Architecture in One Piece : Inspiration of architectures in the East Blue

One Piece, Volume 61 Cover

One Piece is an adventure on how Monkey D. Luffy and his Nakama find the elusive One Piece treasure. Eiichiro Oda wrote and drawn One Piece, and it publishes weekly at Shounen Jump since 1997. Oda masterfully created a storyline that talks relate real-world issues such as injustice and racism. He used legend and myths to draw inspiration for his characters.

Oda is a genius in connecting the storyline from a chapter that existed a few years ago to the current timeline. One Piece's story is in Wano, where Luffy and his allies raid Onigashima to defeat Big Mom and Kaido. I will not be spoiling the story for those who did not finish reading it or will still read it.

Hence One Piece is over 1000 chapters; Luffy visited quite a lot of places in his adventure. A lot of places in One Piece resemble an actual place in the world. Here is some real-world architecture we can find in One Piece.

Arlong Park, East Blue

Arlong Park is the residence of the tyrannical Fish-Man Arlong, who ruled over Nami's hometown, Conomi Island. Arlong wears long hair, sharp teeth, and a terrifying glare that fits horrifying monsters in design and personality. He loathed them dry of their money and weapons. The Arlong Park symbolizes the fear of the people and the power Arlong welds.

One Piece, Chapter 69, Arlong Park

The Arlong Park resembles the iconic Hindu temple in Lake Bratan, which is Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. There are four sacred buildings in the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, which the people devoted to the Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The temple existed around 500 BC as to archeological artifacts as told in the chronicles of Mengwi.

The meru of Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, Bali, Indonesia

There are four temples inside the Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. The main temples are tiered shrines with different heights. The tallest is at eleven tiers which they dedicate to Vishnu. The temple for Brahama is seven tiers, while the temple with three-tier is for Shiva.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

What peculiar here is Oda resembles the Arlong Park close to the temple of Shiva in Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. It plays a great metaphor to Arlong and God Shiva. Arlong destroys residences in Conomi Island to gain power and lived like a god in East Blue. Shiva is the Hindu deity that represents destruction. Oda represents the Arlong Park to be a symbol of the god of destruction, which we can say Arlong perfectly fits that god in One Piece.

Loguetown, Polestar Islands, East Blue

Loguetown is the home of the former Pirate King God D. Roger. It is where most pirate ships in East Blue get some supplies for the Grand Line. It is close to the Reverse Mountain and out of sight from the Red Line. The red line is where the marines headquarters and bases are.

Execution Platform, Louguetown Plaza, One Piece, Chapter 98

The Loguetown in One Piece resembles a lot of architecture in Florence, Italy. Two of which are the famous Santa Maria del Fiore with its iconic dome and Palazzo Vecchio's belfry. We can see the dome and belfry from the snippet in Chapter 98, in which Luffy is at the execution platform.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

Palazzo Vecchio

The plaza in Loguetown mirrors the Piazza Della Signoria. We can see the Santa Maria del Fiore's dome at the left, while along the center is the Plazza Vecchio's belfry. Oda didn't miss Florence street to show it in Chapter 96. The entrance to the Loguetown resembles a typical alley in Florence, Italy. The building seen in the manga is similar to a real-life Florence street residence.

Loguetown, One Piece, Chapter 96

A street in Florence, Italy

Oda vividly draws Florence for Loguetown in One Piece. The Italian street signs in one panel in the manga were true to life. How surreal to find out that the Villa Medici is a hotel in Florence, Italy. Madova and Ottino are actual stores in Florence. The Ottino sells old leather accessories and has a facade similar to what Oda drew in the 90s.

Itallian Shop Signs, One Piece, Chapter 97

Grand Hotel Villa Medici

Ottino Shop, Florence, Tuscani, Italy

Loguetown in One Piece is famous for being where Gol D. Roger was born and executed. It is also a place where the new era of pirates begins. The execution of Gol D. Roger was in the plaza in Loguetown, which resembles Piazza Della Signoria. The Piazza Della Signoria is in front of the Palacio Vecchio and a place for public execution.

In 1498, the emperor executed Girolamo Savonarola in Piazza Della Signoria due to his extremist and revolutionary ideas. Savonarola denounced corruption and exploitation of the poor. He would stage the burning of books and work of art in public. He is a self-proclaimed prophet who prophesized that a new emperor will come along with a flood to engulf the world.

Execution of Girolamo Savonarola in Piazza Della Signoria in Florence in 1498.

Oda did it again by paying tribute to the history and heritage of the place. I don't know if it is coincidence or pure genius, but I believe the latter. Roger's death in One Piece sparks a new era of pirates. He was a threat to the world government and sentenced to death. Savonarola was a threat too. Oda foreshadows the real-world heritage as it depicts a public execution to a town that resembles Florence. Oda showed Roger execution at Loguetown in Chapter 1 and did it again with Buggy executing Luffy in Chapter 99.

The anime did poorly in animating the Loguetown Arc that may have caused people to miss the details. It only when you read the manga that you'll realize these architectures. There are a lot of masterpieces of architecture Oda references. I love how Oda mixed real-world architecture into a genius masterpiece in One Piece. What if we can draw out architectural inspiration from manga and have it in the real world.

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References

1. Ulun Danu Bratan Temple in Bali
2. One Piece: The Genius of the Arlong Park Arc
3. A closer look at Florence as the inspiration for Loguetown
4. Execution of Girolamo Savonarola
5. Exploring Piazza della Signoria in Florence: A Visitor's Guide