Brook (One Piece)

Infobox animanga character
name = Brook
series = One Piece


caption = Brook, from the anime and manga series "One Piece"
first = Manga Chapter #442
Anime Episode #337
last =
creator = Eiichiro Oda
voiced by = Japanese
Chō
nickname = The Gentleman Skeleton
"Dead Bones" Brook
"Humming" Brook
"Mr. Afro Skeleton"
"The Humming Swordsman"
age = 88 ["One Piece" manga - Chapter 487]
gender = Male
species = Human (deceased, skeleton)
born = April 3 [SBS questions: "One Piece manga" - Vol.50]
occupation = Pirate (Straw-Hat Pirates Musician)
relatives =
paux1 name = Bounty
paux1 = 33,000,000 Beli
aux1 name = Devil Fruit
aux1 = Yomi Yomi no Mi (Japanese)
"Revive Revive Fruit" (English translation)
aux2 name = Powers
aux2 = Grants no abilities in life, but upon dying the user is allowed to return to his body and live again.

Brook (ブルック, "Burukku") is a fictional skeleton, revived by means of a Devil Fruit, in the anime and manga series "One Piece", created and written by artist Eiichiro Oda. He is the eighth member to join the Straw Hat Pirates and serves as the crew's musician.

Creation and conception

Though Brook did not appear in the story until 2007, Oda planned to include a skeleton musician in One Piece ever since drawing the Laboon arc in 2000. [http://manganohi.jp/2007/12/9419.html - Interview with Eiichiro Oda]

Character outline

Personality

Brook is a combination of a gentlemanly persona and a perverted sort. He speaks in a dignified, educated manner at most times, but has amazingly bad manners. He burps and farts at dinner, casually asks to see womens' panties, and picks in other peoples' food, to name only a few. He takes being a skeleton lightly, using any chance he can to joke about it.

Despite his jolly demeanor Brook seems to have developed some issues after being on his own for so long. He's often seen during the Thriller Bark Ark reflecting on things from the past.

Brook does seem to come across as idiotic at times, but no more than the usual level of the Straw Hats. Such as when he and Luffy both dive into the water after Chopper when battling the Flying Fish riders despite the fact that neither can swim.

Abilities

Brook carries a shikomizue, a Japanese cane sword, and is very skilled in its use. He can also combine his shikomizue and violin to create sound-based attacks. He was once a fighter in the surprise-attack squadron of an unknown kingdom. ["One Piece" manga - Vol.48 - chapter 462, Page 6, Panel 6]

In addition to his sword skill, Brook's lightweight skeleton body gives him great speed and the ability to jump extraordinarily high. His body is so light that he is even capable of running on water, ["One Piece" manga - Vol.46 - chapter 443, page 19, panel 4] however, Brook is still powerless if submerged in water, like all Devil Fruit users.Fact|date=September 2008

Brook is also an excellent musician, displaying the ability to play any instrument at a highly skilled level. ["One Piece" manga - chapter 486, page 13, panel 4] He's even capable of playing songs that drive anyone who hears them to sleep, which proves to be useful in combat.

Brook claims he can heal from most fractures to his body by drinking milk. His head can also be opened up and used as a storage device, which is currently being used to store a Tone Dial containing the last song of the Rumba Pirates. Brook uses an unnamed fencing sword style and is actually quite a skilled fencer and can use quick stabs because of his skeleton anatomy.

One of his signature attacks is the "Arrow Notch Strike", a sword technique so fast that the actual strike is not seen, and the recipient is unaware they have been struck until a significant amount of time after the attack (usually a few seconds, about the amount of time it takes to resheath his sword).

While dead and seemingly able to last long periods without food or water, Brook's body seems to be able to act as a normal person's. That is, he is either shown or implied to be able to eat, drink, cry and digest normally.

Plot overview

Brook is first introduced as a skeleton inhabiting the region of the Grand Line known as the Florian Triangle. He is a former member of the Rumba Pirates, a crew of musicians who sailed the Grand Line from West Blue over fifty years prior to the current time frame of the story. ["One Piece" manga - chapter 487] They were followed by the whale Laboon, who took a particular liking to Brook's peculiar afro and his enchanting music. Promising to return after sailing the Grand Line, the crew left Laboon at the lighthouse at Reverse Mountain, stating that the Grand Line is too dangerous for such a small whale. ["One Piece" manga - chapter 487] After entering the Florian Triangle, Brook's entire crew was slaughtered by an unknown pirate crew. ["One Piece" manga - Vol.46 - chapter 443, Page 6, Panel 4] Because he ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, a Devil Fruit that allows the user to come back to life after dying, Brook's spirit returned to the Grand Line, however, he got lost due to the intense fog in the Florian Triangle. After wandering for some time, he finally found his body, which had decayed to nothing but bleached bones leaving only his afro (which remained due to strong roots). ["One Piece" manga - Vol.46 - chapter 443, Page 7] Brook was returned to life as a walking, talking skeleton. During the time he spent alone on his former crew's ship, he had almost no contact with other human beings, possibly leading to his eccentric behavior such as his perverted nature or over the top sense of humor (he has a constant urge to make bone jokes).

Eight years before meeting the Straw Hat crew, he was captured by Gecko Moria, who stole his shadow and placed it in the body of the legendary samurai Ryuma. ["One Piece" manga - Vol.48 - chapter 462] Because he could no longer be exposed to sunlight, a side effect of having no shadow in "One Piece", Brook remains in the Florian Triangle, under the protective cover of the thick fog, until he meets the Straw Hat Pirates.

His goal is to circle the Grand Line and return to Reverse Mountain, reuniting with the whale, Laboon, and fulfilling the promise the Rumba Pirates made. He carries a recording of the crew, whose last survivors played their cheery song "Bink's Sake" with their dying breaths. He fears Laboon will not recognize him (being all bones now) without his afro, so he does all he can to protect it. It seems Zoro and Brook share respect for one another, likely because they are both swordsman, and in the battle with the flying fish riders in chapter 494, they do a team attack showing their abilities as two skilled swordsmen. ["One Piece" manga - Vol.47 - chapter 459]

Appearances in other media

Brook is featured as a playable character in the video games ' and '.

Reception

References