The heroines of Japanese cartoons: Nami

Nami, the thief cat. Reward: 66 million Berrys. DEAD OR ALIVE.

This is the notice that can be read on her Wanted Poster, issued by the World Government and scattered on all the islands of the One Piece universe. Among the heroines of Japanese cartoons, Nami is one of the most disruptive: best known as "the thief cat" for her obsession with money, luxury and the treasures of the sea, she is the first (and most important) female protagonist of the series of anime and manga of One Piece, published in Italy by Star Comics and broadcast on Italia 1 since November 2001. Born from the pencil of Eiichirō Oda, the success of the saga is unprecedented: to date, One Piece has over 470 million copies in circulation and it is the manga that has sold the most worldwide.

In all the polls conducted among fans, Nami has often been in the top 10 of the most favorite characters: this is not surprising, given the affection that the author himself has always shown towards her. A first version of Nami, in fact, exists since before the manga was made official: in the drafts of Romance Dawn, the prototype that would later become One Piece, alongside the protagonist Luffy 'Straw Hat', known in Italy with the name of "Rubber" (the usual disasters of the Italian dubbing) you could already glimpse the patterns of a character named Silk, then Ann, who is basically identical to Nami, if not for the blue hair instead of orange.

Who is Nami?

Smart and easy-going next-door girl at first, then femme fatale, Nami is a fundamental member of Luffy's crew. She is a skilled strategist, a navigator capable of predicting the most absurd climate changes, but also a cartographer: in fact, her dream is to draw the map of the whole world. But don’t be fooled by her prosperous physicality (which has often earned its author several criticisms): Nami's real strengths are cunning - thanks to which she can almost always avoid head-on collision - and above all her intelligence. Eiichirō Oda himself said that she is the third most intelligent character of the East Sea (the geographical area of ​​the world of One Piece from which the adventures of the protagonists began). Even her weapon (Sorcery Clima-Tact), often underestimated, is very ingenious: combining the power of a stick capable of emanating hot and cold air bubbles, as well as electrical sparks, with her knowledge Nami is able to change the climate in the surrounding areas, causing lightning and thunderstorms capable of routing entire fleets (a kind of home-made version of Storm of the X-Men).

Tangerines, and a pinwheel

If Nami is one of the most loved characters in the saga, the credit is not only to her irresistible charm, but also to her history. Recovered on a battlefield by the sergeant of the Navy Bellmer when she was still a baby, her childhood was spent in a bucolic paradise made of green meadows, sea, pinwheels and tangerine plants together with Bellmer, who soon became like a mother, and another older girl, Nojiko. A real matriarchy, broken by a dramatic episode: the death of Bellmer, killed before the eyes of the two girls by the pirate of the fish-men Arlong. To free the village, conquered by Arlong and his gang, Nami decided to put her skills in cartography at the disposal of the enemy, but with one condition: if she had recovered 100 million Berrys (the currency of the universe of One Piece), Arlong should have let her fellow citizens free. It is at this point that she crosses path with Luffy: after realizing that she had been fooled by Arlong, Nami, in tears, in one of the most moving scenes of the manga tries to scar with a dagger the fish-men band tattoo on her shoulder. When she is on her knees on the street, with her bloodied arm, Luffy arrives, placing his symbolic straw hat on her head and going towards Arlong to defeat him once and for all. In the whole saga, it will be the only time that Luffy allows someone else to wear his hat: a gesture that is worth a thousand words and that stands Nami as an indispensable right arm of his captain.

The Best Looks

Beyond the busty physique, the most symbolic detail of Nami's looks is the tattoo that she shows on the left shoulder: a drawing depicting a mandarin and a pinwheel, in memory of her childhood, made in replacement of that of the Arlong band. During the saga, Nami undergoes a radical transformation from the physical point of view, which brings her from a teenager with short hair with a slightly messy effect bob, wearing t-shirts, ankle boots and sandals, to a sensual and extravagant woman who prefers sexy and flashy outfits, and in general clothes that attract attention. In fact, after the two-year time jump that divides the saga in two, Nami goes from a girlish physique to a more pronounced "hourglass" silhouette and her measurements become 98-58-88 and cup J. Her red, almost orange hair become long and voluminous enough to reach the bottom of the back.

But what are her essentials? Although her main interests are far from the world of fashion, Nami pays close attention to her look: for example, when she finds herself having to wear a kimono, she is the only one to show off a mini-dress version. All of her clothes stand out her shapes: short and tight dresses, miniskirts, colored bikinis and low-rise pants are the must-haves of Nami, who also loves to play with colors, always wearing some garments in bright and bright shades. Even her long red hair are always the center of attention, as if she had always just left the hairdresser. The most frequent hair style is also the simplest: loose hair, with soft waves, and side tufts dropped to frame the face, but it is not uncommon to see them gathered in a ponytail, in two pigtails or in a soft braid-bun, decorated with pearls, headband and hats.

The favorite look of nss G-Club? The purple long dress, tight and enveloping, with a wide neckline and crossed lacing along the sides of the body. The dress is decorated with strings of pearls that fall on the shoulders and hips and also return to the hairstyle. A sexy, elegant, daring garment: we could very well see it worn by Rihanna on a red carpet. If in the world of One Piece there was room for luxury brands, we would not doubt that it would be a Versace.

A curiosity? According to the initial idea of Eiichirō Oda, Nami had pigtails, ripped jeans with a single legging on the right leg, evident scars on the body, combat boots, a single glove that covered her all over the metal forearm and a considerably more ax great of her. A look that was radically less provocative than the final one.