The protagonists of the One Piece series are part of the Straw Hat Pirates, a nine-member crew founded and captained by Monkey D. Luffy. Starting out with Luffy alone, the crew's number grows throughout the series as Luffy keeps recruiting new members. The name of their first ship is "Going Merry" (ゴーイング・メリー号, Gōingu Merī-gō?, renamed "Merry Go" in the English manga and 4Kids dub), however due to severe damage, the Straw Hat Pirates got a new ship called "Thousand Sunny" (サウザンドサニー号, Sauzando Sanī-gō?). Though the Straw Hats are few in number, the level of skill each member possess in his or her role on the ship can easily surpass that of a veteran sailor. The prowess in combat each member possess can easily allow them to become the captain of an average to somewhat skilled group should they choose to do so.
Monkey D. Luffy
Main article: Monkey D. Luffy
Monkey D. Luffy (モンキー・D・ルフィ, Monkī Dī Rufi?), nicknamed "Straw Hat" Luffy (麦わらのルフィ, Mugiwara no Rufi), is the 19 year-old captain of The Straw Hat Pirates and the main protagonist of the franchise. At first, Luffy does not appear to be very intelligent; his apparent lack of intelligence is the source of his brave attitude towards life. Luffy can easily be amazed by the simplest things. If Luffy finds something he does not understand, even if someone explained in detail, he calls it a "mystery thing". He is, however, an expert when it comes to fighting. When Luffy's friends' lives are threatened, Luffy goes into an unimaginably dangerous rage. In the beginning of the series, he accidentally eats a paramecia Devil Fruit called the Gum-Gum Fruit (ゴムゴムの実, Gomu Gomu no Mi), causing his body to gain the properties of highly stretchable rubber.ch.1 These properties are a result of Oda's desire for the fighting style to be silly, so that no matter how tense a situation gets, the reader can relax without becoming stressed out.
Luffy later learns "Gear Second" (ギア2 (セカンド), Gia Sekando, renamed "Gear Two" in the English manga and "Second Gear" in the Funimation subs), a technique which increases his blood flow and speed instantly. However, "Gear Second" hacks away Luffy's life force dramatically, increasing a chance of having a much shorter life because he is starving his body, though Luffy rebutles, saying that it doesn't matter as long as he saves his friends. After Gear Second wears off, Luffy can recover quickly through replenishing of his nutrient storage.
Later on, Luffy learns how to go beyond "Gear Second" and into "Gear Third" (ギア3 (サード), Gia Sādo, renamed "Gear Three" in the Viz Media manga translation and "Third Gear" in the Funimation subtitles). Luffy increases the size of his limbs by biting into his thumb and inflating it hard, transfer the air through his entire body, requiring the torso to act as an interface for his various limbs. Used with his already-strong physiology, this apparently gives his arm more mass and a larger area to attack with far greater strength, but he sacrifices mobility for this strength, as his limbs are now so large that Luffy has extreme trouble moving. To deactivate "Gear Third", Luffy leaves the form by exhaling heavily and causes him to shrink, which is a negative side-effect. The amount of time Luffy spends in his shrunken form is roughly equivalent to the amount of time spent in "Gear Third" mode. but after three years of intense training with Dark King Rayleigh, Luffy no longer shrinks after using "Gear Third". He was also seen using in the ocean, although, it took longer to build up to it's full power.
After his life is saved by Shanks when he is seven years old, Luffy decides to achieve the tantamount goals of finding the One Piece and succeeding Gol D. Roger as King of the Pirates. Ten years later, wearing Shanks' straw hat, he sets out to sea to gather a crew and sail the Grand Line, where the One Piece is supposedly hidden. Luffy is also capable of using King Ambition (覇王色の覇気, Haōshoku Haki). Portgas D. Ace is Luffy's older brother through adoption. Luffy's current bounty is 300,000,000 Berries, as mentioned in several panels in chapter 601 of the series. He is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Bella Hudson in the 4Kids Entertainment dub, and by Colleen Clinkenbeard in the Funimation Entertainment dub. Luffy ranked first in all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls.
Roronoa Zoro
Roronoa Zoro (ロロノア・ゾロ, spelled as "Roronoa Zolo" in several versions), named after François l'Olonnais, nicknamed "Pirate Hunter" Zoro (海賊狩りのゾロ, Kaizoku-Gari no Zoro, spelled as "Pirate Hunter" Zolo in several versions)[citation needed], is a 21 year old, skilled swordsman who uses up to three swords at once, clutching the third in his mouth. To fulfill a promise he made to childhood friend and rival, "Kuina", he wants to become the world's greatest swordsman by defeating Dracule Mihawk. Before joining Luffy, he made a living by bounty hunting. He joins Luffy's crew in exchange for his aid in escaping execution. He makes it clear that he would turn on his captain if he ever stepped between him and his dream, although during the "Thriller Bark arc" he says that he can't fulfill his dream if he did not help his captain fulfill his. His enormous physical strength is enough to lift a building, as well as inhumanly heavy weights on a regular basis.ch.194 During a fight with Baroque Works Officer Agent Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez), he learns how to cut through solid steel. He can employ an "Asura" technique which gives him three faces and six arms, thus totaling nine swords. In addition, Zoro can expand the muscle mass of his arms, and emulate some of his sword attacks using his bare hands. He is extremely poor at understanding geographical directions and gets lost very easily. He also sleeps a great deal and loves to drink. Confirmed by Ugore to be the first mate of the Strawhat Crew (chapter 499 page 17 in the manga), Zoro's current bounty is 120,000,000 Berries, making him one of the 11 supernovas. Zoro is voiced by Kazuya Nakai as an adult and Megumi Urawa as a child in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Marc Diraison as an adult and Andrew Rannells as a child in the 4Kids dub, and by Christopher R. Sabat as an adult and Brina Palencia as a child in the Funimation dub.
Zoro ranked second in all four Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. Furthermore, in a 2007 poll by Oricon, Zoro was voted as the 4th most desired character to receive a spinoff. DVD Talk praises Zoro's "hilarious" three-sword fighting style as a great example of the show's sense of humor. Holly Ellingwood from Activeanime praised Zoro's fight against Luffy as one of the best moments from the 10th DVD from the series released by Viz Media, praising the action scenes. Sabat's work with Zoro has resulted in him being a nominated of the category "Best Voice Actor (English)" in the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) Awards from 2008. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network commented on Sabat's work with Zoro as a "standout", noting that Zoro and Sabat are "well-matched. Kimlinger also found that he and Sanji's flashbacks from the anime "really do jerk tears, even if they are less than gracefully executed".
Nami
Nami (ナミ), nicknamed "Cat Burglar" Nami (泥棒猫のナミ, Dorobō Neko no Nami, renamed Nami the "Navigator" in the 4Kids dub), is the crew's 20 year old navigator and thief. She has the ability to recognize and analyze even the slightest changes in the weather. She is also an excellent pickpocket. Her dream is to draw a complete map of the world. Throughout the series, Nami fights using a three-sectioned bo staff. Usopp later provides her with a version of this weapon capable of controlling weather, called the Clima-Takt (天候棒, Kurima Takuto, renamed "Climate Baton" in the English manga, and "Weather Forcer" in the 4Kids dub). Even later, Usopp augments the Clima-Takt with dials, making it more powerful. Nami's current bounty is 16,000,000 Berries. Nami is voiced by Akemi Okamura in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, she is voiced by Kerry Williams in the 4Kids dub, and by Luci Christian in the Funimation dub.
Nami ranked in the Top 10 of all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. Her backstory has been found to be a "touching story" as it "unfolds with a lot of emotion" by Mania Entertainment writer, Jarred Pine. Pine also mentioned Nami was his favorite character from the series, and satisfied with how the manga showed her past. While reviewing the 8th DVD from Viz Media, Activeanime mentioned Nami is one of the best characters from the series as "She’s got guts, smarts, and can heft a mean punch when needed". Like Pined, Activeanime liked Nami's background and added that his "itty bitty heart went out to her". In the SPJA 2008, Nami was nominated in the category "Best Female Character".
When a reader asked Oda who Nami is in love with, Oda answered that there will not likely be any romance among the Straw Hat Pirates. Oda explained that he does not portray romance in One Piece as the series is a shōnen comic, and the young boys who read the comic are not interested in romance.
Usopp "King of Snipers Sogeking"
Usopp (ウソップ, Usoppu), nicknamed "King of Snipers Sogeking" (狙撃の王様, Sogeki no Ō-sama, renamed "Sniper King" in the English manga), is the crew's 19 year old marksman. His name comes from Uso, which means liar in Japanese, and Aesop, the author of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.[citation needed] He is a liar, talented inventor, as well as a skilled painter and sculptor. His primary weapon is a slingshot, which he uses to fire various kinds of ammunition, ranging from rotten eggs and shuriken to hot sauce, and both flaming and exploding projectiles. Later, he creates himself a large, dial-powered slingshot he calls Kabuto (カブト), with which he is able to outrange even guns. Usopp's father, Yasopp, left his family to become a pirate with Shank's crew when Usopp was still very young. Some time after this, Usopp's mother, Banchina (バンキーナ, Bankīna), fell ill. Usopp started telling lies, stating that his father had returned and would be taking them with him. His mother eventually died, but Usopp, in his sadness, continued to lie. Despite all this, he does not blame his father for leaving him, but takes pride in his heritage.ch.25 He is inspired by Luffy, Zoro and Nami and decides to go out to sea, following his dream of becoming a "brave warrior of the sea". His weakness as a fighter weighs heavily upon him and when after the crew is defeated and almost destroyed by Admiral Aokiji of the Marines, Luffy decides to replace the badly damaged Going Merry, the Straw Hats' first ship, which is given to them by Usopp's friend "Kaya", a girl from his village that he used to cheer up with his lies, Usopp goes so far as to temporarily leave the crew. Usopp's current bounty is 30,000,000 Berries. Usopp is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by Jason Anthony Griffith in the 4Kids dub, and by Sonny Strait in the Funimation dub.
Usopp ranked in the Top 10 of all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. In a 2007 Oricon poll, Usopp was voted the 10th most wanted character to receive a spin off amongst all respondents, and the 5th most popular amongst males. In a review of Funimation Entertainment's second DVD release for Mania Entertainment, Bryce Coulter notes that Usopp "brings lots of comic relief to the series", but also comments that he "can be down right annoying at times."
Sanji
"Sanji" redirects here. For the music video director, see Sanji (director). For the seiyū, see Sanji Hase.
Sanji (サンジ), nicknamed "Black Leg" Sanji (黒脚のサンジ, Kuro Ashi no Sanji), is the crew's 21-year-old chef. He knows how it feels to starve from first hand experience, so he will never refuse someone a meal. He has a strong sense of chivalry, because of which, he will never harm a woman, even if he dies. Sanji also seems to keep this code regardless of a woman's appearance. His dream is to find the "All Blue" (オールブルー, Ōru Burū, renamed "Great Blue" in the 4Kids dub), a legendary sea, containing every kind of fish in the world. Sanji is also a very skilled fighter who uses only kicks. He said that this is because a chef's hands are his most prized possessions and should not be risked in battle. His fighting style resembles the capoeira. Sanji also has the ability to employ a fire based kick, called "Diable Jamble" (ディアブルジャンブ, Diaburu Janbu, spelled as "Diable Jambe" in the English manga) in which he sets his leg on fire by spinning around rapidly, this causes his attacks to be much more powerful, Sanji first used this technique at Enies Lobby. Sanji's current bounty is 77,000,000 Berries. Sanji is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata as an adult and Ikue Ōtani as a child in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, he is voiced by David Moo as an adult and Veronica Taylor as a child in the 4Kids dub, and by Eric Vale as an adult and Christine Auten as a child for Funimation. Sanji ranked in the Top 5 of all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls.
Tony Tony Chopper
Tony Tony Chopper (トニートニー・チョッパー, Tonī Tonī Choppā), nicknamed "Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper (わたあめ大好きのチョッパー, Watāme Daisuki no Choppā), is the crew's 17-year-old doctor. He is a blue-nosed reindeer who gained human properties by eating a zoan Devil Fruit called the Human-Human Fruit (ヒトヒトの実, Hito Hito no Mi). The fruit-granted ability allows him to change between three forms. His first and original form is that of a reindeer. In his second form, he has the proportions of a human child, while retaining his antlers, hooves, and fur. In his third form, he looks like a brawny man with fur or gorilla. In addition to his normal transformations, Chopper developed a drug he calls Rumble Ball (ランブル・ボール, Ranburu Bōru), which allows him to assume four additional forms for the duration of three minutes. These forms focus on certain aspects of his body to improve his physical abilities. These are broken down into "points" in the original version (renamed "boost" in the English manga and the 4Kids dub) called: guard, horn, jumping, and arm point with the original three becoming walk, brain, and heavy point. If Chopper uses a second Rumble Ball within six hours, he cannot control his transformations. If he uses a third Rumble Ball within six hours of the first, he transforms into a monstrous version of himself and loses all self-control called "Monster Point". He also has the ability to understand other animals' speech, because he is an animal himself. What he is not capable of, however, is hiding his feelings. Chopper's current bounty is 50 Berries. Chopper is voiced by Ikue Ōtani in the Japanese version of the franchise. IEnglish versions of the series, he is voiced by Lisa Ortiz in the 4Kids dub, and by Brina Palencia in the Funimation dub.
When creating Chopper, Oda stated that he wanted a mascot who is both cute and fearless. 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. Chopper ranked in the Top 5 of both Shōnen Jump character popularity polls since the character's introduction. Oda said that the message he wanted to illustrate in regards to Chopper's family situation is that a person who is not blood-related to another person can still be considered as a member of one's family.
Nico Robin
Nico Robin (ニコ・ロビン, Niko Robin?), nicknamed "Devil Child" (悪魔の子, Akuma no Ko) by the World Government is the crew's 30-year-old archaeologist. Growing up alone on the island Ohara (オハラ), home of the world's largest and oldest library, she became an archaeologist at the age of eight and learned how to decipher the writings on the ancient stones called Poneglyph (歴史の本文, Pōnegurifu), which are scattered around the world. After the World Government destroyed Ohara for housing archaeologists along with her returning mother, Nico Olvia (ニコ･オルビア, Niko Orubia), researching these stones, Robin spent twenty years on the run, cooperating with various pirates and other outlaws and became a member of Baroque Works as the vice president, nicknamed as "Ms. All-Sunday" (ミス・オールサンデー, Misu Ōrusandē, renamed "Ms. Sunday" in the 4Kids dub) at the time, being briefly an antagonist to the Straw Hat Pirates before joining them. Like the scholars of Ohara before her, it is her dream to find and decipher the Rio Poneglyph (真の歴史の本文, Rio Pōnegurifu), which is said to tell the world's lost history. Her devotion to history and its preservation goes so far that she will even risk her life to protect ancient artifacts and buildings. Robin ate a paramecia Devil Fruit known as the Flower-Flower Fruit (ハナハナの実, Hana Hana no Mi), allowing her to create copies of any of her body parts on any surface that she can see. However, if her replicated parts are hurt, she feels the pain on her actual body. Robin's current bounty is 80,000,000 Berries. Robin is voiced by Yuriko Yamaguchi as an adult and by Anzu Nagai as a child in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English versions of the series, she is voiced by Veronica Taylor in the 4Kids dub and by Stephanie Young in the Funimation dub.
Franky
Franky (フランキー, Furankī), nicknamed "Cyborg" Franky (サイボーグ フランキー, Saibōgu Furankī), is the crew's 36 year old shipwright. After his pirate parents abandoned him at age ten, he became an apprentice of the master shipwright Tom along with Iceburg, who later becomes the mayor of Water 7. When Tom was taken away as a criminal by the government for building Gol D. Roger's ship, the "Oro Jackson", Franky tried to stop them. In the attempt, he was severely injured and, in order to survive, had to exchange parts of his body with replacements made of scrap metal, turning himself into a cola-powered cyborg. Franky, thus, gained an artificial body which grants him super-human strength. Its front is heavily armored and insensitive to most attacks, while his back, where he could not reach, remains vulnerable. His body is equipped with a wide variety of weapons, including several guns and an extendable right arm. His stomach contains a refrigerator compartment that can hold up to three bottles of cola to fuel him and his attacks. His personality is also affected by the type of beverage that is stored in his refrigerator compartment. He can use up large amounts of cola in an instant to launch powerful bursts of air from his arms, one such move is called the Coup de Vent. After word of his death had spread, he cast off his original name, Cutty Flam (カティ・フラム, Kati Furamu), and became the underground boss Franky. His dream is to build a ship, to become its shipwright, and sail it to the end of the world. To that end, he builds the Straw Hats Pirates' second ship, the brigantine-rigged sloop-of-war Thousand Sunny, and joins the crew. Franky tends to act tough most of the time like saying his catch phrase "SUPER!!" However, Franky can get emotional very easy and start to cry, but then denies it. Franky's current bounty is 44,000,000 Berries. Franky is voiced by Kazuki Yao as an adult and by Junko Noda as a child in the Japanese version of the franchise. In the English version of the series, he is voiced by Patrick Seitz as an adult and by Greg Ayres as a child in the Funimation dub.
Brook
Brook (ブルック, Burukku), nicknamed "Dead Bones" Brook (デッドボーンズブルック, Deddo Bōnzu Burukku) (formerly "Humming" Brook (鼻唄のブルック, Hanauta no Burukku)), is the crew's 90-year old musician. He is a living skeleton, resurrected by the Revive-Revive Fruit (ヨミヨミの実, Yomi Yomi no Mi), a paramecia Devil Fruit, which grants its eater a second life. He is an excellent musician, who claims being able to play any instrument, and a skilled fencer, who uses a shikomizue, a Japanese cane sword, in battle. His lightweight skeleton body allows him to jump extraordinarily high and to run across water. His gentlemanly impression stands in stark contrast to his incredibly bad manners: He bluntly requests to see women's panties, helps himself to people's food, and belches out loud on the dinner table. When Brook's former crew, the "Rumbar Pirates", entered the Grand Line, they left their pet whale "Laboon" behind at Reverse Mountain, promising to return after sailing around the world. Fifty years later, Brook, being the only survivor, considers it his duty to fulfill his former crew's promise. Brook's current bounty is 33,000,000 Berries. He is voiced by Chō in the Japanese version of the franchise. He does not yet have an English voice actor, as the English version has yet to reach that far into the series.
The idea of a skeleton musician was first conceived by Oda in the year 2000.
Read more...
