 Warning, this video will contain spoilers up to chapter 1036. You've been warned! Also, this video is brought to you by Bokksu, but we'll touch on that later. Hello my name is Natachi, this is Joygirl, and I've been thinking about a crazy idea about the possibility of One Piece being a circular story. Yes, including time travel, loopholes, the whole crazy lot. I know it's wild and seemingly impossible stuff, but this is an idea that I've been toying around with in my head in the back of my mind for quite a while now. It's actually something that I brought up during the reverie, but it's never something that I've fully fleshed out. But I started thinking about it again recently because as you guys know, I've been in quarantine, recovering from COVID, so thinking about One Piece is basically how I've been spending the majority of my time, which I can't complain about. But that also got me thinking about time travel and thinking about, hey, if I could travel backwards, maybe I could not catch COVID. No, I'm just kidding, but time travel will be a relevant part of today's discussion. But the real reason why I actually started thinking about this is because recently I made a skit, and if you haven't seen it, then I encourage you to check it out. And it touched on an experience that I'm sure most of you guys have had. If you're a One Piece fan talking to your friends who aren't One Piece fans, then I'm sure you've come across this moment before. That being when someone looks at Luffy's character and calls him Luffy. Now, in the earlier days, that might have just seemed like an innocent mistake, something to roll your eyes at or just laugh about. But I actually think that ever since chapter 967, when Roger reintroduced the island Raftel as Laugh-tail-to-Wars, that seemingly innocent mistake seems a bit more important now. It seems like it actually could be a potential clue. It seems like something that could have been in our faces all along, given that Luffy is spelt like Luffy. Maybe that's an intentional choice by Oda, and you know, it's Oda. For one, it fits with Luffy's character who's a fun, laughing, joy-boy, joyful boy, joy-boy. But as a result of that ever since that chapter, every time I've looked at Luffy's name, the mistake of Luffy as Luffy, it has always brought me back to the idea of Laugh-tail. It's made me think of Luffy's name completely differently because of the way that it's spelt, the way that it could be mispronounced as Luffy, and the connections that could be made to Laugh-tail as if Laugh-tail is Luffy's tail, or Luffy's tail. And then that got me to thinking, you know, why or how would Roger have known that? Why would he name it Luffy's tail? For us, it makes sense as a series because we're reading One Piece, which is a story about Luffy, but then why would Roger have named it that? And that's what got me to thinking, maybe Roger is also reading Luffy's tail, and part of the treasure, part of One Piece that he found, was literally Luffy's story. Essentially, that the story that we're following now is the story that Roger found when he found the One Piece. And that could actually explain why the story is being narrated to us. Despite the fact that we are following a story in present time, it feels like a story that's already been written and it's been read out to us. Similar to how we witnessed Odin's flashback through his journal, it's like we're witnessing Luffy's story through a tail that's already been written. But then this does mean that someone had to have left Luffy's story, which is in Roger's future, in the past, for Roger to have found it in his present. And that brings up the crazy time sequences and loops, and I have to admit that time travel always confuses the hell out of me. And I do think that there could be a danger in incorporating time travel into the story, or more time travel, as I should say, because obviously we've had that happen now with Toki, and I know a lot of people weren't fans of that plot development when that happened, and I do know that a lot of people don't like the idea of time travel being expanded and having a greater role in the story. And I can understand why time travel often causes confusion and opens up the opportunity for potential inconsistencies to take place. But I would have to say that personally I have faith in Oda and Oda's ability to deliver a plotline development effectively and in a way that makes sense, if of course that is his plan. For example, I think the Toki-Toki no Mi was handled quite well, you know, Oda set up parameters. He worked it in as part of Toki's story that humans can't travel backwards, they can only travel forward in time, which then of course actually brings up the important discussion that it has been said in the story that humans can't travel back in time. So then what does that mean for our little discussion today? And I suppose my question to that would be when Toki said that humans can't travel backwards, was Toki saying that just referring to her own devil fruit and her own abilities, or was that Oda finding a way to set parameters and set limitation on how time travel would work in his story? Because unless that was Oda's intention to clarify how and in what manner time travel could work in the series, the idea of the existence of a devil fruit that allows people to travel backwards in time, I don't think is completely out of the question or completely outside the realm of possibility. And one reason why I say that is because the idea of two sides of the same coin is a really heavy theme in one piece. We have a direct opposite to almost everything in the series. We've got Luffy and Blackbeard for example, the moon and the sun, light and dark, even parallels in arcs between pre and post timeskip era. So thinking along those lines, if there's a devil fruit that allows humans to travel forward in time, could there be a direct opposite that allows humans to travel backwards in time? Could there be two sides of the same coin? But before we go on, because time travel can get a bit convoluted and things can get quite wild, I think this is a nice time to take a little tea break, which we can do courtesy of Bokksu. Bokksu is a premium Japanese snack box subscription service that delivers original assortments of Japanese snacks and tea pairings. So each month there's a different theme, which means that you get to try all sorts of different snacks and you get to learn more about Japanese local culture. And it seems like in the lead up to February, we've been gifted the pink Valentine edition, so if you have a waifu or a husbando, then I suppose this would be a great box for you, or if you're like me and you just like snacks. But something that I think is really cool about Bokksu is that they partner with local artisans and local businesses, which means that you can actually learn more about the local culture as you're also enjoying the snacks. And so me, I'm a serial snacker, but I actually also really enjoying reading this culture guide and I think it's a really cool service that they're providing. So today, given that the content of our discussion is quite crazy and wild, I think I want a nice, calming, gentle flavour. And so I'm gonna go with the azuki chocolate. So these are slick chocolate cubes that are flavoured with azuki red beans from Hokkaido. Nice. Here you go, a little bit of ASMR for you all. Obviously I don't have experience in doing that. Oh look at that! So cute. The red beans has been really blended well into the chocolate. I was actually expecting it to be a red bean filling, but it's been blended in and it's very very subtle. I think I enjoy that much more than I expected. So I just had the chocolate, but there are a whole host of other snacks in here as well. Some savoury things like crackers. I saw other types of chocolates, some candy lollies as well. And if you're like me and you enjoy snacks and you enjoy snacking whilst reading one piece or thinking about one piece, then I would highly recommend Bokksu. It's a great fun service. You get to try all sorts of different snacks, which you know are made locally. And if you do, then make sure to use my code DROYGIRL10 and the links are all down below. But this way you can save 10% off your own authentic Japanese subscription box from Bokksu. So don't miss out on this amazing snack cultural journey through Japan. Alright, thanks Bokksu. Now let's get on to the video. So obviously, even with all things considered about, you know, the two sides of the same coin, the possibility of a backwards traveling time devil fruit, a backwards time traveling devil fruit, it still doesn't quite explain or resolve how Luffy could be involved in all the things we know to have happened in the past. Unless we connect Luffy to Joyboy, because that is where the story seems to be heading. And that's actually partly why I started thinking about this in the first place. Up until relatively recently, everything that we knew about Joyboy connected him to the past. For almost as long as we've known him, he's been a figure of the past. He was a legend tied to history. He was connected to the events of the voice entry. We knew he made a promise to the Fishman Island, which we know he didn't keep. But then more recently, especially with Kaito's words in chapter 1014 to Luffy, that Luffy couldn't be Joyboy either it seems, it now seems like Joyboy could be a title that someone could attain, which would mean that a Joyboy could exist in the present and I guess by extension, the future. Now, something that really toys with me is Roger's words in Odin's flashback, because he says two things, two potential clues, which could potentially suggest very different things. One thing that Roger says is, I wish I could have lived in your time, Joyboy. And the other is that we were too early, that he and his crew, the Roger Pirates, were too early. And this obviously referring to the new dawn, the idea of a prophesised individual who's going to bring about a new era. When you take these two statements and consider them side by side, it does raise questions for me as to whether Roger was talking about the same thing, or he was talking about two separate things. Because when you take that first statement, I wish I could have lived in your time, at first it seems like he's talking about the past. He's talking to the Joyboy in the history, the historical Joyboy, the one connected to the voice entry, the one connected to Fishman Island. But then when you pair it with the idea of him being too early, him knowing he was too early, it made me start thinking whether Roger was talking to the future Joyboy, I wish I could live in your time, if only I wasn't too early. And obviously if he is talking to someone in the future, then I think it's natural for most fans to assume that he's referring to Luffy. Because again, I think that is where the story is heading towards. Admittedly, before we got to Wano, it wasn't very clear that Luffy was Joyboy. I mean, yeah, after Fishman Island, it did seem like he was some sort of prophesied individual, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was Joyboy. Which is interesting because actually that's the same arc that we were introduced to Joyboy. But even earlier on in the Wano arc, through Odin's flashback and through the prophecy, it became clearer and clearer that this idea of Luffy being a sovereign that was born, someone who's going to come and change the world, bring about a new dawn, that's been a very heavy theme in Wano. And still, that didn't necessarily equate to Luffy necessarily being Joyboy. Whereas more recently, I think that's something that's been changed. Again, with Kaido's word, the idea of Kaido saying to Luffy, you couldn't be Joyboy either it seems, that's a direct link that's been made between Luffy and Joyboy. It's almost as if setting up Luffy to prove Kaido wrong, to show him that yes, I will be Joyboy. And then of course with the glimpses in the flashbacks that we're finding out now about Kaido, how King originally thought that Kaido could be Joyboy, it seems to point to the idea that Luffy is the individual who's going to be able to become Joyboy. And then also who's who in chapter 1018, and the introduction to the Sun God Nika, where we saw a silhouette of the deity and it looked so similar to the silhouette that we saw of Luffy in the Sky Pier arc, where we also got introduced to the idea of a Sun God. And that obviously raised huge speculations in the fan base as to whether Sun God Nika and Joyboy are the same person, and then in that case where the Luffy is this legend. And I do think that majority of the fan base thinks that Luffy is going to be Joyboy, he's going to be the Joyboy that Kaido couldn't be, he's going to be the Joyboy that's returning to save Wano, but how it all works in the timeline I think still remains murky. The idea of a Joyboy having existed in the past, is Luffy now a reincarnation? I know that's an idea that a lot of people don't like, or the more popular idea that Luffy is simply the individual who has inherited the will of Joyboy. And I do think that that is the more likely answer and the more obvious answer, but I do think the idea of a circular story is definitely an interesting one to consider, especially when we have this idea of Laugh Tale, Luffy's Tale, and the idea of a story being read out to us now as if it's a story that's already been written. But I would really be interested in hearing your thoughts on this because I know there are a lot of opinions on this matter. I know some people don't even believe that Luffy and Joyboy are the same person and that Luffy is not going to be a Joyboy, that another Joyboy might exist. So what do you guys think? Do you think Luffy is Joyboy? Do you think Joyboy and Nika are the same person? Do you think Luffy has just merely inherited the will of Joyboy? Do you think he is a reincarnation? Do you think the idea of Laugh Tale being Luffy's Tale is just a me coincidence or is a sneaky hint from Oda? And do you think that the idea of a circular story could work? And if so, is there a way that you could come up with a crazy timeline for it to make sense? Because I would love to read about it. But that's sort of where my head has been at. Now let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below. Don't forget to like and share the video. And please do subscribe for more One Piece discussions. You can also join our Joyflip Discord server or even become a Patreon member. Thank you to our patrons for help supporting the channel. This is Joygirl and I'll see you again soon.