Personally, I feel that many people don't realize that Pudding is the wife that Sanji 100% deserves at the EOS (they get married after dating for a while IMHO). Nami tends to take advantage of Sanji's kindness, and we know that Sanji is willing to work himself to death for any lady. That's not a healthy relationship, and unlike other women who developed a crush on Sanji in the manga, Pudding is deeply in love with Sanji. So, they both deserve each other.
I agree with this take 100%, but I do wish me & you had "better" words to describe Nami's relationship to Sanji because saying she doesn't "appreciate" Sanji makes it seem like I'm angry at her, when in reality I understand why she treats him like that & I find it absolutely hilarious lmao.
The thing about Nami & actually most of the women Sanji tries to hit on & shower with affection in the series is that these women don't need the excessive attention Sanji tries to give, which just ends up making Sanji's actions come off very annoying & off-putting.
Nami in particular is an extremely confident & self assured woman whose only issues stem from outside sources (Arlong & other opponents), not within.
She isn't going to be impressed by Sanji treating her like the greatest thing on the planet because she already knows that & is canonically always being treated as such by most people in the universe. Her reputation is actually quite similar to Boa Hancock in this regard.
And this isn't me saying she takes for granted his friendship & kindness either. She very much appreciates his place in her life.
She has never had an issue acknowledging the kindness he shows her. Oda literally has her call Sanji "-kun" as a way to acknowledging his continued efforts as her "servant" & respect for him always addressing her with the suffix of "-san".
However, simply being a good person & a good friend โ a desire to change the relationship into a romantic one. Something Nami has also made very, very clear throughout the run of the series.
The majority of people will require potential romantic partners to distinguish themselves from a friend in order justify changing the nature of the relationship.
Sanji has not actually done anything to make Nami want to change their relationship from platonic to romantic.
Try all he might, Sanji's excessive showers of love don't really do anything for Nami. They don't make the impact he intends and they never seem to leave a lasting impression on her. We see her constantly dismissing his attempts to woo her.
In contrast, after Pudding realizes that Sanji's affectionate nature isn't shallow, but are instead a genuine expression of how much love he holds, she adores this side of him.
Pudding is someone that hasn't received much love or validation in her life, so when Sanji comes up to her throwing hearts and shouting praises or even drooling like a dog to her, she isn't going to pay attention to the fact that he's being super extra right now lol.
The only thing she focuses on is the intention. To her, she sees someone giving her everything she's ever been denied & told she doesn't deserve. To her, it's attractive & enjoyable.
It's important to remember that Sanji doesn't act this way trying to be annoying & off-putting. He genuinely wants women to feel good about themselves and know how much he adores them. His heart eyes in the above panel aren't an active choice. He is quite literally so blown away by how attracted he is in that moment that his body is reacting on instinct. Sanji truly believes these women are so beautiful they turn him stupid lmao.
And Pudding is the perfect "target" for that.
In Thriller Bark, when Nami reappears & joins the crew in the fight with Oars, Sanji is elated & expresses his relief/giddiness at Nami's arrival.
Nami, however, honestly doesn't care. Sanji's worry isn't a priority for her right now. She already assumes & is used to him acting like this. Used to people caring for her. She is much more concerned with keeping a low profile & the other things happening in the scene. To Nami, Sanji gushing over her is an inappropriately timed nusance.
Comparatively, this is how Pudding reacts to a very similar situation with Sanji in WCI.
Pudding doesn't get annoyed. She doesn't want him to shut up (Tsundere act aside lmao). She is genuinely flattered and flustered by Sanji's actions. A reaction consistent with her throughout the remainder of the arc, mind you.
During the middle of running for their lives from Big Mom, Pudding doesn't forget to really take in Sanji's words & actions. They stand out to her & are important to her.
For once, Sanji's actions are having the desired effect. He is finally able to make a lady feel special. Feel valued. His effort not wasted.
In fact, pretty much all the women in the story who have canonically been attracted to Sanji (Viola, Cosette, Osome in the anime) were also in desperate need of some tender love & care. Women who benefitted from Sanji's favoritism & protection. Pudding just happens to be the one who needed it most. The one who enjoyed it the most.
Enjoyed it so much she truly fell in love with him. Wants to be with him.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that the entire shipping discourse between these 3 comes down to simple compatibility. Sanji & Pudding's combined personalities & needs are just a much better fit than those of Sanji & Nami's. Nobody is better or worse for it, that's just simply how it is lol.
I could also write so much about how the fantasy of Nami (any girl really) Sanji tries to project onto her when he jokes about her loving him is actually exactly how Pudding is with him & the irony Oda is playing with in WCI is that Sanji is largely ignorant to it becuase of how rough his & Pudding's relationship started out, but this is already long enough asdfghjkl ๐ญ๐
