One Piece: Heroines

[00:00:00]One Piece Heroins. I put up a community tab asking if you wanted this break week to be us talking about the new One Piece Heroins episode or the uh first One Piece Heroins episode or To be Hero X heroins 1, which means next break week we'll talk about to be Hero X. Don't worry, it'll still happen. Let's talk about One Piece Heroins. And we're going to start with the obvious, and that's that the art style in this, I thought at least, was excellent. the art the the obvious being let's talk about the art style because it's quite different. I really enjoy this refreshing different art style for One Piece. It's so much softer, ethereal. It's like a different plane of one piece, which I really love as an artistic direction for this project because the purpose of this is to focus more in on some of the female characters and so giving them a much more soft, dreamlike, other otherworldly sort of art style uh that is more it pres it seems more feminine. Uh, I think it matches the purpose of these episodes really nicely and it's also just refreshing to have a different kind of art style that's I think really beautiful and and makes it distinctly outside of the cannon that we're used to showing itself as this is something different that we're doing. This is something unique. We're sort of stepping outside of things almost into a different One Piece world, which I like because even though it is somewhat consistent with the One Piece world we know and it's meant to be, it also helps to break away from expecting it to be just like all of One Piece anime. And instead, it's like we're going into a different space. We're doing something different here. Detach from that and just appreciate this for what it is.

[00:01:54]That said, I did have a lot of problems with it, but we'll get to that later. I do think that the art style was the strongest part of this episode, which is why it's here at the front of the video.

[00:02:04]Now, the story, I'm going to start off with a question because I genuinely don't I I'm genuinely confused. Um, the very beginning of the story, we have the Straw Hats fighting this crew that is invading our Straw Hats, stealing our jewelry. That's the whole inciting incident. Nami's jewelry has been stolen. I mean, a bunch of stuff has been stolen, but uh actually the inciting incident is the shoes don't fit her just right. She's not able to fight in them as the ads promise. Um but then when she goes to get her shoes uh replaced or refunded, and she can't, uh she realizes that the shoe maker or rather the face of the company uh has has her stolen jewels and now she wants to get them back. Right. So this the episode starts off with that scuffle and all of the male straw hats. There was a artistic choice or a directive choice that all the male straw hats are offscreened for this entire episode.

[00:03:07]It's a choice that I don't think was necessary, but it's what they it's what they decided to do. Even the fight is more from a distance. We sort of see Luffy. We see the effects of Sanji. you know, we see that they were certainly active, but they're just not going to be on screen. And that continues throughout the rest of the episode when Sanji is behind some shopping bags and, you know, things like that to show they're present, but they're not the focus. The problem with having them active in the fight, act actively fighting but offscreen and Nami is the focus is that when the battle ends and or rather no not when the battle ends when the battle shifts focus to Nami and they're like oh it's just a girl and she's like just a girl and then she goes out and she's ready to fight them too but the shoes stop her from being able to. Everybody else is gone. It's just it's just Nami and Robin. all the male straw hats. I don't know where they went and then and then the bad guys get away. I mean, we're all kind of bad guys here, but you know, the people who stole the things that we stole get away, but like how and why? I understand that Nami can't fight sort of because her toenail broke, but what about everybody else? What happened to everyone that was fighting up to this very moment? Why did those guys get away? genuinely explain if I missed something cuz I feel that I must have cuz it I don't get it. Anyway, the focus is really on Nami who just wants the quality of shoes that was promised to her. Miumea who is the actual shoe maker, the craftsman, but uh is is not f is not living up to her full talent because of I've honestly forgotten his name. What is it? Luchia Lebno. Okay, not even kind of Lebno, who is the face of the company and the designer. He he creates the quite honestly ugly shoes uh that or rather he creates the design for the shoes that Nami uh wants to wear but can't because the quality isn't great and that's because he won't compromise uh quality for appearance and trendiness. Now, Mucha's dream is to create the kind of product that they're promising now, but they're compromising now because they have to get their name out there. And then uh once once their name is big enough, then they can sacrifice some of the design for the better quality to be what they're promising that they are now. Which I mean, I think that's a pretty faulty business plan really. like we'll make false promises and then we'll get popular off of those false promises and then we'll deliver. But but it's the only way that she sees possible. It's it's the way that's been promised to her and it's the way that she thinks that it'll work out. And then she sees Nami who shows up. She rolls up. She's like, "Make me some custom shoes." He says, "Yes, also be a runway model.

[00:06:09]Here's the world. Have at it." And Mucha sees that as do beautiful people just always have things handed to them? I like she is working to see her dreams someday be accomplished. She can't do it on her own. She needs other people's help. Whereas Nami from her perspective just walks in and is handed the world.

[00:06:31]And that's a big theme of this episode of none of us can do it all on our own.

[00:06:36]We all need each other's help. Another big theme is the fact that Muka Mucha uh is incredibly talented, but her craftsmanship really isn't recognized or utilized the way things are set up just now. So, one way that the show kind of emphasizes that that I really enjoyed was with the use of lighting when Mucha is explaining that she can't be the only craftsman on the shoes because then the brand won't be the brand. the brand won't be showcased. She's standing in the shadows now so that eventually there can be light for her dream. The craftsmanship will be on display. But Nami says that she wants her shoes made by the assistant's hands, by Mucha's hands, because she values quality work. She doesn't care about the brand. She doesn't value the brand name. She values the craftsmanship. Much's work is valuable without the brand or the logo.

[00:07:35]It's valuable on its own. Nami is essentially showing her that there is another way for her. Something that she will take advantage of later or rather will believe in herself later. But Nami showing her there is another way that your work is valuable on its own without having to prop up a faulty brand and a faulty person that heads that brand.

[00:07:56]Your craftsmanship is enough. which the episode ends on her taking that to heart and taking out her own ad for her own shoe making company that Nami will promote that Nami will show that she's wearing those shoes because the quality is enough to speak for itself. So Nami is kind of the one that shows her yes you do need someone else. We all need other people to be able to accomplish our dreams but you don't need him. there are other ways and your work is enough.

[00:08:32]Another sort of framing that the episode did that I liked was when Mucha shows um what's his name? Lebno. She shows Lebno the shoes that she made for Nami. The custom shoes that she made for a wider foot so that she really can put her best foot forward. I think that's the phrase.

[00:08:51]So that she really can actually be be a fighter fighting in style. a pirate fighting in style because the style was slightly compromised. Narrow shoes are in. Uh he completely rejects it. He throws them to the ground. He reminds her, "You're the assistant." She says, "I'm you understand me as a fellow craftsman." He's like, "No, you're the assistant. You would be nothing without me. My designs are what make these shoes worth anything." He shows that he not only doesn't believe in the vision that they agreed on from the start quality over um everything uh will sacrifice anything for quality. Not only does he not believe in that vision, but he also just doesn't believe in her as a craftsman. And so as the curtains are falling around them, he's also causing the curtains to fall on her dream. She's realizing that this probably is never going to happen. She still says it like she still tells Nami, "I have to stay here. I have to keep fighting. I have to keep working." Kind of similar to how Nami was when Arlong uh revealed that she wasn't getting out of the deal, that her village would never be saved, that uh her debt was not going to be paid off. And then she went running back into the village, and she said, "It's okay, guys. Don't worry. [snorts] I'll just keep working. Um we'll figure it out. I will I'll get the money. um we're gonna have our freedom. Don't worry. That's sort of what Mucha is doing here, too, I think. Uh where she's just like, "No problem. Everything's great. I'm gonna keep working for him. We're going to build up the brand name and then the quality will improve and then I'll be able to finally make the shoes of my dreams. It's going to happen. Don't worry." even though the curtains had already fallen on her dream and she kind of understood what the actual dynamics and expectations were and there's no hope but she just sort of had to like keep saying there was because what other option did she have? So that's the other side of the theme is Nami tells her in that scene that she can't do anything by herself either. And then we go on to the heist. This is them trying to steal back the jewels that they themselves stole and then some. Um, and it's Nami. It's it's Robin infiltrating the area, pretending to be a guard and uh, and stealing the jewels while while Nami creates a distraction, but oh no, she can't do it because the shoes are uncomfy. So she calls out for Mucha and Mucha throws the better crafted shoes at her and then Nami can can run up the giant Robin arm and and then Nami can electrocute all the men that Robin was cleanly handling on her own. Like she was fine. She was she was she was handling everything back but she didn't there so that it could be displayed that we all need other people. And so then yeah Nami was the one that protected Robin there. She was the one that took all the men down. And then they stole all the jewels. And then Miu oh Mucha in order to in order to give those shoes to Nami, she had to stand up against Luko or whatever his name is. She had to stand up against the man that's been holding her down so that she could give Nami the shoes. And then the heist was successful. And then Nami electrocuted everybody else for the fun of it. And everyone's dead and everybody else is happy. And it's a great ending. I thought this plot was lame. Okay, so I love the art style and I do like the use of the lighting and the use of the curtains to emphasize the themes that the story is attempting. Um, but shoes, shoes are a good thing. I like shoes. When I walk too long without shoes, it hurts my feet. I appreciate a good pair of shoes very, very much. I've stopped wearing heels because they hurt my back, but comfy heels, I'm sure, are awesome. But if we're going to do a story focusing on the women of the Straw Hats, or one, but I assume the rest of the heroine's uh episodes are also going to be focusing on the female. I I know Vivy is going to be one. It's very clear that Robin will be the next. I don't know who else we've got. Maybe Perona. She did show up at the end of the episode. Anyway, we're we're going to focus on female One Piece characters. And I feel like if we're gonna do that, which sounds great to me.

[00:13:12]I love the art style. I love the premise. Let's have some some female side quest adventures. Why not?

[00:13:20]But like, would we could we have thought of something like cool or fun or not boring? Like, I don't even think the storytelling on this episode was bad necessarily. I just don't think the plot was very interesting like at all. and and wanting to be a craftsman in your desired craft and to give it your all and to create the best product you possibly could, shoes or anything else, is an interesting enough story. The craftsman in Berserk who just wanted to make an excellent sword and that's what his life was dedicated toward.

[00:13:55]Excellent. I I'm invested even though I've spent almost no time with you.

[00:14:00]Mousashi in Vagabond dedicating his life to being a swordsman and a and to fighting other swordsmen and becoming the greatest whatever it cost even even at the point of his own isolation and potential harm. I I don't follow that vision but I want to watch you do it.

[00:14:20]That character in HighQ that his grandmother I think it was that taught him that everything he did he must do with excellence. give it his all simply because it deserves his all. One of my favorite tiny little moments in a very large series. I love this concept. This concept of a shoe maker that just truly believes in making the best shoe could be a very compelling, very interesting, very emotionally driven story. Somehow it just wasn't [laughter] in this one.

[00:14:55]It was more focused on like the drama of it and the oh look at this guy over here doesn't doesn't actually want to be what he promised instead of like focused on her love and appreciation and devotion to the craft. Like somehow her dream ended up not really having any sort of spotlight. No, that's unfair. Didn't have nearly enough spotlight for it to feel meaningful. Also, it was a heist story. We did a heist plotline.

[00:15:27]Sort of. [laughter] I mean, in theory, it was a heist plot line. How do you make a heist plotline so bare bones and boring? I don't know.

[00:15:36]Maybe this is a me problem. Maybe maybe no one is going to relate to this. And that would be fine. You can just tell me I'm wrong in the comments and we can all move on with our lives. But I just didn't think this plot was very interesting. I think that the art style is magnificent. I think that certain narrative direction was well done. I didn't think the story was that good.

[00:15:57]I'll still watch episode 2 when it comes out. It looks like it's going to be focused on Robin. That could be really interesting. But someone as conniving and manipulative and cunning and cutthroat and also sympathetic and loyal and giving as Nami could have had a really interesting side plot. You know, like we have seen Nami show such cutthroat but also such empathy for people that she believes needs that she believes that need protected. We could see her attach herself to someone, protect them, and take down take down the people that are harming them. It doesn't have to be a one piece like a standard One Piece plot. This was certainly different from a standard One Piece plot. We could still go off course of what's standard and really showcase who Nami is as a character. And I don't think that this episode showcased who Nami is as a character at all. I don't think it leaned into Nami as a character in the slightest. Nor did it lean into the craftsman shoe maker who was the other bit of focus. It's so weird. I feel like the plot wasn't intricate enough for it to be a plot-based story, but the characters weren't deep enough for it to be a character-based story. And so, I'm just left with like really great art. I sound like I'm being really harsh. I don't feel harsh about it. I feel just fine. I feel fine. But I think I enjoyed watching it because it was one episode.

[00:17:26]If it were a series, I wouldn't keep watching. But because it's because it's a companion series where we're now going to shift focus, I'll watch the next episode. I bet this was isn't what you wanted when you voted for me to talk about this. Big sorry. Um, we'll talk about to be Hero X next break week.

[00:17:43]Please let me know what you think about this episode. I really didn't mind it.

[00:17:47]It's like a three star. It's like a three out of five. It's like it's fine.

[00:17:50]Let me know what you think in the comments. If you loved it, if you hated it, if you think that everything that I've ever said is always wrong. Chat with me more in the comments. I'll see you again soon. Bye. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music]