One of the new stars of One Piece is sharing how she’s handling a terrible fan backlash to her part.
One Piece season 2 just hit Netflix to enthrall fans once more with the adventures of the Straw Hat crew as they search for the Grand Line and its epic treasure. A major addition came in episode 2, when, while swallowed by a giant whale (long story), the crew met Nefertari Vivi, also known as Miss Wednesday, a blue-haired bounty hunter, played by Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran. After escaping, Vivi decided to hook up with the crew while hiding a big secret that became a major plot point of the later episodes.
The character quickly became a highlight of season 2, from her banter with Nami (Emily Rudd) to handling the various misadventures of the crew. Sadly, while much of the fandom enjoys it, there has been a severe backlash against Chandran for all the wrong reasons.
As soon as the announcement of Chandran’s casting arrived, a segment of the One Piece fandom had a lot to say, and it wasn’t pretty. In the anime, Vivi is a white woman with blue hair, while Chandran is of Indian descent. That had a score of fans not only saying she wasn’t a good match but openly attacking Chandran for “daring” to take on the role.
The actress even posted an Instagram collection of negative messages with a sarcastic caption, “thank you so much for all your support.” The actress clarified her thoughts in an interview with the BBC about the vitriol.
"I try to remember that it's not necessarily about me as a person and I've got to do my best to prove to people that I'm the right fit for this, and I hope they enjoy. I hope I can expand their minds and make them view people and the world a little differently. But, beyond that, I've just got to live my truth, be true to myself.”
Chandran elaborated, "I think as a woman of colour in this industry, it is unfortunately something that is somewhat the status quo."
Chandran has gotten support from several of her co-stars and series creator Eiichiro Oda, lovingly known by the fandom as "Oda Sensei".
Oda wrote an open letter defending the casting as finding the best choice to play Vivi. Surely, if the manga's creator is happy with Chandran, others should be happy with it, too.
Thankfully, this is only a vocal minority of the fandom as many more are supportive of Chandran. They can point out that for a property as diverse as One Piece, railing on someone’s ethnicity not being right for the role is rather hypocritical.
Chandran summed up the show’s message of acceptance is needed even more now.
"What I love about One Piece, I presume that people pick up on similar things, is that the messages of the story are so universal. In a time where the world feels incredibly divided, people are so polarised, the message of following your dreams and being good to your friends and this chosen family, how can anyone disagree with that?"
Chandran’s words speak volumes about both the character and the franchise itself. It’s also a good slam against this sadly toxic part of fandom that goes way too far with their “criticism” of their own franchises. Hopefully, Chandran continues on with the series and makes One Piece even better.
The first two seasons of One Piece are now streaming on Netflix.