While One Piece‘s manga is sadly on break until next week, the series left fans with an incredibly insightful chapter and plenty to talk about, mainly surrounding the series’ newest tragic character. Following an age-old pattern in the series, One Piece recently kicked off the Elbaf Arc’s first big flashback, and it may have completely recontextualized Loki’s character, who until this point still had all the makings of a potential antagonist. In fact, despite the few teases of Gunko’s past and her connection with Brook, Loki may remain the most tragic character of the Elbaf Arc at the end of it all.
Redeeming former or potential villains through flashbacks is a device that One Piece’s creator, Eiichiro Oda, has used countless times over the course of the series. The most recent and famous instance of this was of course Bartholomew Kuma, whose tragic past caught every fan off guard during the Egghead Arc. Yet, Oda still manages to surprise fans with the same age-old trick every time. Chapter 1134 has already painted an incredibly heartbreaking picture of Loki’s childhood with his mother rejecting him and throwing him into the cold and brutal Underworld, leaving newborn Loki trying to claw his way back up the tree. It’s hard to imagine what could possibly outdo Loki’s tragic origins, and it seems Loki could be the Elbaf Arc’s new “Kuma.”
Loki Could Take Gunko’s Place as Elbaf’s Tragic Star
Until Chapter 1134 spilled the beans on Loki’s backstory, it all but seemed like Gunko’s flashback was going to be the real tearjerker of the Elbaf Arc, though it’s hard to be so sure anymore. From what little fans saw in Chapter 1149, it’s implied that Gunko knew Brook as a child, likely before he became a pirate. In the same chapter, fans also saw a Gunko-like silhouette crying out for her father, implying that’s where the tragedy lies with her character.
Some fans have also speculated that Gunko could be Brook’s daughter, while others strongly hold onto the opinion of her being the daughter of Yorki, the captain of the Rumbar Pirates. But of course, there’s too little information to bet on either of these theories at this point, especially with One Piece’s latest volume reportedly adding that Gunko belongs to the Manmayer family, and her being a World Noble would conflict with either theory. Either way, it seems like for now, Loki will hold on to the title of Elbaf’s most tragic character, and there’s no doubt that the series will go on to redeem him and absolve him of the various accusations against him in the upcoming chapters.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
