One Piece: Why Elbaf Will Be Huge For Nami, Explained

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One Piece

By Rei Penber

Published Sep 27, 2024

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This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.

Summary

Nami was underwhelming in Wano, missing significant action.
Elbaf might bring significant growth and past reveal for Nami.
Nami could gain stronger abilities in Elbaf, potentially Haki.

Nami is one of the most important characters in One Piece, and among the five main characters who stem from the East Blue, making her a key part of Luffy's journey to claiming the One Piece. In many ways, Nami can be considered the heroine of One Piece, and Oda has shown time and again that she is truly an incredibly well-written character who, in times of need, can really step up.

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However, recently, Nami has not been receiving the shine that she so deserves. That said, Elbaf could be the fix to that, and it appears that Nami could be set for some incredible growth in this arc, in more ways than one.

Nami's Underwhelming Role In Wano and Egghead

Nami Was A Background Character Before The War in Onigashima
Nami Was Underwhelming In Onigashima

Nami played a somewhat important role in the Wano Country Arc, but it can in no way be considered significant. Given that Wano was one of the biggest arcs in the entirety of One Piece, if not the biggest, fans expected every member of the Straw Hat Pirates to shine here. However, much to the surprise of the readers, Nami and Usopp were two individuals who were rather underwhelming. Of course, they played their parts, just as the other Strawhats did before the war began. However, once the war in Onigashima began, it was increasingly clear to the readers that Nami and Usopp were the least productive individuals there. While every single Strawhat did their part and were certainly elevated by Oda to the next level, Nami and Usopp were underwhelming.

In fact, they did not even get their own fights, and the vast majority of what they did was simply running away. Nami did certainly get to take down Ulti, but it was only after other characters had already beaten Ulti, such as Yamato and Big Mom, and she was on her last legs. At this point, it almost seemed like a pity moment for Nami, and after that particular moment, Nami did not really get any shine or have any significant say in the war at all. Of course, fans had high hopes for Nami at Egghead, but, once again, they were surprised to see her do absolutely nothing in this Arc, while Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were among the individuals who shone the most.

Of course, this was surprising to many fans, and, most of them were disappointed by the way she was handled in this arc. However, fans now turn their attention to Elbaf, and they know that this is the arc that Nami could potentially grow in. There's more than just one reason for them to believe this. Oda has previously written Nami brilliantly and incorporated her strategic mind carefully into the many arcs in One Piece, and once again, he is going to do that, but this time, on a much grander scale.

Why Elbaf Could Be Big for Nami

Nami Would Hail From Sweden In The Real World

When it comes to Elbaf, fans know that it is inspired greatly by Scandinavian culture. Oda wants to incorporate Norse mythology into his story, and at the same time, also include other elements from the Scandinavian society that existed long ago and still exists. Nami, curiously enough, is a character that Oda believes would have been from Sweden, if she existed in real life. Nami being from Sweden means that she has a significant chance of shining in this particular story arc. Recently, Oda incorporated a Lego house into his story arc of Elbaf. Clearly, this was inspired by Denmark, which is responsible for making Lego in the first place. Of course, Oda will take inspiration from different countries in Scandinavia and incorporate that into his story.

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When it comes to Swedish culture, Nami will have a significant role cut out for herself. This gets all the more interesting when one takes into consideration the fact that Nami's parentage is still hidden in One Piece. Fans do not know anything about it, and, at the same time, Oda has written a brilliant and compelling story around it that even moved the writers of One Piece strong world to tears.

Oda (2016): I had conceived the initial plot of Strong World to dig into the secret of Nami's birth. The movie staff was shocked to read the content. The story became a little too touching, so I revised it to be more exciting for the young audience.

Oda has not revealed much about her past on purpose, and he reiterated around the release of Film Gold that he still has that idea in his mind. While it is possible that Oda will never reveal the story around Nami's birth to the fans, or simply reveal it in an SBS later down the line, there is also a major chance that he will incorporate it into the main story and give her even more depth.

How Nami Could Improve In The Elbaf Arc

Nami Could Grow Even Stronger And Have Her Past Revealed

What fans know right now is Nami is from the Oykot Kingdom, and this particular kingdom is full of mysteries. Perhaps, the Giants of Elbaf are connected to this Kingdom, or, in many other ways, it is connected to the land of the Giants. For one, it is extremely interesting how Nami is able to predict weather almost as if it is a supernatural ability. Vivi clearly put it into words when she witnessed it for the first time. According to her, the ability to predict the weather is supernatural, and no skilled navigator on the Grand Line can actually do what she does. Nami is beyond all human skills when it comes to predicting the weather and understanding nature in general, and this might not just be a special gift. Perhaps, this has to do with her hidden past, and it will be absolutely incredible for the fans to see that fleshed out in the future if that does happen.

More than that, Nami is also likely going to strengthen herself even further in the Elbaf Arc. Right now, Nami and Usopp are among the weakest members of the crew, but both of them need significant power in this arc, which is likely why Oda had them play an exciting role at the beginning of this arc along with the Monster Trio.

It is time for these two to grow stronger, and for Nami, she might finally gain even more insight about how to control the weather. At the same time, fans would absolutely love to see Nami get at least the basic forms of Haki, and by doing this, become a pirate worthy of being called a commander of a Yonko. Hopefully, Elbaf will be the arc where Nami shines and establishes herself as one of the strongest and, at the same time, most skillful navigators to have ever lived – one worthy of taking Luffy to the final Island.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1128, is set to be October 6, 2024.