Episode 51: Zoro gets a part-time Job

"It's been a while since I've seen a good swordsman's eyes." - Ipponmatsu

The first reason Luffy wants to stop in Loguetown is no surprise.  He would prefer to head straight for the Grand Line, but he is willing to make a stop so that they can restock on meat.

Things change when Nami explains why this city is so famous.  It’s the city of the beginning and the end.  The place where the old pirate king was born, and the place that he died.  I don’t say this lightly, but Luffy is no longer thinking about meat. With Loguetown on the horizon, we see the excitement.  It’s going to be a fun shopping spree for everyone, right?

Well, Zoro sets out to look for replacements for his swords, Sanji for ingredients and women, Usopp for any crap he can add to his arsenal, and Luffy wants to see the place where the king of the pirates died. Nami did a lot of heavy lifting in the previous arc, and has earned herself some needed retail therapy.

For the rest of the crew, Loguetown proves to be a more meaningful stop than any of them could have predicted. They disperse focused on their own goal, but when they return to the Going Merry, they will all have been reminded of the reason they set out to sea.

Zoro

Zoro’s needs are pretty apparent.  He almost died in Arlong Park because he couldn’t use his three sword style.  Two of the three swords were shattered back at Baratie when Mihawk nearly cut Zoro in half.  With this being the final stop before the Grand Line, Zoro needs to rearm himself while they are here.  Unfortunately, he has no money, and he knows that borrowing money from Nami is essentially signing on for indentured servitude.

His money troubles are only compounded when he accidentally smashes Tashigi’s glasses, a Marine who bears a striking resemblance to Kuina.  Luckily, Zoro has stumbled into the most lawful good Marine in the One Piece universe.  Frankly, I’d also watch the show about Zoro, the single father of five whose wife ran out on him.

Unfortunately, as often befalls lawful good characters, they become instruments of the very thing that they detest.  Tashigi, if he’s starving, his kids are probably starving too, even if you don’t believe in social welfare, can’t you just call it even on the broken glasses?  I guess not. As the old adage says, give a man a fish, and he’ll never learn how to pull himself up by his bootstraps.

Tashigi has completely convinced herself of the backstory she manufactured for Zoro so much so that she still doesn’t suspect him to be Roronoa Zoro despite the fact that he is buying a second and third sword.  Even though Tashigi’s idealism sometimes makes her incredibly naive, we see that what is driving that idealism is a true sense of justice.  Her heart is in the right place, but she just can’t see past the labels that govern society.  The Navy is justice, and pirates are evil.

Although she still has no idea who Zoro is, she is about to get another overwhelming clue that this single father, might in fact be the notorious swordsman who attacked the marines at the base earlier.

While Zoro is shocked by Tashigi’s inability to put together context clues, the shopkeeper, Ipponmatsu, is pissed. I had all but forgotten about Ipponmatsu after my first watch, but I’m convinced he is one of the best minor characters that I completely forgot about.  With a top ten worst poker face of all time, he tries to buy Zoro’s sword for 2% of its actual value. When Zoro leaves the store, Ipponmatsu has given him two swords worth millions of berries.  

And what caused this change in this man? Depending on your perspective, it’s either a bold gamble, or an act of skill and trust.  Ipponmatsu warns Zoro that the Kitetsu in his hand is a cursed blade, but Zoro only takes that as a challenge. He pits his luck against the blade’s curse.  As he throws the blade into the air, he holds his arm out and closes his eyes, betting his future as a swordsman on his luck winning out.

Strange though, as Zoro hasn’t shown himself to be a superstitious person.  The only thing that he has shown this level of confidence in is his skill as a swordsman. For someone determined to become the best swordsman, Zoro can’t rely on something as fickle as luck. 

Zoro isn’t putting his faith in some external fate. Instead he is putting his faith in his skill, risking his arm, and his future as a swordsman to get closer to his ultimate goal. Witnessing this act of bravery inspires Ipponmatsu, allowing him to see past the price and economics of his decision making. He recognizes that Zoro is following his dream, and realizes that his kindness can help Zoro achieve it.

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Check out the video version of this episode below!