense for them to have wings, as that would allow them to easily travel between the Red Line and the Blue Sea. Furthermore, it would seem strange to me for Oda to give King functional wings and establish that he is a member of a unique race without connecting those two facts. This could also explain why their name implies that they come from the moon; we've seen both from Enel's Maxim (ch.300) and the Automata's balloons (ch.453) that powered flight and flotation are both sufficient for traveling to and from the moon, so a race with functional wings could easily be seen making that trip provided they have the stamina for it.
Their ability to fly could also explain why they seem to have once been considered gods, as evidenced by Whitebeard's conversation with Marco about a Land of Gods distinct from Mary Geoise that used to be atop the Red Line.
Humanoids flying down from a nigh unclimbable mountain, even disappearing into the sky towards the moon, while also being able to conjure flame certainly fit the bill for godly figures to ancient peoples, so it would only make sense for their home to be considered the Land of Gods. It is possible that they weren't necessarily seen as gods themselves, though, and possibly as the angels to another group that was considered gods, but for now we'll assume the former.
To summarize, we know the following facts about the Lunarians so far:
- They are winged, flying beings
- They are associated with the moon
- They can ignite their bodies
- They used to live atop the Red Line
- They were once viewed as, or at least associated with, gods
- They are nearly extinct, with King being the only confirmed extant member
Quite...the web...
In order to untangle it, we're going to go over the connections categorically, then in the end arrange them all into one coherent narrative.
Since it flows the most naturally into all of the other ideas we'll be discussing today, let's start with the simplest connecting thread: the Lunarian's status as gods.
Lands of the Gods
Presumably, the Lunarians came to be seen as gods because of their ability to fly, which they used to travel freely across the oceanic world and ascend to the top of what was at the time an unclimbable mountain, and their ability to summon flames at will, a power that likely seemed to be a miracle in ancient times. Because they nested atop the Red Line, this summit came to be known as the Land of Gods.
Interestingly, though, the Red Line is not the only place to have been referred to in such a way: so has the moon.
To paraphrase Enel's speech in ch.274, "I want to return to the land of Endless Earth where God is said to reside."
We know that he was talking about the moon, but from the perspective of someone not of the White Sea, there's only one place in the Blue Sea that fits the description of Endless Earth: the Red Line, a supercontinent that perfectly encircles the planet. This brings up an interesting question: were the Lunarians only ever from the Red Line and were mistaken to have been from the moon because the Sky People couldn't have known about the Red Line, or did they actually live in both places at different points?
Personally, I'm inclined to think the latter. The name "Lunarian" seems to have come from the Blue Sea, implying that the Blue Sea people also came to be under the impression that the Lunarians came from the moon. Therefore, I posit the following:
I believe that the Lunarians evolved on Earth, same as the humans, Fishmen, Minks, etc., but using their power of flight, they were capable of reaching the moon. This, along with their powers of flame, led to them being revered as gods and were mistaken to have come from the moon by humans. One particular group of humans formed an actual religion around the Lunarians, going so far as to wear ornamental wings much as real-world religious people wear the Cross, Star of David, or other symbols of their faith. This group became the Sky People, who were likely brought to the Endless Earth by their gods as a reward for their faith, liberating them from the infinite oceans of the Blue Sea. Why they didn't bring them to the Red Line, I can't say, perhaps they offered it and were rejected because of the Sky People's belief that the moon was somehow better. Of course, eventually, the Sky People returned to Earth due to a lack of resources, only for the Skypieans and Birkans to end up in the White Sea where they didn't have access to Vearth to grow plants, so jokes on them, I suppose.
As a quick aside, I think it's very interesting that the half of Jaya that came to be known as Upper Yard, as that name could also easily describe both the Red Line for its height and the moon for its position above all else in the sky. One has to wonder if perhaps the name was a holdover from another time? Their worship of earth could also be seen as coming from their time below the clouds, as land is certainly a precious commodity in a world that is almost entirely water.
Aside from the wings they wear, the Sky People's current beliefs may also have been inspired by their ancient faith. The Skypieans revere their political leaders as gods, and the Shandians took to revering Kashigami, a snake that was seen as the god of rain, forest, earth, and sun (ch.287). Interestingly, this isn't the only time that we've heard about a sun god. Nika, the ancient sun god that represents freedom and laughter, was introduced to us in ch.1018. Though he was only shown in silhouette, his design appears to be wearing a grass skirt reminiscent of the Shandian style of dress.
How Nika is related to the Lunarians isn't clear yet, but given that he is associated with the sun and the Lunarians are associated with the moon, it isn't hard to imagine that there is some kind of link between them. Perhaps as the moon reflects the light of the sun, Nika somehow taught or granted the Lunarians the ability to conjure fire? Or perhaps as I suggested earlier, Nika was the god living in the Land of Gods with the Lunarians acting as his angels?
We likely won't know any of these details for quite some time, but we do know one thing for certain right now: the Lunarians haven't been seen as gods for several centuries. In other words, they are gods from ancient times. This brings to mind the Ancient Weapons, which have been stated to be named after ancient gods (ch.650), potentially implying that the gods they were named after were in fact key members of the Lunarian race. Granted, we already know that Poseidon was the name of a mermaid (ch.649), so perhaps it's more likely that the three weapons were each named for a representative from each race. As the God of the Sky, Uranus was undoubtedly a Lunarian. This leaves Pluton, an alternate name for Hades that denotes his role as God of the Land, who was likely a human, possibly from the Great Kingdom or from Water 7, as we'll discuss more in-depth later. If this is the case, these three likely came together to make the Ancient Weapons to represent the alliance of land, sea and sky.
This would play well into the theory that the Ancient Weapons are not actually weapons at all, but tools that simply can be used as weapons in the wrong hands. For example, as Otohime says in ch.626, Poseidon can just as easily be used for evil, such as having the Sea Kings attack a target, or for good, such as taming them to make the Calm Belts safer to navigate. Along the same token, Pluton is stated to be capable of destroying an island (ch.193), but many fans believe Pluton to actually be something of a terraforming tool that can be used to both build or destroy islands, possibly being the tool that was used to shape the world as it currently is in the first place.
In his video on the end of One Piece, Mr. Morj suggests that the Ancient Weapons will be used to create the All Blue, which he believes to be an alternate name for the One Piece itself. He suggests that Pluton will be used to destroy Reverse Mountain and Mary Geois while Poseidon will be used to clear the Calm Belts, but he neglects to speculate on Uranus' abilities. If Poseidon is a tool that can shape the seas and Pluton a tool that can shape the land, then logistically Uranus must be a tool that can shape the sky. Personally, I interpret this to mean a weather control device, likely capable of normalizing the erratic weather conditions of the Grand Line, which may in turn normalize the magnetic fields that necessitate a Log Pose. This is the final piece necessary to making the One Piece world truly free, and that may well be the key to understanding the creation of the Ancient Weapons: they weren't made to destroy the world, they were made to change it for the better. Naturally, the Celestial Dragons would reinterpret "ending the world as we know it" to "ending the world" for the sake of propaganda.
More important than why they were considered gods or what they did while in power, though, is what happened to strip them of their status. Given that the Lunarians are near extinct and definitely don't reside on the Red Line anymore, it really doesn't take much imagination to hazard a guess.
At some point in the distant past, almost definitely during the Void Century just before Mary Geoise was founded, the Twenty Kings decided to migrate to the top of the Red Line, necessitating that the current residents, the Lunarians, be killed. This event may have ironically repeated itself between two factions of the Lunarian followers' descendants when the Skypiean God Ubau invaded the land of the Shandians after half of Jaya was launched into the sky (ch.292).
Learning that others already lived on the miraculous plot of Vearth, Ubau's immediate decision was the remove the current, winged inhabitants, justifying his decree as his divine right. A clear metaphor for the colonization of North America in our world, but also foreshadowing that this was not the only time we would see such a thing in the history of the One Piece world, as the Celestial Dragons, or Gods of This World, have always been shown to be the types to take what they want when they want it, everyone else be damned.
Just as Ubau's desire for the Vearth was at least partially motivated by the desire to control the Vearth's resources, I don't think that the Celestial Dragons' reasons for seizing the Red Line were quite so petty as they just wanted the real estate. The Lunarians were considered gods, and the Celestial Dragons either believed themselves to be gods or wanted to become gods, so taking down the Lunarians and usurping their land seems like the most direct way to do that. Furthermore, as I alluded to earlier, a flying race that can travel freely across the world and link disparate cultures together is naturally a threat to a governing body that relies on segregation and lack of information.
The Land of Gods being atop a mountain also brings to mind the Olympians, the gods of Greek Mythology found atop Mount Olympus. Similar to the Celestial Dragons, the Olympians did not start out as the ruling gods, but rather took the title by overthrowing the previous gods, the Titans, in a battle known as the Titanomachy (War of the Titans).
If the Lunarians can be equated to the Titans, then there's one particular Titan that I think warrants mentioning: Prometheus, the God of Fire. Prometheus is best known for stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity, as referenced by Big Mom's fireball Homie of the same name. Because the other Greek Gods have parallels within the One Piece world, we can assume that a similar legend also exists for Big Mom to have taken inspiration from. As bringing fire to humanity is a symbol for humanity's attainment of forbidden knowledge, we can extrapolate that to the fiery Lunarians that were wiped from public knowledge by the Celestial Dragons: they gave humanity access to something that the Celestial Dragons didn't want them to have. Rather than literal fire, this may have been the freedom of travel and commerce that the Lunarians' flying ability provided as I mentioned before, the Ancient Weapons which could reshape the world (my personal choice), or perhaps even the ability to travel to the moon. Whichever one it was, it was undoubtedly something that made humanity freer, which obviously the Celestial Dragons couldn't abide.
Now, admittedly, the Titan metaphor isn't quite perfect, as the Titans actually lived on a different mountain, Othrys, but perhaps the Celestial Dragons came from a different mountainous "Land of Gods" before encroaching onto the Red Line, possibly even the now non-existent God Valley, so named for the canyon created by its tall cliffs (ch.957). Of course, there is one other location that could have served as the origin of the Celestial Dragons: the moon.
Winged Beings of the Moon
With the air-regulating bubbles they wear on their heads and the white, bemedaled robes they wear, many have noted that the Celestial Dragons' general design brings to mind astronauts. Coupled with the name "Celestial" Dragons, this has led to much speculation that the Celestial Dragons themselves may be from the moon. This is further enhanced by their similar appearance to the King and Queen of the Moon from the 1988 film, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, who sport upward curling headdresses that appear remarkably similar to the upcurled hair of the Celestial Dragons.
Whether Oda has ever seen this movie, I can't say, but the resemblance is rather striking. Speaking of striking resemblances, it's worth noting that the Celestial Dragons aren't the only group potentially associated with the moon that wears their hair in an upward style: the Skypieans are too. Or, more specifically, the Skypieans of the Divine Squad, the direct servants of God (ch.272).
It could be a coincidence, but the fact that both groups are associated with the moon, gods, and upwards hairstyles, it really feels like the Celestial Dragons' visual designs are meant to be at least vaguely reminiscent of the Divine Squad's. Interestingly, we see a batch of Divine Squad members that had escaped to the Blue Sea from under Enel's rule at the Human Auction House in ch.501 of the Sabaody Archipelago arc, the same storyline in which the Celestial Dragons are introduced, almost as if to remind us that this hairstyle exists.
To me, this implies that the Celestial Dragons weren't just a batch of humans that decided they wanted to be gods, but in fact may have been formerly devout Skypieans that, for whatever reason, decided to overthrow the objects of their worship. This would also tie into the Olympian parallel, as the Olympians were the children of the Titans, so it would make sense for the Celestial Dragons to have been the metaphorical children of the Lunarians.
If that is the case, though, it's curious that they've abandoned their wings, but perhaps that's a deliberate symbol of their rise in status. After all, all of the Sky People that have held the title of God - Gan Fall, Ubau, and Enel - have never been seen wearing their wings, perhaps symbolizing themselves as the leading God and all others as the subservient angels.
That said, the Celestial Dragons are the descendants of the Twenty Kings (ch.497), rulers of various nations across the world, so it doesn't seem too likely they were all followers. I think it's more likely that one person, in particular, was a former follower and may have been the one to convince the Twenty Kings to join them in rising against the Lunarians. Perhaps they adopted the hairstyle and the uniform from this leader, who likely stopped wearing their wings upon deciding to rebel.
Speaking of wings, though, the relationship between wings and the moon has come up surprisingly often, at least four times now.
The first and most obvious would be the Sky People who we've already discussed, whose ancestors once inhabited the moon before descending to Earth over 1,100 years ago (ch.262, Robin confirms Shandora existed as far back as Year 402, 1,100 years ago) due to a lack of resources (ch.470 & 472).
Also, it may be nothing, but notice on the left of Enel Cover 35 that there's actually the face of a fourth person peeking out from offscreen just beneath the Skypiean. It's too early to tell whether that's meant to imply a fourth group of Sky People, but it's definitely Oda's style to drop a hint like that so far in advance (thanks to Artur of Library of Ohara for pointing this out). If this is the case, this could either be the Lunarians themselves or the formerly devout Celestial Dragons.
Next is the Kozuki clan, whose symbol is a crane and whose name contains the kanji for moon, implying that these are both major symbols in their family history.
Similar imagery is depicted in Kinemon's hidden message to the samurai of Wano in ch.921 to convey the plan for the raid on Onigashima.
The fact that a reversed crescent moon represents rebellion suggests that a proper crescent moon represents loyalty to the crown. This seems especially likely when one considers that all of the royal families of Wano have the kanji for moon in their names. The flaming birds within this message, while not explicitly related to the moon and only there to convey the timing of the plan, do seem suspiciously appropriate for the arc that also introduced a race of flaming birdfolk that has been established to be related to the moon.
The Kozuki clan also has ties to the Tenguyama clan, the only current extant member being Hitetsu, a man who either has or wears wings (he is seen without them in ch.1016). We've seen that half-breeds are capable of retracting their animal traits in the past, such as Dellinger's Fishman fangs and fins (ch.772), so it's possible that Hitetsu can do the same with his wings. This is most likely the case, as both Hitetsu and King strongly resemble the two most major types of tengu, the long-nosed daitengu and the crow-billed karasutengu, a parallel I don't think Oda would throw in so casually if it's not relevant.
The name Tenguyama specifically means "tengu mountain," implying that this group of tengu came from a mountain. While there are mountains in Wano, we currently only have one confirmed mountain that housed a group that could be compared to tengu: the Red Line. This could well imply that the "tengu mountain" that the Tenguyama clan came from and is named for is in fact the Red Line.
It would be especially fitting for the Tenguyama to be Lunarians as the accompanying Ignition ability would no doubt be helpful in their swordsmithing (ch.912). Speaking of, we also know that the Kozuki were once skilled stonemasons capable of shaping the Poneglyphs and seastone (ch.818), so perhaps they learned these skills from or alongside the Tenguyama.
Speaking of swords, we see in King's battle with Zoro that he has a sword with the ability to collapse pieces of its edge to turn into a swordbreaker (ch.1023). This resembles the Trick Mechanism Swords of Sasaki (ch.1019) and Holdem (ch.917, though only actually seen in use in the anime, ep.905). What's interesting about this is that the Japanese name for these weapons is Karakuri-to, which brings to mind Karakuri Island, the island of Vegapunk's birth and where we meet the Automata built by Dr. Tsukimi. Dr. Tsukimi, a man named for the moon, who enjoys gazing at the moon, and who built robots reminiscent of those that can be found on the moon and are therefore associated with the Lunarians, lives on an island that shares a name with a weapon used by a Lunarian, who in turn may or may not be related to a family known for their skill in crafting swords. This convoluted string of parallels carries many interesting implications.
For one, if the Tenguyama are swordsmiths and Lunarians, and the Lunarians are associated with the Sky People that crafted the Automata, it's possible that the Lunarians are the craftsmen that taught the Sky People how to build such complex machinery. If there are Lunarians that are both swordsmiths and mechanists, it would certainly be possible for a Lunarian somewhere along the way to have combined those two ideas into mechanized swords like the Karakuri-to. Therefore, King, with his entire outfit having mechanisms for revealing hidden weaponry so as to make his entire body a weapon, may be the one who designed and crafted all of the Karakuri-to seen throughout the ranks of the Beast Pirates.
The idea that the Lunarians were a technologically advanced race ties back into my earlier suggestion that they had a hand in the creation of the Ancient Weapons, possibly granting their technological prowess to the other races so as to allow them to make the weapons. If King introduced Karakuri-to to the rest of the Beast Pirates, perhaps the past Lunarians also introduced "karakuri" to the rest of the world, possibly being the ones to found Karakuri Island? Perhaps this is why Oda decided to wait so long to introduce us to the single greatest technological mind in the One Piece world: Dr. Vegapunk is a Lunarian, and revealing him too soon would have spoiled all of these other plot points? It's hard to say at this juncture, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were somehow connected to the Lunarians. Considering that as of ch.1028 the Marines are on their way to Wano to annex it, we may we'll be seeing the good doctor and his new, anti-Yonkou weapon developed by the SSG (ch.957), so we'll likely get our answer as to his race soon enough.
If Vegapunk is in fact going to be making an appearance at Wano, the time may also be nigh for us to meet our final winged individual associated with the moon: it's the moment you've all been waiting for, we're talking about Monet!
Monet's wings go without saying, but less obvious for most people is her interest in the moon, evidenced by the stack of books with cut-off labels such as "ASTRO" (likely short for "ASTRONOMY") and "CLIP" (likely "ECLIPSE") seen in ch.666.
In my Grand Monet Theory, I suggested that Monet became interested in birds because of a Birdfolk who came to her island in North Blue, and later became interested in the moon because she desired freedom from her "misfortunate environment." I couldn't have imagined at the time that the Birdfolk directly inspired both of her interests, but knowing now that the Birdfolk are in fact named after the moon, it all fits too well!
With this new information, I have to imagine that the Lunarian that came to Monet's island when she was a child taught her about Lunarian society, their history, their culture, etc. Knowing that the Lunarians are near-extinct and that their homeland lies abandoned, it wouldn't at all be surprising for Monet to study birds to understand their biology (demonstrated by her "Bird" textbook from her childhood seen in SBS vol.80, and my icon) and astronomy to travel to the moon, potentially allowing her to revive their race and their civilization. This would also give Monet a grander dream than just "reach the moon," which gives her a goal that wouldn't be obtainable almost immediately after she joins the crew, an argument against her inclusion that I've heard many times.
It's also possible that Monet asked Law to make her into a harpy in an attempt to start a pseudo-Lunarian race. If all of the true Lunarians are gone, then a race of harpies could be the next best thing. Heck, knowing One Piece logic, the Op-Op Fruit actually encoded the bird features into Monet's genetics and she'd be able to have legitimate harpy children, why not?
Alternatively, Monet could be part Lunarian, but her bloodline is so diluted that she didn't inherit wings, similar to how Chimney is 1/4th mermaid and doesn't have fins, though she still retains her ability to swim exceptionally well (ch.403). In this scenario, she likely would have been told about Lunarian society by her parents and became interested in studying ornithology and astronomy for hints of her lost heritage and homeland. Perhaps lamenting her lack of wings, she jumped at the first opportunity she saw, but didn't quite understand that the wings were meant to be on her back. I don't necessarily think this is the case, as presumably King and Hitetsu are heavily diluted Lunarians, and yet both of them still have wings, but it's fun to think about.
I also think it's rather telling that Monet is designed after a harpy, a creature from Greek mythology. As the Ancient Weapons are named after Greek mythological figures, and at least Uranus seems likely to be named after a Lunarian, then Monet's Greek imagery could easily be meant to further imply her relation to the Lunarians.
As for how Monet ties into Vegapunk, I believe that the reason Monet didn't appear during the Dressrosa arc is because she chose to follow the children of Punk Hazard to Vegapunk rather than rushing to Doflamingo's aid (as I explain in more detail in the Grand Monet Theory). If this is the case, it may well be fate that she becomes acquainted with Vegapunk, either because he may be a Lunarian or because he is the one who has the technology to potentially revive a lost race as evidenced by his supposedly failed Ancient Giant clones, the Numbers (ch.989). Furthermore, he's also the one who is the most likely to have the technology for traveling to the moon (at least without being aware that balloons are apparently sufficient), so Vegapunk is really the best option for Monet no matter which of her potential goals she's trying to achieve.
As a quick aside, I also think it would be a fun little bit of irony for Monet to have been given the Snow-Snow Fruit if she feels such a deep connection to the Lunarians to emulate them; not only is she now the conceptual opposite, producing cold rather than heat, but she wouldn't even able to get near a Lunarian if they're using their Ignition as this ability would be her natural weakness. Alternatively, if she actually turns out to be part Lunarian, I think it would be really neat if Oda could figure out a way to justify her using Ignition and the Snow-Snow Fruit simultaneously, making her appearance in the Burning Lands of Punk Hazard some fun foreshadowing.
On the subject of the Ignition ability, let's take a look at what parallels we can draw from King's flames.
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