#vnsmoke yonji

[monkeydluffy19920]

Respond: SaNami in the New World pt. 5 (1/3) - Totto Land

So, this series is starting to catch up with the recent chapters so here we have finally another part where we analyze the development of the relationship between Sanji and Nami and how it has made huge step of developments during the time they have spent in the New World. The previous parts of these series are about  Fishman Island, Punk Hazard, Dressrosa, and Zou. Each of these arcs has offered us a lot and as the story keeps on going, there are still lots of possible hints and moments what could indicate them to become an actual canon pairing. 

Since there are lots to talk about this part of the series will be split into three smaller parts. The first part will handle chapters  824 - 844 and the second and third parts will be done later, most likely after this arc is over. Some of these points have been presented earlier in the reviews and my mates’ posts, so I’ll try to add references as much as I rember.  Also, since this is a long-lasting arc, this post going to be a long one and obviously, there might be points that I‘ve completely forgotten to add or didn’t notice so feel free to make additions and throw ideas and opinions in general :) 

Special thanks again to my mate @pernanegra who has inspired and helped me with this project! He has already assembled some SaNami hints and analyzed them in Oro Jackson forum and I recommend to read his amazing thoughts (part 1, part 2 , part 3,  part 4 and part 5).

Also big thanks to my fellow SaNami-shippers around Tumblr and OJ with whom I have discussed with about these exciting happenings in WCI!!

As a disclaimer (to avoid ship wars), these are again just some fanmade observations from one point of view. In other words, it’s just entertainment and some opinions in thousand seas and definitely, the goal is not trying to bash anyone else’s pairings. We all know that only Oda-sensei can decide whether there will be any canon romance inside the Straw Hat in long run.

Before we start I want to throw again some big apologize because I haven’t been that active recently here, it’s due all the hurries outside Tumblr :< Anyways, these thoughts are mostly based on Mangastream’s translations but let’s hope there are not that many errors that might affect on the interpretation. Well enough with blabber and let’s get going! 

1. Destination Totland!

Starting from chapter 825 where both Sanji and his retrieval team are on their way to Totto Land. Understandably Sanji isn’t excited to be around and no wonder,  he is sailing on a weird ship and on his way to meet his faith (all this so suddenly). Like mentioned in earlier parts, Sanji was against this marriage from the very beginning. It’s not only because he doesn’t have the warmest bonds with his relatives but also because he is still young, only 21 years old and definitely not ready to take such a big step with someone he doesn’t even know. However, he is really pleased to see the picture of his wife-to-be Pudding and it’s also a normal reaction for a guy who easily falls in love. Besides, at that point, he had no idea what a gloomy future would be ahead. 

Elsewhere the retrieval team is about to starve because of Luffy’s kitchen skills but they survive thanks to Nami who is practically the only one capable to cook among the group who is left after they separated after Dressrosa (according to SBS). This is just a headcanon but the idea of Sanji teaching Nami how to cook or even her just following him preparing food is kinda cute :> No didn’t want to bring this up only because of shippish ideas but because we have been discussing in earlier parts about Nami feeling responsible about Sanji’s disappearance and how she again took the lead once she saw that bad times were ahead of them.

In chapter 826 the retrieval team bumps into Sanji’s siblings Reiju and Yonji and they actually mistook the brother for Sanji (because of the swirls). Then Nami does some quick calculations and figures out that Yonji is a younger sibling.  Funny enough Sanji’s brother is falling for Nami with the first glance, just like Sanji did back in Baratie ::D However looks like Yonji stands no chance because his arrogance annoys Nami a lot and no wonder, their captain is half dead and this dude refuses to help. 

Also, one scene that definitely has been brought up to spotlight was the CPR Reiju gave to Luffy and we’ve seen lots of fans arguing whether Nami is jealous or not. First, about the blush, I think that is a very natural reaction for anyone who sees people going too smoochy. Secondly, the blush might be caused partly because it’s (at least for me) hard to imagine Luffy in such intimate situation since he is one of the most innocent minded characters in the whole series and suddenly his lips get gobbled by a stranger. Toei even threw more gas into flames by making it probably one of the smexiest scenes ever (with moans and salivas and stuff xD). I personally doubt that Nami would be jealous because first of all if she was she would have shown at least some annoyance after Reiju gobbled the poison out of Luffy. Secondly, yes Nami held Luffy’s hand and was worried to death before that scene but I bet Robin (or other crew mates) would have done the exact same because obviously, you feel worried about your captain if he is in the verge of death and Brook if someone knows this very well. Not sure if I’m able to explain it well but what also makes me sceptic about the jealousy argument is that Nami never was "highlighted” in the manga panels which means there was not spent any individual panels to Nami’s reaction to the kiss and she wasn’t first to react (when Reiju started the CPR, Chopper was the one to comment but well he is the doctor of the ship and then when Luffy wakes up its Carrot and Chopper who cry out of joy first). Well ok, it would be quite obvious shipping hint and maybe even out of character if Nami was jealous and suddenly showed that straightly to others or jumped to Luffy’s neck. Since Oda and Toei keep teasing the fans I doubt there will be any too direct hints or who knows). Then, when Luffy wakes up and is not even aware what has happened Nami scolds him a lot which is very understandable because he is their captain his hunger could have cost his life and it would have been quite hard to explain to the rest of the crew if he really died so there are really many reasons for her to be angry.  Again, it’s hard to see this from the romantic perspective but as said, shippers are free to interpret the scenes how they feel. Anyways, when Reiju walks off instead of showing any grudge towards Sanji’s sister the navigator is just thankful without saying it out and then asks whether they have seen so Nami still keeps her focus on the main mission, finding Sanji. 

2. First encounter with Pudding

So, the retrieval team finally found their way to Totland, a heaven on earth for sugar tooths! It doesn’t take long before Luffy and others are in trouble but they are saved by the cafe Caramel owner Pudding who seems to be a sweet little girl next door. They get invited to her cafeteria where they get to know her better. As you can see, Nami pay lots of attention to her speeches. We don’t know what the navigator is thinking of between those dots in her speech bubble but maybe as a strategist, she calculates whether Pudding is reliable and what kind of person she is?  (by the way, most of the shippers have paid attention to that clock above Nami that says it’s 3′o clock and in the anime, that clock is either broken or they just move with the speed of light since the pointers aren’t moving at all.)

They enjoy small talking but it’s clear that Nami wouldn’t mind if the retrieval team could proceed. She keeps telling that they are thankful for her kindness but that their team should be already moving on, there is something urgent where they have to be, finding Sanji. I just recently realized that Pudding actually kind of ignored Nami’s comment and offered some tea, it almost sounds like she tries to avoid that topic but it can be just me?

Then they find out that they are actually talking with Sanji’s future wife, the 35th daughter of Charlotte family and as result, they are all dumbfounded. Pudding seems to freak out because Mama’s wrath is horrible. There one guy who doesn’t believe her at all, Pedro, who reminds his team that they are dealing with Charlotte Linlin’s daughter and since that mink has a history with Big Mom Pirates, he knows they should be a bit on their toes. 

After things calm down Pudding explains about her mothers’ arranged marriages and that she has lots of siblings. When she mentions one sister who ran away Nami is all ears up, she knows that it’s about her friend Lola. Then the topic changes to Sanji and Pudding talks a lot and in such awe. Well, Luffy is being Luffy but Nami drops a big question, all of sudden. From the shipping perspective, this is quite interesting because we know that when Sanji flirts with Nami she enjoys it but still keeps the certain distance between them. I don’t know if jealousy is the right term but she seems to be somehow more interested than usual about this whole case and now asking such things, kind of makes me think that this really is a big deal for her after all. 

Nami even listens closely when Pudding starts to wonder what kind of a guy she’d marry. Pudding describes Sanji as we could imagine someone describing him from the first glance, handsome and polite and even told that she felt like there was some chemistry between them but then she drops the big news. 

This surprises the Straw Hats and even though Luffy’s comment about Sanji turning down a woman is probably mostly a gag, it has an important point.  Oda has been showing various times that marriage in One Piece can be interpreted as an opposite of freedom and this is actually what this whole arc is about, Sanji will end up fighting for his freedom. 

In the end, they befriend with Pudding and get a map drawn by her so they are ready to head up to the next destination. Again pointing up on this but Nami takes this case extremely seriously, so seriously that she would prefer that the others would be again focused on the main point instead of wasting time on gazing at the choco delicacies. 

Back in Sunny Pekom’s is gone but they keep on sailing. It’s a funny but a minor detail that Nami tells Luffy to go towards the 3′o clock, punny or not they are now on their way! 

Another thing I saw just after re-reading was in the same chapter (829) that it seems like Nami and Luffy are arguing about the cooking and that Luffy has surprisingly sharp memory. He can remember that Nami is willing to make food but they need to pay for it and now that they don’t have Sanji on board and Nami has been the substitute chef he’d rather make the food for the gang (to avoid fees) but Nami refuses and surprisingly tells that she isn’t going to charge which completely dumbfounds the crew. In general, again another good point that indicates that Nami isn’t a greedy anymore as some people might to think. 

3. Troubles ahead in Seducing Woods

So now they have finally arrived at the Whole Cake Island. Luffy starts calling Sanji and Pudding and told others that he is sure about that he saw them. However, Nami is very skeptical and keeps on worrying about schedules and their plan whereas Luffy trusts his intuitions. She keeps questioning why Sanji would like to play hide and seek at times like this if he knew his friends would go after him. 

Nami’s instincts were right, they end up getting lost and meeting weird creatures such a buried beard dude and a talking crocodile. Really confusing situation indeed but again, Nami constantly have doubts about the Seducing Woods and she also tries to keep their focus on their mission, finding Sanji and she keeps repeating her points which means she takes this case very seriously. Therefore she finds it hard to fall into the clone trap and she keeps questioning why would Sanji play games with them.

There was a really interesting theory in chapter 835 which we discussed in OJ with fellow shippers. A member who didn’t want to be namedropped created an “Owl and the cat” theory which was about symbolism and how that panel reminded about a poem by Edward Lear and you can read about this theory from Pernanegra’s post.

3. Stuck in Germa Kingdom

Meanwhile, the retrieval team is facing a bunch of troubles and separated from each other Sanji is back with his “family” and extremely stressed (he usually ruffles his hair when he is frustrated). He has already stated many times that the marriage isn’t what he wants and still he gets pushed about it. Definitely not having it easy there, remembering what a bunch of douchebag brothers and father he grew with. It’s sad to see that nothing has changed (seriously after their mother died I think Reiju is the only one at least a bit human there) plus he has the dangerous handcuffs on his hands. This has been pointed out by various Tumblers but yes, Sani is pretty much cornered because of the threats.  Hands are his everything and so are his friends so if he wants to save everything he needs to accept his faith.

(by the way, I still am interested in whether that mask Reiju gave for Sanji to hide his swollen face will have any particular meaning in later chapters, since the retrieval team know nothing about it) 

I’ve been explained it more widely in Reasons why SaNami could happen part 4.- they are same but still different, they complete each other-post but in short summary, it’s been interesting to notice how Nami’s and Sanji’s pasts have been quite opposite to each other from their childhoods into the turning points of their lives (Sanji regaining the freedom from his abusive family and Nami losing her freedom after living with loving family). 

4. Reunion with Sanji

Luffy and Nami meet quite a bunch of difficulties on their way but later they finally meet Sanji and as expected, he isn’t jumping for joy (unlike his captain and Nami). Sanji has received lots of critics because of the way he treated his nakama. Let me drop a friendly reminder again that Sanji was blackmailed. Oda reminds us of it once again with these panels where Sanji is struggling to find a quick plan for this unplanned encounter. It’s obvious that Sanji is under a huge pressure and therefore couldn’t act his normal when meeting others. 

There is also no doubt that Nami and Luffy wouldn’t be dumbfounded by this sudden cold and distant welcome. With the last pieces of hope, Nami still tries to reason both of her friends so the duel could be avoided. However, this is when Luffy tells her not to interrupt and all she can do is to watch two nakama fighting with each other (must’ve been so painful to watch since she probably never forgets how tense Luffy and Usopp's friendship ended up in Water 7).   Sanji definitely didn’t want to hurt neither of them verbally or physically but just like Robin, he wanted to protect everything he held dear (Zeff and others were obviously targeted if he misbehaved). He tried his best to keep them away and to make his poit clear, he even had to glare coldly at Nami which he wouldn’t do on normal occasions  (you can tell it from Nami’s shocked reaction)

For most of the fans, it was quite a sad day to witness the Luffy vs Sanji fight but SaNami fans received even gloomier times when Nami had enough of Sanji’s acting and slapped him. Emotional slaps in One Piece is a long post written by me (with the help of the fellow shippers) and there are lots of thoughts why the slap was remarkable not only from the shipping goggles but also in general. To sum up those thoughts, I don’t believe Oda adds such serious things in the plot if they didn’t mean a thing for characters (note: not counting here those punches that are clearly only for gag purposes). Actually, there have been only a few slaps in these almost 900 chapters and like said, there have always been valid reasons behind those emotional slaps. 

Therefore, it is really hard to believe these “the slap didn’t mean anything”-kind of arguments while even unbiased non-shippers have noticed that Nami was clearly upset. More remarkable was that she even dropped the -kun suffix away which at least for a shipper sounds important. Watching Nami being hurt is hurting but also looking at Sanji who tries to keep his poker face (in order to save everything he loves) and who is later bursting into tears at the wagon after hurting his dear friends and hearing how his stubborn captain who has been beaten into pulp stands up with his last powers and not only starts a hunger strike but also declares the loyalty by telling how he needs each of his crew to become a Pirate King, that’s what I call a one way ticket to Feelsville with the train of feels

So, the first part ends into the dramatical Luffy vs Sanji chapter but already lots of things has happened. In conclusion, no matter how much people debate about this I think it’s very reasonable to say that Nami has done much in this arc for Sanji’s sake. Borrowing my fellow mates Pernanegra’s words but it was her who pushed them forward and kept telling there is no time to waste. Without her, they might’ve stayed at Pudding’s coffee shop much longer or they would be still picking up the candies from the street booths and ever since the Zou arc, Oda keeps reminding that it was Nami who constantly reminds others about Sanji.