OMFG A ROBIN-CHWAN THREAD <3333333 -loves all over-
Why do you like/dislike Robin?
I looove Robin, in case you couldn't tell. At first I just fangirled over her because of her general awesomeness - her looks, her voice, her attitude, her ridiculous wardrobe and the fact that she can actually pull it off without looking like an idiot [although the thought "This town ain't big enough for tha both of us, buddy" crosses my mind every once in a while when I see her with that hat]. After she joined I found out that in addition to all that, her dark humor is exactly to my liking and that SHE IS THE CUDDLIEST THING EVER I MEAN OMG JUST LOOK AT HER SITTING WITH A BLANKET AND A CUP OF TEA IN 'FREE WILL'. -lifts finger off shift button- Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, I could tell that she had an awesome dark background, and it was killing me that I had to wait so long to get to it. In the beginning of Enies Lobby I was pretty annoyed at her behavior, but then again, everything in the first half of that arc sucked - it was like Arlong Park, only repetitive ["Robin, we've come to save you!!" "Go away!! I wanna die!!" in endless loops, anyone?] and full of boring, meaningless fights against random marines.
And then there was her flashback.
…Do I really need to say more?
Before the flashback chapters, there was a lot of speculation as to what had happened to Robin in her childhood. What did you think happened to her? How did you like Oda's presentation of her past? What would you have changed?
Oh, I got spoiled about her being called "Demon Child", so it wasn't that hard to figure out that she was rejected by everyone because of her powers. I also thought that due of something horrible caused to her by marines, she became enfulged in rage and, still unable to control her powers at such a young age, destroyed six marine ships. But other than that, I really had no idea. I think the way Oda presented it was WONDERFUL. BEAUTIFUL. PERFECT. ATDFUDGHGF BEST FLASHBACK IN THE ENTIRE MANGA? YES. [Even though Oda kinda… tends to fail at making flashbacks touching.] On the other hand, the way Toei made it was just…. bad. The seiyuus chosen for Saul and Robin were terrible - Robin sounded like a bitter 15-years old who hates the world and doesn't remember how to smile LOLZ HOW EMO, which is exactly the opposite of the impression I got of her as a child when I read the manga, and Saul was just... eh. Not to mention that Robin's seiyuu as Olvia was lame and cheap. Other than that, it just wasn't nearly as touching. The ugly animation certainly didn't help, either.
Do you ship/pair Robin with any other One Piece character? If so, who? Why?
Yes. Vivi. Before you skin me alive, let me explain myself, 'kay?
The concept had me interested pretty much since the first time All Sunday was introduced. I thought a fanfic about those two would be nice, and that desire just grew more and more every day. So one day I met up in a con with an online friend of mine who also likes One Piece and happens to be an incredibly talented author. We sat on the stairs and talked, and I said, "Hey, write me a drabble!" and she asked me what she should write about. I asked her to write me Robin/Vivi crack. So she did. And it was awesome. So I said "write me another one!"
…And before we knew it, we'd been sitting on the stairs for five whole hours, and she had written five pages of Robin/Vivi drabbles. And hell, if you read 60 incredible drabbles about Robin/Vivi, you'd grow to like it, too. Since then I've been writing about that pairing a lot as well - so little had happened between them in the series, so I could write almost anything! Their personalities really worked together, too. It was just too fun. Nowadays, that pairing seems natural to me – weird, I know, haha. But I actually got a bunch of people to like it, too.
As I progressed in the series, I actually found a bit of evidence for this pairing - Robin spared Igaram's life [okay, it was probably just the One Piece rule of "nobody ever dies no matter how many bones they break or how much blood they lose", but I like to think otherwise] and tried to help Straw Hats, in a way, by giving them the eternal pose. I also found some resemblance - the part where Vivi tries to get Kohza to hear her out and he just passes through her is an awful lot like the part where little Robin searches for her mother and runs right past her. And obviously, the fact the both of them were trying to achieve their goal by working for Croc, and developing a personality which is nothing like their real self without even letting their real names be known - a relationship based on a pile of lies, don't you think that's wonderful?
I am also admittedly guilty of thinking that I wouldn't mind reading a nice, subtle, G-rated Robin/Usopp fic during Enies Lobby. But other than that, I don't like shipping her to any of the nakama - the relationship between them is just too beautiful to be twisted into romance.
How do you think Robin acquired her devil fruit ability? How do you think the other people of Ohara initially reacted to it? How do you think Robin dealt with it?
Oh… Uh. Um. Errr. I'll go with other people's theories, that after her aunt didn't feed her she found it somewhere and ate it. The other people of Ohara, as seen in the series itself, rejected her from society and thought her to be with a freak, other than Clover and the other archeologists. I'm sure Robin was lonely, but then again, her life had been pretty terrible up until then, so she just accepted her fate and shouldered it. It's not like she had a choice.
What other One Piece characters do you think Robin has encountered in the twenty years she spent looking for the Poneglyphs? How do you think she would react to meeting those characters?
Uh. No one?
When do you think Robin realized that she liked the Straw Hat Pirates?
From the first moment after Luffy saved their lives and they accepted her into the nakama, probably. They're such a happy bunch, it's impossible not to like them right away.
Why do you think Robin attacked Aokiji, knowing that she probably would not be able to defeat him? Was it in revenge for Saul? Was it to stop him from reporting her location to headquarters? Or was there some other reason?
I think she was trying to protect her nakama, and the storm of emotions that welled up inside of her because of Aokiji's appearance made her attack him despite knowing she didn't stand a chance – I don't think she was able to think very clearly at that moment.
What do you think Robin will do after she finds the "True History"?
PARRR~TAY.
What are your favorite Robin outfits in the anime/manga/movies?
Movie… six, was it? With the big pretty hat. And the "look at me I'm a sexy librarian" one, was it in Skypiea? She wore it in Bon Voyage at some point, anyway. >>; And all the stuff she wore in the omakes, especially in the Devil Robin one. That just owned. And her current outfit is just... aughhh. <3
What are your favorite Robin scenes in the anime/manga/movies?
Are you kidding? I adore everything the woman does and squeal at every word that comes out of her mouth. Well, maybe except for the repititive "LET ME DIE ALREADY" in Enies Lobby.
Do you collect One Piece doujinshi featuring Robin? Which circles/artists are your favorite?
Oh, I wish. I never saw any doujinshi with her in it. Well, except for one yaoi doujinshi that my friend sent me a page of - it had Usopp, Luffy and Chopper being complete idiots with Nami going all "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!", and Robin explaining "The living being called 'man'! :D" That was just too adorable.