Garp "the hero" Monkey D., poster child for the good old generation of legends that is simultaneously too old for this shit and still better at anything than the youngsters, just declared he's going to knock at certified granpa killer Blackbeard's door to save his promising (to someone, I guess) protegé, who already (somehow) inherited a similar "hero" nickname.
We all know where this is going.
So before the tears can cloud our eyes and judgment, shall we spend a few words assessing where he ultimately stands, as an historical figure and a role model?
So here's a free hot take to start things off:
Isn't the coolest of cool granpas, after all is said and done... kind of a loser, hypocrite and even a coward?
I'll elaborate briefely.
Huge part of who he his and where he stands is sumarized in his "I don't want to be promoted because i'd be less free" statement. Which is... kind of nonesensical? Viceadmirals are off course a lot less "free" than admirals, who we've seen multiple times do pretty much whatever they wanted to further their agendas, and vices as their direct underlings are in fact subject to both the same government control as them AND their superiors' whims.
The only thing that makes Garp special and thus lets him get away with a lot of shit is, off course, his legendary status. Which he would retain as an admiral too.
About the legendary status itself... pretty much a Roger gift, isn't it? The two big achievements that put him in the history books, both mostly good ol' Gol D's merit. And what did he do with it?
He gets away badmouthing the big guys upstairs. And that's pretty much it. He knows all too well the extent of the evil shit his organization deals in.He saw them go full king Herod on a whole generation of innocent children he knew all too well were dying for nothing.
Next day he went to work as if nothing happened.
He says he's not cool with it, that world nobles are shit and whatnot, but while he's the only one in his family who has actual means and opportunity to at least try doing something about it, he also is the only one who does nothing about it. Not only that, he failed 3 times on 3 attempts to have his descendants follow in his footsteps. He just keeps the cozy, high paying job, refuses responsabilities, openly ignores and refuses to act on even the most egregious injustices.
He's undoubtedly cool and lots of fun every time he's on page, not even trying to deny that. And there's some purposeful exageration in the text above, just for the love of discussion.
But hot take aside, I think there's an undeniable strike of tragedy behind the bombastic smiling mask.
So, what do you think? On what note is this man going to leave the stage, and what legacy will he leave?