sheepfilms
I'd rather be in outer space đ¸

oozey mess

JVL
taylor price
almost home

çĽćĽ / Permanent Vacation

tannertan36

shark vs the universe
Misplaced Lens Cap
Mike Driver
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
art blog(derogatory)

pixel skylines

Xuebing Du
tumblr dot com

titsay
trying on a metaphor
KIROKAZE

seen from Nigeria
seen from United States

seen from Italy
seen from Mexico

seen from Malaysia
seen from Italy

seen from TĂźrkiye

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Puerto Rico

seen from Malaysia

seen from Malaysia
seen from United States

seen from T1

seen from Malaysia

seen from Singapore

seen from Singapore
seen from United States

seen from Indonesia
@caramelpocky

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Tifa Somersault Limitbreak
âđżđđđ đ đđđđžđđ đđ đđđ đđ˝đžđđâŚâ ⨠-- cloud x tifa standee available soon đ
Mugen's Feelings for Fuu: Character Study and Observations
Firstly: this is a response to 10bat who asked me if Mugenâs feelings for Fuu are platonic or if thereâs something else.
Wow, XD Well, as much as I ship Fuugen harder than hell, I donât think I ever bothered to explain their romance beforeâŚor Mugenâs feelings.
Iâd also like to say thank you to 10bat for the comments to my blog before I start ^^ (even though itâs not THAT great).
Here I go.
Mugen as a character is, at first glance an antihero based on his actions and appearance; the tattoos that imply arrest for theft, cocky attitude, killing people without a second thought. But out of all three characters in the anime, Mugen is the most dynamic; changing the most out of all three (although all of them did change).
Growing up in the Ryukyuan Islands, Mugen had no one who ever loved him. In Episode 20, he states that he âNever knew his parents.â The only people we know that he was acquainted with before Fuu and Jin: were Koza and Mukuro in ep 13 and 14. But Mukuro betrayed him by making him take the blame for stealing from the ship, and Koza was needy and wanted love from anyone, even using his âdeathâ to manipulate Jin into killing Mukuro.
Now then, back to Mugenâs feelings for Fuu. I honestly think that Mugen may have developed something for Fuu even before she liked him (or maybe they developed it at the same time). By episode 14, the romantic undertones grow greater.
So hereâs a list of all the ways it is heavily implied Mugen had feelings for Fuu. If someone wants me to do a Fuu rant also, I probably will someday. But for now, letâs focus on Mugen (though Fuuâs feelings will undoubtedly intersect).
Edit: all the links broke to specific scenes because YouTube took Samurai Champloo down in Japanese. You will have to just watch and see for yourself. Iâm giving my rough translation to dialogue sometimes or what I remember. Some can be interpreted different ways because English sub and dub is wrong a lot.
We will be going through (almost) EVERY EPISODE. So fasten your seatbelts. There is a lot.
ââââââââââââââââââââââ
Ep 1: Mugen is shown first from a distance, standing on the road outside the village. Then Fuu is shown⌠Then Jin last.
(While yes, there is a sense of duality between Mugen and Jin, it is important to note that Mugen is officially the main character of Samurai Champloo. According to an interview by Shinichiro Watanabe found in a Newtype USA Magazine, Mugen was the main character thought up, while Jin was only invented later to make the show not âone dimensionalâ. So, Mugen is the dynamic hero, and Fuu and her goal is his motivation and the âpurposeâ of the heroâs journey. Jin is the foil and the rival that changes little by comparison. So please, do not mistake these observations as me âfavoringâ Mugen over Jin. It is very clear that Mugen is more a focus throughout the show. Jin only gets one episode centered around him: Episode 11.)
Fuu and Mugen meet. While there is no romance (yet), Mugen and Fuu have a stare down when he first walks in. It even goes in slow motion where heâs looking at her. Jin and Fuu had no such moment. I think it was meant to show that he is dangerous, a killer, but Fuu isnât afraid in the slightest. She even tells him to leave if he has no money. At the same time, Mugen is able to know Fuu is in danger from one brief glance.
Mugen saves Fuu from getting her fingers cut off. Jin had no part in it. This action starts the long string of times of which Mugen rescues Fuu from harm. Jin will never rescue Fuu alone, until episode 26, when Mugen cannot.
In an interview found in the Roman Album, Japanese voice actors, Ayako Kawasumi (Fuu) was asked who she preferred more as a character; Mugen or Jin. The actress responded with âDefinitely Mugen.â Shinichiro Watanabe (the main director) then decided to include more Fuugen hints throughout the series and this choice dictated the last episode.
Ep 2: When Fuu is passed out drunk, Mugen looks at her sprawled out on the cart and says âIâm going to rape you, you dumb broad.â
The English dub deleted this saying âLetâs strip her and dump her.â which could be interpreted like a prank.
But originally, Mugen says âOkasu kureru.â
âOkasuâ is to âviolateâ or ârapeâ. âKureruâ is to âgive someone somethingâ.
So heâs clearly saying heâs gonna âgive IT to herâ, up.
Mugen never actually did, but this shows he 100% is in fact attracted to her. This throws out the whole âSheâs like a sister to him.â argument that people try to make.
Later, Mugen was poisoned by a woman who said that Fuu was kidnapped by the same guy who hired her to poison him. While it is usually the Japanese dub that reveals Mugenâs feelings for Fuu more, in this case it is the English dub.
In English, Hotaru states: âHe has the antidote and something else you wantâŚeven more.â
Though in Japanese, I think this was worded more along the lines of âAnd he has the girl.â
âWhat?!"Â
"That girl youâre traveling with. I wonder what heâll do to her.â
âShit!â
Only then does Mugen appear worried and run off to save Fuu. Later, Fuu saves his life when Ryujiro is drowning him in the stream. Could this be foreshadowing to how she saves him again and again throughout the series?
MeanwhileâŚJin is fighting a samurai that wanted to bang him in the hotspringsâŚahem.
Fun fact: This entire episode is officially in reference to the anime film Ninja Scroll according to the Roman Album. Itâs a love story. One of the iconic scenes is when the main character (who is poisoned throughout the film) tries to save his canon love interest from a giant, ugly ogre in a temple, who kidnapped her.
There is an identical scene where the giant grabs main characters face, just like how Oniwaka grabs Mugenâs. Hm. (Maybe Iâll make a giant post about all the others ways this anime movie is referenced).
Ep 3 and 4: Mugen runs off from Fuu after not wanting to help her at all. But in ep 4 he saw her locked up in the brothel.
Thereâs a scene where he stops walking in the rain after remembering her scolding him, and he quickly runs back to save her. When he got back to the brothel, she was already gone, having escaped on her own.
âRan away?! That idiot!â or âThat bitch!â in English.â
He kept searching for her, but when he found her with Jin at the gambling den, he said âI only came here because no one was chasing after me.â which we as the viewers see, is a bold faced lie. He JUST went to the brothel to break her out, then went looking for her.
Meanwhile, Jin doesnât bother to save Fuu at the brothel. He only coincidentally met up with Fuu at the gambling den because he was helping Sousuke, the son of the gangster.
Ep 5: Mugen sees Fuu hanging with an artist and says rather jealously âWhat are you doing hanging around with lover boy?â She was only modeling.
Later that night, he asked Jin what happened to Fuu. âHey, where is she?â Jin is too being playing Japanese chess. Mugen says:
âWell, itâs not like I care or anything.â
This line. Is such. a Tsundere line.
The following morning, Mugen literally goes to the artistâs studio and finds a picture of her and asks the artist where she was. She was kidnapped and he ran all across town to rescue her. He ends up saving her but gets no credit as usual.
Jin meanwhileâŚis still playing chess lol.
Ep 6: Not much. She just scolds him in a hay stack and he ignores her.
Ep 7: Fuu was âheld hostageâ by the thief. He shows disinterest at first. Mugen (the violent bastard he is) sees the kid who pick-pocketed Fuu hold a knife to her throat and only then did he flip shit and want to kill the guy.
You can interpret it that he was pissed at the guy for stealing from them and not at all worried about FuuâŚ.
But when he crashed into the building and was going to attack him, Fuu screamed at Mugen to stop. And he did. Even though he hated the guy, Mugen stopped and helped him escape because Fuu told him to. Mugen never takes orders from ANYONE. But when was safe, he defended the thief for her.
Once again, he technically saved Fuu from the drug dealers that were after the thief.
Jin meanwhile, waits outsideâŚ
Ep 8: When a man hits on Fuu, she says rather proudly to Mugen âItâs soooo hard being popular.â most likely to validate herself to being appealing and maybe even get Mugen jealous.
When Mugen gets hit on by a woman, he repeats the same line to Fuu to DEFINITELY get her jealous âItâs sooooo hard being popular.â
Jin is meanwhileâŚtoo drunk to say anything and is dragged along by Mugen. But Mugen isnât one to share a woman with Jin (he won Yatsuha over Jin in ep 15)âŚSo why did he bring Jin along? Maybe he didnât want Jin and Fuu to be alone together(?)
Also,the man who hit on Fuu said his wife looked like Fuu when she was younger. Funny thing, the woman who hit on Mugen was that manâs wifeâŚSo Mugen is actually physically attracted to Fuu after all.
Later when Fuu overhears that Jin killed his master, she gets curious and decides to ask Mugen if he knows anything about it⌠He looks at her, and then he pouts. âI donât know anything.â Then in a much more different (frustrated and annoyed) tone he says âWhy donât you ask him yourself?"Â
Jealousy? Hm.
Ep 9: Mugen had every intention to go back to save Fuu and Jin instead of letting them dieâŚbut he accidentally got high instead. He TECHNICALLY saved the day because it was his fault the trippy plants got set on fire. Sooooo, then all the guards at the border line were too high to kill Fuu and Jin.
Fuu is concerned for Mugen the entire day. Every time something bad happens to him, she comically makes mention of the exact thing that happened to him. To the very end she holds faith he will return, even when Jin gave up on him. They even play romantic music as she sees a silhouette in the distanceâŚ
âMugen⌠You came back.â
But. Nope. Romance foiled again. Itâs the jogger.
Mugen once again, technicallyâŚsaves the day(?)
Ep 10: This one connects to a later episode, ep 16. Mugen ends up getting his hand badly hurt.
Fuu grabs one of them "What happened to your hand?!â
âItâs just a scratch.â and he pulls away rather quickly.
Foreshadow to ep 16???? After leaving Fuu and Jin he lays on the grass. he puts his handâŚthe same hand that she touched above his face, saying âthat little bitchâ which is a nickname he calls her throughout the series. There is a video of this on youtube. âSubliminal Mugen/Fuu clipâ Watch ittttttt.
Ep 11: Pretty big proof in this one.
For a more detailed post on the subject, please refer to this post here: https://ryukyuan-sunflower.tumblr.com/post/646168656861102080/romance-in-samurai-champloo-the-mirror-reflection
Jin canonically falls in love with Shino the courtesan. Not Fuu.
When Fuu is talking about Jin going to brothels, Mugen takes it that sheâs jealous and in turn gets jealous of her and Jin, saying âWhat, are you saying you want to be his girl? Thatâs big talkâŚcoming from a girl so flat.â
He even told her to show him her boobs, once again showing a physical interest in her, despite his incessant denials of such a thing in Ep 16.
Later, when Jin goes to visit Shino, Fuu stops him âAre you going to see that Kohana lady? I know you pity her butâŚâ
âItâs not pity.â
âDonât tell me youâre in love with her! You promised to help me find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. If you go, weâre not friends anymore.â
When Jin leftâŚMugen is shown actually awake, listening to the entire conversation. Jealousy. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR EPISODE 24. DONâT FORGET. FORESHADOWING.
Later when Mugen and Fuu are running to give Jin back his swords, Mugen says âI thought you two werenât friends anymore!â I think it can become plainly obvious that by now, Mugen is getting really jealous of their ârelationshipâ, even when Jin and Fuu are the platonic ones.
Ep 12: Mugen is much more curious than Jin about what she is hiding about her sunflower samurai, to the point where he sneaks through her stuff for her diaryâŚeven though he canât read. When she begins saying âThe first guy who came in was the type I never wanted to be friends with! And after talking with him I was absolutely right!â  he got extremely pissed off and even began swearing at her diary.
After talking shit about Mugen, he gets annoyed. When she said that Jin was attractive when she first saw him, Mugen again got more jealous.
Itâs almost like everything she put in there was to piss Mugen off.
Oh wait. It was.
At the end of the diary, we discover that Fuu added lies in case they read her diary. âServes you right. Idiots.â Note: She didnât know that Mugen couldnât read yet.
Ep 13: HUGE PROOF! The starting point when Fuugen becomes more obvious. This is our first glimpse into Mugenâs past. He doesnât trust anyone, he was an ex-pirate and was betrayed by those who should have been his friends.
When he sees Koza and Mukuro, his shame at the past is reignited.
For the first time Mugen declines an offer to make money and says about Fuu and Jin âTheyâre not my friends or anything.â to which Fuu turns her head at himâŚupset⌠He then says âI promised Iâd protect âem until we get to Nagasaki, thatâs all.â Mugen is actually referring to Fuu since Jin doesnât need protection (and he wants to kill him, not protect him).
This is the first time Mugen admits to desiring to keep his promise. Note how it zooms in of Fuuâs surprised face. Then Kozaâs surprised face here. This will reveal Kozaâs jealousy and assumptions on what Fuu means to Mugen. Assumptions that alsoâŚhappen to be correct.
Mukuro turns to Fuu: âHey, do you have any idea what kind of things heâs done? You know how many people heâs killed? This is hysterical! A guy like you protecting people?!â
When Mukuro said that, Mugen seems defensive and angered, as his expression and eyes covered by his hair. He lashes out by pointing his sword at his neck to shut him up from speaking on the subject. Once Mukuro goads him by saying âThis is the kind of man you are.â, only then does Mugen relent, to prove him wrong.
He is not proud of his past. And he doesnât want Fuu to know about the awful things heâs done. This is interesting⌠Notice how Fuu is also hiding behind Jin in this partâŚnot Mugen. It would seem Jin is the ideal, noble bodyguard, while Mugen is inferior and sinful.
Mugen scoffs, sheathes his swordâŚand turns to look at Fuu and Jin standing beside each other. He then turns away.
âMugen, wait!â Fuu calls, following himâŚ
Koza follows as well. âWait!â.
Mugen ends up taking the job, Fuu meanwhile is worried about Mugen and when he returns, she scolds him saying he shouldnât go. Mugen walks out on her. She chases after him. âMUGEN!â.
Later, Koza on the beach asks Mugen, âAre you happy?â
âI ainât given it much thought.â
In English she then says âFuu is lucky.â THIS IS WRONG. She says âFuu -chan wa shiawase.â Shiawase means happy. So Koza said âFuuâŚis happy.â
âSheâs happy?â
âYeah. Sheâs happy because she gets to be with youâŚ.â
WOAH THERE KOZA! Blatant dialogue?
Then Koza lays her head on his abdomen, saying she wants to be happy with him too, as in be romantic with him in the way she perceives how he is with Fuu. He says that heâs not that type of guy.
ButâŚwhile he abandons Koza on the beachâŚhe does stay with Fuu after this episode.
Later, the ship explodes. Fuu screams Mugenâs name and the episode ends on her screaming. You can really tell itâs her in English, though itâs harder to tell in Japanese. Initially I thought it was Koza because they show her face at that exact second. But notice how they then show Jinâs face, THEN FUUâS FACE. Her mouth is wide in a scream, unlike Koza.
Hereâs japanese.
Hereâs the english where if you watched the whole anime in English, you can easily tell thatâs Fuu screaming his name.
Ep 14: Fuu cries for Mugen for the first time, which will be the start of a log string of times Fuu cries for him. Jin tries to calm her down, and fails.
When Mugen is drowning after being again tricked by MukuroâŚhe sees images of his past. Right before he fades from consciousness, he sees an image of Koza, the first person he really befriended (who betrayed him). Then he sees Jin.
But finally, the last thing he sees before passing out is an image of Fuu scolding him. FORESHADOWING TO THE LAST EPISODE.
The next morning when Fuu spent all night searching for him on the beach, she finds him and begins to cry for a second time and nurses him back to health. (She removed all his clothes ahem. They are hanging outside, and Mugen doesnât wear underwear as is seen in ep 15).
The next scene in the shack isâŚwell itâs subtle and yet not. The romantic undertones are very strong.
Ater nursing upon him, she turns to leave. ButâŚMugen grabs her wrist.
(In Japanese and Korean culture, wrist grabbing is incredibly romantic!)Â
Personally, I believe he wanted to thank her or same some kind word. But, instead, he says heâs hungry. This scene( and this entire episode) is 100% a reference to Cowboy Bebop, and fixes all the âmistakesâ of the Spike and Faye relationship. It is likely he also told her he was hungry so sheâd leave quickly. He likely didnât want her to worry about him and stop him from killing Mukuro. (who Jin already killed).
Fuu returns and yells that Mugen is gone again.
This episode shows their bonding, how Mugen realizes the only woman who cares about him in his life is Fuu. She brings him back from death when the paantu figures came to take his soul. His thoughts of her are what made him live; he has unfinished business in life.
Ep 15: Mugen and Fuu are for the first time shown getting along, laughing together and talking about food. Notice how this is after their huge episode last time.
He then goes to a brothel to relieve some sexual tension. Now, I have the need to point something out.
Mugen is a womanizer. Hits on so many women throughout the series. But. He. Never. Gets.Laid. In. The. Entire. Show. Gee, I wonder why⌠Itâs comedy, and lightheartedness, and for me personally, it would diminish the value of the Fuugen romance.
Jin meanwhile, had sex with Shino in ep 11, and dubiously with two unattractive courtesans in ep 15.
Jin 3
Mugen 0
Nice Jin!
Ep 16: They get into a huuuuge argument.
âYou just want to travel with a cute girl like me! Youâre not the least bit interested in finding the Samurai Who Smells of Sunflowers.â
Notice. How. Jin. Sideglances. At. Mugen here.
Mugen goes into some wild yelling denials. By this point, theyâre both hiding their delicate feelings and poor Jin is literally stuck in the middle.
Mugen also makes the cruel comment that the samurai who smells of sunflowers was probably a guy who raped her and dumped her⌠Mugen in the English subtitles of ep 2 said âIâm gonna rape you, you dumb broad.â when Fuu was passed out drunk. Projection??? Not exactly but, itâs almost like heâs showing off his cruelty, baring his fangs, because sheâs making him go soft.
âIâm trading you up for a tougher model!â
âYou ainât gonna fire me, I quit!â
Jin looks down the road at Fuu. Then he looks down the road at Mugen. He sighs and turns around, following neither of them.
Later in this episode is where Mugen holds his right hand up when he lays on the grass, saying âThat little bitch.â Heâs obviously still thinking about Fuu. See Subliminal Mugen/Fuu clip on youtube again. Itâs 37 seconds long. She grabbed the same hand.
Ep 17: At the end of the episode (after arguing with Fuu last time), they intend to all split up. BUT MUGEN speaks up. He looks ratherâŚupset too. Like, he feels guilty over it. He was always the one who asked about her relationship with the sunflower samurai. He was always the one who was curious, more than Jin. He even asks âIs it revenge?â It makes me wonder if Mugen was gonna beat up the sunflower samurai if it hadnât been her father and someone who hurt her instead? Jin says nothing, only says they should head out then, only saying what Mugen was going to say if he wasnât so damn stubborn.
Jin has unlocked the âMediatorâ achievement. Nice Jin.
A love song plays. You by Kazami.
Ep 18: Mugen gets very defensive when Fuu makes fun of him for not reading⌠But she actually wanted to teach him, even shooed Jin away so they could have quality time together. Sadly, he got kidnapped by the drunken master teacher.
Fuu is then a prize in a graffiti contest between two twin brothers.
When Mugen returns from a day of learning, Fuu brags how two guys are fighting over her. Mugen responds indifferently with âSounds rough.â
BUT, when she says the compeitition to get her is is a âwordâ contest, he gets all interested âWords?â
Itâs not just two men fighting. Itâs a free for all. Anyone can join in. And Mugen intends to win it.
He competes, drawing his signature of the Mugen infinity symbol at the top of the castle (HOW DID NO ONE BESIDES ME NOTICE THAT HE PLANNED TO WIN FUU?!) Again he saved Fuu (?) Meanwhile, Jin is justâŚtrying to keep the peace.
SureâŚMugen was showing off. But boy does he look happy at the end. He protected Fuu from men trying to have her for their own.
Jin also meanwhile WAS TOTALLY OKAY WITH PIMPING HER OFF TO WHOEVER WON IT. God. Jin. You are such a bad friend.
PLOT TWIST: it turns out the winner gets Momo (not Fuu) âŚBut Mugen, Jin and Fuu didnât know that at the time lmao.
Next episode, Mugen wakes up shirtless to Momo attached to his face. He got his prize.
Ep 19: Mugen is the one who wakes Fuu up when she got knocked out. He grabs her by the cheeks and pulls, in a funny intimate gesture. (In the manga, he grabs her cheeks again with some cute dialogue.) When Fuu gets kidnapped this ep, Mugen starts yelling, saying sheâs an idiot.
He is the one to go wild and attack the false Frances Xavier. Jin is kinda justâŚbackup. Crazy bastard jumps off a cross. Mugen saves the day.
At the end, when Fuu says that Kasumi Seizou is her father, Mugen hangs his head low when walking away, more so than Jin. Mugen never really walks like that⌠Though Iâm uncertain, I wonder if this is shame at how heâd spoken so badly about her father: âsome pansyâ, âa guy who raped you and dumped youâ etc.
Ep 20: HUGE proof.
To begin with, this ep more reveals Fuuâs feelings for Mugen. But since weâre focusing on Mugenâs feelings, weâll skip around.
Mugen and Fuu see each other naked. A painfully common romantic trope in anime and dramas. Painfully. Jin is meanwhile, cleaning his sword (not a dirty pun).
When Sara asks Fuu privately what Mugen looks like, Fuu gets extremely defensive on the subject.
âYou shouldnât waste your time on a guy like that! Heâs an ugly toad! Sometimes I wonder if heâs even human. More like a monkey or aâŚgorilla.â Her voice falls low.
Sara asks. ââŚWhat?â
In Japanese, Fuu mumbles, then sinks into the hot spring and starts blowing bubbles. Painfully. Obvious. Fuu was lying. She was jealous that Mugen might have a thing for Sara and wanted to prevent it. It was especially strange how right after this, Fuu stomps to Mugen and Jinâs room, whips open the door when Mugen is shirtless, stares at him with a blush andâŚapologizes.
Apologizes for all the bad things she said about him.
When Sara asked Fuu âWho would you rather not want to separate from?â Fuu gets flustered saying âWe donât have that type of relationship!â hiding her face underneath the blankets. We later seeâŚthat while Fuu is upset to separate with either of them, she inevitably chooses Mugen to stay over Jin.
She even cries when thinking about parting from them, Jin finds her at this part⌠I believe she may have been crying over Mugen, so thatâs technically the third time if you decide to count it. But it is possible she is crying for Jin too.
Towards the end of the episode, Fuu cries for Jin leaving. (This is the only time she ever pfficialluy cried over Jin) But unlike the emotional, painful times she cries for Mugen, this is instead served as comedy. Weâll tally up all the times she cried over Mugen at the end.
Mugen gets jealous AGAIN when she started bawling over Jin; Â saying âI wouldâve left too!â And âStop crying, idiot!â.
He comically stomps away. Maybe he believed that Fuu actually wouldnât have chosen Mugen over Jin after all, and she was only testing Jin to see if heâd leave tooâŚ. I think this pissed Mugen off, like he doesnât matter, and he actually wasnât planning on leaving Fuu anyway, but she had more faith in Jin than him. Heâs âexpendableâ.
Also, letâs rewind a bit! Didnât Mugen only stay with Fuu so he could duel Jin by the end? With Jin gone, why the hell would he stay with Fuu alone?! Plus, when Mugen wants something, he gets it. So if he wanted to go with Sara, he wouldâve left Fuu.
I think Mugen was also a little pissed with Jin that he so easily left Fuu. He says ââŚThat bastard didnât put up much of a fight.â with a disapproving look on his face, before Fuu started crying.
Jin meanwhileâŚgets attacked by Sara.
Ep 21: HUGE PROOF. This is the ep where Fuu subtly confessed her feelings to Mugen. Mugenâs ep to confess to Fuu is 25.
When Sara badly wounds Mugen she says âEven though I canât see you, I can still sense it.â
âSay what?!â
âPowerful hatred and rage swirl within you. They are so powerful that I canât tell whether or not it is sadness.â
âItâs as if youâve never been loved by anyone.â When she says that, Mugenâs eye narrows in anger. âItâs as if you are like me.â
âAre you telling me that you know how Iâm gonna come at you?! THAT"S A LOAD OF CRAP!"Â
"STOP IT, JUST STOP IT!â Fuu screams.
He collapses in pain as soon as he hears Fuuâs screams. .In ep 2 when she screamed for Mugen to stop fighting, he didnât. Instead, the ogre Oniwak a did. Now, as soon as she screamed to stopâŚhe stopped and fell and Sara didnât. It was likely just from pain, but the parallels still exist.
âMugen!â
âDonât come closer!â he yells to Fuu, because he is afraid sheâll get hurt by Sara. âSTAY BACK!â He maybe doesnât want her to be attached because no one should be attached to him. If she does, sheâll only get hurt.
(If any of you watched the Japanese movie Azumi, this is the exact lines Hyuga screams to Yae when he is bleeding on the ground dying. Hyuga had feelings for Yae. Hereâs the link to that scene⌠ThoughâŚunless you plan to watch the whole movie, donât finish the scene or just start from the beginning)
But then, Fuu jumps across his wounded body, saving his life. She couldnât bear to see him die. Mugenâs face is one of shock and it is there that he realizes that FuuâŚcares about him more than anyone in his life.
When Sara said that âItâs as if heâs never been loved by anyone,â she was proved wrong by Fuu because Fuu loved him enought to risk her very life to save him. That is why Sara spares them.
Earlier to Fuu in Ep 20, Sara had said âOne thing I canât understand is what people are feeling. Which is the one you donât want to leave?â
Here, Sara realizes that Mugen means so much to her, that she would rather fucking DIE than see him die.
Fuu again takes care of Mugen. There is a little scene of her applying green paste to his cuts. And him being all annoyed. Cute shit. Later, when they are still alone, she says: âHey, letâs stop this.â as in, letâs stop looking for the samurai who smells of sunflowers.
âHuh?â
âItâs justâŚwith you gone⌠I donât know what Iâll do.â
Canât get any more painfully obvious than this folks. Or can it?
When he goes off to fight Sara for a second time, she even wakes up in the middle of sleep saying âMugen?â sensing that heâs gone again.
Jin couldâve very well be dead throughout this episode and Fuu didnât even shed a tear⌠Honestly, poor Jin. This is probably another reason why Ginpei Sato got so damn annoyed with the writing in his interviews.
But at least Shino cried for him right?
Ep 22: UmmâŚMugen fought off zombies. Mugen saves the day(?) Nope. Jin did. WITH LOGIC.
Ep 23: This episode is frickinâ goofy as all hell. The baseball one. However, there is proof. Fascinating proof.
While Jin meanwhile, dies on the field (âI amâŚashamed.â) along with everyone else, Mugen, the ninja and Fuu are the last three standing.
When Fuu is next up to batâŚMUGEN STOPS HER!
âI want you to stay out of this.â
That concern. Fuu nods and scoots away. Who knew such a goofy ep showed how much he cared about her, wanted to protect her from getting killed by flying baseballs. Once again, Mugen was the hero of this ep. Just saying.
In addition, this goofy episode actually shows a giant shift in Mugenâs whole character.
In episode 1, Mugen proudly declares âI donât give a damn about all this. Iâm from the Ryukyus.â Mugen sees himself as an outsider. Not Japanese.
But in this episode, he screams, âGo back to your own country!â to the Americans. Mugen officially identifies as Japanese. Why? Because he wants to protect a Japanese woman from the âforeign menaceâ, which seems to be a reference to Japanese sentiment during World War II.
Ep 24: Really big proof again. Fuu chooses Mugen to talk first about his past at the campfireâŚwhich he doesnât. Avoidant and nonchalant as always.
Fuu and Jin instead share heart to hearts. When Fuu is talkingâŚthere is a SPECIFIC part where Mugen is staring at her with a strange, almost soft look on his face.. But then he looks at the campfire as if with regret.
When Mugen lays âasleepâ (this is how it connects to ep 11 with Jin and Fuu talking about Shino and Mugen jealously listening in secret) Fuu and Jin talk alone again.
âFuu.â This is the first time Jin used Fuuâs name. AhemâŚthere was no honorific either, showing closeness more than rudeness: which are both circumstances to use no honorifics.
âEh?â
âOnce you find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. What do you intend to do after that?â
Fuuâs facial expression changes from a smile to a sad look⌠She looks down, then up. âThatâs a really good question. I ought to give that some thought.
Jin says "If I should-â
But she interrupts him. âYou know, I donât really want to think about stuff like that. If you did, Mugen would-â but she interrupts herself, crying and saying âIâm sorry. Iâm so sorry.â she hugs Jin, who puts a reassuring palm on her shoulder.
Mugen is meanwhile shown briefly; not asleep at all, watching this with a sad/angered look on his face. Jealousy. Connects to ep 11 where he listens in secrete when Jin and Fuu are alone.
This conversation between Jin and Fuu has made TONS of speculation. I personally think Jin was going to say âIf I should survive. If I should kill Mugen, would you like me to still keep traveling with you?â after all, Jin and Mugen were planning to duel to the death once their debt was paid to her. Plus, he must have felt bad for Fuu; seeing as how sheâd be alone. I donât at all believe Jin harbored romantic feelings for her, more like a brother of father figure. And he saw her as his lord worth serving.
The exact phrase Fuu uses here is: âDatte, Mugen no aitsu gaâŚâ
I have read once, that a possible continuation of this line is âMugen no aitsu ga suki desu.â
This fits surprisingly well, and makes toooons of sense for the context of the entire scene. So letâs just humor this possible dialogue for a moment.
BELOW IS MY INTERPRETATION OF THE UNSAID WORDS BETWEEN THEM:
âOnce you find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. What do you intend to do after that?â
âThatâs a really good question. I ought to give that some thought.â
"If I should win against Mugen in the duelâŚwould you like me to continue to serve you?â
"You know, I donât really want to think about stuff like that. Because I love Mugen.â
*tears up*
"Iâm sorry. Iâm so sorry.â
This makesâŚa lot of sense??? It makes even MORE sense when this is added on to the later sceneâŚin which Jin flashbacks to that riverbank scene and SENDS MUGEN TO SAVE HER. HE KNOWS.
Mugen was just as confused about this scene as us viewers lol; showing jealousy by revealing to only the viewers, that Mugen was watching from afar as Fuu hugged Jin.Â
The next day, when Fuu hands the coin purse over, she hands it to MUGEN. MUGEN THE IRRESPONSIBLE MONEY WASTER. When he gets it, he shoves it over to JinâŚI think again, showing distaste, believing she prefers Jin.
At the end, Umanousuke, whose sole purpose is to get revenge on Mugen, follows Fuu. He says:
âDonât be in such a rush miss⌠I know what itâs like. Life can be such a bitch, canât it? You travel such a long way, and it all blows up in your face right before you reach your destination.Thatâs right. I want him to get a good taste of that feeling. I want him to understand how we feel.â
Umanousuke is referring to Mugen, saying he wants to hurt Fuu to give him a good taste of pain. To have him lose something precious to him, just like how Mugen ruined Umanousukeâs life.
At this point, heâs developed some serious feelings for her.
âW-what are you talking about?â
âIâm saying thatâŚthis place will be your grave.â
This was all foreshadowed in ep 2, where the man used Fuu as a bargaining chip to get Mugen. FunnyâŚ
Ep 25: BIGGEST PROOF.
When Mugen finds out she was taken hostage, he gets realllly pissed. Jin saysÂ
"Go.â
âNO! You go!â Mugen is being stubborn again. And I think it is largely based on what he saw on the riverbank. Fuu hugging Jin.
But then, Jin has a flashback of that scene where Fuu cried into his chest about Mugen. This is where Jin accepts that Fuu always chose Mugen over him, Mugen always saved her throughout the series, and ultimately, itâs Mugen she wants to save her again.
âTake care of Fuu.â Â This is the English subtitle and also the english dub. HOWEVER, Iâm not a complete expert in Japanese but Jin said âFuu wo tanomu.â
I believe another translation could be âI am entrusting Fuu to you.â
Damn.
Thereâs a silence. The wind starts blowing. Mugenâs mouth opens with confusion.
Daaamn.
Mugen grits his teeth. That was all Jin needed to say and Mugen is off running to save the girl, as always.
Reminder: MUGEN NEVER TAKES ORDERS! When someone tells him what to do, he does the opposite. Any time Jin told him what to do, Mugen refused to listen or did the opposite. The only person he listened to was Fuu (reluctantly). And now heâs listening to Jin when it concerns Fuu? Hmm. Plus, Mugen must always defeat and opponent stronger than him. He MUST kill Kariya Kagetoki. But he abandons that, letâs Jin take the samurai out (even if that means Jin took down someone he couldnât!) all because heâs going to save Fuu.
Jin smiles as he leaves. (Heâs the biggest Fuugen shipper. And thatâs a damn fact.)
Mugen swims the entire distance to Ikitsuki Island, his hand bleeding out, exhausted. But he doesnât stop. He has to save her. When he sees her there, Mugen is pissed how sheâd been beaten.
At the Church, Fuu tells Umanousuke that Mugen doesnât care, that he wonât come to save her⌠But he does. And heâs not very happy about how Umanousuke has been treating her.
âReturn her to me.â
âKaishiteâ implies possessiveness. âReturnâ. âGive back.â
Just. Watch the scene. Really actually watch it.
Like the Sara scene of episode 21, this is where Mugen says he loves her. He gives up his sword for her. Unlike Jin, his sword doesnât represent honor or title. He isnât a samurai. All he is, is a wandering drifter. No home, no money, no nothing. His sword is his life, the only thing that kept him alive. He gave it up for Fuu. This is similar to how Jin gave up his katana to the brothel for Shino. JIN NEVER GAVE UP HIS SWORDS. HE LOVED THEM AND CUDDLED THEM AT NIGHT.
Notice how Jin never gave his swords up for Fuu, only for Shino. Both men did the same action to their respective love interests.
âGo. You still havenât found your sunflower dude.â
A calm, almost romantic sounding background track begins to play. It only plays here, and nowhere else. Its name is âYour Purposeâ by Fat Jon. The one lyric is⌠âYouâ.
âBut Mugen⌠I canât leave you.â
âDonât give me that crap. Iâm gonna be pissed off if we came all this way for nothinâ. Get lost.â
He cares that sheâll find her father. He wants her to survive. And he might die. But he doesnât want her to see that.
âI canât. What if theyâŚâ
âI ainât gonna die. Have some faith in me, will ya?â
In Japanese, he uses the word âShinjirouâ. Faith. Believe in. Trust.
Now, this little bit interestingly connects to his dialogue in Episode 12. In Fuuâs diary she says at a point, âI vowed to never trust Mugen again.â Here, Mugen screams at her diary. âGood! See if I care that you donât trust me!â But now, Mugen is practically begging Fuu to trust in him, believe in him.
He always came back to her every time he left. Always saved her. Always. This time is no different.
âOh MugenâŚâ
âBeat it.â
âGet lost.â
âI SAID GO!â
With that she finally departs. When she runs, sheâs again crying for him because she believes heâll die. That marks the fourth/fifth time she cried for him in the series. 1 was when  she saw the ship explode in 14. 2 When she found him washed up on the beach in 14. 3 Possibly when Jin found her crying when Sara wanted to bring one of them along. 4 When she saved him from Sara.
Umanousuke laughs: âYou almost make me cry! Are you really gonna throw your life away for a woman!â
Mugen has no reply. It shows Mugenâs stone cold face as a reaction to that statement. Umanousuke speaks the truth. He is throwing his life in the way for her, just as she did for him in Episode 21.
He gets tortured for her etc etc. etc. Throughout his torture, she continues to cry up the path to the cliff.
Final ep 26: The finale.
When Jin gets stabbed she calmly says "JinâŚâ
When the bomb goes off in back of her, she screams âMUGEN!â much more emotionally.
This is significant. Back to the Samurai Champloo actor interviews, Ayako Kawasumi confirms that she initially held back on the Mugen scream, but the sound director told her to scream louder and to not hold back. âDonât worry about Jin.â
When Mugen is fading from life for the second time, foreshadowed in ep 14âŚthis time he finally gives up on life. Heâs ready as he says âI canât move anymore. I think this might really be my time to goâŚâ But he hears her voice, and he realizes that he has a reason to live still. "Mugen!â âMugen!â âMUGEN!â
âMugen, youâre alive.â
âOh, itâs you? I thought you were death for a second.â
She has her hand on his chest in this intimate, heartwarming moment.
âIt seems like all I ever do is cry⌠And here I was trying to make it on my ownâŚâ This is the last time she cries for him. Sixth/Seventh. She needed him throughout the journey. Mugen needed her to come back from death, and to finally be redeemed by the paantu figures that haunt him throughout the series.
âDumb broad.â
In Japanese, he says âBaka yarou.â
This is one of his common nicknames he always says to her throughout the series. But for the first time, he says it calmly, with no spite or anger. Itâs almost teasing and endearing.
Mugen never used Fuuâs name. She always said his name even more than she said Jinâs. The irony.
âDid you meet the sunflower samurai?â he asks.
She nods, still crying.
Unfairly, Jin never has any moment like this with Fuu at the end, just like he never had a slow motion moment when he first met her, or had a moment where Fuu throws her life in the way to save him, etc etc.
Jin is meanwhile, over thereâŚchillinâ. As always.
Then, Mugen gets up and Jin and him will have their final duel.
She closes her eyes. If you look at the silhouette on the water; Fuuâs shadow is behind Mugenâs.
Interestingly, this is identical to the end of episode 14, with Mugen, Shiren and Koza.
Shiren stands in front of Koza on the right. Mugen eviscerates him from the left.
Here, Mugen is in front of Fuu on the right. Jin is on the left.
Perhaps, Fuu believes Jin will win, which would then connect to the implications and interpretations I made about the strange cryptic dialogue on the riverbank in episode 24. This is all purely speculation though.
They heal, they part ways. If you look at the ending credits⌠They are very hopeful.
It ends on Mugen, who is always shown first, signifying a new beginning. A bird is also watching him from a tree, just like in episode 14. Another parallel. There has been some speculation that this bird and the one in 14 are tanagers, as they have similar color patterns. Why this is significant is, in Japanese, tanagers are called âFuuâŚkinchou.â
Fuuâs name, has other variants such as wind or style. So this is more speculation. Will we ever know?
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
Okay. Now then. Based on all of these scenes, Itâs pretty obvious that it was not one sided on Fuuâs part. Mugen genuinely cared for Fuu and is implied to have developed a romantic and intimate love for her that differs greatly from how Jinâs interactions were portrayed with Fuu.
While yes, Mugen is proven to be physically attracted and curious about her by multiple examples of his own dialogue, there is definitely a bigger emotional love at work here.
Sidenote: Before anyone tries to pull the moral card on me, Mugen being nineteen/twenty is NOT weird for liking a fifteen turning sixteen year old girl. This is Edo era Japan. Hundreds of years ago. Women were considered as young as thirteen and the brain doesnât fully mature until the age of 24 for every woman anyway. Even in America not a hundred years ago, girls were getting married younger than that age.
Fuuâs mental age is also much higher considering her responsibility, her work, being an orphan and the trauma she experienced and endured through. Women also can physically stop developing at a very young age. Personal anecdote: I stopped developing physically around thirteen/fourteen, and was often accosted by men at that age⌠Yes, itâs awkward. But I will not attack those men for making the mistake. How could they have known my age when even up to 20, I looked nearly identical? To me, in modern society, it is wrong and disgusting when an older man finds out a young girlâs age and continues to pursue her. If he didnât know and apologizes, he shouldnât be crucified for it.
Another controversial sidenote for westerners: In Japan, the age of fifteen is glorified as beautifulâŚÂ It is not uncommon of frowned upon for Japanese idols and bikini models to start their careers around this age⌠Many, many teenage anime characters are often portrayed sexually despite the young age. Itâs morally deplorable for us Americans and sometimes extremely difficult to look at from an outside lensâŚ
Back on topic, Mugen and Fuu romance is not at all morally reprehensible in Tokugawa era Japan, or in the Japanese universe of fiction. Itâs a 4/5 year age difference⌠Thatâs not a lot. As time goes on between them, that age gap is gonna diminish. Though, a personal interpretation on Mugen as a character is that he held back on pursuing her because of not only his issues with trust, but also because he seen her as so pure, and innocent, and good, when his entire backstory is cruel and sinful.
The symbolism of using Paantu, Ryukyuan entities that ward off evil, as the things that want to kill him, seem to solidify this. They arenât demons. HEâS THE DEMON THAT THEY ARE KILLING. But notice what stops them from going after him.
Fuu.
It is Fuuâs love and his love for her, that saves him from them. He is purified. Healed. Redeemed.
He has become a hero. Not a villian.
So letâs do a recap.
Mugen saves Fuu a bazilion times. Jin saves her once in ep 26.
Fuu saved Mugen from death on 3 occasions. Fuu never has any such moment with JinâŚ
Fuu cried over Mugen six/seven times. Fuu cried over Jin one/two times. And the one time, it was comical.
The possible second time, was when Jin found Fuu on the bridge and she began to cry about giving one of them to Sara. It could have been about either Mugen or Jin, or both. We donât know.
So, some personal interpretations, I believe Mugen as an individual suffers from emotional dissonance, since he is a person with an identity that is supposed to be cruel, unloving, antihero etc. But Fuu takes that identity and how the world perceives him and throws it out of a window. She makes him care when heâs not supposed to. She makes him a protector, a savior. She ultimately changes him as a person who could give two shits about others, into a better human being willing to die to save her. Fuu gave Mugen identity crisis.
Furthering this, Fuu also makes him question his taste in women. He claims he likes busty women. But he also states he likes âhot blooded womenâ and âi can get used to this rough stuff.â Fuu hits him, screams at him, tugs at him, demands things from him etc etc. She protects other people, isnât afraid to fight (even though sheâs bad at it). She bashes guys with pots, bites their fingers, jumps out of brothel windows, whips out her tanto etc etc etc. Sheâs one tough cookie.
More proof itâs romantic love, Fuu became infuriated and jealous with him flirting with women throughout the show, and it finally boiled over with Sara. Mugen meanwhile, was extremely possessive and jealous when it came to the artist Moronobu, went out of his way to win her in Episode 18 in a contest against âtwo men vying for herâ, and finallyâŚJin. Notice how Jin didnât get jealous over Fuu or Mugenâs interactions with anyoneâŚ
By my interpretatipn, his feelings for Fuu, romantic and intimate, were strange and foreign to him. And he never ended up acting upon them, but he thoroughly expressed them with his actions by putting his life and well being on the line for her. When two people suppress their feelings, it turns into an extremely subtle romance. And that was what made the anime so perfect. If you arenât into romance, you can watch it for the action, the story. But if youâre like me, you can examine the characterâs interactions too.
For Mugen specificallyâŚhis words often donât align with his actions.
I ship it. I believe Mugen and Fuuâs feelings were undoubtedly mutual, and I hope that added some insight.
On another noteâŚMugen flipped the coin that saved him from the fate of traveling with her. And Fuu tricked him into thinking he lost. Jin, chill as he is, was just along for the ride and made some annoyingly loudmouthed friends.
ONE FINAL NOTE..Mugen and Fuu still have someâŚunfinished business from episode 1. Whatever happened to the 100 dumplings?
LuNa analysis: post-timeskip highlights
After so long without finding something else to analyze, a shallow shipper gave us the idea for this post and its soon-to-follow Fairy Tail counterpart.
When going through the analyses of LuNa as a potent relationship, some may point out most of the highlights come from pre-timeskip works. Is it because thereâs no post-timekip material?
Of course there is more material. However, One Piece is a plot-driven story with loads and loads of characters as well as several mysteries that slowly unfold. As such, the characters and their bonds donât always take central stage unless it is for something relevant to the plot, and after the timeskip we got a lot more to unpackage.
But, that doesnât mean LuNa doesnât have moments post-timeskipâŚ
There are small interactions and details that arenât great enough to warrant a complete analysis, but there are also moments great enough to stand out. One of my favorite moments from Fishman Island was Luffy getting his neck around NamiâŚ
âŚafter that, they bicker about venturing into dangerous places or not. But, not even once Nami expressed discomfort for the way Luffy wrapped himself around her. And weâve seen a contrast, multiple times, in how she responds when someone else tries to perv on her. They end up eating lightningâŚ
âŚor feeling the might of her fist
As if Nami becomes superhuman just to yeet some people away lol
It all shows how Nami trusts Luffy a lot more than other people. And take into consideration, this contrast only works in the context of the manga, without factoring anime filler that may contradict the original source, which happens quite often.
Aside from other small interactions, we got some odd moments I rarely mention in Punk Hazard, mainly because they happen after Law pulls a Freaky Friday on half of the crew, and Nami ended up in Frankyâs body.
While she trusted Zoro could stop Sanji from, letâs just say, crossing some lines with her body, the one person she trusted to save her from the Yeti Cool Brothers was her captainâŚ
âŚNami believed in Luffy to the point she could see the brothersâ defeat as an undeniable fact.
Next, we get a simple yet complex moment, by the time her mind was changed to Sanjiâs body. While this scene displays some aspects of the chemistry between these characters, it also shows something interestingâŚ
âŚby the time Luffy and Law make an alliance that could take Luffy several steps closer to his goal, Nami raised an objection to the plan while presenting an alternative so they can save the Punk Hazard children. Law initially dismissed the idea, and implied she had to stay behind to save the kids on her own. However, Luffy declares heâll fully support Namiâs proposal instead of following Lawâs original idea.
Another reader once explained that this scene is relevant to their dynamic because it shows Luffy drawing a line between his pal, and his companion, as in Namiâs take on this matter holds more weight than Lawâs idea.
At the end of the arc we just have another small interaction that doesnât give us much except for their dynamic involving playing aroundâŚ
Some people like to joke or tease around using this moment, we could say that it shows how comfortable is Nami with her captain.Â
The following arc is Dressrosa, and here you notice the lack of moments partly because the crew splits into two groups. One of the scenes we could get was something similar to the scene from Punk Hazard with LawâŚ
âŚNami relaying the plan to split off into two teams so they can keep Ceasar and Momonosuke away from Doflamingo, and Luffy fully supporting her idea. Itâs a moment thatâs rarely mentioned because itâs more of an intellectual thing; Nami was once deemed by other japanese sources as the âcaptainâ behind the âcaptain,â the âbrainâ to the Luffyâs âbrawn,â and the way she fulfills such a role here lends credibility to those claims.
However, with Dressrosa being the 2nd longest Post-timeskip arc, the shift in focus to other characters to develop the story, and Namiâs team absence during most of it, we donât have many moments until we finally get their reunion in Zou, in which Nami tears up after glomping Luffy:
Nami has hugged other characters, by the time of writing this post, she recently welcomed Jinbei as part of a group hug.
But, what makes this one is interesting is the context, which makes it even more consistent with Luffy and Namiâs dynamic, and because several shallow shippers tend to misunderstand the moment and overhype other premises instead, but I digress. But, you only get how deep this moment is to LuNa when you factor previous manga showings. Letâs start by breaking it down:
We find Nami sleeping on Yomaâs (the sheep mink) belly. As soon as Chopper tells her Luffy and the rest finally arrived sheâs overjoyed. When they meet, her first reaction is running right into her captainâs armsâŚ
She couldâve ran to Usopp, Robin, or maybe Zoro. But, she went straight to Luffy. But, oddly enough thatâs not what makes this moment stand out. She starts happy and ecstatic at Luffyâs return, but itâs only when sheâs in his arms that we see a changeâŚ
âŚshe breaks down. When we factor pre-timeskip showings we get to see why this is such a good moment between Luffy and Nami: as soon as he was there, she poured her heart out because Luffy is the one whoâs been her emotional anchor so far. The person that helps her to regulate and stabilize her emotions while offering hope and comfort.
The next chapter, Nami is no longer crying, sheâs shown far calmer and more collected after their reunion.
We now move to the WCI arc, while skipping multiple filler additions, and arrive to another hightlight: Luffy/Nami Vs. Cracker. During this battle we get a bold proclamation from Nami that surprised even Luffy himselfâŚ
âŚwhat makes this moment great, even before factoring the next chapters, is what we found in pre-timeskip showings. It proves how the characterization and plot of Odaâs works is so intertwined, that leaving out the first half of the story doesnât let you fully appreciate the weight and actual impact of several scenes.
Fortunately, this scene is not just a call-back or a nice display of character progression. It sets up what comes next. The important thing to take away from this is that for Nami, the prospect of Luffy fulfilling his dream and becoming the Pirate King is a guarantee of success. Even when facing an Emperorâs underling, her faith in Luffy makes her certain of their victory.
This leads us to one of the most memorable moments from the arc: Luffy Vs. Sanji
I made an analysis on this one, but to avoid repeating myself hereâs a summary of what happened: Sanji bad-mouthed Luffy and his dream of becoming Pirate King while brutalizing his captain, who decided not to fight back. It got so bad that Nami went as far as to claim theyâll leave just to stop Sanji from attacking Luffy.
While many people, newcomers, and youtubers may focus in this scene after Luffy falls in the groundâŚ
âŚthe story pays attention to two interesting details. First, the famous slap. Contrary to what many shippers believe, Nami didnât do that out a inch in her panties, and yes! I know Iâm borrowing an argument
The context lets us know why she decided to do this. When they were fighting Cracker, Namiâs confidence on their victory was intrinsically tied to Luffy and his dream. Her faith and hope in Luffy gave her courage.
Sanji, in his effort to drive away his crewmates from the island, attacked both Luffy and his dream. And what was the best way Nami found to retaliate? Delievering a physical and verbal blow while mimicking Sanjiâs âroyalâ act
Here, Iâll borrow another argument: instead of following Sanji to save him from the situation that made him kick an already weakened and wounded Luffy over and over again, or begging him to allow her to stay with him and help. She chose to walk away to go to Luffyâs sideâŚ
âŚbetraying fansâ expectations, she even questioned Luffyâs refusal to let Sanji go on the basis of how he mistreated her captain. Which Nami took more personal than Luffy did
And weâre still not done!
The manga keeps delievered in this regard, and kept betraying shippersâ expectations. For example, shortly after Luffy declared he wonât give up on Sanji, Big Mom sent an army against Luffy. At first, Nami begged Luffy to hide, but when he decided to take on the incoming forces, Nami, instead of running awayâŚ
âŚchoose to fight overwhelming odds alongside her captain and the only hommie they had left.
If we skip other minor stuff as well as several filler additions, we can talk about an interesting moment when Luffy brings Katakuri with him to the mirror world, and destroy the way back to the Sunny. He tells Nami to destroy all mirrors to prevent the enemy from using them to get to the ship, even though that would leave no way for Luffy to return to the ship
Even if itâs a display of leadership on Luffyâs part, it also gives the reader a chance to see how hard is for Nami to follow Luffyâs command due to her concern for himâŚ
âŚdespite being worried about Luffy, Nami ultimately follows his orders and, through her own determination, reinforces Luffyâs authority as captain when the others question her actions.
This dynamic empowers both characters: Luffy proves to be a great leader, while Nami shows how capable she is as an acting commander, which is consistent with Odaâs description of her characterâs natural queenlyness.
Now, Wano doesnât have many moments due to the way it splits the crew again, the plot-driven story focusing on the country itself, and Wanoâs connection to major players as well as many things that are way too spoilerish to share here. Point is Wano doesnât have much LuNa. But, after skipping non-canon additions once again, we get something interesting in the chapter 995
For the context, once again Iâll borrow something from someone whoâs been analyzing One Piece on a more regular basisâŚ
After Ulti does a number on her, she gives Nami an ultimatum. The japanese dialogue suggest that Ulti wants to force Nami to state that thereâs no way Luffy will become the Pirate King. If Nami doesnât do as sheâs told, sheâll get killed.
But, even when facing certain death, Nami reaffirms Luffy will be the Pirate King in the japanese version, and she ends her response with 羜寞㍠(Zettai ni), a term that means that what Nami spoke was, from her own perspective, an absolute fact.
To fully comprehend this moment, we would have to make a reference to the pre-timeskip set up again, but for the purpose of this analysis thatâs out of the question.Â
While she had previously stated Luffy is the future Pirate King before, she never did it in such a dire situation. She had no way out, and only if she disavows Luffyâs dream sheâll get to survive⌠but, even when facing certain death, sheâs incapable of renouncing her faith in Luffy, the truth she believes in
The conclusion may sound like a broken record, but itâs a good reminder nonetheless: these moments are not something explicitly romantic. But, theyâre the signs of a potent relationship capable of growing within the framework of the series, without filler or any Toei-exclusive material.
And their moments are not only pre-timeskip stuff. Thereâs a lot of moments and interactions to cover in the span of hundreds of chapters, so much in fact that I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of materialâŚ
I couldnât include all of it. So, what you have here are just highlights, but the authorâs works offer even more, all without deameaning the characters involved nor taking over the plot.
BONUS
Some of you may heard of One Piece Film: Gold. But, few fans are aware of Odaâs contribution to the movie. According to an interview with the director and the writer, Oda remade the climax of the film, which ended up improving the flow and the pacing as well as including a parallel between the tragedy the villainâs past self and his loverâŚ
âŚand Luffy and Nami. Itâs interesting that Odaâs storyboard had Luffy and Namiâs situation mirroring that of a romantic relationship (confirmed in Volume 777). Itâs a nice little detail thatâs still technically both post-timeskip and the work of the author himself.
Next: NaLu post-timeskip highlights, and then an important announcement about the future of this blog

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
** Permission to post it was granted by the artist Do not repost/edit the art without permission Please, support the artist on their pages too **
Artist : SPYKEEE (pixiv / twitter)
Source
Friendly reminder, it is not âmorally correctâ to boycott a video game just because you dislike someone distantly associated with it. You arenât helping trans people by not buying Hogwarts Legacy, nor are you hurting them by buying it. You know who you are hurting if you donât buy the game? The people who actually made the game, and the people who enjoy the franchise.
This has the same energy as choosing not to go to a store because the cashier a few lanes down from the one youâre in had an opinion you disagreed with. The developers know about this nontroversy and have literally gone out of their way to ensure the distance between them and JK Rowlingâs opinions is a great one. If anything, what youâre telling companies whoâve put in the effort is that they shouldnât put in any effort at all. You make touching anything regarding LGBT toxic.
If you genuinely just donât like the game, donât buy it then, thatâs whatever. But if your issue is this idea that youâre âendorsing transphobiaâ then worry not, because thatâs not what youâre doing by buying a video game.
âď¸đ
DespuĂŠs del festejo...
đđđ
â ăăăżăă ă ăŻăłăăă¤ăăăďź ă â â republished w/permission âł âł follow me on twitter

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Nami analysis: Luffy will definitely become the Pirate King
This was originally meant to be a collection of a few Nami character moments to defend her from the trend of hate against her. But, a friend of mine got me to make an actual analysis about her given the recent manga developments. Itâs mostly about some aspects of Namiâs growth throughout the series.
Letâs start with one memorable scene from SkypieaâŚ
âŚwhen Nami kept panicking, Luffy told her she shouldnât stop acting so pathetic for sheâs a companion of the future Pirate King.
Here, Luffy makes a connection between their success and the certainty of his dream. As in Nami shouldnât fear because Luffy being the future Pirate King means theyâll always succeed at the end.
After Luffy gets BFRâd, Nami makes this her earnest belief. Instead of submitting to Enel in fear, or playing along with his plan to ensure her survival, she draws enough courage to take a firm standâŚ
âŚand face Enel on her own.
Thereâs even a subtle symbolism in both scene. When Luffy is giving Nami the reason why she shouldnât panic, he gave Nami his treasured hat. And when Nami is about to finally challenge Enel, she grips Luffyâs hat. (Oda is an amazing writer!!!)
Itâs subtle, but you can see Nami drawing courage from Luffy, his values, and his dream, to challenge a monster she had no way of beating
Oda decided to continue Namiâs character growth in the movie he wrote, Strong World.
After realizing Shiki (and his army of mutated animals) headed towards East Blue, which included the hometown where her sister and other loved ones lived in, her first response was looking for LuffyâŚ
âŚinstead of panicking like she did in Skypiea, she sought the person that could reassure her everything would be all right. We went from symbolism to something a little bit more straightforward.
Even when Shiki defeated the East Blue team, Nami managed to keep her cool, so she could mess the plans of a legendary pirate who could easily crush her. Even when was caught and left to die, she didnât give up and proved she was willing to die to protect her hometown.
Huge displays of selflessness and actual courage. However, itâs interesting to see that, as character moments, they were built upon her growth in Skypiea and Arlong Park. Why can we say that?
In Arlong Park she realized there are burdens, and even emotional luggage, she couldnât carry on her own so she had to rely on others to keep going. In Skypiea, she drew the strength needed to face overwhelming odds from Luffy.
Now, Luffy described Nami as their vanguard against Shiki, which indicates he knew that Nami was trying to fight Shikiâs army from the inside. But, she never planned to carry this burden on her own. Luffy instilled in her the belief that being the companion of the future Pirate King means theyâll suceed regardless of the setbacks they may suffer. At the end of the movie, we get the twist that Nami not only believes in LuffyâŚ
âŚshe gets embarrassed about the recorded proof of her faith in her captain when she realized Luffy didnât hear it. Arlong Park and Skypiea laid the groundwork for her belief, while Strong World solidified it.
Also, itâs worth noting her stand against Shiki is reminiscent of the brave attitude displayed by Silk (Namiâs earliest prototype) from One Pieceâs first pilot: Romance Dawn V.1
A girl who was more than willing to fight in order to protect her hometown and her loved ones regardless of the foe. Was that intentional on Odaâs part? Who knowsâŚ
Now, how did Nami character change post-timeskip?
If we stick to the manga, everything theyâve been through so far had strengthened her faith and trust in Luffy and his dream. We can see it in the Wholecake arcâŚ
⌠when facing Cracker, Nami declares with absolute confidence that the fact Luffy is the future Pirate King is pretty much the guarantee of their victory. Not everyone invokes a NLF when talking about Luffy.
So, when Sanji goes as far as brutalizing Luffy, and trash-talking his dream, Namiâs response wasâŚÂ
âŚwhich makes a lot of sense given how her confidence on the future, and part of her growth as a person, are tied to Luffyâs dream.
The disrespect Sanji was forced to show now can be used as a contrast given recent developments; when Nami was in a life-or-death situation, scared and helpless before an enemy she couldnât beat on her own, she was offered a way out: disavow Luffyâs dream of becoming the Pirate KingâŚ
⌠However, even when facing certain death, having no other way to defend herself or run away, Nami couldnât lie about Luffy becoming the Pirate King, not even to say her life. In the japanese version she answers: âLuffy will become the Pirate King⌠definitelyâ
Weâve seen Nami lying to weasel her way out of danger, but this time, sheâs literally incapable of lying about the fact Luffy will reach his goal. From her perspective thatâs a truth you simply cannot deny or reject under any circumstances.
Thatâs an outstanding display of loyalty, but the overall theme connecting this moment to previous showings is âfaith.â
From Skypiea, she was told being a companion of the Pirate King ensured success, in Strong World, she was embarrassed to admit how strong was her faith and trust in Luffy. Post-timeskip, we now see her shouting it confidently to the enermy, and now she believes in Luffy so much, that not even facing death can make her say otherwise. Thatâs how you develop a character!
I know I left out the Drum arc, Water 7, Shabaody, Fishman Island, Punk Hazard (Bellemere would be proud), Dressrosa, and Zou⌠but, it would take months and a kilometric post to cover hundreds of chapters worth of development. I only covered the essentials.
If you want more, check out the authorâs works; the manga and the Film series (SW, Z, and GOLD).
Point is, Nami is a great character who truly deserves to be described as âqueenly,â not only because Oda said so, but also for her progression during this long-running story
BONUS:
Finally, Iâm going to address an ugly trend in the west. Nami had been getting a lot of hate as of recent years. Even highly influential figures within the fandom tend to put down Nami. Many belittle her character, and they even compare her to other seriesâ characters that get treated as âchew toysâ by their respective fandoms.
Why so much hate for Namiâs character?
Short answer: she has been dealt a bad hand
First, her role in the story and the crew puts her at odds with fans of characters they usually hype as greater figures of authority and power within the strawhat group. She commands too much authority, and that make fans pretty insecure about their favorite characterâs position.
Along with this factor, thereâs the fact sheâs the most âhumanâ in a crew (and a world) filled with superhuman people. Haters probably feel that someone so normal shouldnât have so much agency. Specially when compared to other women
Speaking of which, thatâs another reason why Nami gets so much hate. Her role as a heroine, and her superior navigation skills, makes her an incredibly important character to this story. And that makes the fans hyping other females see her a threat to their favoritesâ position, like some sort of competion.
Which leads me to the other point people hate her: Namiâs relationship with Luffy. Sheâs closer to Luffy than many other women, which include more powerful and overhyped girls, and yes I said girls, because thereâs more than one powerful female characters getting that hype
Last factor Iâm going to mention is the pettiest of all: the way she responds to other characters. You probably realized that she reacted quite well to Inuarashiâs and Tonoyasuâs compliments, right? Well, thing is many fans want her to respond in a similar manner to their favorite character(s). Problem is that she doesnâtâŚ
Sheâs a fiery woman with a lot of agency that doesnât fall for flirting nor physical aesthetics, while challenging the main charactersâ decisions, and/or questioning their idiocy. Meanwhile, there are physically stronger women who are far more submissive and/or subservientâŚ
Overall, sheâs on a bad position in the west.
Regardless of what haters feel or think, Nami is an amazing character that deserves as much love as she gets in Japan (probably even more). So, screw the morons trying put her down and/or failing to understand her worth. Sheâs the âqueen,â and people should bow
by lylie.rt
art republished with artistâs permission
Starry Night Eyes
Re-release of my Alien Eyes N1. I might add non default options for other occults at some point, but at the moment theyâre for aliens only.
Requires Get to Work EP
Available as Defaults and Non Defaults
2 options (black and white sclera), 9 colors each
Toddler to Elder, all genders
Recoloring is allowed! Using my sclera is allowed! But please respect my TOU. Thank you! đ§Ą
Download Links under the cut!
Keep reading
by umbiumbiann
art republished with artistâs permission
The other day I was in a Cloti kind of mood.

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Reunion đ
Cloud and Tifa Stained Glass - Under the Highwind
My next commission for SassyStargazerđ
I will make one last SG of them from Advent Children:)