Nami’s tattoo in Netflix’s One Piece, and the source material on which it is based, holds a lot of significance concerning its true meaning. At first, Nami is introduced with her tattoo being concealed on her left arm before being revealed in a twist regarding her allegiances. In Netflix’s One Piece episode 6, Nami’s tattoo is revealed as a sawfish, symbolizing her membership in Arlong’s pirate crew.
The same is shown in the original One Piece, with Nami’s tattoo essentially branding her as one of Arlong’s lackeys despite her wish to be rid of her allegiance to him. By the end of the Arlong Park Arc of the original anime, Nami has a new tattoo on her arm. While the same can be said for Netflix’s adaptation, some story changes to the live-action One Piece slightly alter the meaning of Nami’s new tattoo, leading to questions over its origins across the different mediums of One Piece.
Nami’s New Tattoo In A Pinwheel & Orange
Regardless of the story changes between the two mediums, the physical appearance of Nami’s new tattoo is not changed. In the manga, anime, and Netflix adaptation of One Piece, Nami’s tattoo is a swirling line with an orange on the top end. Another black line cuts across the middle of the original one, representing a pinwheel. This appearance is tied to Nami’s character, yet Nami’s changes in the live-action Netflix One Piece leave some details down to interpretation rather than an explicit explanation pertaining to what the new tattoo of a pinwheel and orange really represents.
Nami’s Tattoo Is Explained Properly In The Original Story
In the original story of One Piece, the meaning of Nami’s new tattoo is explicitly explained after she receives her new artwork. The pinwheel is part of her new tattoo to represent the leader of her village, Genzo. In the anime, Genzo used to use the pinwheel on his hat to make Nami laugh when she was a child. This explains why her new tattoo includes the device as it reminds her of a happy relationship she held when she was young. Similarly, the orange on the tattoo comes from her deceased adoptive mother.
When she was younger and still lived with her sister and adoptive mother, Nami was around oranges a lot. This was because her mother owned an orange plantation, helping to provide their village with food. Nami’s mother was then killed by Arlong, forcing her to join his crew as a means of freeing the town from his control. After Nami manages this, she replaces the sawfish tattoo with the pinwheel to honor Genzo, and the orange to honor her mother and her connection to the fruit.
In Netflix’s One Piece, the meaning of Nami’s tattoo is left open to interpretation albeit it is fairly self-explanatory. However, some changes were made to the live-action interpretation. In Netflix’s adaptation, the pinwheel is something that Nami’s mother once created when consoling her using a stick and orange peel as the propellors. As such, the pinwheel and orange tattoo in Netflix’s One Piece is only connected to Nami’s mother rather than her and Genzo as is explained in the anime.
What Nami’s Tattoo Represents In Netflix’s One Piece
When concerning what Nami’s tattoo represents in Netflix’s One Piece, the answer links to her past with Arlong. The tattoo she originally has of a sawfish is a way of constantly reminding Nami that she belongs to a pirate crew she longs to be rid of. The sawfish reminds her of the deal she made with Arlong, meaning that as long as she has the tattoo, she will be in his service to earn berries – One Piece‘s currency – and free her hometown from his control.
In Netflix’s One Piece finale, Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji aid Nami in defeating Arlong and his pirates after the latter group betrays Nami. Before this, Nami repeatedly stabs at her tattoo with a knife out of anger. After Arlong’s defeat though, Nami’s arm is healed and the sawfish is replaced by the pinwheel and orange. This represents that Nami is no longer under Aarlong’s control. Instead, she has freed her village and honored her mother’s memory by defeating the pirates responsible for her death and the enslavement of her village.
Through honoring her mother with the pinwheel and orange tattoo, Nami is finally rid of Arlong and his crew. The sawfish that reminded her of her tragic past is now replaced instead with a tattoo that symbolizes the best parts of her childhood, rather than the regretful parts of her life. While also honoring her late mother, Nami’s pinwheel and orange tattoo represents the liberation of her hometown, her moving on from Arlong’s crew, and the elements of her childhood that remind Nami of home in Netflix’s One Piece.
