This post contains spoilers for One Piece.
Summary
Eiichiro Oda is a specialist when it comes to world-building and storytelling. In fact, one wouldn’t be wrong if they said that Oda is the best at his craft. His insane track record speaks for itself, and it’s hardly surprising that so many new manga authors draw inspiration from his work.
Eiichiro Oda’sOne Pieceis filled with many amazing characters, and each of them has a separate fanbase, but most people love the Straw Hats because of how well-written they are. However, there is one character who is better than them.
Bartholomew Kuma Is The Best Written Character In One Piece
While it may seem like an outrageous claim, there is a lot of evidence thatproves Bartholomew Kuma is indeed better writtenthan the Straw Hats. Before taking a deep dive into Kuma’s backstory, it is crucial to remember his introduction in the story. In the Thriller Bark arc, Kuma came off as a dangerous person. His epithet “The Tyrant” only increased his fear factor.
In Sabaody Archipelago, Kuma separated the Straw Hat Pirates and sent them to different locations. At that point, Kuma felt like the biggestvillain in One Piece along with Kizaru. He was also present in Marineford, where he took down Oars Jr. After the timeskip, Kuma was turned into a full-on slave for the Celestial Dragons. He seemed to have lost all his sentience, which is why he was obeying the commands of the Celestial Dragons.
The audience’s perception of Kuma changed in the Egghead arc as it included the flashback of his whole journey. One of the biggest mysteries related to Kuma was related to his race, so Oda made sure to answer this particular query. It was revealed that Kuma was a Buccaneer, a race that was nearly wiped out from the faceof the earth by the World Government for atransgression committed in the past. Kuma’s father was a Buccaneer, and his mother was a human being, but that didn’t stop the World Government from enslaving her.
Kuma andhis entire family were taken away to Marijoa, where they were treated as slaves. A young Kuma tried to maintain his sanity, but the deaths of his parents made it hard to do so. Kuma had no hope of escaping until he was selected to be the sacrificial lamb for the entertainment of the Celestial Dragons, who were holding a Hunting Competition in God Valley. On the island, Kuma met Ginny and Ivankov, and they somehow got off the island. It is worth pointing out that escape wouldn’t have been possible if the Rocks Pirates hadn’t made landfall on the island.
Kuma Starts A New Life With Ginny
After leaving God Valley, Kuma went to the Sorbet Kingdom, where he helped the old and weak people by treating them with his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, which he ate in God Valley. He would use its power to draw out the physical pain inside their bodies. Once they left, Kuma would put his hands inside the pain bubble and take in all their pain. This moment shows Kuma’s kindness and how he didn’t let all the trauma change him. In contrast,Doflamingo’s experiences outside Marijoa changedhim for the worse. He became a ruthless maniac who murdered his father and his brother.
Things were going well for Kuma before he was imprisoned by Bekori. Ultimately, he was saved by the Revolutionary Army. Following the incident, Kuma joined the organization along with Ginny. Everything was pointing towards a happy ending for Kuma, but fate had other plans. One day, Ginny was kidnapped by a Celestial Dragon and taken to Marijoa. Sadly, Kuma couldn’t do anything about it. Years after the incident, Ginny made contact, but she was at death’s door. She talked for a while before succumbing to her illness. However, she left behind a young Bonney.
Raising Bonney By Himself Was A Challenge
Kuma took it upon himself to take care of the child. He raised her as best as he could. Sadly, there was one more problem that he had to solve. Not long after taking in Bonney, Kuma learned that she had an incurable disease. Naturally, he wanted to save her at all costs. So, he looked far and wide for a cure, but it was to no avail. Luckily, Dragon advised him to seek out Vegapunk, and Kuma paid the scientist a visit.
I’m so grateful!! I’ll happily accept any fate…so long as Bonney is cured. —Bartholomew Kuma
Vegapunk reassured Kuma that he would cure Bonney in exchange forrunning some experiments on the Buccaneer. Kuma agreed, but tragedy struck again when Saturn intervened. He put forward several conditions, one of which included Kuma giving up his sentience. Despite the ridiculous nature of the request, Kuma agreed because his main priority was saving Bonney.
Kuma’s backstory proves that not every person who goes through pain ends up becoming a bad person. He never lost hope and kept on fighting till the end. It’s a lesson to the characters and even to the readers.
