 Sanji, a member of the monster trio being used for comedy? Such disrespect. Big Mom and Emperor of the Sea being used for comedy? Oh, such disrespect. Not subscribing to the Grand Line Review for regular One Piece content uploaded straight into your YouTube feed. Yeah, you know what I'm gonna say. I'm gonna say it anyway. Such disrespect. Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review, your source for everything One Piece. And today I am warning you, the title of this video probably says One Piece discussion, but it's probably going to be more of a sprawling and hopefully at least semi-coherent rant, although I promise very little. But we have a big topic to cover, which is a pun, a bad pun, did it anyway, because Big Mom exists and some people don't like it. That really is the basic summary of this video. And to get this right out of the way at the beginning, Anime Only Watches, yes, this is a direct response to Manga events. However, there will be no spoilers, so please do feel free to stay a while and listen, because here is the thing. Even if I described the events that happened in the Manga in the greatest of detail, I would still argue that it wouldn't actually be a spoiler, because Big Mom has not done anything new, unexpected, out of character, or particularly world-shaking. Big Mom has done nothing except be herself, the same old character who we got to know on Hawkeak Island. And that, that's a problem apparently, because basically what happened in the Vegas possible terms is that in the latest chapter, Big Mom was used for Gasp, a comical scene, which I don't know about all of you, but I am simply a Gasp at Otis Transgression here. Big Mom is an Emperor of the Sea. She is a super powerful Yonko-level-S Plus serious mastermind who must, I repeat, must be taken seriously by not only all of the characters in the world, but also the audience at all times. And even though One Piece is admittedly a highly comical Manga series, and has always been so for almost 1000 chapters now, I as a reader have differing expectations of this story that simply must be met. And Otis should abide by my own personal expectations, because he clearly doesn't know how to write compelling characters on his own, and ignoring me in particular makes him a dick. Yeah, that's right, said it. But TLDR, this entire situation can be summed up as many things can within a single Reddit post. Oda, write Sanji and Big Mom in slightly comical situations. Fans, Oda, stop disrespecting your characters. And once again, this is nothing new. All throughout Hawkeak Island, online discourse has been plagued with comments about how Big Mom is a joke Yonko, and the word disrespect gets thrown around in ways that it was most certainly never etymologically intended to be used. But before we dive further into Big Mom, I think it's important to note that this sentiment is not exclusively directed at her, and it pops up in almost any given situation where a serious character is given any sort of comical scene. The example that most immediately comes to mind would be Kaido's drunk dragon in Act One of Wano. So when I read this scene, I burst out laughing because I thought it was incredibly unexpected to see this fearsome dragon man break that impression and reveal another quirky layer to himself. It was really fun and a definite highlight of that particular chapter, as well as Kaido's character in general. To me, however, the sheer amount of people who saw this panel and were like legitimately angry that Oda had dared to be goofy with a one-piece character was quite shocking. And I mean, properly upset as well, as if they just discovered that that magical unicorn they'd bought was really a painted cow with a cardboard horn, by which I mean the value proposition that they were allegedly sold turned out not quite to be the case. But the thing that those individuals neglected to keep in mind was that the store in which they bought their unicorn was a multi-purpose joke store where almost every product sold comes with an inherent element of comedy. So if one does buy the unicorn from the joke store, then in my opinion, it is fairly unreasonable to assume that it is going to fulfill its function as a mythical beast. And yes, that is a very, very roundabout metaphor, but in Kaido's case, the value proposition would have been a big, badass, stoic serious powerhouse capable of bringing the world to its knees in sheer terror. Kaido, one of the four emperors. However, the store that we are buying this Kaido product from was One Piece. And One Piece is most certainly known for its superb action, heart-tugging drama, and general lust for adventure, but spliced in with everything is also a massive element of comedy. And I think that that is perfectly personified in its main character, Monkey D. Luffy. This character is capable of striking pure awe into you through his drive to become the pirate king, and he's also capable of evoking very serious drama. But then again, he's also a supreme derp. He always has been and he always will be. So it's very interesting that whenever Luffy gets used as a joke, nobody comments that Oda is disrespecting him as a character, or at least I hope they're not, maybe they are. But in any case, that might just be because they've come to understand Luffy after close to 1,000 chapters with him, which you would hope would be the case. This understanding does not seem to extend to the entire cast though, which brings us back to Big Mom. Her value proposition was very similar to that of Kaido. Her introduction, both in silhouette at the end of the water seven saga, and even her first appearance during Fishman Island were designed exclusively to evoke fear. A sort of ultimate figure of the world and someone who is clearly not to be taken lightly or even heavily for that matter. Someone who is just not to be taken full stop. And that's fine. That's actually how most one piece characters are initially introduced to us. But for the most part, there is a definite pattern because once we receive their full reveal, that character's true nature becomes fairly immediately apparent. And it's usually some form of subversion. So let's take an extreme example of this and cast our minds to Duval, which I don't think I ever do. But the chapter in which this character was initially introduced ended on him being portrayed as this vessel of sheer power and seriousness, only to have that completely undermined by his actual reveal, which resulted in many a lull. Duval is of course obviously very different due to his position in the world. And I suppose you could argue that he can afford to be a throwaway character. All right, cool. So let's step up a bit and look at some marine admirals maybe. Both Kuzan and Kizaru are I think great examples of high ranking characters who are often wheeled for great comedic purpose. Kizaru is a slow, forgetful and often downright criminally negligent old man whilst Kuzan is just lazy dude bro. They both have their extreme comical quirks but that does not stop them from earning their spots at the pinnacle of this world because Oda has designed them so that they can be both funny and badass. And that is very much the same with Big Mom. Oda has made her raw power clear over and over and over and over and over again. She is effectively unstoppable in this world. However, in addition to power, Big Mom comes equipped with a personality and that personality is that of a volatile child who is heavily prone to tantrums. And ever since being introduced to Big Mom on Hawkeye Island, we knew that this was exactly how she was. She was never portrayed as any kind of master strategist or even a master combatant actually. In fact, thinking about it every time we've seen Big Mom in action, she has shown us a wildly unrefined style. She is basically a flailing child who has only gotten as far as she has in this world through raw strength, which allows her the luxury of not really needing to think. It's like putting God mode on in any video game. You become very careless with your actions, but in the end, you still slaughter all of your enemies anyway. And that is the whole appeal of Big Mom. The fact that the most potent raw power in this world is condensed into the body of an individual who will never be capable of actually wielding it to its full potential. And along with that comes very natural comedy because the less, let's say, mentally inclined characters in the series are perfect vehicles for such a thing. And it really does not matter where in the world they stand. Warlord, Admiral, Emperor, or even Pirate King, this is one piece and you will be used for a comedic purpose. What I will concede, however, is that Big Mom is used much more often for the sake of comedy than her top tier counterparts. Every Emperor, and I mean every Emperor has been the subject of gags, but Big Mom certainly has the most to her name at this stage anyway. And one of the reasons for that is like I said, her natural characterization lends her existence towards humor rather than someone like, say, Kaido, who is a more calculated sinister being. But a lot of this also comes down to the fact that out of all of the Emperors, Big Mom is also the one that we have spent by far the most time with. If you don't include Luffy, that is. And I know many of you don't, tisk, tisk. But Big Mom has now been the focus of two mega arcs while the others have remained primarily shrouded in mystery, even Kaido. And I think that very, very much skews the general impression of Big Mom in comparison to her contemporaries. So say for example, with figures like Shang's Blackbeard and Kaido, I guess, when we think about them, there is so little to cast our minds to that it usually ends up being some amazing feat, like Kaido jumping off the Sky Island, Shang's clashing with Whitebeard, and Blackbeard's actions during the Paramount War. We haven't really had enough time with any of them to really dissect who they are and dive deep into their more quirky nature. And so there is this impression that these figures are super amazing, serious, respected beings. But in reality, each and every one of them is a walking joke just waiting to be made. It's just that none of them have had the benefit of two mega-archs to explore these lighter moments. And really the only comparison that is even acceptable at the moment would be Whitebeard because we have had a ton of time with him. But even then, that does not mean that we should expect Big Mom to act in any way close to Whitebeard. They're very different characters, and while they have similar strength, that is going to be put to use in different ways. And many people refuse to accept that, I suppose. In their minds, all emperors of the sea must follow the Whitebeard mold of being an almost power-gone of perfection. They all need to have it all, world-shattering power, and exceptionally sharp intellect, and above all, the respect that they deserve, which is, that's a very subjective thing. In fact, it's so subjective that even Oda, who created all of these characters, is apparently completely incapable of meeting the correct standard. And yes, there are definitely many stories in which characters can be quite inconsistent, and certain authors have not been able to do justice to their original ideas. But in this case, one piece is certainly not one of them. That's what I would argue anyway. Big Mom has always and will always continue to fulfill her established role in the story, which basically boils down to all of the power in the world in the hands of an eclectic child. That is the character, and I personally love it. I really don't want a second Whitebeard or a second Kaido. We have one of each of those already. And that's why I'm really thrilled that Oda has decided not to be as precious about Big Mom's status in the world as many fans would prefer him to be. And I suppose the general message of this video is always remember not to let your own head cannon get in the way of the actual story or the actual characters. This is actually something that I very much need to remind myself of, because I do get locked into certain impressions, which my mind sets in stone, and then when that stone is inevitably shattered, it is a bit off-putting. But whenever that does happen, it is entirely my fault for going down that path in the first place. And in this case, I would say the same about the Big Mom haters. Just because she does not fulfill your own personal idea of what an emperor should represent, that does not mean that Oda is showing her disrespect by not meeting your said personal ideal. You are warping the character into something that she never was and placing far, far too much emphasis on a title. While simultaneously very much forgetting exactly what series it is that you are reading. And that isn't to say that you need to like Big Mom's character. That is completely subjective. Go nuts with your thoughts in that regard. But there is a big difference in saying, you know what, I think that Oda might be undervaluing the Big Mom character and here's why, as opposed to, oh my God, Oda is showing such disrespect for a Yonko. One of those statements begins an intriguing discussion about the portrayal of characters in general and what Oda is trying to accomplish with them. While the other is effectively a tantrum because Oda isn't writing this character according to your head canon. And just in conclusion here, I'll state that One Piece has become one of the greatest stories ever told because it does not do what most of us think it should. Oda takes this world and its characters into some very left field places, Big Mom included. And without stuff like this, I guarantee that none of us would even be talking about One Piece right now. It would have been canceled long ago and forgotten in the deep panels of history. So just sit back and remember that the exact thing you're annoyed about is also more than likely the reason why One Piece captivated you to begin with. But what do you guys think? Please do leave your thoughts in the comments below or even join my Discord server. And if you'd like to see more videos like this, then please do go and check out some of my other content or even subscribe to the channel for more glorious One Piece business uploaded straight into your YouTube feeds. But for now, this has been the ground line review and I'll see you next time.