Summary
All of the reasons that people are saying that the lost to Shanks is taking Kid out of the race are the same losses that Luffy has taken over the course of the series. The loss of their ship and the crew being eradicated only made the Straw Hats stronger, and I think the wording being the exact same from the Narrator should not be ignored or taken as a sign that Kid is out of the race. It’s simply far too on the nose to be used as a throwaway line of Kid’s defeat. I believe the Underworld works out of Elbaf, and this sets Kid up through his Underworld connections to build a new ship of Adam wood just like the Straw Hats. Shanks leaving Elbaf also clears a path for Kid to still be the main villain of Elbaf. The Kid Pirates will come back stronger.
Comparisons to Luffy’s losses
Kid just got one shotted in a fashion I have rarely seen in any series. If Kid is your favorite character, I honestly feel bad. I wouldn’t describe myself as a Kid fan, but this is still a character that I believe serves a larger purpose in the story than getting turned into scrap metal by Shanks. I just don’t think Oda would have this character moved along throughout the story for 15 years just to make Shanks look good. Shanks doesn’t need that to look good, they literally made a whole movie for this dude lol.
I think what we’re seeing for Kid is a series of defeats very similar to Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates that will make him actually strong enough to be a rival to Luffy. Obviously he’s going to lose in the end, Luffy is going to be Pirate King. But I just couldn’t disagree more with the people saying Oda is just cutting the fat to get to the finish line as fast as possible. I have more faith in his ability as an author than that, and I don’t think disliking a character means that their narrative purpose has been served whenever they’re done helping Luffy look good.
Like I referred to in the title, I think Luffy and Kid’s greatest defeats are mirroring each other until they eventually square off.
Loss of their beloved ship
I see a bunch of people saying Kid has to be out of the race for the One Piece, just look at their ship. How can they possibly get to the finish line first? Well, let’s ask Luffy the same thing. Did Luffy’s journey end when the Going Merry passed away? Nope. They rebuilt and kept going, with the Merry carrying them as long as she could.
Losing a ship does not mean the end of the journey.
Kid’s ship, the Victoria Punk, is named after his old friend and childhood crush who died when he was young. People think that because this is something Oda elaborated on in the SBS it’s proof that he doesn’t care about the character and is just trying to get it out of the way and move on. I disagree. I think he’s building up the emotional connection that almost surely exists in them naming the ship after her. And while it’s surely a tough loss, Luffy’s crew is proof that you can absolutely rebuild. Loss of a ship is not the end of the journey.
I’ll even take it a step further; I wouldn’t be surprised if the Klaubterman for the Victoria Punk in some way has Victoria’s spirit.
People say Kid has to be doomed because he sunk in the water with no ship or back up around to help them. But is this not exactly what happened to the Straw Hats at Enies Lobby? How were the Straw Hats supposed to escape from Enies Lobby? Well… by the end, they weren’t. They were doomed, but Merry used the last bit of her spirit to save them with a little help from Iceburg. I don’t think it would be a huge leap for the Victoria Punk to save the Kid Pirates and get them to safety.
We’ve seen ships do crazier things.
Death of a childhood friend
Victoria Shiruton Doruyanaika was Kid and Killer’s childhood friend who was killed by a rival gang in their home country. As stated by Oda in the SBS:
Q: Is there a reason why Kid and Killer became pirates? And what’s the story behind Heat and Wire joining them?
Oda: Of course there’s a story. These four were born on a certain island in South Blue, Kid and Killer knew each other since they were kids. The country they live in is not allied with the WG, and a gang ruled the country as if they’re royalties. There’re 4 districts on the island, each of them have their own outlaw group, and the 4 leaders are Kid, Killer, Heat and Wire. There were conflicts every single day.
One day, Kid’s close friend was killed by the gang, her name was “Victoria S Doruyanaika”(Kid and Killer’s crush revealed in previous sbs). Kid, in his rage, united the four group and took down the mightiest force in the country, the gang.
“I don’t want to stay in a closed world like this!” And like that he took his friends and form a pirate crew with them, naming their ship “Victoria Punk”.
I don’t have to tell you about Luffy’s childhood friends dying. Frankly, take your pick. Either Sabo being “killed” when he set sail from Foosha Village or Ace dying in Luffy’s arms.
What I found pretty interesting though is that the mindset of why Kid decided to set sail is very similar to Sabo, just living the opposite life.
I’m sure there are stories like this across a bunch of pirates in the story, I just think there’s a pretty clear parallel in why Luffy and Kid both set sail. And it was largely inspired by the death of a childhood friend.
Getting absolutely dunked on by a Yonkou
Kid got absolutely destroyed by Shanks. But I don’t see how it’s any different than Luffy getting one shotted by Kaido. If anybody is in line for Haki blooming, it’s Kid with the amount of shit he gets himself in.
It’s a tough blow, but it can just as easily be a learning experience like Luffy’s first loss (and second… and third… and fourth…) was to Kaido.
