Introduction

In this blog/project, I hope to convey that you can learn, grow and even become a better person through the teachings of One Piece. I believe that the lessons that are within the anime and manga of One Piece are able to teach you of ways to think about and cherish the things that you have in your life that some, if not a lot of you might not have thought about from that point of view. To me, this project is important, because through my explanations of what you learn through One Piece, it will hopefully show people that most anime aren't usually without some educational or social teachings buried within them. Anime's from Japan, like One Piece, aren't like the majority of cartoons in America. They are able to teach you more than cartoons, which tend to be more about the funny and stupid things that happen.

For this blog/project, I'm going to go over 6 topics of lessons that I think you could learn from watching and/or reading One Piece. These lesson can also be interpreted to show you a glimpse into some of the views and ways of how Japan does things and it's feelings towards certain topics. Hopefully, another thing you'll get from my posts is a view of the honorable ways of Japan and some of the traditions that pertain to the culture there.

Lesson 1: Following Your Dreams

The first lesson I'll be going over is the lesson of "following your dreams". It is one of the two most constant appearing of the lessons that you could from One Piece. The group of main characters, the Straw Hat pirates are all examples of this lesson. They all have their own dreams that they aspire to accomplish. 

The Straw Hat Pirates take this lesson very passionately. They all have their own dreams and they're helping each other to achieve them. But in the world of One Piece, many people mock and put down those who have the biggest dream of all in the world. And that dream is of becoming the King of the Pirates. This is the dream of Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates has that very dream. Many take the idea of him becoming it as a joke at first, but he usually proves to them that he's strong by doing whatever they thought was impossible. And those who mock his dreams en up on the wrong end of his fist. 

One example would be a member of the Shichibukai (Seven Warlord of the Sea), Mr.0 a.k.a. Crocodile. By the time they actually met, Luffy was already determined to beat him up for manipulating his friend's Kingdom, but during their fights, Crocodile made comments about how a no-name rookie as weak as Luffy could never beat him or survive on those seas. This just made Luffy more determined to beat him up even more to prove him wrong. In the end, Luffy beat Crocodile up and proved to him that he is no average rookie. He showed Crococile that no matter who or what tries to harm him, his friends, or any of their dreams, he'll beat them up regardless and surpass them. 

Another example would be the conflicts he had with the pirate, Bellamy the Hyena. Bellamy declared that the era that pirates dream had come to an end. Pretty much telling Luffy to give up and pack it in. He even laughed at and mocked Luffy's current dream to go to the Sky Islands. He views it as nothing more than a fairy tale. Even when Bellamy started to beat on him, Luffy didn't allow something as worthless as Bellamy's views and weak attacks affect him. He might have sustained a few wounds, but he came out as the bigger man and still held passionately on to his dreams. And he continued to have no interest in him, until he beat up and stole the treasures of one of Luffy's new friends; Smashing everything his friend had worked so far to collect towards his dream. To avenge a friend, he repaid Bellamy for all he deserved.

I hope that from reading this, you learned that no matter who tries to get in the way of your dreams to not allow them to succeed. To not throw away your dreams because someone else says so and push forward towards that dream. 

This topic is related to my project theme because it's about lesson number one, follow your dreams. You also learn a side-lesson along with that, to never give up your dreams to naysayers. 

Lesson 2: Never Give Up

The second lesson I'll be going over is to "never give up". This is the second of the two most constantly appearing lessons in One Piece. This lesson is portrayed through many characters in the anime, but can be seen a lot in the Straw Hat crew. No matter what stands in their way, the don't differ. They push forward, even if it endangers their own lives.

Through out the series of One Piece, the Straw Hats never give in. They go against the odds and come out on top. No matter how strong their enemies are, they won't let that discourage them. It just makes them have to fight harder and believe in themselves even more. Even if it would mean certain death, they'll push through it. One example of how they never to give up would be their fight with the Arlong pirates. They went up against a group of strong pirates who were fishmen, which are known to be ten times as strong as humans. The odds were greatly against them, but they charged in to the fight. They suffered a bit of damage, but they never waver from their goal. And in the end, they came out as the victors. 

Next for a example we have their fight against the government island of Enies Lobby. They fought against one of the strongest marine facilities, which was comprised of not just 10,000 marines, but a secret special group of super strong assassin's that work for the world government, Cipher Pol 9. Many could have called this an impossible force for them to beat. After enduring many hardships and many strong foes, they ended up having a complete victory. This is just another example of how with a great will to never give up, you can achieve great goals. 

Enies Lobby

My last example is Luffy's break-in of the world's most impenetrable and secure prison, Impel Down. It is a giant prison that descends underwater and is guarded by several warships. In order to save his big brother, he broke in there with the help of Boa Hancock, a member of the Shichibukai (Seven Warlord of the Sea). In there he faced many troubles and almost died of multiple severe poisons. Through all this, he just kept trying to move forward. He refused to give up. And with the help of friends he gathered along the way, his desire to keep moving forward was possible. After making it all the way to the bottom of the prison where his brother was being held, he discovered that he was a few minutes too late. They had already moved him to be transported for his execution. Even after learning this, he still never gave in and believed he could she his brother no matter what. 

Impel Down

I hope that you leaned to never give up in the face of a challenge. If you keep on trying and keep pushing forwards, then anything is possible. 

This topic fits into my project theme, because it is a lesson that we all should hold true to. When you set your mind to something, you shouldn't be afraid to follow through with it. All you need is to have a strong drive and a strong determination. As long as you have a reason, you can continually push forward and eventually you will come out on top. 

Lesson 3: Hold On To Your Friends

The third lesson I'll be going over is "hold on to your friends". Through out the series of One Piece, you see many situations where they put their lives on the line for a friend. They show you that you should hold on to your friends and fight to keep them. Even if you must force them sometimes, when they have gone astray. 

There have been many times that Luffy and his crew have laid their lives o the line to help a friend in need. Luffy acquired most of his crew by doing this. They were moved by his motivation, strength, and kind/caring ways. As Luffy demonstrates, when a friend is in need, you should always come to their aid. It doesn't even matter if you were enemies in the past. As long as their your friend today, then they are worth fighting for. Just like Luffy has done, you should help your friends whether they want your help or not. Don't let them break your bonds of friendship so easily.

I hope after reading this, you learned to cherish your friends a little more. Maybe you even thought about an old friend you you haven't spoken to in a long time. If so, then maybe you thought or should think of reconnecting those bonds of friendship you had with them, because friendship is something that can surpass time and space. 

This connect to the project theme, because it is an important lesson to learn. To cherish a friend is something everyone should consider. For if you didn't have your friends, you might not be who you are today. Your bonds of friendship help mold who you become, so it's best in life to cherish them.

Lesson 4: Love Those You View As Family

The fourth lesson is "love those you view as family". From One Piece, you learn that your family is a important thing to cherish. That you should hold those bonds close to your heart.

In One Piece, you see many times the bonds of family appear. For example, even though she, her mother, and sister are not related by blood, she still loves them as if they were. The same goes for Luffy and his brother, Ace. Even though Ace hated Luffy when they first met, they eventually became best friends and grew to have a great bond between them. They became blood brothers and truly cherished and protected each other. And there are many other examples of such bonds being formed throughout the series.

Ace, Sabo, and Luffy: blood brothers

Another example would be the Whitebeard pirates. They treat each other like family. The crew is made up of 1 father, being Whitebeard himself and all his sons, which is everyone else in the crew. They are also one of the strongest and most deadly groups on the seas… or at least they were. (May Edward Newgate "Whitebeard" rest in peace.) This is a perfect example of how to view who's your family. They are made up of many different people who weren't related at all before joining. For example, Luffy's older brother Ace was apart of this crew. Even though his father was once the rival of Whitebeard, Whitebeard welcomed him in with open arms and without bias. As Whitebeard has said, "It's wrong to resent a child for the sins of his father."

Whitebeard Pirates

I hope that you learned to see it slightly in a different point of view of who your family is. You don't have to be related to be siblings or to view them as a father. Your family can be anyone you're close to and care about deeply. Everyone deserves to have a family that they love and loves them back.

As you can guess, this fits into my project theme, because it shows you a different way to view who's apart of your life. Family is an important part of life that everyone longs for. Some have all the family they need and some long for a fulfilling family. I hope 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. 

Lesson 5: Freedom To Live Your Life

The fifth lesson I'll be going over is going to be "freedom to live your life". In One Piece, there is brief time where the topic of forcing and selling people into slavery is brought up. From it, you get to see how horrible it can be to be a slave.

During season eleven of One Piece, they arrive on a island called Shabaody Archipelago. On that island is many human stores, where people who were captured or kidnapped are brought to be sold off. Including all those store is a Human Auction house, where many nobles gather each time there is an auction to purchase new slaves. Among all the nobles who gather, there are certain nobles above all others who are apart of the organization of the world government, known as Tenryubito (Celestial Dragons). They are so terrible and nobody dares to stand up to them in fear of the wraith of the world government and marines. They treat their slaves a either human trash, a collectable or a play thing to use until it breaks. 

Tenryubito (Celestial Dragons)

However, while everyone else is too afraid to stand up to them, the Straw Hat pirates stood up to them and even beat them up. They don't bend and go along with the crowd. When they think something is wrong, they stand up to it and fight against it. 

I hope that what everyone will get from this is a reassured feeling of how bad slavery is. Plus, a reassured feeling that everyone should be free to live life and not try to harm others right to the same thing. 

This fits in to project theme, because it is telling you that everyone should be free. No one should be confined and be a slave.

Lesson 6: No One Should Be Discriminated Against

My sixth and last lesson I'll be going over is "no one should be discriminated against". In One Piece, this topic has been seen a few times. Once near the beginning, during the Arlong Park Arc and later on during the most current episodes of the Fishman Island Arc. Hopefully, this topic while only be a reassurance for your own feelings about it. 

Near the beginning of One Piece, the subject of race superiority came up in the form of Fishmen and Humans. A group of fishmen pirates, known as the Arlong pirates who had taken over a few islands and declared their dominancy over all humans. He believe that just because he was a certain race, he was better than all other races. Later on, on the island of Shabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hats learned that on that island, Fishmen were hugely discriminated against by humans. Even on Fishman Island, which was striving to live alongside humans; it was looked down upon to share blood with humans. Anyone who did, would be killed by his fellow fishmen in the dead of night. 

Even when surrounded by such dark things as this, Luffy remains pure and only acts on the purest of intent. He beat up Arlong not because of his race, but because he had hurt one of his friends and made her cry. He beat up the Celestial Dragon who shot his friend whose a Fishman not because of racial reasons, but because they had hurt a friend of his. He even beat up the mastermind behind a Coup d'etat, not because he was a Fishman, but because he didn't want him to hurt his friends or that island. 

He hasn't just beaten up racism, but he's also been apart of the first step to bridge the gap. When he needed a blood transfusion to save his life after saving the island, he ended up getting blood from a Fishman pirate who was his friend. Those two, through their friendship gave hope to others that they could be equals with humans and that they should look to the future for their children. They took the first step towards tearing down the old ways and the ushering in of the new.

I hope you were reassured (and those of you who maybe learned something new) that racism is something that should be utterly beat down. We are all equal and deserve to be. Some might try to turn you from the right path, but hold this knowledge in your heart that all races are equal.

This fits in to my project theme, because it is an observation of how everyone should view life and accept it. This topic is for showing that 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. 

Conclusion

I hope that from this blog, you got to learn a new points of view on any, if not all my topics. They are all important lessons to learn, for if you do, then I believe that you can become happier from them. I believe that all of these give you a peak into the ideals of Japan. Although, most of them aren't just Japan's ideals, but many countries around the world. Our world is made up of man countries who push forward through whatever they are put through and dream of equality. 

From One Piece, you can definitely see a reflection of our world reflecting from it. It might not be a perfect reflection, but it definitely is our reflection in a nutshell. I hope that we will be able to follow in the footsteps of the Straw Hat pirates and bring about the same things that they eventually will bring to their world. That would be to one day bring peace and freedom to the world. I hope we'll be able to do the same in time.