[OP] E1044 Reactions & Review/Thoughts

Nikolay I didnt mean he shouldn't have tried to help. I meant he should've been more careful the same way Robin and Brook entered (ofcourse they were more aware of the danger since sanji was captured). the problem is his mind was with girls a lot of the time at the beginning of the raid and he was even trying to look for a brothel for his own pleasure and was upset when he found an empty one at the start. If he was thinking then he could've entered that area without getting trapped.

Ibzinho

yes, yes he did, but even knowing that was a trap sanji still will go, just cuz of the 0,1% chanse of a woman in need. i think u dont quite understend who he is. "get laid"?? he will help without whanting something in exchange and he will keep doing it. if u are a manga reader u will see the peak of his char later. have good one

Nikolay

Well, couldn't you say the same thing about all of the strawhats? In this very episode, Brook seperated himself from Robin and Black Maria, because he believed in her. What would he have done if Robin lost? It is different than Sanji not kicking women, but the whole concept of putting your friends "in harms way" because of trust is the same in both cases. Sanji did try to get away to go where he was needed, unlike what he did in the Kalifa situation, but he was caught. Yes the gags are annoying, I agree with that, but in his defense, a lot of the gags were added in the anime. I don't think Sanji's character is only focused on women, it's just that those are his most "controversial" moments, so they tend to overshadow the rest. There are a lot of great Sanji character moments throughout One Piece. He was ready to sacrifice himself for the crew just like Zoro, he set Luffy straight when he told Usopp to leave the crew, he actually agreed with Zoro instead of Nami when Zoro said that Usopp should apologize, he made it his responsibility to help Kinemon in Punk Hazard... just to name a few. There is even an entire scene in whole cake island where Judge tells Luffy all those "weaknesses" he thinks Sanji has only for Luffy to say "why did he start listing all the good things about you?" I get your frustration, but the thing is, if Sanji asked for help from an opponent that he actually cannot beat because he is simply too weak, people would start questioning his strength and place in the monster trio, so it had to be a woman where everyone knows that she's weaker than him.

Scrunor

Ah! Okay! I get you. Sorry I’ve been dealing with like 100 people saying the same things over and over so at this point im copy and pasting to just get through 🥲

Animaechan

I can't argue with you if I agree with you. The idea of Sanji is great. The execution of Sanji is sometimes ... well ... at best confusing, at worst, infuriating. In all your rants, I couldn't find a thing to disagree with, so yeah, thx for the reply, just posting my thoughts, no ill will. Have a great day !

Alin Andrei

sigh. I don't know how many more time I have to type this... nevermind, i'll just copy and paste. I don't want to argue about his ideals and whether or not he "should have them" (please read my post thoroughly if you're going to reply). My question is, was this really the only way Oda can show "look Sanji is asking for help?". It feels overdone, is there no more to his character than "ahhh girls drool i can't fight girls". If this wasn't a shonen where the good guys always win, Robin could've died in this fight. No matter if Sanji "believed in her", bad guys cheat and do horrible things to win and Robin (from my view of the episode) almost didn't make it. But she was willing to "sacrifice her humanity" to win this fight to protect the people she loved. Couldn't Sanji show in some other way he has grown rather than "oh no help robin please fight the spider girl for me"?? I know there is more to his character so I just wish Oda would show that outside of Sanji's own arc.

Animaechan

I've been watching all your Sanji rants with much interest, in awe of your passion and I feel like I want to give my opinion on it. My view of Sanji and his whole character can be summed up to "Moral code through self restriction". As in he does not use his hands when fighting to keep them safe for cooking, he will feed anyone who is starving (even an enemy) and he will not hit a woman. All these are self imposed rules which makes him weak and I think it's a great character attribute in a story. Yes, his chivalry is a weakness that has been shown time and time again to work against him, to weaken and belittle him, and put his friends in danger, but so is Ussop's fear, Luffy's stuborness, and I think that is the main point Oda is trying to make: Holding onto your core values and beliefes is also a strenght. I don't have to agree with Sanji (I dont on the hitting women part) to admire his dedication to himself. "Sanji should just suck it up, and fight anyone". No he should not. Ussop couldn't beat wofl guy and Sanji had to come and save him. Ussop had phisical weakness and Sanji is weak because of the person he chose to be. He's a weak, emotional, flawed glass cannon, and expecting him to just fight anyone means not understanding him as a character. In conclusion, Love your reactions and especially your Sanji rants, please keep them up ! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. I'll see you guys next time.

Alin Andrei

I’ve also wondered what would happen to Sanji if Nami or Robin died due to his weakness. You probably saw this already but I’ll leave this here just in case. Because I think it’s interesting to read Oda’s own thoughts of sanji weakness SBS Vol 50 Question: “Sanji says "I was raised to never kick a woman." Would that have been a lesson from Zeff the Chef? Would that mean Zeff is very soft on women, as well? Tell me.” Oda’s answer: “This is a good question, so I'll answer it. When I drew Sanji vs Kalifa (Chapter 403), some people lauded Sanji's stance, and some people felt sorry for him. The truth is, I didn't really want to write those lines. Sanji doesn't have a "policy" of not kicking women; the truth is that he actually CAN'T kick them. He is a very proud man. I think he was really frustrated at that. think Nami recognized that, and chose to praise him for once. It's a scene that I hope will resonate with male readers, but everyone's free to take it as they wish. Also, Zeff is just a man among men.”

JoyBoy

If this was a show like AOT, and believing in your friends is not always enough... if Robin died in this fight... How would Sanji have felt that he was the one who called her there instead of fighting Maria, when he is clearly much stronger than her? I guess he could just say "at least I didn't hit a woman" and go on with his life. But thankfully, this is a shonen so our MCs will always win. The same wasn't true for Ace. Luffy literally was not strong enough to save his brother, and it broke him... but it's not like Luffy didn't try to fight. Sanji didn't try... But my main issue (as I was explaining in the video) isn't anymore about this ideals stuff. I'm so tired of hearing the same thing over and over haha we get it, Zeff made a rule (very glad I didn't follow all my dad's rules, otherwise I wouldn't be making YouTube videos right now). My main issue was actually just that I think Oda could do something else with Sanji's character by now... Luffy has been shown/said many times how he can't do everything by himself. Why is Sanji's character ALWAYS focused on women? is there nothing else that makes him interesting...? Robin sacrificed her humanity... and by comparison, he... fucked around with some hookers until he cried for help ^^' sorry to put it so crudely but it's 2am and I just want to go to bed. Oda is a genius, and I just wanted to share that I'd love to see him write an "asking for help" scene that didn't revolve around Sanji being the butt of the joke

Animaechan

yes I 100% agree with you. This was definently a weak moment for sanji which is sad considering how much I began to like him after WCI.

Ibzinho

this

Animaechan

I didn't like what Sanji did in Enies Lobby, but WCI was an amazing arc for him (I see that more now looking back) and I really believe he had grown thanks to that arc, I saw him in a new light. I didn't need him to change his beliefs, but MAN Oda really did him dirty with this fight imo ^^' Robin was willing to sacrifice her humanity to win this fight... thank fully she did! If this was not a shonen, but rather a show like AOT or CSM, believing in your friends is not always enough to win... if Robin didn't make it, I wonder how Sanji would have felt? But we'll never now that. Anyway, sorry, the main point of my whole discussion was not that I want Sanji to change or anything (I left that desire back in Enies Lobby). I just wish Oda could show me he can ask for help now without relying on the same old same old "I can't fight women" jokes (because for the most part at the start of this fight, it WAS a big joke how he found Maria and most of their interactions). Luffy has had many moments where he asks for help or makes it clear that he has to rely on his crew, because he can't do everything alone... Hell, he even lost his brother, not because he didn't try to fight, but because he wasn't strong enough at that time </3 Why couldn't Oda write something different for Sanji? It was a great moment for Robin ofc, but Sanji's character is often reduced to a joke... it was too much for me this time honestly. I thought after WCI he progressed a bit further than that, especially during a war. Whelp, this is a shonen so, there's always time for jokes and swapping opponents... I just wish the joke would be something new for a change XD

Animaechan

So by all of yous logic why should luffy be up there with kaido and not finish off ulti who later harmed nami?

Mufid Lassissi

........ ok

Javier Enrique

In fact he was literally looking for a brothel right at the beginning of the onigashima raid. Tells you all you need to know about Sanji.

Ibzinho

nothing wrong with him calling for help. His worst moment was getting caught stupidly like that in the first place. When luffy acts erratically he will still use his instincts and his haki to avoid getting trapped the way sanji did. But sanji was only thinking with his penis and thought he could save a woman in the middle of a war and then get laid without even considering it could be a trap or atleast scoping the place out. He is a huge asset to the samurai alliance but instead he turned himself into a liability. He was forced to call for help because he put himself in that situation.

Ibzinho

I’m confused what did sanji do that was pitiful this episode ? Or the rest of wano ? Call robin for help? And fight two yonko commanders ? I’m really confused tbh

Mufid Lassissi

I think the issue is more so that Sanji put himself in that position. If he was overwhelmed by an opponent and needed help then fair enough but he got caught because he was braindead and forgot he is in the middle of a war and then couldn't fight black maria because of his gag which stopped being funny 800 episodes ago.

Ibzinho

Sanji is just a pitiful character and he has been since post timeskip. I don't know why people try to defend him and put all his weakest moments down to "character growth". For me Sanji was amazing in WCI and he peaked as a character at the beginning of Wano when he said he would swallow his pride and use the raid suit to protect his friends. Since then he's gone downhill. Absolutely pitiful.

Ibzinho

Great Reaction :) and Chainsawman is shonen.

Bodango

Ah I’m sorry then, I misinterpreted what you meant. Well of course they knew they wouldn’t go through Enis lobby or Oningashima unscathed. trusting Robins strength still means putting Robin in harms way. In the ideal world Sanji would beat Black Maria in a couple of minutes and move on. But that wouldn’t make for an interesting story.

JoyBoy

I never accused you of not liking Sanji or saying that he's useless, I just said why I think he can't kick women and that it has a deeper root than just his own beliefs. Robin and Nami came to onigashima/enies lobby well aware of the danger they were facing. Nami made her own choice of fighting Kalifa and Robin was in an all out war already. Sanji simply trusted in her strength.

Scrunor

I wasn’t trying to say Sanji was useless or anything. Sanji is far more helpful then Robin and Nami from a strength stand point. I just like the contrast Oda did here with Robin and Sanji. But wasting time with Kalifa and forcing Nami to fight a trained assassin was a detriment to the overall crew. same with not fighting Black Maria. Even when Sanji defeats the 3rd strongest opponent that doesn’t erase the fact that Robin and Nami were badly injured. And I’m not saying that Sanji should just break his beliefs and fight women, because I actually like that about him it makes him more interesting of a character because he is the only straw hat that has to put his friends in harms way in order to stay true to himself. and FYI Sanji is one of my favourite characters.

JoyBoy

As far as sanji leaving Maria for Robin and saying he has no physical weakness against her. I see it as him having a mental weakness for women (he might be a bit slow 💀). And another thing is he might not be able to waste any energy on other foes since he's fighting Queen (as a typical annoying shonin trop), his bounty is higher than katakuri's after all. That's just how I see it at least. Though this could have been a pretty good opportunity for some character growth/change for Sanji.

Sanji coudn't bring himself to beat Kalifa and break his on beliefs, but he took the key from Jabura and defeated him so he did save Robin, and has he said to Usopp "I'll do what you can't. You go do what I can't." That's exactly what's happening here in Onigashima, Sanji can't defeat Black Maria but Robin can, and Sanji will probably defeat Queen while Robin would probably stand no chance against him. Also Sanji in Zou did not want to involve the staw hat with Big Mom by asking for help, while now after Whole Cake Island he has full trust in his nakama and did not hesitate to ask for help to Robin. The same goes for Robin who didn't trust the straw hat to help her against the CP9 in Water Seven, but after what happened in Enies Lobby, she realized she had nakama who would run to her rescue and protect her if needed. The character arc of Robin and Sanji are really similar, that's why Robin understand Sanji so well and thanks him for trusting her and asking for her help.

Sam JoyBoy

It's more than a belief I think. If Sanji were to kick a woman, Zeff would not forgive him. And he doesn't wanna live in a world where he can't look Zeff in the eye anymore. In the Sanji vs Kalifa fight, Sanji did try to kick her, but he stopped himself last second. So I guess it's like a "mental barrier". You try to do something, but you always stop yourself from doing it (if that makes sense). That's what I like to think at least.

Scrunor

tbh i'm glad sanji didn't fight Black Maria i really wanted a good Robin fight for the longest time

Nosoyunbot90

I get your frustation for sanji and his trope. Buut i thing this time sanji calling for help was more of a serious and character focus moment rather than a simple joke. His moment is often compered with this fight with kalifa but in that case she just beat him without calling for help. After Whole cake he learned that he should not shoulder everything (even his weakness) and him calling robin for help is also compared to robin in ennies lobby calling the straw hats for help (thats why she was happy that he called for her help). So i think oda wanted to make a serious scene and for what ever reason everyone thinks it was a joke 😒

Fotis Fragoulis

I do think it’s very ironic that the same person Sanji couldn’t save because he couldn’t break his own beliefs, is the same person that has to now save Sanji because he couldn’t break his own beliefs.

JoyBoy