What do you think of the way women are portrayed in OP?

[Juvar]

Thinking about it, I'm not that upset about Oda not making many "top" women. Hard to explain, but I don't think he handles it wrong. There are strong or respected women everywhere (Tsuru, Big Mom, Hancock etc.) and that's enough for me to be honest.

Yeah I'm completely with you on that, definitely nothing wrong with it at all. Plus, Bellemere is a total badass.

[Jabra]

Is there a reason why no one ever mentions Hina when it comes to strong women in OP? I think she is badass and her DF has the potential to be extremely broken.

Spoiler:

And just to add some fuel to the fire...

Spoiler:

"The cage of marriage"

[zxcv11791]

Hina is one of those underrated characters who don't get enough screentime. Hopefully she'll play a bigger part now or even join G5.


Tsuru, although old, might have one of the more hax devil fruit powers too. Plus she is kind of like a badass old lady.

[Nolus]

Maybe Hina doesn't get mentioned because when we're looking for strong female marines, we always think of Tsuru first. She's a higher rank and she hasn't failed yet.

Although I can't wait to see Hina kicking some more asses.

[Vanylla]

One Piece is written by Oda to entertain a mainly male audience! If you like it or not, that is the way it is. The whole pirate and adventure thing is what boys and men want to read..
So giving a lot of strength to male characters and pointing out the feminine side of a lot of female characters is perfectly natural for an artist.
I am not that into Manga but I think there are a few mangas that wrap around a very very girly story and I think a lot of the boys in those storys are portrayed in a way that you could also call a bit sexist!

[adamsforsheriff]

I think it's disappointing that such a great manga is so fatally flawed when it comes to females. There's a reason that it's difficult for girls to get interested in One Piece; all of the women are either bombshells or grotesque. This isn't realistic and really caters only to a male understanding of females. Nami and Robin are supermodels who have a very cliched role in the series. They're either nonplussed by the boys' silliness, damsels in distress, or straight-up eye candy. The other women are either monsters or unimportant side characters. The story is told through male eyes and there's not a ton for most girls to look for each week. That's not even addressing the "character designs" which are generally: head, enormous chest, no waist, enormous hips, long legs. All of the relatable women in the series have this body type...the rest are monsters or Lola (who's the butt of constant jokes).

As a guy, I love One Piece. But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

[kouch_lee]

Is there a reason why no one ever mentions Hina when it comes to strong women in OP? I think she is badass and her DF has the potential to be extremely broken.

Spoiler:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__...Marineford.jpg

And just to add some fuel to the fire...

Spoiler:

http://img3.imagebanana.com/img/hwglg2ut/smoker.png "The cage of marriage"

I actually really like Hina. I don't know why she's so underrated; she's freaking badass, and among others, she singlehandedly defeated Mr. 2, and we know that's no joke. I know that's far from being top tier, as she showed during the war during her only (failed) atempt to face Luffy (let's not forget Luffy didn't even hesitate one second to go Gear Second and get the fuck out of Hina's cage), but again, Mr. 2 is quite a formidable fighter, on par with Alabasta's Sanji.

With the massive amount of characters Oda has in store to use in future fights or conflicts (like ALL the Vice-Admirals. . .and there are a LOT of them. . .), I don't think Hina will ever be relevant, but I think we'll see her again someday, if only because where there's Hina, there's also Jango and Fullbody, and I think Oda loves Jango as much as we do.

That could be a great chance to give Hina a higher rank; not Vice-Admiral, but maybe Commodore or, who knows, Rear-Admiral. . .

[fedcom]

I think it's disappointing that such a great manga is so fatally flawed when it comes to females. There's a reason that it's difficult for girls to get interested in One Piece; all of the women are either bombshells or grotesque. This isn't realistic and really caters only to a male understanding of females. Nami and Robin are supermodels who have a very cliched role in the series. They're either nonplussed by the boys' silliness, damsels in distress, or straight-up eye candy. The other women are either monsters or unimportant side characters. The story is told through male eyes and there's not a ton for most girls to look for each week. That's not even addressing the "character designs" which are generally: head, enormous chest, no waist, enormous hips, long legs. All of the relatable women in the series have this body type...the rest are monsters or Lola (who's the butt of constant jokes).

As a guy, I love One Piece. But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

From reading some of his interviews it's pretty clear that Oda intends to focus pretty much exclusively on young boys and that girls/older readers are just extras.
So he doesn't care much about female readers, which is why he has a strict no romance policy. (Also I suspect this is the reason behind Sanji's increasing goofiness)

I don't see why being nonplussed by the men's craziness is a bad or predictable character trait for one (and Nami clearly isn't)
Also I think the whole "Oda can't draw varied normal female characters!" thing is (if only slightly) subverted by the Amazon Lilly arc.

[MasterKingJC]

This isn't realistic

Yeah, while I agree with most of what you're saying, this where I tilt my head. Because I thought it was already established that OP , for the most part, isn't a realistic series.
And I think it's a little unfair to lump characters like Kokoro or Lola as monsters when they're both overall pretty nice characters.

[adamsforsheriff]

Yeah, while I agree with most of what you're saying, this where I tilt my head. Because I thought it was already established that OP , for the most part, isn't a realistic series.
And I think it's a little unfair to lump characters like Kokoro or Lola as monsters when they're both overall pretty nice characters.

Please let me be clear. I don't see characters like Lola as monsters. But I think it's clear that they're intended to be gross to the average viewer of this manga. Obviously the ultra-hot women aren't realistic either. That's exactly my point. Oda seems only able to make female characters that are eye candy or jokingly-ugly. There's very little room for real-looking (even by One Piece standard) women in the manga. I don't condemn him for it, but I understand why females can't relate to the manga sometimes.

[fedcom]

Again I think you should look at Amazon Lilly for examples of women who aren't hideously ugly nor super models.
But you're right in that it doesn't happen very often.

[fullscalenuclearwar]

Agree that you should take Amazon Lilly for example. There are many types of women there, maybe he just wanna make some women with more screen time hotter, while some other insignificant characters uglier, fatter or something. Oda can really draw women. ;) Not all of them are big boobs, eg. pre-timeskip Tashigi

[kappa-san]

Ummm.. Queen Otohime anyone? She doesn't have huge boobs and acts like a refined woman who fights for what she believes in. How come no one mentions her? :-/

[Cruithne]

Ummm.. Queen Otohime anyone? She doesn't have huge boobs and acts like a refined woman who fights for what she believes in. How come no one mentions her? :-/

Because she's dead.

Kaya had the same thing going for her when we first saw her. It's probably Oda's way of showing how frail she was.

[fedcom]

Ummm.. Queen Otohime anyone? She doesn't have huge boobs and acts like a refined woman who fights for what she believes in. How come no one mentions her? :-/

Good point. As was Bellemere.
I don't think Oda's treatment of women is as dire as people think. Over-sexualizing of them is a fault, but failing to create strong-willed and independent women isn't.

[Nolus]

But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

I'm a girl and when I think about it, I can't see that big of a problem with how women are portrayed by Oda. Of course I'd be more than happy to see Hina, Tsuru or any other female kicking ass, but I understand they can't all the time, so I greatly value those rare moments when Oda choose to make them look awesome.

The main thing people have to understand, is that we, women can't be as good in some things as men. The important thing is, as I said before, that every group has it's strong female characters (Marines - Hina, Tsuru; Warlords - Hancock; pirates - let say for example Whitey Bay, or Robin/Nami etc.). That in itself shows that Oda created a world where women are allowed by men to do "jobs" normally a man would do. Tsuru is very respected even though she's just a weak-looking, small old lady and probably never was a big fighter (although it's just me speculating), yet, she's a Vice-Admiral for a reason. Of course she may had got so far more difficult than a man, but she's there.

The main thing a want to say is: Oda could've just tossed the non-main female characters into being housewifes and such, but instead, he choose to make some of them be outstanding and strong. They may be not as strong as men, but that's fine by me.

That's just my overall opinion as a female reader of the series.

[DarkFalcon]

I think it's disappointing that such a great manga is so fatally flawed when it comes to females. There's a reason that it's difficult for girls to get interested in One Piece; all of the women are either bombshells or grotesque. This isn't realistic and really caters only to a male understanding of females. Nami and Robin are supermodels who have a very cliched role in the series. They're either nonplussed by the boys' silliness, damsels in distress, or straight-up eye candy. The other women are either monsters or unimportant side characters. The story is told through male eyes and there's not a ton for most girls to look for each week. That's not even addressing the "character designs" which are generally: head, enormous chest, no waist, enormous hips, long legs. All of the relatable women in the series have this body type...the rest are monsters or Lola (who's the butt of constant jokes).

As a guy, I love One Piece. But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

Many people seeing how One Piece is drawn think it's ugly, and don't see the reason to read it, but that goes to male part of society as well and is also about how male characters are drawn.

Being female I see plenty reasons to read One Piece and can't wait every week for new chapter to came out, I also have other female acquaintance who are the same as I. One Piece is also one of very few stories that have female characters I can actually relate to (mostly Robin). I, and probably most people, relate to characters based on their personalities, value systems (axiology), interests, quirks, history and likability, it's not about how they look or even about their gender. I may not be always 100% happy with the way Oda shows the women visually (he sometimes lack harmony of proportions when it comes to picturing beautiful women it makes them less aesthetic, than they could be) , but he makes it up in therms of chara-designs, diversity, relationships and relevance.
I don't agree with you statement about them having only stereotypical roles. People already pointed it out, it would be only multiplying examples.

When Oda stated that he writes for young teenage boys and boys don't like romance, he probably was making excuse for not including romance (mushy stuff, not actual romance or so calles "man's romance" - One Piece is radiating with those two), I think Oda himself just don't like writing mushy stuff, plenty of teenage boys like romance (mushy one) if it's comedic and adventurous, on the other hand plenty older people and girl don't like or don't care for romance (lavu-lavu). One Piece is not for teenage boys, One Piece is for everyone, who loves true romance of adventure (and good laugh), be it boy, girl, gay or grandma. Oda just thought most of those people would be teenage boys, so he stated he writes for them. That does not mean audience of One Piece consist mostly of boys in their early teens.

[Kizuchan]

As a guy, I love One Piece. But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

I'm female and personally when I read stories look more for interesting character personalities, I know it's sometimes really hard for guys to draw girls and vice-versa, so I'm not annoyed with the designs. I disagree that most of them are stereotypical or even only there to be eye-candy for guys. I also disagree on you with Nami and Robin because a navigator or historian isn't exactly usually associated with women, rather can be both genders if you ask me. Nami is also arguably one of the more important members of the crew because without her guidance they would be pretty screwed seeing how crazy the Grand Line's weather can be. Robin is smart and her backstory is probably one of the best ones in the series, but she's not the strongest fighter. Hancock might be a bitch, but she balances it out by being a strong fighter. Even if Perona is obnoxious and spoiled, she isn't stupid or weak. Dadan might be ugly, but as a mountain bandit she can kick ass when needed and grows to care for Ace and Luffy. Shirahoshi might be naive, weak and cowardly, but she is a nice person, who wants the best for everyone and wishes to become stronger etc..

tl; dr most of the female characters are characters first and foremost(and very well balanced, too!) despite their occasional stereotypical powers or looks and that's what is important to me.

[Contact87]

This is a nice discussion! I think the new clothing just crossed the threshold of tolerance for some people. I'm male and I find it annoying because the characters are already rich with personality that showing skin isn't really necessary. I'm trying to tell my girlfriend (who isn't familiar with manga) how awesome op is but she just gets distracted by her first impression of the characters. In this way, I think the less clothing is taking away from the manga.

I agree that the female characters are diverse and have good personality that isn't stereotypical. But I also get this underlying feeling that the female characters mainly support the main actors (male). There doesn't seem to be a female character influencing the world in a major way (the only one I can think of is big mum). It could be that the guy to girl ratio in this manga is just 3:1 though. Just my two cents on a new forum =)

[Boxer D. Jet]

I think it's disappointing that such a great manga is so fatally flawed when it comes to females. There's a reason that it's difficult for girls to get interested in One Piece; all of the women are either bombshells or grotesque. This isn't realistic and really caters only to a male understanding of females. Nami and Robin are supermodels who have a very cliched role in the series. They're either nonplussed by the boys' silliness, damsels in distress, or straight-up eye candy. The other women are either monsters or unimportant side characters. The story is told through male eyes and there's not a ton for most girls to look for each week. That's not even addressing the "character designs" which are generally: head, enormous chest, no waist, enormous hips, long legs. All of the relatable women in the series have this body type...the rest are monsters or Lola (who's the butt of constant jokes).

As a guy, I love One Piece. But I completely understand why many girls wouldn't see a reason to read it.

I'm a girl and when I think about it, I can't see that big of a problem with how women are portrayed by Oda. Of course I'd be more than happy to see Hina, Tsuru or any other female kicking ass, but I understand they can't all the time, so I greatly value those rare moments when Oda choose to make them look awesome.

The main thing people have to understand, is that we, women can't be as good in some things as men. The important thing is, as I said before, that every group has it's strong female characters (Marines - Hina, Tsuru; Warlords - Hancock; pirates - let say for example Whitey Bay, or Robin/Nami etc.). That in itself shows that Oda created a world where women are allowed by men to do "jobs" normally a man would do. Tsuru is very respected even though she's just a weak-looking, small old lady and probably never was a big fighter (although it's just me speculating), yet, she's a Vice-Admiral for a reason. Of course she may had got so far more difficult than a man, but she's there.

The main thing a want to say is: Oda could've just tossed the non-main female characters into being housewifes and such, but instead, he choose to make some of them be outstanding and strong. They may be not as strong as men, but that's fine by me.

That's just my overall opinion as a female reader of the series.

Many people seeing how One Piece is drawn think it's ugly, and don't see the reason to read it, but that goes to male part of society as well and is also about how male characters are drawn.

Being female I see plenty reasons to read One Piece and can't wait every week for new chapter to came out, I also have other female acquaintance who are the same as I. One Piece is also one of very few stories that have female characters I can actually relate to (mostly Robin). I, and probably most people, relate to characters based on their personalities, value systems (axiology), interests, quirks, history and likability, it's not about how they look or even about their gender. I may not be always 100% happy with the way Oda shows the women visually (he sometimes lack harmony of proportions when it comes to picturing beautiful women it makes them less aesthetic, than they could be) , but he makes it up in therms of chara-designs, diversity, relationships and relevance.
I don't agree with you statement about them having only stereotypical roles. People already pointed it out, it would be only multiplying examples.

When Oda stated that he writes for young teenage boys and boys don't like romance, he probably was making excuse for not including romance (mushy stuff, not actual romance or so calles "man's romance" - One Piece is radiating with those two), I think Oda himself just don't like writing mushy stuff, plenty of teenage boys like romance (mushy one) if it's comedic and adventurous, on the other hand plenty older people and girl don't like or don't care for romance (lavu-lavu). One Piece is not for teenage boys, One Piece is for everyone, who loves true romance of adventure (and good laugh), be it boy, girl, gay or grandma. Oda just thought most of those people would be teenage boys, so he stated he writes for them. That does not mean audience of One Piece consist mostly of boys in their early teens.

@ Adams: I was going to tell you to stop white knighting but maybe you should just read a few of the female response after your post and in this thread. The Females, seemingly at large, are fine with how women are portrayed in this manga and wait ecstatically like the rest of us each week for more.