King Bekori is a minor antagonist in the One Piece franchise.
He is renowned for his reign over the Sorbet Kingdom. Succeeding the previous ruler, Bulldog, Bekori inherited the throne and quickly turned his kingdom into a dystopia rife with oppression and brutality. Throughout his rule, he implemented policies of segregation, enslavement, and genocide, which were met with fierce opposition by Bartholomew Kuma, a former citizen of Sorbet Kingdom and a future Revolutionary Army commander.
What Makes Him Pathetic?[]
- Bekori’s policies were immediately selfish and cruel. He decreed that only the northern region of Sorbet Kingdom was worthy of being considered the "real" kingdom, while citizens from the southern region, who couldn’t pay the Heavenly Tribute, would be enslaved. This disgusting system of exploitation shows his complete disregard for the lives of his people.
- Instead of reflecting on the suffering his rule caused, Bekori doubled down on his actions, explaining his motivations with an extremely weak and pathetic excuse—claiming that he was merely copying an eastern nation that did the same thing to gain favor with the World Nobles. So he basically thinks that his actions are justified just because another kingdom did it.
- After the Revolutionary Army overthrew him and saved his people from his tyranny, Bekori returned to power years later, taking the country by force, this time deciding to burn the "deadweight" citizens alive in their homes. He actually succeeded in burning some innocents, the reason the southern part of the kingdom wasn’t completely burned was because of Kuma saving the innocents before they could burn. His disregard for life was now taken to a new low.
- Even after being ousted by Kuma in the Solo Revolution where Bekori position as king was taken again, Bekori painted himself as a victim. Instead of owning up to his tyrannical actions, he worked with the World Government to fraim Kuma as a violent tyrant and portray himself as a benevolent ruler, making his pathetic self-justifications even more insufferable.
- After being chased from the throne and beaten by Kuma, Bekori still didn’t learn anything. He continued to try reclaiming his power, showing that even after his clear defeat, his narcissism blinded him to the reality of his failure, and even ordered a ship of marines to kill Kuma but Kuma defeated him and the marines easily, presumably killing Bekori, Bekori could’ve lived if he had just realized that he lost.
What Makes Him a Pinhead?[]
- Bekori's policies of segregation and enslavement immediately incited rebellion in the Sorbet Kingdom. His inability to understand that oppressing his people would lead to resistance shows his lack of political acumen. By treating his citizens as expendable, he created the perfect conditions for Bartholomew Kuma, Freedom Fighters, and the revolutionary army to rise up against him. Also during his time as King, he didn’t even try to act like a good person or have stuff like propónganda in his reign, so of course people would rise against him, he isn’t even trying to manipulate them into believing what he is doing is right, which is something basic tyrants have to do to keep operating as tyrants.
- Bekori’s biggest blunder was his failure to recognize Bartholomew Kuma as a serious threat. Despite Kuma's reputation as a fierce and powerful revolutionary, Bekori treated him as nothing more than a nuisance. This underestimation led to his kingdom's destruction when Kuma easily defeated Bekori and his forces during the Solo Revolution.
- Bekori sought favor with the World Nobles, believing that his brutal tactics would gain him political favor. His entire reign was driven by the naive and shortsighted goal of impressing the World Nobles, completely ignoring the welfare of his people and the consequences of his policies. He was very blindly loyal to them, meaning that he believed in their propaganda; this is something even civilians don’t do, since most civilians seem loyal to the world nobles out of fear, not out of actual belief in their superiority.
- Even after being overthrown by Kuma, Bekori refused to give up. Instead, he made the ridiculous decision to lead a fleet of Marines in an attempt to take back the Sorbet Kingdom by force. Once again, his ignorance of Kuma’s power resulted in his fleet being destroyed, further proving his inability to learn from his mistakes. In his attempt to kill Kuma once again, Bekori displayed a massive level of stupidity by threatening Kuma with vague "consequences" for opposing his rule. Bekori was completely ignorant of the fact that Kuma had been dismantling tyrants like him for years and had the power to end his reign easily.