Laboon

Laboon is an extremely large whale (of comparable or greater size than the monsters in Calm Belt), native to West Blue, whom the Straw Hat Pirates encounter immediately after entering the Grand Line.

Appearance
Essentially, Laboon is is a large black whale with many scars across his head where he has bashed himself against reverse mountain. He is not far fetched of many other ocean creatures in the sea as far as size goes. Later after meeting the Straw Hats, Laboon gains a (badly drawn) copy of their Jolly Roger across his scar.

Personality
Laboon is heavily emotional and surprisingly understanding for a whale. He understands the motives behind people's actions and has the both patience and loyalty of a good friend. He formed both strong bonds with a crew of pirates, Crocus his caretaker and with the Straw Hat crew when they passed through.

In his early years he was a happy little Island Whale who formed a strong bond with his pirate friends. However his happiness was shattered and he fell into a deep depression after they had to leave him behind. His strong will and determination was led by a blind ambition to see his friends alive again, clinging on to what little hope he had for their safety. However his efforts over the years have only led to further suffering due to his own self-inflicted injury.

History
Fifty years earlier, Laboon had been left at the bottom of Reverse Mountain by a group of pirates who had befriended him, eventually revealed to be Brooke's group of pirates. Since his species travels in pods, he had forged a powerful bond of friendship with these pirates, even following them all the way from West Blue, and he patiently waited for them at Grand Line's entrance. His caretaker is a doctor named Crocus, who normally mans the Lighthouse that introduces travelers into Grand Line.

Crocus revealed to the Straw Hat Pirates that Laboon's friends effectively abandoned him by fleeing the Grand Line through the Calm Belt. The old doctor has cared for Laboon ever since his friends left him. Although Laboon knows the truth about his friends, he refuses to admit to himself that they are gone. Laboon has many scars on his head from slamming into Reverse Mountain, for he believes he can destroy the mountain and return to West Blue.

Monkey D. Luffy, in an effort to give Laboon a renewed sense of hope, picks a fight with the whale by jamming the Going Merry's mast into his head. After the battle (which Luffy calls a draw), Luffy promises to Laboon that he will return to see him, under the guise of wanting a rematch. As a sign of this, Luffy paints the Straw Hat Jolly Roger on Laboon's head, commenting that the insignia will wash away if Laboon hits Reverse Mountain further. The Straw Hats depart, leaving behind two important friends.

Recently, Brook was discovered to have once been a member of Laboon's crew. It is revealed that Brook's crew had been wiped out during their journey, effectively leaving Brook to sole survivor due to the ability of the Yomi Yomi no Mi. Because of the promise Brook and the rest of his crew made to Laboon, Brook feels obligated to meet up with Laboon in order fulfill that promise. He feels that Laboon wouldn't forgive them for dying irresponsibly in the Grand Line.

Translation and Dub Issues
Originally, in the Japanese manga and anime, the appearance of Laboon is also the introduction of Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, two Frontier Agents of Baroque Works who are responsible for bringing the Straw Hat Pirates to Whisky Peak (Misty Peak in the English dub). However, the fight between Luffy and Laboon where Laboon is stabbed with Going Merry's mast was deemed to be too controversial and violent by 4Kids for American audiences, so Laboon was passed off as an iceberg that was effectively destroyed by Monkey D. Luffy. (In the July 2006 English issue of Shonen Jump, there is a page featuring upcoming One Piece cards; in this, he is called "Raboon," but his name remains "Laboon," in the manga itself.)

This missing "arc" was also significant in it was originally how Nami came to have a Log Pose, though this was also written around in the English anime. In the orignal, Nami found a log pose left by Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday, which Luffy detroyed. Crocus then gave them his log pose.

In the 4Kids version, the log pose was inside Usopp's pocket which was found when it fell out. Usopp had a "flashback" (the scene of Yasopp saying "I can shoot the antene off a ant" was used to mouth the words) where he apparently told his wife Usopp will find this useful when he becomes a pirate. Nami and Sanji both then recalled information about the Log Pose and the Grand Line from their past mentors (just with Yassop, again these scenes this reused previous scenes to retell the Grand Line). Much of the background was edited from outside the Going Merry to inside instead (where the pose was found).

This situation also created a plot hole in the events concerning Brook.