D. Shanks

Thank you for bringing this up! You actually got a point here: we saw Pudding falling for Sanji but we don’t know if the thing is reciprocated.

In late chapters, even after the whole “husband and wife in disguise” thing, Sanji has been keeping a serious attitude, which is weird since Sanji’s lovecook gags were the ones to appear the most, even in the most crucial moments of the story… maybe because Pudding took his place? Who knows.

There are tons of ways to interpret the story right now. The way I personally choose to see things is that Sanji finally found the girl he has been dreaming of ever since he was a baby.

To answer to your question, I will explain my five reasons why I believe (hope ahahah) Pudding is different at his eyes:

Disclaimer: everything you’ll read from now on is just my personal opinion; which means you are absolutely free to disagree with what I think.

1.

Pudding is the first person he totally opened up to. Not even Luffy and his crew knew anything about his real family or his past. He showed her all of his weaknesses and insecurities while he is the guy who always tries to look tough in front of literally everyone, ladies in particular. I don’t remember a single time Sanji gave this much trust to anybody else.

2.

This one here is the FIRST TIME EVER Sanji makes a sincere compliment to a girl without it being a gag moment. Look at his face, his eyes are sparkling and his cheeks are red. Sanji usually takes a girl’s beauty for granted but he didn’t with Pudding!

As for the most recent chapters, I noticed Sanji is going way less and less lovey-dovey to Pudding. Right now, in his eyes, she is not another one of those angelic beings known as women, she’s just a skilled chocolatier who is helping his crew to escape.

3.

I can’t even imagine how Sanji must have been feeling flattered and excited knowing that, in the whole world, a single girl who likes him back (heart-eyes level) actually exists and she’s also coincidentially his almost-wife ahahah

I don’t know how many times he dreamt of something like this: cooking together with a girl who simply loves him. That’s all.

On a sidenote, if Sanji is the one to like every type of girl, Pudding herself IS every possible type girl! She can go from being the harsh femme fatale to the cutest and girliest lady in the world.

4.

PUDDING. IS. THE. FIRST. GIRL. EVER. WHO. BROKE. SANJI’S. HEART.

How many times did girls insult him and/or turn him down? We all know this happens on daily basis. Does he cry like this everytime it happens? Nope. This was the only time in his life he actually believed in a single girl’s love and her refusal broke him to pieces.

What a weak argument when talking about SanPu, huh? It is undeniable though how much this thing changed him on a personal level: she taught him to put his wishes first, she taught him that girls can be different from what he actually believes them to be and this whole thing gave him the strenght to go back to Luffy.

Besides, even after Pudding betrayed his trust, he never hated her for that. On the contrary: he kept respecting her, protecting her, he was shown to genuinely care about her well-being and, most importantly, he still trusted her when she proposed the cake plan.

5.

I often read comments about how somebody with a power like Pudding is too dangerous to be trusted. However, I find this to be the final connection between Sanji and Pudding.

In a world perfectly devided in four sections with four equally large oceans, it’s physically impossible to prove the existence of a fifth ocean that connects them all, the All Blue; only a fool would believe the stories they tell about it. And yet Sanji still stands on that boat, sailing to find it. This whole thing speaks volumes about what ‘having faith’ really means.

Thus, who in the world can even trust a good actress with three eyes and a power able to change your past and destroy your personality with a snap of her fingers, if not a man looking for the All Blue?

To conclude I only want to add that I also consider relevant the fact that she was written to be a perfect match for Sanji: they spent similar childhoods due to their abusive families, they are big thinkers who tend to make big decisions and to act alone (see Sanji Mr. Prince moments and the whole Pudding attacking Reiju deal), they both had to hide an eye under their bangs for various reasons and a lot more stuff.

Also, the fact that they both share interests and passions is great in my eyes; I NEVER would have wanted Sanji to end up with a girl who doesn’t look at food the way he does.

I’m done now. Thank you so much for your ask and for following my blog!

Thank you for bringing this up! You actually got a point here: we saw Pudding falling for Sanji but we don’t know if the thing is reciprocated.

In late chapters, even after the whole “husband and wife in disguise” thing, Sanji has been keeping a serious attitude, which is weird since Sanji’s lovecook gags were the ones to appear the most, even in the most crucial moments of the story… maybe because Pudding took his place? Who knows.

There are tons of ways to interpret the story right now. The way I personally choose to see things is that Sanji finally found the girl he has been dreaming of ever since he was a baby.

To answer to your question, I will explain my five reasons why I believe (hope ahahah) Pudding is different at his eyes:

Disclaimer: everything you’ll read from now on is just my personal opinion; which means you are absolutely free to disagree with what I think.

1.

Pudding is the first person he totally opened up to. Not even Luffy and his crew knew anything about his real family or his past. He showed her all of his weaknesses and insecurities while he is the guy who always tries to look tough in front of literally everyone, ladies in particular. I don’t remember a single time Sanji gave this much trust to anybody else.

2.

This one here is the FIRST TIME EVER Sanji makes a sincere compliment to a girl without it being a gag moment. Look at his face, his eyes are sparkling and his cheeks are red. Sanji usually takes a girl’s beauty for granted but he didn’t with Pudding!

As for the most recent chapters, I noticed Sanji is going way less and less lovey-dovey to Pudding. Right now, in his eyes, she is not another one of those angelic beings known as women, she’s just a skilled chocolatier who is helping his crew to escape.

3.

I can’t even imagine how Sanji must have been feeling flattered and excited knowing that, in the whole world, a single girl who likes him back (heart-eyes level) actually exists and she’s also coincidentially his almost-wife ahahah

I don’t know how many times he dreamt of something like this: cooking together with a girl who simply loves him. That’s all.

On a sidenote, if Sanji is the one to like every type of girl, Pudding herself IS every possible type girl! She can go from being the harsh femme fatale to the cutest and girliest lady in the world.

4.

PUDDING. IS. THE. FIRST. GIRL. EVER. WHO. BROKE. SANJI’S. HEART.

How many times did girls insult him and/or turn him down? We all know this happens on daily basis. Does he cry like this everytime it happens? Nope. This was the only time in his life he actually believed in a single girl’s love and her refusal broke him to pieces.

What a weak argument when talking about SanPu, huh? It is undeniable though how much this thing changed him on a personal level: she taught him to put his wishes first, she taught him that girls can be different from what he actually believes them to be and this whole thing gave him the strenght to go back to Luffy.

Besides, even after Pudding betrayed his trust, he never hated her for that. On the contrary: he kept respecting her, protecting her, he was shown to genuinely care about her well-being and, most importantly, he still trusted her when she proposed the cake plan.

5.

I often read comments about how somebody with a power like Pudding is too dangerous to be trusted. However, I find this to be the final connection between Sanji and Pudding.

In a world perfectly devided in four sections with four equally large oceans, it’s physically impossible to prove the existence of a fifth ocean that connects them all, the All Blue; only a fool would believe the stories they tell about it. And yet Sanji still stands on that boat, sailing to find it. This whole thing speaks volumes about what ‘having faith’ really means.

Thus, who in the world can even trust a good actress with three eyes and a power able to change your past and destroy your personality with a snap of her fingers, if not a man looking for the All Blue?

To conclude I only want to add that I also consider relevant the fact that she was written to be a perfect match for Sanji: they spent similar childhoods due to their abusive families, they are big thinkers who tend to make big decisions and to act alone (see Sanji Mr. Prince moments and the whole Pudding attacking Reiju deal), they both had to hide an eye under their bangs for various reasons and a lot more stuff.

Also, the fact that they both share interests and passions is great in my eyes; I NEVER would have wanted Sanji to end up with a girl who doesn’t look at food the way he does.

I’m done now. Thank you so much for your ask and for following my blog!

I’m a newbie when it comes to One Piece. After a couple years of seeing One Piece on my peripheral (it’s impossible not to notice, especially when you’re deep in the Dragon Ball fandom) I put aside my hesitations (the length is scary to an outsider!) and began to watch.

Everyone in the One Piece fandom knows this already, but Oda truly is a genius. After hearing for years how complex the world of One Piece was, I STILL wasn’t prepared for how intricate the story is, yet it manages to work within the boundaries of a battle shonen.

When watching One Piece, I got the sense that Nami and Zoro love and understand their Captain the most. Please hear me; I’m not saying the other Strawhat’s don’t love Luffy, because they most certainly do, but the other Strawhat pirates seem to focus on the group as a whole with Luffy at the center. However, it’s Zoro and Nami that constantly keep their attention on Luffy specifically.

Zoro made this clear to me during Thriller Bark Arc. Sanji was there and willing to risk his life, but it was Zoro who gladly accepted Luffy’s pain. He wasn’t doing it for the crew, he did it for Luffy. Zoro’s love for Luffy isn’t the romantic sort, but it’s steeped in admiration, belief, and loyalty. Zoro may be one of the quietest crew members, but his silence doesn’t mean apathy.

Zoro’s protection of Luffy carries a lot of weight, because I would argue that Luffy is one of the most vulnerable out of all the Shonen heroes. Despite the fact I know Luffy won’t die (well…at least, not in the middle of the story, but that’s another discussion) I’m afraid for him. I think the last time I saw a shonen hero get his ass kicked as thoroughly as Luffy did pre-time skip was Goku when he was a child and faced off against Piccolo Daimao. But One Piece REALLY hammers in Luffy’s weakness in that section of the story. And Luffy overcomes a lot and is very strong, but in a world full of overpowered opponents who want to see Luffy dead, there’s a true sense of vulnerability. He isn’t the strongest, not by a long shot.

Nami, on the other hand, seems to feel just as protective of Luffy as Zoro, but her reason for this is entirely different than Zoro’s. 

Unlike a lot of other relationships in Shonen manga, Nami and Luffy’s relationship is built upon mutual trust. They respect one another. Nami believes in Luffy and her faith is unwavering, but she also knows Luffy will charge into a situation without even thinking about the consequences to himself. She cares for his wellbeing more than he cares for it, and this attention to Luffy’s person only seems to grow as time goes on in the story. Of course, Nami cares for everyone in the crew, but I don’t see her focus constantly on the wellbeing of other members.

More and more often I see Nami turning to Luffy first, asking about him first, and putting her life on the line for him first. Nami also shares her vulnerabilities with Luffy. In WCI, I see this mutual dependence, trust, and focus on one another deepening.

And honestly, this is how healthy relationships work in the real world. If you want to have a meaningful relationship, it has to be about more than attraction. It has to contain trust, common goals, common interests and security.  

Which is why I’m puzzled by Sanji/Nami shippers. I don’t mean to be disrespectful towards anyone’s ship, but I can’t see why anyone would want Sanji and Nami to be together. Sanji, as much as I enjoy his character, fawns over every single beautiful woman he sees. I don’t deny that Sanji seems to place a greater emphasis on Nami (ex. he always puts her name first before Robin’s) but to me, this isn’t a good enough reason for them to have a relationship. Sanji likes Nami because she’s beautiful. If she was an ugly woman, would Sanji even give Nami the time or day?

I highly doubt it.

In contrast, Luffy’s trust and focus on Nami has nothing to do with her looks. It’s because of who she is as a person. Luffy, whether he realizes it or not, feels a pull towards Nami, and it’s something I began to notice this more and more the further I got into One Piece. Luffy also has confidence in Nami, but he still feels…rather protective of her. Even in the beginning of One Piece when I wouldn’t really call any of their interactions romantic, they’re both focused on each other.

I love Luffy and Nami. Their care for each other is what makes me root for them. I want them to find happiness in romance because they already have everything they need to succeed. Every king needs his queen, and Nami is more than worthy of the title. I love how strong, brave, and selfless she is.

I find it quite interesting how Oda used Strong World and Gold to re-emphasize Luffy and Nami’s relationship. I know their relationship isn’t the focal point of One Piece, but Oda could choose to write about anything, especially when it comes to movies. For Strong World, he had complete creative control since he wrote the script. For Gold, Oda served as executive producer for the movie and rewrote the ending for Gold. 

With Oda being such a calculated writer, it doesn’t seem possible that he’d write Nami and Luffy with these moments “just because” or without meaning. Oda is a planner. A small example would be him revealing his idea for Fishman Island in the chapter 121 SBS volume to a kid who asked about Fishman Karate. Oda said, “It’s halfway down the Grand Line which I will tell you about at some point. Please be patient”. The crew didn’t make it to Fishman Island until chapter 608.

I recognize that many Mangaka tease relationships but ultimately have them go nowhere or stay unofficial (I’m looking at you Hiro Mashima), so it’s entirely possible Oda will do the same, though I have faith he’s a better writer. But if that happens and someday far down the line One Piece ends without anything happening between the two, I will still ship them, and I will thank Oda for writing such a meaningful friendship.