‘Pirate’ Is Gen Z’s New Resistance Symbol

BY JASON DOUGLAS AND JUNKO FUKUTOME

TOKYO—Monkey D. Luffy is a rubber-bodied pirate who battles tyrannical governments as he and his motley crew sail across the ocean. Young protesters in Asia, Europe and the U.S. have taken up his pirate flag as a protest symbol.

Luffy is the protagonist of a long-running Japanese comic and animated television show called “One Piece,” which follows his adventures in pursuit of a fabled treasure. Now, his distinctive pirate standard can be seen waving among the national flags, Free Palestine banners and homemade signs that dot the crowds in a run of protests from Indonesia and Nepal to France and the U.K.

A grinning skull and crossbones with a distinctive twist— the skull wears a straw hat with a red band—Luffy’s flag is the latest pop-culture touchstone to inspire protesters across the globe, whatever their cause.

Its growing presence shows the cultural heft among younger generations of Japan’s prodigious manga and anime output.

In Nepal, the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger was hung from the gates of burning government buildings in Kathmandu, which was rocked this summer by protests against official nepotism and corruption. More than 20 people died in clashes with police.

In Indonesia, Luffy’s banner became so prominent during deadly protests sparked by $3,000-a-month housing allowances for lawmakers that officials warned that displaying it on the country’s Aug. 17 independence day could land people in jail. The government later withdrew the allowances.

The flag also has popped up in the U.K. during pro-Palestinian marches and at a protest against the recent state visit of President Trump. The White House didn’t respond to a request to comment. In France, people have taken Luffy’s flag to the streets in anger over public spending cuts and government dysfunction.

The symbol has been slower to catch on in the U.S., but was seen in social-media posts from protests in Los Angeles against Trump’s immigration crackdown. It was also visible Saturday during a New York City demonstration at an Apple store, where protesters criticized the company for using cobalt mines in Africa.

Apple didn’t respond to a request to comment. The company in an April report said in a decade of audits it has found no evidence that refiners or smelters in its supply chain benefited armed groups in Congo or Rwanda.

In his quest to locate the titular “One Piece” treasure and become king of the pi-rates, Luffy and his crew routinely drop anchor in places where people are struggling against what is depicted as a despotic ruler. His and other pirate crews are pursued by a World Government determined to stamp them out.

The “One Piece” comic has sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide since Luffy first appeared more than a quarter of a century ago, and the show has aired more than 1,000 episodes. Characters such as Luffy and his crew are mukokuseki, meaning they lack a defined ethnicity and so are relatable to readers and viewers worldwide, said Roland Kelts, visiting professor at Waseda University in Tokyo and author of “Japanamerica,” about the popularity of Japanese culture in the U.S.

Shueisha, publisher of the “One Piece” manga series, Toei Animation, which produces the animated series, and Netflix, which is producing a live-action version of the show, didn’t respond to requests to comment.