Luffy’s crew has grown larger and larger throughout these 25 years of manga, but one of the very first characters to join him was Nami. From the beginning, the Cat thief from ‘One Piece’ has been a key member of the Straw Hat crew and has earned his place as a navigator.
Despite the fact that he does not have amazing powers, he is one of the most beloved characters of ‘one piece‘ and that has left us the most curious moments during the series despite how little is known about his past.
“Nami” was always in ‘One Piece’
Before starting to publish the ‘One Piece’ manga, Eiichiro Oda worked on various versions of the story known as ‘Romance Dawn‘. In the first version it was Silkwho looked a lot like Nami except for her hair, which was blonde.
in the second came Ann, who had a pet bird and also looked quite alike physically. In the end, Oda mixed up these two characters and their personalities a bit and finally Nami was born.
Franky’s predecessor
Precisely in these first designs for Nami, at some point it was suggested that she was a cyborg with a gigantic ax. In the end Oda decided that it would be better for her to be an ordinary human and he saved the cyborg ace for later, when he introduced Franky. And of course, Nami ended up with a very different weapon and now it’s hard to imagine her with anything else.
Nami the Straw Hat
Luffy’s Straw Hat it is one of his hallmarks and he has carried it with great care and pride since Shanks entrusted it to him. During the story, he barely takes it off and never leaves it to anyone except on rare occasions.
One of them is to Nami, to whom he gives it in an iconic scene when Luffy sets out to defeat Arlong to free her. Nami is one of the people Luffy trusts the most, including making decisions about the crew and the direction of the Thousand Sunny.
the weak trio
Although during the series Nami has been increasing her abilities and gaining more powers… so have the rest of the crew. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji have left the rest far behind, as the tail of the list of the most powerful of the group is usually always Nami, Chopper and Usopp.
This has led to their being known as “the weak trio” or “the cowardly trio“, because they are also usually the most cowardly (or realistic) when it comes to getting into a situation that is too big for them.
the most popular girl
For a time Nami was the only female character in the crew, although Vivi, Nico Robin and other women later joined the group temporarily. Even so, Nami is unbeatable as the most popular female character in fan pollseven coming to third place in the seventh survey that was carried out in 2021 only behind Luffy and Zoro.
Nami’s beatings are legendary
He may not be as strong as his peers, but he sure is. He has an ability that very few can boast of: hitting Luffy.. The Gomu Gomu no Mi makes it nearly impossible to smack her, but one of the recurring gags of the series is that, aside from Grandpa Garp of hers, Nami is the only one who can land a good hit on Luffy to make him firm..
Many fans have a (joking) theory that Nami can actually use Haki and that’s why she hits Luffy without a problem, but according to Oda it’s because Nami is able to hit Luffy’s spirit with her punches.
If I had powers…
Nami is one of the Straw Hats who doesn’t have the powers of a Devil Fruit nor can she use any kind of Haki, and it doesn’t look like she’s going to have any any time soon. But Oda is very clear about what kind of Fruit he would have: Enel’s Goro Goro no Mi..
whereas the attacks of the Clima-Tact of Nami they use rays, lightning bolts and all kinds of meteorological phenomena, the truth is that this fruit would go as well.
His birthday is not haphazard
The birthdays of the ‘One Piece’ characters usually have some meaning related to their name, or even their importance in the story. In Nami’s case, her birthday is on 3rd of July because of how his name is read. The 7th of “July” would be equivalent to “Na” and the 3rd of the day to “Mi”.
She is “married” to Oda
Not much is known about Eiichiro Oda’s life, but he is married and has two daughters. he met his wife Chiaki Inaba A few years ago, but the most curious thing is that they met, she was a model and actress who cosplayed as Nami.
At the 2002 Jump Festa there was a show with actors dressed as different characters from ‘One Piece’ and Inaba played NamYo. During the event Oda and Inaba met and started dating for a couple of years, then got married back in 2004 and have been together ever since.