The Artifact from the World of One Piece

(Photo source: Owner)

                During the year 2060 in the region of Davao City, I went on an investigation with my crew: a well-renowned team of interpretative sociologists. We were in search for an artifact that we hoped we could gain a new body of knowledge from, and we overheard that what we were looking for could be found in an Antique shop somewhere downtown. Thus we spent a good amount of time in search of the artifact, until a particular one caught our attention – the infamous “One Piece” Chain Necklace.

              My crew and I conducted a descriptive type of research for our investigation. We identified that the appearance of the necklace was a logo from the Japanese Anime/Manga “One Piece”. Anime/Manga is a genre that is part of Japan’s culture, and is very popular among all ages. One Piece is series that is well-known and something that fans always look forward to. The series was a big hit for about 6 decades ago, and is always remembered by fans all over the world.

              We asked the shop-owner for further details about the necklace, but all he could give was that it belonged to a male student from a prestigious school who is currently, aged 66, a retired celebrity somewhere out there in the world who was able to pursue his lifelong dream. He gave his necklace to the shop owner with the hope that the one who could discover his treasure would always keep it and be inspired to follow his/her dreams just like how he did. 



        As we discussed about the history behind this necklace, we decided to a further investigation upon One Piece. The logo of the necklace represents the flag called “Jolly Roger” – a traditional flag of European and Caribbean pirates, envisioned today as a skull over crossed thigh bones on a black field. The flag belonged to a crew of Pirates called the “Straw Hat Pirates”, who are the main focus and protagonists of the series. The crew’s Jolly Roger is a cartoon-like depiction of a traditional skull and cross-bone with the skull wearing Monkey D. Luffy’s trademark straw hat.  Monkey D. Luffy is the main protagonist of the story, who is renowned for his trademark straw hat (from which he gets his nickname “Straw Hat Luffy”), which was lent to him when he was young by the legendary pirate captain, “Red-haired” Shanks, who in turn, received it from Gol D. Roger. Luffy’s lifelong dream is to become the Pirate King by finding the legendary treasure called left behind by the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and so Luffy seeks to become the new Pirate King 22 years later. He believes that being Pirate King means having the most freedom in the world and thus the story revolves around Luffy and his adventures together with his crew. (onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Monkey_D._Luffy, 2006)

(Photo source: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com, 2015)

             The Straw Hat Pirates consist of 9 members whose bounty altogether is very high, and they have always been an unstoppable crew. As Luffy became captain of the crew, the Straw Hats are notable for being one of the most powerful pirate crews in the One Piece world. Even though there was a time wherein they were all separated from one another, they still trained in relatively isolated locations and became stronger with the intent and for the sake of helping each other. 

The Straw Hat crew has left nothing but sheer miracles in its wake.
     Trafalgar Law, remarking on the crew’s aptitude to overcome any challenge.


Two of the Straw Hats greatest attributes are their charisma and unpredictability. With their extremely friendly personalities, they manage to make all the right friends in the right places, which eventually accomplishes their goals. These friends and allies have proven to be useful depending on the location or objective, and thus the Straw Hats seem to have no regrets fighting for their own sakes given the circumstances, and vice versa. They also tend to act upon their emotions, throwing normal logic out of order. Overall, their most unique strength is the fact that the Straw Hat crew, on many occasion, are extremely lucky, being able to achieve many things that would be considered impossible feats. (onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Straw_Hat_Pirates, 2006)

(Photo source: pinterest.com/pin/241083386279592442, 2015)

Based upon the analysis from the results that my crew and I gathered, we can claim that the necklace serves as a social object. If the society could learn more about One Piece and the lessons that the anime brings, then it could serve as a huge inspiration. Some of the lessons that society can learn from watching or reading this series are:

1. No one should be discriminated against – Equality is something that should be absolute, and if there is still inequality of race in the world, then it should be looked down upon.
2. Freedom to live your life – Everyone should be free to live life and not try to harm other right to the same thing.
3. Love those you view as family – Those who are looking of family might look more deeply at the ties they have around them and learn to cherish them as their family.
4. Hold on to your friends – Your bonds of friendship help mold who you become, so it’s best in life to cherish them.
5. Never give up – When you set your mind to something, you shouldn’t be afraid to follow through with it.
6. Follow your Dreams – To not throw away your dreams because someone else says so and push forward towards that dream. (Wilson, 2012)

          If only society would be able to follow these lessons, then truly there would be a change in culture for the good. People would become equal, and learn to embrace and respect each other despite their differences. All of Luffy’s crewmates constantly acknowledge that they can’t do everything on their own. The greatest thing that One Piece encourages everyone is to follow your dreams and be free as possible. Just like the Straw Hat Pirates, we could follow their footsteps and bring about the same things that they eventually will bring to their world. That hopefully in time, we could also bring peace and freedom to our world. 

(Photo source: aminoapps.com, 2015)


Bibliography
(2006). Retrieved from onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Straw_Hat_Pirates: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Straw_Hat_Pirates
(2006). Retrieved from onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Monkey_D._Luffy: http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Monkey_D._Luffy
Wilson, D. (2012). Retrieved from http://onepiecelessons.blogspot.com/






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