#writer perspective

Sanji and Nami’s personalities work well together and they understand each other.

Arguably this could be said about most strawhats, but I still want to talk about it a little deeper. As the story has been written there are many good moments of interaction between Sanji and Nami that shows that they have a pretty mature relationship, despite what many might think. And especially during Enies Lobby (Nami talking to Sanji about his chivalry), Fishman Island (Sanji talking about Nami’s past), Punk Hazar (Nami asking to save the children) and on Zou (them discussing the minks, Nami being worried and of course her talking about Sanji’s past) the two of them seems to have gotten some good serious moments together that comes with showing understanding for each other.

We can also see that their minds are quite alike with similar mentality and intelligence. Something that is actually rather important, and for me personally a reason why I usually like certain ships. Being on the same level and having enough understading of each other is a good way to develop any relationship. Basically they get along really well and they would have a good foundation for a romantic relationship to grow from.

But at the same time they also have their moments of disagreement, and they can listen and discuss to get to an answer which is essential if we would want a relationship to work well (of course Oda isn’t exactly the most realistic writer, but still). This is a good and stable ground to base a relationship on, because it shows that they actually listen to each other. It’s also important that they actually seem to want to learn more about each other, and that Oda has used them to show the other person’s past or to highlight their personality traits. I’ll get back to this a little later.

Despite what people may think they can grow as people and as fighters in each other’s company.

Nami and Sanji have a lot of fights that relates to the other. Nami has even specifically been pointed out as a weakness when it comes to Sanji. I’ve talked about that in more detail in my post: Sanji and Nami - Fights and danger. This is in itself rather interesting because that means Oda subtly ties them together quite often. It’s a way to highlight their relationship without the other even having to be present.

In fact, when it comes to their battle abilities we’ve already seen the both of them get stronger and develop new skills in regards to the other. Sanji even seems to get Nami as a “battle booster” in a lot of fights. What I mean by that is that Oda specifically make Nami a part of Sanji’s battle in some way which can then lead to him winning the battle. The first example is in Arlong Park where Kuroobi talks bad about Nami which pushes Sanji over the edge, Sanji vs Wadatsumi is another. Even a case as with Mr. 2 turning into Nami is an example of this. Over the years this has happened a lot. And in both fights and with Sanji’s sacrifices we can see that Nami is a more prominant figure than any other.

Then with Nami we can see how her fight with Kalifa came from after Sanji lost, and in Skypiea too Nami fought to protect Usopp and Sanji. Sadly Nami doesn’t have as many fights, but there are still examples where Sanji has been present, in thought or otherwise. Even when they had their body switch Nami commented about how Sanji’s strong body saved her.

We also saw Nami under Sanji’s command as they fought against Big Mom, something she and the others later got praised for. Sanji also didn’t act when Nami got attacked by Wanda after Nami told him she could handle it. Mostly I just want to point out that just because Sanji likes protecting Nami that doesn’t mean that he thinks she’s weak or that she won’t grow as a fighter in his presence. Somehow there is this image of Nami not getting any time to shine because of Sanji if they are togehter because “she’s a delicate thing and not a person that can take care of herself“, but this just isn’t how Oda has written it. This is not how Sanji sees Nami. He wants to protect her, yes, but not because he think she’s weak.

One very important thing when writing characters is for them to grow and evolve as the story progress, of course this goes way beyond just getting stronger. Some might think that Sanji and Nami as a combination would simply be stuck in their worst habits, particularly Sanji and his perverseness. But as we have already seen a few times in the Whole Cake Island arc, and even before that, there are plenty of times where Sanji acts very normal and mature around women too. And this includes his relationship with Nami. Actually Sanji’s relationships with his female nakama is already a good ground for him to develop how he acts towards women. Unfortunately, Sanji digressed a bit after the time skip, but that has mostly been amended by Oda already. The latest chapter was something of a setback for Sanji, but it is still a part of his character to be a pervert, and I am sure that trait is there to stay.

But again, as with all the strawhats Oda has shown them both growing individually and also together, being there to witness the other person’s moments and thus giving them a better understanding of each other.

Now as for Sanji’s trope of being a pervert it wouldn’t’ take a lot to make it work even with Sanji getting romantically involved. Early on a lot of Sanji’s jokes were more based on fawning and flowing hearts rather than actual perverseness. Getting back to that a bit and also making it solely focused on Nami would enable Sanji to still feel like the same character without it getting in the way of a serious relationship. In fact, Nami acting tsundere and hitting Sanji for being a pervert could even still be part of their interactions too, just with a slight twist. As it is now most of Sanji’s perverted jokes are already aimed at Nami. So, the jokes could still be there, and Sanji could still fawn, just in a different way. Basically what I’m trying to say is that Sanji would simply have to stop his over the top actions, mostly with other women, which is something I definitely don’t see as impossible. Now the key is writing this well of course, but either way this would be a subtle enough change to make Sanji still feel like the same character while still making him more mature.

Many people are quite tired of Sanji being over the top with nosebleeds and such, but it’s still to be expected of Sanji’s character. However, we need to remember that Sanji being a pervert doesn’t have to mean that SaNa can’t happen. Sanji is not in a relationship, and thus him oogling other girls is not an offence against Nami (though I would prefer him being more chill). It’s also very possible that what Sanji really craves is true love, just look how he acted towards Purin, trying to convince himself that he could be happy with her, only to get devestated when she proved to be evil. We’ve also seen Sanji become much more innocent when actual prospects of love has been present. Like asking for a simple kiss on the cheek from Violet.

Hence Sanji getting romantically involved could in itself be a very natural way for Oda to make him grow and develop as a character. Same could happen with Nami. Nami has already changed more prominently than Sanji has though, so her growth as a character could be slightly different.

But basically Sanji and Nami getting together, if written well, could make the both of them better people/characters while still maintaining the gags that Oda loves. He could even throw in more of the jealousy type gags, which he already uses from time to time with Sanji in regards to Nami.

Now I’ve talked about what many see as a problem when it comes to Sanji x Nami, so now I’ll move on to things Oda has done while writing that should be taken into consideration.

A change in the relationship

For romance to work in One Piece without the readers getting thrown off there needs to be a clearer development in a at least partly romantic tone. If Oda ever writes romance for a strawhat I don’t see it being too obvious, but it still needs to feel natural for the readers to accept it. Of course past development is also important, but that is just a foundation from which new interactions and feelings needs to develop.

Now, if we ponder the idea of Sanji and Nami actually getting together (if so most likely slowly getting more developed together in a romantic way) towards the end of the series we could possibly already see the change in their dynamics that would be necessary.

In the most recent arc we’ve seen them act in ways towards or in regards to each other that we have not seen before and in storytelling this kind of catalyst is very common. It’s why tropes like “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” are used a lot. Because even if things are always slowly developing there are usually a need for a trigger to make a bigger change more plausible when writing. This is a way to make readers more adapt to the focused on relationship and more in tune with the fact that it’s changing. I’m not saying this is exactly what is happening with Sanji and Nami, but it could be, at least in part.

(Please ignore the bad translation) The slap in itself could be seen as a sort of turning-point for them, a hurdle they will need to get over, and that might then lead to further development between them as a reconciliation is necessary. In a story this could be the low point in their relationship, the final straw of a problem that will need to be resolved by the end.

We did see them talk about it briefly, which is another moments that should’t be ignored. Nami specifically said she won’t forgive Sanji, something Sanji specifically worried about. It’s another very common trope in storytelling, and I was quite surpised with how Oda highligthed it so much.

Nami is acting typically tsundere in regards to Sanji here, and that too is a typical manga trope that could mean something when it comes to Sanji and Nami’s relationship changing. Nami clearly wants Sanji back, but she is still hurt and has not yet forgiven him. This just shows how personal it was this time. Also, again Oda took the time to highlight Sanji’s worry about Nami’s reaction specifically, something that is very in character but also makes the readers realize that what happened between Sanji and Nami with the slap was not to be taken lightly.

And the thing is that it’s still not resolved, proving it could be an even bigger deal. Meaning Oda could very well have a plan for their proper making up that in the long run also become a new catalyst for a serious romantic development. It happens gradually, but is sped up by bigger individual moments. The wedding itself or the end of the arc still holds possibilities for more such moments to happen between Sanji and Nami.

Involvement in each other’s storylines.

Sanji has often had Nami play a part in his fights, as I briefly mentioned earlier, and out of all women in One Piece Sanji has by far had the most interactions with Nami. Which is nothing strange considering she’s a nakama and she joined before Robin. But besides that Oda also likes to put Sanji and Nami together quite a lot. Especially if we compare between Nami and Robin this becomes rather obvious. This is of course not a romantic indicator in any way, but it does show that Oda focus more on developing and showing their dynamics compared to again for example between Robin and Sanji. Even when I group Sanji tends to communicate more with Nami than with Robin. Basically we can see that at the very least Oda is more interested in the dynamics between Sanji and Nami than Sanji and Robin. Of course the fact that the five first strawhats have been together longer also matters here, but either way Sanji and Nami has had plenty of moments over the years. But most of those moments have been rather subtle, or one-sided.

As many SaNami fans has noted before, the fact that the two of them seem to be unconscious a lot of the time they otherwise could have had rather good moments is also interesting. Even so the two of them have shown great interest in each other’s past, they’ve been involved in the other person’s fights in different ways and have of course had plenty of moments where they help the other or worry about the other. This could also be about only nakamaship as they are both very caring people, but there are still quite a lot of these moments between them compared to some other strawhats. Meaning Oda has indeed put some effort into showing their interactions. It’s not a ship with zero development if you will, no matter if you see it as purely nakamaship or not the two of them have had quite a lot of moments though often very subtle.

Now, we should also note that Oda has repeatedly used Nami as a means to highlight Sanji in this arc. Which is also a way to show Nami’s true thoughts about Sanji, that she as a rather tsundere character don’t usually show. The increased focus on one character from another is also a very common way to make readers see things that might not have been noticeable before. We can see that the chapters in Zou and after has actually had a lot of casual readers react to certain SaNami moments (even Toei has upped the moments in the anime). Of course not all see it as a serious leeway into romance, but the fact that it has been noticed could very well be a start. And again, having moments like the slap, showing how Sanji is particularly worried about Nami’s reaction and having Nami say that she will never forgive Sanji are other examples that brings attention, as well as show how personally affected they are by each other.

Sanji’s interest in Nami

Putting aside Nami’s side of things for now, the fact that Sanji is so obviously interested in Nami does make it more difficult for other ships to happen. Now, this is in no way me saying that Nami has to be with Sanji because she owes it to him or because what he wants is more important than what she wants. No, because this is not the real world. This is a story written by a person with a purpose and an end in mind.

What I’m trying to get at is that Oda writing about Sanji’s obvious interest in Nami and showing him being jealous many times means that for Sanji to not break character there needs to be a good resolution. Now, either Oda could write Sanji off to another character that makes him happy, or he could leave things open, meaning no change from how things are currently. But doing the opposite, meaning making Nami end up with someone else while Sanji can just stand and watch while being jealous, does not seem very likely. Mostly because Oda would have to resolve a love issue and that’s just not his focus. Again, this could make Sanji seem like a horrible person, but this is all in line with how Oda has written him this far. (The same can actually be said about Hancock, though she’s less important as she’s not one of the main characters.) To simplify we can say that to have Sanji happy at the end of series there are three likely outcomes, either he ends up with Nami, with someone else or Oda leave things the way they are with no romance at all for the strawhats. Because it seems unlikely that Oda will change this part of Sanji’s character that he has actually gone out of his way to show plenty of times.

The last one is the most likely one since we know Oda won’t focus too much on romance. But it is by far more possible that Sanji ends up with Nami than any other woman. Why? Well, because Oda has over 20 years put more emphasis on Sanji’s relationship with Nami over any other woman. Now Purin was perhaps a real contender until she turned out to be evil, but it seems unlikely that Oda would throw in yet another possible romantic interest for Sanji after the current arc. (Or he could kill Sanji and get rid of the “problem”.) More or less, unless Oda wants to deal with heartbreak again for Sanji the best option is for Oda to either let things be or to give Sanji what he wants; love. I know it sounds bad, but this has nothing to do with Sanji being rude or possessive or not wanting what is best for Nami. A real person can deal with this and put the others person’s happiness before their own, but they would still have to deal with it, meaning Oda would have to deal with it and I just don’t think he would. He would somehow have to compensate simply for Sanji to have the happy end I’m sure Oda will give to all of his main characters.

A character like Sanji that has also always been about love, often talking about it, and also with the recent developments regarding his past, makes him a more likely option for love by the end of the story. Love is always a hurricane!

I suppose one could argue Oda would just simply make Sanji move on to another “target”, and that is of course a possibility too. But if so the choices Oda has made with focusing Sanji so much on Nami would be rather odd. Even just evening it out between her and Robin would have been a better way to go from the beginning.

Romantic themes

Again, we have to remember that everything Oda puts in the manga is a conscious choice. A choice that to a various degree has a purpose within the story. Now, a lot of the things he’s done with Sanji and Nami are moments that in different ways can be seen as unnecessary unless Oda wants to show Sanji’s interest in Nami more prominently. I am talking about romantic themed moments in particular, because there are of course also many moments that can be purely seen as between nakama. That being said, moments between nakama are of course also important and are needed for a more solid relationship no matter if it’s later developed into romance or not.

What are romantic themed moments then? Well, no matter how much of a joke it might be Sanji rescuing Nami from a forced wedding and holding her in a wedding dress is a story point that didn’t have to happen that way. Sanji took a knife for Nami while the bad guy questioned why Sanji would die for her. That is in at least some way a romantic scene. Not a moment for romance to develop between the characters, but clearly there for the readers to note. The thing is that symbolism is a very important tool when writing, and having two characters involved in the rescue of each other from marriages is worth noting at the very least.

In Thriller Bark it’s also interesting to note that Sanji’s zombie talked about love as a strong power in front of and because of Nami. Nami even recognized it as something Sanji would say. It was not about being a pervert, but about love. He also had Sanji’s zombie protect Nami while later on kicking Robin. Now, these choices were made by Oda, and though they could be insignificant, they should still be taken into consideration.

Sanji’s other sacrifices can more easily be seen as him simply being the kind man he is and being there to help his nakama. Another detail that Oda could have done differently is the love letter that Sanji wrote to Nami in Water 7. Again, perhaps it’s just seen as a stupid joke, but it was another romantic typical gesture that didn’t have to happen. Same thing with Oda’s recent joke about Nami proposing to Sanji. Did it have to be there, in that way? Even better examples are Sanji actually asking Nami if she loves him. Something he hasn’t done with any other woman which just shows that it wouldn’t have been strange at all for Oda to simply skip them. Or at least make them happen with other characters too.

Also, the first time we saw Sanji with heart-eyes was with Nami. And they were openly flirting after and Sanji even got a hug. Even if it is not meant to be taken seriously it’s still there to be noticed, and many people shipped Sanji and Nami early on because of it and moments that followed in the Arlong arc.

Again, Sanji does a lot of love-related things to many female characters. But there are things that makes Nami special. Even the –san and –kun matters in this because it would have been so easy for Sanji to just call other women with –san. It wouldn’t be weird at all, so why doesn’t he? Why keep it specially for Nami? These are definitely choices Oda has made consciously, and even if they are rather minor they are still worth taking into consideration. Not to mention that even if they are significant or not they are still great moments for shippers.

Shipping Sanji and Nami is actually rather great, because we get a lot of good moments that with shipping goggles on can easily be seen as romantic. We never expected Sanji to carry Nami in a wedding dress, we never expected Nami to cry about Sanji being gone, or worry about never getting to see him again (at least not voicing it out loud), we never expected Nami to slap Sanji and for Nami to be so personal about her not being able to forgive him. Things can change constantly, but either way Oda is bringing a lot of excitement to the SaNa shippers.

In conclusion, these are just some of my reasons for why SaNa is a good ship and why the way Oda has told the story with Sanji and Nami’s characters is not in the way for a romance to develop. Meaning that’s it’s easy for us that like Sanji and Nami together to dream on and hope for romantic development to happen. What we can say is that no matter if SaNami is for you or not it is still a good ship in the sense that it could work within the story and the friendship and proper dynamics are there for shippers to support. Everything else is just a bonus really!