Jinbe


 * The subject of this article is sometimes called Jimbei.

Jinbei (ジンベエ) is a whale shark Fishman who was the second captain of the Sunny Pirates after Fisher Tiger, and who became a Shichibukai eight years ago.

Appearance
Jinbei is a large blue whale shark Fishman with a face that is commonly associated with various Japanese demons such as Oni. His yellow eyebrows and sideburns are distinctly shaped like those found on such demons; a lightning-shaped scar can be seen from his left side burn and reaching over his left eye. He also possesses two tusk-like lower fangs associated with Oni as well. He has long black hair, a topknot, and tuft of hair on his chin with a slight green hue. Under his coat, he appears to be wearing an orange colored traditional Japanese clothing called a Jinbei.

Personality
Jinbei is a Fishman with great pride and honor. He is known to the World Government as a pirate-hating pirate, possibly due to the actions of the pirates in Fishman Island, kidnapping fishmen and merfolks to sell them as slaves. However, he has a soft spot for Whitebeard and his crew as he sees them as a completely different story. Because of what Whitebeard had done for his homeland, Fishman Island, he understands the damage a war between the World Government and Whitebeard would cause. He knows that places like his home, which are protected by simply belonging to Whitebeard's territory, would suffer the most from the war should Whitebeard lose.

Relationships
Jinbei has a history with Portgas D. Ace. The two were once enemies and both had nearly killed the other. Despite this, the two respect each other deeply. He also shows a mutual respect for Whitebeard, who claimed Fishman Island his territory, thus saving the island of any and all attacks from the World Government and other pirates.

He also seems to have some sort of history with his former peer Crocodile, and is noticeably upset upon realizing Crocodile in the cell adjacent his. According to Hannyabal, despite the title of Shichibukai bestowed upon them, Jinbei has never personally met Boa Hancock prior to her visiting him and Ace at Impel Down.

Abilities and Powers
Jinbei was able to battle Portgas D. Ace as his equal.

He and Arlong were once said to be equals, though whether it regards to their strength or status is yet unknown. It is assumed that Jinbei is currently stronger than Arlong, as he is a Shichibukai.

Also, he is one of the few people to be able to take a "baptizing" in boiling water in Impel Down without flinching, which is considered an impressive feat. On top of this, he shares the same cell as Fire Fist Ace who is considered one of the most important prisoners in the world at the moment.

Past
After the original captain of the Sunny Pirates Fisher Tiger died, Jinbei took over his legacy and became the new captain of the crew. Eight years ago however, when Jinbei joined the Shichibukai, he disbanded the crew. At some point, he fought equally with Portgas D. Ace, nearly killing each other, but then rekindled their relationship.

Held in Impel Down
At this time, Jinbei is currently imprisoned in Impel Down headed by Sengoku, the only member of the Shichibukai who has chosen not to follow with the World Government on their summons on facing the Whitebeard Pirate. He has decided to fight the Marines and is prepared to lose his status as a Shichibukai.

He is currently in the same cell as Portgas D. Ace where he was being tortured. There he complains about the fact that he could not scratch himself where he wanted to, and that he would gladly give his life to end the fighting.

He is later seen talking with Ace about how Whitebeard saved Fishman Island and the reasons he's prepared to die to stop the fighting. Knowing that Ace's captivity, as well as his impending execution are being used to incur Whitebeard's wrath, Jinbei further states that he wants to break his cellmate out of the Great Gaol, despite being chained himself, as he's yet to give up on hope. This however brings out a reaction from Crocodile, who explains to Jinbei and Ace that there are many pirates who have a grudge against Whitebeard. Jinbei and Ace are visited by another Shichibukai, Boa Hancock who wanted to see Ace. Hancock claimed that she simply wanted to see the prisoner triggering the war against Whitebeard which she will be joining. Jinbei remarks that even the "idle empress" would go to war to save her Shichibukai status, seeing this as a low point for Hancock. Hancock tells Jinbei she means no harm to them and cryptically reveals to Ace that his brother is trying to rescue him before leaving. When Ace tells Jinbei this, he describes Luffy's behavior as "reckless". Jinbei also points out that although he doesn't personally know Hancock, there's a possibility that she was lying. However, Ace countered that Hancock would not go out her way to lie to him, and knowing Luffy, his breaking into Impel Down after hearing Ace' incarceration down there is exactly the sort of crazy thing Luffy would do.

8 hours before Ace's execution, when Magellan came to Level 6 to escort Ace to his transfer to Marineford, Jinbei could do nothing but sit in his cell and watch.

Hope Finally Arrives
When Luffy, Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma reach Level 6, Jinbei immediately recognizes Luffy as Ace's brother due to the straw hat Luffy wears. After releasing Crocodile from his cell, Jinbei pleads that they release him as well, as he wants to save Ace too. Luffy, realizing Jinbei's honesty, agrees to do so.

Translation and Dub Issues
His name comes from jinbei-zame (甚平鮫), which means "whale shark" in Japanese.

Jinbei's name is sometimes spelled as Jimbei because when pronouncing it, the n of the name often sounds like a m to some. While these two forms of can be used interchangeable for the moment, there is currently no way to tell which way is correct as Oda has yet to write the name in plain Romaji.

His epithet, Kaikyou, would normally translate into "Strait" or "Channel". However since the kanji for it is written as (海侠) and not (海峡), the kyou part (侠) of it comes from (任侠), a honorific used when addressing a high ranking yakuza member, thus making his epithet a Japanese pun. and the honorific used for addressing high ranking yakuza members, it doesn't have a literal English translation. The closest translations used of the epithet that can be interpretted into English are made up based on the pun's meaning. These include "Yakuza of the Sea" and "Knight of the Sea" among others. These however are not literal translations, but titles made to convey the idea behind the original Japanese term used.

Trivia

 * Although Jinbei is the second Shichibukai to be mentioned, he is the last one to be fully unveiled.
 * He is the only non-human Shichibukai (not counting Kuma's cyborg status).
 * He is one of only two Shichibukai without a surname, the other is Crocodile. They are also somewhat gangster-themed: Crocodile dress like a mafia boss, while Jinbei epithet can be interpreted as "Yakuza of the Sea".
 * After his initial silhouette in Chapter 523, at the JUMP Festa 2009 Oda decided to a show a preview of Jinbei and drew a rough sketch of what he looked like.
 * As of chapter 540, Jinbei became the second Shichibukai to befriend a Straw Hat Pirate, with the first being Boa Hancock