Three The Hard Way

Few characters in One Piece inspire as much awe as the admirals. Hell, we One Piece fanatics even use the admirals as a metric of strength when power scaling other characters. "Nah, man, (insert character here) is admiral level" might be the most common utterance in our pirate-loving circle.

They're pretty much a big deal.

Even though their roster has changed post-time skip- with Admiral Greenbull shrouded in mystery and copious fan theories- the ominous faction hasn't lost an ounce of their allure. I attribute the fandom's fixation on the Navy's top brass to the psychological metaphor that the original trio personified.

Eiichiro Oda, the ingenious creator of One Piece, gets significant praise for his masterfully woven foreshadowing, but I don't think he gets nearly enough credit for the meticulous attention he affords the subtext of his magnum opus. I believe that the original three admirals can be viewed to represent the Freudian model of consciousness, personifying the ego, the id, and the superego, respectively.

Before we delve into the symbolism of the admirals, we have to understand the character they were created to antagonize: Monkey D. Luffy. Studious One Piece fans have been vocal about Luffy personifying the sun long before it was canonically revealed in chapter 1018. With the chapter explicitly leading the reader to correlate Luffy to the ancient solar deity Nika, the underlying allegory of Luffy's character has been further cemented.

Luffy represents the light of enlightenment for the One Piece world. For example, two of his most persistent antagonist, Blackbeard and the World Government, are either intent on plunging the world into darkness or preserving the existing order of "dark justice." Both foes are clearly earmarked to be final opponents, making it patently evident that Luffy's rise to pirate-king will liberate the planet and provide a new, more enlightened way of life for the occupants of the One Piece world.

Running parallel to the sun symbolizing enlightened consciousness, water in myth usually represents the unconscious/subconscious mind. Armed with this information, the significance of the void century in One Piece becomes increasingly apparent. Is it really a coincidence that a story world completely covered in water also possesses an entire populace that is unconscious about a hundred years of their history?

Yet another example of the water resembling the unconscious is reflected in devil fruits. In typical Oda fashion, One Piece makes this metaphor literal by having devil fruit users lose their consciousness whenever they're submerged in water. Although pirates can venture into the oceanic depths, the route is reserved for veteran pirates. Therefore, the ability to travel into the realm of deep consciousness represents maturity and growth- kind of like real life. This is where the admirals come into the picture. 

The ego iceberg: Aokiji

In the prelude to Water 7, the arc that reveals how immense the Government's control is, the Strawhats run into Aokiji, who personifies the ego of the marines. Broadly explained, Freud espoused that the ego was responsible for making decisions, and we see this echoed in Aokiji's approach to justice. Existing to satisfy the instinctual desires of the id while simultaneously conforming to the lofty moral standards of the superego, the ego is focused on practically achieving goals. Unlike his two colleagues, Aokiji's trademark "lazy justice" proves to be the most flexible variant of the three admirals.

The mercy Aokiji continually affords Robin exemplifies the balance of upholding duty and going with the gut that the ego endeavors to strike in our daily affairs. Despite occupying disparate poles within the Freudian model, the superego and the id are equally dogmatic in their respective function, as are the admirals they resemble. This trait stands in sharp contrast to the malleability of Aokiji's character.

The series' first grand display of "admiral level" power is visualized by Aokiji literally freezing the ocean. With this act, the reader immediately recognizes that he is the master of deep consciousness and maturity. As the most mature character the crew had encountered at that point, Aokiji was able traverse the surface of the unconsciousness at his leisure.

You could interpret this image as Aokiji trekking across the preconscious.

Aokiji's comfort with the unconscious is also displayed by his perpetually narcoleptic state. We're provided additional proof of his psychological maturity, in relation to the Strawhats, through his association with Nico Robin.

In their fleeting appearances, each admiral arrives with the intent of concealing an aspect of the World Government's shadow from being exposed by Luffy's metaphorical light. When Robin- one of the few characters that can potentially shed light on the void century- joins the Strawhats, we're almost immediately introduced to Aokiji. Oblivious to Robin's importance, The Strawhats casually illustrate their inability to confront the unconscious.

Much like our own youthful psychological development, the Strawhats are initially incapable of perceiving access points to the deeper states of consciousness that are literally standing in front of them. Using the geographical construction of Water 7- where Robin temporarily leaves the crew- we see this visualized through the city slowly sinking into the ocean. Essentially, Oda subtly tells us that unless the Straw Hats confront their immaturity, they will be swallowed by the unconscious. Once Robin's significance to global affairs becomes common knowledge, the Straw hats are almost consumed by the raging unconscious symbolized by the tidal wave threatening to engulf the "city of water." Once they muster the maturity to confront the unconscious mind, the Strawhats mimic Aokiji's mode of transportation- riding on the surface of the ocean- with the sea train.

Kizaru: Instant Id gratification

In the aftermath of the Water 7 saga, the Straw hats set a course of yet another maritime civilization in Fishman Island. Located directly at the bottom of the ocean, the decision to venture towards Fishman Island puts the Strawhats on a collision course with Kizaru. Representing the World Government's id, Kizaru is responsible for blocking the Straw hats from descending to their desired destination. By confronting Kizaru, the Strawhats face their impulsivity - an essential trait of the id.

Aiming to satiate our base compulsions as swiftly as possible, The id is essentially the feral corner of Freud's triangle. Although Kizaru's powers reflect the instant gratification inherent in the id, his allegiance to the Celestial Dragons solidifies his symbolism. Viewing Hedonism as their birthright, the Dragons only operate from the same id Kizaru represents. In response to the Dragon's abhorrent behavior, Luffy succumbs to his id and impulsively attacks one, causing Kizaru to descend upon the Strawhats. Like his icy counterpart, Kizaru only emerges when an aspect of the World Government's shadow is primed to be confronted by Luffy's light, but as we tighten the lens, more of the metaphor is revealed.

Prepping for their journey into the depths of consciousness by traveling to Fishman Island, the Strawhats meet Silver's Rayleigh. Having established that going underwater is tantamount to gaining maturity by confronting the unconscious mind makes Rayleigh's role in the Straw hat's battle with Kizaru is incredibly significant. Rayleigh symbolizes the paradigm of maturity the Straw hats want to emulate and ironically serves as the only person capable of making their journey into the unconscious possible on multiple levels. Without his bubble coating on the Thousand Sunny, venturing to Fishman Island would be impossible. Rayleigh also provides Luffy with the training necessary to survive the trip in later chapters- but more on that shortly.

The inaugural display of Rayleigh's strength revolves around him using conqueror's haki to "telepathically" subdue the Celestial Dragons. Oda uses this moment to foreshadow Rayleigh's role in taming Luffy's id by disabling characters that operate exclusively from their id.

Akainu: the volacanic Superego

The superego, according to Freud, is our inflexible view of goodness. Don't let the word goodness tempt you into believing that every superego is governed by a uniform idea of altruism. What one superego prizes as the apex of good behavior fluctuates across the spectrum of humanity. Akainu's draconian adherence to justice makes him a perfect personification of the superego. Whereas his colleague and rival Aokiji has a fluid concept of justice, Akainu's fealty to the distorted credo of the Marines is remarkably consistent. Luffy's relationship to the lava-slinging admiral is the most personal of the bunch. Obviously, Ace's death plays a large part in their adversarial status, but the crux of their dichotomy hinges on Luffy's ability to look beyond a person's affiliations. Unlike Akainu, Luffy chooses to judge people on their actions - irrespective of their alignment.

In his final confrontation with Akainu, Luffy is mortally wounded and rendered unconscious. Oda's clearly not aiming for subtlety here. Luffy literally becomes catatonic standing across from the World Government's unrelenting superego and has to retreat under the water to flee the battle. Not only does this symbolize the traumatic thrust into adulthood the war has given him, but it elegantly contrasts his entrance into Marineford. Whereas Whitebeard, fully possessing his mature faculties, joins the fray at Marineford by emerging from underwater, Luffy clumsily plummets from the sky.

Through a series of mentally scarring events, Luffy is aggressively pushed into the metaphorical subconscious. It's only with Jinbei and Rayleigh's guidance that Luffy emerges from his trauma fully matured and capable of venturing into the unconscious on his own volition in subsequent chapters. This is significant as both characters play a prominent role in Luffy's eventual journey to Fishman Island.

Sengoku: False enlightenment.

The final piece of this metaphor arrives courtesy of the Fleet admiral, Sengoku. Sitting atop of the Marine hierarchy, Sengoku represents the false enlightenment the World Government operates under. Once again, choosing to literalize the metaphor, Oda grants Sengoku the power of the golden Buddha fruit. Initially it's an odd power choice, but the metaphor becomes clear when we remember that Luffy represents the new form of enlightened consciousness.

Although it isn't officially linked to Freud's model of consciousness, I think Sengoku's Buddha form enhances the subtext of this theory. Presenting the Buddha- typically synonymous with inner peace- as an antagonist is an inspired choice. The rotted tripartite psyche of the admirals being subordinate to Sengoku's inverted vision of enlightenment adds an element of slavish zealotry to their actions.

In the aftermath of Marineford, Sengoku vacates his position as Fleet admiral, allowing Akainu's superego to wrest control from his fallacious concept of enlightenment. Under Akainu, the militaristic arm of the World Government is oppressively ruled by the superego. Setting the stage for Luffy to shatter the World Government's superego and consequently their deranged ideas of justice.

Every shonen manga, to some extent, is about maturation. Part of what makes One Piece such an innovative entry into the genre is how Oda tied his character's growth to an actual map of the story world. Readers have known the Grand Line is comprised of two distinct halves since its introduction. Avoiding the ambiguity of other shonen series by telegraphing One Piece's inevitable time skip through geography, Oda was presumably as intentional with the subtext surrounding it. There is always at least one threshold guardian in a hero's journey, blocking their entry into the narrative's latter half. One Piece just happens to have three.

I personally believe that it's no small coincidence that Luffy's entire journey to maturity- or at least his version of it- overlaps perfectly with confronting characters that each represent the flawed psyche of the world Luffy is working to change. Transcending his limitations and traveling beneath the deep, Luffy- through his battles with the disparate pieces of the Freudian model of consciousness- arrives in the new world as a new man.