Nico Robin
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| Nico Robin
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| Nico Robin, from the anime and manga series One Piece. | |
| Name in Japanese | ニコ・ロビン |
| Name in Romaji (Hepburn) | Niko Robin |
| English Name | Nico Robin (Miss Sunday) |
| Epithet | Miss All Sunday Demon Child |
| Voice Actor (4Kids) | Veronica Taylor |
| Japanese Seiyu | Yuriko Yamaguchi (episodes 67-298) Yuko Kobayashi (episodes 299+) Anzu Nagai (as young Robin) |
| Appears In | Original Manga |
| First Appearance | Manga Chapter #114, Anime Episode #67 |
| Species | Human |
| Bounty | 80,000,000 Beli |
| Devil Fruit | |
| Hana Hana no Mi | |
| Translated name | Flower Flower (Blooming Blooming) Fruit |
| English name | Hana Hana Fruit |
| Type | Paramecia |
| Power bestowed | Gives user the ability to "sprout" multiple copies of any part of the body on any surface the user chooses. |
| One Piece Characters | |
Nico Robin (ニコ・ロビン Niko Robin?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series One Piece. She is the seventh member of the Straw Hat Pirates, an archaeologist, and one of the wisest crew members.
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[edit] About Robin
Robin has had a bounty of 79 million Beli ("Berries" in the English manga) on her head (until recently) since she was eight years old, during an incident in which she supposedly destroyed six Buster Call ships through the use of the powers she gained by the eating the Hana Hana no Mi (ハナハナの実 Hana Hana no Mi), but this was proven wrong in her flashback. The fruit's power enables her to conjure up multiple replicas of her body parts (most often her arms) upon any surface she is able to see. She is very powerful and dexterous as a result.
She is infamous in the public eye, the World Government is afraid of her because she can decipher poneglyphs, which some believe contain details capable of reviving ancient weapons that have the power to destroy the world. In reality, Robin has stated that she does not care about ancient weapons. During the Water 7 arc, the famous shipbuilder Tom is revealed to have spoken of her ability as a danger to the world. He gave the blueprints of one of the ancient weapons, the warship Pluton, to Franky and Iceburg in an attempt to protect it from Robin. Her ability to read Poneglyphs is the true reason for her bounty; "sinking six ships" is a lie from the World Government.
The author has also replied to a fan's question to saying that right now Robin's measurements are as follows:
- Height: 188cm (6'2"), making her the second tallest member of the Straw Hat Pirates, and the tallest female member.
- Her 3 measurements are (according to Sanji) B99 W59 H89 (39"-23"-35").[1]
In the 4kids English dub, she speaks with a vaguely American Southern accent, coinciding with her cowgirl outfit as "Ms. Sunday".
In a recent Japanese Fan Poll, Robin ranked as the fifth most popular character, which also makes her the most popular female character.
Oda has stated that he uses the color purple to represent Robin, and she smells of flowers.[2]
[edit] Personality and Relationships
Robin is a mysterious and serious person who appears quiet and reclusive. She was thought by those around her to be cold and mean, but it was proven that she is actually a kind person who always thinks before she acts. She oftentimes only speaks when something interesting or important has happened. She loves to study history, and joins the Straw Hat pirates for comfort and freedom to study and read. She is also quick to point out gross or realistically morbid facts, often creeping out Nami or Usopp.
Robin at first tried to distance herself from other people, even her friends, as she believed that her past and enemies would eventually tear her away from them. For that she rarely calls her comrades by name, and instead uses titles, such as Miss Navigator (Kōkaishi-san, i.e. Nami), Mr. Swordsman (i.e. Zoro), Long Nose (Nagahana-kun, i.e. Usopp), Mr. Cook (Kukku-san, i.e. Sanji), Mr. Doctor (Isha-san, i.e. Chopper) and Captain (Senchō, i.e. Luffy). However, she tends to call Luffy by his name at times. She is the only crewmember who is normal-themed and emotionally reserved, being the only crewmember not subject to face faults. Despite this, she is constantly shown entertaining herself and plays around more as the series goes, often with the help of her Hana-Hana powers. Also in the manga, she exhibited "sweat-tear drops", one of the most common characteristics generally shown in the history of both anime and manga. After Enies Lobby, it is expected that she will become more open with her crewmates because she now knows they will never abandon her.
Robin is the wisest and most sensible member of the crew. She has a vast knowledge of the seas and the world, and usually keeps her head during surprising situations, allowing her to logically analyze the situaion without losing her cool. This trait makes her different from the other Straw Hats, who often comically react melodramatically to unexpected happenings and hold irrational ideas and conclusions.
Sanji constantly flirts with Robin, as he does with Nami and was the first member (excluding Luffy) to accept her as one of the crew. He describes her as 'a distant, more mature beauty than Nami,' yet calls her "Robin-chan" (vs. "Nami-san"), which has a "cuter" and more childish aspect. For the most part, Robin simply puts up with his advances and dismisses them, but by the time that becomes obvious, he's been distracted by something else, usually Nami.
Despite her attempts to keep herself distant, Robin has fallen for her new friends, and has taken the role of the distant den mother. She and Nami are constantly depicted speaking together, and Chopper's initial fear of her has completely disappeared. She also seems to respect Franky a great deal, due to the cyborg's altruistic efforts in defending her throughout Enies Lobby, which she more or less decided to repay by forcing him to become a Straw Hat--going even as far as to crush his privates just to do so.
Robin's dream and personality were influenced by three people in her past: Jaguar D. Saulo, her mother Nico Olvia and Professor Clover. It was professor Clover that made her an archaeologist, it was his research on poneglyphs that sparked her interest in True History. Clover allowed her to read books in his library which sparked her interest in them. It was Olvia who encouraged Robin to flee and live to chase her dreams. Jaguar D. Saulo who was Robin's first friend, encouraging Robin to search for her friends, and taught Robin to laugh even if it hurt, which fortified her quiet, shy nature and pleasant smile.
She is in search of the True History Text(Rio Poneglyph), which contains the details of an unrecorded period in her world's history known as the "Void Century".
[edit] History
[edit] Robin's loneliness
Nico Robin was born on the island of Ohara, and comes from a family of archaeologists. Her mother, Nico Olvia left to sea to find out the True History when Robin was 2 years old leaving her in the care of her mother's brother, and his wife Ms. Roji. Ms. Roji both verbally and physically abused Robin over menial actions. Ms. Roji has made it obvious time and time again that Robin was not wanted; she is expected to keep out of sight and she is not allowed to participate in family celebrations. Her powers of the Devil Fruit often freaked out or scared the other children, on top of that often she would overhear the conversations of parents telling their children to avoid her at all cost. Her only friends are the scholars at "the Tree of Knowledge", with Professer Clover of the archaeology lab, a friend of her mother, trying to take care of her.
At only eight years old, she passed an archaeology exam and officially was inducted as a scholar of the tree. However, when she announces that she, like her mother, wants to find out the true, unrecorded history of the world, she gets reproved by Clover who tells her she will get banned from the library if she continues to spy on the other scholars.
[edit] Saulo's friendship
Robin ran off crying and headed to the northwest beach of Ohara, where she met the giant Jaguar D. Saulo who was washed up on shore. These two became fast friends and Robin continued to visit him for the following four days, while he built his raft. After Saulo found out he was on Ohara, he informed Robin about the battleships that were on their way to Ohara to raze it from the earth as they were studying the poneglyph.
Nico Olvia had recently escaped from the marine ship and returned to Ohara (with thanks to Saulo's efforts). She informed the archaeologists that her colleagues had been killed by the marines. She tells them that the marines were able to infer that Ohara was their homeland based on the items they possessed on the ship, and they were headed towards Ohara, likely to kill them. The archaeologists, however, refused to leave; they wished to continue to protect the tree and the knowledge they had worked so hard to research and procure. When Olvia was warned that CP9 was on shore, Olvia rushed out of the Tree of Knowledge, running past her daughter without notice.
Robin arrived at the Tree of Knowledge, and asked Clover about her mother's whereabouts. As a wanted woman, Olvia wished to cut all ties with her daughter, so that Robin might not be associated with a criminal mother. Doing as Olvia wants, Clover denied that Robin's mother was on the island, but Robin seems skeptical. Clover quickly changed the topic and urged Robin to leave, and not to mention that she is an archaeologist, or she might be arrested too. Robin refused and CP9 busted into the Tree of Knowledge and began searching for the Poneglyphs.
Outside, agents warn the island's residents to move to the evacuation boat, or be destroyed. Olvia confronted Spandine, the director of CP9, but was quickly subdued by the brunt force of his agents.
Back at the Tree of Knowledge, all of the archaeologists were arrested and taken outside the tree, and once again Clover urged Robin to escape, but she refuses. Spandine and the rest of CP9 arrived with a gravely wounded Olvia, who instantly recognizes her daughter once her name is spoken. CP9 finds the poneglyph in the basement of the tree, and Sengoku sentences the archaeologists to death by Buster Call. However, Clover begins to speak out, stating his theory on why the government really wants to keep the 100 year void secret. However before Clover can reveal the name of this civilization, he is shot point blank and mortally wounded.
[edit] Saulo's sacrifice
Seeing that the battleships have already arrived, Saulo rushes off to find Robin. As the attack on Ohara begins, it is discovered that Robin also has the capacity to read poneglyphs. As the bombardment begins, Spandine and CP9 make their exit, Robin and Olivia reunite, and shortly afterwards, Saulo arrives.
It is then revealed that Saulo is a former marine vice-admiral, and aided Nico Olvia on her escape. Olvia asks Saulo to make sure that her daughter is taken safetly off the island, and tells Robin that she must continue to live. Robin begs to stay with her mother, but Olivia insists on staying. There is something more that she must do.
Saulo follows Olvia's wish and manages to reach the island's shore. But the Marine ships spot him and open fire. Saulo retaliates and destroys several ships, at least until Kuzan (later known as Aokiji) appears and combats with Saulo. Robin tries to make for the evacuation ship but trying to use her Hana Hana abilities to get aboard frightens the people onboard, plus Spandine tells them to not let her on since she claims she is an archaeologist, though this would be fortunate for Robin.
The ship is destroyed by another vice admiral, who would later become Admiral Akainu, who does it as a precaution if any archaeologist snuck aboard. This act disgusts both Saulo and even Kuzan. Saulo tries to get away with Robin but is hit by Kuzan's ice power. As the ice starts to creep across his body, Saulo tells Robin to escape. She refuses, yelling "I have no one on the sea!" Then, Saulo promises her that the ocean is a vast place, a place where she would surely find comrades. "One day," he assures her, "friends who will protect you will appear". His last act is to laugh as he is frozen, sticking to his philosophy to laugh from his heart even in bad times, and reflecting a common trait of those who had the middle name D.
Back at the Tree of Knowledge, Olvia, Clover and the other scholars have tossed out as many books into the ocean as they can so future generations can find them. They then realize there's nothing more they can do and stay in the tree as it burns around them. Olvia apologizes to Robin for not leaving any parting words as a mother.
Robin runs to the raft that Saulo built, only to be met by Kuzan. He tells her he's letting Robin go, curious of why Saulo risked his life for her. However, Kuzan warns her that he is not a friend, and he would be the first to come after her if she were to cause trouble . Robin then leaves on a boat guided by an ice path Kuzan sets for her. Remembering Saulo's words, she tries to laugh but weeps as Ohara is burned to the ground. Apparently she is the only survivor.
Afterwards, Robin leads a hard life on the run thanks to the 79 million-beri placed on her head by Spandine (the story of her sinking six Navy ships was nothing more than a lie to cover up the truth of Ohara from the public). She would run into different people who would at first befriend her, but then try to turn her in once they realized the bounty on her head and the amount of danger they were in for protecting her. People everywhere believed her existence was a sin, that the world would be destroyed if she didn't die. Though Robin managed to avoid capture, her experiences affected her deeply and she began to have a hard time trusting people. Eventually, she came to the belief that no one would ever allow her happiness, and resigned herself to a fate of always having to betray comrades and commit unimaginable horrors to survive. She became a master of betrayal and deception, seeking out powerful men for protection, only to betray them when danger came. Through it all, however, she never stopped dreaming about discovering the True History, and did whatever she could in order to find the Rio Poneglyph. Sometime four years ago when she was 24, Sir Crocodile took an interest in her ability to read poneglyphs, and she accepted a position in his organization, Baroque Works.
[edit] Baroque Works
Robin first appears as "Miss All-Sunday" ("Miss Sunday" in the English anime), agent and vice-president of the Baroque Works organization, at the end of the Whiskey Peak arc. She was responsible for blowing up Igaram's decoy ship, though Igaram survived, which apparently was her intention. She met the Straw Hat Pirates and offered them an Eternal Pose to Nanimonai Island (which is just short of Alabasta); however, Luffy broke it, saying that he would not allow her to decide their destination. Princess Vivi revealed that it was Miss All-Sunday who allowed her to discover the identity of Baroque Works' president, Sir Crocodile, and then told Crocodile that Vivi now knew that information.
Throughout the Baroque Works Saga, it becomes apparent that Robin does not care about Baroque Works, as she continually and discreetly helps Luffy and his crew succeed in defeating Crocodile. She is cold to the agents which she calls employees, when they were killed she stated that they were now worthless to her. In one instance she saves Luffy's life and gets Pell (whom she earlier attacked) to help him. In the end she betrays Crocodile by lying to him about the poneglyphs he wanted her to decipher for him. She fails to assassinate him, and is in turn stabbed by Crocodile, and left for dead. It is soon after this when she reveals to King Cobra that she only teamed up with Crocodile in order to find the Rio Poneglyph, which she believed to hidden in an Alabasta tomb. Knowing she would only gain access to the tomb if she helped Crocodile conquer Alasbasta, she decided that the destruction of the country would be worth it if she discovered the 100 years of lost history. However, the Rio Poneglyph wasn't in the tomb, and with her last lead gone, she felt her life no longer had any purpose or chance for happiness. Resigning herself to death, she was shocked when Luffy chose to save her life despite her protests to leave her die.
After Luffy defeats Crocodile, Robin stows away on the Going Merry, and only reveals herself when safetly away from Alabasta, much to the shock and anger of the Straw Hats. She tells Luffy that since he'd saved her when she'd wanted to die, it's now his fault that she's living a meaningless life, and must therefore, let her join his crew. Much to the surprise of the others, Luffy cheerfully accepts Robin's reasoning and agrees. Though most of the other Straw Hats were initially scared and/or suspicious of her, Robin quickly manages to charm the very friendly crew into accepting her. During the Skypeia arc, she discovers the secret to locating the Rio Poneglyph, and with her dreams rekindled, she begins to feel more optimistic about her future.
[edit] Water 7 and CP9
After the Davy Back Fight, she is confronted by Kuzan, now called Aokiji, who had become one of the Marine's three Chief Admirals, almost paralyzing her with fright. After meeting and observing the Straw Hats, he declares that they are too dangerous to let live, with Robin being the deadliest of them all. He reveals to the others a bit of her dark past in front of a terrified Robin: Apparently, every group she had ever been with was wiped out, leaving her as the only survivor. Aokiji insinuates that Robin had purposefully manipulated and betrayed those groups for her own ends, proceeding to ask Robin if the Straw Hats are her "new tools". He also promises the Straw Hats that, one day, Robin's "curse" would bring itself down on their heads and annihilate them. Vehmently protesting that she is not a bad person, Robin tries to kill Aokiji in a moment of anger, but fails. Aokiji then freezes Nico Robin with his Hie Hie (Ice Ice) Devil's Fruit powers, and would have smashed her to pieces if she hadn't been saved by her crewmates.
Later in the Water 7 arc Robin disappears in the city. It then turns out that she is working with a government organization called CP9, and had betrayed the Straw Hat Pirates. Under CP9's orders, she attempts to assassinate the mayor of Water 7, Iceburg, framing Luffy and the others for the crime. However, her "betrayal" was actually the result of blackmail: If she didn't cooperate with CP9 and helped to resurrect Pluton, CP9 would launch a Buster Call on Water 7 and destroy the Straw Hats, promising their safety only if Robin turned herself in to the World Government. Still haunted by memories of the Buster Call on Ohara, and desperate to protect the only people who had ever treated her kindly since that day, Robin accepts the deal, deciding that she'd destroy everyone in the world if it meant saving the Straw Hats' lives. When the Straw Hats confront her about her betrayal, she acts cold and heartless, saying that she carried an unspeakable darkness within her soul, and thus could never stay with them. However, Luffy and the others soon discover the reasons behind her betrayal, and they mount a rescue attempt, first on the sea trains leaving Water 7 and later on the government island of Enies Lobby. Robin greatly resists these rescue attempts, even going so far as to attack some of the Straw Hats to stop them from saving her. Even when it becomes clear that CP9 will not hold up their end of the bargain by trying to arrest the Straw Hats, and Robin had nothing to lose by letting them rescue her, she still dreads those rescue attempts. It is revealed that Robin didn't want to be rescued because she believed that the World Government's endless pursuit of her would eventually cause the Straw Hats to view her as a burden and cast her away, just like every other person she'd met. Having grown attached to the only people who'd ever bothered to care for her since Ohara, Robin decided that she would rather die, would rather cause the apocalypse, than feel the pain of the Straw Hats abandonment.
During the assault on Enies Lobby, Robin stands in the Tower of Justice and shouts to the Straw Hats her fears of being abandoned by them, that the reason she wanted to die was because she'd rather cease to exist then watch their betrayal. This causes CP9's leader Spandam to wickedly laugh and point to the Government flag on top of the tower, declaring that there were over 170 countries under the World Government's rule, and with that kind of power after her, only a fool would have believed that Robin wasn't a burden. Luffy responds by telling Sogeking to burn down the flag, a declaration of war against the World Government. This was Luffy's way of showing Robin that he and the Straw Hats would never abandon her--if the World Government is her enemy, they would be the Straw Hats' enemy too. This shocks Robin, who hadn't thought that anyone would do so much for her. She had grown to believe that no one alive would ever give her the choice of living happily. She remembered Saulo's promise that she would find friends on the vast seas, and looking at the determined faces of her crewmates, realized it'd come true. Luffy then encouraged Robin to say that she wants to live, and she does, bursting into tears and shouting out across Enies Lobby that she wants to sail with them again. This scene has since become famous among fans and is regarded as one of the most emotional, touching points in the series. Soon after, the Straw Hats defeated CP9 one by one, rescued Robin, and escaped in the Going Merry. In a final act of poetic justice, Robin finally avenges herself and the people of Ohara, by using her Seis Fleur Clutch attack to break Spandam's back as they sailed away from Enies Lobby.
Later, Robin was celebrating at Water 7 with her friends and those who helped her escape Enies Lobby. While standing alone and smiling, away from the celebration, she is greeted by a familiar voice, revealed to be Aokiji. He tells her that he let her go 20 years ago only because Saulo had been his friend, but regretted his decision after observing Robin for several years, and realizing that she still hadn't yet found her place in the world. Deciding that a "wild bomb" like her was too dangerous to be allowed to "fly around freely", he said that he intended for Enies Lobby to be the end of it all, but hadn't expected Luffy's crew to defeat CP9. Then Aokiji asks if she has found a home with the Straw Hats, and she answers positively. He also asks if she would show him whether he made the right choice by allowing her to live, and she says "I hope so". Aokiji then smiles and leaves, saying that Ohara isn't completely gone yet, as she is alive. When Aokiji disappears, she returns to the party and joins Luffy's meat-eating contest.
After the events of Enies Lobby, Robin's bounty is increased to 80 Million, with a new picture. The increase is very small in comparison to the rest of the crew (with the exception of Chopper). In chapter 437, when Franky refuses to join the crew, Robin uses her powers to help persuade him to join the crew (by crushing Franky's testicles). This rather painful display of her abilities shocks even the other Straw Hats (so much that Luffy begs Robin not to turn Franky into a female). She just smiles and says that they are pirates, and when they find a large treasure, they grab onto it and don't let go.
[edit] Recent chapters
She stays on Sunny as Luffy, Sanji and Nami investigate a ghost ship. When Brook arrived on the ship, he asked to see her panties, much to Nami's disgust, but Robin reacted with calm indifference to the absurdity of the situation. He also asked to swap plates with her during dinner, as she had more meat than him. When Brook revealed why he had no shadow, Robin seemed to remember something. She helped the others combat an invisible enemy with a beast-like voice. The invisible creature tried to grab her and also began licking her like a dog. After she and the rest of the Straw Hats leave the ship, they encounter Cerberus, and Robin remarks that the creature looked "cute".
[edit] Abilities
Robin ate the Hana Hana no Mi. She can spread multiple replications of her body parts from her body, on other bodies, or on other objects so long as they are within her sight. The nature of her powers allow for much versatility and a virtually infinite number of uses, from clever battle strategies to speeding up everyday chores to incapacitating entire armies, making Robin one of the strongest fighters in the Straw Hats. Other uses include, but aren't limited to: putting battle opponents in submission holds where they can easily be injured, carrying and catching injured friends or heavy objects, easily attacking enemies from long distances, easily avoiding enemy attacks, and sprouting eyes and ears in places where she can spy on others. In one-on-one battles, Robin's attacks mainly focus on immobilizing opponents, throwing them around, or causing severe damage to their neck or spine. Although she is very powerful, her replicated body parts can be hit and stretched, causing damage to her real body; this is her weak point. Another weakness is that the strength possessed by the replicating appendages are basically no different to that of her actual limbs. When she fights, she focuses more on quantity than quality. So far, Robin has only been seen replicating her legs, eyes, and ears, but she most often replicates arms and hands.
It was stated in the manga's side note by Eiichiro Oda that she can only duplicate up to 200 copies of any body part as the limitation of her power, but anime filler has gone against this. In Dead End Adventure, One Piece Movie 4, Robin created several thousand copies of her arms to form a giant arm to pull Going Merry toward safety.
Robin is also a skilled archaeologist with a vast knowledge of history and cultures. She is thought to be the only one left in the world who can read the language scripted on poneglyph tablets, which contain records of ancient history. She taught most of these skills herself through the research in the library of Ohara during her childhood. And lastly, she has shown to be quite agile, however, this attribute along with her strength and speed is only relevant to a woman her size, age, and build. And thus, her physical abilities often pales in comparison with the more physically strong members of the Straw Hats. She is not quite on par with their sheer strength and power.
Her attacks are a combination of the Spanish, French, and English language. Ex. "Cinco Fleur." Cinco (five in Spanish) refers to the number of arms she blossoms, and fleur is the French word for flower. Some attacks are followed by an English word that further describes the attack's purpose.[3] In the English Dub, the attacks are mostly English, using the word "Floret" instead of Fleur, such as "Eight Floret" or "One Hundred Floret".
[edit] References
- ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.37 - Chapter 353, Fan question: What are Nami' and Robin's sizes?
- ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.40 - Chapter 380, Fan question: What colors represent the crew. What do each of the Straw Hat Crew smell like
- ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.40 - Chapter 381, Fan question: How do the names work for Robin's attacks?
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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