My Favourite Characters - Vinsmoke Sanji

Yeah I’m still on One Piece because I went so long without wanting to talk about it I’m making up for lost time by really wanting to talk about it. So let’s milk this by talking about my second favourite crew member: Vinsmoke Sanji. And yes I say second because of course Luffy is first no question. But when it comes to the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, none of them have has had as much development, layers and consistency in their writing than Sanji. I say that because while I love everyone else there are certain traits of their character that varies depending on what the plot needs. Zoro has a horrible sense of direction except when the plot needs him to be somewhere right now, Usopp is a coward that is sometimes brave in adversity but goes back to being a coward again in much easier scenarios, Franky can do pretty much anything so Oda introduced a ‘cola feature’ so he can do pretty much anything…except when they don’t want him to.

Sanji on the other hand has a fixed list of character traits that he rarely wavers from, he’s a suave perverted chef who only fights with his feet. He has a list of rules that he abides by and has a dream that he wants to achieve but it’s also one he can’t really make any active progression towards so it’s not so much an active plot thread as it is a cross off the checklist of ‘Straw Hat Crewmember shared traits’. And like most of his crewmates a lot of this comes from his backstory (Or backstories now) without the lesson being shoved down our throats. After all, Zoro’s goals and values were literally spelt out at the end of his flashback while Sanji, though not subtly done by any means, expects the audience to understand why he behaves in certain ways given his past experiences.

So let’s take a look at those rules he abides by. Number One: He never lets anyone go hungry. This is one of the earliest established aspects of his character, not only is he a great chef but he will always cook someone a meal even if their unable to pay or if they’re a bad guy. The reason why is one of those not-subtle but also not spelled out moments I mentioned earlier. Back when Sanji was a child he was stranded on a giant rock in the middle of the ocean and nearly starved to death, because of this, Sanji knows hunger better than anyone and doesn’t want anyone to experience the same kind of pain, regardless of their prior actions. Also considering his mentor and father figure Zeff was also on this rock and whatever food they did have he gave to Sanji, also taught him compassion and kindness, another reasoning to why he will help pretty much anyone in need.

Even just the fact that he’s a chef tells us so much about his character, yes he’s a great cook but seeing how far he takes it and how passionate he is makes it such a more fascinating character trait than it usually is for characters. Sanji treats cooking like it’s an art form, the perfect elements coming to together to create something stimulating for the senses, no matter how much time and effort has to go into it. Likewise, he respects anyone who would put their passion into cooking and even if the food itself doesn’t meet his standards he still respects them as an equal for trying. The opposite is also true, anytime people disrespects food for both the effort put into it but also the necessity of it instantly becomes an enemy in his book. This is especially true in one of the recent chapters where his obnoxious and arrogantly privileged brother throws a plate of food on the floor and Sanji berates him both wasting food that thousands of people don’t have access too, but also for insulting the chef who spent hours making it.

Then of course there’s the aspect he’s best known for, his love of women. Yes, this is one of Sanji’s more…abrasive elements to a lot of fans, they think his perverted nature is taken too far and often crosses the line of being comedic to downright creepy. This is a thought pattern I don’t disagree with and I will say this is the only case where he can fluctuate, sometimes he can’t keep his cool when in front of a woman, other times he’s as cool as a cucumber, again it all comes back to what the plot demands. But still even there’s a lot about his character than can be analysed from this, not necessarily his perverted nature but his admiration for women in general.

Sanji has said multiple times that he would never hit a woman even if his life depended on it and how he’ll always forgive them for their lies. Part of this might come from his sister Reiju, who despite also mocking him and berating him like the rest of his family, she also took care of him and apologised for her behaviour in private, making her the only person in Sanji’s childhood to show him some compassion. For nothing else Sanji has always shown that he would go to extreme lengths to repay a debt, Zeff saves his life so Sanji dedicated it to helping him until Zeff says otherwise, Reiju shows him compassion so he in return treats every woman like a goddess, not unreasonable to make that assumption.

What makes Sanji (And most of the Straw Hat Crew) interesting is seeing how far they can be pushed and whether or not the antagonist can get them to cross that line. For Sanji this line would be having to take on a master assassin and nearly be killed because he didn’t fight back cause the assassin was female. Now some might argue that works against the character, if he never breaks that rule then how can there be conflict? How do you prevent the character from seeming stale? To that I say: Shut Up. One Piece is not a story about characters changed by the world, it’s the world changed by the characters. For this small crew to look everyone else dead in the eye and shout “No, you move”. Because Sanji doesn’t need to break his rules in order to succeed, he’ll find another way, and that other way is one of the major themes of One Piece, trusting in your crew, hoping they can pick up the slack in areas where you falter and you do the same for them in return. And in the case of One Piece Sanji is one of the most important crew members in that sense, he’s a badass fighter, he keeps everyone healthy, he’s optimistic but also brutally honest and he’s a man that sticks to his word and given the right circumstances will always show you sympathy. Of course someone like that would turn out to be one of my favourite characters.

-Danny