Zoro originally used two swords instead of three, and was originally planned to be part of
Buggy the Clown's pirate crew and would have been recruited by Luffy away from Buggy. Zoro's surname, Roronoa, is based on the Japanese pronunciation of French pirate
François l'Olonnais's name. In several Western adaptations, his name was spelled as Zolo.
Design Zoro commonly wears a plain white shirt (though he can be seen wearing other types of shirts), black pants, and a light-green
haramaki sash that holds his three swords. These swords' names are Enma, Wado Ichimonji, and Sandai Kitetsu. Zoro also has a black
bandanna tied around his left bicep that he only wears on his head while in a serious battle. This bandana was inspired by
Nobuhiro Watsuki, one of Oda's best friends and his mentor, as well as aspects of his character. Under his shirt, his torso is heavily scarred from many of the battles he has fought, especially since he joined the Straw Hats (like the one acquired during the battle against
Dracule Mihawk, one of the
Seven Warlords of the Sea). He has three golden earrings in his left ear, which denote his style of combat using three swords. After a two-year time-skip, Zoro has a scar across his left eye (obtained during his training under Dracule Mihawk, although not confirmed by the anime) and replaces his shirt with a long dark green
samurai's coat which he opens the torso while fighting (against the New Fishman Pirates) or when he experiences heat (burning side of
Punk Hazard). Concerning his ethnic appearance, Oda stated that he imagines Zoro to be of
Japanese descent, albeit in a real-world context. Zoro has many scars on his body. The most noticeable is the long scar running down his left eye, which is the one he got after returning from the two-year time skip. It is currently unknown how he acquired it, but he either can't or won't open his left eye because of it. He also has a heavily scarred torso, having a diagonal cut mark from the top left to the bottom right of his torso due to fighting Dracule Mihawk. He also has scars on both of his ankles, which he obtained from trying to cut his own legs off to escape the candle prison of Mr. 3 in Little Garden.
Portrayals In the original Japanese version of the
One Piece anime series, Zoro is voiced by
Kazuya Nakai as an adult and
Megumi Urawa as a child. In the first
OVA Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack from 1998, Zoro is voiced by
Wataru Takagi. In
Odex's dubs of the first 104 episodes of
One Piece in Singapore, Zoro was voiced by Brian Zimmerman. In the
4kids Entertainment's dub of the first 104 episodes of
One Piece, Zoro was renamed "Zolo," which was later implemented in the Viz Media adaption of the manga series; he was voiced by
Marc Diraison and
Andrew Rannells as a child. In
Funimation Entertainment's dubs of the entire
One Piece franchise, adult Zoro is voiced by
Christopher Sabat with
Cynthia Cranz playing the role of child Zoro for episode 2 and by
Brina Palencia for the rest of the franchise. Sabat compared Zoro's characterization with
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles
Kurogane and
YuYu Hakushos
Kazuma Kuwabara, describing them as "the tough guy with a heart of gold". As a result, Sabat feared that he sometimes performs similar voices despite the fact that the characters are different. He also tried seeing the original actors' works to avoid getting a more specific delivery. In the game
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, Sabat reprises his role as adult Zoro, with child Zoro voiced by
Aaron Dismuke. Zoro is portrayed by
Mackenyu in the
live action adaptation of
One Piece, while Maximilian Lee Piazza portrays young Zoro. == Characteristics ==