There once was a man named Gold Rodger, a pirate, and he was given the glorious title: ‘King of the Pirates’ for possessing the legendary treasure, One Piece. He had fame, fortune, and power, until one day, he caught and brought to the execution tower to be executed. These were his last words, “My fortune is yours for the taking, but you have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece”.
From that day on, pirates from all around the world sailed to the Grand Line in search of One Piece the treasure that would make their dreams of fame and fortune come true. But no one has ever found the location of Gold Roger’s treasure, and the Grand Line is too dangerous of a place to overcome as they were just pirates without any special skills.
22 years after Gold Rodger’s death, a boy named Monkey D. Luffy wanted to give a shot at finding the legendary treasure as he had the vision of becoming the King of Pirates ever since he was a little boy. With inspiration of his idol, the deceased Gold Rodger, and the help of from his role-model, ‘Shanks’ of the Red Hair Pirates, Luffy sets out and finds a crack team of special people to help him on his arduous quest.
One Piece is a manga series written by Eiichiro Oda that began its serialization in the popular Weekly Shounen Jump magazine in July of 1997. Over the years of the manga publication, it has run alongside many of the magazine’s top series including Hunter x Hunter, Naruto, and Bleach. The series itself has also garnered a large audience making One Piece one of the most successful and most respected series to date.
In 1999, the manga series received an anime adaptation produced by Toei Animation. By episode 207, the anime adaptation underwent changes shifting to high definition and utilizing digital animation rather than the hand drawn scenes that were previously featured in the series. Aside from the anime series, multiply films have been made for the series.
One Piece is now known to be the best selling manga in history.
One Piece takes place during the Golden Age of Piracy. Gol D. Roger, an extremely infamous pirate known for conquering the most unforgiving seas of the Grand Line made an announcement during his execution telling the entire world that his treasure, referred to by all as One Piece, is hidden along the very same Grand Line that he conquered. Finding that very treasure would make one Pirate King and would be a symbol of having conquered what only a single man has been able to do. His bold proclamation incited many to take up their own jolly roger and wave the flag of piracy in the hopes of finding the fabled treasure and claiming the title of Pirate King.
The series follows Monkey D. Luffy, a man who dreams of finding One Piece and earning the title of Pirate King. Luffy starts his adventure by searching for members to join his crew. While initially starting out as a crew of one, his pirate crew eventually grows in number as he recruits a small number of reliable members.
East Blue Saga
The first saga follows Luffy as he travels the East Blue in search of a crew that can tackle the notoriously unrelenting Grand Line. Astonishingly enough, Luffy’s focus lies not on mere recruitment but on finding people who he deems interesting enough or strong enough to join his crew. Due to his emphasis on this criteria, he spends a great deal of time locating people that fit such a description.
His first recruit is a pirate hunter who goes by the name of Roronoa Zoro. Luffy first encounters Zoro within a navy base with the latter being tied to a wooden cross left to suffer and starve in the heat. It is soon revealed that Zoro’s current state was due to an exchange that he had with Helmeppo, the son of navy captain Axe Hand Morgan who in turn is in charge of the navy base. Luffy finds out that Zoro agreed to stay in the middle of the marine base, tied up for an entire month to spare the lives of a local mother and daughter. Having heard this, Luffy decides to make Zoro his first recruit, retrieving the latter’s three swords and escaping the navy base together.
The events that follow Zoro’s rescue lead to the recruitment of the rest of the crew before they tackle their first major challenge in the Alabasta Saga.
Straw Hat Pirates
The Straw Hat Pirates is named after and led by their captain Monkey D. Luffy who carries the moniker of Straw Hat Luffy. Luffy is extremely selective of his members. The basis for his selections are his own interest in the individual rather than simple traits or physical ability and strength. The Straw Hat crew as a result is extremely small in number making the crew’s abilities even more prominent.
Notorious for their surprising strength and ability to attain victory against impossible odds, they have shown their resilience and their willpower in many situations wherein defeat was inevitable.
Among the ranks of the Straw Hats, three members stand out in terms of sheer fighting capability – the crew’s captain Luffy, the first mate Zoro, and the chef Sanji. Referred to as the Monster Trio, many of the crew’s clashes see these three taking on the most powerful of foes. Despite the marked difference in strength between the Monster Trio and the rest of the crew, the other members are still shown to be fully capable of taking care of themselves on the battlefield. All Straw Hat Pirates crew members have been shown eliminating large waves of Marines singlehandedly. They have all also been shown taking down tough adversaries on their own.
The crew had traveled the seas on the deck of the Going Merry earlier on in the series. Due to the combined damaged sustained throughout the crew’s adventures, the Going Merry reached a state wherein repair was impossible. After giving the ship a proper farewell, the Straw Hats began sailing the waters of the Grand Line on the Thousand Sunny built by their own shipwright, Franky.
Monkey D. Luffy
Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He has the goal of becoming Pirate King not for the fame and glory but so that he can do whatever he wants. His laid back attitude carries over to his daily life as he is often seen lounging around on the figurehead of their ship. It is also made apparent whenever he recruits crew members inviting them to join the crew on a whim and without regard for the opinion of others. Despite his slack and candid nature, Luffy has shown to have tremendous charisma earning the respect of even his enemies on the battlefield. His charisma later results in many followers who, while not part of the official Straw Hat Pirates, have promised to aid Luffy whenever he needs it sailing under the banner of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.
In his younger days, he ate the Gomu Gomu no mi, the rubber devil fruit making him a rubber man. He utilizes his rubber properties to its fullest when he is in combat boasting multiple uses of his rubber state. He has been shown using techniques that involve all parts of his body and has even used his elasticity to store a large amount of water in his body. Later on in the series, he has taken advantage of the elasticity of his blood vessels increasing the blood flow and consequently, his metabolism allowing him to move with extreme speed. He has also utilized his elastic bones increasing their size to increase the size of his limbs making them enormous.
Later on in the series, Luffy shows to have a certain degree of mastery over haki, a set of unique techniques that allowing one to increase their strength and ability of observation. He has also displayed some level of control over his Conqueror’s Haki allowing him to knock out weaker opponents without the need to engage them in combat. He manages to incorporate his Armament Haki to his rubber properties increasing his combat potential by an extremely large amount.
Roronoa Zoro
Roronoa Zoro, sometimes called Pirate Hunter Zoro, is the first mate and first recruit of the Straw Hat crew joining after Luffy saved him from marine execution. He has shown his ability to command the rest of the crew on many occasions and has made pivotal decisions on their behalf. He has also shown his dedication to his captain declaring him to be the future Pirate King and even going so far as to take in all the damage that Luffy had sustained to save him and the rest of the crew.
On the battlefield, he uses the Santoryu or three sword style holding one sword in either hand and a third in his mouth. Zoro has demonstrated both skill and strength with this style using its techniques to slice metal and even whole buildings.
While Zoro does not have devil fruit powers, he is shown to constantly train lifting absurd weights on the deck of the Straw Hat Pirates ship. He has been training with the sword since childhood promising his childhood rival that he would become the world’s greatest swordsman for the both of them. The strength that he has displayed over the series has put him among the crew’s Monster Trio and has constantly pit him against some of the strongest enemies that the Straw Hats have faced.
Nami
Carrying the moniker of Cat Burglar, Nami was a thief before leaving the Arlong Pirates and joining the Straw Hat Pirates as their navigator.
Her original intention was to rob the Straw Hats and give the money to the Arlong Pirates as part of a ransom to save her home, Orange Town. She eventually left the Arlong Pirates and joined the Straw Hats, aiding the latter in defeating the fishman captain Arlong. She sports a pinwheel tattoo on her arm as a symbol of her village and as a tribute to her adoptive mother Bellmere and her sister Nojiko.
Nami has shown to be a capable navigator with an attunement to the weather. She was able to predict the arrival of a storm before it even began and has even used her knowledge of the weather when fighting. In battle, Nami uses her modified bo staff called the Clima-tact. The Clima-tact allows Nami to release bubbles of heat or cold properties that allow her to manipulate the weather in the immediate area. Following a few upgrades, her Clima-tact has increased in power and function allowing her to shoot out gusts of wind aside from increasing the area of her weather control.
Usopp
Once deemed a liar in his hometown of Syrup Village, Usopp gained notoriety for the falsehood that he would say daily. Usopp was in the habit of constantly telling lies to make himself sound like a hero of the seas. These lies ironically enough begin to come true over the course of the series. Usopp eventually leaves his village and childhood friend, Kaya behind to follow Luffy and to try and become a great pirate.
The Going Merry was given to the Straw Hat Pirates by Kaya as they were departing from Syrup Village. Due to this connection, Usopp has a particularly strong connection to the ship. During their earlier adventures, Usopp would maintain the ship keeping it in sailing condition through makeshift repairs up until the point where the crew shipwright, Franky, joined. When the Going Merry had been tagged as doomed, he was the last to accept this fact and even caused a rift among the crew members before ultimately accepting the change.
In combat, Usopp has shown an uncanny fighting style relying heavily on traps and planning to gain the upper hand on opponents that are exponentially stronger than he is. He has a keen awareness of his own strengths and is able to assess his enemy’s weakness utilizing this in battle. His awareness grows over the course of the series and eventually evolves into Observation Haki. Aside from his intellect, he utilizes a slingshot in combat, making him the crew’s sniper.
During the events at Enies Lobby, he takes on the identity of Sogeking, King of Snipers, supporting the Straw Hats as they go against Cipher Pol 9. While the other members of the crew recognize him, Luffy remains oblivious to the fact that Usopp and Sogeking are one and the same.
At Dressrosa, the slaves that he rescued gave him the title of God Usopp giving the impression of his being a larger threat. As a result, the World Government increased his bounty making him one of the most wanted members of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Vinsmoke Sanji
Sanji is the crew’s chef and is often seen cooking for the crew, particularly the ladies. Sanji was previously working at Baratie, a large ship turned restaurant under the tutelage of Chef Zeff, once a pirate with the moniker of Red Leg. Being raised by a chef, his dream is to find the All Blue, the point where the North, South, East, and West Blue all meet.
Much later in the series, Sanji is revealed to be the son of Vinsmoke Judge who created him and his siblings as superhumans. While they all gained the body of superhumans, Sanji was the only one to show the human trait of empathy, a characteristic that his siblings all lack. He was consequently deemed a failure and tossed out which eventually put Sanji in the care of Chef Zeff.
In combat, Sanji’s role as chef is highlighted with all his techniques being named after a dish. His respect for food and his position as chef is also highlighted by the fact that he refuses to use his hands in combat. Thus, his fighting style involves heavy use of his legs with his hands only being used to hold himself up during handstands and other such maneuvers. He has also demonstrated expert use of knives in combat. With the focus on leg techniques and his preference for black slacks, he was given the moniker of Black Leg Sanji which in turn is an homage to Red Leg Zeff, the man who raised him.
Tony Tony Chopper
Tony Tony Chopper is the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates having joined them after they rescued Drum Island from the oppressive king Wapol. Chopper is a reindeer who ate the human devil fruit, the Hito Hito no mi, granting him not only human level intellect but also the ability to take human form. Through the use of the Rumble Ball, a form of medicine, he is able to take on more forms that allow him to highlight a specific aspect of the body. A running gag of the series has others mistaking Chopper to be the pet of the crew rather than an actual crew member. It is for this reason that his bounty remains extremely low in contrast to the monstrous bounties of his fellow crew members.
Chopper joined the Straw Hats in the hopes of developing his skills as a doctor and eventually becoming a doctor that is capable of curing any disease.
In combat, he uses the Rumble Ball to take on different forms which he titles as Points. The strongest of all these Points is the Monster Point which sees Chopper taking on an extremely large physical form increasing his strength exponentially. Before the crew underwent individual training, Chopper was unable to control himself in this form making him a monster of brute strength. After training however, he gained the ability to stay in control even when in Monster Point. Additionally, he learned to freely change form into all Points other than Monster Point without the need of a Rumble Ball.
Nico Robin
Initially, Nico Robin served as a powerful enemy to the Straw Hat Pirates under the codename of Miss All Sunday. When Luffy finally freed Alabasta from the control of one of the Seven Warlords, commonly referred to as the Shichibukai, Robin stowed away on their ship before Luffy ultimately invited her to join the crew. Having joined the crew, she serves as the archeologist capable of reading the poneglyphs that contain the hidden history of the world. Her dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph on which is written the true history of the world, the history that the World Government attempted to destroy and erase.
It is revealed that Nico Robin is the only survivor of the Ohara Buster Call, the event wherein the World Government attempted to erase all traces of Ohara researchers that were studying the world history. She was given the title of Devil Child Nico Robin in an attempt to destroy her reputation making it near impossible to escape from society’s sight.
Having eaten the flower devil fruit, the Hana Hana no mi, she is able to sprout copies of her limbs on a surface of her choosing. These limbs are under her control allowing her to perform many actions and create many objects through creative utility of her ability. One instance of this is when she creates wings by sprouting multiple copies of her arms on her back. While not physically strong, her creative use of her unique abilities has made her an extremely capable fighter.
Franky
Originally, Franky was named Cutty Flam and was an apprentice of Tom, a fishman, shipwright, and owner of Tom’s Workers. Tom’s Workers were extremely skilled and all its members were considered to be talented even as apprentices with Tom himself being regarded as the world’s best shipwright. Tom was known to have been the shipwright that built the ship that the Pirate King Gol D. Roger used to sail the Grand Line during his lifetime. Tom also built the sea train, Puffing Tom, that Water 7 is famous for. Unfortunately, he was also suspected of possessing the blueprints of the superweapon Pluton. The events surrounding the government’s attempt to claim Pluton led to his death and to Cutty Flam taking on the name of Franky to hide his original identity.
As a Straw Hat, Cyborg Franky is the official shipwright of the crew having built the Thousand Sunny which serves as the Straw Hat Pirate crew’s ship. He is also a weapons expert having built the artillery currently installed onto the Thousand Sunny as well as smaller units such as a submarine that can be deployed from the ship.
Being a cyborg, Franky uses his weapons installed into his body during combat. For instance, he commonly uses his Strong Right technique wherein his right fist disconnects from his body and launches forward. His signature technique, Coup de Vent, involves him shooting a blast of extremely compressed air draining him of his fuel, cola.
Brook
Brook is a pirate that revived as a skeleton due to the effects of the Yomi Yomi no mi or soul devil fruit which he consumed when he was still alive and part of the Rumbar Pirates. When he was still alive, his pirate crew was a crew that focused more on music than actual piracy. His crew however lost their lives in the Grand Line leaving Brook as the only surviving member.
When meeting the crew, he was unable to leave the area due to his shadow having been stolen by the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria. He eventually joined the Straw Hat Pirates as the musician of the crew after having been saved by Luffy and the rest of the crew.
In combat, Brook utilizes a sword making him one of the two swordsmen in the crew. His techniques however differ from Zoro’s highlighting his love for music as opposed to Zoro’s purer sword style. Brook focuses on fencing and quick attacks and maneuvers. His technique, Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri, highlights his extreme speed with opponents sometimes not even realizing that they have already been cut by his blade.
After the crew underwent individual training, Brook demonstrated the ability to freeze opponents through a new application of his soul devil fruit powers. A testament the skills that he gained during his years of training is seen when he manages to inflict damage on Prometheus, one of the two special and extremely powerful homies of one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom.