Every One Piece arc has its ups and downs. They can feature some of the most thrilling moments in the One Piece franchise and still have a glaring flaw. An arc that is the perfect example of this is the Thriller Bark Arc. One of the greatest and most memorable moments for Roronoa Zoro happened here, along with Brook’s tragic backstory and his connection with Laboon. However, there’s one character whose running gag went too far and was severely out of place. You guessed right, it’s Sanji.
There’s a running gag, if you haven’t noticed, that Sanji is obsessed with women and unfortunately often falls into the pervert anime trope. Despite the fact that his obsession is actually respect for women with the way he’s been raised, the pervert trope is like a wrench in the cog of who he is. While Fishman Island was possibly the worst offender of this trope, Thriller Bark Arc also revealed a very perverted dream of Sanji.
Sanji’s Dream Was An Unnecessary Addition
Thriller Bark’s main antagonist was Gecko Moria and the other threats were the Mysterious Four, one of whom was Absalom, a highly perverted man and the leader of the Zombie Soldiers. He s*xually ass*ulted Robin and then Nami, going so far as to kidnap Nami and force her to marry him. He could do all of this due to his Clear Clear Fruit which gives him the ability to turn invisible.
Sanji, upon hearing about Nami’s kidnapping, gets furious. However, we quickly find out he was also angry that Absalom took the Devil Fruit he was looking for to fulfil his dream of peeking at women in the bath. That quickly turned weird for fans, who initially thought it was just Nami being in danger that made him furious but to find out Sanji would go that far to peek at women felt disgusting.
The plot of Nami being kidnapped by a perverted man could’ve been a point of growth for Sanji rather than another chance for a running gag. It’s almost like Eiichiro Oda wants to keep ruining the Straw Hat chef by sprinkling in these moments and expects fans to forget it after Whole Cake Island. However, fans have agreed that Sanji is still a well-written, nuanced character.
The Trope Goes Too Far But Doesn’t Define Sanji
There are several anime male characters who are cursed with the pervert trope. From My Hero Academia’s Mineta to Naruto’s Jiraiya, their actions are controversial. There’s almost no substance to some of these characters other than being a pervert, making it difficult for fans to forgive the mangaka. While this is meant to be in a comedic tone, it isn’t very funny to the anime community for obvious reasons.
However, there is one glaring difference between most pervert characters and Sanji. The chef has continuously shown emotional intelligence and his respect for women sometimes cancels out his perverted nature. Whole Cake Island exposes how Sanji’s respect for women comes from his mother and Zeff. He is a true gentleman and the One Piece community has recognized he is a rare character whose pervert trope doesn’t define him at all.
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