With the release of the latest alleged spoilers for author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series, fans saw several key and exciting events play out as the Egghead arc concludes. Bonney actually using her Gear 5 powers to attack one of the Gorosei serves as one highlight, while another saw Dr. Vegapunk’s broadcast resume via the Ancient Robot’s return.
This return of the Ancient Robot, also known as the Iron Giant, also gave way to the reveal of the robot's name, Emeth, according to the latest One Piece manga spoilers from Tuesday, June 25, 2024. While the name Emeth means nothing in the context of Oda’s world as far as fans currently know and can tell, there are some curious connections to other pieces of literature.
Likewise, these aforementioned connections beyond One Piece itself could add some much deeper meaning to his character, as well as reveal what his role in the Final Saga may be. Although speculative as of this article’s writing, the connections that Oda is seemingly making all but confirm what this role will be and what deeper meaning there is to his character.
The name of One Piece’s Ancient Robot could reference a C.S. Lewis character, biblical word used to describe God
The first and most obvious connection to One Piece’s Emeth, also known as the Ancient Robot/Iron Giant, is a C.S. Lewis character from The Chronicles of Narnia series of the same name. Emeth specifically appears in The Last Battle book, and his salvation within “is understood to be an implicit endorsement of the doctrinal idea of Inclusivism,” according to a 2008 analysis of Inclusivism in C.S. Lewis’ works by Elissa McCormack.
What this references is Emeth being saved by a deity named Aslan after spending the book up to that point participating in a conspiracy making use of a false Aslan to trick the Narnians. Within the context of Christian theology, this implicit statement on Inclusivism asserts that God should offer salvation to those outside of Christian theology, even if their actions directly opposed or denounced Him.
Within the world of One Piece, this could suggest that Joy Boy is to the Ancient Robot Emeth what Aslan is to C.S. Lewis' character Emeth. In other words, Emeth may have once been an enemy of Joy Boy who was forgiven by him despite his actions. This would play directly into the concept of “inclusivism,” as well as explain why Emeth has been apologizing to Joy Boy throughout the arc.
It could also explain Joy Boy’s words in the latest spoilers, which claim he tells the Ancient Robot “Emeth, when the time arrives you must…” before cutting off. Although unclear exactly what Joy Boy asked of him here, it could be a request he’s making so Emeth can reach salvation via Joy Boy. In other words, if Emeth can fulfill Joy Boy’s request, he can be absolved of his sins.
There’s also one other, looser connection to Christian theology via the name Emeth. In the Bible, the word “emet” is used to describe God, and is said to literally mean “faithfulness” or “truth.” More specifically, it’s used to describe God as the source of all “emet,” or truth and faithfulness, as seen in Exodus 34:6. While it’s unlikely Oda is asserting that Emeth is God, he is likely playing off of the word emet’s definition as truth or faithfulness.
In turn, this would suggest that Emeth truly is a friend whom Luffy and co can trust (as Joy Boy once did), and also has devout faithfulness to Joy Boy. In turn, this explains the apparent action he needs to fulfill at Joy Boy’s request, as well as why he’s searching for Joy Boy and wants to apologize to him. While speculative as of this article’s writing, hopefully the Egghead arc will provide additional info on Emeth and cement these above interpretations of its name.
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