LuNa Analysis: Bonding beats Bickering

Original post: May, 2018

I briefly mentioned in a previous analysis how Luffy and Nami occasionally bicker. Some people use “bickering” as an argument to claim “sexual tension” in favor of less substantial pairings, but others go to the other extreme…

Some people claim Luffy is so annoying to Nami that she would never try to bond with him any further. Why do people say this? We can tell some creative liberties when adapting the series into an anime could influence some people. But not every anime-only watcher jumps to such conclusion; there’s also the fact some people just dislike some premises or characters

Oddly enough, some people just don’t want a relationship to naturally grow and unfold through the course of a story

Whatever the reason some may have, we still can ask the questions: what do we get when we take at look the source material? How well do these arguments hold up when compared to Oda’s works?

Let us see…

First, does Luffy always annoy his navigator?

The short answer is “No.” While it’s true that they bicker from time to time and Nami occasionally hits Luffy for his antics, most of these (canon) occurrences fall into two categories:

The moments meant for comedy coming from Nami’s reaction to Luffy’s idiocy…

…and the moments when she actually has to put the reins on Luffy for his own sake and the crew’s as well…

This is a deeper meaning of her role as “navigator”, because she puts a lot of effort not only into guiding Luffy through their adventures but also through his own impulsiveness and recklessness. That doesn’t take away their bond’s potential to grow, it actually gives them the more reason to stick together as Luffy will always need Nami’s guidance, and Nami herself considers Luffy the person she can rely the most.

People who claim Luffy is always annoying Nami also overlook other moments that contradict their arguments. Interactions that prove how they’re both perfectly capable of getting along and even playing around…

This is an aspect that makes a relationship more fun and lively while bringing people closer to one another.

We can also find moments when Nami doesn’t react poorly to Luffy’s attitude and actions…

Some of the comedic moments are only there to provide some irony, such as when Nami and Usopp hit Luffy for yelling…

…just for later yell alongside Luffy. Even Zoro points out the irony of the scene:

Another example comes from Skypiea,  when Nami yells at Luffy for eating fish, only to find herself eating the same fish (from the same dish) a couple of seconds later:

We could mention another moment when Nami yells at Luffy not to fight the sky police, only for her to deliberately run her waver in the sky police guy’s face. And I could go on, but the article already has way too many pics, so let’s move on…

When it comes to more serious scenes, subtle interactions, or significant moments, the way the author conveys their relationship doesn’t revolve around the ideas of “annoyance” or constant “bickering.”

In fact, they both gradually come to accept each other flaws, Luffy while knowing of Nami’s short temper still values the faith and trust she puts on him and keeps on bonding with her, while Nami knows her captain is an idiot, she still looks for strength and comfort in Luffy, values how faithful he is to his friends and companions, and guides him in more ways than one.

That dreamy look is not the way you would look at someone you find “annoying.”

Their consistent bonding also disproves those shallow claims. Think about this: would a girl fling herself into the arms of someone she always finds “annoying”? Would she run and hug that guy first when other more “likable” companions are nearby?

A better question: Would she consistently look for emotional support emotional support in a person she finds “annoying”?

Now if we’re being honest, many people would admit no relationship is completely devoid of clashes or some sort of conflict. In real life, more often than not, a romantic relationship involves two persons with different backgrounds, or personalities, or temperament, or way of thinking. Such differences can create frictions.  

But just like a solid relationship is not defined by such frictions, the bond between these two characters is evidence that LuNa is a potent relationship that goes beyond mere “bickering.” The weight of the moments they share is one of the major factors that helps their connection to grow deeper and stronger as the story keeps moving forward.

EDIT: there were a lot of moments I wanted to include here, but 800+ chapters worth of scenes and interactions are way too much to go one by one, which is why this analysis only covers some essential pieces to prove the point.