Bentham


 * The subject of this article is most often called "Bon Kurei".

Bentham, alias Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, is a former officer agent of Baroque Works and an okama (a Japanese slang term for a cross dresser). While he was once an enemy of Luffy's as a part of the Baroque Works, the two became quick friends, leading Bon Kurei to sacrifice himself for Luffy both at Alabasta and later at Impel Down. He is currently the new Queen of Newkama Land.

Appearance
Bentham is a relatively tall male cross dresser who wears flamboyant ballet clothes with a swan theme. He generally dresses in a pink over coat and blue medieval clothes. He wears heavy makeup and he often sports a distinct wide grin which often carries over when he changes his appearance. His legs, being exposed, are hairy and nearby people are disgusted by the lack of care in his appearance. Underneath these clothes, his physique is fairly muscular as seen during the Impel Down Arc, possibly as a result of his training in Okama Kenpo.

Like all Baroque Works agents, he bears his number in his appearance. Mr. 2 Bon Kurei's number 2 is seen in the form of his swans, which are posed into a shape resembling the number "2". When he was impersonating Nefertari Cobra, he wore the kings robes and sandals. The back of his over coat bares the kanji for "Bon Festival" (盆暮れ).

During Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works", he wears a dark suit with a dress shirt covered in 2's underneath with dark pants. Later in the cover story, he wears Mr. 3's attire, which is a dark hoodie with two number 3's on it, stripped pants that only extend a little bit past the knee, and light colored shoes.

Later, in Impel Down, he wears a striped, rag-like prisoner's outfit. He also wore Hannyabal's headdress and pants when he was disguised as him. After entering Level 5.5, he wore bandages on his arms, abdomen, and neck and wore purple pants that cut off below his knees and black boots. When he let his fellow prisoners escape, he was disguised as Magellan, wearing his coat and pants.

Two years later, when he becomes the new King of Newkama Land, he is shown wearing a slightly different version of his ballet clothes with some features such as bigger wings and furry collar.

Personality
He has a flamboyant attitude which includes singing, dancing, and spinning, much to the annoyance of the other Officer Agents. Despite being an assassin, the number one thing he puts above all others is friendship.

He's the only higher up that lacks a female partner of the same rank. Possibly because he believes he is both male and female, probably due to his powers and lifestyle as a self proclaimed okama, despite never actually wearing women's clothing besides the make up smeared on his face. He is assigned both a number and a holiday for his code name.

As opposed to the ideas of his fellow agents, Mr. 1 and Mr. 5, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei values friendship highly, as evidenced by his selfless sacrifice to allow the Straw Hats to escape Alabasta when they where ambushed by Captain Hina, later when he once again attacked Hina to save Miss Valentine and finally risked his life to open the Gates of Justice for everyone in Impel Down.

This also shows that he is incredibly selfless and righteous, and is extremely proud of himself for it (telling Magellan he had no regrets for his sacrifice). He will often motivate such actions by saying that abandoning his companions is against "the okama way". This did not hinder him from attacking Vivi during the face-off at Alubarna, though.

He always finishes a sentence with a "wa yo", which in Japanese reflects a feminine (if assertive) speech pattern. He also often says "Jodan janai wa yo!" (冗談じゃないわよ) as his catchphrase. He also says "un deux trois" (one, two, three in French) while asking others what four is. According to himself, his favorite word is vague.

Baroque Works
His open emotional and poetic attitude can get on the nerves of others, as noted in particular the other male Baroque Works agents reactions are often anything but enjoyment at his presence.

He also addresses Crocodile as "Zero-chan", even after learning his identity. He seems to have a knack for making people follow his lead and can get others to ballet dance with him, he seems to enjoy teaching others about the "okama way" more than anything and will gladly show others how to ballet, such as the billions put under his command.

The relationship he has with his billions is complicated. Although he attacks them and abuses them, he considers them friends and is visually enraged when they are attacked by Mr. 1.

While Mr. 2 generally has an indifferent professional relationship with the most of the Baroque Works Agents, he is however, on bad terms with Mr. 1. Because Mr. 2's flamboyant nature conflicts with Mr. 1's static cold hardheartedness, the two of them would often fight with each other. Ever since first meeting each other in Spiders Cafe, they've had this type of rivalry relationship. It is notably similar to the rivalry between Sanji (who defeated Mr. 2) and Zoro (who defeated Mr. 1).

While Galdino initially viewing Mr. 2 Bon Kurei as an idiotic nuisance, the okama's actions in Impel Down deeply moved Mr. 3; he felt that his actions in Marineford helped avenge, as he put it, his "fallen friend".

If I were to tell you... I am here to fulfill the final wish of my lost comrade... would you laugh at me, hmmm?!

Emporio Ivankov
Bentham worships Ivankov for being the greatest okama, as well as saving his and Luffy's lives. Iva, in return, was moved by Luffy's and Bon Kurei's strong friendship and was among the many prisoners who were crying after learning of Bon Kurei's sacrifice to get the Gates of Justice open for them.

Straw Hat Pirates
Bentham is a close friend of the Straw Hats after helping them escape Hina in Alabasta and once again in Impel Down. Oddly, he addresses Luffy's crew by a key part of their appearance, followed by (even though it is meant for a childish aspect) "chan" (i.e. Luffy: Straw-Chan (Mugi-chan), Usopp: Nose-Chan, etc.), an affection Luffy returns by referring to him as "Bon-chan."

He aided the Straw Hats by hiding their ship, the Going Merry, when there were Marines searching around Alabasta and by disguising himself and his men as the pirates in order to draw away the Marines pursuing them.

Luffy became good friends with Bentham after he apologized for causing them trouble in Alabasta. Later, after breaking out of his cell and reuniting with Luffy in Impel Down, Bentham fought alongside Luffy to reach Ace. Throughout their reunion, Mr. 2 aided Luffy greatly through the various dangers of the prison, and ultimately aided Luffy and several other prisoners by sacrificing himself in order to open the way to their freedom. While he was later determined to be alive, Luffy is unaware of his friend's condition.

Magellan
Bentham has gained the wrath of the former warden Magellan for staying behind in the escape to let the other escapes break out and copying his face to fool the other staff. As he copied Magellan to fool the Impel Down staff and destroyed the controls to make sure they could not go after Luffy and the others, a furious Magellan prepared to unleash his wrath on Bentham asking if he had any last words and Bentham proudly responded by saying he had no regrets for his sacrifice. Magellan was unsuccessful in killing Bentham and seems to still hold that grudge to this date.

Abilities and Powers
As an okama, Bentham has no shortage of tricks in his arsenal. While fond of singing and dancing, he is also an accomplished martial artist, even though his real threat does not come from his fighting ability.

His trickery and skill at mimicry makes him a slippery opponent to deal with as he can as easily escape pursuit as well as cause devastating confusion to whatever side he opposes. He managed to successfully infiltrate the seemingly secure Alubarna royal court and mimic King Cobra Nefertari, creating further dissention and unrest amongst the poor villagers outside the capital's walls with scandalous words. He has also used his ability to even bypass security defenses of the notorious Impel Down once he was released from his cell; Impel Down being "the greatest prison" in the One Piece-verse and a location where not a single prisoner was unaccounted for in a 20 year-period.

Furthermore, he has shown to have a strong will, being able to resist Luffy's Haoshoku Haki before succumbing to his injuries from the wolves in Level 5.

Bentham has a good amount of stamina and endurance. He also appears to have gotten much stronger than the last time the Straw Hats encountered him, being able to fire powerful kicks that actually knocked away Minotaurus - one of the four powerful guards of Impel Down. He also shows his strength when he single-handedly fended off a large Wolf Unit by himself despite receiving heavy injuries during the fight. Bentham also survived a fight with Magellan, who had previously beaten Luffy with little effort.

Bentham was completely unfazed by the temperature of Impel Down's Level 3, to the degree that he was the only imprisoned individual on the floor to be mobile at all, much less happily dancing.

Also, according to himself, he is an excellent cook.

Devil Fruit
Bentham ate the Mane Mane no Mi. A Paramecia-class Devil Fruit that allows him to turn into someone who he touches. He can memorize the whole physical appearance when being touched by his right hand. And when he changes, he also imitate the copied persons flexibility, strength and other physical aspects. He can switch back to his normal state by touching his face with his left hand. "Mane" means "imitation". It is called the Clone-Clone Fruit in the English versions.

Fighting Style
While having a Devil Fruit, Bentham mostly relies on a unique martial arts style known as Okama Kenpo ("Ballet Kenpo" in the Alabasta Arc Japanese anime and FUNimation dub, "Oh Come My Way Karate" in the Viz Manga, "Crazy Karate" in the 4Kids dub, and "Crossdresser Kenpo" in the FUNimation dub of Movie 8), which combines kicks and sometimes punches with his ballerina style.

This fighting style is powerful enough that Bentham could overpower and kick Mr. 1 (who was ranked higher than him and a proficient hand-to-hand fighter in his own right) through a stone wall during their brief fight, and to be a match for Sanji's Black Leg Style.

Weapons
The two swans on his back are not just for show. Bentham can take them off at the midpoint of their necks and slip them onto his toe shoes. When he has the swans on his feet, Bentham's kicks become as powerful as rifle shots (due to the steel beaks) and gain a farther range (due to the swans' necks extending every time that he kicks).

Although used only once, Bentham can detach and throw his (presumably false) mascara eyelashes as boomerangs, which fly out in an arc and return to his face.

Little Garden Arc
Mr. 2 is sent out shortly after Mr. 3's defeat on Little Garden to kill him for his failure to eliminate the Straw Hats. By the time he gets there, though, Mr. 3 is nowhere to be found, leading Mr. 2 to fear being killed by Daz Bones. He then orders his men to sail back to Alabasta at top speed and intercept any ships they encounter.

Alabasta Arc
The Straw Hats first meet up with Bon Kurei on their way to return Princess Vivi to the desert kingdom of Alabasta. His antics immediately amused them, and Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper fell head over heels for his ability. Bon Kurei ate the Devil Fruit, Mane Mane no Mi (マネマネの実 Clone-Clone Fruit) which allows him to transform into an exact copy of anyone he has touched. Although the series generally only features these powers copying the face of the person, his powers apparently also copy the body: To Nami's dismay, he once transformed into her and allowed Luffy, Chopper and Usopp to view her breasts. She responded by punching his skull inwards (in the remake movie, he shows Nami's entire body to them as well as Sanji causing Nami to hit all of them). As he leaves, his crew call him by his Baroque Works codename, surprising all of the Straw Hats - even Vivi did not know who he was, despite being told about what he looked like.

At the meeting in Rain Dinners, Bon Kurei discovers that his friends are really the enemies of his boss, Crocodile, thus forcing him to combat them. Later, in the capital Alubarna, Bon Kurei first caught up with Usopp and Eyelashes when the Straw Hats dress in cloaks to divide up the officer agents in their decoy operation by pretending to be Vivi. He easily beats them in 2 seconds, and using Usopp's sniper goggles that he stole, Mr. 2 attempts to trick Vivi in Usopp's form. Thanks to the failsafe plan the Straw Hats devised to avoid being fooled by his powers, allows Vivi to easily figure out the truth and she and Carue run with him in hot pursuit, keeping him busy long enough for Sanji to arrive to back her up.



Bon Kurei and Sanji have a very intense battle. Just as Sanji looks set to be the victor, Bon Kurei discovers Sanji's weakness: Nami. He impersonates her, using her form to drive Sanji into a crazy fanboyish state which allows him to even the playing field. Eventually, Sanji realizes that Bon Kurei must revert to his own form to unleash his stronger attacks. He takes advantage of this and forces Bon Kurei to revert to his form so that he can pummel him. The ball is in Sanji's court yet again until Bon Kurei pulls his iron-tipped swans from his shoulders and puts them onto his shoes. With the swans on his shoes, his kicks are strong as a rifle shot and can reach further. This creates more problems for Sanji, and the playing field is even once more. But eventually, Sanji manages to defeat Bon Kurei. Bon Kurei begs for Sanji to finish him off, believing that he will be killed for his failure, but Sanji offers to shake his hand for a good fight. Just as Bon Kurei takes his hand, overwhelmed with emotion, Sanji kicks him in the head and takes back Usopp's goggles.

When the Straw Hats prepare to leave Alabasta after thwarting Crocodile's scheme, Bon Kurei calls them up on a Den Den Mushi and tells Luffy that he has their ship. He hid it from the marines docked in the harbor (Smoker, Hina, Jango, Ironfist Fullbody, Tashigi, etc.) and exclaims that he did it because they are friends. Now that he is no longer a member of Baroque Works (and a pawn of Crocodile), he wants to be a close friend, perhaps even a shipmate.

As the Straw Hats and Bon Kurei leave Alabasta on the Going Merry, Hina, Jango, and Fullbody attack. Bon Kurei comes up with a plan that would allow them to escape. He and his own shipmates impersonate the Straw Hats, thus luring Hina's squadron to them. This allows the Going Merry to escape as Bon Kurei stays behind with his crew, boarding the Marine ships and unleashing hell upon them, after his famous speech of friendship and humanity. As the Going Merry draws further away, Luffy exclaims that he will never forget Bon Kurei and his crew, their friends.

Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works"


Bon Kurei was captured by Hina, however, but escaped from prison with a 32,000,000 bounty on his head He reappeared in the manga during "Operation: Meet Baroque Works" chapter title pages sporting a more refined, more masculine look than his ballerina outfit: a suit similar to Rob Lucci's undershirt and a pair of black pants. He also is not wearing his lipstick, but his cheeks, blush as they are, are apparently natural. Later on, he had challenged Hina to a rematch in an attempt to save Miss Valentine from execution. After Miss Goldenweek, Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 break out Mr. 4, Miss Doublefinger, Miss Merry Christmas and Lassoo, Mr. 2 is seen tied to Mr. 3 and thrown in jail with Mr. 0 (Crocodile) and Mr. 1 (Daz Bones) so it can be assumed that he was defeated by Hina. He, along with Crocodile, Daz Bones, and Mr. 3, were later transferred to Impel Down.

Impel Down Arc
Bentham was discovered by Buggy and Galdino dancing in his cell on Level 3 of Impel Down (despite having a bounty far lower than 50,000,000), seemingly unaffected by the heat and starvation. He immediately expresses his surprise at seeing Mr. 3 in Impel Down too. Galdino seemed initially hesitant at releasing Bentham from his cell, but was seemingly opted otherwise by Buggy, under the impression that Luffy would function more as their scapegoat if Bentham is with him. Later, when Luffy is attacked by the Sphinx and several guards, Bentham (disguised as Zoro) comes to fight at Luffy's side.

After defeating the sphinx and a tearful reunion, Bentham agrees to help Luffy reach Level 5, as he also wishes to go there to see someone: Emporio Ivankov, the queen of Kamabakka Kingdom and the idol of okamas worldwide.
 * As they try to get to Level 4, Minotaurus stops them. Bentham recognized the danger immediately and warned Luffy about its strength. However, before they could make a move, Minotaurus used its speed and physical strength to send Bentham flying. As Minotaurus tries to hit Luffy with its mace, Bentham uses a strong kick to save Luffy, although he was already in great pain. As he was just about to get killed by him, Luffy saved him using his Jet Bazooka technique to send Minotaurus flying. Bentham immediately recognized how powerful Luffy had become.



Upon reaching the exit to Level 4 of Impel Down, Bentham warned Luffy of the great danger ahead: he would only have one chance to land safely in Level 4 or die. It was then that Galdino and Buggy caught up with them with Minotaurus hot on their heels. Bentham contributed to the defeat of Minotaurus by using his Okama Kenpo. Only a short while later, Bentham along with Luffy, Buggy, and Galdino came to realize that they were falling into the boiling pot of Level 4 because Buggy's Muggy ball, which was used for the fight against Minotaurus had created explosions which were strong enough to break the floor beneath them.

To their fortune, the falling debris allows them to jump off it before they landed in the boiling pot. After Bentham was the one to complain the most about the heat in Level 4, Luffy started to run in a random direction without considering the dangers. The fact that Bentham could come to the conclusion that Luffy was running towards the kitchen shows how well Bentham knew the map of Impel Down. As he assumed the kitchen to be stuffed with lots of food, he followed Luffy saying that he is starving.

However, only after a short while, they are stopped by an angry Magellan who appeared suddenly to block their path. Bentham, knowing of Magellan's nigh impregnable poisonous defensive capabilities, warned Luffy to run, but as Magellan began targeting Luffy seriously, he left tearfully apologizing that he could not do any more. As a result, Bentham tactically retreated from the battle, feeling sorry for abandoning Luffy, yet knowing it wiser to survive and fight another day- this foresight (as opposed to Luffy's all-out recklessness) ended up saving Luffy's life.

Some time afterwards, with a poison-drenched Luffy on the brink of death's door and imprisoned a level below, Bentham decided to put his plan into action. He rallied up his two allies, and then decided to disguise himself as Hannyabal, only after eliminating the real one. Bentham used his powers and changed into one of the most attractive women in his arsenal; Nami. As Nami, he first enticed Hannyabal, and then he invited him to the weapons storage room to help "Nami" undress. After entering, he attacks and bind him down, keeping him away from everyone, and being able to freely impersonate him.

His plan now running quite smoothly, Bentham, now successfully masquerading as Hannyabal, along with a hesitant Buggy and Galdino, began their descent to Level 5 to save Luffy. When asked as to why he would do such a thing, he bluntly replied that he and Luffy "are friends! There's no need for any other reasons!" signifying his ideal to stick to his okama way.

Before beginning their downward trek, Bentham (still under the guise of Hannyabal) urges a medical team to help cure Luffy, giving them the impression that the Marines need him alive. The team however reports that anything they try can only hasten his death, confirming what Magellan had stated earlier. Bentham panicked, and Galdino and Buggy simply tell him to leave Luffy, saying to live after fighting Magellan is a miracle. This quip suddenly reminds him of Iva-san, who is rumored to perform medical miracles.

With that, a newly emboldened Bentham sets off for level 5, the Freezing Hell, to rescue Luffy. (Buggy and Galdino accompany him as prisoners he is personally transferring) On the way down it is discovered the man whom he seeks had mysteriously disappeared from the his cell, and he's not the only one- a significant portion of inmates are rumored to have been 'demoned' away. While what happens is unknown, the superstitious chalk it up to hellspawn coming and claiming the damned. After reaching their destination, they are confronted by wolves, the strongest beasts in Impel Down so far.



Although his companions flee, Bentham faces the beasts head on in an unseen skirmish. Having apparently bested his canine adversaries, he appears at the cell where Luffy is kept, shirtless and covered in blood, determined to rescue his comrade. He then begins asking inmates for directions to Iva, refusing to believe that he has been "demoned away". One of the inmates erroneously directs him to the forest, fully aware that nothing awaits but instead a hungry wolf pack. As the spiteful inmate had planned, wolves began attacking him.

Once again, he held his ground and began to fend them off, coming between them and an incapacitated Luffy, who would make for quite an easy prey. However, their numbers are too great and he began to falter. Before any fatal hits can be delivered, Luffy, in a defensive rage, bites one of the wolves. He then angrily but involuntarily surges his Haki, screaming at the wolves for attacking his friend. The wolves scatter in fear, and Bentham is confused as to what Luffy just did. Before he can ask though, he passes out. He is then shown lying next to Luffy unconscious when a mysterious figure appears.

When Bentham wakes up, he finds himself heavily bandaged and lying in a closed building, filled with gleeful folk cheering, drinking, eating, and having a good time. He is shocked beyond all means, wondering where he is, how he got there, and most importantly the condition and location of Luffy. His questions are answered by the mysterious figure from before, now appearing more as a woman then as a man as she did before, her name is Inazuma. Inazuma tells Bentham that they are in Newkama Land, hidden within the bowels of Impel Down, where the prisoners live in comfort directly below the Freezing Hell.

Bentham then sees Iva, whom he had been impatiently waiting for. Iva is about to speak with him but is interrupted by a burly prisoner barging in, who wishes to take revenge on Iva for the Kamabakka Kingdom turning the man's father into an Okama. Iva appears to be intimidated by his threats and seems reluctant to fight, but then the man proceeds to angrily shoot a cannon at Iva, who repels it by merely batting his eyelashes, revealing his fear to be a sarcastic ruse. Iva then turned the man into a woman, using the Horu Horu no Mi Devil Fruit ability, saying people have the right to be whatever they want to be.

As the newly changed woman flees, he immediately begs Iva to help Luffy. Iva says that he is a prisoner in Impel Down, and may not be kind enough to do that. However he then reveals how a near-death Luffy's selfless plea to save Bentham moved him, so he decided to help them- by giving Luffy a fighting chance against the toxins in his body using the healing aspects of his Horu Horu no Mi powers. Bentham's elation towards the news quickly turns into horror when Iva tells him that his friend has been confined to a heavily-barricaded room, where Luffy was undergoing the excruciatingly painful medical treatment to purge the poisons from his body, a procedure that should take upwards of two days, potentially making him late for Portgas D. Ace's execution (scheduled to take place sixteen hours from then).

Bentham is deeply disturbed by the suffering Luffy must endure alone and yearns for some way to share in his agony, feeling guilty doing anything while Luffy must endure such a hellish torture, but Iva tells him that it is up to Luffy whether to survive or not. With this in mind, Bentham sets it upon himself to holler support at Luffy for hours on end, continuing to scream bloody murder long after his throat was completely raw and he had nearly exerted himself to the point of physical collapse.

This touching display of dedicated friendship and devotion eventually inspired the initially skeptical Newkama's and even Ivankov himself to join in the act as a group and take up the slack for the drained and injured Bentham. After their constant cheering for the better half of a day, at long last a fully healed Luffy burst forth, and in only a fraction of the time Iva had predicted, yelling for "Foooooooooood!!!!!!", to the amazement and massive relief of all those present. With Luffy effectively recovered, Bentham finally collapses in exhaustion, after some celebration of Luffy's recovery; much to Luffy's shock. Later, when Luffy, Inazuma, and Ivankov return from Level 6, he is given some Tension Hormones by Ivankov to be able to fight (while occurring offscreen in the manga, in the anime, they were injected directly into his testicles, explaining his excessive hyperactivity). After a long and arduous battle up through all the floors alongside the rest of the Impel Down breakout crew, he managed to reach Level 1, joining up with the other group of escapees and immediately gave Galdino and Buggy (the ad hoc leaders of the latter group) a kick for abandoning them way back at Level 5. With Magellan hot on their tail, Bentham is forced to wait until Jinbe, Daz Bones, and Crocodile successfully steal a Marine ship. Eventually, with Jinbe's help, all of the prisoners other than Bentham make it out of the prison, using whale sharks to get onto the stolen ship.

Once Luffy and the others made it onto the battleship, they came across the issue of the Gates of Justice standing shut before them. Before they could decide the best course of action, though, the gates began to open. It was then that the others realized that Bentham was missing. Jinbe hesitantly revealed to Luffy that Bentham had decided to stay behind disguised as Magellan in order to open the Gates of Justice, knowing it was the only possible way, and sacrificing himself for the group, but did not want the others to be aware of this until after the fact. Jinbe begrudgingly breaks this promise to Bentham by telling all this to Luffy and giving him a baby Den Den Mushi to contact him with.



After completing his mission by opening the gates and destroying the mechanism that controls it, Bentham is confronted by the real, and shocked, Magellan. He reverted to his normal self, ready to take Magellan's judgment. However, before Magellan could attack, Luffy's voice came over the Baby Den Den Mushi, asking why he always sacrificed himself to save Luffy, but Bentham stoically attempts to remain silent. Luffy finally struggled to say that they were going, and sadly thanked him. Sobbing profusely, Bentham grabbed the Baby Den Den Mushi and told Luffy to make sure that he saved his brother. Luffy and his band of escapees commend him, admitting they would have never survived if not for Bentham and tearfully cried out to him until they passed through the Gates of Justice.

Bentham then fought against an enraged Magellan, who asked him if he had any last words. Bentham, showing no fear and great pride in his actions, proudly responded by saying that he has no regrets, and the scene cuts away.

Two Years Later
Bentham survived his fight with Magellan, but remains in Impel Down. He has become the new "Queen" of Newkama Land in Impel Down, Level 5.5.

Major Battles

 * Bon Kurei vs. Mr. 1 (more of a squabble)
 * Bon Kurei vs. Usopp and Eyelashes (Unseen)
 * Bon Kurei vs. Sanji
 * Bon Kurei vs. Hina (Alabasta Sea)
 * Bon Kurei vs. Hina (Rematch, disguised as Mr. 3)
 * Bentham and Monkey D. Luffy vs. Sphinx
 * Bentham, Luffy, Mr. 3, and Buggy vs. Minotaurus
 * Bentham vs. Wolf Unit
 * Bentham vs. Magellan (Unseen)

Filler Battles

 * Bentham (as Nami) vs. Hannyabal

Early One Piece
According to One Piece Color Walk 2, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei was originally going to be another pair, consisting of "Mr. 2" (who resembled Mr. 4) and "Miss Obon".

An early concept of Mr. 2 was revealed in One Piece Green: Secret Pieces. He was originally "Mr. Happy Birthday."

Anime and Manga Differences
Originally in the manga, the Japanese words for Okama are written on his pink coat. In the anime however, Bon Kurei is written instead.

This change also carries over to the dialogue. During the Alabasta Saga, Mr. 2 is never referred to as an "Okama" at all, instead every mention of the word "Okama" was replaced with "Ballet". His fighting style was likewise changed to "Ballet Kenpo" by Toei. However, he still yells "Okama Way!" as he bids the Straw Hats farewell at the end of the arc. This censorship was lifted from Bon Kurei in the Impel Down arc in the anime.

Bon Kurei's color scheme is slightly different between the manga and anime. In the anime, he wears greenish-colored mascara and his headband is yellow-green. However, in the manga, his headband is white and the mascara he wears is a light-purple color.

Translation and Dub Issues

 * In the manga, during the Meet Baroque Works Mini title page arc, Mr. 2's wanted posters are shown with the words "Bon Kurei" written on them; but his name is most often translated as Bon Clay, even in the Japanese One Piece video games. Most fans also say his name is Bon Clay, mostly due to the way the anime pronounces the name. 4Kids, Viz and FUNimation also chose Bon Clay over Bon Kurei. Another change was to his fighting style which was dubbed as "Crazy Karate" instead of Okama Kenpo and as "Oh Come My Way Karate" in the English manga by Viz Media. In the 8th Movie, due to being a theatrical film Toei lifted their censorship, so in the Japanese version, Mr. 2 was an "Okama" again, and practices "Okama Kenpo". Likewise, when FUNimation dubbed the movie, they correctly translated this over as "Crossdresser" and "Crossdresser Kenpo". However, FUNimation used "Ballet Kenpo" in their dub of the TV Anime, in keeping with the Japanese version and also omitted him saying "Okama Way" when he was going to delay Hina.
 * In some fan translations, as well as the FUNimation simulcast, 'Okama' is omitted and replaced with 'Queer', which is incorrect as 'Okama' does not refer to a person's sexuality.
 * In the Viz Manga, the word "Okama" is still omitted and any instance is substituted with the phrase "Oh Come My Way" (the back of his coat is translated as "Oh Come My Way"), and characters calling him an "okama" is changed (Luffy and Usopp said they pulled up a "weird fish" in the Viz Manga, and a "man-lady" in the English version of the eighth movie). He is also sometimes referred to as a "queen", a "swan", and "iffy".
 * Instead of not having a female partner due to being both a man and a woman, it is said that "he does not want one".
 * While Bon Kurei's original Japanese voice is somewhat nasal and petulant, he speaks with a high pitched southern United States accent in the 4Kids dub.

Merchandise
Mr. 2 appeared as a figurine in the Portrait of Pirates series in the "Neo" wave 3.

Songs

 * Oh, Come My Way

Trivia

 * According to Bon Kurei, Usopp has the world's funniest nose. The person with the world's funniest eyes, mouth, and head is himself. Thus, when Mr. 2 makes the world's funniest face, he just changes his nose to Usopp's.
 * In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Bon Kurei is ranked the 23rd most popular character in One Piece.
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, is the only Officer Agent in the Baroque Works megastructure without a female partner. This stems from the fact that he is an okama and plays both the male and female part (Mr. 2 for the male and Bon Kurei for the female). His original song from the One Piece Character Song Carnival CD is 'Oh Come My Way', which can be orally interpreted as 'Okama Way' (in fact, he says both "oh come my way" and "okama way" while singing during his trip to the Spiders Cafe), which means 'Transvestite Way'.
 * Because of being an Okama, he receives two names: a male name with a number, and a female name with a holiday. His female name, Bon Kurei, is a name referring to a specific night in the Obon (お盆) festival. His Devil Fruit also refers to his status as an Okama as he is able to take on both genders as he pleases.
 * He is seen amongst the audience of the theatre in a trailer for Movie 6 even though he himself has no part in the story.
 * When fighting with Sanji and taking off his swans for the first time, he notes that the left one is female and the right one is male.
 * In Episode 348, Nami imitated his way of talking as she was fighting Lola in Thriller Bark Arc, when she said "Jodan Janai Wa Yo!" to convince Lola that she was a man.


 * In Episode 437, after using his Devil Fruit powers to take the shape of Vice Warden Hannyabal, Bentham is seen switching back to his own face, but still keeping the same height as Hannyabal, who is much taller than Bentham originally is.
 * Manabu Kuchiki (朽木 学 Kuchiki Manabu) from Genshiken, who looks a lot like Bentham, cosplayed as the character in one episode of the Genshiken Nidaime manga and its anime adaptation.

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Bentham Mr.2 馮·克雷 Bentham