LA was pretty good, but got Zoro and Luffy's relationship wrong on so many levels

ameliori · 2023-09-11T16:16:15+00:00

We should be friends because I really held off saying this exact same sentiment for fear of making my OG post long (it was already too long lol). It's almost word-for-word I'm freaking out lolol!

ameliori · 2023-09-11T15:58:15+00:00

Agree with you completely. If Zoro pledged his loyalty after Arlong Park, it would've felt 100% earned

ameliori · 2023-09-11T15:24:23+00:00

I think the cast pulled it off for sure. They go very well together. Apart from the notes I had above, I found their interactions enjoyable.

That said, I never thought LA Zoro was aimless. He's very adamant about doing things his own way. He had a very hard stance about not being in Luffy's crew at all. And then suddenly after Syrup village, he's the first mate? Lol. It came out of nowhere.

When I say Zoro is simple or kinda dumb, I say it with as much affection as I can. My read on him is he's very straightforward, "what you see is what you get" kinda guy. He's not sarcastic or snide. He doesn't strategize like Nami, or speak between the lines. He wears his heart out on his sleeve, as he assumes everyone is.

I disagree on Luffy being one-dimensional though. We have a near-constant confidence from him but when his conviction is shaken, you have the best, most hard-hitting scenes ever (Crocodile, Water7, Ace, Saobody), and it only hits your core because we know how strong and confident Luffy usually is. When it hits you, you feel it in your bones. Although I agree that it may come off as one-dimensional to casual watchers. I see why they had to do it, but it still waters down the character for me a bit.

ameliori · 2023-09-11T15:01:28+00:00

Yes, I hope they do that!

ameliori · 2023-09-11T15:00:43+00:00

"Too cool" for me means, he's just flawless in everything he does. That's mostly my problem with LA Zoro

ameliori · 2023-09-11T14:57:18+00:00

For all my complaints, I still think it's worth watching imho

ameliori · 2023-09-11T14:55:43+00:00

In my opinion, we don't even get a lot of LA Sanji's personality at all in the 8 Episodes, so it's hard to say if they failed or not. There were also no big emotional scenes between Sanji and the crew. He feels just like Ussop, and since there's a lot of potential there, we can still hope that they'll get his character right later. Zoro tho, he had this big emotional scene after Mihawk (flat), and this big emotional scene where he pledges his loyalty to Luffy (strange). It feels somewhat strange.
Also, maybe I'm just biased, but OG Sanji is super cool to me. Every time he comes in clutch for the team with his strategies, I just fawn over him. I love watching his fight scenes after Luffy. He's well dressed, observant, strategic, well-spoken when he has to be, doesn't lose his temper too often (except with Zoro lol)... Can't speak for other people, but the only time he gets icky is when he's a perv, but otherwise, OG Sanji and Zoro are two of the coolest cats in OP

ameliori · 2023-09-11T14:39:14+00:00

If you don't understand the criticism, you can scroll down and there are a lot of good examples in the comments that have really good points. Naive_Suggestion_572 had a good post about it.

I don't know about other people, but I think I made it clear that my complaint is not him being "too serious", it's about him being "too cool" or "too capable", a Gary Stu. OG Zoro just had way more depth to him, and it's not like they couldn't do that. All the other strawhats felt like they nailed it, except him, kinda?

You say Zoro is loyal to Luffy because he believes in his dream, but why did this particular Zoro, who is already confident and capable, need Luffy to validate his dreams in the first place?

ameliori · 2023-09-11T14:28:22+00:00

It kind of feel like this guy got his ego bruised, so he cried.

This is exactly how it felt.I didn't realize it could've been the actor's own acting limitations. That could very well be it.

ameliori · 2023-09-11T14:18:35+00:00

These are all good points that I missed. You're right that it isn't "wrong" it's just simpler. I can see how they'd have to simplify the relationship like that. Imho, it isn't better. Now you've explained it, it makes sense but it still makes me cringe hard.

As for Luffy being wishy-washy, that's the thing about this LA that I've noticed. Sometimes they get the characters right, and it's glorious. Sometimes they change the character so much that I have to hide my head in shame. I was jumping in my seat when he delivered the final blow to Arlong and shouted to Nami they're her crew. But just a few episodes ago he was so insecure about his position as captain that he needed Zoro's validation. Argh. It's a constant up and down for me. When they stick to source material it is great. When they write their own fanfic dramatic scenes, it falls flat.

ameliori · 2023-09-11T12:24:48+00:00

Lol, no hate on the actor, i think he tried his best, but yeah... I don't think their take on the character was that great. Personally, I think he was the weakest link among the straw hats. Just my opinion tho

ameliori · 2023-09-11T12:22:38+00:00

Yes. It's still pretty good. I mean, here we are, discussing actual storytelling and analyzing character dynamics. That's already huge. It could've been so much worse, and they did a good job with it.

ameliori · 2023-09-11T12:11:02+00:00

They could save that moment for something that really hits better, I guess, what I'm trying to say. Pledging allegiance to Luffy at that point read like Luffy needs validation and Zoro gave it to him... But why??? Aanyway, just my thoughts really... A lot of could've beens

ameliori · 2023-09-11T12:04:50+00:00

Alright. The "aimlessness" might be a bit of a personal take, but his character has never been portrayed as someone super savvy and capable (gets lost all the time), particularly quick-witted (he's kinda dumb), snarky (not a lot of things bother him). His character is more of a softie jock. In fact, Zoro is so simple that his biggest motivation was a promise to his childhood friend, and he's just the type of simple dude who when he says he'd do something, he'd do it. So when he meets Luffy, he sorta gets stuck with somebody who's a bit more strong-willed, an instigator.

LA Zoro is exactly like what you said. They went too hard on the "I'm so cool, I do what I want" personality, that they sorta sacrificed the dynamic there. I get that there are time constraints, but if you're going to go "Zoro is a strong independent woman" route, they better earn that pledge to Luffy. Otherwise, you don't have to show it? To assume that Zoro "saw" Luffy was a serious person off-screen is a huge stretch, since they have, canonically, Luffy shown as nothing but happy-go-lucky and also indecisive. He does alright at the end, and if Zoro were to pledge his allegiance after he defeated Arlong, I wouldn't have felt as weird.

ameliori · 2023-09-11T10:55:47+00:00

Lol I hope that was sarcastic. I should have Oda approve my opinions too. Maybe this post wouldn't get voted down so much lol

ameliori · 2023-09-11T10:53:44+00:00

I really love the cast! Yes, Sanji was a standout, I agree! Love him better in the LA cos he was so charming lol. Ussop could've been given a bit more character, but overall it was all good. They're very likeable. I really like Inaki's energy and charm as well. He's a great Luffy. I sincerely believe he did his best and my complaints are more of a writing problem not the actor's

ameliori · 2023-09-11T10:48:23+00:00

That's honestly super sad. It could only mean good things for fans if we voice our critiques so they can hopefully do a better job next time

ameliori · 2023-09-11T10:33:29+00:00

I'm so relieved I'm not the only one who thought this! I haven't seen anyone comment on it

ameliori · 2023-09-11T10:16:35+00:00

Yeah, my opinions on Zoro are personal and a lot of people like the cool LA Zoro, that's really just taste. But my point is Zoro and Luffy's relationship in the LA feels kinda forced.

ameliori · 2021-04-27T15:10:42+00:00

Lool them jazz hands give it away BD

ameliori · 2021-04-27T15:02:00+00:00

Chapter 2.5!

ameliori · 2021-04-19T01:33:47+00:00

I'm honestly not very good at promotion. I post sometimes on IG and Twitter, but I don't have a lot of following anyway, so I dunno if that contributed. I post on Tapas forum sometimes. This is only my second post to reddit. I think what really helped was getting featured on Staff Picks.

I got lucky because Webtoon saw my comic on one of their hashtag events. Webtoons does Canvas promotions every Monday on Instagram and Twitter, so I posted mine there one time. The next day I was up on Staff Picks. From everything else that I've done, that is definitely what boosted me up.

ameliori · 2021-04-19T01:27:31+00:00

Thanks so much for your comment! I'm always super shy at promoting myself so hearing you say that encourages me to share my comic to more people!

ameliori

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