Hello friends. It is I, Den Den, with another swordboi manga analysis thread. In this thread, I would like to explore the recurring theme of inherited will and how it applies to Japan's No.1 mosshead. I've seen people saying all kinds of weird shit to do with parallels, such as Rayleigh being a parallel of Zoro + Sanji + Franky (wtf lol) which is not how parallels work. People seem to be labouring under the misconception that a parallel has to share a certain percentage of personality traits, skills etc which I think is completely untrue. It is my aim to convince you all that characters' inherited will can stem from multiple characters, and this will play a role in Zoro's character arc specifically.
The first and most obvious source of inherited will is Zoro's main sword, the Wado Ichimonji. It represents his promise to Kuina, that one of them would become the world's strongest swordsman. With Kuina unable to fulfil her promise, Zoro vowed to become stronger on her behalf, leading Koshiro to gift Zoro with Kuina's sword. Now that Wado has been revealed as a treasure of the Shimotsuki clan, this leaves the door open for Wado to also symbolise Zoro inheriting the Shimotsuki family's will, taking up the mantle of figures such as Onimaru, Kozaburo and Yasu. What exactly this will is and how it will play out is a question that hopefully Oda will answer.
The second most influential figure in Zoro's journey would have to be Mihawk. Although Mihawk's character still needs to be fully fleshed out, we can already see Oda deliberately creating parallels between the two. Both are introverted, lone wolf swordsmen who hold deep respect towards the inheritors of (what is most likely to be) Roger's straw hat. Just as Mihawk made his series debut by slicing Krieg's ship, Zoro's first post-timeskip appearance had him slicing a galleon in half, showing how he had improved under Mihawk's tutelage. Now what does this have to do with inherited will, you ask? One of the most important things Mihawk told Zoro was to explore the world and gain a more informed perspective. Without worldly experience, Mihawk likens naive, overconfident swordsmen to a frog in a well, a saying that Zoro himself adopted when talking down on Hyouzou. Unlike Mihawk, however, Zoro found something worth more than his ambition, his bond with Luffy and the Straw Hats preventing him from becoming as isolated and jaded as his mentor. This is where Mihawk and Zoro's paths diverge, and is one of the reasons why Zoro and Mihawk are not direct parallels. Rather, Mihawk is a cautionary tale, an example of what Zoro could have become had he never found something worth protecting.
Even before the official introduction of Oden in the manga, Oda has been setting up Zoro as an inheritor of Oden's will. The passing down of meito symbolises inherited will, with Zoro and Momonosuke carrying Oden's torch forward to face Kaido and Orochi. While Momonosuke's challenge is to become a charismatic and worthy leader like his father, Zoro's quest is to surpass Oden's martial skill and upgrade his sword to an even greater level.
Now, you may argue that Zoro and Oden are extremely different in personality, and I would agree. Oden is more charismatic, brash and is much more interested in fooling around with women and gambling (does this remind you of a certain Dark King though? :yasu:). However, Oden hated Wano's closed door policy and wanted to see the outside world. You could even say that he... wished to explore the world and fulfil his destiny. Zoro may well use the frog in the well as an argument for reopening Wano's borders. With the 'country of gold' a mere shadow of its former self, there is no longer room for complacency and isolationism. Who better to teach them that lesson than a cocky rookie who got schooled in the East Blue? Zoro is clearly not a perfect parallel of Oden, but the narrative is preparing him to (quite literally) take up Oden's sword and surpass him.
Finally, we have Zoro and Ryuma. Out of Oden, Mihawk, Rayleigh and Ryuma, Zoro is closest in design to Ryuma, who is even depicted here eating an onigiri. In the manga, Ryuma passed Shusui on to Zoro, acknowledging him as being worthy of Wano's legendary treasure. The other samurai, however, are not as convinced and it is clear that Zoro will need to demonstrate his worthiness before Ryuma's homeland.
If you've read the oneshot 'Monsters', you may notice some similarities between Ryuma's happy-go-lucky personality and Luffy's. However, Ryuma is also extremely focussed on the concept of a warrior's honour, and stated that the king of swordsmen must have the greatest 'warrior's soul'. This brings me to my main point, that Zoro will develop the strongest warrior soul by synthesising the best of Ryuma, Kuina, Mihawk, Oden and Rayleigh. He shares similarities and has inherited aspects of each character, but is ultimately his own man, and the culmination of their efforts.
Does Ryuma's definition of success seem familiar to you? When Koshiro was teaching Zoro about the breath of all things, he emphasised that the greatest swordsmen would not engage in wanton destruction, but could protect whatever they wanted to protect. Zoro has not mastered BOAT, fire being one of the things he still hasn't learned to cut. As Zoro improves his swordsmanship, so too will he improve his ability to protect his captain, whose life he places before his own ambition.
Throughout the series, it has been strongly implied that Zoro and Luffy in particular possess a true warrior's spirit. While Luffy has inherited Roger's views on freedom and his destiny is to liberate others, Zoro's path to the top is less well defined. How Zoro will achieve this warrior spirit is yet to be revealed, but already he has combined Kuina's determination with Mihawk's worldliness, Oden's martial prowess and Ryuma's protective spirit. He will combine the best of these characters to become the greatest swordsman of all time, one whose name reaches the heavens. Similarly, Luffy has Roger's free spirit tempered by Shanks' good nature and unwillingness to pick unnecessary fights. This generation of pirates is not a carbon copy of those who came before, but the culmination of their predecessors' wills.
What do you guys think? What will Zoro's ultimate warrior spirit look like and how do you think he will get there? Let me know in the comments.
(P.S. this is not a power level thread
)
The first and most obvious source of inherited will is Zoro's main sword, the Wado Ichimonji. It represents his promise to Kuina, that one of them would become the world's strongest swordsman. With Kuina unable to fulfil her promise, Zoro vowed to become stronger on her behalf, leading Koshiro to gift Zoro with Kuina's sword. Now that Wado has been revealed as a treasure of the Shimotsuki clan, this leaves the door open for Wado to also symbolise Zoro inheriting the Shimotsuki family's will, taking up the mantle of figures such as Onimaru, Kozaburo and Yasu. What exactly this will is and how it will play out is a question that hopefully Oda will answer.
The second most influential figure in Zoro's journey would have to be Mihawk. Although Mihawk's character still needs to be fully fleshed out, we can already see Oda deliberately creating parallels between the two. Both are introverted, lone wolf swordsmen who hold deep respect towards the inheritors of (what is most likely to be) Roger's straw hat. Just as Mihawk made his series debut by slicing Krieg's ship, Zoro's first post-timeskip appearance had him slicing a galleon in half, showing how he had improved under Mihawk's tutelage. Now what does this have to do with inherited will, you ask? One of the most important things Mihawk told Zoro was to explore the world and gain a more informed perspective. Without worldly experience, Mihawk likens naive, overconfident swordsmen to a frog in a well, a saying that Zoro himself adopted when talking down on Hyouzou. Unlike Mihawk, however, Zoro found something worth more than his ambition, his bond with Luffy and the Straw Hats preventing him from becoming as isolated and jaded as his mentor. This is where Mihawk and Zoro's paths diverge, and is one of the reasons why Zoro and Mihawk are not direct parallels. Rather, Mihawk is a cautionary tale, an example of what Zoro could have become had he never found something worth protecting.
Even before the official introduction of Oden in the manga, Oda has been setting up Zoro as an inheritor of Oden's will. The passing down of meito symbolises inherited will, with Zoro and Momonosuke carrying Oden's torch forward to face Kaido and Orochi. While Momonosuke's challenge is to become a charismatic and worthy leader like his father, Zoro's quest is to surpass Oden's martial skill and upgrade his sword to an even greater level.
Now, you may argue that Zoro and Oden are extremely different in personality, and I would agree. Oden is more charismatic, brash and is much more interested in fooling around with women and gambling (does this remind you of a certain Dark King though? :yasu:). However, Oden hated Wano's closed door policy and wanted to see the outside world. You could even say that he... wished to explore the world and fulfil his destiny. Zoro may well use the frog in the well as an argument for reopening Wano's borders. With the 'country of gold' a mere shadow of its former self, there is no longer room for complacency and isolationism. Who better to teach them that lesson than a cocky rookie who got schooled in the East Blue? Zoro is clearly not a perfect parallel of Oden, but the narrative is preparing him to (quite literally) take up Oden's sword and surpass him.
Finally, we have Zoro and Ryuma. Out of Oden, Mihawk, Rayleigh and Ryuma, Zoro is closest in design to Ryuma, who is even depicted here eating an onigiri. In the manga, Ryuma passed Shusui on to Zoro, acknowledging him as being worthy of Wano's legendary treasure. The other samurai, however, are not as convinced and it is clear that Zoro will need to demonstrate his worthiness before Ryuma's homeland.
If you've read the oneshot 'Monsters', you may notice some similarities between Ryuma's happy-go-lucky personality and Luffy's. However, Ryuma is also extremely focussed on the concept of a warrior's honour, and stated that the king of swordsmen must have the greatest 'warrior's soul'. This brings me to my main point, that Zoro will develop the strongest warrior soul by synthesising the best of Ryuma, Kuina, Mihawk, Oden and Rayleigh. He shares similarities and has inherited aspects of each character, but is ultimately his own man, and the culmination of their efforts.
Does Ryuma's definition of success seem familiar to you? When Koshiro was teaching Zoro about the breath of all things, he emphasised that the greatest swordsmen would not engage in wanton destruction, but could protect whatever they wanted to protect. Zoro has not mastered BOAT, fire being one of the things he still hasn't learned to cut. As Zoro improves his swordsmanship, so too will he improve his ability to protect his captain, whose life he places before his own ambition.
Throughout the series, it has been strongly implied that Zoro and Luffy in particular possess a true warrior's spirit. While Luffy has inherited Roger's views on freedom and his destiny is to liberate others, Zoro's path to the top is less well defined. How Zoro will achieve this warrior spirit is yet to be revealed, but already he has combined Kuina's determination with Mihawk's worldliness, Oden's martial prowess and Ryuma's protective spirit. He will combine the best of these characters to become the greatest swordsman of all time, one whose name reaches the heavens. Similarly, Luffy has Roger's free spirit tempered by Shanks' good nature and unwillingness to pick unnecessary fights. This generation of pirates is not a carbon copy of those who came before, but the culmination of their predecessors' wills.
What do you guys think? What will Zoro's ultimate warrior spirit look like and how do you think he will get there? Let me know in the comments.
(P.S. this is not a power level thread
)
