Tag Archives: god usopp

Pedro is going to be very influential with this arc. This is a fact. Oda has pointed to this on several occasions already and he’s only made brief cameos.

There are several locations in Zou that label parts of Zunisha the elephant. The 806th chapter is titled “at the Fort on the Right Belly”. There are also locations on Zunisha including: Right Rump Forest, Right Flank Forest and Kurao City is on the Left Belly. Why is this significant? Well, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we must look at Kanjurou’s cat called Nekozaemon

The name translates to Guardian Cat. The popular names Jinzaemon and Mataemon mean Left Guardian and Right Guardian. Zou is geographically mapped with reference to the left and right sides of Zunisha. This clearly means Oda is referencing and linking the Forest Guardians to the geography of the Island. More specifically, the Guardian Cat. This Guardian Cat is none other than Pedro

Pedro is cleaarly one of the Guardians of the forest. He clearly also has authority over Blackback and Roddy, two of the other Forest Guardians, as we can see in chapter 805 as he commands the guardians to leave.

Therefore, he’s clearly an incredibly authoritative and likely powerful character and figure amongst the Mink tribe.

Nekomamushi is “the big boss” of the Island, as we learnt in the most recent chapter.

Due to the fact the name includes the word Neko, or “Cat”, Pedro and Nekomamushi are likely to be related. Of course, this isn’t the only instance where Oda has used animal characteristics in names. Wanda is a play on the onomatopoeia of a Dogs bark, Carrot is clearly associated with Rabbits, amongst other examples is Blackback being a play on the word of Silverback. Oh, and I must also note that Pedro means Rock.

This parallels with the Lion King story. Why? Well, we have Pedro, a Lion, who’s name means rock

and we have a father figure as well. The Dukedom of Zou has been overrun by Jack and completely razed to the ground by Jack. This lightly parallels at Scar, who fought with Simba, the plotline is to take back the Pride Rock for his own. Jack is likely heir to the throne the same way Simba was, based upon his relation with Nekomamushi. Jack fought Pedro and eventually captured him. This, we know, is because of all the claw marks and the scene in Wandas flashback from this chapter

And yes, before anyone starts making strange remarks about him being a Tiger. A tiger has stripes, Pedro does not. Pedro shares several features with Lions. This includes the following:

• Pedro’s long hair is basically a Lions mane
• Pedro has long lower canines, as do Lions
• They have the same mouth style and shaped ears

So in conclusion: Pedro is the heir to rule Zou, but he’s been deposed by someone, the likely arc villain. His father is Nekomamushi, the current King/the recently dethroned King. Pedro is the strongest Forest Guardian and the most authoritative of them all. He is inspired by Simba from the Lion King and has a tumultuous past. He’s incredibly important to the Zou arc.

*Theory by L o g i a

As we know, in chapter 803 this character was name dropped by Kin’emon and Kanjuro on the final page, he/she is their last comrade to find in their four person party.

I’ve done a little bit of digging around and found some very interesting links to Raizo’s name. Oda has, again, like with Kanjuro and Kin’emon, likely designed Raizo based upon a performer or actor, and their names all have implications and connotations that reside underlying their surfaces as characters. To demonstrate this, I must explain the other Samurai’s first:

Kin’emon and Momonosuke:

-Their names in conjunction with eachother derive from Nakamura Kinnosuke, a Japanese actor that Oda is a massive fan of
-Nakamura Kinnosuke is a flatulist, like Kin’emon
-Nakamura looks like Kin’emon
-His favourite fruit was apparently peaches, Momo means peach, Momonosuke’s Kimono and Dragon form are peach coloured
-Nakamura Kinnosuke played the role of a Samurai in many movies, but he is noted for his role as a dual wielding Samurai
-Kin’emon has a Fox theme
-His epithet is “Foxfire”

Kanjuro:

-Kanjuro’s name means truth, “seen as it is visual”
-Although he isn’t specifically designed based upon an actor, his appearance draws many similarities with a Kabuki poser, a form of Japanese performing arts
-His talents in caligraphy strongly support this as Caligraphy is often used in Kabuki pieces, makeup also uses huge brushes, like the one he has on his back (obviously to a much smaller scale though)
-Kanjuro has a Bird theme
-His epithet is “Evening Shower”

Raizo:

-His/her name is the same as a Ninja character from a movie called Ninja Assassin
-He/she is likely named after Raizo Ichikawa, an actor which Oda is a huge fan of, Raizo Ichikawa has been a ninja in the Shinobi no Mono movies
-In the Ninja Assassin movie, the character Raizo is played by a Korean Popstar called Rain
-Funnily enough, in the Shinobi no Mono movies, Ichikawa’s character, called Goemon, had the epithet, “of the rain”

So, based upon these facts, what do we know?
-Kin’emons epithet implied he could use fire, we now know he can fight using flames in conjunction with his swords, Kanjuro’s epithet in japanese culture (not ours) implies honesty and truth which is represented visually through his caligraphy, Raizo’s epithet implies he/she can use waterin some way shape or form
-Given the roles of named characters associated with Raizo, he specialises as an assassin

The two known epithets mean it’s highly likely the Wano resident friends of ours are based on a Japanese folklore phenomena called Kitsune no Yomeiri. During wedding processions, paper lanterns can be seen floating away into the darkness, known as atmospheric ghost lights, these are nicknamed the “evening sunshower”. Kitsune means firefox and it is said that Kitsune uses trickery on people to hide his own existence, very similar to Kin’emon and Kanjuro. A Kabuki theatre piece known as Kitsune no Yomeiri Gyoretsu is performed widely. The link here is interesting, and there is a third component to the myth: Shintoist rituals relating to the myths to prevent Kitsune’s interference in Shintoist weddings.

The last component, in my opinion implies two things:

1. Raizo is possibly female, due to the wedding themes and the possibility of Kitsune (Kinemon’s) interference (in some cases fooling the bride by replacing the husband)
2. Raizo is Shintoist and designed on Shintoist monks, many of whom were and still are trained in Ninja arts (this is not to be confused with the Ninja clan that is long dead)

So what do we know? If my theory is correct, Raizo:

• Is quite possibly Female but will have an outward appearance of a man
• Is Shintoist and could look like this
  
• Fights with Water
• Has the epithet “of the Rain”

*Theory by L o g i a

The Straw Hats’ wanted posters are updated with new Bounties and images from after the time skip.

• Luffy: 500,000,000
  • Luffy’s bounty is tied with Law’s for highest of The Worst Generation.
  • His new bounty image looks almost identical to his previous one.  500,000,000 for defeating Ceasar Clown, for defeatingDonquixote Doflamingo of the Shichibukai and forming an alliance with theHeart Pirates
• Zoro: 320,000,000
  • Zoro’s bounty is now tied with that of Basil Hawkins.  320,000,000 for his involvement with helping take down ex-Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo and taking down elite officer Pica of theDonquixote Pirates
• Robin: 130,000,000
  • 130,000,000 after helping take down ex-Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo and the Donquixote Pirates
• Usopp: 200,000,000
  • After helping take down ex-Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo, sniping down officer Sugar of the Donquixote Pirates and for saving the enslaved people of Dressrosa, Usopp’s bounty has been increased to 200,000,000. . This poster shows Usopp’s name and face instead of Sogeking, and uses the nickname “God Usopp”.
• Franky: 94,000,000
  • After helping take down ex-Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo, and for taking down officer Senor Pink of the Donquixote Pirates, Franky’s bounty has been increased to 94,000,000. The Franky Shogun is used for the photo.
• Sanji: 177,000,000
  • After the events on Dressrosa, Sanji’s bounty has been increased to 177,000,000, and the picture on the poster has changed to display his real face, albeit with a perverted, lovestruck expression. However, with the bounty change came a change of capture. For an unknown reason, Sanji is now only wanted Alive, unlike the rest of the crew who is wanted Dead or Alive
• Nami: 66,000,000
  • After the events on Dressrosa, Nami’s bounty has been increased to 66,000,000 with a new picture with a pose like her past one
• Brook: 83,000,000
  • After the events on Dressrosa, Brook’s bounty has now been updated after fifty years, with his new bounty being increased to 83,000,000, and with the addition of one of his old concert posters being used as his bounty picture. Also, Brook’s new poster is now officially under the title of his stage name, “Soul King” Brook
• Chopper: 100
  • After the events on Dressrosa, Chopper’s bounty has been increased to 100. Just like Nami’s new poster, Chopper’s new bounty picture is similar in appearance to his old one