Playing Cards (Trump) in One Piece
Ever since Doflamingo’s alias “Joker,” playing card-related names have been used frequently throughout One Piece.
What does this mean? Let’s theorize about how this foreshadowing will be resolved.
Fun fact: looking up “Trump” (playing cards) on Wikipedia reveals all kinds of interesting meanings and origins. For example, the face cards (J, Q, K) originally depicted different historical figures depending on the suit.
- King of Hearts: Charlemagne (Karl der Große), King of the Franks in the Middle Ages
- King of Diamonds: Caesar (Julius Caesar), ancient Roman politician and general
- Jack of Clubs: Lancelot, a Knight of the Round Table from medieval chivalric tales
- Queen of Diamonds: Rachel, wife of Jacob in the Old Testament
The Joker
In card games, the Joker is a versatile wild card that can substitute for any other card.
In games like poker and Daifugo (a Japanese card game similar to Presidents/Rich Man Poor Man), the Joker is especially valuable since it can fill in for any card needed to complete a hand.
Doflamingo lived up to his Joker title by holding multiple identities simultaneously — substituting for any role as needed:
- One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea
- Owner of the Human Shop (Slave Trade)
- Underground weapons dealer
- King of Dressrosa
- Celestial Dragon
The Four Suits
The code names of the Donquixote Family officers are all words meaning the four card suits in Spanish:
- Pica — Spanish for Spades (pica)
- Diamante — Spanish for Diamonds (diamante)
- Corazon — Spanish for Hearts (corazón)
- Trebol — Spanish for Clubs (trébol)
The Numbers
The Beasts Pirates used names derived from the numbers 1 through 10, the face cards J/Q/K, and card game names.
The ancient giants called “Numbers” carry the numerals 1 through 10 in their names:
Inbi (一美/1), Fuga (二牙/2), Zanki (三鬼/3), Jaki (四鬼/4), Goki (五鬼/5), Rokki (六鬼/6), Nangi (七鬼/7), Haccha (八茶/8), Kunyun (九忍/9), Juki (十鬼/10).
Face Cards
Cards 11 through 13 are called J (Jack), Q (Queen), and K (King), and are illustrated “face cards.”
The three All-Stars — the top executives of the Beasts Pirates — carry these names.
Since King’s real name is Alber, these are clearly code names, just like the Donquixote Family.
Card Game Names
The names of the true Devil Fruit users and the Flying Six (those who drew winning Smiles) are all named after card games:
The Head Jailer of Prisoner Mine: Babanuki (Oba-nuki / Old Maid); Vice Head Jailer: Daifugo (Daifugo / Presidents).
Among the Flying Six: Ulti, Page One, Who’s-Who (Who’s-Who poker variant), Black Maria (Hearts, British rules), and Sasaki (44A).
Otama’s horse Hihimaru is named Speed (Speed card game), and so on.
It’s natural to conclude that the true Devil Fruit users’ names are also code names.
The Revolution in Daifugo
The “revolution” Doflamingo carried out was an incomplete revolution — one that substituted a missing Heart (Corazon) with a Joker.
As a result, it was “counter-revolutioned” by Law, who inherited the will of the Heart.
Law, who inherited Corazon’s will, named his crew the Heart Pirates, and bears a large heart tattoo on his chest — there’s no doubt he’s the symbol of Hearts.
The Strongest Card is “2”
In Daifugo (Rich Man-Poor Man), the weakest card is the 3 of Diamonds, so players must lead with it to start. The revolution flips the social order of the Rich and the Poor.
The strongest card is the Joker, but there’s only one. So playing multiple “2” cards simultaneously is almost the most powerful move.
For example, if your hand contains two “2”s and four “A”s, it’s a perfect opportunity to trigger a revolution.
The Expected Ace
“A” immediately makes us think of the deceased Ace, but the word has many other meanings:
- The card corresponding to “A” in playing cards
- In tennis, table tennis, etc.: an unreturnable ball (service ace, smash ace)
- In golf: another term for a hole-in-one
- The most outstanding person; the representative figure
Thinking about which characters represent each suit’s Ace:
- Robin — who inherited the will of Dr. Clover (♣ Clubs)
- Law — who inherited the will of Corazon/Heart (♥ Hearts)
- Sabo — of noble birth (Diamonds symbolize wealth) with the “3 of Diamonds” tattoo, the young Ace of the boss’s organization (♦ Diamonds)
- Coby — who inherited the will of Garp, central figure of SWORD, whose suit symbol is the Sword (♠ Spades)
For more details, check the related articles linked below.
That’s all for this one. See you in the next article.