Trafalgar Law, the Donquixotes, and the Effects of Love

The newest chapter when they made Law a busty lady for one full panel just goes to show Oda really CANT keep getting away with it

Pre timeskip Law: med student with a dubious prescription for something fun, can't afford drip. Post timeskip Law: doctor with a caffeine dependency, definitely can afford his drip now.

Laws popularity in japan is no joke, i saw it first hand when i visited the One Piece Museum back in 2019 where it still existed. There was this bench with a life sized Law sitting on it, clearly made to be a photo spot where you can sit next to him. Whenever i walked past that bench, girls would just sit there and stare at him in awe, it was surreal.

Since Sengoku was like an adoptive father to Corazon, that kind of makes him Law’s adoptive grandfather. Lets hope Garp never finds this out.

Law went from skinny little gremlin to being so drippy that he had to sit on Sanji's shoulder like he's sitting on a throne and pass out in a cool pose after defeating Big Mom.

Law: gets beaten up again Law fans: "Oh, no~" nosebleeds

Law’s conversation with Sengoku is one of my favorite moments in Dressrosa because it adds a whole new level of tragedy to his character. All this time Law never knew he was loved, he’s been thinking Corazon only saved him for his name. And yet he still dedicated the rest of his life (as well as his crew name, Jolly Roger, and a bunch of tattoos) to honor Corazon. Imagine how starved for love that child must’ve been :(

So in Mel's words Law is the broken sexy emo man and tsundere friend interest in Luffy's platonic harem of rivals. No wonder he's popular.

Trebol didn’t make doffy a monster, but he sure helped

1:38 "He makes QUESTIONABLE noises" Proceeds to show clips of him screaming and groaning in pain

Something I find worth mentioning is that Oda famously came up with the Worst Generation members in two days because he felt Sabaody needed something to make the arc more interesting. He also originally planned for Kid to become the foil for Luffy, but instead we got Law being a big part of Dressrosa. So the psycho doctor image is basically the first conception of Law and as stories are wont to do over time, the characters develop in ways you didn't foresee as you are writing them. I always thought this was a neat peak into the process of creating a story that you both have planned out and are fleshing out as you go :D

"I don't know how popular Law is in Western fandom-" OH BELIEVE ME HE'S POPULAR. Those fingers have had girls fangirling and fanfiction writing for YEARS

'He's my babygirl cringe wife'...I feel that so deep in my heart!

Holy shit this gives so much more meaning to when Sengoku tells Law not to find reasons for a persons love, Law breaks down because he finally gets it 😢 Oda's emotional intelligence is so deep and he presents it in such a nuanced way and to think so many people (including me) miss it.

"Oh, female Law is just fan service!" Yeah, me. I'm the fan. More plz.

Law is one of the most complex characters, and I firmly believe he is a good person who has been jaded, and probably one of the best examples of trauma manifestation in the series- and that makes those soft spots of his shine through so brightly. The way he surrounds himself with such bright people, is exceptionally loyal, and is so afraid of loss that he would rather fight satan by himself than lose a friend. To a degree, I think part of him has been shaped by the fear of loss, he has the same fear of being alone that luffy does but he handles it so differently because of his upbringing. Now I’m not one to think the heart pirates are weak, I think they have a lot of hidden potential- but a lot of people comment on how they appear to be less developed than some other crews, and I think that portrayal is a consequence of the way law pushes them intentionally away from conflict in an attempt to shield them. And it’s not because they are not strong or he doesn’t trust them, it’s that he doesn’t trust the world with them. That fear is so ingrained in his character that he even rides on a fucking submarine. Law is just as selfish and reckless as luffy js, they have a lot of similar characteristics, the biggest difference is he is afraid to risk other peoples lives. The strawhats are so strong because luffy is chaotic and his recklessness forces them to keep up with him- law is reckless but only with himself- and you can tell it drives the Hearts crazy sometimes. He did it when he sent them to Zou, he did it in the film stampede, he fucking ‘chaperoned’ Bepo in film red, he throws himself in danger for the strawhats at Green Bit, he gave himself up for torture in Wano, or how he literally told Zoro he would rather the plan fail than have any of them die. And while this honestly isn’t a super healthy dynamic, it is extremely endearing. His crew is his family and he feels the weight of that responsibility immensely- he’s the anti doflamingo, instead of using the people around him, he’s averse to it the point of overly endangering himself. If you want to put it on the transactional love terms you stated, it’s like he repays their loyalty to him by giving his body and soul in return. He’s been opening up a lot more since meeting luffy. He’s never been a fan of injustices and will intervene if he can so long as it won’t be too compromising, but he’s more compelled to act even if it’s inconvenient as the series progresses. And I think it’s because he’s becoming more used to accepting support himself, that if he chooses to fight for something he won’t be alone and it’s okay for people to fight with him if they want- which he’s known but probably not truly accepted emotionally. What I mean is, he will go out of his way only if he wants to, like luffy, because they aren’t heroes, but he becomes a lot more open about it after him. A good example is how on Dressrosa law tells him he should leave, and luffy asks him what will happen to the country if they leave now and they can’t. But on Zou the table has totally flipped, now it’s luffy who is being reckless and self centered, and it’s Law who points out that if they just bail or Zou could face the consequences, and there’s this cute little scene of the minks fawning over how considerate he is. That’s GROWTH. They are good at stepping up when the other falls short. Best Alies. 10/10. It’s like 2:30 am I have no idea if this is coherent, basically, I just love him. And his adorable grumpy cat attitude and pension for soft fluffy things.

"Makes weird noises" BRO WAS HAVING HIS HEART CRUSHED

I know it’s a small detail, but one off my favourite things in Punk Hazard is just the little moments of horrified introspection Law had when he doesn’t know how to deal with Luffy.

I love Corazon but I'm not gonna lie I was always fascinated more by Doflamingo's "love" for Law and his quest to regain his control and his place in Law's life during the whole arc. Sure, he had a fruit he needed. And sure, he saw him as a tool. But does a tool who's going to die eventually needs executive seats in his crew? (He fucking CHAINED HIM to the seat he was saving for him, the seat of his brother, FOR TEN YEARS). A tool only needs to fulfill its function. Why would its feelings matter? Why should a tool need to aknowledge Doflamingo as his one and only benefactor? From Doflamingo's point of view, the little kid whose ressemblance with him he felt emotional about, who admired him and followed him everywhere, the kid he sat down with to teach him things and study some books, just came back. But he doesn't recognize the person Law has become and he tries to cling to the parts of the old him he recognizes. I think he was desperate for Law to keep ressembling him, because if he did and hated the world as much as he did, that meant Doflamingo's way of life and his actions (the murder of his father, the murder of his brother) were justified. He's not the one who's to blame, they're the ones who betrayed him. His anger (and Law's) is righteous and true. Law betrayed him in Dressrosa, but he couldn't kill him for plot reasons. So he was coping, badly. Still shot him in anger, many times. The whole arc, Doflamingo was essentially battling for custody of a grown adult with his dead brother. Kinda like a crazy, abusive divorced mom. It was sad to see. Law is certainly the product of both Doflamingo and Corazon's influence, but the only will he's gonna inherit is Corazon's.

law is the definition of a comfort character being the most fucked up guy youve ever seen, i love him