Highlights
- Oda excels in foreshadowing in One Piece, sparking fan theories and deepening the saga’s intrigue.
- A fan theory suggests the Gorosei spread diseases linked to Hindu astrology in the One Piece world.
- The recurring symbol of Kuyo Kamon hints at foreshadowing and deep storytelling in One Piece’s plot.
The masterpiece of Eiichiro Oda’s creative prowess, One Piece, has already made it to the league of the greatest shōnen adventure manga and anime franchises. It continues to keep its fans hooked with its lengthy yet engaging plot. With the franchise reaching toward the Elbaf Arc in the manga and toward the Egghead Island Arc in the anime adaptation, One Piece fans are having a great time enjoying one of the greatest stories ever told. As the franchise’s plot proceeds further, the fans are beginning to appreciate Oda’s storytelling style more and more. Oda has numerous storytelling skills and elements at his disposal which he uses in distinct ways to keep One Piece the intriguing saga that it is.
One such storytelling skill that Oda uses quite often, as he excels in it, is foreshadowing. The literary tool that is used in a story to hint at something that is about to come in the future in the story is called foreshadowing. It is a difficult literary device to use aptly and even harder to master. However, Oda has shown his foreshadowing prowess at various stages in One Piece. Shanks using haki to scare away the sea king, Sanji gets referred to as a prince, and the Sun God Nika are some of the instances of top-tier foreshadowing showcased by Oda. A nicely crafted fan theory by a Reddit user that goes by the handle u/Pringles__ speculates one such possible foreshadowing by Oda that has not been confirmed yet. Let’s take a look at what this interesting fan theory has to offer.
The Gorosei and The Diseases
The concerned fan theory speculates that all the Gorosei or the Five Elders are each spreading a deadly infectious disease distinct to them. The Reddit user has tried to relate to the Gorosei, and their diseases and tried to explain the relationship between them using the elements in Hindu astrology. The Navagraha or 9 heavenly bodies, namely – Brhaspati (Jupiter), Ketu (descending node of the moon), Budha (Mercury), Shani (Saturn), Surya (Sun), Shukra (Venus), Rahu (ascending node of the moon), Mangala (Mars), Chandra (Moon) are a group of planets manifested as celestial beings that play an important role in Hindu astrology.
Seven of these Navagraha are associated with the seven days in a week and seem to have inspired some One Piece characters. The Sun is associated with the Sun God Nika, the Moon is associated with St. Imu Nerona, Mars is associated with St. Marcus Mars, Mercury is associated with St. Topman Walcury, Jupiter is associated with St. Shepherd Ju Peter, Venus is associated with St. Ethanbaron V. Nasujuro, Saturn is associated with St. Jaygarcia Saturn.
Interestingly, each of the said heavenly bodies has a gemstone dedicated to it. Blue Sapphire is associated with Saturn, Diamond is associated with Venus, Yellow Sapphire, and Topaz are associated with Jupiter, Red Ruby is associated with Surya, Green Emerald is dedicated to Mercury, Iridescent White Pearl is dedicated to the Moon, and Red-orange Coral stone is associated with Mars.
It was revealed in one of the last chapters of the Egghead Island Arc in the backstory of Bartholomew Kuma, it was revealed that his best friend and wife Ginny was diagnosed with a deadly infectious disease called the Sapphire Scale after the World Government kidnaped her on orders of a celestial dragon. She was also used as a test subject by St. Jaygarcia Saturn. Since Jaygarcia is associated with Saturn, which in turn is associated with the Blue Sapphire gemstone, and the fact that he experimented on Ginny, after which she got the Sapphire Scale disease, it becomes quite evident that this disease is unique to St. Jaygarcia Saturn, who is speculated to be the one who’s spreading it.
Similarly, the other Gorosei are also suspected to be spreading infectious diseases unique to each one of them. One of these diseases is supposed to be responsible for the death of citizens of Flevance. Although it is supposed to be a hereditary non-contagious disease that killed the citizens, the Gorosei are still suspected to have played some part in it, such as withholding information about the Amber Lead from the citizens of Flevance. According to the fan theory, the former king of the pirates, Gol D. Roger, is also suspected to have been suffering from a similar fatal disease which is speculated to be formulated by one of the Gorosei.
The Kuyo Kamon & The Navagraha
As mentioned previously, Oda likes to use foreshadowing again and again in the One Piece franchise as he is quite good at doing so. Among the various reoccurring symbols throughout One Piece is Kuyo Kamon, a Japanese family crest that symbolizes the Navagraha from Hindu astrology. It can be seen in numerous places and several times in the franchise, such as in the church that Kuma lives at, in Wagomuland, in the family crest of the Kozuki family. Kuyo Kamon has the planets placed in a circular design with the Sun in the middle, meaning the rising Sun, which also means the dawn of the world.
As intriguing and concrete as this fan theory about the Gorosei spreading diseases and the Navagraha is, it remains a fan theory, at least for the time being. Let’s see if this fan theory ever gets actualized as a plot point in One Piece.
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: u/Pringles__ on Reddit
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