Why I became OBSESSED with Lawbin after this:
I just got to this in my rewatch, and I have more thoughts again:
First of all, let me say that this moment was spoiled for me. I wasn't even on optwitter or tumblr at the time. I can't even remember how I came across the spoilers. I just remember someone had written an article on the spoilers, and I came across it somehow. I don't think the site the article was written in was even a One Piece site. I think someone must've put them there for the time being to avoid trouble and then they must've taken it down. Also, I remember I read these spoilers on the third anniversary of my end of undergraduate recital, which was on November 19th. I always remembered that date as my recital day because I was just glad to get that over with. Now, I remember it as recital day but also Lawbin day! I was also house hunting at the time, so it was a wild time for me, but I made SURE to make time for the brainrot that would ensue.
My first thought when reading the spoilers was "FINALLY!" I have said before that I started to see the true potential for lawbin after Dressrosa when Robin was ready to die protecting Law. This is when I feel like they went from just looking hot together to actually having potential for a good relationship. At this point though, I had just gotten to a place where I finally accepted that Zorobin was never going to get anywhere, and I was a little crushed by the Frobin in chapter 979 (where I caught up btw) and the color spread where Robin is affectionately touching Franky's face. However, I will say that I had also seen Stampede at this point, so I had seen the princess carry. It was great Lawbin fuel, but I was thinking, "Alright, there's Lawbin in a movie, and Toei added that one extra scene for them at the end of Dressrosa, but moment from Oda's hand when?" So when I was reading the spoilers, and when the chapter finally came out, I was like "YAAAAAAASSSS!!!!" It was such a good moment for them too. Short and sweet, but very strong. I read the spoilers, I looked through the raws, I read the scanlation, and I read the official multiple times.
Let me go panel by panel here. First, with this panel, what struck me was just HOW beautiful Robin's face looks here. In the previous page, you have Law slicing through one of the beast pirates, remembering what Corazon told him about the D, and then we hear that he tells someone is true name. Again, I knew it would be Robin because of the spoilers, but when I flipped the page, I was still surprised because she looked SO beautiful. Robin is always beautiful, but it is so detailed here. It's the way her hair is shining with one big strand and one little strand framing her face, the way her eyebrows scrunch a bit in shock, her eyelashes are all present (and it looks like she might even be wearing some mascara and maybe even eyeliner), her eyes themselves look huge and Law remembers everything about them (the pupils, iris, the eyelid, the little wings of what is possibly her eyeliner, or maybe just part of her eyelid? etc), her nose looks cute, and finally... her mouth that is open in what was probably a gasp in surprise at Law's revelation. Her response IS one of surprise. There is also nothing in the background behind her, so Law's focus was completely on her and her reaction in that moment.
They're really small in this panel, but their conversation is what's important here. The first bubble has been translated differently, but the point of it is that he is ONLY telling ROBIN because he TRUSTS her. That is big coming from Law because we know from his backstory that he has trust issues (Vergo being the biggest example). Where did this trust for Robin come from, then? It could not have been sudden, especially not for someone like Law, who frequently denies that the straw hats are his friends. He's also telling her his full name and not just that he's a D like he did with Sengoku and Doflamingo, and he's telling her completely unprompted. Robin is not asking him, and this is not like the dare he made when he told Baby 5 and Buffalo. There had to have been some build up to this, and I have a feeling it happened on the Polar Tang en route to Wano. It would have been the perfect time. The fact that they may have been talking this entire time really sent my delulu into overdrive, y'all. Robin thanks him for his trust but tells him that she does not know much herself. She also tells him that she would like to know, even though Luffy doesn't care, and it almost feels like she's about to ask him to work together before Law cuts in with his question about the red poneglyphs. I feel like Law probably knew that's where she was headed but stopped her because they are in different crews. In the English dub, she straight up says they could work together, and Matt Mercer (Law) actually softens his voice when he responds to her with his question about following the red stones. This was also after the INTENSE lip focus that Toei did between them. That was hot, Toei, thank you! I would also like to point out that Law puts his big scary sword behind him because he's in the presence of a lady, and it's a lady that he trusts. His bear shirt is also cute, and I think Robin probably loved it as well.
Here, Robin answers Law's question. Yes, they have to follow the red poneglyphs, and that means beating the yonko. If Robin wanted to propose working together before, she lets it go here. I think Robin would be understanding of Law's position as a captain. In any case, what I LOVED about this panel was Robin's smile. I remember seeing someone on Reddit say, "Ah... A Robin smile, a precious gift." This gift comes to us courtesy of none other than Law, and it is such a pretty smile with all the detail I mentioned before present again. The ruins of the castle are kind of blurry behind her, so she is his main focus again, and I just love that the last thing he remembers is her smile. I also mentioned in my rewatch post yesterday that I just love how, in both panels where Robin is the sole focus, he is clearly looking at her face and nothing else while she speaks. Trust AND Respect?! If that is not a good foundation for a ship, then I don't know what is. I know Toei does focus on her legs and cleavage some, but that is Toei. They love boobs. This is Law, and he is looking where he should be looking like a true gentleman. What more could I want for my Queen Robin?
Law takes what Robin says to heart because here he is looking for a red poneglyph, and we know that he echoes her words later when he's fighting Big Mom, and at the end of it all he goes looking for her when he doesn't see her at the party. I do hope he told her about this poneglyph at some point because, even though it's not red, we know that Robin cares about ALL poneglyphs. This is not the one that HE wants, but SHE does, so I am hoping he did right by her. This is the moment when I fully turned my attention to Lawbin, and I have not looked back since. I was shocked by it all... the trust but also the beauty. Oda drawing Robin so beautifully from Law's perspective was so shocking to me because Oda doesn't do a lot of romance, and he definitely avoids it with the straw hats as much as possible. To me, something as small as this 1 or 2 page moment, feels like a bold move from Oda. Their follow up moment in chapter 1055 felt like a step up in boldness. I really hope we get more when Law comes back into the story. To Oda we pray.
