For anyone who's been quick to judge Doflamingo for his present actions, you may be surprised with what you'll find buried in his past. You may leave this no longer seeing the world as black and white.
The Good
Back during the Punk Hazard Arc, I was enjoying having a villain that that was just plain evil. I wouldn't want that all the time, but it can be a nice change of pace to just hate the bad guy. I wanted something much more out of the always mysterious Doflamingo. I was crestfallen when we were given a glimpse of his past earlier in the arc, and he seemed little more than just an average bad egg that got even worse.
While part of that may be true, I was shocked to discover that there was more depth behind his hatred and anger. Far more than I could have ever imaged. The whole story makes for a hard road of tragedy for everyone involved. It puts me in such a state of moral conflict, because I have no idea who to side with. This flashback is awash with shades of grey.
Due to his father's naive altruism, Doflamingo was forced to suffer terribly at the hands of the Celestial Dragon's victims. His personality didn't help matters at all, but he hadn't done anything to deserve what we see here. At the same time, it's difficult to direct a lot of moral outrage at the masses when you hear how the people suffered at the hands of the Celestial Dragons, who thought they were on the level of gods. They deserved justice, but they took it at the expense of the one man who was trying to bridge the gap between royals and commoners. Hatred drove them insane enough to torture and string children up for nothing more than guilt by association.
The reveals don't even stop with Doflamingo and his brother. The fact he can actually speak isn't that surprising. I'm talking about the full name of Trafalgar Law coming out. Seems he's yet another to inherit the "Will of D". Perhaps that finally explains the interest Law too in Luffy two years ago.
The Bad
I really have nothing to really complain about with this chapter. These events are filled with emotional ambiguity. You'd be hard pressed to side with anyone, and that seems to be Oda's exact intent.
Verdict 5/5
I suspected that Oda would reveal more about Doflamingo at some point, and I'd come out of it with a better understanding of him. I never imagined it would get me to sympathize for him and his family. It's pretty rare when you see writers go to this kind of length to add depth to a villain. The closest comparison I can think of at the moment is when they retconned Magneto's past to be a survivor of the Holocaust. It gave some level of reason to his extremist actions. I'm not going to make any assertions that it justifies Doflamingo's current actions in Dressrosa. I can just see how the path he had in life led him to become this sort of man.
This was a chapter filled with surprises. Some were expected, but most left me feeling emotionally shocked. That's a great experience to have as a reader. It doesn't even bother me that this is diverting attention from the battles on Dressrosa. I'm enjoying it that much, and I can't wait to see what happens next week.
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About the Author
Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek. Follow for news updates:@AnimeVicers/@FoxxFireArt / http://ift.tt/1hmMpg1 |
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