"Even in the depths of Hell... blooms a beautiful flower of friendship... leaving it's petals as mementos... bobbing back and forth in the waves... may it one day bloom once more... the Okama way!"
I don't see a lot of comic book/ manga series that dive very deeply when it comes to their supporting cast members. Most of the time I find some if not most of the characters in a series are thrown away after they live their usefulness in the plot. But that's not the case in One Piece.
One Piece is one of my top favorite manga series/ anime series. I recommend it immensely. I wanted to write about it in whole but then again there's plenty of articles that talk about it already.
So I wanted to talk about one of my favorite characters in the series. None other than... Bentham aka Mr.2 / Bon Kurei (Bon Clay) nicknamed Bon-chan by Monkey D. Luffy.
For those who don't know, an "okama" is a cross dresser and Bon Clay is an okama, even more so. Bon Clay is introduced as an agent of a secret criminal syndicate called Baroque Works led by a Shichibukai (a warlord pirate that works for the world government) named Sir Crocodile. He gained the powers of the "Mane-mane no omi" or the Copy-copy fruit where he can copy the appearance and voice of any character he touches with his right hand. He can revert back to his original form if he touches his face with his left hand.
From that alone, he can be considered quite the cross dresser. He also acts quite flamboyantly and dresses in a ballerina outfit with a swan theme while he pirouettes and jumps as he walks. Also his favorite word is "Ambiguous".
He was eventually defeated by Sanji in a fight after he exploits Sanji's weakness to Nami's appearance. But having met the Straw Hat crew before realizing they were supposed to be enemies, Bon Clay renewed their friendship by acting as bait for the Marine forces letting the Straw Hats wait for their friend to reply to their invitation. He even told his own crew mates that even if they were allowed to leave their friends behind would they want to live knowing what they did. So he was captured by Lt. Hina and sent to prison. He escapes afterwards but challenged Lt. Hina to a rematch when they found out one of the former agents was to be executed. He was captured again and sent to Impel Down, the most secure prison in their world.
This shoots Bon Clay up my list. He's not just a goofy cross dressing villain anymore. He actually values friendship. At first, everyone thought he was just using the Straw Hats so he had a better chance of escaping Alabasta. But nope, he sacrificed himself just so the Straw Hats can have more time with their friend, Vivi. That takes some manly balls of steel.
Later on, Luffy breaks into Impel Down to save his brother and runs into Bon Clay for a joyous reunion. Bon Clay along with Buggy and Mr. 3 help Luffy go deeper into Impel Down to get to Luffy's brother, Ace. All the while freeing the prisoners and facing the dangers of the prison. Luffy collapses after facing off against Impel Down's warden, Magellan. Bon Clay brings Luffy to a hidden sanctuary in the prison run by the Queen of New-kama Land, Ivankov to be healed. After Luffy regains his strength he chases after the boat that takes Ace away while battling his way out of the prison with the inmates.
They're almost at their escape only to find out that they won't be able to get through the Gates of Justice that block the exit to the sea. They are surprised that the gates start to open then they find out Bon Clay stayed behind to impersonate Magellan and order the prison to open the gates. Luffy and Bon Clay break into tears as Luffy thanks his old friend for saving him yet again. Bon Clay wishes Luffy good luck in saving his brother as he prepares to face-off against Magellan.
And his manly steel balls upgrade to platinum. I tried to hold back my manly tears when Luffy realized he was being saved again by Bon Clay. It was just so full of courage and friendship that you can't help but bawl.
So in conclusion, the reason why I like Bon Clay so much is that he is the epitome of manliness. Even if he dresses like a woman and a clown. His okama tendencies alone don't define his character as a stereotype. He is someone who sticks to his convictions and defends his friends to the death. And that is why he is the awesome sauce.
Anyone out there that is also a fan of the spinning swan ballerina okama? Let me know in the comment section :D
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