I am beyond impressed with Chapter 1005, this is one of the few instances in the series where Oda is finally ready to give the Straw Hats ACTUAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT outside of their own arc, in a more definitive way.
This chapter is amazing writing-wise, because it cannot exist without Water 7, Enies Lobby and Whole Cake Island; the events of this chapter make sense only when considering what the characters have gone through and how those events shaped them. Which is, I will repeat, something that almost never happens for the Straw Hats outside their own arc. That’s why Usopp is one of the best characters in the series, because he had this moment back in Dressrosa.
Here, Sanji has been put into the same spot as he was in Enies Lobby; he was confronted by an enemy weaker than him, but that he could do nothing against, since his principles are what make him, and betraying his principles goes against the base of his character.
A pre-Whole Cake Island Sanji, in this situation, would react in exactly the same way Black Maria’s servants thought he would; he would have remained silent, he would have taken the blows, and he would have died, rather than calling for help – even more so if calling for help would have endangered a friend, a woman at that.
However, this is after Whole Cake Island Sanji. We already had a taste of his growth right before his confrontation with Page One, when he decided to throw away his pride in order to confront an enemy and defend the people he loves. This time it’s far more drastic, though; in this scene, not only Sanji completely gives up any semblance of pride and dignity – as Kid’s subordinates underline with their “pathetic” – but makes the choice to completely rely on a friend, a woman, to save his life, trusting on her strength and her abilities not only to help him, but to survive the ordeal he could not face.
At Enies Lobby, Sanji tells Usopp that in the crew, they all do what the others cannot.
In this chapter, Sanji completely takes up on that; he cannot fight Black Maria. He can’t win. So, he needs someone who can. In return, he will go and do something others cannot; protect the Red Scabbards, facing most likely a top enemy – this chapter suggests Jack, but we’ll see whether even that will be his final match-up, given the fact that Queen is nowhere around King vs Marco and he’s already expressed interest in Sanji.
A lot of people say that Zoro would never do what Sanji did. And I agree. But that doesn’t make Zoro better than Sanji. They are different characters with different principles. Zoro is the kind of guy who would protect Luffy, a guy stronger than him, with his life. There’s no way he would call Robin for help.
Now, about Sanji. Sanji is definitely going to be fighting an All Star when even a guy like Jinbe is taking on a Tobiroppo. That means he’s definitely one of the strongest fighters in this battle. Yet there are things he can’t overcome. Sanji calling and trusting Robin to fight Black Maria means that chivalry aside, he thinks of Robin as a strong and reliable person instead of a damsel in distress that needs to be saved and be kept out of danger. Despite Maria’s threats, Sanji trusted enough his Nakama to handle the situation; he swallowed his pride and asked a woman to save him, even though he always has been the one saving women through the series
And it is something people who only think about strength will never understand. Even in the chapter you see everyone calling him pathetic and Marco is the only one smiling because he realizes the tightness of the crew.
Captain Hague from Fire Force explains this well.
If Sanji were about to die, then who will protect the Straw Hats crew then? The main role of Sanji is to saves the weak. Now it’s the other Straw Hats’ turn to save Sanji this time.
Chapters like this are why I believe Sanji is the best character of the series. I believe the majority of the hate and controversy that this character gets is mostly due to the fact that he’s much more complex to understand the way Oda wants him to be. There’s much more to him than what can be seen on the surface, which is I guess the only thing most people see. They want him to be written like Zoro, in a straightforward way, but being Zoro’s rival and being one of the main fighters is only a part of his character, and definetely the one Sanji cares less. Oda does so much more with him in every arc, he always gets the most fleshed out sbuplots. I wish more people got it.
*by DrKuro / Zoro D Goat
