These moments were so cool though, I loved Zoro as the hidden captain. The silent beast with his own identity, chasing his own dream of becoming the world’s strongest swordsman, yet choosing to sail under Luffy. It gave Zoro his own identity while telling us how special Luffy was for being able to have someone like Zoro willing to sail under him. Both of them benefitted from this.
When Thriller Bark happened, it didn’t feel out of place. Zoro sacrificing everything for Luffy was character development, it added depth, and it worked because Luffy was actually in immediate danger. It did not replace Zoro the character, it just added to him. I'm completely fine with Zoro in the protector role and as a Straw Hat.
The issue now isn’t that Zoro protects Luffy. It’s that his entire identity seems to orbit around Luffy in a way that undermines his own arc. There's a difference between choosing to protect someone as a sign of strength, and constantly being framed as existing only through them. The former makes him stand taller, the latter erases his character behind Luffy's. Oda was walking a thin line with Zoro and he failed.
It's like Zoro's entire arc is filtered through Luffy. His biggest battles, his power ups, his internal struggles, everything circles back to Luffy. It's like Luffy is on this guys mind 24/7 365, It's an identity loss. I don’t want to see Luffy’s face in Zoro’s mind during his own defining moments. I don’t want the climax of his battles hijacked by another man's image. When he awakens CoC, or when he beats the strongest opponent he's ever fought. Let him be a character, not a Luffy echo chamber, just like the rest of the strawhats. With Zoro, it stings more, because it dilutes what made him special, that hidden captain aura, the man who lowkey stood shoulder to shoulder with Luffy, not behind him. Zoro’s battles should be sacred, untouched by the usual Luffy worship. We get it, he respects his captain. Oda has beaten this into the ground until there’s nothing left, get that shit out of my face.
