Just look at this shit! He’s so nice with it. “I taught you to live in the moment, didn’t I?!” and in the moment he’s a marine and Kuzan’s a pirate. And that throw is low key what it feels like to hit a move on a fellow brown belt.
“Oh but he let Ace die”
Ace didn’t ask for help. If he did there’s a solid chance it’s a different story.
“He’s part of a corrupt system”
He knows how giga evil Imu is and knows nobody else is going to protect the marines
I’m into it. Marx would be disappointed in me
Oh fuck
Oh fuck
They volunteered to go there to protect Kobi. That seems like the artist actualizing the premise of Garp’s character. So they were in danger because of him pointing to justice they believed in, not that they got placed in needless danger. Without a critique of power, he finally demonstrates, perhaps even with post-Marineford regret, that he wants to protect other marines (other named characters critical to the plot that is).
Lil Kobi living under Alvida seems like he had a perfectly rational understanding of pirates being assholes. So wanting to not let others do what she did was a worthy reason to join. I doubt too many of them start with the understanding of the celestial dragons nor the slavery inherent. Maybe, if you include the tribute they likely had to pay to the WG they would put 2 and 2 together, but many places seemed more imminently afraid of pirates. It is a limitation of the world building in my eyes.
If Dragon’s revolutionaries ever get characterized as having many ex military types who reject slavery and subjugation then we have a party and a hole in Garp’s character.
But as I try to tease apart the world building, the character as written, and his failings I’ve been convinced. Actually it is easy to hate Garp for doing so little to help the Marines he supposedly sticks around to protect in Marineford and being passive in garnering influence for the dream he supposedly carries. He deserves every bit of slander Mihawk gets for spawn camping the East Blue instead of going out and chasing his dream
Yes, true…
Yes, I feel like word would get around from marines being slave camp guards, rounding up the slaves and helping to wipe out entire islands just so the celestials can hunt people for sport every few years for hundreds of years. There could be entire mythologies around all of that.
Nevertheless, the marines not knowing makes it tragic, but it’s still necessary to fight them. Protecting them while knowing the truth is still reactionary. Btw Garp knows, so did he tell Kobi? He has enough of a platform and reputation, that could have told the whole world.
I still like the writing though. Having complex characters is great.
Thanks, I actually didn’t think of it as his dream before (because he mostly didn’t act like he had a dream), but it’s true.
Maybe, we’ll see more of this. I’d like to see him involved in a split between the progressive /reformist marines and a loyalist faction. In real revolutions, it’s really important to have this split and have part of the military desert and join. So I appreciate that being set up. I’d prefer to see a real split over the marines being cleanly reformed as a whole.