In the latest release of One Piece volume #106, the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has addressed a long-standing issue with one of the Devil Fruits in the story. The Love-Love Fruit, possessed by the character Boa Hancock, had raised concerns due to the abilities of S-Snake, Hancock’s Seraphim, to use its powers while being a child. This raised uncomfortable implications, as it seemed to suggest that anyone petrified by S-Snake was attracted to children.
Fortunately, Eiichiro Oda has now provided a clarification in volume #106’s SBS (Question Corner). He explained that S-Snake’s victims found her cute like a baby or child, which confirms that the Love-Love Fruit doesn’t exclusively work based on sexual or romantic attraction. This explicit confirmation eliminates any controversial implications and alleviates the concerns surrounding S-Snake and Hancock.
This aspect of the Love-Love Fruit had actually been hinted at earlier in the series. During the Paramount War saga, Hancock’s attack petrified not only her opponents but also the cannonballs they fired at her. This indicated that the Love-Love Fruit could affect inanimate objects, further suggesting that attraction to the user was not a requirement for its powers. The recent SBS in volume #106 simply confirms this idea.
The clarification of how the Love-Love Fruit works also sheds a new light on Hancock’s backstory. As a slave to the Celestial Dragons, she was forced to eat the Love-Love Fruit at a young age. Given the objectifying treatment of women by the Celestial Dragons, there was an implication of a sexual component to Hancock being fed the fruit. However, if the Devil Fruit doesn’t rely on sexual or romantic attraction, then this implication is debunked, making her backstory less dark than it originally seemed.
Hancock’s story of being a slave and becoming a misanthropist is already one of the darkest in the series. If the story had additional troubling implications, it would have made it too dark for a series like One Piece. The clarification provided in the SBS not only helps to improve Hancock’s character but also enhances the overall believability of her transformation after meeting Luffy.
In conclusion, the recent SBS in One Piece volume #106 clarifies the issue with S-Snake having the Love-Love Fruit, confirming that its powers don’t rely on sexual or romantic attraction. This clarification not only eliminates uncomfortable implications but also enhances Hancock’s character and the overall quality of the series.