Why do others follow us?
I’m not talking about children, here. I mean, given a person who has their own interests, separate from your own, why would they go along with what you may want them to do. I read a short piece by someone considering just that (I’ll leave the link at the bottom). It lead me to another question. How does One Piece inspire fans to either want to lead or follow someone? I’ve noticed this is particular to the series, considering how many people are fans of Luffy and (from what I’ve read) are almost leader-like in presenting their views to others of us on the internet, trying to get us on board with whatever their arguments/rhetoric may be. Many gladly follow along with the idea of wanting to be in a crew like the Straw Hat Pirates (see comments on various One Piece videos where the crew kicks ass/bonds). How is “One Piece” itself leader-like, and I wonder how this transfer back to its poster child, Luffy? (Although, most highlights of Luffy shouldn’t omitt the importance of his crew neither). Perhaps it is the fact that Luffy and his crew are almost inseparable as the story unfolds. Perhaps it is this very social “net” of sorts, one that captures the importance of all as opposed to one or a few, that makes viewers seemingly feel welcome or even “melted” into the category of those who are important in the story. It blends all our stories together.
Many would say the next contender for best manga to compete with One Piece is Naruto. I know very little about the show, but it seems to circle around the idea that Naruto is a boy who wants to be the recognized as the top dog in his hometown and has a few friends to go out and help him and help each other. This sounds very much like One Piece. Now, I know there are differing points between the two mangas, but I question if it is this very central component of both mangas that have made them stand out from every other manga. Ironically, Naruto and One Piece, if we consider them to, like I mentioned, consume everyONE into JUST ONE, then whatever competition is behind them could also be said to be subsumed in their stories. One way or another, it seems like these types of stories are just the kind of stories to subsume everyone else’s stories (with the exception of long-time loners or isolationists).
One Piece, not just Luffy, the leader ; us all, not just SH Pirates, the crew. What good could come from this idea? I think I’ll have to mine it for more.
Source: https://connerspradlin.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/leadership-lesson-in-one-piece/