One Piece's Void Century War could have been a battle of philosophical ideals, and this theory shows how

Modified Jun 01, 2024 10:45 GMT

One Piece chapter 1113 marked the beginning of Vegapunk's stream, where he revealed the 'truth of the world' in front of the Grand Line, while the Five Elders tried their best to stop his stream.

The focus of this stream centered around the Void Century and Joyboy, two of the biggest mysteries of the series, promising fans an intriguing revelation. As Vegapunk delved deeper into revelations that contradicted the beliefs of many in the Grand Line considered false, he eventually reached the end of the Void Century, discussing the Void Century war.

The war pitted the first pirate of Grand Line against the 20 Kingdom alliance, leading to the demise of Joyboy. Vegapunk refrained from passing judgment on conflicting sides of the conflict, instead highlighting it as a clash of philosophical ideals. The Void Century War could be better understood with the help of a short story that tells the tale of a slave.

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

One Piece: Exploring the similarities between the Void Century War and the short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Vegapunk as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In One Piece chapter 1115, Vegapunk concluded his message about the Void Century and started a topic regarding a 'great war' that occurred during this time. The war happened between two sides: on one side was the first pirate of the Grand Line, Joyboy, whereas on the other was the alliance of the 20 Kingdoms, which later became known as the World Government.

The war was not fought with fists, as Vegapunk revealed that the technology at that time surpassed the imaginations of the latest scientific developments of the current era. Consequently, Joyboy faced significant challenges in fighting the alliance. Unfortunately, the war concluded with Joyboy's demise, effectively ending the Void Century.

Interestingly, the genius scientist Vegapunk did not know the reason behind this war and avoided making baseless presumptions, probably because of the sins he had already committed, and a criminal doesn't look good judging others. However, he did emphasize that this war was fought between people who had different ideologies. So, what could these two ideologies be?

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For this purpose, let's dive into the early 1970s and take reference to a short story that could explain these ideologies. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a short story written by Ursula K. Le Guin. It followed the story of the Kingdom of Omeles, which enjoyed its days of never-ending happiness.

But in exchange for this happiness, a single individual had to suffer sorrow and hardships as a slave. At some point, the citizens of this kingdom unveiled the true reason behind their happiness, and from that point on, two types of ideologies emerged amongst the people of Omelas.

The Utilitarians considered the slave's sacrifice worthy of their happiness and didn't do anything to save him. On the other hand, the Liberals fought for the slave's rights and didn't remain quiet about this injustice. As fans might have already noticed, the former ideology is for World Government officials and the latter for Joyboy and the D, who seek freedom.

The Shandians as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Surprisingly, the same example has already been witnessed in One Piece during the Skypiea arc. The Shandians worshipped Kashigami, a colossal snake, and considered it their God. They sacrificed a member of their tribe as a way of thanking the snake for keeping them happy. But after Noland arrived and killed the snake, proving it to be just another animal, things changed.

A similar case is the Void Century War, where, just like the Utilitarians and the Shandians, the 20 Kingdoms enjoyed their happiness by ruling over the slaves. On the other hand, just like the Liberals and Noland, Joyboy didn't sit still and continued his fight for the slaves. So, the ideologies that clashed during the Void Century war were Utilitarianism and Liberalism.

Final thoughts

Hyakkimaru as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

As some fans might have already noticed, such examples are not new, as some anime series have already depicted them. Dororo followed the story of the lord of a nation who sacrificed his own son for the happiness of this kingdom. His son was born as a breathing carcass that had no organs or limbs.

The son was discarded by the lord, but he survived, and the lord had to pay the price. Similar is the case in One Piece, where as long as people are present to fight back against oppression, there is still hope.

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Edited by Shubham Soni