One Piece Bonney Design controversy: Enraged fans blame everyone but Oda

The mention of female characters in One Piece rings warning bells. This time is no different as the Bonney Design Controversy has started to resurface after One Piece episode 1090. Quite recently, it was revealed that Jewellery Bonney is 12 years old. Fans always suspected her to be young but this revelation came as a surprise.

Even this knowledge didn’t deter Toei animations from inappropriately depicting Bonney. The problematic depiction led to fans voicing their opinions on Twitter and hitting the animator involved with severe backlash. Surprisingly, the same rage wasn’t directed toward the creator of the manga Eiichiro Oda.

If you’re wondering why that might be a problem, continue reading as we unravel the controversy and explain its specifics. 

Bonney Design Controversy Explained 

In Episode 1090 of One Piece, there’s a specific scene that portrays Bonney in an unsuitable way for an extended period. Anyone aware of her real age is bound to feel uncomfortable at the improper portrayal. This discomfort turned into a controversy when the animator working on the episode shared his excitement on Twitter. 

• Fans were quick to express their disapproval at the depiction of Bonney in the episode. Most enraged fans blamed the animator and the animation studio for their irresponsible handling of the character. 
• The animator mentioned that they weren’t aware of Bonney’s age while working on the episode. Albeit he made several sarcastic remarks without addressing anything seriously.
• Some fans treated the outrage as exaggerated disarray common on Twitter and thanked the animators for their hard work. 

Not knowing Bonney’s age while working on the episode is understandable. But the animator was surely made aware after their tweet. It needs to be mentioned that the animator continued to participate in the discourse while conveniently avoiding the topic and also making some sarcastic remarks. 

Amidst all the chaos, there was a lack of any mentions of Eiichiro Oda. 

Different Sides at Play: Animation Studio and Eichiro Oda

For years, Oda has favored a specific body type for drawing female characters. While the animator might not have known Bonney’s age, the same can’t be said for Oda. Even though these scenes were brief in the manga, it can’t be denied that Bonney has been used as a tool to insert some fanservice ever since her first appearance.

Oda could have toned it down the moment he realized the character was going to be 12, which is a child. This time around, Oda might have taken ‘taking fans by surprise’ a little too far. 

“But it’s her Devil Fruit Powers!”

Every time Oda gets mentioned during this discourse, his stans are quick to put forth logic. Multiple arguments have been made by fans: 

• Fans were quick to state how Luffy was shown in a similar light in the same scene, so how is it any different, or even Momonosuke was treated somewhat similarly? 

• This argument undermines the history of how female characters have been treated in the anime industry. Swapping genders or throwing in ‘what about x character’ doesn’t benefit anyone and only shifts the focus from the issue at hand. 
• Another group of fans justifies this decision to draw Bonney a certain way by mentioning her devil fruit powers. That just brings us to back how could still be cautious as despite the different situations she finds herself in, she’s still a child. 

Oda’s mishandling of the character has enabled some to justify why it might still be okay to direct inappropriate and impure intentions at a child. With that said, the entire fault doesn’t solely fall on Oda’s shoulders but a huge fraction of it does. 

Conclusion

The enraged fans might be blowing things out of proportion but their concerns leave us all with some food for thought.  Most fans have grown accustomed to turning a blind eye to the problematic bits, after all how one reacts is on them.

Some of us need to realize that Goda is just a title, and Oda is indeed a human who is susceptible to making mistakes and addressing those mistakes leaves room for growth and betterment. 

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