Oda makes Zoro a perfect side-kick to Luffy, that's why he is popular, if you are the best loyalist to Luffy, then you take the second seat. Zoro is number one fanboy of Luffy, that's why he usually takes the second seat.
One piece is an action/adventure shounen manga and the M3 are written to be badass characters with irregular strength so I think that's the main reason why they are the most popular characters in the series and even more popular than the rest of the main cast. So basically badass and strong is a primary criteria for popularity. So now with that established, lets move on to the topic of the thread, which is Zoro. Even amongst the M3, I think Zoro has insane following mainly because 1.) as opposed to his other M3 counterparts, he's written to be the more serious of the three 2.) the character himself seems to lack any sort of vulnerability in contrast to the other two. Two things, which make a character appear more intimidating/stronger/badass/cuul which comes full circle to the main criteria of popularity I discussed prior.
Badass character.
Then he is loyal, unique fighting style, clear picture of his goal and work hard for the same. Ready to sacrifice, has strong will, Unafraid, reckless and beast with badass one liners, Sometimes act stupid, kind.
There are more reasons, bt i think many have been Zoro fan since Baratie arc when he promises to never loose again to Luffy. Those were strong panels.
he's hated by Zoro fans (which are the majority of One Piece fans) because Luffy is MC and because of that he always defeats the strongest antagonist, he's given the most screen time, he's much stronger than Zoro (and because of that they always try to convince you that he's as strong as Luffy and even stronger and Oda always finds a way for Zoro to be weakened by samthing since he's soooooo strong etc.).
Right now i think it's because we know the least about him out of all the strawhats, the most mystery surrounds zoro, only a glimmer of his past has been revealed unlike a majority of the strawhats. Also his nonchalant personality and his ability to get lost for no reason lol
I'm working on a theory that a lot of Sanji fans are ZoSan shippers and any time Zoro is mentioned without Sanji, it pissed them off and they have to shoehorn him into the conversation
Soon I'll gather enough evidence to publish my findings
Right now i think it's because we know the least about him out of all the strawhats, the most mystery surrounds zoro, only a glimmer of his past has been revealed unlike a majority of the strawhats
Well the problem with this is that it's not really treated as mystery. Its sort of a thing that just doesn't matter
Granted in this arc we suddenly got the origin of Zoro's village and kuina's ancestors but even then thats not really a major focus and it still doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Zoro directly
Oda even said that just this Kuina business was still insignificant that he might not add it into the story
See if Zoro's past was supposed to be elaborated on that much then I doubt Oda would say something like that.
On the other hand, Zoro's past being as simple as it is does create a very clear picture of who he is. We've seen with the Oden flashback that having a complicated backstory just muddles up the message trying to put across and ive seen like multiple people already asking things like "what is oden's character" or "what is the point of this flashback".
So maybe Zoro's very simple and straight forward past actually makes him more likable since we can all understand what he's about pretty clearly.
Because you're an expert who studied in all the Best universities and wrote dissertations from your years of research on what intelligence is and your opinion matters here above everyone else's.
It appears the average male fan tends to like characters who show a more accentuated physical prowess. Same goes for personality: concepts like leadership and badassery.
It appears the average male fan tends to like characters who show a more accentuated physical prowess. Same goes for personality: concepts like leadership and badassery.
correct
same reason machismo.
jocks were popular in high school off of this. and it doesnt quite fade away as much as people think in adulthood.
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Machismo is the sense of being 'manly' and self-reliant, the concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity." It is associated with "a man's responsibility to provide for, protect, and defend his family."
Artur from library of Ohara also made his own international popularity poll where he got about 5000 votes and sorted them out via demographic and stuff.
Once again Zoro is consistently second place and the gaps are also very distinct like Luffy can have like 21% votes then Zoro has 18% and whoever is third place is like 8%
That's the sort of margin Zoro and Luffy have consistently throughout.
I think boiling it down to "he's badass" is oversimplifying it. It certainly plays a role, but there's more to it. Zoro, outside Luffy, arguably receives the most protagonism in the story. You know that when Zoro is featured in an arc, he'll display something new, and he learns and overcomes things through his adventure as a Strawhats. That adds a lot of appeal to a character because it means there's something to look forward to when invested in them. This is part of the reason Luffy and a bunch other MCs are consistently the most popular characters in their series.
His work towards his dream also being a consistent and visible part of the narrative doesn't hurt. You know how there are complaints over not seeing Nami drawing a new piece to her world map? (Seriously, Oda has no reason not to display it at the end of an Arc). Well, Zoro's very regularly fighting swordsmen as opponents. And the further through the story we go, the stronger swordsmen he faces. That does a lot to make him an active character in the plot because it means he has a set purpose towards something.
Combine that with his no-nonsense demeanor and will power, his design, (which let's face it, is part of the game of marketing), and you got a recipe for a popular character.
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