The Going Merry - The First Straw Hat Home

I really love this ship. It has an amazing design and is the perfect ship for a new pirate crew. When I first started watching One Piece I loved the way the face looked. The subtle smile really sold it for me. In fact, I loved it so much that whenever the 'Eyecatcher' showed up in the middle of an episode, I'd always point to the Going Merry with a silly, hook-like finger. I did this initially as a joke with my Wife, as we often used that same style of pointing to point at things we found cute(mostly cats). Even though my wife and I were seperated for many months due to the USA visa process; I continued this tradition of pointing at the Merry even when watching One Piece by myself. It always reminded me of being with her. Through that one short moment that the Merry was on the TV, I felt like I wasn't alone and that she was there with me smiling and pointing as well. Even if it was only for a few seconds, I looked forward to it each episode.

I found these images online and thought that they were super cool. Recently I built the Going Merry Lego set, so I thought it was so cool to see these detailed plans depicting this ship.