Everyone loves worms! You can ride them! They’re so iconic that they burrow into your brain like … worms! And in One Piece, some people love worms so much that they can transform into giant Yokai versions of them! Hooray!
Giant worms in One Piece? Explain yourself.
If you’ve been steeping yourself in the salty blue tea of One Piece lore, you should know a thing or two about the World Government. One of the Three Great Powers that rule the world, the World Government is “ruled” by the Five Elders (though we now know that the WG is ruled by one monosyllabic named dude called Imu). One of the Five Elders is a silver fox known as Ju Peter. Officially, he’s known as the Warrior God of Agriculture and governs over the 5% of soil present on the 95% ocean world of One Piece. Unofficially, he’s a GIANT WORM. No wonder this dude loves soil so much! He lives in it! And eats it, I think? I didn’t pay attention in biology, what do worms eat?
Ju Peter is not the only one of the Five Elders who can transform into a freaky monster. They can ALL transform into freaky monsters straight out of Japanese mythology. These supernatural spirit creatures are called “Yokai”. Yokai come in all shapes in sizes, ranging from mischievous little troublemakers that live in your house to terrifying monsters that will suck out your bones and wear your skin as a little jacket. The worm Yokai from which Ju Peter takes his powers belongs to the latter category. Sort of …
If we want to get technical, there isn’t a giant worm Yokai that exists in Japanese mythology. While all the other Five Elders’ Yokai forms can be traced back to Japanese folklore, Ju Peter’s Wormy McSquirmy is the exception. So where did this giant worm yokai come from? Arrakis, baby! Ju Ju P’s transformation was likely inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune novels. After all, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda loves drawing from mythologies across the globe to water-breathe life into his oceanic world. It’s also possible that Eiichiro could be a SpongeBob fan, and Ju Peter’s worm form is a callout to the Alaskan Bull Worm (it is big, hairy, and pink after all). No shade to SpongeBob, but this is probably less likely.
What about the other four Elders?
Unlike Ju Peter, the remaining four Elders have legit Yokai from Japanese culture. Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, can turn into a horrifying monster called a GyÅ«ki. The GyÅ«ki is a beast of Japanese myth with the head of an ox and the legs of a spider. What do GyÅ«ki do? Spit poison and eat people, naturally. Jaygarcia certainly does the former, and I wouldn’t put the latter past him.
Marcus Mars, the Warrior God of the Environment, turns into a creepy bird monster known as an Itsumade. The bird gets its name from the sound it makes “Itsumade,” which is Japanese for “until when?”. Basically, it’s a nightmare Pokémon with a habit of saying its foreboding name before attacking.
The Warrior God of Justice, Topman Warcury (God I love these names), can turn into a giant four-tusked boar called Houki. I’m sensing that someone is a fan of Princess Mononoke! Finally, the Warrior God of Finance, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, can turn into the most horrifying beast of all: A Yokai known as the Bakotsu. Legend says that if a horse is burned to death, it will return as a Bakotsu, a vengeful spirit that will seek revenge on those who caused its fiery demise.
While most of the Five Elders fully transform into their respective Yokai to do battle, Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro revealed that he can change into a hybrid form of his Yokai. In battle, he augments his human body with skinny little skeleton horse legs that allow him to move at incredible speeds. It’s possible that the remaining Five Elders can do the same. I just hope that Ju Peter doesn’t get any ideas, or he’ll start calling himself God Emperor, I’m sure.
(featured image: Toei Animation)
