第199回：Doggone Marines!

Ever since Garp’s ship with its Saint Bernard figurehead, there’s been something of a trend with Marine HQ Vice-Admirals having some sort of canine connection. Similar to how many (certainly not all) female characters in One Piece have bird-related names, there are a number of Vice-Admirals who seem to have names that derive from various breeds of dogs. Since 1108 just gave a laundry list of new names, let’s take a look at all the dog-related HQ Vice-Admirals in the series so far:

Doberman:
Following Garp’s connection to Saint Bernards and Sakazuki’s nickname, when he first appeared during the Enies Lobby Buster Call, Doberman is one of the earliest establishments of a pattern in the Vice-Admiral naming convention.

Dalmatian:
First appearing during the Paramount War, Dalmatian *appears* to be a human male who consumed a Zoan Devil Fruit; a conclusion which hasn’t been officially confirmed within the manga, even though his canine characteristics are certainly in line with being a Man-Beast Zoan form rather than a half-Mink.

Tosa:
First named during the Egghead Incident, the kanji for Tosa’s name (土茶) is not identical to the real-life Tosa breed of dog (土佐) and is instead a combination of ‘Earth’ and ‘Tea’. The reason for this change is unclear but if I were to venture a guess it’s probably so that ONE PIECE’s world doesn’t intersect with our own too much. The breed’s name comes from the feudal-era name of modern day Kochi prefecture on Shikoku, Tosa (土佐).

Pomsky:
First named during the Egghead Incident, Pomsky’s name is derived from a real-life cross of Pomeranian and husky breeds…the pomsky!

Sakazuki ‘Red Dog’*:
I mean…’dog’ is literally part of his nickname, what more is there to discuss? Actually, it would be worthwhile to mention that his nickname comes from the Japanese folklore tale of ‘Momotarou’ (which would go on to be the basis for the Wano Arc) in which the protagonist befriends a pheasant, monkey, and dog.
*Former HQ Vice-Admiral

Is there a common thread here? While there doesn’t seem to be a strict rule for the naming convention -as of this writing- only brutish human males seem to carry these names or nicknames. If Doberman and Sakazuki are any sort of indication towards a theme, it’s that they follow a STRICT and severe sense of justice. One could interpret them as literal ‘dogs of war’ or even ‘lapdogs’ of the World Government. In short, if a Marine with a canine-theme shows up in front of a pirate, that pirate is probably not going to have a great day.