"The Real Slim Mary" or, The First Sue

Once there was a girl.

And she was beautiful. And she was kind. And she had a terrible burden on her slim shoulders. And she was forced to act against her gentle nature for the sake of her loved ones, until Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates saved her from herself.

Everybody loved her. They vowed to help her, no matter the cost to themselves. The girl, in turn, brought sunshine and joy as well as a good dose of chaos to the carefree crew.

Luffy thought she was a great playmate and a perfect addition to his crew. But he also admired her greatly for her inborn leadership abilities and way of inspiring fervent loyalty among all she met. From her, Luffy learned what it meant to be bear responsibility for others.

Nami secretly thought that the girl was everything she wanted to be herself. Next to the girl's, Nami's own relationships with people, especially with men, seemed shallow and manipulative. On the other hand, because the girl was so good of heart and handled all of the empathy-related issues on board, Nami was free to berate, bully, and blackmail her crewmates at will, because that is clearly all Nami is good for in this world.

Sanji fawned over the girl to the full extent of his womanizing powers. But sometimes, he also talked to her like a real person. Because of her, Sanji realized that women were not just pretty faces and a pair of tits. Women, especially her, were real people with real feelings who deserved his honest respect. Also, she let him play knight in shining armor and that gave him an immense feeling of self-satisfaction.

Zoro didn't mind the fact that the girl was physically weak, for every time he looked in her eyes he could see an inner strength shining through. Zoro willingly placed his life at her disposal. He sensed that within her frail, willowy frame, there resided an iron will which could pierce even the strongest armor. And, somewhere in the caverns of his heart, Zoro felt himself succumbing to her strange power.

Usopp liked her because she respected him and encouraged him to do his best. And while she probably didn't believe his stories, she listened to them patiently. And when his attempts at bravery fell short of perfect, she was kind enough not to laugh at or dismiss him. But she did it all subtly because she was sensitive to his feelings. And Usopp was grateful for that, because after all he was still a man.

Chopper thought she was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but actually that wasn't saying much.

Yes, she was wonderful, and she was kind, and she was courageous, and she was sympathetic, and she was noble, and she was sorrowful, and she was generous and she was inspiring, and when she left they all cried.

And her name...

was Vivi.

--------
notes: I like Vivi, I do. But really, she possesses all of the classic Mary Sue qualities, only she's in the manga, so she's technically not a Sue. Which raises really interesting questions of why fans don't hate Sue-like characters if they're in the canon, but will accuse any OC of being a Sue just because she is an OC. Robin's "existence as crime" kind of thing. Anyways, I just wanted to make the point that whatever Mary Sue people think up, Eiichiro Oda has already beaten them to it. Viva la Vivi!