-a tale of faith, dreams, and romance, an analytical thread on skypiea:

(1/26)

skypiea is an arc that i believe best embodies the essence of one piece- from the adventure to exploring its underlying themes of dreams and faith, to conveying the power of inherited will to carry forward dreams of the past, it is an arc with many stories to tell. (2/26)

this singular panel kicks off the beginning of the arc and it still contains one of my favorite quotes to date. "everything that humans can imagine, is a possibility in reality" beautifully encapsulates not only what the upcoming arc entailed, but also the series itself (3/26)

the strawhats are first met with the logical dilemma of the existence of a sky island. doubting a log pose because it defies your sense of reality can ultimately lead to the doom of your crew on these seas. the courage to believe in the impossible will be your salvation (4/26)

in jaya, the strawhats' simple quieries about a sky island were met with jeers and laughter. they are belittled for their curiosity and told how the new age is full of idealists & simpletons. (5/26)

however, in an era whose greatness was defined by the impact of the overwhelming masses who set out to sea each filled with their own dreams and ambitions, the crowd's ignorance becomes deafening and their words ring hollow. (6/26)

bellamy the hyena, an animal that shattered bones as easily as he did the dreams of others. his morphed perspective of the world only lended to arrogance and ignorance. he who only saw value in gold and power could never understand the significance of dreams (7/26)

by refusing to give in to the taunts and the mockery of the crowd for simply having dreams, luffy displays an amazing show of character, standing above all their insults. luffy defeats his enemies by crushing their dreams, therefore he does not fight those who have none. (8/26)

following that event is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. despite the passage of time, inherited will & the dreams of men never die. the notion that one never truly dies because there is always someone to carry on their will is both beautiful & comforting (9/26)

what is the one piece? do sky islands exist? the answer never mattered to luffy for he is driven purely by the thrill of the adventure. to him there is no greater romance than exploring all the world could offer. he is the pure embodiment of child-like innocence & wonder. (10/26)

additionally, i appreciate how this arc explored the dichotomy between faith & skepticism, approaching the themes from the perspective of various characters and for some, even incorporating how their ancestry played a heavy role in shaping their experiences and ideologies.(11/26)

cricket is a character whose scorned family name tormented most of his life. despite the ridicule he endured because of noland, his daily life-threatening dives in search of that same lost city of gold stand as a testament of his character and his faith in the impossible. (12/26)

wiper offers a great contrast to cricket, who instead of challenging the legacy left behind by his ancestor, wholly embraces it and dedicates his life to trusting in and carrying out calgara's will. wiper bears his ancestral pride on his sleeve like no one else. (13/26)

their ancestors noland & calgara still have one of my favorite backstories, for it is a tale of companionship, misunderstandings, and sorrow. their first encounter was a clash of ideals, one whose culture was dictated by superstition & the other who was a man of science. (14/26)

noland's goodwill was eventually accepted by calgara and soon after, the two grew to become great comrades, forging a bond that would last a life time. however when the time came to meet again, fate had other plans in mind and their story ends in tragedy. (15/26)

after being sent to the sky, what followed was 400 years of conflict strife with war and bloodshed. the reverence the skypieans held for vearth clashed with the shandorians' desire to reclaim their homeland from those they deemed invaders. (16/26)

the thematic references to similar real events adds a layer of depth to the arc. ganfall, who was the former god, attempted to mend the conflict between the two sides. however, coexistence was not an option to them and both parties were consumed by hate and self-interest. (17/26)

in addition to touching upon such themes, skypiea is also significant in that it narrarively draws many parallels to the series as a whole: (18/26)

the double entendre of god's natural enemy serves to highlight luffy's role within the series. his rubber body provides a natural resistance to enel's lightning while his D family name marks him a natural enemy of the celestial dragons. his blood carries a rebellious will.(19/26)

enel offered luffy a unique antagonist force, being a omnipotent presence who constantly posed a danger to the sky's inhabitants, equating himself to a force of nature. his grandeur dreams of conquering fairy vearth can interestingly be related to that of lunacy & the moon(20/26)

i have often seen how skypiea receives a lot of critique for being too long and winded in its story telling. however, i believe the detours define its beauty and the unpredictability of the arc served well in escalating the stakes towards a grand finale like no other. (21/26)

it was this moment where luffy once again reaffirmed exactly why he is such a one of a kind character. while he is often dubbed ignorant & unaware, he is always able to display a profound understanding of the issues at hand & what needs to be done. a capable man indeed. (22/26)

the final ringing of the golden bell signified freedom to the inhabitants of the sky as well as the ending of a 400-yr old promise, offering closure to the descendants of those who forged it. the bell's ring stands as a declaration of its existence in the sky to the world.(23/26)

the aftermath of a centuries long conflict has ended and it calls for a celebration! enemies have turned comrades, and all of the sky's inhabitants rejoice together at a feast and you can feel a lifetime of hate and animosity wash away in the flames of the fire.(24/26)

following this, some discoveries were made regarding the poneglyph with regards to the significance of shandora & its role within the world's history. the message the people of shandora strived so hard to protect had already served its purpose, they no longer need to fight(25/26)

as the strawhats descend the heights of the sky onto their next adventure, sanji remarks that they've just visited a truly magical place, and i could not agree more. (26/26)

my analysis on the value of food in wci, albeit a bit shorter https://twitter.com/aIIbIues/status/1319392857590030336?s=19

also, special thanks to @joonsimpact @lovzoro @luffykurta @zorohive @zoroprint @kikuprint there were many times where i became frustrated in the making of this thread and they were either able to offer either ideas or support, i appreciate you guys