Why does the Den Den Mushi look so much like their owner?

Question

Seriously, they just look like their owner. For example, Robin talked to Zoro through one in Dressrosa, and even the snail had a scar on its left eye. That is just weird. We even saw Kaidou talk to Scratchmen Apoo, and we know because the snail had braces. Trafalgar Law contacted Donflamingo through one as well, and this one had a hat just like his. Let's not forget Doflamingo himself had one for himself in Vergo's pocket, which was also wearing pink sunglasses.

A long time I came to the hypothesis (because I read the manga only) that with the Den Den Mushi you don't hear the actual guy's voice, but rather, the snail can imitate it perfectly to you with his facial expressions so that it is like an actor, with face and voice. Am I right?

Now I am starting to think my hypothesis was wrong because of this similarity thing.

Answer 1

If you watch the anime, you will know that they only change appearances when "online". That is, if I talk to Zoro for example, the Den Den Mushi will look exactly like he does while talking; copying his facial expressions as well.

From this link:

Literal Meaning: Electric Transmission Bug

They are used for radio communication

They have the ability to communicate with each other telepathically through radio waves. The people of the One Piece world take advantage of this ability by attaching buttons and receivers to them. According to Franky, this process is quite simple

This is how they work

Den Den Mushi will mimic the person's speech and display their emotions as well as take on the distinctive physical traits of the person on the other end. For example, when someone screams, the snail will scream as well. They also seem to be able to change their eye color and even if they lost some teeth (ex. Caesar talking over Law's Den Den Mushi) whenever someone is talking through.

You can read the wiki yourself, there doesn't seem to be a logical explanation on how they transform so much. I tried looking through the SBS but couldn't find anything useful. So right now it will have to stay a mystery.

Answer 2

According to Fandom Wiki (Nov 2017),

When a person calls or speaks through a Den Den Mushi, the Den Den Mushi will mimic the person's speech and display their emotions as well as take on the distinctive physical traits of the person on the other end.

In other words, they don't take the appearance of their owner but rather the one that is calling, and then return to normal once the call has been terminated. Think of it like adding a picture to your contacts to know who is calling.

It calls for some suspension of disbelief, it's a manga after all. The information I literally copy-pasted from the wiki reference One Piece Blue: Grand Data File, classification of Den Den Mushi, One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 75 Chapter 746 (p. 14), and many more. I do not think there was any extensive explanation of the workings of Den Den Mushi in the manga, but I could be wrong.

Answer 3

I don't read the manga, so everything I say is anime based.

There's actually conflicting info in regard to how they work. If you recall, they don't have just one snail and it changes facial expressions and clothes hidden in its shell or something. If you recall, Doflamingo had like 50 snails and they all looked like someone else as in they are linked specifically to the other person and only them which is why they look like them. He isn't the only person with multiple snails.

What I wanted to know is if they dress their snails like freakin barbie dolls or do the snails somehow transform. What was contradicting was how the navy was able to listen in. That would mean they must be linked to specific snails and know who they belong to.

They have snail numbers so you can call someone else's snail specifically which as I said, contradicts the previous statement. Also if you recall the start of Punk Hazard, they got a call from a random person on the island, also how do Big Mom's tracker snails work where they call the ship upon entering their space?

I really don't know what to think. It's all confusing and changes at any given time. Another strange thing is why did they become straight snails when they used to be round ones. They used to be in their shells and now their in bamboo shoots or something. I think it was Dressrosa where it first happened.

IMO, it's one of those things, don't worry how you got there just enjoy the ride.