Character Discussion What is Kuzan's Game now?
- Thread starter ConquistadoR
- Start date
As if seeing Kuzan on panel doesn't already make something 10X interesting, imagining him with his VA makes it even better. His VA is just way too goated, especially in this entire sequence
Kuzan is the type of character you'd pretty much love to see interact with any other relevant top tier in the series right now, including Shanks and Dragon.
Kuzan is the type of character you'd pretty much love to see interact with any other relevant top tier in the series right now, including Shanks and Dragon.
100% Kuzan's setup as a character is phenomenal.
A honest Marine with his heart in the right place who saw the true colors of the World Govt first hand at Ohara and still worked for it, until he was forced to either abide by his Extremist comrades or leave. And is now working for/alongside one of the biggest Pirates in the seas for his own agendas.
Dragon (who was impacted by Ohara & decided to start his RA after that) and Shanks (a kind hearted Emperor) interactions with Kuzan have so much potential.
Kuzan & probably Kuma (same pattern as i described, Tyrant but remembered fondly by those close to him; Ruler --> RA --> Warlord --> Robot) are the most interesting & mysterious characters in the entire series for me atm.
A honest Marine with his heart in the right place who saw the true colors of the World Govt first hand at Ohara and still worked for it, until he was forced to either abide by his Extremist comrades or leave. And is now working for/alongside one of the biggest Pirates in the seas for his own agendas.
Dragon (who was impacted by Ohara & decided to start his RA after that) and Shanks (a kind hearted Emperor) interactions with Kuzan have so much potential.
Kuzan & probably Kuma (same pattern as i described, Tyrant but remembered fondly by those close to him; Ruler --> RA --> Warlord --> Robot) are the most interesting & mysterious characters in the entire series for me atm.
i would love that, or Issho fighting Sakazuki. Would be a lot better than the Nika bullshit, or Blond Ace fighting him
Unfortunately Lolda is allergic to drawing fights that don't involve Luffy.
Unfortunately Lolda is allergic to drawing fights that don't involve Luffy.
Luffy and 9 strawhats + Kuzan
vs
Blackbeard and 9 titanic captains + Sakazuki
Its too good to be true though
I really do believe Akainu and Kuzan may be working together and this is an operation that only the two of em cooked up on their own.
It feels like the first thing Kuzan did when meeting the BBP's was showing his dislike for Akainu and what he did to him. We also got very interesting bits of dialogue that Akainu regrets going into battle with a comrade + he spared him. That has always bugged me for someone like Akainu.
Having his comrade go through the disgrace of being saved by his oponnents mercy, it doesn't feel like something a Marine like Akainu would do.
I believe it isn't impossible that the two may be secretly working together, but i personally prefer the idea presented here that Kuzan is not aligned with anyone and actually just has his own motives to act like the way he does.
It feels like the first thing Kuzan did when meeting the BBP's was showing his dislike for Akainu and what he did to him. We also got very interesting bits of dialogue that Akainu regrets going into battle with a comrade + he spared him. That has always bugged me for someone like Akainu.
Having his comrade go through the disgrace of being saved by his oponnents mercy, it doesn't feel like something a Marine like Akainu would do.
I believe it isn't impossible that the two may be secretly working together, but i personally prefer the idea presented here that Kuzan is not aligned with anyone and actually just has his own motives to act like the way he does.
Everything else was already said, so here's another approach.
Imo a big chunk of the fanbase still underestimates the most prominent aspect about Kuzan's character, even though Oda really beat it into us: He was heavily traumatized by the Ohara incident. That guy is burdened with an infinite guilt towards Robin, to a point where he met up with her two times over the pre ts journey in order to see, whether she's in good hands and whether he made the right decision back then by letting her live.
It might have went over most heads, but ever wondered why Kuzan came to Punk Hazard in the first place? Did he want to meet Smoker that bad? I mean did he even knew that Smoker was there, when he came there? Or was it because he knew the Strawhats and Robin were there?
I think he likely has two major sources of motivation right now: 1. He wants to come closer to the truth for his own sake and 2. he wants to see through that the Will of Ohara succeeds. How does he do that? He banks on another D. character, who is likely to allign with major parts of his agenda (truth/knowledge seeking + anti WG intentions) and who happens to be the potentially biggest obstacle Robin and by extension the Strawhats will have to face during their journey.
Kuzan is basically making sure that when the fate of the world is at a crossroad, he will see through that fate turns for the better. I think he might end up being a "get out of jail free"-card for the Strawhats, when things get spicy.
Fate is a very big theme in the series, but so are BB's schemes. Someone has to make sure that BB does not outwit the fate of Joyboy.
We need to keep in mind that Aokiji might already know a lot of the stuff, we and Blackbeard still need to learn: The Will of D. and some backstory information of the Void Century. Ever thought about the possibility that he might have already met up with Saul?
With that kinda information and a guy like Monkey D. Luffy (+ Robin) and Edward D. Teach in the race for Pirate King, what would a guy like Aokiji do?
Imo if Aokiji is secretly affiliated with anyone, it might actually be Saul, but not necessarily with further connections to the Revos.
@ConquistadoR
Imo a big chunk of the fanbase still underestimates the most prominent aspect about Kuzan's character, even though Oda really beat it into us: He was heavily traumatized by the Ohara incident. That guy is burdened with an infinite guilt towards Robin, to a point where he met up with her two times over the pre ts journey in order to see, whether she's in good hands and whether he made the right decision back then by letting her live.
It might have went over most heads, but ever wondered why Kuzan came to Punk Hazard in the first place? Did he want to meet Smoker that bad? I mean did he even knew that Smoker was there, when he came there? Or was it because he knew the Strawhats and Robin were there?
I think he likely has two major sources of motivation right now: 1. He wants to come closer to the truth for his own sake and 2. he wants to see through that the Will of Ohara succeeds. How does he do that? He banks on another D. character, who is likely to allign with major parts of his agenda (truth/knowledge seeking + anti WG intentions) and who happens to be the potentially biggest obstacle Robin and by extension the Strawhats will have to face during their journey.
Kuzan is basically making sure that when the fate of the world is at a crossroad, he will see through that fate turns for the better. I think he might end up being a "get out of jail free"-card for the Strawhats, when things get spicy.
Fate is a very big theme in the series, but so are BB's schemes. Someone has to make sure that BB does not outwit the fate of Joyboy.
We need to keep in mind that Aokiji might already know a lot of the stuff, we and Blackbeard still need to learn: The Will of D. and some backstory information of the Void Century. Ever thought about the possibility that he might have already met up with Saul?
With that kinda information and a guy like Monkey D. Luffy (+ Robin) and Edward D. Teach in the race for Pirate King, what would a guy like Aokiji do?
Imo if Aokiji is secretly affiliated with anyone, it might actually be Saul, but not necessarily with further connections to the Revos.
@ConquistadoR
Yea, you are right. Ohara is the biggest regret of his career, when randomnly asked about poneglyphs - Aokiji started talking about Ohara and how he felt about what happened this chapter.
Great catch, i completely missed the part about Kuzan possibly coming to PH to meet Robin, i've never thought about it that way.
Same for the parts about possibly meeting up with Saul as well - didn't think about it at all.
I agree 100%.
This seems very possible. I can definitely see the narrative making Kuzan question his decision to ally with BB & then saving the SHs from a bind to ensure that the Will of Ohara goes through. Essentially switching his bet from betting on BB to Luffy.
This is a really great post, this is a very plausible expectation regarding what will happen with Kuzan!
Great catch, i completely missed the part about Kuzan possibly coming to PH to meet Robin, i've never thought about it that way.
Same for the parts about possibly meeting up with Saul as well - didn't think about it at all.
I agree 100%.
This seems very possible. I can definitely see the narrative making Kuzan question his decision to ally with BB & then saving the SHs from a bind to ensure that the Will of Ohara goes through. Essentially switching his bet from betting on BB to Luffy.
This is a really great post, this is a very plausible expectation regarding what will happen with Kuzan!
Ohara's incident happened 22 years ago and he's still mumbling about the eyes of a traumatized little girl while drunk lol
Even I have no idea where Kuzan's character is heading, I'm sure of one thing; no way he's going to seriously fight against the straw hats, where Robin finally found her place to be happy.
Even I have no idea where Kuzan's character is heading, I'm sure of one thing; no way he's going to seriously fight against the straw hats, where Robin finally found her place to be happy.
Thanks bro. I think the possibly biggest give away might be, that we now know that Saul survived. Aokiji knows his abilities the best. If Ice time capsule works as it is speculated on, he's the guy that set the timer. Therefore presumably no one else would have known Saul's probability of survival better than Kuzan himself.
By the way, those were all rhetorical questions, not directly directed at you, but I think you caught my drive :D
By the way, those were all rhetorical questions, not directly directed at you, but I think you caught my drive :D
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When we were introduced to Kuzan in the post timeskip at chapter 0699, Doflamingo asked Kuzan the question we all wanted to ask - what's Kuzan's Game now?
Oda even used Doflamingo to tell us that Kuzan isn't an aimless man.
"The face of a mere wanderer and that of a man with determination... they're quite different"
The popular belief among the fandom was that he was the secret captain of SWORD and he infiltrated Blackbeard's crew to undermine them down from the inside (like X Drake & Beast Pirates) but the latest chapters clearly established that
(1) SWORD is a well-known Marine organization and
(2) Kuzan isn't part of them, considering how he's fighting Garp.
The question of Kuzan being a Marine still has (almost) been put to rest.
The titular question though, is again posed even this chapter - through Blackbeard.
Kuzan clearly has some inner motivation for what he's working with the Blackbeard Pirates as the Tenth Titanic Captain.
Another important incident that shapes who Kuzan is, is the Ohara incident. We're again shown that Kuzan remembers it as a sad memory this chapter.
And again & again, we are being reminded that what the World Govt. has in store for Egghead is a fate worse than what Ohara suffered.
If Egghead turns out to be another Ohara-esque incident of mass destruction & censorship by the Government, i am sure that it will impact Kuzan's motivations & actions in the future, to make him take up fate into his own hands again, as he said.
So what exactly is Kuzan working to achieve? What would his future role be in the series?
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Personally, Kuzan seems set up to be one of the most interesting characters Oda has ever written.
Some traits I find common among complex & memorable characters are is that they are written to be going through circumstances which place them at both end of the spectrum of the World. This allows for Oda to show complex themes & ideals through the said character.
For example, take Doflamingo, a former Celestial Dragon who, by circumstances, was forced to relinquish his position and climb the ranks of Piracy which was juxtaposed beautifully with his younger Brother Rocinante becoming a Marine to stop Doflamingo.
A former high ranking Marine who left them due to his refusal to work under an extremist agenda (embodied by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki) and who is now working with Marshall D. Teach, an Emperor of the Seas, to pursue his own goals is a very similar set up & has huge potential.
Hopefully Oda pulls through with it.
Some Tags: @TheKnightOfTheSea @HA001 OF THE RAIN @Seth @nik87 @Elder Lee Hung @MarineHQ @Uncle Van @Kurozumi Wiwi @ZenZu @Sentinel @comrade @Veku @God Buggy @Extravlad @MonsterKaido @Celestial D. Dragon @Charlotte Horchata @JoNdule @Garps tekkai etc,....
There is clearly an endgoal, and its something Kuzan has felt ever since he watched Sakazuki and other marines murder innocents at the behest of the Gorosei, but I think this at least shows hes a fully fledged BB Captain with his own endgame, same as the rest of that crew.
My "hope" honestly is that Smoker gets a major glowup and joins the crew. Then when the fight for One Piece occurs and Luffy begins his battle against BB, Smoker and Aokiji fight and that endgoal is something he asks Smoker to fulfill in the end if Smoker wins. I know im asking for a lot, but this is something I can imagine going down.
