One Piece Is Officially Too Dark For Shonen Jump

Although One Piece‘s long-running manga is filled with humor, adventure, and exciting action, its latest chapter is an example of how Eiichiro Oda’s story is not afraid to include the darkest material. For decades, Shōnen Jump has published countless beloved manga that often include inspirational tales geared towards young adult males. While most of its published stories strive to entice that demographic, even the most popular series have been known to push the envelope in different ways.

Many Shōnen Jump series like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One-Punch Man primarily center on battles that can get particularly graphic, and sometimes even gruesome. Artwork of characters being brutally blown apart or horrifically damaged with should-be-fatal injuries doesn’t often raise too many eyebrows, but few series published on Shōnen Jump go even darker.

Despite the fact that One Piece is one of the world’s most popular franchises, author Eiichiro Oda has not shied away from including the most vile actions humans are capable of. While the story often revolves around the emotionally brilliant but chaotic Monkey D. Luffy, the ruling class of his world, the Celestial Dragons, have controlled the world for centuries and have had no qualms about doing whatever they want because of misplaced entitlements. Tragically, this has led to countless deaths and even heinous acts of sexual assault that resulted in the births of important characters.

Like Bonney, Shuri’s Biological Father Is Not Who It Should Be

During the Egghead arc, one of One Piece‘s most emotional moments centered on the tear-jerking life of Bartholomew Kuma and his daughter Bonney. The love of his life, Ginny, was abducted by the Celestial Dragons and kept as a slave for years, where she was forced to marry one of her captors, resulting in the birth of Bonney. While she was raised with love by Kuma, she eventually learned the truth about her mother. Unfortunately, it would not be the last time that One Piece‘s evil world rulers would impregnate someone against their will.

In One Piece‘s Elbaph arc, several strong characters have been revealed, and backstories for fan-favorites have been unraveled. Chapter #1185 continues an emotional flashback explaining the connection between Straw Hat Brook and Holy Knight Gunko, who both hail from the now destroyed island of Esperia. It features a seemingly innocent scene of a 20-something Brook chatting with a teenage Princess Shuri (who mysteriously becomes Gunko) about her mother Candelle, and the island’s growing tension with the World Government. It was a conversation with dark implications.

While Brook was a child, he was brought in by the kingdom’s Prince Reuven and trained in the art of swordsmanship by Esperia’s future queen Candelle. She was a committed protector of her prince and proved to have strong feelings for him. However, in Brook’s story to Princess Shuri, a Celestial Dragon ship visited Esperia years back, and afterward “Lady Candelle was bedridden for several months after that due to fatigue…and then…you were born!” Reuven ascended the throne and married Candelle before Shuri was born, but the sequence of events clearly alludes to a more sinister truth: Shuri’s father is not Reuven but the Celestial Dragon that visited Esperia.

The Actions Of The Celestial Dragons Are Too Dark For Shōnen Jump

Since the Celestial Dragons were introduced, they have represented the worst of what entitled humans are capable of, with only one showcasing redeemable qualities. The organization has ruled over the World Government for centuries, maintaining the practices of slavery, corruption, and even genocide. They rule under the false pretenses that they belong in a higher rung of society that’s allowed to do whatever they please, and very few series have been able to explore such sensitive subject material in the way that One Piece has.

Since One Piece has been ongoing since 1997, a lot of its readers are older than the demographic Shōnen Jump normally caters to, so its author and editors might have the freedom to explore more mature subjects than other series. Still, at this point in the story, readers are more than well aware of how heinous the Celestial Dragons can be, and don’t need to be convinced further that they are a cruel organization that needs to be stopped. With One Piece approaching its final arc, it’s only a matter of time before their cruel actions are given the judgment that they deserve.

First Film

One Piece: The Movie

Cast

Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

Character(s)

Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)