#foxfire kinemon

Smonch™.

EDIT: As of 02/2025 Katakuri is OUT & Scopper Gaban is IN.

FYI this isn’t some meta analysis or original findings, just me talking about what I enjoyed in Wano aside from the social commentary etc.

Okay,so I am finally close to finishing the anime version of Wano ( amazing animation ) and while Wano is an amazing arc that has great animation , amazing new and old characters (re)introductions , great flashback scenes lore drop , great emotionally deep fights and amazing commentary on mass starvation ( cried because it reminded me of my country’s history which shows how great it was represented/portrayed ) and great illustration of SMILE fruits and how horrifying they are, what I loved the most about it was Wano’s (specifically the Akazaya Nine and Samurais) gratitude towards the Strawhats (and Hearts).

Starting from the first two that were the closest to the Strawhats (and Law) - Momo and Kinemon (and while I could talk about these two characters separately because again,Wano has amazing characters, I will talk about their relationship with Strawhats specifically) Wano is an arc that was foreshadowed/lead up to from the 2nd/3rd arc of the Timeskip through Law,and then introduction of Kinemon and Momo. These two (and keep in mind, it hasn’t been along for them since Oden and Toki died,and Wano fell to the hands of Kaido and Orochi, so all all of the hatred of pirates is still a fresh and open wound unlike Izou, or the rest of non displaced Akazaya Nine) overcame their hatred for pirates so fast,which was so important to me. We already see the theme of “don’t let the hate pass onto children” in Fishmen Island and we see the theme of forgiveness and not letting one singular experience cloud one’s judgement through Nami overcoming her hatred of pirates and joining Strawhats, so seeing Momo, an eight year old , have the “Maybe Luffy isn’t a pirate after all” at Punk hazard and realising that Luffy IS a pirate but still a good person after the arc was nice,but not surprising,however seeing Kinemon, an adult with enough experience that are usually not easily influenced or understanding, expressing his gratitude towards Strawhats,and then Law (the same Law who cut him up) after the arc was very surprising and important to me. Overcoming such rightful hatred (remember, 70% of pirates are still not good guys) because he could see how genuine nice of people they are is very heartwarming.

I also love the fact that in Wano, Momo (and Kinemon) appear more like Vivi in Alabasta rather than Shirahoshi in Fishmen Island or Rebecca in Dressrosa in a way that Momo (and Kinemon) don’t ONLY have a close dynamic with Luffy, but with all of the Strawhats, and Kinemon (as well as Akazaya nine by the act 3 of Wano) seem to be quite close with Law ( <- Kinemon and Law are one of my fav ubderrated dynamics, kinda on par with Cavendish and Law,although the Kin and Law are obviously closer imo) all three also lived in Merry and Sunny and all three had a whole routine ( bathing, sleeping , eating together ) with Strawhats. Just like how All of the strawhats - Nami,Luffy,Usopp,Zoro,Sanji, and Chopper - cared deeply for Vivi and for alabasta because of how Vivi cared for her country, the post ts strawhats care the same for Momo,Kinemon, and Wano. Seriously, we see Strawhats interact with Momo WITHOUT LUFFY multiple times ( Franky and Momo,Sanji saving Momo and both men praising and being proud of him ) , and it’s clear that all of them care deeply for these two. All Luffy and Momo scenes hold the same importance to me as Luffy and Vivi in Drum kingdom scene and the “your voice is heard by us “ scene in Alabasta. Luffy and Momo “harsh scenes” reminded me of “people die” with Luffy and Vivi so much, Luffy giving both reality check yet still understanding their role and position as the rulers of their respective nations. Kinemon defending Luffy’s name after Kaido reminds him that Strawhats are still pirates just like him and Beast pirates saying that Luffy is a honourable person and I don’t even to say anything about the Luffy & Akazaya nine scene,it speaks for itself. The seemingly perfect “aura” moment with the fight was interrupted by Luffy to show the emotionally deep moment that reminded the audience “Hey, this isn’t a fight for a title or the thrill, its a liberation of the land of starved children , prisoned men and hurt women” and while Wano has already been a goal for them due to the alliance with Law unlike Alabasta, its still clear that after hearing their story at Zou,Strawhats fought for Wano for their friends (and then the people of Wano after infiltrating Wano as citizens seeing the horrific starvation, erasion of history and human experimentation) first and foremost rather than just to battle Kaido due to his status as an emperor.