As One Piece advances into the Final Saga, fans are as hyped as ever to learn whether Luffy will be able to fulfill his dream of becoming the Pirate King and his crew will find the One Piece treasure. With the latest developments, we learned more about the New World and its ruling class. But as the story reveals more about the World Nobles, it seems increasingly clear that the government and many officials of the Marines are not like-minded.
The Marines were initially introduced as major antagonists, although there are many officers who are good people trying to protect others. While fans have always thought that some members of the Navy would eventually rebel, the final arc would benefit a lot from high-ranking officials betraying the government or at least organizing some sort of rebellion against the nobles. Let's delve more into the relationship between the Navy and the government in the series.
The World Government in One Piece
In the universe of the series, the world is mostly governed by the World Government, a federation of over 170 nations. However, most people live on islands scattered throughout the Blue Sea. The World Government is an aristocratic oligarchy led by the World Nobles, also called Celestial Dragons. Among the World Nobles, there are the Five Elders, a council of the five highest-ranking authorities.
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The World Government aims to keep peace and order around the world. While it is composed of affiliated nations, it exerts power as if it ruled the whole world through many layers of governance. In addition to the Five Elders, many decisions are made during the Levely council meetings. Like any other government, the World Government also relies on judicial, police, and military institutions to maintain order, with the Marines being one of them.
Supposedly, there is no single king to rule the government, and the Empty Throne would represent that. However, in reality, the throne is occupied by Imu, the secret ruler of the world.
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Pirates as Symbols of Dissatisfaction
Technically, pirates are criminals who mainly raid ships and places across the Blue Sea. They usually act in groups (called crews), and there are usually high bounties for those who capture them. Though commonly seen as greedy and ruthless, in One Piece, we see many pirates who are actually good and adventurous people looking for treasures, like the Straw Hat Crew.
As the story progressed and the manga started delving deeper into the politics of this universe, it became clear that the "good pirates" often oppose the World Government. There are even organizations that aim to overthrow the government, like the Revolutionary Army, but not all pirates who oppose the status quo necessarily have any intentions of joining revolutionary movements.
The Role of Marines in Keeping the Status Quo
The Marines, or the Navy, are the institution that 'controls the sea' through law enforcement and naval warfare. They act as a mix of both a police and a military force (since the military is usually not responsible for general law enforcement). It is one part of the larger structure which the government uses to maintain its control, but it is the primary military force. The government also controls the Seraphim, the Cipher Pol, and, in the shadows, the Holy Knights. Additionally, they also used to have relations with the Seven Warlords, a group of powerful pirates who were granted immunity in exchange for providing services to the government when requested. Here is the structure the government officially controls:
- Marines: primary military force;
- Cipher Pol: intelligence and police organization;
- Seraphim: the Government's ultimate cyborg weapons (they replaced the Seven Warlords);
- Holy Knights (in the shadows).
After the Summit Wars, the Marines moved their headquarters to a base in New Marineford, in the New World (it used to be in Marineford, in the region of Paradise), but they have branches and bases scattered around the world, as is expected of any military organization. They were introduced as major antagonists, but the series slowly shifted its focus to detail the whole structure that controls the Marines, even though they are still antagonists.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
While claiming they fight for justice and peace, the Navy frequently takes questionable actions and resorts to unnecessary violence. Many high-ranking officers are corrupt and evil, and they may even give orders that their subordinates follow despite disagreeing with them (since the hierarchical structure doesn't allow disobeying, even if they are "wrong orders"). For this reason, many fans have speculated that the 'good officers' will eventually rebel against the institution and government. Some, like Monkey D. Dragon, have already done so.
Is a Rebellion within the Navy Even Possible?
As mentioned, a Marine Rebellion is not only possible but highly anticipated. The Revolutionary Army is proof that many are dissatisfied with the institution, which many of them joined to help people, and not to protect corruption. Some fans even speculate that most admirals will at least refuse to fight Luffy, even if they don't explicitly join any rebellious movement within the forces—Fujitora is especially mentioned by fans as someone with high potential of turning on the government.
In fact, given how much the series has introduced new concepts and powers to show that the Nobles from the New World are much more powerful than anything we have ever seen before, it may also work as a preparation for the rebellion. At the beginning of the series, the Marines were the main antagonists. Now, since there are stronger opponents, a rebellion within Navy officials would make the plot even more interesting, as even Admirals would struggle against the authorities above them. Furthermore, SWORD, a group of officers who officially quit the Navy but still act under its name, is a clear sign that a rebellion may be coming. Nevertheless, it would be a bit of a letdown if every Admiral switched sides—we still need some tension on the government’s front line. After the Final War, Koby could even lead the New Navy.
You can't just blame your fate on other people all the time and expect them to solve everything. That's a sign of weakness, don't you think?
— Koby
Nonetheless, let's keep in mind that even the Revolutionary Army does not seek the end of the government itself, but the end of the World Nobles controlling it. Therefore, it is quite likely that, at the end of the series, the governance structure will not change much, but a new, and better, government will emerge (perhaps a less centralized one?). In any case, a rebellion of the Navy or some sort of internal division into factions (one against the government and one protecting it) would be a great addition to the Final Saga.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
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Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Writers
- Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Seasons
- 21
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Producers
- Yoshihiro Suzuki
- Based On
- Manga
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
