Whole Cake Island: Bound By Blood

PLESAE do a deep dive into Whole Cake

I know that people will probably boo me off but Pudding is one of the types of shonen female characters I hate most. I hope she never comes back to the series and Sanji who is a saint for treating her nicely will finally have his peace. People hate on Nami for "using" him whereas Nami in my book would be x100 times better for Sanji (she started treating him with gratitude he deserves btw after WCI) than Pudding for one reason alone - Nami is SANE

It seems strange to me that you haven't mentioned anything about Charlotte Praline, the mermaid-hammer shark daughter who is married to the current captain of the sun pirates.
Since she is a mermaid, it does not surprise me that Linlin would have tried to do endless horrors to her so that she would be completely loyal to her husband and the other sun pirates without thinking twice and even being complicit in the escape and protection of the straw hats.

I know it likely didn't make the cut because it's hard to make a connection between the themes you discuss here and the scene itself, but my favorite scene in this whole arc is the one where the Vinsmokes are locked in place after the grand reveal at the wedding, all slated to die, and Judge looks around in horror as the quadruplets comment on their situation with calm, and even with laughter. To me, there's two reads of this that could connect back to your ideas:
1. The simple fact that even the "perfect" child, to a narcissist, will never be recognized as perfect - never be enough. Their reactions would be what he deems appropriate in any other situation, but he's not going to use that kind of perspective in that moment - the point is that it's inappropriate for THIS situation, and that is unthinkable and unacceptable.
2. The fact that the coping tactics abused children adopt to survive parental abuse can badly, badly damage their psyches and their social relationships in adulthood. There's a twisted irony in seeing that instead of engineering the perfect soldier, he has raised three men who have no self-preservation instinct - it feels to me like a shadow of the overall cycle of abuse. Abused children frequently grow up to emulate the example their parents set in adulthood - whether as the abuser or the abused. Judge's horror in that situation feels like some AU's version of "I know I raised you right, why can't you just find a nice man instead of these monsters?" - fully missing the point that he's the reason.
In all, though, the scene just gives me vindication as much as it gives me chills. These kids are NOT going to help you out of this one, idiot.

When Pudding cut herself out of Sanji's memory to spare him suffering, is one of best moments of entire show.

It is my second favorite art. It is so good. My first favorite art is water 7. Saga

As much as i hate Judge, helping Sanji was his order from the begining

The Vinsmokes are nazis

Sanji did love his sister

Personally I really like the theory that Sanji's brothers bullying was out of frustration than Sanji was different. They knew they were meant to be a set, they knew Sanji didn't fit and it upset them. Its something you see a lot in the real world, especially when you have a sibling with disabilities - which Judge's viewpoint also echoes. Because his brothers were never given any guidance to understand what they were feeling, why they were feeling it or how to deal with it in a healthy way, and so it came out so very twisted.

I just love the fact that in the dub, Judge is voiced by Yujiro's voice actor 💀

Big mom remind me of freud's "devouring mother". She controls her childrens lives, like having her kids married off to various families so she can gain power. and in a funny/literal sense, she IS the devouring mother in the sense that she is a cannibal that will even eat her own children (or at least, their souls).

how MelonTeee portrays one piece: 😭😭😢😢😟😟😨😨😰😰😱😱💔💔
how MugiwaraNoGoofy portrays one piece: 😁😀😀😂😂🤣🤣😃😃😄😄😆😆😊😊😏😏

Family and abuse are relatable themes. Most people have a family. Most people have seen or endured abuse. Writing a story that is utterly ridiculous and fantastical with a rubber-man and a flame-kicking cook, which still touches people's hearts, THAT is great writing.

Wholecake Island is my favorite arc and it's not even particularly close.

Maybe it’s been said before already, but I absolutely adore how WCI shows the audience what true, unconditional love means/looks like. Even after everything Sanji did to him (and the abuse dealt out from his family), Luffy understood why and ALWAYS fully accepted him. Even after everything Big Mom did to them, Pudding and Chiffon still found someone who loved them. And even if she wasn’t perfect, and didn’t do anything to stop Sanji’s abuse, Reiju still helped her little brother because she loved him, and knew to cherish his kindness because it’s the only remnant of her caring mother. I find it insanely beautiful

It was a good arc. I was amazed by it. And the implication of how dark Toto Land is over the bright surface is something I like

This arc broke me, I never wanted to give a fictional character a hug so bad ❤

I love the the idea of Sora's poison actually having a small effect on Sanji's siblings, it makes me think that they could have an awakening themselves to develop their emotions in the same way that Sanji had an awakening to develop his Germa genes, the brothers getting one side of the families attributes at birth and developing the other parents attributes later in life due to external forces.

One small correction, the Vinsmokes aren't assassins. When the chapter first came out describing what they were it was incorrectly translated as assassin by the scanlation team, when they were really referred to by a word that just means killers. Japanese has a word for assassin, it's even used to describe Robin several times, the series has never used it to describe the Vinsmokes though. Functionally they work more like mercenaries than assassins, the idea of them being assassins just comes from that initial misunderstanding due to the mistranslation.

I gotta stop watching these sanji videos. I’m only on dressrosa 🥲

I have a deep... tenderness for the Charlotte family, as strange as that is. Of course, they have terrible attitudes and behaviors at times and... I haven't forgiven Daifuku for hitting and calling Pudding useless, or Oven with Chiffon... but, even more so with the last events and chapters , there is a deep affection between them, even more between the elders. I love Cracker, as much as Katakuri or Brûlée, so seeing him frozen in an attitude that shows desperation in wanting to save Pudding, with a really panicked expression, and Brûlée crying next to him, it was proof that, even if they were arguing in the Seduction Woods, they care deeply for each other. Of course, Katakuri is much closer to her sister than Cracker is, that's an undeniable fact. Seeing Perospero say that he is best suited to replace their mother if she dies shows his ambition, as do his little comments regarding Katakuri which illustrate his jealousy and boredom at being the second when he is the eldest . But, above all, Daifuku who highlights his mochi twin following the admission of ambition from their elder followed by the call to order from Smoothie, although much younger, constitutes a quite funny scene and... which represents well possible interactions between members of the same siblings. 😆 Without their mother, the Charlottes seem strangely almost normal, more "disorganized" and free of expression, which is interesting. All that to say... I love your videos dealing with WCI and One Piece in general! I love Law as much as my favorite Charlottes, the Heart crew is also a family and it shows in their joy in finding Law. Keep up the good work you do, I can't wait to see your next analyses! And... I love your humor 😉😎 Greetings from Little Belgium 🇧🇪

I think it’s important to mention that something Katakuri constantly is implied to be doing is protecting his siblings from their mother. He’s the perfect older sibling because she’s physically and psychologically abusive. Just not directly to him.

Nice ❤❤

Sanji saving Judge wasn't just the right or kind thing to do, it was the best thing for Sanji himself. He started the process of stopping the cycle of abuse by saving and then disowning Judge.

My father said to my face as a mere child, that; "your and your mother's suffering is of no consequence to me. I did not want you" ... he had the balls to ask me for money later as an adult... which I stupidly gave him because I wanted to know him... he later died alone...

but yeah, Sanji is my favorite character for xyz personal reasons.

Note - Praline also doesn't want to have anything to do with her mother, too, fully embracing life with her husband and the Sun Pirates once their situation was solved.

You're videos are incredible. Excuse my way with words, but this shit is what One Piece is all about.

While listening to this summary of the ark. I can't help, but wonder why Wano was such a let down in comparison to this ark. I didn't care about most of the seckndary cast of wano and inaftually would have liked more of them to die, which is not a good thing.

Wano reminds me thay Oda still has an issue killing off characters while not flushing out a reasln for me to care about them. I also wished there was a better underlying theme with zoro, but unlike whole cake, that never happened.

This doesn’t leave the comment section, but Smoothie can’t get the job done when it comes to killing Strawhats.

I really relate to pudding because I have bpd. it's kinda wild how many similarities there are with her past and how bpd comes to be, and how it presents. Unmasking feels like letting a werewolf out and it's terrifying how evil it makes you feel. Pudding makes me feel like a valuable human being, she found happiness so that means I can too.

Mel I just want you to know that after binge watching all your one piece video essays now I’m back neck-deep in one piece hole the only thing in my head 24/7 is sanji lol
But fr your video essay is so on point it made me appreciate one piece much more as a great story.

Whole cake island is my fav arc by a long shot

I’ve always interpreted Sanji’s brother’s emotions (or lack thereof) in a similar gray area you see in the Witcher series. Like it’s almost sort of ambiguous how much they can actually truly feel and there are times you can clearly see there is somehow some emotion

This was one of the best arc's in my opininion. I always liked Sanji he is very relateable to me and he had multiple incredible moments there. I will never forget how I fellt when I first saw him in the rain crying, desperately trying to light his cigarette. I fellt every ounce of his pain in that moment.

I know this video came out before we got to Egghead but I’m regards to us not knowing any of the other fathers for Big Moms children you cannot convince me that Perospero isn’t Vegapunk’s kid, the tongue and polka dots are enough for me

When Sanji was reading the All Blue book, i was tearing up. But what Reiju said to Sanji was what really got me. It mirroring the thing Saul said to Robin wasn’t a punch to the gut I was expecting.

we need the luffy vs katakuri analysis. there was so much to his character that fits within this arc aswell

Great video! This arc really is a masterpiece! ❤‍🔥

Every time WCI is brought up, I keep wondering whether marrying off a, not only disowned, but also dead, child for political purposes would even be valid.
Yeah, Sanji may not actually be dead, but officially, he was. When he ran away from Germa, Judge disowned him, right? Or didn't he?

To me, Whole Cake Island is the perfect example that Oda is awesome at writing true horror. From the living and singing food and trees that make me want to vomit (especially when the food is eaten by Big Mom while stating "I hopefully taste good"), the constant threat of Big Mom going on a rampage to the obvious and horrible abuse in both families, there's so much stuff for nightmares.

« Oh so they hate me? I'm gonna give them a reason to. »
It was my teenage years motto. I understand Pudding on a core level for that, and I admit it is very cathartic to scare people and trigger their disgust on purpose. I know it was a coping mechanism, a way to take back control. At that point, I was depressed and on survival mode. It took ten years for my empathy to totally come back. I can't blame a 16 years old for thinking even the kindest person she's ever met is gonna reject her, and then protecting herself by taking control of the narrative and firing first : it happened to me. People who don't get Pudding didn't go through that shit. And honestly, it was kinda clear, from my perspective, that her jokes at Sanji's expanse were forced, especially considering she wasn't alone in that moment, thus fishing for validation.
I think one of the numerous reasons I love Sanji so much is the fact that this man would never hurt me. I usually talk about it on a physical level (the bar is so low in our world that we are a lot of women out there who internalized that any man who doesn't hit you is good enough), but this arc is proof of it on so many other levels. And the fact that everyone knew how he would react to Pudding's third eye is even more telling on how we, collectively, have been conscious of Sanji's nature. So… Pudding breaking in front of Sanji triggered a lot of crying I didn't know was still needed on my part. I think it helped me grieve those teenage years a little bit :).

During the portion of the vinsmokes in the video, I was crying because someone finally put into words about how I feel with my family. I have never felt more seen before. Thank you.

Coming from the Law and Donquijote videos to this, it seems moments of unconditional love are a big part of lots of characters arcs in this story. I think you mentioned something similar in a video about boa and the way luffy changed her, and this also reminds me of luffy wanting chopper on his crew despite chopper thinking he's a monster

Beautiful video! You did this arc justice here :)
For me the arc of Whole Cake was a rough ride, but in a cathartic way. I'm the daughter of a narcissistic, manipulative and abusive man whom I saw in both Big Mom and Judge. I also saw myself in both Pudding and Sanji...

While rewatching Whole Cake I felt Sanji's brothers calling him "failure" going from an insult to a compliment. At first, he is a failure in the sense that he is weak and powerless in their eyes, but in the end, they realize he was only a "failure" in the sense that he failed to be broken by his father's abuse, he failed in going down to Judge's level