The popular anime and manga series One Piece has recently sparked controversy after revealing that one of its characters, Jewelry Bonney, is actually only 12 years old. Bonney possesses a devil fruit power that allows her to take on the appearance of an adult woman.
Now that her true young age has been disclosed, some of her prior sexualized depictions and interactions with adult characters have become highly uncomfortable in retrospect.
Specific scenes and images involving Bonney that seemed questionable before take on more disturbing implications given the truth of her age.
For example, in one previous scene, the villain Blackbeard attempts to coerce an adult-looking Bonney into marriage so she can join his crew. With the knowledge that she was only 12 at the time, this exchange takes on a far more unsettling tone.
Long-time fans of One Piece are grappling with how to view these prior incidents now that Bonney’s actual age as a child has come to light.
It challenges audiences to re-examine assumptions made about fictional characters and reconsider past creative choices through a different lens. The controversy illustrates how an artistic work’s meaning can shift over time as new information comes to light.
Reevaluating Blackbeard’s Interaction with Jewelry Bonney in Light of Her True Age
The controversial revelation about Jewelry Bonney’s true young age has cast prior interactions with adult characters in a new disturbing light. One such interaction was when Blackbeard defeated Bonney and her crew in chapter 594.
At the time, it appeared Blackbeard was coercing an adult Bonney into marriage so she could join his crew since she lacked the strength to be recruited normally.
However, with the knowledge that Bonney was only 12 years old, Blackbeard’s attempt to persuade her to “become his girl” if she wished to travel with him takes on far more unsettling, predatory undertones.
What had seemed like questionable coercion before now resonates as deeply inappropriate and predatory behavior towards a child. Bonney’s emphatic rejection of Blackbeard’s proposal, which angered him, highlights her discomfort even when presumed to be an adult.
The reveal challenges audiences to reassess fictional scenes and character motivations. Blackbeard’s interactions with the 12-year-old Bonney, however, she appeared, demonstrate an audacity and lack of boundaries that further cement him as an antagonist. For fans, it’s an uncomfortable reckoning with assumptions made.
Reassessing Blackbeard’s Transaction of Jewelry Bonney to Admiral Akainu
The controversy over Jewelry Bonney’s true age has shed disturbing new light on another prior interaction – when Blackbeard handed her over to Admiral Akainu after defeating Bonney and her crew.
At the time, it appeared Blackbeard was bartering an adult captive Bonney to the Navy’s Akainu in exchange for a ship. However, knowing Bonney was only 12 makes this transaction incredibly unethical, treating a child like a commodity.
Bonney was able to escape from Akainu but had to abandon her crew. One can only imagine the terror a 12-year-old would feel being essentially sold by one villain to another, and then having to flee alone.
Once again, Bonney’s revealed youth challenges assumptions about fictional events and characters. Blackbeard’s casual commodification and Akainu’s indifference to Bonney’s age become far more distasteful with the truth known.
Fans must grapple with viewing morally ambiguous fictional actions in a harsher light. The controversy illustrates fiction’s power to influence perceptions, requiring careful thought about creative choices involving characters like Bonney.
How The Controversy Affected The Plotline
The controversy over Jewelry Bonney’s interactions continues with the revelation in chapter 1098 that she is currently only 12 years old and the daughter of a Celestial Dragon.
Knowing Bonney’s real young age makes Blackbeard’s earlier attempt to seduce her even more unsettling and inappropriate. A grown man trying to coerce a 12-year-old child into marriage, however, she appears, is highly unethical and predatory behavior.
Some may point out that Bonney joined the infamous Worst Generation pirates when she was just 10 years old to try and lessen the controversy. However, this does not excuse or justify Blackbeard’s actions towards someone he knew to be a child.
Bonney’s status as an improbably young pirate prodigy does not nullify or diminish the disturbing implications of Blackbeard’s advances on her. If anything, it further highlights his audacity and lack of moral boundaries.
This controversy will likely affect future plot developments in One Piece surrounding Bonney and Blackbeard. It challenges audiences to reconsider character motivations and actions through the lens of Bonney’s revealed youth and vulnerability. Her age casts familiar fictional events in a more unsettling light.
