Honorable Mentions:
Kuzan "Aokiji"
Kuzan is a chill dude.....
I like Kuzan a lot if only for the fact that he was once an admiral who ended up quitting the navy. To go from such a position to becoming a wandering vagabond in order to learn more about the world and himself is really interesting. While not directly stated as of yet, Kuzan seems to have recognized the injustices at the heart of the organization he once belonged to. He seems to be learning that perhaps pirates too can be good people and may not always be the clear-cut bad guys that the marines have painted them out to be. Kuzan's laid back personality has transferred onto his current status in the story, performing more an observatory and mentoring role. Also ice devil fruit powers are cool!
Usopp
I really wanted put my boy Usopp on the top 10 list, it really was hard. But I couldn't let him go unmentioned. Usopp's character is downright hilarious. He serves as equal parts the majority of the comic relief amongst the Strawhats and a character whom many viewers can relate to. Usopp started off as arguably the weakest member of the Strawhwats. Yet, over time he has grown to become quite the sniper and has even developed an ability to see people's auras (something I imagine Oda will utilize in future arcs). It's really hard to not love Usopp. He's so funny and adds a humanistic level to the powerful main crew.
Gol D. Roger
The pirate king himself! Learning about Roger's past was one of the coolest portions of the One Piece story. It's crazy to think that the man who was once considered the most powerful pirate in the world was a normal human with no devil fruit powers; armed with a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. Roger was known for his iconic smile, passion, and voracity in life. He was even the original owner of Luffy's straw hat! Setting up the entire plot for the One Piece story itself, I couldn't let Roger go unmentioned.
Sabo
I do have a soft spot for the successor of Ace's will and power. Sabo is a character I'm hoping will play a bigger roll in future arcs. Originally introduced as a childhood friend of Luffy and Ace, Sabo came from a privileged/noble background. Yet, he yearned for a life of adventure; free from the his harsh family life and wealth. For the longest time, Sabo was believed to be dead. However, he has not only survived but has become a member of the Revolutionary Army.
I think the quality of Sabo's that resonated with me the most is his deep desire to protect Luffy, never wanting to go through the pain of losing a brother ever again (like he did with Ace).
Killer
Killer is a pretty awesome character that I'm really hoping we get to learn more about in future arcs.
He's Kid's right hand man and is considered one of the members of the worse generation. Much like Zoro, he has no devil fruit powers and is a member of the 11 supernovas (having one of the highest bounties for a rookie pirate) despite not being a captain. He's mainly here cause I want to see more of him.
Edward Newgate "Whitebeard"
I don't even have explain this one. By far, one of the manliest characters in all of anime and manga. It was really hard to not to include him on the actual top 10.
*And now on to the actual top 10*
10) Issho "Fujitora"
While we only have recently been introduced to Fujitora, he's left a strong impression on me already. There are a couple of things I really like about his character. Such include: the fact that he's blind, his gambling problem, his devil fruit that allows him to control gravity and bring down fucking METEORS, the fact that he actually likes Luffy and regrets having to fight him, and....he's based off a famous blind swordsman from a Japanese film series entitled Zatoichi (a series of films I'm a personal fan of).
(Zatoichi)
Also check out this clip if you're interested in checking out what the films are like (Warning: violent material)
Anyways, my love for Zatoichi aside, Fujitora is one of the few admirals we've seen who seems to respect pirates where it is deserved and is willing to take a step back and negotiate with them; seeking the greater good of the common citizens. This is an interesting quality for an admiral, as the majority of them so far have been portrayed as ruthless executioners who only seek to destroy pirates. Perhaps a quality stemming from his disability, Fujitora is almost as laid back as Kuzan making for a cool admiral whom I definitely look forward to seeing more of in future arcs. Did I mention he can call down meteors?!?!
9) Monkey D. Luffy
Putting together this was very hard and took me a few days and a few discussion amongst friends to really narrow it all down. I had 4 versions of the list prior to the one you see today. And all three of them did not include Luffy; placing him every time in the honorable mentions section. But I can't deny it...Monkey D. Luffy had to be on the top 10! Aside from the fact that he's the main character and that his powers are all awesome...one thing I really love about Luffy's character (which has been confirmed by Oda himself) is the fact that he's asexual. He's not interested in romance with any of the other female characters in the story. Luffy's true love lies with adventure and seeing his goal of becoming king of the pirates come to fruition. I also really love the amount of detail Oda goes into explaining each of Luffy's abilities (I.E. Luffy's Gear Second being the byproduct of the fact that Luffy's body is entirely made of rubber, allowing him to increase the speed of his blood flow and survive, whereas a normal human being would perish). All in all, he's funny, admirable, loyal, and strong. Luffy is a fine example of a shounen hero and spouts some of the coolest moments in all of anime history.
8) Roronoa Zoro
Zoro is my personal favorite member of the Strawhat crew. While he doesn't have any devil fruit powers, he is instead armed with fantastic swordsmanship and a strong ambition to become the world's number one swordsman. Hell, Zoro left a big impression on me from the very get go with the fact he fights with three swords at once...that's so metal! Fanboying aside, Zoro is a character who is found a healthy balance in driving a good portion of the story's comedy, being serious when appropriate, and participating in some of the most memorable and enjoyable fights in the entire series. Zoro is even considered a member of the worse generation, not having devil fruit powers or being a pirate captain. Zoro has certainly created a strong legacy for himself, one that I hope will only grow. Lastly, I think it's worth mentioning that Zoro is able to withstand an inhumanly amount of physical pain. The man is durable and fiercely loyal to his captain. If the scene where Kuma transfers all of Luffy's pain into Zoro body in order to allow Luffy to recover is not indicative of that, then I don't know what is:
7) Crocodile
Corcodile was a character I knew would find a place somewhere on this list. He's frankly my favorite villain in the series so far; albeit not the most powerful one. Crocodile is the first villain in the series that manages to actually utterly defeat Luffy in battle. As such, Crocodile single-handedly fostered Luffy's development in an early arc of the series. Apart from this, Crocodile's devil fruit is amongst one of the more powerful and useful fruits we've seen thus far (imo). The ability to manipulate and become sand is no joke, granting him the ability to even suck the hydration out of an individual; thus killing them. I think the thing I like most about Crocodile however is that he's steadfast in his own morals and beliefs, never straying away from how he views things. Crocodile is never willing to conform for others even in the face of overwhelming power. He lacks a code of honor and can be brutally malicious at times. However, he seems to secretly harbor an admiration towards Luffy; something really interesting for his character. It was really cool to see him again when he break out of Impel Down with Luffy and participate in the great pirate war. Here's to hoping the two team up again in the future.
"If I do this, I can stop the rebellion", "if I do that, I can stop the rebellion"... Open your eyes, princess! Your zealous idealism disgusts me! Ideals can only be spoken by those powerful enough to carry them out. And that excludes you!" -Crocodile
6.) Monkey D. Garp
Vice Admiral Garp is the biological grandfather of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. Garp is a fantastic character whom truly deserves his own set of write ups and posts, (something I may consider doing in the future) but I'll try my best to sum up what I love about him the most. Apart from being down right hilarious every time he appears, Garp is a ridiculously honorable man. Despite being so high up in the Navy, he's committed one of the biggest crimes against the World Government. While a big portion of his life was dedicated to capturing the pirate king himself, Gol D. Roger, Garp was able to develop a form of genuine respect for the man (despite all of his crimes). Garp was willing to take Roger's son and raise him as his own, thus saving Portgas D. Ace's life. While he does not approve of his grandsons' decisions to become pirates, he has been shown to be truly proud of Luffy and Ace. This alone makes Garp a lovable character...well that and he can throw cannonballs with his bare hands! Lastly, its worth mentioning that there is a recurring theme throughout One Piece as to who is the morally accurate force in the world? The pirates or the Navy? While most characters blindly side with their own faction, some character such as Garp and Kuzan are able to permeate somewhere in between the debate. Scenes such as this really drive this point. For Grap, it's a moral struggle between abiding by his duties vs his love for his family.
(Garp throwing cannonballs with his bare hands in the manga)
5.) Bartolomeo "the Cannibal"
This scene alone pretty much sums up why I love Bart so much. Another character whose only been recently introduced, Bartolomeo is the man! Spouting an awesome character design, Bart is essentially the One Piece fan base placed into the story itself. He's a fan boy just like a lot of us are and it's utterly hilarious! The amount of admiration Bart holds for the Straw Hats is incredible as he's already helped them out considerably in the fight against Doflamingo and his goons while trying to control his inner fan boy. Bart's devil fruit powers are also really useful and worth mentioning. The ability to produce powerful barriers that can even deflect other characters' powerful attacks is really cool. In the latest character popularity poll that Oda held, Bart was ranked number 9! This is crazy awesome for a character who was only recently introduced, as Oda tends to utilize these polls to gauge which characters ought to get more screen time and attention. That being said, there's a lot of talk about Bart potentially joining the Straw Hat crew once this current arc is over. I really hope this is the case as I've been growing more and more attached to him as the chapters go on.
(Bartolomeo fanboying over Luffy)
4.) Bentham "Mr.2" Bon Clay
Oh man give me a sec to hold back all my tears and feels here about this guy. Watch this and give me a sec........
Okay I think I'm good... BON MOTHAFUCKIN CLAY is the bro of all bros. Starting off as an enemy of the Strawhats working under Crocodile, and later becoming a true friend and ally to Luffy, Bon Clay hands down has some of the best character development in the series. Helping Luffy survive and escape Impel Down was enough to get him on this list. He is fiercely loyal and proud to help a friend in need. Also I love his character design, look at the guy: he's a goofball!
While Luffy believes him to be dead after the events in Impel Down, I really hope Oda allows the two to meet up again in the future. Who knows, maybe Luffy will go back and rescue Clay at a later point.
3.) Nico Robin
Talk about character development...Nico Robin is one of the very few female characters (amongst a cast of many males) that I have really come to adore in the One Piece universe. Despite having a crush on her, I adored all the development she got in the Water 7 arc. Learning about her past and everything that has driven her ideology and philosophy was tear jerking to say the least. That being said, to see what she's become over the years is a truly heart warming element that I think most fans can come to adore about her character. I also really like her role as the archaeologist of the Strawhat crew. It's a fairly unique position that is not typically found on a pirate ship. Lastly, it's also worth mentioning that she was also once a villain (working under Crocodile) before turning a new leaf and joining the Straw Hats. Oda has set up a really interesting plot element about her character in her ability to read the poneglyphs, something that will prove to be useful and important in future arcs. Robin is a great character and I hope to see her develop as a kindhearted soul in the future.
2.) "Red-Haired" Shanks
The man, the myth, the legend! Shanks is one of the four great pirate lords (or Yonko). If it weren't for Shanks, Luffy would not be around today or have been inspired to become a pirate in the first place. He's even the one who gave Luffy his signature straw hat.
Something I really love about Shanks is his power and strength. He's a bloody one-handed (losing one of his hands to a beast to save Luffy) swordsman who has no devil fruit powers. He's just a badass whose strength commands respect from all those around him. He's even able to go toe to toe with some of the more powerful people in the One Piece universe (i.e. Akainu).
To become such a legendary and powerful pirate in his physical condition is truly remarkable. While we do not know the extents of his abilities, we've come to understand that he is amongst the more powerful members of the One Piece series. He's also one one the more kind and benevolent pirate captains we've come to see so far. All and all, I love Shanks. Every time he's mentioned or shown, I get eagerly excited to see what happens next. I really can't wait to see what Oda does with his character in the future (particularity when Luffy and Shanks will have to fight).
1.) Trafalgar D. Water Law
Law has been my all time favorite One Piece character for quite a while now. I simply love everything about his character. From his cold and direct personality, to his skills as a doctor. Law is a badass who is another member of the worse generation along with Luffy and the others. How many characters you know flip you the bird the moment they are introduced?
(Exhibit A)
Law's devil fruit powers are also my personal favorite in the entire series. The ability to manipulate and cut up anything in a particular space at will is pretty freaking awesome and has multiple uses/applications. Hell his devil fruit has even been recently revealed to be able to grant an individual eternal life in exchange for Law's own life. It's also interesting that Law's powers specifically take a major toll on his body compared to other devil fruit users who seem to able to utilize their powers at will with no repercussions.
Law also has one of the saddest back stories in all of One Piece. He was forced to watch everyone he loved die before his eyes, fostering the dark development of his persona that readers have come to understand about him. Law is the sole survivor of a horrible incident on an island plagued by a non-contagious disease. Not understood by the rest of the world, the World Government decided it was best to quarantine and massacre the inhabitants of Law's home to prevent the disease from spreading beyond the island. This disease did however take a toll on hosts' bodies. It shortened their life spans to considerable degrees, granting them a limited window of existence. If it weren't for Doflamningo's brother sacrificing himself and giving Law the Ope Ope no Mi, Law would be dead today.
Law's will to survive in order to seek his revenge against Doflamingo is strong. He is a man who is willing to work with others that he respects in order to see his goals met. Handing off his revenge to be completed by Luffy was no easy task for him. Yet, he's finally come to accept this and has left it all in Luffy's hands. I'm very happy to see that Law's alliance with Luffy's crew will continue on into the next arc as they both work together to take down the yonko Kaido. What his future role as a member of the D. clan, is left to be seen. However, I eagerly await to see just what Oda has in store for my all time favorite character is this brilliant series.
And those are my personal favorite characters in this fantastic series. I hope you enjoyed it and as always have a wonderful day.
-Nights Off
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