We all enjoy a good theory video but I feel like the OP community is missing a lot of analytical videos like this, talking about character motivations and how the context of the story as it is now, shapes the story as it was then. Also, tackling baseless rumors is always a positive for the community, great video.
@@titan_0608 I have, I do not like Ohara's content, far too clickbaity and not nearly enough depth. GLR has personally been a dick to me because I ratio'd him for being really rude to the anime staff.
Something I find funny about the suicide rumor relating to Kuina is that it’s actively doing what Zoro’s trying to do: Give Kuina’s death meaning. Give the loss of her life any reason beyond a chance accident. That’s what people who are grieving often do.
"He's cold, sharp, and unwavering, not unlike a sword itself" Hidden was secretly conspiring with Parvision before this video cause that was definitely subliminal messaging for "Mihawk Is a Sword"
I feel stupid for not realizing the third sword represents Zoro carrying Kuina’s dream with him. So she is fully a part of his accomplishment as the greatest swordman.
I also think this is why he carries that one in his mouth, it has a lesser chance of being broken or "killed"... Sort of an undertone of " I will protect tis blad/dream from death as much as I can"... this is also based off the Mihawk fight,
Watching this video and seeing how Zoro is fighting against Death itself just made me think back to that Kratos line that fits Zoro shockingly well. "Death can have me when it earns me"
Kuina dies from accident actually hits harder than some mighr think. It goes to show that death DO comes in potentially any way possible, whether you like it or not
Maybe in a story where death is a common occurance throughout the story. Having such a random, acciddent death like that, in a story where people survie the most bullshit stuff ever, isn't effective in teh way you're saying it is lol
@@WuMyth i mean One Piece is pretty brutal even at earlier chapters (for typical shonen standard at least imo). From Lucky Roux shoots someone on the head, Shanks's visible bloody arm, Zoro get cruxified, Buggy and his cannons. Even after Kuina's death we got that slow 'execution' by Mr.3's wax covering and even before that there's the horrifying town where SH ambushed by Baroque Works at night (the cactus mountain with hundreds of tombs as it's needles still terrifies me). So this one time where death is swift and quick and seemingly out of nowhere does fits imo
@@ShatteredGlass916 'this one time' all your examples featured no named character deaths lol. your examples were slightly brutal moments. But nothing to do with the point
@@WuMythIt is effective, the people that survive "bullshit" are insanely strong, but even strong people like Ace can die in an instant. Strong people care about weak people and either can have it all end just like that.
Great video! However, one correction, since you never mentioned this in the video: Zoro has also been revealed in a recent SBS to be from the Shimotsuki clan, which means Kuina and Kozaburo were his relatives, as well as Ryuma his ancestor, which is the reason Zoro looks like him.
Epic video, not many people analyze Zoro in this way. I think his defeat of King using Enma was extremely significant and I really appreciate you expanding on the connection to Kuina!
Really glad to see an analysis on this fight not just through the lens of Zoro fighting another right hand, but through the realization that THIS might be the real start to his journey, to make his name reach the heavens. Thank you for another wonderful video Hidden, keep on being amazing.
I think as the years ago on and people get more and more one piece under their belt, fans can slowly shift from appreciating what’s there to wishing their head canons came true. Makes sense, as you know the story better you have ideas that you really get attached to and when Oda goes another way it’s kinda like “dude, why didn’t you…” and people forget to let him cook. Good to learn to appreciate what’s there sometimes
It's why the spoiler fandom is so toxic and influences the actual fandom. Their personal expectations where things are going based on trying to be the first to predict shit. I've personally predicted a handful of things that I've never seen ppl talk about, or before others, but I don't sound off about it. There is also a very hungry and corny community of content creators desperately scraping vids together to stay afloat with an audience, but the truth is, if you actually know the story well and listen to oda, you don't need to make five shitty clickbait theory videos based off cringey fan translations. Idc if oda is the richest man in the world, he's a good person and incredible artist and storyteller, and you support good artists and people, because they'll do better and better things
I understand why people might think those theories about Kuina not being dead, or how she killed herself or how her father did so, but her sudden accidental death is way more impactful than any of those dramatic twists ever could achieve. I hope Oda doesn't pull something like that and leaves Kuina dead, not because I wouldn't like her to be, but rather, as you explained, because it is his main motivation.
Another solid video. I'm a huge Zoro fan and putting more depth and context with his relationship with death and how that has taken someone so close to him and he keeps on over coming death time and time again makes sense. We lowkey see it at Baratie after Mihawk cut him down, Thriller Bark with Kuma and now against King and the Grim reaper itself.
I really enjoyed the King fight. There were elements that I think could have been handled better, but I enjoyed how it captured a lot of of the defining traits that make Zoro compelling
@@TyRendition There are a handful of moments that I wish had been paced better or given more attention. Additionally, King’s weakness of having his durability drop when his flame goes out felt tacked on imo. It wasn’t introduced well, and just came off as a really contrived point that Oda included so that Zoro wouldn’t immediately one-shot him with advanced Conquerors haki.
@@user-up1op3kz9q that's fair as I do think it was a bit sudden that Zoro found out his weakness after getting beaten for chapters. I do think we will find out how to achieve the lunarian weakness in the most recent arc because I don't think it made sense that king would switch off his best defense after Zoro got a power up.
@@TyRenditionIt doesn‘t make sense indeed, it was just Oda‘s way to let Zoro win. Nothing short of an asspull, especially given the fact that Zoro was losing all the time before King took off his mask. I don‘t like the fight as it also lacks connections between those two participants.
Your video really changed my outlook on what's important for this match up. Oda really did deliver, as did you. The entire vid had such a pleasant and sentimental vibe.
Absolutely amazing video my man. As a huge Zoro stan this video is exactly what I wanted since the end of Wano and I feel like you put literally all of my feelings into words. Very well put together and I am looking forward to seeing your future videos!
I started One Piece in Japan when the Alabasta arc was the most recent. I didn't hear about the suicide nonsense until I came back to America years later... Boggles my mind how that false rumor got spread... 🤔
the best quote here comes from Sanji who was not even involved in fight with king. someone says king a Lunarian, he is a god and he can't be defeated and Sanji asks how did they went extinct then
This is why I can’t go on any One Piece sub Reddit anymore. It’s just full of people bitching and complaining about whatever they can find for the smallest reason. Literally anything Oda does they’ll find a reason to hate and bitch about. They don’t take any time to think about the story at a deeper level rather than the surface
I really think more people will come around on Wano once some time (and arcs) has passed, and they reread it. The same exact thing happened with Whole Cake.
And Dressrosa. And Enies Lobby. And Skypiea. Week to week is just a worse experience. I caught up basically just before Gear 5 and I had a blast with Wano.
I believe kuina was sick the whole time. Something like childhood leukemia or another cancer a doctor wouldn't have been able to detect without more modern medical equipment. I think Zoro's teacher/kuina's dad was trying to save Zoro's feelings.
This makes even less sense than the idiotic suicide theory. If she had been that sick, she would not have gone from being well enough to fight Zoro with swords to being dead and gone the next day. I mean, do you know ANYTHING about wasting diseases like cancer at all? Leukemia doesn't take you overnight, and if you're going through life with a cancer like that going untreated because doctors haven't detected it, EVERYONE around you is going to know exactly how sick you are, most especially the boys and girls who live and train with you on a daily basis. Come the hell on, this is just a stupid take to suggest that Kuina was somehow training just as hard as Zoro and the other kids at the dojo, on a daily basis, while leukemia or some other cancer was raging through her body. She would've been too sick to train, let alone get into real duels with Zoro, and there is no way in hell he would have not known she was sick. The idea that Kuina's father was somehow trying to spare Zoro's feelings like this is even more idiotic. Never mind the fact that nothing in the One Piece universe suggests that they don't have the medical technology to detect cancer.
10:53 this is a great video. This part of the video is right where you tie it all together and i found myself pacing around my apartment while watching this
Amazing music choices! Adds a whole layer of immersion with the mood you’re trying to convey. And it’s never your typical boring NCS music! 😂 May go unnoticed by some but not all! Great video man 👍
I used to be indifferent to Kuina being secretly alive/Tashigi but now I really hope that's not the case this was some phenomenal analysis on the greater themes of Zoro's arc, the King part also puts a lot into perspective, the part about a lot of Zoro's opponents having insecurities is really interesting.
Wow... okay... woah... I've been binging a lot of videos from your channel, but this one definitely takes the cake. THIS CHANGES THE WAY I LOOK AT ZORO'S CHARACTER ALMOST COMPLETELY LIKE HOLY SHIT. So, thank you! ❤
W video. Like and subscribe to this man One thing that stood out to me was when you brought up how Kuina has no villain to hate for her death. It's such a unique thing that we really don't get in one piece often. Sometimes we don't know who to blame, sometimes there's multiple people to blame, but in this very unique scenario we have nobody to blame. Except maybe "death" himself, which is basically who Zoro is trying to be - which is goat storytelling.
You're forgetting a key element. Kuina died THE VERY NEXT DAY after their duel. And the entire reason she went downstairs in the first place was to get a whetting knife to sharpen her sword. The implication here is that she would not have needed to sharpen it had Zoro not challenged her to a duel. So the subtext is that he bears causal responsibility for her death, even though he didn't actually, you know, push her down. Not once does the anime or manga ever hint that Zoro consciously feels this blame, but it adds a particular dimension to how senseless, random, and unfair death actually can be - and it adds an extra layer of meaning to why he is so particularly obsessed with the idea that the only way he can fulfill HER dream is by fulfilling his own. This kind of death brings with it the ultimate unanswerable "what if" question that can drive a person mad with guilt and grief. I think the key takeaway here is not so much that Zoro is attemping to BE death, so much as that he is driven by the belief that if he is only strong enough and capable enough, he can ultimately prevent anyone he loves from ever dying again. After all, it's clear that he regards himself as the protector of the Straw Hat crew, and never do we EVER see him push himself harder than after a fight that he nearly lost. (Kuma, et. al). You see this most clearly when he is weight training following that battle, where he says "I won't be powerless again! I won't be weak! I won't fail my crew!"
Of all the one piece theorists I appreciate your take on everything. The way you think takes into account the ART of story telling and the specific way Oda creates his art. This is a great take on the death scene of Zoro after fighting King.
Just subbed this morning your tunes and bar scene and voice and asthetic are all truly genius level. Keep going and stay strong my brother you are truly a gem. You will become big. I saw your community post and low and behold here's the zero video. Plz never give up. Peace and love my friend
Definitely agree, since thematically “king of Death” for Zoro goes very well with Luffy. Luffy will be Future Pirate King. Which will make him King of Seas. The sea is source of life. So Luffy will become King of Life by extension. Which also fits Sun God df. Zoro will represent the other side as king of death. Very similar to dynamic between Pirate King Roger and “Dark” King Rayleigh.
Knocked it out of the park again man. One question: if it was revealed Kuina was alive in some capacity, how much do you think that would change things? Would it lessen the themes and emotional impact of Zoro's arc for you? Personally I guess it just depends on how it's done.
Like you said, it depends on how it's done - but I think it would negatively impact the story overall. Oda already has enough problems killing characters in the present, I'd prefer if he leaves the ones in flashbacks alone hahaha. Saul was alright but if everyone starts resurrecting, especially in this case, it'll hurt the story imo.
@@TheHiddenIsland- imagine if Tashigi is a failed Kuina clone. Not because WG wants Kuina per se, but they want her bloodline, they want Shimozuki bloodline's clone. But ofc she's deemed inferior, not that it's a 100% failure but just 'failure' enough to be easily discarded (maybe she's too compasionate or not easily controlled, etc). But they don't wanna waste it, so she just placed as a marine under Smoker
The fact that a girl like tashigi that looks just like kuina and its also an obssesed swordswoman exists its already like if kuina didn't die at all so bringing back kuina would be bad AND redundant imo.
In a recent sbs oda goes into Zoro's lineage and stated that some samurai settled to form his village, but not all settled there, so some samurai were still travelling in the east blue and potentially had kids that would be related to Kuina and Zoro
what mind blowing is that mehawk while fighting zoro, in couple of seconds he suddenly asked zoro - "what burden do you bare on your shoulder?" even in the castle during time skip when zoro asked mehawk to become his teacher mehawk immediately said "perhaps your priorities have changed" mehawk also said some solid thing about luffy's character during Marnie ford too. i wont be surprised if mehawk stands with luffy and zoro during the final war. freaking clairvoyance
What is also quite fitting is that it said that Enma slowly drains away your Haki until you die, making its name Enma, after the Buddhist manifestation of death even more apt, as Zoro is using a weapon that slowly kills him, yet he doesn't care and uses it away.
I love deep dives into characters like this one! Another great detail I heard, which I believe was in the Zoro analysis by Totally Not Mark is this. Since Zoro could never beat Kuina, once he becomes the greatest swordsman, she will remain the only one who he wasn't able to beat. So by becoming stronger than anyone else, she will remain the only swordsman who could defeat him, therefore making Kuina the greatest. It is a take on him carrying her dream with him that I really liked, I don't know if that is Oda's intention, but it is a point of view that works and gave me feels.
Wow this is a really good analysis. I didn't realise the symbolism behind the etymology of Enma. I did however know the allusions to Hell and Demons involving Zoro. I can't also wait to see if there's anything to do with Zoro''s closed eye.
The only thing involving stairs and death is here form South Africa, where in some cultures it's considered a fool's death, stemming from a governor/government official (I can't recall the exact position) that got drunk and wanted to ride his horse on the second floor of his house and to get the horse on the second floor tried to ride the horse up the stairs, horse threw him off/horse slipped and fell (depends on retelling) and the man died, this is from the 1700's as I recall beyond that I don't know.
Also a really good point to add is now all three of Zoro's blades has some sort of cursed energy/symbolization of death. Enma and Kitetsu as mentioned within the video but even Kuina's Wado Ichimonji although it's not literally cursed, but the notion that she died in a freak accident by falling down the stairs, if that isn't a cursed/unlucky death then idk what is 😂
So Kuina's dad wore glasses and Tashigi, who is a spitting image of Kuina, has to wear glasses. So maybe that Wano lineage has eye problems they werent aware of before she took her tumble
Dope video, also kinda got me thinking if zoro would actually fight mihawk in the end as oda loves parallels, just like kuina dying before zoro could beat her maybe mihawk would too somewhat keeping the theme of death being zoros true enemy taking away what he truly wants
I always believed Kuina ki**ed herself not because of this "falling down the stais" eufemism, actually fist time seeing this, but because of 2 sentences during the flashback. 1 "She was sharpening her sword" meaning she had her sword in her hands when she died. I never took her death cause to be "broken neck" or sum, but she fell on her sword (seppuku) 2 During her funeral one of the adults says "You never know what's going on another person mind". That's something you say when someone takes a decision you don't understand.
Beautiful video bro, thank you for contextualising the Zoro vs. King fight. During my first read I couldn’t figure out how this fight furthers Zoro’s path to becoming the no. 1 swordsman other than using Conqueror’s Haki. But this video fully explains it 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great breakdown, finally getting to put all the pieces together and it makes sense. His friend lives on through the blades of her ancestors. King was such a dope character and strong. My only issue is the new graphics for fight scenes makes it harder to see whats going on
I wasn’t sure how I felt about king up until the recent anime episodes that came out. Man, this guy is badass and scary. I like him a lot more animated.
I think this my be One of the best analysis of Zoro Characters. I don't know if you see Puss in Boots 2 , but I see parallels, both have a strange relationship with death, which is represented as a shadow (Wolf) that chases them. And in my opinion it is no coincidence that Mihawk, Zoro's target, was presented in a coffin, dressed in black with a long sword that resembles a scythe. 😉
3:24 Ive always viewed Zoro as having nappy-like hair during the beginning of One Piece 😂 this retcon design of kid Zoro kinda backs that theory up some more.
What people tend to hate is how zoro gets nerfed just about every arc, but that’s honestly one of the reasons I love him so much. Like the fact that zoro in comparison to other crews is near luffy in strength is insane. And the fact as well that it’s said that the only one to rival joyboy in strength was the god of blades, Ryuma.
Could you give some examples of Zoro getting nerfed? I can only think of Arlong Park and Sabaody when Zoro was injured, but I’ve never seen anyone complain about it.
I always thought she was killed by her father I don’t think it was hinted at or anything I just felt like it fit for her father to be so obsessed with training the best that he killed his own daughter in order to motivate Zoro he was too much into the old ways to trust his daughter to be the best so he sacrificed her.
A sudden, unbelievable death like falling down the stairs is the perfect thing to urge a child to commit to a goal their whole life. People trash on this backstory, but it is one of the best
I never encountered the Kuina suicide rumour until now. I always presumed she'd been murdered, though a second watch through threw my reasons out of the basket. I thought her father was way more antagonistic towards her which a second viewing really undermined.
kuina's death is open to interpretation , but no matter how you spun it. it taught zoro that unexpected things can happen anytime and harsh reality of death superceeding dreams , expectations etc ( his buddhist beliefs likely stem from that) , kuina gave her a goal to surpass but with her dying he shares both thier dreams , the wado being symbolic of it kiinda like sanji who shares his dream with zeff's job i think the flashback explains zoro well , he's a minimalist character who keeps all to himself
people who think Kuina's death was her, taking her own life, discredits the fact that Down D. Stairs was a D. i think there's a lot going on here with that fact.
Honestly interesting analysis. The most important point we should take from this is that we should criticize (not slander) more because only by doing that did you come to your conclusions and understood the ideas of Oda.
Nice analysis, I never thought of this fight that way and in this way, the flashback now actually is not out of left field and completely gratuitous Still, I would have liked if Oda spent more time on this fight in the actual manga to make it more clear and impactful (he could easily have saved time elsewhere, notably by removing some of the unnecessary post Rooftop Scabbard scenes, if they were wasted on the ground after their defeat against Kaido and didn't do much of anything for the rest of the raid instead of galloping around doing insignificant tertiary work, then he would have had more than enough time to flesh out the rest, and also, if Carrot were the one to defeat Perospero it would have been more satisfying imo, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi could still have gotten up and gotten their revenge on Jack though, 100% cool with that idea)
We all enjoy a good theory video but I feel like the OP community is missing a lot of analytical videos like this, talking about character motivations and how the context of the story as it is now, shapes the story as it was then. Also, tackling baseless rumors is always a positive for the community, great video.
Have you watched 'Ohara' or 'grand line review '
I'd recommend vids from MelonTee, she's been putting out a lot of one piece content that fits this description.
Well it’s one piece and with Oda any analysis will go down the drain but make even more sense then the most common of theories
@@titan_0608 I have, I do not like Ohara's content, far too clickbaity and not nearly enough depth. GLR has personally been a dick to me because I ratio'd him for being really rude to the anime staff.
@@garretth4225 gonna check her out, actually a name i haven't heard of yet 👍
Something I find funny about the suicide rumor relating to Kuina is that it’s actively doing what Zoro’s trying to do: Give Kuina’s death meaning. Give the loss of her life any reason beyond a chance accident. That’s what people who are grieving often do.
"He's cold, sharp, and unwavering, not unlike a sword itself"
Hidden was secretly conspiring with Parvision before this video cause that was definitely subliminal messaging for "Mihawk Is a Sword"
I feel stupid for not realizing the third sword represents Zoro carrying Kuina’s dream with him. So she is fully a part of his accomplishment as the greatest swordman.
That's one of my favorite parts about the Wado, such a cool bit of symbolism!
@@TheHiddenIsland- great video by the way!
I feel even more stupid for not even realizing which sword was always in his mouth lmao
I also think this is why he carries that one in his mouth, it has a lesser chance of being broken or "killed"... Sort of an undertone of " I will protect tis blad/dream from death as much as I can"... this is also based off the Mihawk fight,
doesn't he start using 3 swords long before Kuina's death? Like, at the very beginning of his training at the dojo?
Watching this video and seeing how Zoro is fighting against Death itself just made me think back to that Kratos line that fits Zoro shockingly well. "Death can have me when it earns me"
Kuina dies from accident actually hits harder than some mighr think. It goes to show that death DO comes in potentially any way possible, whether you like it or not
One of the best videos I’ve seen in a very long time. Definitely opened up my eyes a bit more
Maybe in a story where death is a common occurance throughout the story. Having such a random, acciddent death like that, in a story where people survie the most bullshit stuff ever, isn't effective in teh way you're saying it is lol
@@WuMyth i mean One Piece is pretty brutal even at earlier chapters (for typical shonen standard at least imo). From Lucky Roux shoots someone on the head, Shanks's visible bloody arm, Zoro get cruxified, Buggy and his cannons. Even after Kuina's death we got that slow 'execution' by Mr.3's wax covering and even before that there's the horrifying town where SH ambushed by Baroque Works at night (the cactus mountain with hundreds of tombs as it's needles still terrifies me).
So this one time where death is swift and quick and seemingly out of nowhere does fits imo
@@ShatteredGlass916 'this one time' all your examples featured no named character deaths lol. your examples were slightly brutal moments. But nothing to do with the point
@@WuMythIt is effective, the people that survive "bullshit" are insanely strong, but even strong people like Ace can die in an instant. Strong people care about weak people and either can have it all end just like that.
Great video! However, one correction, since you never mentioned this in the video: Zoro has also been revealed in a recent SBS to be from the Shimotsuki clan, which means Kuina and Kozaburo were his relatives, as well as Ryuma his ancestor, which is the reason Zoro looks like him.
Epic video, not many people analyze Zoro in this way. I think his defeat of King using Enma was extremely significant and I really appreciate you expanding on the connection to Kuina!
Really glad to see an analysis on this fight not just through the lens of Zoro fighting another right hand, but through the realization that THIS might be the real start to his journey, to make his name reach the heavens. Thank you for another wonderful video Hidden, keep on being amazing.
I think as the years ago on and people get more and more one piece under their belt, fans can slowly shift from appreciating what’s there to wishing their head canons came true. Makes sense, as you know the story better you have ideas that you really get attached to and when Oda goes another way it’s kinda like “dude, why didn’t you…” and people forget to let him cook. Good to learn to appreciate what’s there sometimes
It's why the spoiler fandom is so toxic and influences the actual fandom. Their personal expectations where things are going based on trying to be the first to predict shit. I've personally predicted a handful of things that I've never seen ppl talk about, or before others, but I don't sound off about it. There is also a very hungry and corny community of content creators desperately scraping vids together to stay afloat with an audience, but the truth is, if you actually know the story well and listen to oda, you don't need to make five shitty clickbait theory videos based off cringey fan translations.
Idc if oda is the richest man in the world, he's a good person and incredible artist and storyteller, and you support good artists and people, because they'll do better and better things
This was an awesome One Piece analysis man. Really makes me appreciate Zoro vs King alot more 😊
I understand why people might think those theories about Kuina not being dead, or how she killed herself or how her father did so, but her sudden accidental death is way more impactful than any of those dramatic twists ever could achieve. I hope Oda doesn't pull something like that and leaves Kuina dead, not because I wouldn't like her to be, but rather, as you explained, because it is his main motivation.
Same with me, its more impactful that way and i want it to differ than most other characters death from One Piece and other anime as well
Another solid video. I'm a huge Zoro fan and putting more depth and context with his relationship with death and how that has taken someone so close to him and he keeps on over coming death time and time again makes sense.
We lowkey see it at Baratie after Mihawk cut him down, Thriller Bark with Kuma and now against King and the Grim reaper itself.
I really enjoyed the King fight. There were elements that I think could have been handled better, but I enjoyed how it captured a lot of of the defining traits that make Zoro compelling
What are the things you couldve thought been handled better.
@@TyRendition There are a handful of moments that I wish had been paced better or given more attention. Additionally, King’s weakness of having his durability drop when his flame goes out felt tacked on imo. It wasn’t introduced well, and just came off as a really contrived point that Oda included so that Zoro wouldn’t immediately one-shot him with advanced Conquerors haki.
@@user-up1op3kz9q that's fair as I do think it was a bit sudden that Zoro found out his weakness after getting beaten for chapters. I do think we will find out how to achieve the lunarian weakness in the most recent arc because I don't think it made sense that king would switch off his best defense after Zoro got a power up.
@@TyRenditionIt doesn‘t make sense indeed, it was just Oda‘s way to let Zoro win. Nothing short of an asspull, especially given the fact that Zoro was losing all the time before King took off his mask. I don‘t like the fight as it also lacks connections between those two participants.
Your video really changed my outlook on what's important for this match up. Oda really did deliver, as did you. The entire vid had such a pleasant and sentimental vibe.
Absolutely amazing video my man. As a huge Zoro stan this video is exactly what I wanted since the end of Wano and I feel like you put literally all of my feelings into words. Very well put together and I am looking forward to seeing your future videos!
I started One Piece in Japan when the Alabasta arc was the most recent.
I didn't hear about the suicide nonsense until I came back to America years later...
Boggles my mind how that false rumor got spread...
🤔
It boggles mine that it persisted for so long.
Kuinas death is an eye opener really, It's so different and felt really underwhelming at the time yet nowadays I appreciate its lesson.
the best quote here comes from Sanji who was not even involved in fight with king. someone says king a Lunarian, he is a god and he can't be defeated and Sanji asks how did they went extinct then
This is why I can’t go on any One Piece sub Reddit anymore. It’s just full of people bitching and complaining about whatever they can find for the smallest reason. Literally anything Oda does they’ll find a reason to hate and bitch about. They don’t take any time to think about the story at a deeper level rather than the surface
I really think more people will come around on Wano once some time (and arcs) has passed, and they reread it. The same exact thing happened with Whole Cake.
And Dressrosa.
And Enies Lobby.
And Skypiea.
Week to week is just a worse experience. I caught up basically just before Gear 5 and I had a blast with Wano.
@@Mooglatan same here. I caught up when Zoro vs King was just starting and loved it.
@@Mooglatan fishman arc and dressrosa still trash. The worst arcs man, especially the fishman one
@@newt2120 they are weaker arcs but certainly not the worst.
@@TyRendition yea punk fucking hazred man. Shit was hazardous to the eye
Zoro's backstory is the one that caught my attention when I've never even seen anime with subtitles...or bothered to 😅
I believe kuina was sick the whole time. Something like childhood leukemia or another cancer a doctor wouldn't have been able to detect without more modern medical equipment. I think Zoro's teacher/kuina's dad was trying to save Zoro's feelings.
This makes even less sense than the idiotic suicide theory. If she had been that sick, she would not have gone from being well enough to fight Zoro with swords to being dead and gone the next day. I mean, do you know ANYTHING about wasting diseases like cancer at all?
Leukemia doesn't take you overnight, and if you're going through life with a cancer like that going untreated because doctors haven't detected it, EVERYONE around you is going to know exactly how sick you are, most especially the boys and girls who live and train with you on a daily basis. Come the hell on, this is just a stupid take to suggest that Kuina was somehow training just as hard as Zoro and the other kids at the dojo, on a daily basis, while leukemia or some other cancer was raging through her body. She would've been too sick to train, let alone get into real duels with Zoro, and there is no way in hell he would have not known she was sick.
The idea that Kuina's father was somehow trying to spare Zoro's feelings like this is even more idiotic. Never mind the fact that nothing in the One Piece universe suggests that they don't have the medical technology to detect cancer.
And its official now the sword god ryuma is not only kuinas ancestor but is also zoros which makes this even better
Only zoro's* kuina is a shimotsuki, but not from ryuma's liniage.
The fact that grim reapers only his left eye turned red let me think thats the demon side of Zoros closed scared eye.
10:53 this is a great video. This part of the video is right where you tie it all together and i found myself pacing around my apartment while watching this
As always it’s a pleasure my friend ❤️❤️❤️
Amazing music choices! Adds a whole layer of immersion with the mood you’re trying to convey. And it’s never your typical boring NCS music! 😂 May go unnoticed by some but not all! Great video man 👍
I used to be indifferent to Kuina being secretly alive/Tashigi but now I really hope that's not the case this was some phenomenal analysis on the greater themes of Zoro's arc, the King part also puts a lot into perspective, the part about a lot of Zoro's opponents having insecurities is really interesting.
Wow... okay... woah...
I've been binging a lot of videos from your channel, but this one definitely takes the cake. THIS CHANGES THE WAY I LOOK AT ZORO'S CHARACTER ALMOST COMPLETELY LIKE HOLY SHIT.
So, thank you! ❤
W video. Like and subscribe to this man
One thing that stood out to me was when you brought up how Kuina has no villain to hate for her death. It's such a unique thing that we really don't get in one piece often. Sometimes we don't know who to blame, sometimes there's multiple people to blame, but in this very unique scenario we have nobody to blame. Except maybe "death" himself, which is basically who Zoro is trying to be - which is goat storytelling.
You're forgetting a key element. Kuina died THE VERY NEXT DAY after their duel. And the entire reason she went downstairs in the first place was to get a whetting knife to sharpen her sword. The implication here is that she would not have needed to sharpen it had Zoro not challenged her to a duel. So the subtext is that he bears causal responsibility for her death, even though he didn't actually, you know, push her down. Not once does the anime or manga ever hint that Zoro consciously feels this blame, but it adds a particular dimension to how senseless, random, and unfair death actually can be - and it adds an extra layer of meaning to why he is so particularly obsessed with the idea that the only way he can fulfill HER dream is by fulfilling his own. This kind of death brings with it the ultimate unanswerable "what if" question that can drive a person mad with guilt and grief.
I think the key takeaway here is not so much that Zoro is attemping to BE death, so much as that he is driven by the belief that if he is only strong enough and capable enough, he can ultimately prevent anyone he loves from ever dying again. After all, it's clear that he regards himself as the protector of the Straw Hat crew, and never do we EVER see him push himself harder than after a fight that he nearly lost. (Kuma, et. al). You see this most clearly when he is weight training following that battle, where he says "I won't be powerless again! I won't be weak! I won't fail my crew!"
Zoro back story made me cry
Of all the one piece theorists I appreciate your take on everything. The way you think takes into account the ART of story telling and the specific way Oda creates his art. This is a great take on the death scene of Zoro after fighting King.
12:40 Parv shoutout? Also I like how you not only debunk the euphemism theory but show how it contradicts the character building. Great analysis
Just subbed this morning your tunes and bar scene and voice and asthetic are all truly genius level. Keep going and stay strong my brother you are truly a gem. You will become big. I saw your community post and low and behold here's the zero video. Plz never give up. Peace and love my friend
What a great explanation completely got lost in your in dept research and explanation Kudos to you sir great video as always
Greaa vid my man, gave me chills on the kuina flashback ❤
Definitely agree, since thematically “king of Death” for Zoro goes very well with Luffy.
Luffy will be Future Pirate King. Which will make him King of Seas. The sea is source of life. So Luffy will become King of Life by extension. Which also fits Sun God df.
Zoro will represent the other side as king of death. Very similar to dynamic between Pirate King Roger and “Dark” King Rayleigh.
Knocked it out of the park again man.
One question: if it was revealed Kuina was alive in some capacity, how much do you think that would change things? Would it lessen the themes and emotional impact of Zoro's arc for you? Personally I guess it just depends on how it's done.
Like you said, it depends on how it's done - but I think it would negatively impact the story overall. Oda already has enough problems killing characters in the present, I'd prefer if he leaves the ones in flashbacks alone hahaha. Saul was alright but if everyone starts resurrecting, especially in this case, it'll hurt the story imo.
@@TheHiddenIsland- Ryokugyu time👍
@@TheHiddenIsland- imagine if Tashigi is a failed Kuina clone. Not because WG wants Kuina per se, but they want her bloodline, they want Shimozuki bloodline's clone.
But ofc she's deemed inferior, not that it's a 100% failure but just 'failure' enough to be easily discarded (maybe she's too compasionate or not easily controlled, etc). But they don't wanna waste it, so she just placed as a marine under Smoker
The fact that a girl like tashigi that looks just like kuina and its also an obssesed swordswoman exists its already like if kuina didn't die at all so bringing back kuina would be bad AND redundant imo.
In a recent sbs oda goes into Zoro's lineage and stated that some samurai settled to form his village, but not all settled there, so some samurai were still travelling in the east blue and potentially had kids that would be related to Kuina and Zoro
what mind blowing is that mehawk while fighting zoro, in couple of seconds he suddenly asked zoro - "what burden do you bare on your shoulder?" even in the castle during time skip when zoro asked mehawk to become his teacher mehawk immediately said "perhaps your priorities have changed" mehawk also said some solid thing about luffy's character during Marnie ford too. i wont be surprised if mehawk stands with luffy and zoro during the final war. freaking clairvoyance
7:13 was honestly waiting for him to say the stairs
What is also quite fitting is that it said that Enma slowly drains away your Haki until you die, making its name Enma, after the Buddhist manifestation of death even more apt, as Zoro is using a weapon that slowly kills him, yet he doesn't care and uses it away.
I love deep dives into characters like this one! Another great detail I heard, which I believe was in the Zoro analysis by Totally Not Mark is this.
Since Zoro could never beat Kuina, once he becomes the greatest swordsman, she will remain the only one who he wasn't able to beat. So by becoming stronger than anyone else, she will remain the only swordsman who could defeat him, therefore making Kuina the greatest.
It is a take on him carrying her dream with him that I really liked, I don't know if that is Oda's intention, but it is a point of view that works and gave me feels.
Great analysis yet again Hidden. You keep one upping yourself every time.
Wow this is a really good analysis. I didn't realise the symbolism behind the etymology of Enma. I did however know the allusions to Hell and Demons involving Zoro. I can't also wait to see if there's anything to do with Zoro''s closed eye.
Always love a good analysis video. This one really recontextualized that fight for me. Now I'm very interested in how Oda is gonna follow up on this.
Thank you Hidden! I appreciate this. The more I watch you the more I appreciate you. Thanks for giving King vs Zoro the credit it deserves!
The only thing involving stairs and death is here form South Africa, where in some cultures it's considered a fool's death, stemming from a governor/government official (I can't recall the exact position) that got drunk and wanted to ride his horse on the second floor of his house and to get the horse on the second floor tried to ride the horse up the stairs, horse threw him off/horse slipped and fell (depends on retelling) and the man died, this is from the 1700's as I recall beyond that I don't know.
Also a really good point to add is now all three of Zoro's blades has some sort of cursed energy/symbolization of death. Enma and Kitetsu as mentioned within the video but even Kuina's Wado Ichimonji although it's not literally cursed, but the notion that she died in a freak accident by falling down the stairs, if that isn't a cursed/unlucky death then idk what is 😂
you're correct. This is The Greatest Zoro Analysis Ever Made
Glad I found your channel, great video! 🙏
Nice to see you here, thank you bro!
Needs a slight update now SBS 105 has shown Zoro's family tree!
So Kuina's dad wore glasses and Tashigi, who is a spitting image of Kuina, has to wear glasses. So maybe that Wano lineage has eye problems they werent aware of before she took her tumble
Dope video, also kinda got me thinking if zoro would actually fight mihawk in the end as oda loves parallels, just like kuina dying before zoro could beat her maybe mihawk would too somewhat keeping the theme of death being zoros true enemy taking away what he truly wants
great video, very underrated you deserve more subs bro, much better than the popular channel that literally talk about nothing
“Because Pirate Hunter Zoro laughs in the face of death, right?”
“But you’re not laughing now.”
I always believed Kuina ki**ed herself not because of this "falling down the stais" eufemism, actually fist time seeing this, but because of 2 sentences during the flashback.
1 "She was sharpening her sword" meaning she had her sword in her hands when she died. I never took her death cause to be "broken neck" or sum, but she fell on her sword (seppuku)
2 During her funeral one of the adults says "You never know what's going on another person mind". That's something you say when someone takes a decision you don't understand.
nahhh putting donkey noises over noland. almost put on the gloves for that one hidden. ain't no way bro LOL
😈
Great stuff! So glad you analyzed this. I missed some of the connections you make :)
Beautiful video bro, thank you for contextualising the Zoro vs. King fight. During my first read I couldn’t figure out how this fight furthers Zoro’s path to becoming the no. 1 swordsman other than using Conqueror’s Haki. But this video fully explains it 🔥🔥🔥🔥
On point analysis of the Zoro vs king symbolism. Great breakdown on it I've earned a better appreciation for it now.
Great breakdown, finally getting to put all the pieces together and it makes sense. His friend lives on through the blades of her ancestors. King was such a dope character and strong. My only issue is the new graphics for fight scenes makes it harder to see whats going on
What an eye opener. I was sitter here the whole time thinking "oh riight" "how could i not see that" etc.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about king up until the recent anime episodes that came out. Man, this guy is badass and scary. I like him a lot more animated.
Amazing video! I agree with what everyone else has said about the incredible depth and unique analysis you provide!! Awesome stuff
I’m sitting here at 8:45 and you giving me goosebumps n shi, might make me act up
Wow. Such a great video! I really enjoyed this analysis.
I think this my be One of the best analysis of Zoro Characters.
I don't know if you see Puss in Boots 2 , but I see parallels, both have a strange relationship with death, which is represented as a shadow (Wolf) that chases them. And in my opinion it is no coincidence that Mihawk, Zoro's target, was presented in a coffin, dressed in black with a long sword that resembles a scythe. 😉
This was a great video my dude congrats!
Phenomenal video, I hope you don't stay a Hidden Island for long. More people deserve to see your thoughts on video.
3:24 Ive always viewed Zoro as having nappy-like hair during the beginning of One Piece 😂 this retcon design of kid Zoro kinda backs that theory up some more.
Thumbnail goes crazy, and so does the video!!
This video truly lived up to its title
What people tend to hate is how zoro gets nerfed just about every arc, but that’s honestly one of the reasons I love him so much. Like the fact that zoro in comparison to other crews is near luffy in strength is insane. And the fact as well that it’s said that the only one to rival joyboy in strength was the god of blades, Ryuma.
Could you give some examples of Zoro getting nerfed? I can only think of Arlong Park and Sabaody when Zoro was injured, but I’ve never seen anyone complain about it.
Yeah no luffy easily one shots zoro
I always thought she was killed by her father I don’t think it was hinted at or anything I just felt like it fit for her father to be so obsessed with training the best that he killed his own daughter in order to motivate Zoro he was too much into the old ways to trust his daughter to be the best so he sacrificed her.
Good video hidden! That's a cool fact about Enma being the king of hell thats really awesome!
A sudden, unbelievable death like falling down the stairs is the perfect thing to urge a child to commit to a goal their whole life. People trash on this backstory, but it is one of the best
Gosh this video makes so much sense
i LOVE character analysis videos, i beg of you to make more
Awesome video man I can’t believe I just stumbled upon you recently I enjoy your in-depth takes
This is so good, its definitely worth my sub! I can't wait for more!
This was fantastic, thanks hidden!
I never encountered the Kuina suicide rumour until now. I always presumed she'd been murdered, though a second watch through threw my reasons out of the basket. I thought her father was way more antagonistic towards her which a second viewing really undermined.
7:22 thought he was bout to say Down d. Stairs or some bs😂😂
kuina's death is open to interpretation , but no matter how you spun it.
it taught zoro that unexpected things can happen anytime and harsh reality of death superceeding dreams , expectations etc ( his buddhist beliefs likely stem from that)
, kuina gave her a goal to surpass but with her dying he shares both thier dreams , the wado being symbolic of it
kiinda like sanji who shares his dream with zeff's job
i think the flashback explains zoro well , he's a minimalist character who keeps all to himself
This really goes to show Zoro loyalty to luffy he was willing give all of this up for Luffys dream of becoming PK.
Great job on the video it was really good!
people who think Kuina's death was her, taking her own life, discredits the fact that Down D. Stairs was a D. i think there's a lot going on here with that fact.
Great video dude!
7:20
I just heard this line and oh god I know EXACTLY where this is going lmao
This video has been great so far :D
"No Bullshit" - High School of the Dead EP 1
Awesome video bro! Does the sbs confirming zero being a Shimotsuki change anything for you?
I think that Kuina died from someone named stairs, the greatest sword-thing ever.
Honestly interesting analysis.
The most important point we should take from this is that we should criticize (not slander) more because only by doing that did you come to your conclusions and understood the ideas of Oda.
You may forget Zoro is a shimotsuki by himself
I made this video before that was revealed
@@TheHiddenIsland- oh i see
Man I love your videos, great energy and voice
another dope video
Nice analysis, I never thought of this fight that way and in this way, the flashback now actually is not out of left field and completely gratuitous
Still, I would have liked if Oda spent more time on this fight in the actual manga to make it more clear and impactful (he could easily have saved time elsewhere, notably by removing some of the unnecessary post Rooftop Scabbard scenes, if they were wasted on the ground after their defeat against Kaido and didn't do much of anything for the rest of the raid instead of galloping around doing insignificant tertiary work, then he would have had more than enough time to flesh out the rest, and also, if Carrot were the one to defeat Perospero it would have been more satisfying imo, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi could still have gotten up and gotten their revenge on Jack though, 100% cool with that idea)
Very well thought out. Thank you
This is why I think that there's a 6th Gorosei named Down D Stairs that will be Zoros final opponent