Netflix’s One Piece has been out since August, and a lot of people have watched it. From the veterans who have been watching the anime over the course of the last couple of decades, to the complete newbies who have only just discovered it: One Piece has entered the mainstream. With the show entering public consciousness in a new way, there are a lot of expected and unexpected results. As I’ve been watching reaction videos on YouTube and reading reactions from completely uninitiated audiences to anime, I’ve seen brilliant theories, reactions, etc. One of the biggest topics to arise from One Piece’s success though, is the thirst after the majority of the denizens of the world of One Piece. That’s right folks, I will discuss in this article how a mainstream audience discovered the anime daddy and zaddy through Netflix’s One Piece.
What Is a Daddy?
A daddy is essentially a hot, sexy, mature, confident and independent man. As the years have gone on and audiences have become hornier, in my opinion, people are more openly ready to talk about the beauty in the world. There are, after all, whole forums dedicated to shipping various characters and who is the hottest member of a particular fandom. So when something like One Piece, with its extravagant vistas, over-the-top characters and even more over-the-top fashion moves into the mainstream this was bound to happen. The studios themselves have tapped into this market and the trend growing with it to impressive effect.
There’s a video that just has Mackenyu, aka Roronoa Zoro, read out thirst tweets and it has close to two million views. Not only that, one video with Emily Rudd and Taz Skylar playing Guess Who? turns into a short but intense debate on whether Shanks is a daddy? He is, by the way.
The daddy conversations go further, with other Netflix series jumping in with their own hot takes. One such duo is drag Queens Trixie Mattel and Katya reacting to the series. Their thoughts are both sweet and spicy. I don’t have the confidence to quote them here, so check out their incredibly thorough and hilarious video to learn more.
Related: Sorry One Piece Fans, Alita: Battle Angel Is the Best Live-Action Anime
How One Piece Introduced Audiences to the Anime Zaddy
With One Piece there are many new fans coming on talking about the mythical “zaddy,” a new word I learned from my sister, which did two things to me. One, it inspired this article, and two, it made me realise I’m old, because up until my sister said Shanks was a zaddy, I didn’t know that word existed. For those unaware of the meaning of “zaddy,” they are a sexually attractive man, especially an older one who is fashionable or charismatic.
From there my eyes were further opened to the conversation orbiting One Piece and what I believe will continue to grow as mainstream audiences discover more anime in the future. Be sure to be on the lookout for Netflix’s adaptation of YuYu Hakusho.
With the arrival of the anime daddy to the mainstream, I believe this to be another, unconventional, feather in the cap of One Piece. It’s almost a right of passage for a successful series. They are following in the footsteps of The Witcher, Bridgerton and so many more. They’ve found yet another way to further pull audiences into the extravagant realm of anime and manga. After all, they are not the only anime that this could apply to. Simply look at JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and Attack on Titan. They are all rife with daddies, zaddies, and mommies for mainstream audiences to further thirst after. And I’ve only listed the most basic of anime out there.
Let us know in the comments below, who in One Piece do you believe is a daddy or a zaddy? Do you shake when you see Shanks or do you gulp when Garp enters a room?
