After plenty of back-and-forth debate among fans, One Piece is finally picking a side on whether Loki is truly an ally or an enemy. Even before the series’ latest flashback could endear Loki to readers, One Piece already surprised fans by having Luffy formally invite Loki to join the crew, and though he declined, the possibility of him joining in the end still very much remains. All that said, One Piece’s new potential Straw Hat could actually be inspired by a fan-favorite antagonist.
Chapter 1153 of One Piece recently revealed Loki’s backstory, shocking fans with how dark his origins were, with his mother revealed to have been horrified by him as an infant and thrown Loki into the Underworld. The reason Loki’s mother was so terrified by him is his peculiar eyes, with demonic slit pupils, which until now fans had only seen covered by bandages. Loki covering up his eyes is strongly reminiscent of Charlotte Katakuri, who similarly covered his pelican eel-like mouth and spiky teeth with his scarf, and it is possible that the parallels don’t just end there.
One Piece Teases a Parallel Between Loki and Katakuri
Even in light of exciting antagonists like Kaido, the Five Elders, and Imu, Katakuri arguably remains fans’ favorite years later, and for a very unique reason. During his fight against Luffy at Whole Cake Island, Katakuri won fans over with his sense of fair play and the respect he showed Luffy, even acknowledging his ambition of becoming the Pirate King at the end of their fight. Katakuri’s backstory further painted him in a sympathetic light, and some might say the door to him becoming an ally of the Straw Hats is still very much open.
Now, it seems One Piece is taking a similar approach with Loki, with the latest flashback revealing a very tragic story behind Loki’s covered eyes, much like Katakuri, and just like the latter, Loki could end up being one of the most well written characters of the Elbaf Arc if not all of One Piece. These parallels between Loki and Katakuri also suggest that he and Luffy may similarly end up sparring at some point, perhaps giving fans another honorable duel like Luffy and Katakuri’s in the Mirro-World. That said, Imu and the Holy Knights have complicated things quite a bit on Elbaf, and as things stand, One Piece may force Loki and Luffy to work together to eliminate the threat first.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
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