Eiichiro Oda leaves almost nothing to chance, and keeping the reins in direction is a fundamental thing ONE PIECE, his creation, which still today, after more than twenty years of publication, inspires readers from all over the world. With each saga it introduces characters and makes the old ones important.

One of the characters back in action lately is Kuma Bartholomew, a former member of the Fleet of Seven and a character who has a very troubled but also peculiar past and history. The current ONE PIECE saga could tell more about Kuma Bartholomew's life, but meanwhile his young version, drawn in the past for an SBS by Eiichiro Oda and now also flashbacked in the manga, reminds the public of the character's inspiration .

As a matter of fact, Kuma Bartholomew is inspired by a real Japanese character, at least in its child form. And unsurprisingly, the character's source is a child: Ninomiya Sontoku. Who is? Ninomiya, also known just as Nino, is a person who was born into a very poor family but started studying on his own to get an education while working with his family as a farmer in the fields. Through hard work, he managed to get results, and because of this, in Japanese schools often There is a statue of him to encourage students to do the sameencourage self-study and inspire others to keep busy despite the most varied of situations, and reminding themselves that with diligence and study one can get anywhere.

Also, it's no coincidence that one of the books Kuma Bartholomew read as a child features the name Ninomiya, a sign that Eiichiro Oda was truly inspired by this character that has become part of Japanese culture. Who knows if Kuma's memories will tell of a situation similar to the character's.


About the Author

Sweety Otaku

One of the best parts of watching anime is how many times a show can surprise you. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. But if the Otaku know one thing, it's that anything is possible.

View All Articles