 Monkey D. Luffy and Roar No Azor. Name a more iconic duo. I'll wait, except that I won't, because the most dynamic duo in all of history, fictional or real, is in fact you and the subscribe button for the Grand Line Review. Because when the two of you work together, it results in regular One Piece content being uploaded straight into your YouTube feed. Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review, your source for everything One Piece, and today I'd like to take the time to examine not a character, not an event, not a piece of story, but a bond. A highly underrated bond forged between the captain and swordsman of the Straw Hearts, the OG crew, Luffy and Zorro. And it might seem like a bit of a weird topic to dedicate time to, but at the same time, this relationship actually forms quite a massive core of everything that is One Piece, and apart from the early days of Romance Dawn, it almost never becomes a major feature of any arc within the series. However, it is always present, and acting very much as a backbone of this whole journey. And I think it's safe to say that without this particular duo, almost none of One Piece happens in regards to our main characters. And yes, you can say that about pretty much every member of the crew, because they have all been integral in an almost fated way to Luffy's journey. But at the same time, a lot of those are pretty super obvious. For example, without an army, they quite literally could not have gotten anywhere. In the same vein without Chopper, the crew likely wouldn't even be alive right now. And without Frankie, they wouldn't even have a vessel capable of sailing comfortably within the new world. And so on and so forth. But in regards to Zorro, his role is generally accepted to be that of a pure fighter. Technical aspects like sailing and cooking are handled by others, but when an opponent of overwhelming power appears, more than that is Zorro's time to shine. And that's not an entirely inaccurate characterization. However, such a simplification neglects the true benefit of Zorro, which is to act as a second in command and to provide a presence capable of keeping his captain in line. And no, Zorro has never actually been referred to in any capacity as a first mate or official second in command. But that does not mean that that is not the role that he quite blatantly serves. And as such, he does have a very unique relationship with Luffy in a capacity in which the two can very much be considered equals, which Oda makes clear through a variety of factors throughout the series. For example, Zorro is often mistaken as the captain of the Straw Hearts, which generally speaks to his raw presence, and also the fact that he is considered a member of the worst generation alongside his captain. Zorro is not just a subordinate of Luffy. He is a contemporary, a colleague, if you will, or in a much less formal sense, a true friend, despite the technical crew hierarchy structure that separates them. And I would describe what Luffy and Zorro have as more of a partnership. Think of some of media's greatest duos, Captain Picard and Commander Riker, Danny Crane and Alan Shaw, Goldy, Roger and Silver's Rayleigh. In each of these situations, there is a distinct technical separation. However, the bond between the individuals was always one of innate trust that forged a partnership rather than a boss and subordinate relationship. And part of the reason why this dynamic works so well for Luffy and Zorro can be seen right in the beginning of One Piece back in the days of Romance Dawn. And originally, like very originally, One Piece does sell itself as a story about Luffy, a boy entirely on his own wavelength, making his way through the world to the shock of everyone around him. That doesn't last very long though, because upon his arrival in Shelstown, Luffy immediately discovers another individual who shares his wavelength in the Green Head swordsman. And before everyone scrolls to the comments to point out how dissimilar Luffy and Zorro are, yeah, they're obviously not interchangeable beings and they do have great differences in terms of personality. However, when it comes to what actually matters, being their core beliefs, these two are entirely in sync. Think about it, both of them are incredibly similar beings, characterized by simple minds and big dreams. Here you have what is effectively two children in this gigantic dangerous world, each with their heart set on conquering their chosen aspect of it, whether that's to be the world's greatest swordsman or to become the pirate king, desires that the large majority of the planet simply scoff at. However, when Luffy and Zorro reveal their dreams to each other for the first time, it is startlingly casual. For example, when Zorro says he wants to become the world's greatest swordsman, Luffy just replies, the world's greatest swordsman, eh, that's great. And it's fitting since your new boss is going to become the king of the pirates. Anything else would make me look bad. And Zorro's response to hearing about Luffy wanting to become the pirate king is just a, huh, you talk big, and that is kind of that. From this moment onwards, these two figures acted as a multiplying factor for the other, combining their power and wills in order to push each other forward in this world. Two dreams entwined as one, which can be seen slightly further run in the series during Baratier, where after losing to Mihawk, Zorro makes the famous claim that he will never lose again, which technically true or not, serves not only as a new found resolution to his own dream, but this time it also incorporates Luffy's dream because Zorro does go on to say, got a problem with that king of the pirates and this is actually huge because it shows that Zorro and Luffy's desires have truly amalgamated. They are no longer working solely for themselves but for each other as well. And this is true for most of the Straw Hats, they do all great, they respect the dreams of the rest of the crew. And given the opportunity, they would do whatever it takes to help them achieve said dream. But this is the first tangible example of that in the series. And in many ways, this is almost Luffy and Zorro taking direct responsibility for the dreams of the other, which means that in a scenario where one may falter on that path, it is the job of the other to step in and write the situation. And in the series, this mostly comes in the form of Zorro needing to step up from time to time and use his unofficial status as second in command. And there is probably no better example of this than the water seven saga, quite specifically with the rift between Luffy and Uso. Now this is a situation where Luffy's unconventional style of captaincy came to serve as a detriment because he became embroiled in a highly emotionally charged situation and at times, he very much lost sight of his role as a leader. And the first instance of this was immediately after the physical fight with Uso. Luffy was a wreck and on the verge of complete emotional collapse. So it fell to Zorro to back him up by stating that this is the burden of being a captain. And he also then told Luffy not to doubt himself because if he does, then who could they have faith in? And furthermore, this is kind of weird to look back on, but Zorro was the one who actually made the order to vacate the going merry and stated that they could never return to the ship. He basically saw Luffy's moment being taken out of commission and immediately stepped into the role of leader to ensure that even with the ensuing chaos around them, that this crew still proceeded on the path of their dreams as best they could. And this is why it kind of works me when people say that Zorro is here just to be a fighter because he is so much more than that. It's just almost never seen because his action is rarely required, but he does effectively serve as a backup captain because as we know Luffy is far from perfect and from time to time, he will either be on the verge of making or even make great mistakes. And it is on those occasions where we see Zorro truly shine in this crew. And we can go to the end of the water seven saga to see another example of this during the moment where Usopp eventually rejoined the crew. Although this time Luffy had a solid grasp on the situation and while Luffy was pretending to ignore Usopp, Zorro was directly backing him up by also saying that he couldn't hear anything until of course Usopp offered a proper apology. And this is a much more subtle moment as is most of the Luffy and Zorro partnership but I find it so interesting that Oda chose to focus on their reactions whilst the rest of the crew was either trying to bring Usopp to their attention like chopper or just silently caught in the middle, not really sure of how to act. Meanwhile, Luffy and Zorro were on the exact same plane of thought, which is what makes them such an effective duo. I honestly don't think there is anybody else on the crew who has the ability to identify with Luffy as strongly as Zorro does. And as such, they are an incredibly powerful combination ready to tackle this world. And of course we should move to Thriller Bark to discuss probably the most obvious example of this relationship in action during the whole conflict against Batholomukuma. In this situation, Luffy had just finished dealing with Gekkomoria and he was down for the count. So the Straw Hats were in a rare situation where they found themselves without a captain. And so what happens? Well, this is another situation in which Zorro stepped up into that role by taking on Kuma and even making a deal with him, not just to preserve the life, the freedom and the dream of Luffy, but the entire crew as well. I mean, he even knocked out Sanji and very much forced him into a state of unconscious safety. And this is where that Baratier scene comes back in full force. When I said the dreams of Luffy and Zorro were now entwined, this is where that whole idea bears fruit. Because here, Zorro was more than willing to sacrifice his life and his dream for that of Luffy's, which of course resulted in the iconic Nothing Happened. But further on right before the time, skip a similar action occurred where Zorro essentially abandoned his quest and begged his ultimate hurdle, Dracule Mihawk, to train him so that he could better serve Luffy's dream. Although it's not an issue that's as simple as say Zorro finding something more important in his own desires. In effect, it's because he and Luffy have the symbiotic nature. He needed to get stronger for Luffy's sake and Luffy needed to get stronger for Zorro's sake. And speaking of, most of the examples I've given here paint a very one sided picture that seems like Zorro making very consistent sacrifice for Luffy. But that's really only because I don't think we've truly been put in a situation where Luffy has needed to act to preserve this the other way around. But there is no doubt in my mind that he would because you can see countless examples from other crew member situations. I mean, he declared war on the well government for Robin, he invaded the territory of an emperor of the sea for Sanji as well as all of our classic stories. Zorro has not required that kind of intervention because he has ultimately always been something of a wall behind Luffy, ensuring that his captain always moves forward. And apart from the battle of Aratiye, Zorro has not had a moment of pure crisis. But if he were to, then these roles would be instantly reversed with Luffy becoming a wall behind Zorro and the two would continue on into the world to cause more chaos and reach for the peak of their pursuits. And this partnership has continued well into the new world era with another example of a Zorro wall moment happening on Pankazad where after initially being beaten by Caesar, Zorro issued Luffy with a reminder slash warning that this was the new world and not to get careless. I mean, who else speaks to Luffy like this? Sure, you have characters like Nami who will always be a constant source of logic but Luffy heats the words of Zorro with a far more serious resolve. They are not the kind of statements made by a subordinate to their superior. They are the words of equals. Although sadly in the post time skip era we have had a bit of an extended period of absence from the stewar. However, that was rectified almost immediately on Wano when the two reunited and the atmosphere of the series immediately shifted. This was no longer a case of Luffy bumbling his way through the world like much of the Hawkeye Island arc. No, the moment these two joint forces again and prepared to take on Basil Hawkins was like a narrative explosion of conqueror's hockey crashing like a wave against the faces of the readers and watchers of the series. But that feeling simply would not be possible without all of the work that Oda has put into building this pair over the last two decades. No, this is not always the most focused on relationship. In fact, I would probably say it's the least focused upon and Luffy tends to have far more moments with other members of the crew but it is always within the context of this original partnership. Luffy leads the crew from the front and Zoro pushes the crew forward from behind which is probably for the best given his sense of direction. But that dynamic is of the utmost importance on this journey. There can be no Luffy without Zoro pushing him and there can be no Zoro without Luffy leading him. And by the end of the series I believe that this dynamic will be remembered as one of the most revered partnerships in the history of storytelling. 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 to your YouTube feed. But for now, this has been the Grand Line Review and I'll see you next time.