Top 10 Times One Piece Went Too Far
#10: Sanji Pervs on Younger Nami
Sanji’s love of women is a little too ardent sometimes. In “One Piece Film: Z,” several members of the Straw Hats are de-aged by one of the movie’s villains, Ain. This leaves them a decade younger, which in Nami’s case means her body is around 8 years old. She and the rest of the crew find their reduced ages inconvenient, but Sanji has a perverse reaction. He finds the prospect of watching Nami…develop…in real time “exciting.” We have to agree with Zoro’s succinct assessment of Sanji’s attitude. At least this is from a movie, so it’s not technically canon.
#9: Wanze’s Noodles
While some of the Straw Hats are aboard a government sea train trying to rescue one of their own, they run into Wanze. A government agent as well as a chef, Wanze is one of the most obnoxious and repellent characters in “One Piece.” Although his constant derpy smile and his rapid dialogue are irritating enough, it’s his cooking that’s most upsetting. Wanze fights by encasing his body in ramen noodle dough. While Sanji, as a chef, finds this offensive, anyone and everyone should be offended by how he makes it! The disgusting excuse for a culinary fighter kneads the dough in his mouth, and uses his nose hair to strain it into noodles! It’s a wonder his coworkers aren’t constantly ill!
#8: Robin’s Backstory
Let’s get one thing straight up front - Nico Robin’s backstory is one of the best in the series! It’s emotional and brilliantly written. However, one of the reasons it’s so affecting is because of how traumatic it is, for both Robin and the audience! Robin loses her mother, her friends, and everyone she has ever known in one day! The World Government commits genocide by bombarding her home island, Ohara, with a dozen warships. And all because some scholars discover a secret they don’t want to get out. Robin going through all that at a young age…it breaks our hearts just thinking about it.
#7: Happiness Punch
Bathhouse and onsen scenes are a common anime fixture, and “One Piece” indulges in this trope a few times. On this occasion, the Straw Hats relax in one after saving Alabasta from Crocodile. They’re joined by Vivi’s father, King Cobra, as well as his retainer Igaram and the camel, Eyelashes. His majesty the king is disturbingly eager to point out the wall dividing the men’s and women’s baths - your daughter’s over there Cobra, c’mon! And everyone but Zoro decides to do a little peeping. Not only that, but Nami decides to flash them all, albeit with the caveat that they all pay her later. Nosebleed knockouts ensue. These perverted situations are common, but this particular instance feels out of character for multiple people involved.
#6: Sanji in Nami’s Body
On the island Punk Hazard, about half of the Straw Hat Pirates have their minds swapped between each other’s bodies. Unfortunately, Sanji has his mind put into Nami’s body. As you might imagine, Sanji cannot contain his perverted urges. He expresses a desire to look at Nami’s body naked and to find a camera, presumably to “commemorate” the experience. Sanji also gets far too excited at the prospect of temporarily having breasts. He even gets an adrenaline boost by groping Nami’s chest. While the whole body swap section leads to some great gags, Sanji’s jokes go a bit too far.
#5: The 4Kids Dub
Like many anime that were localized during the early 2000s, “One Piece” received a dub by the company 4Kids Entertainment. And like most of them, this dub is a crime against artistic integrity, Japan, and human decency. Entire story arcs were cut! References to death, including guns, were censored! “Jokes” were added where there were none before! Even some characters’ names were changed! The official English manga still has Zoro’s name as “Zolo” because of this monstrosity! The 4Kids dub arguably did more to hurt the series’ reputation in the west than it helped! We’ll grant that the rap opening is catchy though, if only in an annoying, earworm kind of way.
#4: Law’s Backstory
Trafalgar Law has another backstory that’s deeply upsetting. Most of his country contracted a preventable poisoning disease through the greed of its rulers and the World Government. His people were also exterminated, with his family and friends dying before his eyes. Law endured more trauma than anyone should. And when he was an angry young man, looking to lash out at the world, his idol, Rosinante a.k.a. Corazon, found a way to get him a cure. But just when things were finally looking up, Corazon was killed by his brother, Doflamingo. Again, we’re not saying it’s not a phenomenal backstory! We just feel like we need therapy after watching it.
#3: Sanji’s Reasons For Donning His Raid Suit
Sanji despises his family and everything to do with them. He’s barely convinced to keep the quick change Raid Suit the Vinsmokes/Germa 66 give him. And yet, upon arriving in Wano Country, at the first moment he needs to hide his identity, he throws his convictions away to disguise himself with the suit. Not only does this go back on Sanji’s character, it doesn’t even work, since Germa’s suits are extremely famous. Still, what’s worse is that he uses the suit’s invisibility function to spy on a women’s bathhouse. While Sanji wearing the suit does become an important plot point later, his initial reasons for donning it feel flimsy and detract from his character, in more ways than one. It does look cool though.
#2: All the Fake Out Deaths
For as much as “One Piece” author Eiichiro Oda doesn’t pull punches most of the time, there is one area where he does - deaths. Outside of flashbacks, characters rarely die, even when it’s absolutely certain they should. Side characters like Pell, Pagaya, and recently Kin’emon are put in situations where they’re blown up or hit by attacks they should not possibly survive, only to escape unscathed. Sometimes the stakes don’t feel as high with the knowledge that everyone will most likely make it out alive. It has come to the point where when characters do die in the series, the audience is waiting for the other shoe to drop, instead of mourning them properly.
#1: Everything About Absalom
This lion-faced man is everything off-color about Sanji turned up even further! Absalom appears on Thriller Bark, where he instantly develops an unhealthy obsession with Nami. The creep gropes her in the shower. Then, after Nami makes it clear she isn’t interested, Absalom kidnaps her, knocks her unconscious, and tries to marry her…while she’s still out. Sanji being jealous of his ability to spy on women just serves to drag one of our heroes down to a level that’s nearly as despicable. Absalom honestly feels like a bridge too far, and after this Sanji’s perverted traits are highlighted much more frequently.