Kuina, full name, Shimotsuki Kuina, is a female anime character from the popular anime and manga series, Onepiece. We got to know about Kuina very early in the One Piece series.
Kuina was the daughter of the master swordsman Koushiro Shimotsuki. She was born to Koushiro and his wife in Shimotsuki Village, approximately two years after the Pirate King’s execution.
She is also the childhood friend of Roronoa Zoro, one of the main characters in One Piece. Just like Zoro, Kuina also wanted to become the greatest with her swords.
Kuina’s death is a significant event in the One Piece story. It serves as a catalyst for Roronoa Zoro’s character and his aim of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman.
How Did Kuina Die In One Piece?
Kuina died after accidentally falling down a staircase.
Zoro and Kuina had promised that one of them would become the greatest swordsman in the world. Unfortunately, the day after they made their vow, Kuina accidentally fell down a flight of stairs while trying to get a sharpening block and died.
The One Piece Anime and Manga straightforwardly displayed how Kuina met her demise. However, every now and then One Piece fans engage in discussions questioning the circumstances that led to her death.
Fans believe, while her death might seem like a straightforward and simple event from the surface, it holds a lot of importance when looked at deeply. This article will highlight various theories and speculations that have come forward over the years involving Kuina’s death.
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Did Kuina Commit Suicide?
The Anime and Manga version of Kuina’s death is straightforward. She died in an unfortunate accident. But there are some theories that suggest her death isn’t as simple as it looks from the outside.
One popular theory is that Kuina committed suicide. This theory states that Kuina committed suicide and took her own life as she believed she couldn’t reach her full potential as a female fighter.
So, why was Kuina’s death displayed differently if she did commit suicide? The reason is quite simple. Suicide is one of the most sensitive topics.
Eiichiro Oda, the One Piece author most likely believes that something like suicide shouldn’t be promoted especially in a Manga that is targeted at teens. So Oda might have simply decided to resort to using a simpler cause for Kuina’s death.
Another theory that is not quite as popular as the suicide theory is, Kuina was killed during an assassination. She died in a botched assassination attempt on her father.
Keep in mind, these are just theories and speculations from fans, and there is no concrete evidence to support any of them.
Did Kuina’s Death Affect Zoro?
Kuina’s death serves as a crucial point in Zoro’s journey to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Zoro is also seen to remember Kuina on different occasions throughout the One Piece series.
Her death has a profound impact on Zoro, as he still continues to train and pursue their combined dream of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman in her memory.
Despite having a relatively small screen time in the story, we saw that Kuina was full of determination and hard work. She was also very skilled with swords and used to train with Zoro at the dojo.
Kuina always pushed herself harder than usual in Kendo to get accepted in the male-dominated discipline. Her father, Koushiro Shimotsuki is the owner of the Isshin Dojo where she used to train with Zoro.
Koushiro wanted a male offspring to inherit his dojo and continue his legacy. However, after seeing Kuina’s natural talent in swordplay and her determination to become the world’s greatest one day, he initially supported her dreams.
But he later told his daughter that she can never become the best because she is a female. Despite the discouragement from her father, Kuina continued to train hard to become better than everyone in the dojo.
She also made a vow with Zoro that one day, either of them would become the best swordsperson in the world. Unfortunately, Kuina died before she could fulfill this dream or see Zoro achieve it.
For this reason alone, Zoro wants to become the world’s greatest swordsman defeating even the legendary Dracule Mihawk in the process so that he could respect the last wish of his childhood friend.
