ONE PIECE NEMESIS : SMOKER

SMOKER

Well after the arlong arc the next enemy that Luffy faces on his journey is not so much a villain as he is just an enemy to overcome. That person is the marine Smoker who is in charge of Loguetowm. The reason i do not classify him as a villain is because he is not a bad guy, but rather just on an opposite side from Luffy. His attitude and way of acting are far different than Morgan. Although he is a marine he would be the type of marine one would want to be a marine, because he actually does not abuse his power. He uses his power to truly protect the justice and peace of Loguetown and East Blue.

His design is super unique and he is the very first Logia Devil Fruit user we encounter in the One Piece world. The design for him both in character and physical appearance are memorable and different enough from other characters to show his true personality. He has a stance on justice that Luffy is a pirate so he must catch him, and most likely he could since he is supposedly the toughest marine in all of East Blue. The battle between him and Luffy is really Luffy's first true defeat in the series and although he escapes the battle is truly not over. Smoker's true colors of being stubborn come out after the defaet when he decides he will leave his post and follow after Luffy no matter the cost. His determination is astounding as he will chase Luffy and become his true nemesis for the show. Smoker has the tendency to not follow the standard idea of justice but rather lives up to his own sort of justice. The unforgettable thing about the encounter with he and Luffy is this is first time Luffy actively runs as opposed to fighting . This may also be because he is not truly a villain and therefore Luffy does not have some great thing to accomplish by defeating him. Also I think his character appearing right before the entrance to the Grandline helps to show us there will be many stronger opponents and tests to overcome in the Grandline.

Although Smoker is not evil as shown by the previous villains i have mentioned he still definitely manages to give Luffy a hard time . He even seems to be set on the capture of Luffy thus turning him into a true nemesis whom will follow Luffy for many chapters to come. As overall I am very impressed with Smoker as a character and all the traits he has to his development. He goes to show that even Marines are not all bad guys, but only some who seem to believe in certain aspects. His unquenchable thirst to capture pirates makes him the perfect nemesis for Luffy. Let me know how you feel about Smoker and whether or not you see him as a villain or like i do just a antagonist . We will definitely see Smoker more as the story progress. But in the end who will finally triumph Smoker or Luffy?