Highlights
- The Vinsmoke siblings played a significant role in the Whole Cake Island arc, with their story arcs deeply tied to Sanji's character.
- Oda had planned for Sanji to have siblings, but the exact number was not decided until later. He made them quadruplets inspired by his daughter's love for Osomatsu-san.
- The future of the Vinsmoke siblings is still uncertain, but they have escaped Totto Land and joined forces with Caesar Clown, indicating they will continue to play a role in the story. The Germa Kingdom's lore and its affiliation with the World Government are yet to be explored.
The Vinsmoke Siblings played a very significant role in the post-timeskip of One Piece and continue to do so even now. They were central to one of the biggest arcs in the Four Emperor Saga and their story arcs tie deeply to the character of Sanji, the chef of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Oda's introduction of the Vinsmoke siblings only served to make Sanji an even better character and added more depth to him. However, his initial plans for the Vinsmoke siblings were rather different.
The Introduction Of The Vinsmoke Siblings
The Vinsmoke siblings were introduced to the fans in the Whole Cake Island arc. During this arc, Sanji, one of the princes of the Germa Kingdom, was announced to be marrying the 35th daughter of the Charlotte Family, Pudding. Giving himself in to save his crew as well as his family on Baratie, he went to Whole Cake Island, and eventually fans saw Oda reveal the Vinsmoke Family as well. This family then went on to play a very crucial role in the arc. It was revealed that the Vinsmoke Family was overseen by none other than Judge and this family sat at the top of the Germa Kingdom.
The Germa Kingdom was a really massive power in the North Blue at one point in their past. It was believed that they ruled over the entirety of it, however, through some nefarious means, they were displaced eventually. Vinsmoke Judge, the current leader of the Vinsmoke Family and the ruler of the Germa Kingdom sought to restore them back to power and that is precisely why he arranged a marriage between Sanji and Pudding.
During this arc, a lot of focus was thrown on Judge and his children. Judge, being a scientist, had genetically engineered his children to be emotionless warmongers. The eldest child of Judge was Reiju, also known as Poison Pink. After she was born, Judge had four more kids as quadruplets and these were Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji.
The Role Of The Vinsmoke Siblings
The Vinsmoke Siblings ended up playing a very significant role in the Whole Cake Island arc. Upon their introduction, Sanji's past with them was fully explored by Oda in a brilliant manner. Fans found out how Sanji actually got to the East Blue, given that he was born in the North Blue. At the same time, fans also found out quite a lot about the relationship between these characters in the past. Sanji, being marked as a failure among the quadruplets, led a very difficult life and was cast aside by their father. He ended up escaping from their grasp, thanks to his sister's help, and eventually, found his way to the East Blue.
Having been treated horribly by most of his siblings, especially his father, Sanji held quite a bit of resentment towards them. Their abusive relationship became a core plotpoint in the Whole Cake Island arc and when the Vinsmoke Family massacre plan was revealed, Sanji's kindness was highlighted when he still wanted to save them. In the end, the Vinsmokes ended up becoming allies of the Straw Hat Pirates for the end of the arc and saved the day together by stopping the Big Mom Pirates. The arc was full of twists and turns and remains in the memories of the fans as one of the very best seen in the entire story, with quite a lot of the fans believing that it is the best arc after the timeskip of One Piece.
Oda's Inspiration Behind The Creation Of The Vinsmoke Siblings
When it comes to the inspiration for the Vinsmoke siblings, Oda already had quite a plan laid down in his mind. According to Oda, the fact that Sanji had siblings was planned long ago, however, the exact number of siblings was something that he had not decided on until much later in the story. This means that, long before getting to the Whole Cake Island arc, Oda had already decided that Sanji would have siblings and that they would end up showing up in the series at a later point.
It is unknown if the role of the sibling would have changed had Oda stuck with his original plan or not, however, Oda ended up altering his plans slightly. As fans know, Oda ended up making Sanji a part of the quadruplets born to Sora. The reason behind this is simply the fact that Oda's daughter loves an anime called Osomatsu-san. This anime features sextuplets and the fact that Oda's daughter liked it so much meant that he ended up taking some inspiration from it to make her happy. Seeing that, Oda decided to make Sanji a part of the quadruplets in a way to earn her daughter's affection.
This is a very heartwarming touch by the author, and just goes to show that he loves his family quite a lot. Sometimes, simple things such as these end up influencing major decisions in story writing and Oda has proved that on countless occasions. While Oda is known specifically among the fans for planning things longer ahead before actually executing them, he has also got a good track record of making last-minute changes based on the most random things, which end up influencing the plot of One Piece in incredible ways that fans are truly grateful for.
What The Future Has In Store For The Vinsmokes
When it comes to the Vinsmoke siblings, fans certainly have not seen the end of them. After the Whole Cake Island arc, fans also got a cover story surrounding them and it was revealed that they managed to escape from Totto Land, and even returned to rescue Niji and Yonji. They also engaged in combat with Katakuri along with Oven and, thanks to Caesar's help, managed to escape.
Now, the group has joined forces with Caesar Clown and recreated the MADS, which means that they will be relevant in the future of the story once again. It must also be remembered that the Germa Kingdom is now unaffiliated with the World Government, meaning that they are on their own. Undoubtedly, all the Vinsmoke siblings and even Judge will pop up in the story at a later point in time and influence the plot in great ways. There is still quite a lot of the Germa Kingdom lore that has not been explained to the fans.
Judge did tease this lore during the Whole Cake Island arc while fighting against Big Mom, however, it was not elaborated upon. There is a reason why the Germa Kingdom is a moving kingdom and that will surely come into play at a later point in the story. For now, fans can only hope that Oda takes more inspiration from the wackiest of places and incorporates them into his story to make it as good as it can possibly be.