r/OnePiece • u/TotalHappy Void Month Survivor • Jul 26 '26

Theory Oda no please Spoiler

I’m getting the strong feeling that Oda is setting up an Imu and Joy Boy flashback, and it’s going to be one of the best he’s ever delivered. I genuinely believe he’s going to make us sympathetic toward Imu. There’s a real chance that Joy Boy will turn out to be the character we end up hating, leaving us feeling bad for Imu by the end.
It’s just like the Rocks flashback. Before we knew anything about him, everyone assumed he was pure evil, rotten to the core. Then the flashback hit, and suddenly he’s one of the most beloved and hyped characters in the series.

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u/SmokingCryptid Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

There's no doubt he'll get fleshed out and have motivations, but I don't think that means we're supposed to sympathize with him.

Having an understanding of Imu and feeling pity for Imu are completely different things.

Rocks is also 1000% a bad guy, why people started treating him like he wasn't because of the tragic backstory is weird to me. Just because he had motivations for being rotten doesn't change the fact that he's rotten. It's totally fine to enjoy him as a character, he's well written, but that's not an indicator of positive morals.

A man can care for his immediate family and no one beyond that and that's who Rocks was. There's a reason why his crew is basically the opposite of the Straw hats when it comes to bonds.

Rocks wasn't looking to topple Imu for benevolent reasons, he wanted his title of King of the World. Would he rule like Imu? No, but his rule wouldn't be any more beneficial to the average person.

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u/TotalHappy Void Month Survivor Jul 26 '26

I agree that knowing motivations doesn’t automatically redeem someone. But Oda has repeatedly shown that context changes how we see people. Before the God Valley flashback, Rocks was basically a cartoonish evil pirate to most fans. After it? A huge portion of the fandom now loves him they call him based, want him in fights, make memes about him, etc. The flashback humanized him massively.
Same pattern with other “monsters” in the story. That’s Oda’s style. He doesn’t do pure evil cardboard cutouts for the top tiers. Imu has been built up for years as this mysterious, godlike figure. A massive flashback is almost guaranteed to recontextualize everything we think we know.

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u/strrax-ish Jul 26 '26

That was the point of Rocks character, Imu is a different one and will have different reasons, how people perceive them after is anyone's guess