One Piece's Elbaf arc may be inspired by Gulliver's Travels, and it makes perfect sense

Modified Oct 01, 2024 21:30 GMT

One Piece has been the talk of the town recently, with some of the Straw Hat Pirates currently stuck in a LEGO castle. While a majority of the fandom considers Norse mythology the main inspiration behind this arc, there could be another inspiration that fits perfectly with what is happening in the starting chapters of this arc.

This inspiration could come from a book that dates back to the 1700s and tells the tale of a pirate named Lemuel Gulliver. Just like what happened with Nami, Gulliver also faced the same conditions in some parts of his journey. Moreover, some older references in Eiichiro Oda's manga series also suggest that the book could be a hidden inspiration.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

Exploring the similarities between One Piece's Elbaf arc and Gulliver's Travels

The Straw Hat Pirates stumble across a giant cat (Image via Shueisha)

Gulliver's Travels is a novel by Jonathan Swift from the 1700s. The novel details the journey of a pirate named Lemuel Gulliver, who travels the world after washing down on an island due to a shipwreck. Gulliver's journey also had many similarities to the Elbaf arc, which could mean that it is an inspiration for the manga series.

The Elbaf arc begins with Nami waking up in a LEGO castle, similar to Gulliver, who was transported to an island through a tiny castle. Throughout her journey inside the LEGO castle, Nami faced a giant cat and some giant insects, similar to what Gulliver faced in the first part of his journey.

Moreover, Gulliver was saved from his first island by Japanese pirates, meaning that the Straw Hat Pirates could save the missing ones from the LEGO castle. After escaping, Gulliver is caught by the giants, meaning that all of the shenanigans the Straw Hat Pirates are facing could be the doing of the giants.

The link between Gulliver's Travels and One Piece

Montblanc Noland as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

While the fandom might be surprised after learning about the similarities between these two works, their link extends to one of the most important arcs of the manga series, the Skypiea arc. Gulliver's voyage across the world was filled with discovering new treasures, but when he reported this to his government, they considered him a liar.

This could be compared to the manga series' Noland, the man who was known as a liar after he discovered the treasures on Skypiea Island. Moreover, the floating island of Laputa could be a parallel to Skypiea. However, besides their locations, there are no similarities between these two islands.

Final thoughts

It is pretty amazing to see how a piece of media parallels the start of the Elbaf arc. This makes the fandom question how much media Eiichiro Oda has consumed throughout his childhood, such that he has written a manga series with references from many other media pieces. However, take this article with a grain of salt because it is a speculation based on non-canon ideas.

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Edited by Gayatri Chivukula