The following contains mention of sensitive topics related to racism, slavery, and human trafficking.
One Piece is known for being a light-hearted anime full of action, adventure, and comedy. Following a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy, who sets out to the sea all alone to become king of the pirates, Luffy gathers strong and reliable allies who each have their own goals in life. One Piece starts out as an exceptionally cheerful adventure story but as more mysteries unfold, fans learn exactly how dark the world truly is.
The fictional world Oda created has maintained the fantasy charm while still being relatale to real-world problems. For example, much of the architecture and background settings of the series are inspired by real-world architectural marvels. Moreover, many names, such as Edward Newgate, Marshall D. Teach, etc. are inspired by real-life pirates or places Yet, beneath its glorious facade, Oda Eiichiro addresses issues such as racism, slavery, pandemics, and tyranny. While the series mentions these things, they are mostly used to create a background for the overarching story.
Racism Against Fishmen and Merfolk
Racism is a vicious cycle that stems from people's ignorance and refusal to accept those slightly different from them. In One Piece, the best example of racism you can see the conflict between Fishmen and Humans. Both sides carry the hatred of generations with them and turn it into a never-ending cycle of hatred. For who knows how long, Fishmen had been living deep beneath the surface of the sea because of the conflict. Humans have always thought of Fishmen as less than them, while the Fishmen were proud of being physically strong and their ability to live underwater. Oda's portrayal of such discrimination was definitely brilliant, showing how discrimination can negatively affect society as a whole and make them as bigoted as their oppressors. For example, Arlong went out to explore the world as a member of the Sun Pirates alongside Fisher Tiger and Jinbe.
However, after seeing the brutality of humans, he decided to oppress them. In the Arlong Park Arc, fans learn how he took over an island in East Blue and tormented the people there for years. Nami was also one of his victims, who had her childhood ruined because of his actions. Queen Otohime spent most of her life trying to eradicate the discrimination against Fishmen and tried to create a better future for the new generation where they freely can live alongside humans under a clear sky. Sadly, she was killed by one of her own people, Hody Jones. Hody, who was serving as an imperial guard at that time, placed the blame for her murder on a human. That again created conflict and hatred between the two species.
Slavery and Human Trafficking by the Celestial Dragons
Although it's rare to see slavery in modern society, it was a major issue in the past. Nonetheless, human trafficking is still a problem across the globe, which is considered a form of slavery. The World Government prohibited slavery over 200 years before the current timeline of the series, yet, slavery and trafficking still exist in common places. The World Nobles are above the World Government, and are given the right to treat humans as they want. They use wanted pirates, people from different races, and orphans as their slaves and mistreat them without any remorse. All the slaves of the World Nobles are marked with a symbol called "The Claw of the Celestial Dragon", symbolizing them as the property of the Celestial Dragons.
The first time the series showed slavery in detail was in the Sabaody Archipelago when Cami, a mermaid was captured and put up for sale at the Human Auction House. She was saved with the help of the Straw Hat Pirates, Kid Pirates, and Heart Pirates. Another sickening instance of this slave system was in the Levely Arc where one of the Celestial Dragons tries to capture Shirahoshi against her will.
Despite the presence of all the royal families affiliated with the World Government, Shirahoshi was almost captured. Though Princess Vivi of Alabasta and Rebecca of Dressrosa tried to save her were stopped by CP-0 on the pretext of defying the will of the Gods. Moreover, it's not just the World Nobles that can keep slaves. A lot of wealthy people also keep slaves if they buy them at the Human Auction House, which is secretly authorized by the World Government.
The World Government's Tyranny and Corruption
Corruption and tyranny are cancerous for any system or society. In both the real world and within One Piece, there are countless times we hear about things such as bribes and people being oppressed under the name of the law. The first occurrence of corruption in the series was in the Arlong Park Arc. Arlong buys off a government official to steal Nami's savings which she risked her life countless times to collect. As the story proceeds, fans learn about Nico Robin's backstory. One of the most outrageous things that the World Government did was destroy the entire island along with the people and the vast information stored in it. To cover up the dark secrets of the Void Century, the World Government prohibited anyone to research it and the poneglyphs, but the people from Ohara continued to do so.
They were scholar archeologists and had various information about the poneglyphs. These poneglyphs hold information about the ancient weapon and the final called Laughtale. Sadly, before they could get any close to the truth, the World Government ordered a buster call, destroying the island's surface completely.
The only survivors of that horrible incident are Nico Robin and Jaguar D. Saul. However, the World Government made sure to let the rest of the world that the people from Ohara were all devils and had to be eradicated for their atrocious sins. In the world of One Piece, the chain of corruption is started by the Celestial Dragons. They are considered gods and the entire World Government work for their sake. The government follows the decisions of Celestial Dragons blindly, which leads to prejudice, bribery, extortion, and a lot of other factors that poison society.
Another example of the World Government's oppression could be seen in the case of Flevance. The beautiful White Town was turned into a pool of blood when the truth behind the World Government's scheme was brought to light. Flevance was known for its white lead which was expensive, due to which the World Government made enormous profits.
However, the white lead was deadly to humans, affecting new generations one after another. By the team people realized the truth, it was already too late. Every person was affected by the white rust disease. The World Government killed every person, including children in Flevance. They justified their actions with a lie that the disease was contagious to people. The only survivor of that massacre was Trafalgar D. Water Law, who hid under a pile of corpses.