Vinsmoke Sanji is best known as the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece. He is the fifth member of the crew and the fourth to join, doing so at the end of the Baratie Arc. Now, Sanji is an indispensable part of Luffy’s crew and throughout the decades, he has shown some amazing powers and abilities. But, what is the source of these powers and abilities? Is Sanji superhuman? In this article, we are going to analyze Sanji’s lineage and determine whether he is, perhaps, a cyborg or a genetically-enhanced human being.
Vinsmoke Sanji is a normal human with some extraordinary skills and abilities, but he is neither a cyborg nor a genetically-enhanced human. His father, Vinsmoke Judge, wanted to genetically engineer Sanji and his two brothers, all of whom were born on the same day so that they would be the perfect superhuman soldiers with no emotions, but their mother drank a drug to counteract it, although it only worked on Sanji, meaning that he is the only “regular” human among the Vinsmoke triplets.
In the rest of this article, we are going to talk about Sanji and his family. You’re going to find out about his lineage and his parents, who played a crucial role in his life, of course. The article is going to explain why Sanji is a normal human being and nothing more, but it is also going to contain some spoilers so we needed to warn you beforehand.
Is Sanji a cyborg or a genetically-enhanced human?
In order to give you a proper answer to this question, we really have to talk about the Vinsmoke family and the conditions of Sanji’s birth and his childhood. Namely, this is the only way we can properly explain what Sanji is, what he was supposed to be, and why his father’s twisted ideals – luckily – never came true, at least not in his case.
Sanji lived in the Germa Kingdom with his three brothers, Vinsmoke Reiju, and his father, Vinsmoke Judge. The latter genetically modified his sons when they were still in their mother’s womb so that they acquired superhuman power and agility, but the latter being against it, she administered a drug to cancel these effects. However, this medicine damaged her health enormously, and this sacrifice had effects only on Sanji, so he became the only normal human. So there was a difference in power between him and his brothers that arose when Judge made them pass tests to assess their levels: running, swimming, fighting, Sanji was always last, and by far.
This caused him to be the black sheep and it got worse when, once his father asked him to practice more, Sanji would rather cook than improve. His passion for cooking comes from the fact that he went to see his sick mother cook the dishes that she loved. Throughout his childhood spent in the Kingdom of Germa, he was beaten by his brothers under the encouragement of Reiju and his father. This one concluded that Sanji was a cannonball and, for royalty to have a good image, made Sanji pass for dead.
Sanji is therefore locked up in a cell for six months with an iron mask covering his face. While the Germa Kingdom reaches East Blue, Reiju helps Sanji escape but is spotted by his father. Amazingly, his father lets him go on the condition that he be disowned from the Vinsmoke family forever. Sanji then infiltrates the Hobbit, a cooking boat. He will work there for two years until he is 10 years old. He didn’t always eat his fill despite the recommendations of the other cooks, he didn’t want, and refused to eat the customers’ leftovers. The ship was attacked by the Redfoot pirate Zeff and his crew. At the end of this boarding, a storm arises and Zeff saves little Sanji from certain drowning.
The two found themselves on an isolated rock. Zeff decides to share the food rations with Sanji. He gives her a small one and keeps a large part of the bag for himself. Despite Sanji’s protests, Zeff goes to the other side of the rock to watch for a boat to appear. This isolation will transform Sanji who is good at wasting food into one who saves his rations and realizes the terror of hunger. After having finished his rations, he will decide, after a difficult dilemma, to join Zeff on the other side of the rock in order to ask him for food.
He will then realize that Zeff ripped off his right leg to put an end to his pirate career for good and also to have something to eat since the bag Zeff had kept only contained treasures, Sanji had all the food remaining. In the manga version, the violence of the act deemed shocking for children watching the anime version will be censored. Zeff will share his dream of opening a restaurant boat as they were finally rescued after eighty-five days on this rock. From this ordeal, Sanji will never refuse to feed anyone, be it poor or bad.
He also started smoking at a very young age to prove to Zeff his maturity. He would later work on the Baratie, a restaurant boat run by Zeff and his cooks. The latter was not against the arrival of a cook but Zeff refused because it would imply that it would be necessary to hit her to correct her, except Zeff simply refuses that: to hit a woman is the worst thing on the part of a woman. ‘a man, and he tells Sanji that if he ever scratches a woman, he’ll come and chop off her head. Thus, he instilled this lesson in Sanji which forged his character as a gentleman.
As you can see, the story of Sanji’s childhood is a rather sad one. First, his father wanted to use him as a scientific experiment to create the perfect soldier, powerful, but with no emotions. And that is why he genetically engineered his triplets while they were still in their mother’s womb; luckily for Sanji, his mother drank a medicine to counter these effects, effectively sacrificing her health for their sons. Sadly for her, the medicine only worked on Sanji, who was thus born a normal human boy, without any enhancements. This, of course, led to him being the black sheep of the family, which is why he ultimately left them to become a world-famous cook. This path, would, of course, lead him to join Luffy and become a part of the Straw Hat Pirates, and – also – their cook.
Why did Vinsmoke Judge want to enhance his sons?
Well, aside from the above-stated obvious reason (to create the perfect soldiers, superpowered and without any emotions), there is a very important background that explains why Vinsmoke Judge actually wanted to experiment with his sons. It actually has to do with some basic ideals of the Vinsmoke family, i.e., their desire for scientific progress, which is something we are going to explain now.
Namely, the Vinsmoke have cutting-edge technology that they typically employ in combat. His army also makes use of this technology, which is so cutting-edge that Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors, is intrigued by it. Every member of the family dons a set of cutting-edge gear known as a raid suit during battle, enabling them to leap great distances, hover in midair, and boost the force of their kicks. The raid suits are stored in tiny canisters that are labeled with the number assigned to each Vinsmoke (Judge’s includes the letter “J” as a marking) when not in use.
When squeezed, the canisters spin out the materials for the suit, which are entirely fire-resistant and recall the shape of the wearer’s body. Along with other genetic modification technologies that have given the family’s offspring superhuman skills, the Vinsmokes have also invented cloning technology, which they have exploited to produce a nearly indestructible army. Despite the fact that cloning is against the law, Judge was able to keep the World Government’s trust by either doing them a huge favor or keeping a strong secret.
Many of Vinsmoke’s followers exhibit unwavering loyalty and obedience. Without hesitation, they always sacrifice their lives for their sovereigns, and when forced to do so, they typically follow the order “Wall”, which directs them to protect their commander by acting as a shield if he is in “danger” from an attack. adversary putting himself in front of him.
As you can see, science and technology are really part of the Vinsmoke family’s tradition. Vinsmoke Judge was an amazing scientist and this was something that remains the trademark of this family. The main issue with it, of course, is the unethical methods used by the family, especially Judge, who did not hesitate to endanger his wife and unborn children only to create scientifically perfect soldiers. This is why there are so many problems with these experiments and why Sanji’s story is colored in sorrow.
