The Appeal of Katakuri

[@MelonTeee]

Thank you everyone for tuning in, and thank you so much Atlas VPN for sponsoring this video! You can find your special VPN offer here: get.atlasvpn.com/MelonTeee

[@memebrain2177]

Btw katakuri wasn't the only one who wore a mask during this fight

[@Shazzan77]

wan kaaaaa

[@m4y013]

Fun fact katakuri va is the same as gintoki who is that you may ask: basically anime rendition of Deadpool less bloody but twice sex jokes

[@emperorluffy6001]

Please god tell me you have a Luffy video planned.

[@slimsh4dy115]

Hey! Love the Videos . And are you considering making a video on Whitebeard ?

[@nowaz]

Fun fact, Flampe says that she got all the votes for being the best sister except for one vote. It is very likely that Katakuri cast his vote for Brulee awwwwwww.

[@acidrat420]

There is no way I will believe otherwise!!

[@matthewsmith2237]

There’s also the possibility brulee cast her vote for katakuri which is just as adorable 😂

[@umibeame7099]

I think this was confirmed in a SBS, but I'm not sure.

[@Mac-jx3zq]

@@matthewsmith2237 katakuri wouldn’t be a sister but sure

[@zephyrthepuppeteer5737]

@@Mac-jx3zq for best big brother most likely

[@saum4143]

Friendly reminder that this absolute beast of a man is a middle age guy that lives with his mother

[@shine6465]

"Lives with his mother" I mean if my mom had several islands all to herself I would pretty sure live in one of those...

[@krizthecookingbeaner2567]

Just like me fr fr

[@shreshthyadav6686]

If you are a working adult who contributes their is nothing wrong with living with your parents.

[@MrIrdatlan]

​@@shreshthyadav6686is it wrong if someone still does but only because they have no choice? Asking for a friends uncles neighbors barbers cousins son.

[@Ichirukibetter]

Its only wrong if you are from the us

[@abrigedjd4749]

Doffy: Evil to the core and has one of the most depressing backstories in anime Katakuri: Motivation to fight for and protect his family and be a great role model to them Enel: BANANA

[@deltalocke5290]

Yea as much as I like enel, I still have no idea what he wanted

[@CitriTea]

@@deltalocke5290 he wanted BANANA

[@moose200]

@@CitriTeathought he wanted to get to endless vearth?

[@twenty-fifth420]

@@deltalocke5290 What he wanted is actually stupid simple, I think the fans just are a bit used to newer antagonists who have more fleshed out reasons. He wanted to go to the moon because it was a holy heaven. It is foreshadowing to Luffy being god of the sun as Enel takes the moon, as he now has a army of robot automatons who serve him and teach him…history, I guess. Also, people still have the theory Arc Maxim was based on Uranus, which makes sense since he was the God of the Sky, like Pluton for the Underworld and Poseidon for the Seas. Honestly, it is not a complicated personal or political reason unlike newer antagonists. But it is simple and he told us straight up. The side story Oda does like usual expands on this with the Moon Backstory for Eneru if you are interested. It is likely the ‘Moon’ has a role to play in the greater mythos like the Sun. So more to be seen soon, I am sure.

[@deltalocke5290]

@@twenty-fifth420 oh... I'm only halfway through sabody and I don't read the manga lol

[@PER578]

Don't forget about his tattoos. The front has prison bars which locks his true self, but on the back it shows wings, which shows freedom

[@taonashenyanhete5720]

That's a great catch cuz as soon as he takes off his jacket which has 'Charlotte' hes freed from his mother and fighting for her

[@audreym3908]

What about his arms?

[@RickyUzumaki993]

That’s really subtle. I like that

[@jose2D7735]

Damn I never put two in two together

[@jose2D7735]

Damn I never put two in two together

[@erwindavid2859]

15:20 Katakuri's vest has "Charlotte" written on it. Him taking out his scarf means revealing his true self. And him taking out his vest means he is no longer fighting for the Charlotte family, he is fighting for himself.

[@blanksymortimer4088]

Great catch

[@r3medyproductions]

I can't express how much I love this lol. Yes king go fight for yourself.

[@johnlabu1154]

Nice takes man/woman 👍🏻

[@Okipullup6103]

The details in this anime are just beautiful

[@ady9858]

also when he takes off his vest he reveals the wing tatoo on his back,obviously symbolizing his new found freedom from getting rid of his burden

[@marsupialmole3926]

A lot of characters in Whole Cake reflect different responses people can have to parental abuse. Lola creates an imaginary version of her mother to protect herself, Reiju rejects Judge in private but is too afraid to ever go against him directly, Pudding has created an entire persona just to protect herself from the emotional attacks, Sanji ran away never intending to look back. Katakuri is no different, he reflects a fairly common reaction to parental abuse among older siblings, in the absence of a responsible adult, he was forced to become one way too young to protect his siblings. This is part of why he hates Luffy so vehemently to begin with. Because Luffy isn't a responsible adult, but has managed to protect his crew all the same, and looking at him reflects the childhood that Katakuri was forced to deny himself.

[@C_A_I_N_N]

My childhood looking back was pretty fucked when I really think about it. It started off picturesque of course and a nice house and a small little neighborhood with only six kids but after our first major move that I can actually remember, things started to spiral as my parents started to grow distant to the point that my dad slept in the front entrance room and even went so far as to end up putting a door on it and basically make that room his room rather than what it was which was the entrance room and the room where all my friends would have to walk in through unless I open the garage to talk to them meaning anytime I had friends over they'd have to see just how shitty a relationship my parents had. Beyond that from about I want to say age 8 or so my parents basically completely recluse back into themselves with my dad only occasionally taking me on a camping trip or hiking trip with even the one thing he did do consistently which was helping me out with sports and same with my mom ended up going down and down as my own desire to do those stopped and got less and less and my parents desire to take me grew less and less as well as they started to neglect me and my younger sister more and more. Eventually I was left with my little sister who is 4 years younger than me and my older sister who is 9 years older than me with our older sister having to focus on high school and then eventually work and college with me then having to take up the rule of trying to do something to help my sister out can strangely enough the way I ended up finding that help her out was playing games with her or acting like your standard brother sister relationship where I'd taunted her and make her angry and she taught me and make me angry and so on and so forth. It did get worse though after my dad ended up doing shit that got the FBI to take him and put him under house arrest with us having to live with our mom who also is a heavy alcoholic even now after having managed to skim her way through AA while still drinking the entire time with her also having the mentality of a child who thinks they're the victim all the time which led to me having to step up and be the one to take the brunt of my mom's drunk and anger and deal with cleaning the house and making sure everything was ready and making sure my sister was ready to do anything she needed to do.

[@C_A_I_N_N]

Basically tldr my last comment is simply I fucking feel katakuri on a deeper level man.....

[@youexpectedanamebutitwasmedio]

Chiffon also is showing a crucial role in family abuse, since she's being rejected by everyone for supporting her twin sister. Now that she has a family on her own, she tries her best to protect her husband and son from the abuse she has suffered.

[@sephikong8323]

One thing very crucial as well is that Big Mom always preaches about creating a Utopia where nobody is discriminated against and everyone is accepted ...... except that we know from Katakuri and Pudding's backstory that this is all a facade and they did (and still do) indeed get discriminated against for how they look by even their own siblings and worst of all even their own mother who still berates Pudding's third eye despite her speeches (and the fact she willingly made her that way to achieve her goals). This truly says a ton about Linlin's true character as not just a person but a parent, sure I don't think she is a purely malevolent being and that she most probably actually believes in what she preaches, but that once again as is common with her character, she does not believe that she has any responsibilities and just does whatever she wants in the moment and nothing she does has consequences, so even if she ridicules her daughter for her appearance, well it's no big deal there is not going to be any consequences for that in her mind and she doesn't see how it makes her hypocritical. This is the type of stuff that makes her both terrifying, despicable and also really really convincing and believable

[@rea9473]

wow what a brilliant take

[@SUTTYEA]

“Those who have seen my true self, can’t be left alive” is the saddest fucking thing ever when you think about it.

[@lyschyk19]

Perceived Gigachad Katakuri: Never Loses, Never Rests, absolutely Stoic and badass. True Gigachad Katakuri: Loves sweet things, his family, singing a lil, incredibly respectful, and has issues with himself like everyone else, but will grow come to terms with who he is, not how he is perceived. Real shit, I'd go for donuts with him any day of the week. I'd say drinks, but booze kinda sucks, donuts and cute, yummy, and nice.

[@mollyfessel4127]

Agreed!

[@memebrain2177]

Wonder if he will eventually will try and enjoy ramen

[@heartlessnobody1143]

*weak, drink the goddam beer, make you ancestors proud*

[@derpfluidvariant0916]

@@heartlessnobody1143 lay off the beer, make at least one of your English teachers proud.

[@RickyUzumaki993]

I would love to go for donuts with Katakuri and just chill out with him. He’s awesome.

[@fleecejohnson9813]

The extra layer of loneliness that Luffy was the first person he could be himself around. Not even his own family. His fiercest enemy was the closest thing he had to a real friend :')

[@sasor098]

it's a bit different, but it does remind me of the relationship roger and garp had in their time

[@vonmeier]

:')

[@Disheartthorn]

What about Brulee?

[@mozalucas]

​@@Disheartthornstill had to put up with so much shit because of his family, like his siblings getting cannibalised or starting fights they couldn't finish😊

[@hanin3128]

​@@DisheartthornAs the older sibling he couldn't bring himself to let his guard down as to not burden her with his issues at least until his defeat that Brulee comfort him saying that it's okay for him to share his burden and not always be forced to be the perfect protector

[@unintentionally_edgy5867]

Katakuri has such gifted kid syndrome. I love the donut song, because he goes ballistic after luffy sees it while luffy just doesn’t do anything in response to seeing that. Also the Josuke syndrome. “What the goddamn fuck did you just say about my mouth?” Edit: coming back, I realize that after katakuri takes off the scarf his fighting style changes to be similar to luffy’s: dodge only what is necessary. Hit them harder than they hit you. And his durability SUCKS because he’s dodged perfectly for 35 years

[@youexpectedanamebutitwasmedio]

Is it a coincidence that Josuke and Katakuri respectively are my favorites of their show?

[@vlakz3308]

Bro jojo references is everywhere

[@mayruuh]

funny that you mention josuke bc katakuri's jp va voices his dad, joseph

[@yaB0i_Hawkx]

​@@youexpectedanamebutitwasmedio hey, i mean... His jp va voices Joseph Jostar... So maybe. And the jojo REFERENCE is valid bc of it, imma just entitle it to it

[@Giraffinator]

R.I.P. Ishizuka Unshō

[@mrdevious0_0]

I like how oda doesn't disregard that blood family can be strong as well Katakuri and Brulee have a really sweet relationship (pun not intended) and sends a good message that blood-family connections aren't pre-built, they're forged just like a regular relationship Katakuri: what a man, what a man, what a man what a mighty good man

[@audreym3908]

I didn't know sweat can be sweet

[@mrdevious0_0]

@@audreym3908 neither did I 💀 my bad

[@J-manli]

@@audreym3908 It can be, but you who have to be EXTREMELY hyperglycemic (high blood sugar levels) to achieve that, which strangely shouldn't be an impossible for any of the Charlottes.

[@chimento833]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but it absolutely broke my heart that later on in udon when big Mom gets her memories back that she thinks of her more notable children calling out to her, besides katakuri . This probably means that after the defeat he had against Luffy, mom no longer sees him as a strong and favourite child of hers

[@RickyUzumaki993]

God, that’s heartbreaking…

[@Monkeytheluffy56]

Now she can hate herself cause even she can't probably defeat luffy now.

[@rikanyan1734]

Which is honestly extremely interesting as we do not see much or really anything major from him regarding the story. It brings up the question whether Big Mom completely rejects him now and got rid of him (not in a way of killing him) leading to him not being on the her ship to Wano nor him being spotted in the scenes of Puddings capture by Blackbeard. Regardless if the reason why he isn’t on her ship is that he has been rejected alongside Cracker, Brûlée and Pudding for being the cause of the failure of capturing Luffy and the whole Sanji marrying and so on or if it’s because he was left “in charge“ on Whole Cake, I can’t help but wonder If he may have been able to prevent Puddings capture. To me it seems likely that he was somehow not present during the capture thus neither being able to protect his Siblings that he obviously loves nor fighting against Kuzan etc.. I am so massively interested in knowing what on earth Oda is going to do with this whole situation because there are so many possible scenarios that all don’t seem entirely unimaginable.

[@thengyyy4062]

​@@rikanyan1734I think he got killed off in some other completely unrelated anime called Toriko where he showed up for some reason

[@jaredhamilton425]

@@rikanyan1734Katakuri was actually preoccupied at the time. The anime doesn’t show it since it was a chapter cover art story, but Germa escaped Whole Cake, but Niji and Yonji got their hises handed to them by Big Mom and captured. They end up imprisoned in books by Mont-d’Or and Pudding gets payback for Sanji. Ichiji and Reiju lead a stealth rescue operation to get them back. They meet Ceasar who couldn’t escape whole cake and was basically hiding from Big Mom’s forces. They end up meeting Katakuri and Oven, Ceasar ends up taking them out of the equation by making them hallucinate that they’re the enemy and having them fight each other. While all this was happening, Aokiji and Van Auger were busy kidnapping Pudding.

[@chrishiggins2651]

There was also the moment Luffy and Katakuri both use conquerors Haki on the spectators to make sure their fight isn’t interrupted anymore, with Katakuri apologizing for the interruption and Luffy saying “they can’t stand on their feet anyway”

[@RickyUzumaki993]

This battle was chocked full of epic moment, wasn’t it?

[@bobbodaskank]

Which is a sick line from Luffy actually, because apart from literally meaning they're gonna get knocked out by the haki clash, he's also very much trying to knock Katakuri off his feet and can't. It's like he's saying "those assholes couldn't pull off your best trick with cement shoes, king"

[@IkesPimpHand]

One of my favourite moments in all of fiction.

[@knoxi1496]

​@@bobbodaskank THIS

[@HollowKonpaku]

I think the fact that the Luffy vs Katakuri battle took place in a mirrorworld was very telling. They are so similar. They both had the same exact ability, but it seems like Katakuri’s was just a little bit better. Then through the battle we come to find out that because Katakuri couldn’t be himself, he was always going to be weaker and never defeat Luff who is the embodiment of freedom and being unabashedly himself.

[@clintgahm1495]

It's also seems like over the course of the battle they not only mirror each other but ultimately have to reflect on who they are and their own personal journey to achieve victory. It's beautiful.

[@KenzCobain]

god Oda's writing is so damn good

[@IceLaic]

Another interesting thing is that, while Katakuri’s fruit immediately seems to be “better” in every way, he loses to Luffy at the one thing his fruit does worse. Rubber always bounces back and Luffy always gets back up, but mochi does not do the same and Katakuri loses the fight of attrition.

[@regayudafitra6236]

Man,its all make sense,at the first fight katakuri with luffy ,all of katakuri attack just mimic luffy attack but bigger and stronger, on halfway ,katakuri start to fight with his own original moves

[@jackluffy7914]

The thing that always sticks to me in this fight is when Luffy get sabotaged and gets stabbed by Katakuri. Katakuri doesn’t know this he just looks at Luffy as slacking off or getting tired so he gets more angry and starts attacking him more rapid and harsh. Yet when I think about it it kinda ties to him and Luffy having respect for each other. Because I think Luffy was gaining Katakuri respect throughout the fight until he Luffy got sabotaged. Then when Katakuri saw this he was thinking Luffy wasn’t not up to par with him so it got him more mad because Luffy was losing his respect

[@jackroberts2704]

Katakuri stabbing himself also showed his respect by wanting to even things out and make the fight fair.

[@ACagedBird364]

HA sticks to you

[@nade5557]

That's why I think katakuri wanted to be defeated. He was angry when luffy took that hit because he thought he was going to win yet again and the whole big mom hierarchy would be the same. But then he realised what happened and stabbed himself to make it "equal", really he knew luffy could defeat him on equal footing which is what he wanted.

[@pogwaterTheJuice]

the katakuri vs luffy fight literally boils down to "human pastry gets into an all-out brawl with sentient rubber tire"

[@AnthonyFlames275]

Or my personal favourite from the youtuber Mugiwara no Goofy "I bet he'll get tired of beating my ass, before I get tired of getting my ass beat"

[@mugenokami2201]

@@AnthonyFlames275he the one who calls Luffy a crackhead?

[@deadpool569]

​@@mugenokami2201yes and it's honestly a pretty good way to how the rest of the One Piece world thinks of him.

[@xtack360]

I also love his obvious visual characterization with the tattoo, with it looking like the bars of the prison that was his forced expectations, to the throwing away of his coat after disregarding flampe's help symbolizing the facade he's finally throwing away and then it's revealed his tattoo has a wing because the cage is gone and he's finally free.

[@samuraitadpole5459]

This comment is making me cry because I didn't look too deep

[@godlyn00byz71]

"There is a liberation that luffy has given katakuri with his defeat" this aged like a fine wine

[@pedropages6111]

My favourite moment, of that fight, where respect was shared between the both. And Flampe got a taste of her own medicine for disrespecting Katakuri. Is when both Katakuri and Luffy combined their Emperor's Haki together to knock everyone out from interrupting the fight. Truly a moment of two kings on equal standing.

[@adoniscreed4031]

Bit nitpicky but they didnt combine their Haki, they clashed their conqueror's haki, which is even harder to stand than one person just flexing their conqueror haki

[@rjp6368]

"oda truly delivers on his antagonists. sometimes they're sexy and sometimes they're not but when they're sexy by GOD are they sexy" now i want a video of MelonTeee ranking each one piece villain's sexiness 😂

[@ricardoludwig4787]

I think a really cool part of why the moment katakuri stabs himself is so good is that Luffy didn't even compliment the gesture. He viewed it as completely fair in a battle of pirates, and in doing that, Katakuri showed that he cared more about honor and winning this fight fairly than anyone else

[@OccuredJakub12]

Luffy also showing growth in saying it doesn't matter, in a fight between pirates fairness isn't a given. Maybe that means he realized their fight has now evolved into one not between pirates, but true rivals.

[@RickyUzumaki993]

I loved that part. Katakuri showing a sense of honor out of respect for Luffy touched my heart.

[@RickyUzumaki993]

@@OccuredJakub12 I think you may be onto something there

[@vinsmoke_in_morioh]

Katakuri wanted people to, “fear his perfection,” and Doflamingo wanted people to, “praise his violence”. These lines have always stood out to me as particularly terrifying because it marks them both as having an obsession with control that is so deep they are trying to change words into their opposites. The difference is Doflamingo controls others for himself while Katakuri controls himself for others.

[@ahmetnumanemrehanguney4455]

I'm sure people like Katakuri for his engaging story and motives and not his immense sexual energy

[@rockryan9137]

Elaborate

[@Nedded]

Why no both?

[@gayghostguy2089]

@@Nedded Both, both is good.

[@youexpectedanamebutitwasmedio]

What if it is both? 🤨

[@Youngsickbacchus]

Speak for yourself

[@SlimeKingK]

Katakuri still tops the charts of my favorites of OP fights because of the layers. The fact that he loves his family more than Big Mom herself makes me sad, but also love him as a character. His relationship with Brulee is precious.

[@sephikong8323]

I am 100% sure he will come back. We know how much he loves his siblings and wants to protect them, so having Pudding captured by Blackbeard ? No way he is going to let that fly, he will try to save his little sister no matter what, but I also think that he knows that he's not strong enough to defeat a Yonko and his crew so he'll ask the help of people he know will understand him and want to help : Luffy and his crew, another Yonko crew. Just imagine if Katakuri becomes an ally, which is even more likely now that Big Mom is most probably out of the picture and he also is a very good candidate to lead the Charlotte Family and the Big Mom pirates in her place (Perospero has shown that he wants the position, but the other siblings don't respect him and don't seem to want him at the helm, so I think Katakuri is very likely to take that mantle if Big Mom is really out of the picture)

[@clintgahm1495]

Also ogres have layers.

[@MrDariox555]

I always understood that, when Katakuri asks Luffy is he is going to come back to fight Big Mom again, Katakuri is just hoping to see him again and fight him again. The amount of respect he feels towards Luffy and the connection they formed while fighting is probably one of the closest things to friendship Katakuri has ever felt. It is possible that he has some kind of problem with Big Mom as well, but that doesn't strike me as the main reason why he would ask Luffy if he is going to come back

[@Nitram4392]

It prob. won't happen, but I really want a rematch between Luffy and Katakuri, so they can fight without other obligations.

[@roymendez9054]

"You are looking quite far into the future" That line is just... 🗿❤️

[@trevorelliott3218]

100% with you on wanting Katakuri to come back. I believe Big Mom is still around after Wano in large part because we need to save my boy from her clutches

[@mychironum]

She’s dead

[@abdulazizmohammed8797]

Can I get a gurantee

[@lazuliuniverse3681]

Loved your video. Praise our donut cute lord! Another aspect i found insanely interesting is that, although katakuri's and Luffy's powers are extremelly similar, rubber bounces back while mochi leaves an imprint. Luffy is his true self regardless of ridicule, acception or praise, brushing off any comment towards his nature because he has that freedom. Katakuri on the other hand is affected by the smallest whisper of a comment. Be it Flampe or Brulle, he takes what they think of him to heart. So, pairing Luffy with katakuri was the best outcome for our sweet giant's growth

[@jeffreymeehan3567]

I think that part of the potential hope that Katakuri has that Luffy will defeat Big Mom isn't just about releasing him from his duties as her soldier, but also freeing his siblings from her as well. One of the big themes of Whole Cake Island was the trauma and abuse that can be caused by a toxic family and how different people cope with it. Even if Oda were to say it himself, I would be hard pressed to believe that Katakuri doesn't know how terrible Big Mom is to her kids and how much pain and suffering she is causing them. We know that Big Mom only sees value in her children if she believes they are useful to her, and is not only dismissive but disdainful and outright malicious to her children whom she views as useless to her. That means that every adult member of the Charlotte family knows that Big Mom's "love" is 100% conditional, and there is constant pressure to prove their usefulness in order to remain in her good graces lest she literally kills them. We know that Katakuri loves Brulee, and I can almost guarantee that that love extends to at least most of his family. I would imagine that Pudding's circumstances particularly resonate HARD with him. Like him, she is someone who has been mocked and ridiculed due to her possessing what others consider to be a "deformity", and has been pretty much forced to not only hide her unique feature but also put up a facade about who her "true self" is. And, though he was obviously pre-occupied with the fallout, I don't doubt that he noticed how absolutely devastating the sham wedding has been to her. Add in the bald-faced hatred that Big Mom showed to Lola and the defection of two more of his sisters (and what was could have easily been three) and the sheer toxicity of the Charlotte family, all originating from Big Mom herself, is shown quite clearly. Katakuri is first and foremost a protector. Almost everything he does is for the sake of his siblings, either to protect them from direct outside threats or to protect them from Big Mom's ire and wrath by being the perfect soldier for her whom she can count on to fix things should any of his siblings slip up (and thus keeping her from going into a full meltdown rampage). He knows that the status quo is dangerous for himself and his siblings, yet he has never seen any scenario that could remove Big Mom and NOT utterly destroy the rest of his family in the process ... until Luffy. Through their fight, Luffy has shown that he has no malice towards the Charlotte family as a whole. As far as they are concerned, Luffy only has two goals: to rescue his crew and remove Big Mom as an obstacle to his goal of becoming King of the Pirates. Where many other pirate factions or even the Navy would probably attempt to wipe the rest of the Big Mom Pirates out along with her, Luffy has shown absolutely no such inclinations. Thus in Luffy, Katakuri sees finally a potential to remove Big Mom as a threat to his siblings without also becoming an even bigger threat to them. And sure, that would weaken the then former Big Mom Pirates, but I think that might be a risk that Katakuri is willing to take if it means getting them out from under Big Mom's thumb.

[@PsychoBunniezz]

I think him singing about how he loves donuts is adorable

[@Duda-ij9ki]

Yes! Even the toughest of guys have their soft sides.

[@ninnoofthelastunicorn]

Katakuri came into my life at an odd time. Broken up with, hurting, feeling so much less like a man... Then this 40 something year old weirdo comes in and reassured me how.. ok it is to just be me. The greatest compliment I can give Oda for this character is how I'd love to just see him *be*. I want to see him enjoy Sanji's cooking, giving Zoro tips on haki, laughing with Luffy. I want to just see this man be.

[@bobobo3451]

brulee having mirror powers meaning Katakuri faces his true self when he is with her.

[@treyatkinson7564]

I do like the little aspect of while cake, where Brulee as a child tries to reassure her big brother, saying the scar is not his fault. She seems to wear it proudly, almost as a way of saying, "this doesn't define me, any more that it defines someone else." It's like she wants to not have Katakuri go without anyone recognizing his sacrifice to protect his family.

[@twenty-fifth420]

BestGuyEver did a phenomenal video on Katakuri which has impacted my life. I now have a soft spot for Katakuri. As someone with an anxiety disorder, you would imagine the second big bad of a global geopolitical organization is a stone cold killer. But he isn’t. He loves sweets. He IS sweet, he is like a Luffy who cares about his blood family almost as much as Luffy does for his adopted family. He is flawed, not just his face, but his entire active motivation is layer upon layer of anxiety. He feels like Pirate Propaganda, and he is the victim. He is not the perfect, unbeatable pirate. He is a ball of prickly anxieties that only gets picked when Luffy breaks through to him. It is beautiful. I think he would make a perfect captain of his own crew. He might even considering recent circumstances. Only time will tell.

[@sg-xj4hw]

The fact that this fight happens in the mirror world is so good. Katakuri finally accepts himself and sees him for what he is. Also, Luffy was very instrumental in showing Katakuri the mirror.

[@emperorluffy6001]

This was great. Fantastic analysis. Katakuri's arc ties into the greater theme of Whole Cake which was being yourself. I like how Sanji remains true to himself while the children of Big Mom struggle with it because she never accepted who they really were. Big Mom is also contrasted with Sora who sacrifices herself for her sons emotions, and with a single compliment fosters his dream and inner emotional strength. While Big Mom's kids never received her acceptance and were all fragile inside as a result.

[@evelynarhondi6375]

I'm glad other people can see Katakuri's cuteness! He is part of a long list of characters that I would adopt as children if I could. I feel for all of LinLin's children. Not only does she uses them and pushes insane expectations on them, she has also left them to fend for themselves from a very young age. None of them (Katakuri especially) diserve a parent like her. Also, I get that Flampee is spoilt and it's not entirely her fault, but I can't help to dislike her with passion.

[@DragonTV0704]

Katakuri is so handsome and adorable, I love him so much

[@IyoMiyo]

I'm only a minute and a half into this video, but your sense of humor and editing are very captivating and resonate with me on a spiritual level. The cut to "ba-na-na" already had me dying, but then you mentioned being a pirate in your sponsor segment and that was it, I knew I needed to see these other villain videos you mentioned, especially the one with crocodile's sandy ass

[@peteralfano9217]

It's so alleviating to know I'm not the only one reading into these characters like a high school english teacher. Immaculate analysis, I love your dissection of the symbolisms like stepping on the scarf and the mochi temple.

[@simon-peterwilliamson2412]

To be fair though. Katakuri was already naturally one of bigmom's strongest kids. What's more important is everything about him is for his family. He was extremely strong and didn't care to hide his true nature. He only changed to protect his family

[@xmetalgamerx]

I thought it was super interesting that Katakuri asked Luffy if he would come back to defeat Big Mom, and when Luffy said yes, his response was almost of relief. In fact, he proceeded to lay on his back in front of someone for the first time, even after he’d been laying on his stomach initially. It made me believe he knows Big Mom needs to go, even though he’s spent his entire life trying to protect her.

[@jinkun2629]

As Ohara said, Luffy usually frees people from the antagonist, but in Whole Cake Island, he frees the antagonist himself. You need to watch his Luffy vs Katakuri video by the way. There is so many layers to this fight that people found new stuff even two YEARS after it ended.

[@jackroberts2704]

It's not just his strength and cool look but his kindness, respect, and loyalty that makes Katakuri a true Gigachad.

[@SansINess53]

I can imagine katakuri taking his sister with him and leaving, when he becomes strong enough to escape

[@BleadDAnger]

I really like katakuri and brulee's interactions. When brulee showed up in the movie red I knew it would also show katakuri.

[@ZigTheHunter]

I am a little sad that in Katakuri’s more recent appearances in both film Red and the Germa cover story that he is still wearing his scarf, but hopefully him being his true self around others is being saved for his next appearance in the main story.

[@emperorluffy6001]

Also your video made me realize something I missed. Luffy has always been the embodiment of freedom in the story freeing people where ever he goes but I completely missed the fact that he freed Katakuri just by fighting with him. Just meeting Luffy sets his spirit free. It's another fantastic thing to see about Luffy's character. The impact he has and how he touches the lives of others is always a magical thing to behold. This video is about Katakuri and somehow I came out loving Luffy even more. Luffy is the Goat. lol.

[@theinfernoburns]

The editing on your videos is both hilarious and great idk if it's you or a editor but whoever it is you made a fan out of me, Awesome video!!!

[@Dave-in3oj]

I'll say it again, this is quickly becoming my favorite One Piece channel

[@greenowl3062]

I keep rewatching this video completely because of your thirst for Katakuri

[@civetmink9060]

Something I find especially interesting is that katakuri has conqueror’s Haki. Being the only person up to whole cake island to have it who wasn’t a conqueror, not leading crews or armies which could further show how big mom is forcing him in when he has the spirit of a conqueror, not a lacky

[@coma2726]

I wouldn't mind a mini arc where katakuri makes a friend after whole cake island, so he gets a break from his family.

[@Jaemisu]

katakuri isnt a villian he's a teacher, a gamer, and my future lover

[@mukuro8033]

Sugibro was the perfect Katakuri VA. The way he balances the, Cool and Scary antagonist then into a Stupid and Goofy main character vibes to a Terror of Nature in a moments notice is just perfection.

[@NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

I really love the detail of Luffy not making fun of Katakuri's teeth, I never really noticed that before (tbf I almost never really notice anything about the shows I watch, I'm kinda' dumb in that regard, I never even saw how the power of friendship was overused and undermined parts of Fairy Tail almost 200 episodes in until someone mentioned it lol). Good catch, and thanks for the Katakuri character analysis Melon!!

[@lorddarkrai5753]

Oda reallly plaanned the 2 Yonko crews to perfection and balance , writting Kaido as the strongest emperor and Katakuri as the strongest commander. Perospero also deserves some love , he was willing to let the Straw Hats exit Toto Land due to how dirty his mother did them. Actually most Big Mom children are likeable apart from Oven , Mont d'Or and Flampe

[@nowaz]

Melon wtf, how are you still pointing out nuances I haven't picked up on my 100th read through... Banger videos one after the other, bangers and mash.

[@katipunan4212]

ON GOD! Bro I watched her Doflamingo vid thinking I wouldn't learn anything relatively new since I've rewatched Dressrosa an unhealthy amount of times and did a thesis paper on it, but damn I was so wrong

[@LoopyDreamz775]

He’s such a precious soul 🥹

[@xDanKaix]

To me Katakuri has always been the good big brother to protect his siblings even from Big Mom herself. That to me is why he falls with joy at the end of the fight. We see earlier in the arc big mom steal life from one of her other sons and constantly see the fear and danger each of his brothers and sisters live through on a daily basis just because they’re her children. Luffy saying he was going to come back and beat Big Mom was in a way him saying that he’ll come back and free Katakuri and his siblings from her tyranny. Also I just love the remark we’re he says “you’re looking really far into the future” as a cathartic climax to the whole fight where Katakuri accepts that Luffy is better at something than he is (that being future sight) when the whole fight was all about how he could do anything that Luffy could do but better, including all Luffy’s signature moves. But the Climax is Luffy doing Katakuri’s signature ability better than him. I could talk for ages on just that one line but I think you get the point almost my favorite line said in the entire series behind a few others like nothing happened or Jimbei’s speech to Luffy after the war on what he still has.

[@timothydrake1668]

Katakuri is definitely my favorite OP antagonist and I agree with all the points in this video. I love the duality the peeling back of layers to show his true self and the mutual respect between him and Luffy. Such an amazing character and an amazing video!

[@HollowKonpaku]

Can you do a deep dive into Smoker? He’s a character that I’ve always loved and feel like there’s so much potential in that hasn’t been explored yet as well as themes that are VERY subtly explored with him. Maybe it will never be explored because Oda found other characters to signify the goodness of the Marines. Seriously it’s so weird he just introduced us to soooo many new characters in Sword.

[@enemycrumbles]

Man, what a video! It's great to see an analysis of Katakuri that doesn't just boil down to "He Strong." Thoughtful One Piece content is the best.

[@emperorluffy6001]

Did you see Craftdwarf's video?

[@larsnyman2455]

Happy Birthday to Katakuri, his triplets Oven and Daifuku, Zoro’s voice actor Kazuya Nakai, and me.

[@BazAttack27]

As a 13 year vet to the show you are my new favorite one piece youtuber. Your perspective on the show makes me truly jealous that I can't see the show through your eyes and understand the nuance and subtleties to this degree and appreciate that you share it with us. Thank you for your videos.

[@raincat2692]

I've been rewatching all your one piece videos (as I always do when you post) and can I absolutely *love* your editing, I love your analysis too, but your editing skills are so underrated, love the jokes you put in, 11:21 made me laugh so hard.

[@libraryscholaralexis6581]

Being an older sibling, I get how Katakuri feels. I always try to seem strong for my younger sisters despite being broken inside and not being able to show that vulnerability that well. It actually makes Katakuri realistic in that he deals with this. I hope that he comes back in the main story showing off those amazing chompers that he has while enkoying donuts.

[@SnailyTheSnail]

As a dub watcher, I really dont know if this line is in sub, but I absolutely loved it. At the end of thr fight, when luffy answeres katakuri's question abt defeating big mom with a resounding yes, he says "you're seeing quite far into the future" and then falls on his back. That line gave me chills down my spine man, I loved that so much and not seeing it mentioned either means its not in sub, or a tragedy happened and it just wasnt mentioned

[@r3medyproductions]

"You are bad guy, but you are not bad guy." That is him in my eyes lol. He does some not so good things sometimes but I think more than anything he a jellybean throwing man who just wants to look out for his family who so happens to be a pirate lol. Jellybean one of my favorite guys for real. Tbh one of my favorite chracters in anime. I hope Katakuri comes back.

[@mememan3447]

Katakuri’s the type of guy to stop fighting you at 5:00 pm, because that’s when the work day is over. Same can be said for Kaku, honestly.

[@Ghostrebel017]

Favourite part of this fight is Katakuri saying "I no longer consider you my inferior."

[@yachinhussain1088]

Please do Kaido next, how you feel about him, and his character analysis. I personally loved him despite not having a big backstory like other antagonist got. His antics during the fights(his drunken mode) and all the morals he had, his suicidal nature and i believe we will get more of his backstory later during god valley flashback.

[@SilverSlugs16]

The fact that Katakuri felt comfortable showing his true self to Luffy really calls back to the nature of Luffy's devil fruit and ambition. He's motivated by freedom and if you're willing to take the risk with him that's what you get. There's nothing worse than finally showing your true self and being rejected. But with Luffy that's not a problem no matter how embarrassing or silly you think you are. The calm, cool, mature Robin felt mortified and beyond embarrassed screaming to a bunch of teenagers for help but look at what happened after. Same with Katakuri, nothing he's embarrassed about can ever be rejected in the face of Luffy because, as the gorosei put it, he has the most ridiculous power in the world. That's why his fruit is perfect - its goofy, stupid and has virtually no rules or restriction. Which is the exact kind of person you want to finally set you free.

[@RickyUzumaki993]

That’s some very good subtle foreshadowing

[@Spirall445]

Katakuri just has a cool personality, cool abilities, a cool looking character, good character design, and he's just super respectful and fair. Honestly perfect. (Doughnuts)

[@SullivanDLuffy]

Katakuri voice in Dub is amazing the way Jonah Scott plays Katakuri sounds amazing

[@NoxNosferatu]

Kaido has an epic dub too

[@GreenAlienXD]

I think it’s important to note that my introduction to Katakuri was seeing his figure being sold on Mercari and contemplating buying it, despite not knowing who the heck he was, but knowing he was hot and I wanted it.

[@far0oky0u25]

This is a great video, some characters' stories are so well done that you have to leave it alone. I hope Katakuri can break free of that and become something even greater.

[@Alza.art4518]

I read somewhere on the SBS, somebody mentioned oda’s habit of never making a perfect character, how characters being imperfect makes people relate to characters even more, it’s super interesting

[@littlemexico3522]

That’s awesome that you’ve gotten a sponsor! Your content is awesome and I fell in love with your video essay style upon first watch on your Zoro analysis video. That video also made me subscribe right away. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Mintounette]

i really cant get enough of how well spoken and entertaining your videos are! i never want to watch any other one piece creator ever!!! you're it! like nobody can match this! akdsjhf;kahfja

[@cobracommander3634]

"Imagine thinking who you really are damages those around you! And in order to keep everyone safe you need to become something your not" I don't have to imagine, that was my entire childhood up to the really early twentys.

[@ningnong1343]

I really love how Katakuri often lets Luffy catch his breath, even tho he could constantly pummel his ass into the ground each time he falls. Second is amazement at Luffy using The Conqueror Haki punch. I believe Luffy saw the sister's treatment of him, and was disapproving. So he shut them up using this indirect attack which knocks them all out whilst not allowing it to look like he was "pitying" Katakuri. He never mentions or insults them either. I often think they both understood this was a mutual retaliation was to show those brats that they DO deserve respect.

[@JoJoestar]

Mel it makes me really happy there's someone like you doing these types of videos but especially this one. A lot and I mean a lot of people when WCI was current completely missed the point about Luffy and Katakuri's fight and were only analyzing the fight and not the meaning behind it. Fantastic job!!

[@anonymoususer9197]

Your video editing is so good. These are some of the funniest, horniest and most insightful one piece videos I've ever seen!

[@TrytheGreenOne]

Yeah when this guy hit he became my favorite antagonist. I bought one of the figures and have a big shrine of donuts around it. Ended up getting donut pillows also for my living room. It just spilled out everywhere. I don't buy merch much I just became that person over the course of a few months of binge catching up I love him, can't wait for whatever best boy you deep dive next

[@andrewrisser5770]

A decent analysis video that kept my attention. However, what made me truly appreciate and stay to watch the whole thing were the subtle blink and you mis em editing gags. brilliant.

[@YOLONGNG]

That conquerors clash was the best way to show it was just about the 1v1 fight

[@vrostar]

Thank you for showing the true nature of my favorite boys. Also the manga panel right after when Katakuri throws of his scarf and him & Luffy are both in street fighter stance and Katakuri goes "I no longer assume you are a weak boy" went so hard thats like one of my favs!

[@shyguypro9876]

MelonTeee is the best place on the Internet for Zoro has big boobs jokes. Love your One Piece content! They're the perfect balance of entertaining and enlightening.

[@OxyZron4352]

Imagine watching this 2 years later and crying knowing what Katakuri went through is so similar to what kind of life you had tried building. I cant accept that I'm not perfect but I lie to myself also I love Katakuri so much that in the end he was the only thought I had for 2 years straight

[@joaobelchior9821]

This mental fight truly reflects Luffy's eternal theme of freedom this time it was more a freeing oneself from expectations.

[@misty_redquill9402]

Having only recently joined the journey towards finding the One Piece, I can’t tell you how nice it’s been to see all the content everyone has made for all the characters that have caught my eye. I didn’t even know who Katakuri was until literally five days ago, and now I get to enjoy a very well put together video essay about his character!?! Amazing! Love me some big monster men, and I can’t wait to (eventually) get to the Whole Cake Island Arc.

[@ScaryGary2]

I'm surprised that Melon didn't mention the Haki scene, that scene really shows how much Katakuri and Luffy respect each other.

[@pumpkinbread21]

This is legitimately the best character study on Katakuri I've heard yet. Excellent job.

[@theilouminati]

LETS GO! A katakuri vid? You’re too kind

[@robertgriffith9613]

I was waiting for the katakuri video, love this thank you :) Edit: finally someone who crushes on Katakuri the way I do

[@glichking2209]

I truly love your editing style I can’t wait for your next character breakdown 😊

[@glassglobeva5249]

Two other things i noticed about Katakuri 1. Katakuri obviously hides his mouth but the reason why is interesting. He got the scars on his cheeks not from an injury, but from eating too many doughnuts. It was a mistake he made when he was a child and thats the reason he hides it. It was a mistake and the "perfect big brother, Katakuri" doesn't make mistakes. 2. I might be reading too much into this but i think Katakuri's mochi powers and the way he uses them perfectly describe his character. He turns his body (typically arms) into mochi and puts armament haki over it. He literally has a soft and sweet interior that he covers with a hard, dangerous exterior.

[@smeetel]

Love this video! Would also love if you'd talk about Cp9, not just Rob Lucci but Kaku and the rest of them too. Ranging from their undercover work to being on the run to their most recent shenanigans in egghead