ZoNami

"And here he's the toughest guy in the crew..."~Nami

ZoNami is the het ship between Roronoa Zoro and Nami from the One Piece fandom.

Canon
Zoro and Nami are close friends and crew mates with the Straw Hat Pirates, together they are respectively the longest serving crew members under Luffy. The two get on, generally, well, however Nami is prone to violence when it comes to Zoro’s laidback and indifferent attitude, whilst Zoro can find Nami annoying and difficult. Even so, they have grown a strong bond that has allowed them to become good friends and comrades.

The pair first met shortly after Nami met Luffy on Orange Town. Nami formed a partnership with both Luffy and Zoro, after their victory over the Buggy Pirates, whereby they become crew mates. Following the events on Nami’s home island, Cocyashi Village, she became a fully-fledged member of the Straw Hat Pirates and Zoro’s crew mate. Whilst Nami occupies the role of navigator, Zoro unofficially occupies the role of first mate, making the pair the closest crew members to their captain, Luffy.

Initially, Zoro did not care for Nami, instead just about tolerating her loud presence. Even so, he found great amusement in her heavy-handed approach in dealing with Luffy, such as when she tried to drown him shortly after they left Orange Town. He acknowledged her abilities as a navigator, and valued her for that reason, but found himself often on the receiving end of Nami’s deceptive and mischievous nature. One example was her successfully using him to climb over a slippery oil spill on a bank between two cliffs, allowing her to escape but leaving him trapped. When Nami’s betrayal was revealed, he advised Luffy to leave her behind, effectively proving he does not have any concern for her. Later, he only agreed to go after her because his captain ordered him to do so.

Zoro’s opinion of Nami gradually began to soften. When he was captured by the Arlong Pirates, the crew that Nami actually belongs to, he could see through her act very easily, deducing she was not truly like them. He proved his point by willingly diving into a pool of water whilst tied up, knowing full well she would save him. Even with this understanding, he still made the decision to go to sleep rather than listen to Nojiko tell the story of Nami’s past, explaining that he is only here because his captain wishes to save her. When it came to fighting the Arlong Pirates, Zoro waited on stand-by for Luffy’s orders after Nami finally asked for his help. He then stormed Arlong Park and fought against Hatchan despite being seriously wounded, and for a while he even fought Arlong. Once Nami returned to the crew, he had no objections over this, even though much later he demanded that Usopp apologise before he could come back to the crew after he, himself, had left.

Since her return, the two found themselves on good terms. Whilst they were prone to argue, they saw each other as valuable comrades and Zoro never suspected Nami would betray the crew again. After Luffy, Zoro is most often on the receiving end of Nami’s beatings, normally for being asleep or not helping out where he should. Although she can bemoan him, she acknowledges Zoro’s incredible strength and toughness, being amazed at his absurd tolerance for pain and determination for victory, even his great skill in swordsmanship. Nami can also be seen caring for him from time-to-time, such as after he was put into a coma for three days after his encounter with Bartholomew Kuma, where she stayed by his bedside whilst everybody else partied. Later on, she even stopped Luffy pouring sake into his mouth so he could recover peacefully. Zoro has also shown kindness to Nami, being willing to carry her about Arabasta even though he knew full well she was not actually injured. On Punk Hazard, despite Zoro’s intense dislike for Sanji, he still instinctively caught Nami’s hand when she tripped and fell even though he knew it was actually Sanji in her body.

Often the two can argue over petty matters and disagreements, with Zoro frequently losing these disputes. Their arguments tend to be comical in nature, even in serious situations. They are also the most highly sceptical ones within the crew, often having doubts about certain events. The pair tend to find too good to be true situations not believable. The only time this changes is if Nami finds out that treasure is somehow involved and leaves Zoro as the only person with any doubts. In the beginning, Zoro disliked being bossed around by Nami, but grows to occasionally accept her authority, if only to avoid being attacked by her. When she ordered him to go after Sanji, who was in her body, he agreed to do so. In this particular instance, Nami showed her complete trust in Zoro, as she knew he would not be perverted towards her body and would be able to distract Sanji enough for him to not commit any of his own perverted shenanigans. When it comes to navigation, Zoro has complete faith in Nami’s abilities and will fully follow her orders to sail the ship correctly.

Fanon
Although not as popular as LuNa, SaNa or Zoyori, the ship between Zoro and Nami is still popular in its own right. Compared to most pairings, it can be viewed as the most vanilla, in that both Zoro and Nami are relatively tamed individuals with no serious bizarre traits that puts a unique spin on their relationship. Rather, their relationship is simply a case of two ordinary people that grow to trust each other. This contrasts with both LuNa and SaNa, as Luffy is exceedingly idiotic and completely indifferent with romance and lust, and Sanji is unhealthily obsessed with both. In this regard, ZoNa can be considered a middle ground.

Fans of the ship are somewhat tame. Since Zoro and Nami never really gather a significant amount of screen time as a notable pairing, any climatic moments or a romantic interest in each other, fans have come to appreciate the smaller moments and details instead, be it Nami by Zoro’s bedside on Thriller Bark, or when she pats his head on Zou. When it comes to shipping wars in the One Piece fandom, fans often state ZoNa as a simple preference rather than believing it to be something that will happen by the end of the series.

ZoNami has plenty of rivals, this is dominantly a result of how popular both characters are in regards to shipping. Zoro has been shipped with Kuina (ZoKu), Hiyori (Zoyori), Tashigi (ZoTa), Perona (ZoRona), and Nico Robin (ZoRo). Conversely, Nami has been shipped with Luffy (LuNa), Sanji (SaNa) and Usopp (UsoNa). Although not often shipped, a popular perspective for One Piece fans is how Zoro and Nami were the first crew mates of Luffy’s. They have come to be seen as an iconic trio which has led to a poly ship to form for some fans as well.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Despite Zoro having known Nami the longest, alongside Luffy, he is one of very few crew members to not have seen her naked.