Emerging from my lurking cause I've been sitting on my feelings on the Gum Gum Fruit also being the Nika Fruit, and the developments of the past 3-4 chapters for a little while and I think I've got some thoughts settled.

I was very concerned about the direction Oda would take all of these developments when we started getting the info dumps from Who's Who about the government going after the Gum Gum Fruit, the namedropping of Nika and the visual call backs to Luffy at the Skypiea parties, and the Elders discussing a "legendary" fruit with a different name. I, like a lot of people, (especially older sections of the fanbase) do not like the idea of the "chosen one" narrative with all the special powers and destiny and whatnot. Like I'm watching through Naruto for the first time, and my motivation to watch has dropped significantly now that I'm at the part of Shippuden where it leans hard into Naruto's parents, the seemingly genetic nature of chakra as a power system, and the very on-the-nose "chosen one" stuff. I'm not going to sit here and be like "Naruto used to be about hard work vs. talent" (because quite frankly I don't agree with that, the biggest theme in the series is the idea of "strength through bonds"), but I do think it does ultimately undercut earlier moments and established character dynamics from earlier in the series that were effective.

So I say all of that to say that I sympathize with (some of) the criticisms I've seen over the past few weeks, cause I've also been really concerned of One Piece falling into that same fate as Naruto. While there are some, uh, extreme reactions imo, I think there are a lot of fair points to be critical of. But to be honest, now that we're here on the other side of 1044, I personally feel content with the direction the series is going, and I think Oda's landed this well enough to earn my trust going forward. I think "Joyboy" being seeded early post-timeskip, and the sun/dawn association being present from pretty much day 1 help this land for me in terms of the buildup to these developments. I do think the Who's Who exposition dump is clumsy storytelling that takes away from giving Jimbe a better encounter and more time to shine. But I also think the combination of the Joyboy/Sun/Dawn stuff and it being pretty easy to contextualize why we're getting this erased history and confidential information from this source (a former secret government agent turned high ranking member of an emperor's crew) at this late point in the journey bring me to terms with it, even if the presentation of information is a bit sloppy. I accept that this has probably been in the cards for a while, even if some specifics weren't ironed out until recently (which we can only speculate on to begin with).

I'm very relieved with how he's handled the power itself. Because really the only thing that has changed here is the classification of the fruit. It doesn't really touch the abilities of the fruit. Luffy is still, at the end of the day, a rubber human who must rely on creative applications of his abilities to not only hold his own but to unlock to true nature of the fruit. Like it didn't imbue him with special hidden powers from the outset that have quietly been working in the background undercutting the legitimacy of Luffy's past accomplishments. I think there's been a lot of jumping-to-conclusions based on the way things like scans have translated and framed these new developments. Like Luffy is not literally a god, and he doesn't have the ability to warp reality. He's got the powers of someone who lived in the past who was a rubber person, who has the epithet of a "god". I never bought that Nika is a literal "sun god", not in the same series that delivers an arc like Skypiea in which our protagonist punches someone with a god complex, and there's a flashback that opens with illustrating a conflict between religious tradition and scientific rationalism. Oda has to stick the landing on what exactly Devil Fruit are, how they work, where they come from, how they're made, etc. But I also buy Greg's idea of it being a mixture of both a Paramecia and a Zoan, and if Nika is just a Lunarian with rubber (Paramecia) abilities, who was then used as the basis of a Zoan fruit, I can see that landing fine. Again again, he's still a rubber person and been a rubber person. It's that the ability is only limited by the creativity of its user, and for someone as off-the-wall and free as Luffy, it's the perfect fruit. Luffy being who Luffy is, possessing the personality traits he does and having the experiences he's had, is what's allowed him to get here using this fruit. And while I can understand the criticism that this power-up feels unearned/comes out of nowhere… Idk it's pretty hard for me to understand perspective without thinking about how Luffy just suddenly comes out in Enies Lobby with both Second and Third Gears, after no build up or explanation of how Luffy came up with or developed these abilities what-so-ever. It's sudden then, and it's sudden now, but it also didn't bother me that much then, and it's not really bothering me much now. In large part because...

I'm having an absolute blast with Gear 5. I love these powers, I love the goofy ass Looney Tunes/Popeye aesthetic and all the visual gags. And just reading week-to-week for the past 10 years, this is to me some of the funniest, most exciting content in the whole series. Kaido's eyes popping out as Luffy's arm drags him away kills me. Seeing just how creative Luffy can get with these abilities is fun! I know some aren't happy with how goofy it is, I see a lot of comments about this robbing the fight of "tension" and being some tonal whiplash, which you know, to each their own. But for me, I also feel like I just got some of the most tense content I've read in the series week-to-week with Kaido's finishing blow on Luffy, and then the narrator box declaring "Winner: Kaido, King of the Beasts". One of One Piece's biggest strengths is its ability to pull these tonal shifts, and while I definitely agree that this is easily one of the most extreme cases, it works for me. I feel you if you think this is too rapid of a shift. But I think for me though the ping-ponging between absolute despair and joyous laughter works because it's so extreme. The idea of Luffy bringing genuine laughter to the people Kaido has robbed that from through his tyranny and the effects of SMILE sounds so satisfying, but for that to work I feel like you have to juxtapose those two ends of the spectrum here at the climax. To me it's not One Piece without stuff like this. And look, at the end of the day I'm just having fun with this. Luffy's out here doin some Tex Avery shit! Give me funny, goofy, cartoony One Piece that doesn't hold back in both how serious and how silly it all is.

And there it is again. Like clockwork.

Okay, so I'm gonna say some shit that will certainly rustle some feathers, including those of the forum staff, but quite frankly I've spent over a year being 'patient' and 'civil' about the way transphobia has been allowed to slide on the forum and I honestly do not care any more about the optics of 'civility' or 'politeness'. I have frequented this site for close to a decade. And for over a year, since the introduction of a character in One Piece that has begged the discussion of gender identity, I've come here to see the truth of the existence of genderqueer people (including myself) questioned or outright dismissed. My freedom to simply exist as I am, identity unquestioned, a privilege that cisgender people take for granted. I am not the only genderqueer person on this forum or in this thread. And while I hesitate to speak for any of them or their experiences, for me? Personally? I'm tired and have run out of energy to hold back for the sake of appearances.

Earlier in this thread, on the previous page, someone (who'll remain nameless) posted a slur used for trans and genderqueer people. The post was reported, and has been since deleted by a member of the staff, and it looks pretty obvious to me right now that it's just gonna be swept under the rug, and that no one is actually going to say anything or apply any consequences to hate speech. And I'll be real, that sends a pretty clear message. That going so far as to say an actual slur? That'll be quietly removed. But the people who say those things will be allowed to continue posting, and articulate the same hateful attitudes regarding genderqueer people so long as they dress it up in way that they can claim plausible deniability. 'Casual' transphobia, the kind that directly questions the existence and validity and trans and nonbinary identities, but dress it up in a way that's 'polite' ("a difference of opinion", "just asking questions", etc.) has been allowed to be posted on this forum with little to no consequence aside from maybe a stern post from members of the mod/admin team. But that's in the best of times. In the worst of times, like now, the actual offending post is quietly deleted and covered up, the offending poster is sent on their way, and the staff pretends like the whole thing never happened and we're expected to just move on and drop it. For the sake of 'civility' or 'not getting heated' or whatever. And then everything dies down until the next time the conversation comes up, when we do the whole dance over again. And it comes at the expense of the genderqueer people who are here and have been here, who are expected to stomach that. Again, it sends a pretty clear message to the genderqueer members of this forum; Transphobia is allowed on Arlong Park. You just gotta dogwhistle it instead of saying it outright. It's gotta fly under the radar just enough.

I don't think that's necessarily what the staff wants, or at least for some members of the staff. I know that the forum staff is not a monolith. But that is the message these actions send collectively. And I've wanted to say a lot of this for a long time, but I've held off out of worry for how the staff and other members of the forum would respond (or not). But it has gotten to a point where it so egregious that I can't just sit by and say nothing. When certain posters try to explain/argue gender identity with people who are actually genderqueer? When someone says a slur with zero consequence? And a member of staff just pretends it didn't happen? I refuse. I'd wondered whether I should say this publicly, or if I should privately take it up with the staff. But if these interactions are going to happen in public, in a thread for everyone to see, then this can too. I remind you what series this forum exists to discuss, and how quick the protagonist of that series is to call out something when it's wrong and threatens peoples' freedom to simply exist as they are.

AP's been part of my One Piece fandom for a long time. One Piece is important to me. And I only say these things because I do, in fact, care about an internet forum for a long-running comic series about a rubber pirate. Again, this is an online space I've frequented for close to a decade to engage in discourse around that comic that I love. I want to stay. But it's almost impossible to when I come on here and regularly see multiple people questioning and outright insulting the validity of queer identities with zero consequence. There needs to be concrete action. Something. Anything.

I see we’ve moved on from “casual” transphobia to literal actual slurs

no problem @dirt monkey and @Captain M, glad y'all appreciated. I'm for sure not about to sit here and let that kind of nonsense pass.

@Nekketsu:

That's rude, man.

No, this is rude.

@Nekketsu:

Nah, I just want to have a laugh with the snowflakes that immediately called Yamato "trans". Nothing else.

Like, first of all let's just clear the air; by "snowflakes" you mean genderqueer people that are happy to see someone like themselves represented in One Piece (like myself), or people who are not genderqueer themselves but care about representation and are happy for those same genderqueer fans mentioned prior. So then let's get this one straight; you'd rather have a laugh at the expense of queer folk having the opportunity of representation dangled in front of them and then taken away, than actually accept the fact that there is a character in-series that uses pronouns different from the ones assigned to them at birth.

And before you start hand-wringing about authorial intent or putting words in the authors mouth or whatever I remind you that 1. Oda is the one who made the conscious decision to include a character whose gender identity is more fluid, and 2. it has already been confirmed that the team behind the series (including Oda) is well aware of the significance Yamato carries to queer fans.

@Greg:

The development team is aware of the importance of Yamato's LGBTQ+ fans and respects that aspect of the character.

In fact it was a topic we discussed on the WT100 program but it was dropped because, as is fairly clear, it's a devisive topic. I think (at this particular time) the view of the development team is, Yamato is what Yamato wants to be and that can be fluid, thus they're refraining from putting their foot in the ground. Some may see that as a bright move, some may see it as cowardly. I see it as respecting not only the character, but also the fans.
Yamato is, whatever you want him to be, if you think that's what Yamato would want.

so I'm just gonna repost this post I made from the 1,019 spoiler thread, because clearly the forum needs a reminder every few weeks that trans and nonbinary people exist (yes, in fact, on this forum too) and are worthy of some baseline respect, and that the way you discuss the topic of gender for a demonstrably queer character reflects your attitudes about gender and gender nonconforming people in real life.

@JDub:

This isn’t a matter of Yamato “being trans” or being “described as” strictly trans and fitting some constructed criteria of what being “trans” means. That endeavor of nailing down what is and is not criteria for “being trans” quickly becomes a slippery slope of truscum-like “you’re not ACTUALLY trans unless XYZ”. There isn’t a uniform trans experience. Hell, there isn’t a uniform trans identity. The reality is a lot more nuanced than that, with as many experiences as there are people.

Again, the matter isn’t whether Yamato fits a strict definition of “transgender”. What’s important is that he is a character assigned female at birth, that uses masculine identifiers. That’s simply queer! And I want to clarify that as an umbrella term, “queer” comes with that ambiguity built in. Yamato’s gender is whatever he wants it to be, and it’s really nice to hear from Greg that the team treats it that way. His identity doesn’t need to be nailed down into a distinct category. The important part is that he doesn’t identify with the gender assigned to him at birth, and so he changed his identifiers. And that is queer. You don’t have to pin down “what Yamato is” or if he fits strict criteria for an identity category, it’s about acknowledging the self-determination Yamato has and wields with regard to his gender.

@Coookie:

To be fair, Robin being taken by the World Government happened a couple of arcs after she joined and the same argument is being made for Carrot, that she will get her moment “later”. Big difference though is that Robin already had things going for her even before she joined, showing an interest in Luffy directly, saving him and lying to Crocodile about Pluton’s location. Even afterwards she didn’t completely fade into the background, getting her moments in Skypiea with exploring the ruins, finding the Poneglyph and the whole confrontation with Kuzan on Long Ring Long Island that led into the events of Water 7.
Carrot on the other hand…

Yeah, I think in that way Robin’s a lot more similar to Nami with a more protracted recruitment, that doesn’t really come to a head until after they’ve spent time with the crew. But to your point, the central conflict of Water 7/Enies Lobby still related to Robin specifically, and put her character into primary focus for the arc. There are arguments made that Carrot will get “her moment” yet, and honestly yeah I think at this point that’s undeniable, especially given her popularity in the fandom. Oda likes to cater to his fans (within reason) and give them something they’ll enjoy. But having a good character moment, and being consistently given narrative focus because the character has a uniquely direct connection to the central conflict of the arc are two very different things.

I think one of the things that really dashed any possibility for Carrot was the fact that she was never immediately tied to the conflict of the arc. For the other members of the crew, the main conflict for their respective arcs had personal relevance, and its resolution meant something for them. Saving Zoro from execution, saving Usopp’s village and Kaya, defending Baratie, freeing Nami and Cocoyashi from Arlong, driving Wapol out of drum and defending Hiriluk’s will, rescuing Robin and Franky from being taken by the World Government to activate/build Pluton, defeating Moria to return Brook’s shadow to him, helping Jimbei defend Fishman Island. And now liberating Yamato from Kaido. That’s what allows those characters to have major focus in the arcs they join, that the conflict has an added layer to them. Carrot doesn’t really have anything similar to that. She’s been treated like an accessory to the conflict in that way.

@Monquito:

Well, I wouldn't blame Foxy's arc only, I think Skypiea widely contributed to dehype the series at that point.

I would also argue that Oda miscalculated the moment to bring Davy Back fight into the series.

It could've been a much more sucessful arc if it was placed right after Alabasta, or at least that's what I think so.

I disagree. The Davy Back Fight gives a nice reprieve between the behemoth arcs that are Skypiea and Water 7/Enies Lobby, and it primes the reader for the idea of losing crew members and the crew being broken up, which is obviously a major point in the arc that immediately follow. I don’t think it works anywhere else (or at least it would be less effective).

@Zik:

Well, this part is wrong. Being female (or male) has absolutely nothing to do with the assumptions of what a woman is or what a normal woman is.

Yamato is biologically female same way Nami and Robin are. That's just a fact. It's the label we use to discern from male and female. That doesn't change cuz of social perception or assumptions.

My point isn’t to say that biological sex isn’t real or doesn’t matter (though certainly more nuanced than the male/female binary we use for it). My point is that we (arbitrarily) assign gender at birth on the basis of features visible on the body, like sex organs and later the presence/absence of breasts. We are the ones that came up with the labels of “male” and “female” with regard to bodies, and it’s not coincidental those definitions operate on the same binary that gender does. The labeling of bodies with gendered language as “male or female” informs the gendering of the person as “man or woman”. I mean just look at the people that saw Yamato’s design, see physical features that are labeled as female like breasts, and then use she/her in spite of everything in the text. It’s the underlying assumption that positions being cis as the “norm”, the idea of the “natural sex/gender” and what that looks like, and positions trans or queer identities as a deviation from that norm.

We are collectively brought up with idea of what a woman’s body looks like and what a man’s body looks like. You (not like you Zik, but the general you) probably have a concept in your head of what masculine and feminine bodies look like. You don’t have to look any further than a clothing section with discreet “mens” and “womens” clothes to see how bodies are socially gendered.

You can say like “oh that’s sex not gender”, and that’s true and that’s an important distinction to draw. But as socially constructed ideas about bodies and identity, the two are not unrelated either; they’re defined along the same restrictive binary and form a feedback loop with each other. Gender is assigned based on sex traits, and the idea of the “natural sex” is used in turn to position that gender as “natural”. Those definitions and assumptions can (and for the liberation of trans and queer people, should) change and be renegotiated, but that is to say that relationship/disconnect between sex and gender is a dynamic that exists in Yamato’s character.

Anyway that’s enough gender theory in the thread for me lol