Summary
In theOne Pieceworld, research into the nature of the Poneglyphs and the Void Century is one of the greatest crimes that anyone can commit. This is due to the rules of the World Government, who seek to maintain an established order where the truth of things cannot be known to the rest of the population, since it threatens the sanctity of this order.
Due to this, any knowledge thatpertains to the Void Centuryeffectively doesn’t even exist for most of the world. However, there are very few characters around who can translate the words engraved on the ancient Poneglyphs and uncover the true nature of the world, the most well-known of whom is the resident archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates, Nico Robin. Let’s take a look at why Robin may be as important to the world ofOne Pieceas Luffy himself.
Nico Robin’s origin story
First Shown
One Piece, Episode 276, “The Fated Parent and Child! The Mother’s Name is Olvia!”
Story Arc
Enies Lobby
Robin’s backstory was shown in the Enies Lobby arc where fans were finally shown the Ohara Incident, which had been built up for quite a while before. Here,the small town of Oharawas home to a massive and mysterious tree known as the Tree of Knowledge, in whose basement the brilliant minds of the island would come together to undertake some forbidden research into the Void Century.
To do this, they needed to learn how to decipher and translate the lost language inscribed onto the Poneglyphs themselves, since they told of the world’s lost history. However, CP9’s investigation into this matter uncovered the truth of what the residents of Ohara were doing, prompting a Buster Call to destroy the entire island in order to keep the Void Century a mystery.
The very existence and idea of this (Ancient) Kingdom is in fact what the World Government finds so threatening! Isn’t that so?!
While every resident of the island was wiped out, Robin was allowed to escape due to the intervention of Jaguar D. Sauland Vice Admiral Aokiji. Unbeknownst to the World Government at the time, Robin would sneak her way into the meetings of the Ohara scholars, where she taught herself how to read the Poneglyphs. To this day, she remains one of the few people in the world who can decipher what the ancient stone tablets have to say.
Robin’s Importance to the World
Why Robin can be considered one of the most important Straw Hats
Robin’s importance to the overall story ofOne Piecespeaks for itself, asthe mere ability to translate the Poneglyphswas reason enough for the World Government to erase the entire island of Ohara. By being one of the few people alive who can still translate them and uncover the history of the world, she is one of the most valuable assets to have.
Her specialty makes her a target for both the World Government and other pirates. The truth of the Void Century has been hidden from most of the world for 800 years, due to which the status quo remained constant, with the Celestial Dragons abusing their powers to keep everyone else in a state of fear and complacency. Due to this, Robin holds the key to toppling the entire current world order!
Moreover, the Poneglyphs do more than just reveal the secret history. In the world, there exist 4 Red Road Poneglyphs, and upon finding and translating them,the location of the One Piece treasureis revealed, which is the object of desire for almost every pirate crew in the world. Finding the One Piece would make the finder the King of the Pirates, so, effectively, Robin could be seen as the key here too.
Since less than a handful of people other than Robin are known to be able to translate the Poneglyphs, she could even become a target for the other crews to acquire, as her abilities would be indispensable in finding the location of Roger’s treasure. Moreover, her intelligence is a vital asset to the Straw Hats, since it was also she who uncovered the location of Pluton within Wano.
Fools who don’t respect the past are doomed to repeat it.
Verdict
Robin is easily one of the most vital members of the Straw Hat crew. Without her knowledge and insight into uncovering the mysteries of the world, Luffy can never become the Pirate King, since the uncovering of the contents ofthe Red Road Poneglyphsis an essential part of finding the One Piece. Though she may not be as central as Luffy himself to the Straw Hat crew and the rest of the world as the great liberator, there is no question that Robin is one of the most important characters in all ofOne Piece!
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
