Summary
Aside from the incredible storytelling, impeccable world-building, lovable characters, and mystery surrounding the setting, the character designs are perhaps whatOne Pieceis best known for. A common complaint that many have before starting the series, aside from the length, is that the art style is just too zany, comical, and strange for them to get into properly. However, this complaint quickly fizzles out once they’re engrossed in the story.
The way Oda draws his characters is done with a great deal of thought behind it sinceevery character has a unique designwhich makes them memorable for everyone at any point in the story. That being said, occasionally, Oda simply hits it out of the park with a certain design that immediately stands out as one ofOne Piece’sfinest, which is what happened with the recent reveal of Prince Loki of Elbaf.
Official Introduction
One Piece, Chapter 1130, “The Accursed Prince”
For all the compliments to be given to Oda for his unique and whacky-looking characters, the reason that Loki stands out from the rest of them is because he doesn’t fit into the latter category. Oda has the unique talent of giving the funniest or most unassuming character an incredible level of depth, but sometimes, what a series needs is acharacter who just straight up looks cool.
One Pieceis no stranger to this aspect of storytelling, since characters such as Doflamingo, Zoro, Shanks, and Kaido, among others, have unique designs that don’t exactly fit into the label of being whacky and just meet the textbook criteria of cold demeanor and badass aura. Keeping this in mind, no other character in the entire story has had as imposing of a design or as incredible of a reveal as Loki, who Luffy found chained up at the lowest level of Elbaf.
Part of what makes this design an instant top tier is the fact that the build-up for Loki began back during the Wholecake Island arc, where only his silhouette was shown. This vague look at Loki gave the impression of the Giant Prince being a kind and approachable person, although his eventualreveal in Chapter 1130 showed him as the exact opposite. Moreover, the previous chapters also hinted at Luffy feeling a strong presence somewhere on the island, which was later confirmed to be a chained-up Loki.
Perhaps what immediately endeared Loki to fans of the series was his likeness to Doflamingo in the brief look they got of him. Despite being chained up to the side of a mountain, Loki’s mouth was agape with a sinister smile that seemed to imply that he had planned everything, as well as his long tongue creeping out of his mouth which gave him a more feral look. Most striking, however, were his eyes.
I am the Sun God who will bring about the end of the world!
Another thing that made Loki similar to Doflamingo was the fact that his eyes were completely covered up, which adds yet another layer of mystery to this Accursed Prince. With such apparent similarities to Doflamingo, fans have high hopes for this villain, considering howthe tormentor of Dressrosais still largely considered to be the greatest villain throughout the entire story ofOne Piece.
Through looks alone, Loki already outshines most otherOne Piececharacters. Just as was stated previously, by introducing a straight-up sinister and malicious-looking villain who doesn’t have any notable comical characteristics in terms of his design like other characters in the series do, Oda has made Loki a character whom fans are falling in love with despite only having seen him in a few panels.
Loki’s Personality Mirrors His Design
Loki’s Abilities and Motivations
Another aspect that really sells Loki as a dangerous character worth looking out for are his motivations and abilities. From what little can currently be surmised about this character,he is an insane and evil manwho killed his own father to obtain a legendary Devil Fruit that would allow him to become a Sun God with the power to destroy the entire world.
With such evil motivations, it’s very clear to see why the Accursed Prince was beaten by all the warriors of Elbaf and kept chained up to prevent any further carnage. However, despite his evil intentions and intimidating aura, it is only a matter of time and circumstance that he will be cut free from his prison and will most likely be the final villain of the arc for Luffy to defeat.
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
