One Piece

Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard were also examples of this in a way. These were the two strongest Pirates in the world. These were the badasses among badasses, living legends...and both of them were doomed to die of mundane illness and old age respectively.

Even in One Piece badassitude doesn't let you escape your own mortality.

But at least these were grown-ass men who accomplished what they wanted in life as opposed to a child who barely got to do anything. And Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard both managed to find a more badass way to die as opposed to wasting away in bed. They were able to make their last moments mean something.

Kuina didn't get that chance.

Edited by M84 on Nov 29th 2021 at 11:51:46 PM

Honestly, what makes Kuina's death so annoying is that the series hasn't really proven her wrong if we look at Tashigi.

She's so thoroughly outclassed by Zoro that he doesn't even bother to take her seriously as an opponent.

You would think after what happened to Kuina, Zoro would respect his female opponents more, especially as a point of contrast for Sanji but he always holds back against them.

Zoro's issue with Tashigi is that he's bothered by how much better a swordsman he is compared to her. Because Kuina was better than him when they were kids. Part of him likely thinks that Kuina would be stronger than Tashigi is if she had lived to adulthood.

Basically, he's psychologically projecting Kuina onto Tashigi and is disappointed because she's not stronger.

And let's be honest — how many times has Zoro actually fought a female opponent one on one? There's Tashigi and Monet...and that's pretty much it.

We probably need a bigger sample size to determine how Zoro treats female opponents in general.

Edit:

Zoro seems self-aware of the projection too, which makes him even more uncomfortable around Tashigi. He'd just rather not be around her to avoid dealing with this.

Unresolved grief that's been festering since childhood is fun! /sarc

Edited by M84 on Nov 30th 2021 at 11:56:22 PM

@sgamer82 Former.

I do hope Oda discusses Zoro's grief over Kuina's death and how it influenced his goal to become the greatest swordsman... it always has been an important part of his character, especially now that Kuina has been brought up during this latest chapter

He also is super reluctant to fight Tashigi because she looks just like Kuina, and it bothers him.

I wonder if Kuina would have been a pirate too had she lived.

Nah she likely would have taken over the dojo.

Heck, it's possible that Zoro would never have become a pirate if she had lived.

It is not just the physical similarity either. Hearing Tashigi express the same insecurities that Kuina had really bothered him.

Edited by M84 on Nov 30th 2021 at 9:17:38 PM

Maybe not a pirate, but if she was as serious as Zoro is about being the world's greatest (and by most accounts, she was) then she would have probably left to challenge Mihawk, just as Zoro did.

Edited by Dracoblade on Nov 30th 2021 at 5:54:18 AM

Alternatively, if her father was serious about not letting Kuina inherit the dojo, she might have gone to sea to prove herself/rebel.

I'd love to see a fanfic that asks, "What if Zoro died instead of Kuina?" Preferably one that doesn't send her to the same places Zoro went to.

Edited by MightyMatilda on Nov 30th 2021 at 9:23:45 AM

I was actually wondering if such fics existed.

I wonder if they'd have Zoro die in the same way?

Like, it'd be even more ironic for Zoro if he was still ridiculously durable as a child, but dies to something so mundane, just as it is for Kuina in canon.

Though it raises the question of if Kuina would meet Tashigi. That'd be a weird encounter.

There is a fanfic where Kuina was merely blinded instead of killed, and still competes with Zoro to be the greatest swordsperson while overcoming her own disability. Its page is here, but it also unfortunately died back in 2014.

Edited by Dracoblade on Nov 30th 2021 at 6:08:55 AM

Probably doesn't help that the canon manga has introduced a Blind Weaponmaster swordsman of its own.

Thorgi's Arcade created his own hypothetical Roster for a DB Fighter Z styled One Piece fighting game.

Apparently Oda is about to surpass J.K. Rowling as the second-highest author of literary fiction in history.

Number 1, if you’re curious, is Danielle Steel, author of approximately infinity billion trashy airport romance novels.

Edited by HamburgerTime on Dec 1st 2021 at 11:54:45 AM

What is the criteria for that?

Maybe laughing forever isn't so bad, Killer.◊

OH NO

Jesus Christ, how horrifying.

I guess that's what'd Killer would have looked like had the Snime succeeded.

Weird that he's still wearing his mask even though he isn't cursed to always smile and laugh.

Also, we get good and evil Franky at ages 50 and 70.

Uhhhh which is the evil look?

Edited by slimcoder on Dec 1st 2021 at 11:53:35 AM

Lower ones.

Edited by jouXIII on Dec 1st 2021 at 9:55:50 PM

Really but he becomes a robot and then a ship, how could that possibly be evil?