Monkey D. Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and the main protagonist of the
One Piece franchise. At age seven, he admires and tries to join the pirates of the
"Red-Haired" Shanks. Ridiculed and rejected, he inadvertently eats their treasure, the Paramecia-type , which gives him rubbery attributes. His reckless efforts ultimately lead him into grave peril causing Shanks to lose an arm while rescuing him. After this, Luffy gives up on joining Shanks, resolving instead to start a crew of his own and become King of the Pirates. Displeased by Shanks spoiling his grandson,
Monkey D. Garp takes Luffy to be raised by
Curly Dadan and her mountain bandits, who he strong-arms into taking him in. During Luffy's time there, he becomes a
sworn brother with
Portgas D. Ace, Garp's other ward, and
Sabo, a local runaway noble. Ten years later and still wearing Shanks' treasured straw hat, Luffy forms and commands his own pirate crew called the Straw Hat Pirates and sets sail for the
Grand Line, quickly gaining infamy as . Eventually, after his strength proves insufficient to save Ace from execution, he spends two years on a secluded island, learning the use of all the three colors of
Haki as well as his rubber ability's Fourth Gear from
Silvers Rayleigh, before heading to the
New World. Due to his infamy, he is one of the pirates who are known as "
The Worst Generation". After the defeat of
Kaido and
Big Mom, he is subsequently named one of the newest members of the
Four Emperors. Luffy is also capable of using the advanced application for all three types of Haki. During his fight with Kaido, his Devil Fruit power awakened, revealing its true nature as the Mythical Zoan-type .
Roronoa Zoro is a
swordsman who uses up to three swords simultaneously, holding one in each hand and a third in his mouth. To fulfill a promise to
Kuina, his deceased childhood friend and rival, he aims to defeat
"Hawk-Eye" Mihawk and become the world's greatest swordsman. Traveling the seas in search of Mihawk and making a living as a bounty hunter, he becomes infamously known as . Eventually, he comes into conflict with
Helmeppo, the spoiled son of a navy officer named Axe-Hand Morgan. To prevent the harm of innocent civilians, Zoro allows himself to be incarcerated temporarily, while Helmeppo plots to have him killed. Zoro is saved from execution by Luffy in exchange for becoming his first crewman. At that point, Zoro makes it clear that he would turn on his captain if he ever stepped between him and his dream. However, Zoro grows fond of his crew and after several defeats in their defense, his priorities change and he convinces Mihawk to take him on as a student. Zoro is capable of utilizing all three types of Haki and is capable of using the advanced application for both Haoshoku and Busoshoku Haki. He is known for his awful sense of direction and constantly gets lost when traveling.
Nami , adopted and raised by
Marine officer turned
tangerine farmer Belle-Mère, in her childhood witnessed her mother being murdered by the infamous
Arlong, whose pirate gang occupies their island and extracts tribute from the population. Striking a deal with him, Nami, still a child, but already an accomplished
cartographer who dreams of drawing a complete map of the world, joins the pirates, hoping to buy freedom for her village eventually. Growing up as a pirate-hating pirate drawing maps for Arlong and stealing treasure from other pirates, Nami becomes an excellent burglar, pickpocket, and navigator with an exceptional ability to forecast weather. After Arlong betrays her, and he and his gang are defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, Nami joins them in pursuit of her dream and acquires infamy herself as .
Zeus is a
cloud Homie who
Big Mom created, originally being one of her main sidekicks. He was captured by Nami in Whole Cake Island, and after it he partnered up with her, residing inside Nami's Sorcery Clima-Tact. Zeus is voiced by
Yū Mizushima in the original Japanese version and by Kevin D. Thelwell in the Funimation dub.
Usopp was abandoned during his early childhood by his father,
Yasopp, who left to join the
Red-Haired Pirates. As his mother,
Banchina, falls ill, Usopp starts telling tall tales, expressing his hope that his father will return and take them out to sea. He regularly goes to the mansion at the top of the hill where he lives, to visit Kaya. Even after his mother dies, Usopp does not blame his father for leaving. Despite his cowardly disposition, he strives to become a great pirate. Usopp is recognizable for his long nose, a reference to the fact that he
tends to lie a lot. He is a also gifted inventor, painter, and sculptor. In combat, he relies primarily on slingshots to fire various kinds of ammunition with great precision in coordination with a set of lies and other weapons giving him a unique fighting style named "The Usopp Arsenal". To help the Straw Hats rescue Nico Robin, he achieves notoriety under his alter-ego , a hero sniper wearing a golden mask and cape. Eventually, after helping the Straw Hats liberate Dressrosa from Donquixote Doflamingo's rule, he becomes infamous as .
Sanji , born as , was a prince of
Germa Kingdom. He is routinely ridiculed by his
genetically enhanced siblings and is locked away by his father
Vinsmoke Judge for being a disgrace. With help from his sister Vinsmoke Reiju, he escapes and flees Germa, a floating kingdom composed of several ships, after it enters the East Blue and his father permits it. While serving as an apprentice
cook on a passenger ship, nine-year-old Sanji stands up to a boarding party of pirates led by the infamous
"Red Foot" Zeff. During the encounter, Sanji is swept into the sea by a massive wave. Zeff jumps in after him because of their common dream of finding the , a legendary area where the East, West, North, and South Blue seas meet, containing every kind of fish in the world. While castaways together, the pirate saves Sanji's life yet again by giving him all of their food. After their eventual rescue, Sanji stays with Zeff for several years and helps him build a floating restaurant, the . Zeff in turn makes him a first-rate cook and teaches him his kick-based fighting style. Mirroring Zeff, Sanji will never refuse a starving person a meal and he uses only his legs when fighting to protect the hands he needs for cooking. He has a enamored weakness for women and makes it a principle never to harm one, even if it means his death. Eventually, he becomes infamous as . While training for a period of two years in
Emporio Ivankov's , he develops the , a variant of the technique , which allows him to essentially run through air. Sanji receives his own Raid Suit from his family that grants him the ability to turn invisible, though he later destroys it out of fear of losing his humanity. Sanji's standard appearance is wearing a well-fitting black suit with a skinny black tie. His hair always covers one of his eyes and he is usually smoking a cigarette.
Tony Tony Chopper is an anthropomorphic
reindeer and
doctor. The power of the Zoan-type provides him with the ability to transform into a full-sized reindeer or a reindeer-human hybrid. A self-developed drug he calls enables him to perform even more transformations for three minutes. With help from
Caesar Clown, Chopper can last in his transformations for about 30 minutes. Rejected by his herd because of his blue nose and eating the Devil Fruit, Chopper is rescued by Drum Island's quack doctor named
Hiriluk. While developing a potion to create cherry blossoms when in contact with snow, Chopper is heartbroken when Hiriluk falls ill with a deadly disease. After Hiriluk's death,
Dr. Kureha takes him in as his mentor. After the Straw Hats arrive at Drum Island and take Chopper with them, Kureha uses Hiriluk's potion to turn the snowy sky into cherry blossoms, fulfilling Hiriluk's life mission. When complimented, Chopper acts flustered and sometimes yells at the person who complimented him to stop trying to make him happy. A running gag within the series is when other characters mistake him as a
Tanuki, and he angrily corrects them, pointing out that he is a
Tonakai (Japanese for "Reindeer"). When creating Chopper, Oda wanted a mascot who is both cute and feeble. An IGN review of the manga praised Chopper's character as one of the best in the series and said that he was able to be both touching and funny. With Chopper's backstory, Oda wanted to illustrate that one need not be blood-related to be considered family.
Nico Robin raised in , home of the world's oldest and largest library. Robin becomes an
archaeologist at the age of eight. At some point she gains the power of the Paramecia-type , which allows her to have temporary copies of parts of her body, including her eyes and ears, which spring up on surfaces near her. Behind her teachers' backs, she acquires from them the outlawed knowledge of how to translate the ancient stones called , which are scattered around the world. She comes to share their goal of finding the elusive , which is said to tell the world's lost history referred to as the . However, the
World Government finds out about these efforts and sends a battlefleet to stop them. Only Robin escapes the devastating attack that claims the lives of the island's entire population, including that of her mother. Called , traumatized, and with a bounty on her head, Robin lives a life on the run, unable to trust anyone. To survive, she cooperates with various pirates and other outlaws. She eventually joins
Sir Crocodile's
Baroque Works group, using the codename and becomes their vice-president. After Baroque Works falls apart, with nowhere else to go, she tags along with the Straw Hat Pirates and grows so fond of them that she gives herself up to the Government to save them. After they discover her real reason for leaving, the Straw Hat Pirates declare open war against the Government to get her back. She realizes that she has finally found people who will never betray her and joins the crew. Two years later, Robin further hones her Devil Fruit powers to the point she can create a full-bodied duplicate of herself.
Franky , born as , is the son of pirate parents who abandoned him at age nine. Cutty Flam was taken in as an apprentice by shipwright
Tom, who built Pirate King
Gold Roger's ship, the Oro Jackson, and also secretly holds the plans for a devastating ancient weapon; he eventually adopts the nickname Franky. Franky's recklessness eventually provides an opportunity for
World Government agents seeking these plans. Attempting to rescue his master, Franky suffers severe injuries and only survives by rebuilding parts of his body using pieces of scrap metal, turning himself into a cola-powered
cyborg with strength. After gaining notoriety as , and to fulfill his dream of sailing a ship he built around the world, he constructs the
Thousand Sunny, a
brigantine-rigged
sloop-of-war, for the Straw Hat Pirates and joins the crew.
Brook was already a pirate before the time of
Gol D. Roger. Brook first enters the Grand Line as a member of the music-themed
Rumbar Pirates. Leaving his pet, the infant whale
Laboon, at
Reverse Mountain, he promises to return after sailing around the world. After losing his captain
"Calico" Yorki, Brook took over the crew as the new captain. Some time later, he is annihilated, but the power of the Paramecia-type allows him to resurrect as a
skeleton. Fifty years later, Brook's goal is still to fulfill his late crew's promise, and to that end he joins the Straw Hat Pirates. He is an excellent
musician, who says that he can play any instrument, although he is usually seen playing the violin. Brook can even influence people with his music to the point of making them fall asleep. While separated from the other Straw Hats, and incognito as "Soul King" Brook, he gains world fame, filling concert halls with fans. He is also a skilled fencer who uses a
shikomizue (a Japanese cane sword) in battle. His reduced weight allows him to jump extraordinarily high and to run across water. Eventually, Brook learns how to use his Devil Fruit ability to leave his skeleton body and explore his surroundings as a disembodied
soul. Oda first conceived the idea of a skeleton musician in 2000, about the time of Laboon's introduction and more than half a decade before the first appearance of Brook.
Jimbei , also known as , is a
whale shark Fish-Man, being the tenth member of the Straw Hats and the ninth to join, serving as their
helmsman. Jimbei is from Fish-Man Island near the sea floor, and hopes to one day bring Fish-Man Island society to the surface under the sun. His dream is equality between humans and Fish-Men to overcome the long history of humans enslaving Fish-Men. Originally Jimbei was a member of the Sun Pirates, which was formed to protect formerly enslaved Fish-Men and Mermen from being re-enslaved. Jimbei joined the Seven Warlords to obtain a World Government pardon for his crew members. This included those who were once enslaved, but also the Fish-Man supremacist Arlong who went on to do great harm to
Nami's hometown. Jimbei is originally introduced as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea who is imprisoned by the World Government after he refuses to support the execution of his friend and
Monkey D. Luffy's brother Portgas D. Ace. Luffy frees Jimbei, who resigns his position as Warlord of the Sea. Throughout the story Jimbei serves as a commander under three successive Emperors of the Sea in order to protect Fish-Man Island: Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Straw Hat Luffy. Jimbei, Luffy, and Whitebeard fight to stop the execution of Ace. Two years later, Jimbei meets the Straw Hats on Fish-Men Island apologizes to Nami for setting Arlong free. The Straw Hats and Jimbei save Fish-Man Island from a
coup d'état by the New Fish-Man Pirates, Fish-men supremacists were inspired by Arlong. Luffy asks Jimbei to join his crew, and he agrees but says he needs to settle his affairs with Big Mom. Jimbei later rebels against Big Mom and helps Luffy plan an unsuccessful assassination attempt against her, officially joining the Straw Hats. then reunites with his new crew to successfully defeat an alliance between Big Mom and Kaido of the Four Emperors. After the Straw Hats emerge triumphant, Jimbei becomes one of Emperor Luffy’s Senior Officers and currently has the third-highest bounty in the crew after Luffy and
Roronoa Zoro.
Creation and conception Jimbei is based on an honorable
yakuza gangster. Though he did not appear in the story until Chapter 528, Jimbei was first mentioned in Chapter 69. Jimbei was originally designed to look like an
Umibōzu with a gallant but hotheaded personality suitable for a yakuza boss, Jimbei was originally supposed to be an actual antagonist, similar to the introduction of
Nico Robin and
Franky. In this conception Jimbei would have been pulling Arlong’s strings from the shadows. This version of Jimbei was based on a Japanese sea demon and a mafia boss, and was not intended to join the Straw Hats. Jimbei first appears in the Impel Down arc, which stands in as a metaphorical hell modeled after
Dante Alighieri’s
Inferno. The World Government tolerates the enslavement of Fish-Men, mermaids, and mermen, especially by the World Nobles. In one instance a World Noble even attempted to enslave Princess Shirahoshi of Fish-Man Island. One analysis highlights this incident as showing the
banality of evil in
One Piece regarding the theme of
slavery during the 1500s. Jimbei’s decision to save Luffy’s life at Fish-Man Island with a blood donation despite the taboo on Fish-men donating blood humans showed his moral code and was described as among "the series’ most memorable and striking images." One reviewer considered Jimbei's "most impressive feat” to be "facing down Big Mom in her Life or Soul attack. She exerts her Soul-Soul Fruit power, which usually allows her to absorb the souls of those she chooses. This only works so long as they feel fear or doubt toward Big Mom though, and Jimbei shows none of that. He’s steadfast in his commitment to joining Luffy, so even while the army of Big Mom succumbs to her power out of fear, Jimbei stands tall."
Fish-Man Karate A master of and , Jimbei is capable of manipulating water as if it were a tangible cloth. Jimbei can communicate with fish, an ability more usually associated with
merfolk, allowing him to enlist the help of whale sharks.
Haki Jimbei has the ability to use . This ability has three types: , an armor-like force, which can amplify defense and the force of attacks and negate a Devil Fruit user's defense, allow physical contact and damage; , a sixth sense, which can read a person's moves and detect their presence; and , which can render weak-willed people or animals near him unconscious. Jimbei was the first Fish-Man shown to use Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Jimbei's mentor Fisher Tiger frees many of those enslaved in the World Government's capital of Mery Geoise, turning him into a wanted outlaw. Fisher Tiger forms the . Jimbei, the members of the
Arlong Pirates and the
Macro Pirates unite under Fisher Tiger's Sun Pirates. Arlong and Jimbei considered Fisher Tiger a big brother, although they were not biologically related. The Sun Pirates were made up of fish-men and
mermen and attacked any pirate ship they saw, but no matter who is on it, they would never kill directly. Their Sun insignia was created to cover up the mark of the Celestial Dragon's enslavement, "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon". Fisher Tiger reveals upon his deathbed that he was actually enslaved and escaped, later returning to free other enslaved peoples, including
Boa Hancock and her two sisters. With the Sun insignia, the World Government was unable to claim the formerly enslaved due to confusion over whether they were Sun Pirates or not. While originally Jimbei and Arlong saw humans similarly, Jimbei would go on to clash philosophically with Arlong. Jimbei believed diplomacy could resolve the inequality between Fish-Men and humans. Jimbei is then freed by Luffy during his mission to rescue his brother Ace. After the Impel Down breakout, Luffy and Jimbei head to the Summit War at Marineford and make their entrance in the war falling from the sky. Jimbei then resigns his position as Warlord of the Sea. Luffy wins Jimbei's respect during the Summit War. Jimbei witnesses the death of both Portgas D. Ace and Whitebeard. After Admiral Akainu kills Portgas D. Ace, Jimbei risks his life to save Luffy from the same fate, and in the process is burned by Akainu's magma power. Jimbei encourages Luffy to "remember what you still have", to which Luffy responds, "I have my crew!!" Two years later, Jimbei waits for Luffy to arrive at Fish-Man Island. Jimbei tells the Straw Hats about his past with Fisher Tiger, Arlong, Hatchan, and Queen Otohime. They learn that Jimbei released Arlong into the East Blue, and also learn of the island's history. Jimbei and Sanji team up to defeat the giant
Umibōzu Wadatsumi of the Flying Pirates. After the Straw Hats succeed, Jimbei gives his blood to a dying Luffy and tells the citizens that the law on Fishman Island is a farce, defying the taboo on Fish-men donating blood humans. Jimbei reunites with half the Straw Hats when Luffy,
Nami,
Tony Tony Chopper, and
Brook go to Big Mom's capital in Whole Cake Island to rescue their crewmate
Sanji. Big Mom initially refuses to accept Jimbei's request to leave her crew for the Straw Hats. Jimbei rebels against her to free an imprisoned Luffy, a role reversal from two years ago. Jimbei and the Straw Hats confront Big Mom, leading to Jimbei to proclaim, "a man who would be crewmate of the future king of the pirates cannot afford to tremble in the presence of a mere emperor!!! ... As of this moment, I quit the Big Mom Pirates! I appreciate all you have done for me."Big Mom chases the Straw Hats as they attempt to fleer her domain, catching up to their ship the "Thousand Sunny". She nearly capsizes the “Sunny" with a tsunami, but Jimbei skillfully guides the ship by
tube riding, noting that the ship is of such high quality and needs a good helsman. Jimbei, Nami, Chopper, and Brook work together and manage to drive her away. As they prepare to escape, the
Sunny is caught, but Big Mom's forces are repelled by the Sun Pirates, who have come to see Jimbei off and wish him well. Jimbei elects to help his Sun Pirates delay Big Mom so the rest of the Straw Hats can make their escape. Jimbei and the Sun Pirates save Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Brook from Big Mom's empire. Luffy tells Jimbei to reunite with his new crew in the Wano Country. Jimbei keeps his word and joins the Straw Hats as the crew's
helmsman when he reaches Wano. Emperors of the Sea Big Mom and Kaido form an alliance on Wano to take down the Straw Hats and their Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance with Wano revolutionaries. During a war between the two alliances, Big Mom attacks Luffy, but is intercepted by Franky, Jimbei, and Nico Robin. As the Straw Hats divide into individual fights with Kaido’s officers, Jimbei confronts and defeats Who's-Who, a former CP9 agent with racist attitudes about Fish-Men. The Straw Hats’ allied ninja Raizo and Jimbei use stored water to extinguish a fire threatening to kill all on both sides of the alliance. Ultimately the Straw Hats' Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance prevails. Jimbei becomes recognized as one of Emperor of the Sea Monkey D. Luffy's Senior Officers. Aboard the
Sunny, the Straw Hats rescue Jewelry Bonney from a robotic sea beast; in the chaos, Luffy, Bonney, Chopper, and Jimbei are separated and wash up on Egghead Island, where Dr. Vegapunk, leader of the Navy's Special Science Group, has his laboratory; Bonney has traveled there to ask Vegapunk to restore the mind of her father, Bartholomew Kuma, and plans to kill Vegapunk if he is unable to do so. Jimbei mentions Kuma's bad reputation as a tyrant, which Bonney insists is World Government propaganda. On Egghead, Jimbei learns the World Government cloned the Seven Warlords into a new force called the Seraphim; Jimbei’s clone is called S-Shark. As the world reacts to Vegapunk's revelations about the mysterious Void Century 800 years ago, Jimbei and Zoro repel one of the Five Elders Nusjuro's attack on the
Sunny.
Cultural impact and legacy Critical reception One reviewer noted Jimbei "taught us a lot about loyalty and about standing up for your ideals no matter what obstacles you face." The highest Jimbei ever placed in a popularity poll was sixth place in the sixth Japanese Jump popularity poll, after Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. Jimbei ranked as the 18th most popular character in the next popularity poll, the first to be held worldwide. Vivi remained princess of Alabasta for 2 years until she was abducted by CP0 at the Reverie for an
enforced disappearance after Cobra's death, only to be inadvertently saved by Wapol despite their extremely hostile relationship. Vivi was ranked as #82 in a survey conducted by
Newtype for favorite anime heroine in 2002. Her voice actress is
Misa Watanabe in the original Japanese version. In the 4Kids English adaptation, she is voiced by Karen Neil. Vivi is voiced by
Caitlin Glass in the Funimation English dub. In the live-action series, Vivi is portrayed by
Charithra Chandran, while Aroop Shergill portrays the character in her youth.
Karoo is a Super Spot-Billed Duck, a flightless
ostrich-sized
duck with no webbed feet who is described to run fast. He is Nefeltari Vivi's animal companion, as well as the leader of the
Super Spot-Billed Duck Troops, which also consists of similar ducks. His vocal effects are provided by
Hiroaki Hirata in the original Japanese version and by Michael Haigney and
Monica Rial in the 4Kids and Funimation dubs respectively. ==Pirate Ships==