Download One Piece Real Life Movie
Selene Bulger
For all of its over the top characterization and action-filled narrative, it's easy to think one piece is not a realistic work of fiction. Yes we know locations and character's have real world inspirations most of the time, especially thanks to a certain librarian we all know, but that's not all.
When you look at the overarching themes of many of the story arcs; almost in every instance, powers and ideas that our protagonists fight against either have a real world counterpart, or heavily affected by the real world occurrences of oppression happened in the last 3 centuries of the world. Ranging from the peak of the piracy around 18th century; to our current age.
I think it all starts with main antagonist of the series being such reality based entities. Celestial dragons, ruling oligarchs of the world, influencing governments throughout the world and united nations are pretty much what's also happening in our world. The 2 other main antagonists of the series are direct result of them. Namely, Blackbeard is a machiavellian reaction against them, while Akainu is a lawful blind loyalist for them.
But almost every arc focuses on something more specific type of injustice in the world. I think it really starts with them entering into the grand line. I noticed a trend while watching the series second time starting from drum kingdom.
It puts the real life situation on its head by putting the native's (shandora) land directly inside skypiea in result of natural disaster and creating the confrontation that way, but culture clash between native americans and european civilizations is there in the story and they are treated as immigrants in their own land.
Vicious cycle based nature of xenophobia and racism, and the consequences of growing up in culture of hatred. Parallels of fisher tiger and malcolm X, otohime and MLK is there as the 2 types of fighting against racism. It even goes so far to label as celestial dragons as slave owners, reinforcing the real world parallel for the most well documented real world occurrence of racism.
On the other hand, Germa 66 represents fascism (Germa(ny) 66 -> 88). A country also controlled absolutely by the ruling party but unlike the chaos of Tottoland, Germa 66 is about order. A country where the first (and only) priority is the nation itself. Where citizens are just meant to be lawful, loyal and industrious pawns so patriotic that would give their life for their country without hesitation. It's a wealthy country because they do produce something of value (mercenaries in this case) though the wealth does not belong to the citizens because they don't get to benefit from their labor.
Lastly I'd like to talk about our secondary protagonists; revolutionaries. I really really like the fact about one piece that, main goal is not saving the world from a super villain that would destroy the world *cough*thanos*cough*.
The 5 elders bowing to Imu as the one sovereign. The 5 elders are monarchs in their own rights and have decision making powers but defer to the Imu ultimately. Which seems to depict governements in reality. Governements are considered "equal" but really in reality some countries are seemingly swayed by a power and do the bidding of a certain nation.
Many of One Piece's characters have appearances based on real pop culture icons, but few of these inspirations are as surprising as the likely basis for the villain Enel. This shows that mangaka Eiichiro Oda is truly drawing inspiration from all parts of the world and all corners of pop culture. It also may cause some fans to view Enel much differently from how he appeared in Skypiea.
Enel was the narcissistic tyrant who ruled over the Sky Islands in the Skypiea arc. With his Rumble-Rumble Devil Fruit, he could control lightning and transform himself into it as well, making him nearly invincible. Luffy's powers provided the first real threat that he faced during his time ruling, as rubber is an insulator and thus has a natural advantage against electricity. His previous untouchability just fueled his god complex, causing him to rule over the sky islanders as a deity, brutally silencing any dissent. His appearance reflects this, as he wears the drums and long ears associated with various gods and deities. However, in addition to mythological influences, his appearance was likely also inspired by a surprising American musician.
Oda once said in an interview that he is a fan of Eminem. Given Skypiea was being written in the early 2000s, around the time when Eminem was at his most popular, this makes it possible that Enel was based on the rapper. Comparing Enel and Eminem side by side, it is clear to see the visual similarities between the two figures, making this extremely likely. This would also help gel with Enel's personality, as his narcissism could be tied to Eminem's braggadocious persona. It could have even inspired Enel's defeat, as the way Luffy beats the false god is with a musical object, just like the only way to defeat Eminem in real life would be through a rap battle.
If you didn't know, Japan houses a real-life version of the Thousand Sunny. The 1:1 scale model can be found in Nagaski upon the western island of Kyushu. The prefecture hosts a special theme part called Huis Ten Bosch, and it is there that One Piece fans can visit the Straw Hat crew's actual ship.
While the theme park does rotate the Thousand Sunny around its schedule, fans can experience a true One Piece adventure when the boat is open. Cruises are offered on the ship on special occasions, and stage shows based on One Piece also call the boat home. Once you enter the attraction, fans will find a gift shop along with the Straw Hat pirates themselves. Tony Tony Chopper, Usopp, Sanji, Nami, Robin, Zoro, Franky, Luffy, and Brook all have life-sized models on the ship.
If you are not familiar with the Thousand Sunny, then you should know the ship is not the first one Luffy had under his command. The Straw Hat pirates originally set sail on the Going Merry, but the ship was ultimately given a burial at sea after it sustained too much damage. After the ship was laid to rest, Franky decided to realize his lifelong dream of building a ship, and the Thousand Sunny was the result of the shipwright's hard work.
While some fans may be unaware of it, to create some of One Piece's most fascinating settings the author drew inspiration from real-life places. There are multiple threads and articles that show the cities and historical sites from all over the globe that have helped Eiichiro Oda shape his fantastic fictional world.
Even the masks used by Water Seven's citizens resemble the ones employed in the traditional Carnevale di Venezia. Eiichiro Oda confirmed in a SBS that Water Seven is inspired from Venezia, and that the fictional phenomenon called "Aqua Laguna" is based on its real-life counterpart, the "Acqua Alta".
Focused on samurai and ninjas, the main setting of the Wano Arc could only be a tribute to the historical Japanese folklore. It can be said that the Wano Country is a metaphor for real-life Japan, which started as an agricultural nation and eventually grew into an industrialized country.
One Piece's incredible worldbuilding is one of the absolute best among all fictional stories. Among the other real-life locations that the author took inspiration from to create the setting for his story is the Indonesian island of Java, which may have influenced the creation of Jaya.
Anne Bonny was only ever on the lookout for one person: herself. One of two female members in Calico Jack's pirate crew (and I personally find Mary Read's story much more fascinating), Jack was the second pirate Anne ran off with after she left her father's Carolina plantation, where she reputedly threatened to kill a servant with a case-knife. Like Jewelry, Anne did have firm ideas about what the pirating life was supposed to be, and she and Mary Read were the only two crew members to try and fight off the Navy when their ship was taken. In fact, Anne is reported to have fired below decks when no one turned up to help the women fight. Popular lore has assigned her an impressive sexual appetite, which is possibly the reason for Jewelry's insatiable hunger for pizza and other food items, but as a woman who ran off with two men, that seems more like an 18th century smear campaign to me, because no good woman would have sex with multiple partners or become a pirate.
On the flip side of the Bellamys is Bartholomew KUMA, named in reference to Bartholomew Roberts, a much more mysterious (and less benevolent) real-life pirate. In One Piece, KUMA is a giant of a man who, despite his checkered past, seems to adhere to a fairly strict moral code and even asks his victims where they'd like to go before he sends them away with his power. Bartholomew Roberts, on the other hand, was cold and calculating, never hesitating to take on a ship with superior firepower, leading to an impressive record of over 400 ships plundered.
I write about TV shows like House Of The Dragon, The Witcher, The Rings Of Power, Stranger Things, Yellowjackets, Severance and many others. I also cover movies, video games, comic books and novels, largely in the fantasy, science-fiction, horror and superhero genres. Some of my favorite video games to play and write about include Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Call Of Duty, XCOM, Mass Effect, Titanfall, The Witcher and many other action, RPG and shooter games. My favorite films include Braveheart, Tropic Thunder, Arsenic and Old Lace, Schindler's List and far too many others to list here. I often discuss the \"pop culture wars\" and how shifting cultural values impact our art and entertainment. I prefer deep conversations and debate to shouting matches, and welcome readers from all walks of life and all religious and political backgrounds to join in this conversation. Thanks for reading!
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