There’s a ton of camaraderie and kinship between the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates. One Piece is all about the powerful bonds between Found Family, after all. But… That doesn’t mean everyone has to get along all of the time. Two pirates who don’t often see eye to eye are Mosshead (Zoro) and Stupid Cook/Waiter (Sanji). Zoro and Sanji’s One Piece relationship across manga, anime, and live-action involves constant bickering and many huffing pronouncements that the other is just an annoying waste of space. Naturally, they’re One Piece fans’ favorite ship. Not being one to turn down a good ship myself, I happily fly the ZoSan flag. And, so, of course, when the opportunity came to chat with live-action One Piece‘s Taz Skylar, who plays Sanji, and Mackenyu, who plays Zoro, about season two, I had to ask after the relationship between Zoro and Sanji. Here’s what the pair had to say.
True to Zoro form, Mackenyu brings his succinct response to the action of the season. He shares, “We actually take on something we’ve never taken on before, a gigantic dinosaur. We kill it together. And that was pretty exciting.” It is a true mark of kinship to bring down a giant dinosaur, and even nicer of Mackenyu to say that Zoro and Sanji killed the beast together in One Piece season two… Since both Zoro and Sanji would protest that it was a team effort and that the other provided anything to the operation.
Meanwhile, Taz Skylar offers a broader perspective on Zoro and Sanji’s relationship in One Piece season two, throwing in that word we love to hear: love. He offers, “I think there’s a lot of symbolism in the way that they constantly bicker, but at the same time have the utmost absolute respect for each other.” He laughs, insisting, “And they do. And they also secretly do have love for each other. And I think you see that in the show.”
The spirit of Zoro and Sanji is in the room with us, because Mackenyu makes a face and shakes his head dubiously at the words, but he’s grinning and laughing. Taz Skylar chuckles too, noting, “Maybe you have to look real hard to see the love bit.” Nami actress Emily Rudd chimes in on the conversation, proclaiming: “If you squint! If you squint, you can see it.”
But Skylar insists, “I see it when I watch it.”
I do, too, I assure him. And so do many others, through dinosaur-killing, insult-slinging, and everything else. Is there not a thin line between annoyance and affection? That’s the stuff of fandom dreams.
One Piece season two (and all the fun of Zoro and Sanji’s rivalry and snark) is now streaming in full on Netflix. ZoSan shippers, enjoy your meal, freshly cooked by Sanji. You can also read our full interview with all of the Straw Hat Pirares here. Furthermore, you can enjoy our full One Piece season two review here.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist. She’s never met a ship she doesn’t like, and, honestly, what is there not to like about ZoSan?