Nobody really expected the goofy story about pirates following a rubber boy to get into serious social commentary. That’s just what One Piece did in the Fishman Island arc though, and brought to light the cracks in the Grand Line’s society. This arc explores the tragic history of a race of people, while giving Luffy his first step toward the title of Emperor when he faces off with old hatred. So, time to dive into the story and social elements of the Fishman Island arc with the Straw Hat Pirates!
When the Straw Hat Pirates returned to Sabaody Archipelago after two years apart, it was the start of their New World adventures. Now, with a ship coated by Silvers Rayleigh and a determination, they dive under the Red Line to reach the undersea Fishman Island.
Underwater Sailing
There have been submersible ships before in One Piece so underwater travel isn’t anything new. The method of coating a boat so it becomes a giant bubble is certainly a different way to do it though. When Franky inflates the bubble, it sinks the ship into the water while all the Straw Hats are safe and dry on the Sunny’s deck. Turns out they’re able to sail underwater by catching the ocean currents, and it goes even deeper down than that.
Eventually, they reach the Deep Current, which carries them along the bottom of the ocean. It’s dark, really dark, and there are all kinds of Neptunian terrors the Straw Hats don’t know about. Luffy ends up taming a Kraken that tries to attack the Sunny. There’s an assault by Caribou and Coribou, where Caribou survives by hanging onto the Sunny. That doesn’t even cover Wadatsume the Sea Monk trying to destroy everything. It’s no wonder a lot of pirates give up before the New World.
Arriving at Fishman Island
Jimbei is waiting for the Straw Hats to arrive when things don’t go as he planned. Little does he know, this is just the start of that for him since he’ll be joining the Straw Hats soon. He waits in the garden by the Poneglyph for them, and leaves a message for them with the princes. Jimbei is hoping to avoid a confrontation between Hody Jones and the Strawhats. It’s unfortunately already in process when they approach the island. Hody’s men stop them, and the crew has to use a Coup de Burst to get into the island’s bubble while destroying the ship’s coating.
Jimbei will end up with the other Straw Hats before he finds Luffy, but this will let Robin get a look at their Poneglyph in the meantime. The Straw Hats scatter thanks to their rocky entrance. Some land at Camie’s house while the others are missing completely. Sanji is in love with all the mermaids around, and actually ends up with a blood transfusion from some Fishmen. That’s when Prince Fukaboshi, a shark merman, arrives with Jimbei’s message.
Hody Jones
Unfortunately for the Princes, Hody Jones is also sending his men after the Straw Hats. Hody is a Fishman who grew up in the Fishman District. A place which teems with homeless, outcasts, or just criminals as it took in all Fishmen who couldn’t find anywhere else. When he was a kid, he heard tales of the great Fishman pirate Fisher Tiger from none other than Captain Arlong, a former member of Tiger’s crew. Hody grew to share Arlong’s disdain for humans, despite never really interacting with them. This is just the start of Fishman Island arc’s main theme on cycles of racism, but that comes later.
Now, Hody Jones runs the New Fishman Pirates, an attempt at reviving what he says is FIsher TIger’s legacy and dream to bring Fishmen to the surface. Hody believes this needs to be done through force though, and that Fishmen are made to rule over humanity. When the story of Fisher Tiger is retold by Jimbei, it’s very obvious this isn’t what he meant.
Poseidon and Noah
The Fishman District is held in Noah, a massive boat that’s been there since the Void Century. The Poneglyph on Fishman Island mentions that Joyboy left Noah there, and was sorry that he couldn’t keep his promise to them then. In the future, he says that Poseidon would return so he could bring the Fishmen to the surface, using Noah. It’s something that Luffy now holds the responsibility to do as the new Joyboy, and he soon meets the Poseidon that will help him.
Poseidon the Ancient Weapon isn’t actually a weapon, but a person. Princess Shirahoshi of the Ryugyu Kingdom currently holds the power, which appears every few generations. She holds the ability to speak with Neptunians for some time, and it’s going to be a pivotal power to save Fishman Island later.
Vander Decken IX
Princess Shirahoshi’s only problem with getting out and using her powers is Vander Decken IX, captain of the Flying Dutchman. He’s just the latest in a long line to captain the ship, but the first to develop an insane infatuation for a mermaid princess. Decken ate the Mark-Mark Fruit, allowing him to hit any target he touches. He can target one with each hand, no matter how far they may be. He at one point touched Shirahoshi with his left hand, and hasn’t washed it since. Now since she won’t marry him, he constantly throws weapons and other dangerous crap. Now, she sits in a tower like Rapunzel but for her own safety.
Shyarly’s Prophecy
The Straw Hats that land at Camie’s place end up at a mermaid cafe owned by Shyarly. She’s the sister of Fishman Island’s king, Neptune, and has the ability to see prophecies in her crystal ball. At first, she takes to the Straw Hat crew and is kind to them, but before long her crystal ball shows a vision that everyone else could see plainly – Luffy will bring destruction. Anyone who knows Luffy knows that’s just who he is. Still, it gets everyone on the hunt, even though the Straw Hats have already left for King Neptune’s palace by the time she has it.
It’s in her mermaid cafe that the group finds Brook, who just so happened to land at Pappagu’s mansion. He say everyone is waiting at the castle, and Neptune wants to have a feast in their honor. He also has more good news for them- someone found Zoro!
Neptune and Otohime
The current king of Fishman Island, Neptune hasn’t had an easy time doing things by himself. His wife, Queen Otohime, was a beloved mermaid who would cry at anyone else’s pain. She had advanced Observation Haki, almost like Koby’s where she would feel the emotions of those in a wide area. This drove her to be a loving, kind individual who constantly strives to be better for everyone around her. She fought for the rights of Fishmen and Mermaids to live on the surface, despite the prejudices of the humans up there. Her words swayed many, and she eventually made a movement, gathering signatures for a petition. The petition to allow Fishman Island a representative at the Reverie. Every year, representatives from each of the kingdoms come together in Marijoa as the united World Government, this is the Reverie where laws are made.
Otohime’s ideals weren’t enough though, as the hate was too deeply ingrained in some of the Fishmen. First, someone burned the entire box of petitions, but it didn’t stop the people from refilling it. Then came the darkest day of Fishman Island, when Queen Otohime was assassinated, and a human pirate was caught with the gun by Hody Jones. Now, Shyarley’s prophecy about Straw Hat makes Neptune nervous that another big cataclysm may come, and demands the Straw Hats be locked up.
Luffy and Shirahoshi
Poor Shirahoshi is just minding her business in her tower when Luffy wanders off and finds her. She’s surprised, but takes to him as most do, intrigued by his carefree joy. Luffy doing what Luffy does, convinces Shirahoshi she should get out of the tower and that he would protect her. Thus, the Fishman Island adventures begin. Luffy also helps to bring back Megalo, Shirahoshi’s pet whale, while the palace’s royal guards are on the hunt to capture Luffy.
Meanwhile, they’re also trying to capture the rest of the Straw Hats, which goes about as good as can be expected. They make chaos, and eventually, all have to chase after Luffy and SHirahoshi as they head to the Sea Forest, where the Poneglyph is located. It’s cut short quickly by calls for a doctor though, and discover Hatchan laying bloody and wounded on the ground. There’s a new alliance between Decken and Hody, and it’s not good.
The Tragedy of Fisher Tiger
Jimbei recounts the story of Fisher Tiger, a legendary Fishman pirate, and leader of the raid that saved slaves in Marijoa, including the Boa sisters. He’s an upright Fishman who was previously just an adventurer. Tiger comes back from one adventure a changed man as he frees slaves from the Celestial Dragons. Now he’s determined to start a pirate crew to save them. Fisher Tiget is a strong man, with powerful men like Jimbei and Arlong serving under him. One of their first journeys as a crew is to bring Koala, a young slave, back home to her family. The poor young girl has PTSD her time cleaning the Celestial Dragons’ dwellings, now in fear of everything.
Throughout the journey, the Fishmen actually get to know Koala and show her kindness, especially Fisher Tiger who escorts her back to her village. Unfortunately, Koala’s village doesn’t see the Fishmen like she does, and set up Tiger for ambush by the Navy. With a grave injury, now in his last minutes, he chooses to die instead of taking a blood transfusion from a human. A sad end that a man so devoted to destroying old prejudices couldn’t put his own away to save himself.
Koala
The young girl that Fisher Tiger’s crew takes back home is in shock by the betrayal of her family and friends against the one that saved her. This is just one of many critical moments for the character that leads her to join the Revolutionary Army and become a close friend to Sabo. Koala uses her knowledge and past horror with the Celestial Dragons to try and save others from the same fate.
Joyboy’s Promise
When Robin reads the Poneglyph there, she finds it to be an apology letter from Joyboy. His promise to one day return and lift the Fishmen to the ocean’s surface seems to be close at hand, and Luffy looks to be the one to fulfill that promise. Despite Vander Decken and Hody’s attempt to destroy the island with Noah, Luffy, and Shirahoshi both use their powers in conjunction to save the massive ship from falling. The Neptunians appear, and the Island is safe as it comes down to Luffy vs. Hody while Joyboy’s promise looks closer than ever.
Hody manages to steal some super steroids from the Ryugyu Castle treasure room, and takes a fistful in his attempt to defeat Luffy. Hody goes berserk, hair turning white and muscles growing as he and his men roid rage around Fishman Island.
Arlong’s Ghost
The climactic moment in Hody Jones’s holy war for the Fishmen is when he attacks Fukaboshi. He finally asks Hody what the humans did to make him hate them. Hody’s reply is chilling, and encapsulates the absolute chaos that generational racism brings about. He hates the humans for nothing they’ve done. Hody has never interacted with a human outside of taking them as slaves or killing them. All he sees humans as are fodder. Ants for the Fishmen to step on and reach the surface, with no regard for lives. Worse, he reaches the point of rounding up “traitors”.
These are Fishmen who still hold to Queen Otohime’s dream. That’s when Hody reveals he was the one that assassinated Otohime, throwing a human under the bus for it. Hody instructs his crew to execute these traitors now, and reveals he’s been the one keeping humans from reaching the island for months. It’s a dangerous, coordinated attack that too well mirrors real-world issues of race and deep-rooted xenophobia.
Big Mom’s Tribute
While the fight goes down, Pekoms and another of Big Mom’s crew arrive for the Fishmen’s monthly tribute. A massive amount of candy is due each month to satisfy her insatiable cravings. Of course, the Straw Hats manage to eat most of that with Luffy alone. So now the Fishmen are in danger of losing Big Mom’s protection. Luckily Luffy was offered all the treasure the Ryugyu Kingdom had to offer, and they bargain with Pekoms. He takes the treasure back to Totto Land, which will play in later.
Fishman Island: Luffy’s First Territory
After they get Pekoms out of the way Luffy tells King Neptune that Fishman Island is under his protection now. Half of the Straw Hats mention that he’s starting a war with Big Mom, but not like Luffy’s ever cared. They give Neptune a Straw Hat flag to fly, signifying their new status. With that, the Straw Hats ready themselves to leave Fishman Island.
Jimbei Pledges to Join the Straw Hats
He’s been teasing the idea since Marineford, but now Jimbei declares his intention to join Luffy’s crew. Of course, he does have something to do before that can happen. Jimbei gave up his status as a Warlord of the Sea when he fought against the Navy at Marineford. To gain protection for Fishman Island he had to pledge allegiance to Big Mom in order to gain protection for Fishman Island. Now Jimbei wants to do the honorable thing and inform her directly of his intentions.
Donquixote Mjosgard
A crucial flashback in the Fishman Island arc to a Celestial Dragon’s wreck sets up Don Quixote Mjosgard. When his ship wrecks on the shores outside the Ryugyu Kingdom, Mjosgard does what most Celestial Dragons do, and starts shooting at all that come near, until Otohime is finally able to approach and calm him. The Ryugyu Kingdom take care of Mjosgard and all that were with him, tending to wounds and offering blood transfusions to save them. Otohime’s kindness won’t be forgotten easily, and an older, kinder Mjosgard pops up later in the Reverie arc.
Dumbest Straw Hat Award
Luffy, of course. His move at the bottom of the ocean jumping from Sunny to tame a kraken is the dumbest thing possible. It’s amazing he survives, much less tames Surume.
Now the Straw Hats set out from Fishman Island with a newly reinforced resolve to take on the New World. They head toward the next island, an old military research base called Punk Hazard. What awaits them there will bring them on a crash course through the New World. Eventually leading to overthrowing a Warlord and two Emperors. There’s a lot to unpack now that the Fishman Island arc is over and the Punk Hazard arc goes into full effect!
One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix in the United States.
