One Piece has found its way into the real world in quite a few different ways in the past few years. Aside from the live-action Netflix series preparing to return for a second season, the shonen franchise has seen countless examples of fans sharing their love for the creation of Eiichiro Oda. In a shocking twist, One Piece has entered Indonesian politics as the anime franchise has seemingly gotten into hot water in Indonesia. As Indonesia’s Independence Day prepares to be celebrated later this month on August 17th, the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger has become the target of ire from government representatives.
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In recent days, Luffy’s flag has seemingly been raised by many Indonesian citizens weeks before the big celebration for the country. Indonesian Deputy House Speaker and Gerindra Party executive Sufmi Dasco Ahmad disparaged the raising of the “Jolly Roger” next to the country’s flag via an official statement, “This is not a coincidence. There is a coordinated attempt to divide the nation. Let’s stand united. We must collectively resist such actions. Not everyone wants Indonesia to advance. As we grow, there will always be those who oppose it. Let’s unite and push back.”
On the flip side of the argument, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle lawmaker Deddy Yveri Sitorus shared their thoughts, “This should be seen as a public expression of criticism, which is part of a democratic society. This kind of symbolic action is better than street protests that could turn violent.”
One Piece And Politics
It’s hard not to see some of the parallels to our world that Eiichiro Oda has created over the years with his critically acclaimed shonen series. Luffy and his crew of pirates have fought against the World Government, the military, the navy, and a band of higher-ups known as the Celestial Dragons. In fact, one of the recent anime storylines that has taken the world by storm has been the backstory of Kuma, a character who lost his land and his family to the upper-class members of the Celestial Dragons. Undergoing years of trauma and brainwashing, Kuma recently broke out of the world government’s influence and delivered a blow to one of the Five Elders, Saturn, on Dr. Vegapunk’s island.
With the anime looking to ramp up the fight between the Straw Hat Pirates and the World Government, it appears as though Eiichiro Oda isn’t holding anything back in his world’s final saga. While the mangaka hasn’t hinted at when we can expect the final chapter to be released, the pieces are being moved to give Luffy and his crew quite the send-off. Luckily, it might still be years until the end is nigh for the Straw Hats, and the legacy left by One Piece isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Want to see how Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates continue to shape our world? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest on One Piece and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Monkey D. Luffy.
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