@400MillionBelis:
Role? Who said anything about "roles"? This is not a matter of Jinbe "taking Sanji's position as a swimmer", but rather the significance of the ability to swim with Sanji.
First off, I don't know why in the world you explain why Sanji swimming-All Blue thing, because this isn't an argument about the significance of swimming to Sanji.
Second off, "more important than what type of ordeal they went through"
I'm pretty sure the ordeals they went through as children is as important as what their choices right now.
I emphasized his 'role' as a swimmer because he's simply the go-to man for it, at least until Jinbe joins; I see no significance in his swimming ability and its personal value that would be matched to his near death experience. (And we're talking about Sanji specifically here, remember? Why would you throw his ordeal in with the others and start generalizing all of a sudden?)
As for your stance regarding drowning as a part of Sanji's ordeal, you've established that earlier:
Most people overlook the fact Sanji almost drowned as a child, and the fact he the only non-devil fruit user in the crew who drowned as a child. Drowning was a huge part of Sanji's past, and now he's older he's very proficient in swimming, and is the one who usually is shown swimming to save others (much like Zeff). I do not see him losing his ability to swim.
Ok; so you believe that Sanji's near drowning experience was significant to Sanji's outstanding swimming ability and what it means to him.
Granted, this isn't the first or earliest time I've seen this being thrown around AP; started way back in the new nakama thread with the whole craze over Jinbe joining. But I've never understood the basis for it and here's why:
For starters, outside of the experience of being stranded with Zeff, where else has Sanji as a child nearly drowned to where it'd be appropriate to say that drowning was a “huge part of his past”?
Most people overlook it – well, for good reason; because it wasn't the significant or thematic part of the ordeal at all. To examine it out of context would make no sense whatsoever when his experience didn't consist of solely drowning – in fact, he barely has any memory at all of it:
!
As you can see, he isn't even grateful or aware of his near death experience underwater and being saved by Zeff, even taking affront to the divided portions of food in protest. This doesn't seem like the drowning part of his experience left any impact whatsoever, let alone be a relevant part of his past and character development.
I don't recall an instance where Sanji ever acknowledged that part of his near death experience. As far as he and the reader even knows he got 'washed up with Zeff'. What he does acknowledge and reflect upon is the choice that Zeff made for him and why.
!
What you're doing is separating an event massively out of its context, effectively also separating it from its surrounding theme.
The theme over the ordeal that young Sanji and Zeff went through is of food and starvation, not water/swimming and drowning. It's the central theme throughout Sanji and Zeff's character as they are both appropriately cooks.
At this point I'd like to invite anyone reading to explain the whole Sanji-swimming-drowning thing if they can make the correlation between them more clear. It doesn't make sense; not from a literary point of view and not from a chronological point of view.
Regarding his choice as to become a hammer and lose his swimming ability; considering the man was ready to throw it all away for a DF ability he wanted to use just to peep at naked women in the bath….yeah, I don't see him having a big problem with carrying Ace's power at all. He'd probably scarf the thing down if Nami said it'd look cool on him.
@400MillionBelis:
Luffy is not so much selfish that he'd force someone on his crew to eat it. Convince a crewmate with speeches about Ace's will? I don't see how that's any different from forcing someone to eat it, and rather it's getting someone to eat it. Don't compare "convincing" and "forcing" people into his crew, because in the end all crew members join at their own will.
Why are you intent on stringing along with the word 'forced' after I've already explained what I meant in context?
@400MillionBelis:
Or he simply does not want Ace's fruit to get into the hands of people he doesn't like. This fruit does not represent the person Ace. Whatever "will" Ace even had other than being a brother and loving his "dad" Whitebeard.
If you're not familiar with the dreams that Ace and Whitebeard had, see dialogue between Jackermeister and I earlier. I've also covered how it represents him in the sense that it matches the pattern of inherited will with the reincarnation and life cycle of a DF.
@Jackermeister:
About Ace: He wanted to see Luffy's "dream come to pass".And Luffy's dream is becoming PK. He said earlier he wants WB to become PK…. But maybe he realized that WB doesn't want it/was going to die? So his next choice was Luffy.
@400MillionBelis:
In any case, this whole poetic and fluffy "Ace's Will Passed Down" is NOT an argument specifically for Sanji. From what I've been reading, it's an "argument" for everyone that is close enough to Luffy. I do not see a single reason on why it HAS to be Sanji, and you can pretty much replace anyone Luffy holds dear with the name "Sanji" and it's good to go.
I cut Sanji out of that theory in the first sentence.
@Ansatsuken:
After giving the central theme a bit more thought (not just to Sanji but in the OP world in general) I'd like to point out this panel in recent chapters where the concept of a DF reincarnation is explained:
! http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/dark1365/meramera_zps38bf2201.jpg
As you can see, this 'pattern' of growth, consumption, death/reincarnation of a Devil Fruit is quite parallel with the central theme of man's dream, the passage of time, and inherited will, which leads to my theory:
The eating of the Mera-Mera no mi - whoever the recipient may be - will be a figurative passing of the torch in terms of Ace's will and dreams, as described earlier.
I believe the Mera Mera and Ace's personality and will are so closely symbolized together at this point that it would be impossible for a character without a very long character development and history to justify owning it.
I'm seeing a lot of speculation on the new Rebecca character possibly eating it. While I won't rule this possibility out, I find it highly unlikely that Oda would be able to give her enough character development to justify her carrying Ace's will. From what she's shown us, she has serious beef with Doflamingo; nothing about any dreams yet. She's in trouble and needs help, a first inkling of a new nakama, but regarding eating the mera mera is unclear.
Too busy trying to find some witty gifs on Google images to read my posts properly, I see.