I feel like the running theme of "What will your answer be?" Is one of the best things Oda has done with the story. For Rocinante and Doflamingo, they both went through the same thing and one goes "I need to change the world" and the other goes "I need to destroy it". Which is just so fascinating to read.
Corazon is an extremely important character for the Doflamingo backstory, because his existence shows that Oda isn't trying to justify his actions by showing us his past, as evidenced by the fact that Corazon went through the same hardships and didn't end up becoming the same ruthless monster. As someone who hates when I feel that the main villain of a story has no agency over their own choices, I really appreciated what this dichotomy did to Doflamingo as a character.
One character I don’t ever see get much love is Kokoro, the one true mermaid! Not only is she just straight up badass, but seeing her arc from not being able to do anything when Tom was taken away to being the literal driving force to save Robin and Franky is really beautiful.
Imo, Kyros is one of the most incredible character for me. The panel of him crying in isolation at the end of dressrosa hits so hard considering what he went through. Best biological family member in the series.
It wasn’t clear when Whitebeard’s story began, but it was incredibly intentional that “The Strongest Man Alive” had such an emphasis on family. Even when we come to understand that the yonko control or protect islands under their purview, it was incredibly interesting for Oda to make one of the most masculine characters the most caring.
What I find the most fascinating about Corazon and Law’s relationship is that they are supposed to be literally natural enemies!! With Corazon showing love to Law is a calestial dragon showing love to the natural enemy of his kind, A total inverse of how we’re supposed to view the D Clan/Calestial Dragon conflict.
Glad Whitebeard made the list. He's still my favorite character, pretty much for the same reasons as your's. But I'd like to add, that in a story where will and ambitions directly correlate to strength, the mundane wish to be a good dad made him so powerful, only the pirate king himself was able to rival him. I think that's an incredible example of positive masculinity and by far my most respected and favorite personel goal of any character in One Piece. Whitebeard still the goat!
The fact he was this behemoth of a man that could have brought the entire world to it's heel if he wanted to... but he never wanted any of it. Roger even offered to tell him how to get to Raftel but the man just straight out wasn't interested. The man was the gigachad of all gigachads.
Yeah, for a series obsessed with titles... especially "Pirate King". The Strongest Man in the World only really ever cared about one name he earned..... Pops.
Doffy was an entitled brat whi was used to the lifestyle. Corozan didnt let people manipulate him quite like Doffy. He took the past of most resistance because life gets hard and we have to take a stand. Even if this means sacrificing everything around you to preserve principles. For Corozan, it was his relationship with Doffy to save Law. The parallels of Corozan's selflessness and universal love vs Doffy's nihilism invoke a sense of two opposinf forces fighting for souls
I love Law and Corazon and Shanks and all the obvious characters, but I think for more obscure side characters I really like Noland. Noland is so cool. I loved discovering his story and getting his flashback in Skypiea, and I love getting to still see the impacts he made in the story in places like Green Bit and the Tontattas. Noland was such an upstanding guy.
My favorite non-Straw Hats: 5. Rob Lucci is one of the best antagonists in OP, I love his cool demeanor. His impact on the story of Enies Lobby is awesome and his fight with Luffy is one of my favorites. (Egghead is certainly using him in a way that I didn’t expect, but I guess we will see what happens) 4. Crocodile. It’s Crocodile. I don’t have a good reason, I just love him. 3. Trafalgar Law is pretty self-explanatory. Law’s backstory is probably my favorite story in fiction. 2. Buggy is the greatest gag that has ever been used in a story such as this, I continue to be amazed how much Oda is able to use Buggy to create hilarious situations. 1. Doctor Hiluluk is my favorite side character. Drum Island was an arc that I wasn’t very sold on at first, but when I revisited it, Hiluluk affected me deeply. His speech is the most memorable that I’ve read in fiction, and I quote it to my friends too much. But his impact and his influence on Chopper (and Luffy, for that matter) is awesome.
The amount of speculation abousts Buggy's cross guild before the reveals where INSANE. We all thought that Buggy had made a deal with Croco and Mihawk, that he had agreed to be the front man to be the target of the marines in exchange of cooperation... Even this was too much for him. Everything was just ANOTHER misunderstanding. That was the first time i laughed for days, cause every video from the fanbase was HILARIOUS
The joy you brought me by mentioning Crocodile. Corcodile has been one of my favorite characters since watching One Piece back on Toonami. Any time I see him in the story I get so happy.
My personal favourite characters: 5. Vivis Duck - i just really love ducks and this one was hilarious, for example in Little Gardens If the duck doesn't count because Vivi counts as a strawhat: 5. Owner Zeff - idk, i just love parental figures and this one is heartwarming. 4. Buggy - the living meme 3. Whitebeard - such a wonderful and caring dad 2. Crocodile - favourite enemy, he is THE mafia boss 1. Dadan - she has a special place in my heart because she is very similar to my own mother. Of course less extreme and without hitting me but that kinda rude "i don't give a fuck"-attitude mixed with the loving nature of being a mother, it just happens to be extremely similar and her character speaks to me on a personal level, i just adore her. Honorable mentions: Bellemere, Garp, Corazon
This is a solid list, and Toro is probably the only one that didn't crossed my mind, and you made me realized how well written he is. I personally put Whitebeard as number 1, because of personal reason. Lost my father when i was 11, grew up stoic and think you have to eat it up as a man. I first read him when i was in HS, he gave me that nostalgic feeling of fatherly love. And it broke me.
Surprised you didn't include Perona. Personally my list, no particular order: - Pudding - Law - Boa - Rayleigh - Corazon Honorable Mentions: Kuzan, Whitebeard and Yamato (unless you count Yamato as a Strawhat)
I just got the 1st box set of One Piece … volumes 1-23 and I’m so excited to re-read all of One Piece!!! I just got it last night and I read up until you 1st meet Buggy and all the nostalgia came back for when The Great Pirate King Buggy was 1st introduced 🙏🙏🙏
Funnily enough one of my favourite characters in one piece is shirahoshi, purely because of what she symbolizes. She is one of the few characters in one piece that are *better/stronger by birth* not by their social standing or anything like that Purely by birth, as she is an ancient weapon. Yet she is still one of the kindest and calmest characters we have. She is strong enough to destroy the world, but she still didnt lose her touch with reality as she is treated normally. Even through her traumatic past she managed to keep onto those qualities due to how much she cares for the people of fishman island. She is the antithesis to the celestial dragons, who are purely strong through their social power and standing, and she works brilliantly as that.
@@dazk5317 she is aware of her power by now and even then earlier weve seen how her family made sure she doesnt have heavy emotional fluctuations. We see how how she was treated led to her being an actual being instead of a caricature of a human, like the celestial dragons are (and some of the people with stupid amounts of power in reality too)
Yes, that's one of the thing I love about Crocodile, how his story is implied all throughout One Piece but never explained and how his defeat at the hands of Luffy kind of "brings his mojo back" by showing him through example what a real pirate, the kind of pirate he used to be (in a more evil way of course but still) before he became a "silver medalist", looks like and how it can be successful, something he lost hope in. As for Whitebeard, funnily enough I don't want kids, I'm not nurturing and while I respect adoption just as much as any other form of having kids I wouldn't willingly get a child myself. But I still love Whitebeard in big part for all the same reasons you do. Just because I'm not interested in becoming that person doesn't mean I don't respect and love them for it. My favourite characters outside of the SH are very similar to yours. WB, Croc, Buggy... They're just amazing. Where I differ I guess is in the tertiary characters with smaller stories because the effect of those character's story on people is deeply personal and subject to change so Corazon and Toto don't make my top 5 but Belmer does, she's probably the parent figure I've loved most in this story. As for the fifth, it's getting very hard, Bon Clay is an obvious choice. I particularly admired his pragmatism: He's not like Luffy, he doesn't sacrifice himself if he doesn't see a sliver of hope of that helping, but he will also hold himself accountable for fleeing and do what he can to help after surviving. And when he sees a way to help like in Alabasta or at the end of Impel Down, he doesn't hesitate. But it could be someone else, there are just so many of them in the manga... I would have voted Vivi but just like you I definitely count her as a SH.
I think one of the things people tend to miss with Doffy vs Corazon, is that Doffy was older. He understood better than Cora just what they had lost - even if only a little bit more - and had been molded by CD society more than his younger brother had, just by dent of having lived there longer. On top of that, he was guided/manipulated down a darker path. Their story really shows how being raised by good/bad people can change children born in the same place. If Doffy had been taken in by Sengoku, sure, he may not be as good a person as Corazon who had a headstart on 'goodness' just by dent of being more maleable/younger but he certainly would not have turned out like he did. On the flip side, if Corazon had been taken in by slimelord mcgee instead, maybe he wouldn't be as terrible as Doffy, but he would likely have been molded into a villain despite his inherent desire for goodness. A lot of children in our world find themselves in situations where they start out in good and bad places and make the flip based on how they're raised. How many children don't have a chance because of their circumstances? We all know of at least one or two people where you can say "If you know how they were raised, you know they didn't have a chance." It's masterful story and character building from Oda because it so easily reflects real life situations but pulled to the maximum drama possible. Children are a product of how they are raised. Not to absolve Doffy or Cora of their choices, of course - they both ended up being adults who made their own choices - but their actual starting points were night and day from each other. A lot of people do the whole "they both started at the same point and look at how their choices matter" but completely ignore the fact that their paths diverted from each other early on and that diversion shaped them into people who made the choices they made. To say Doffy as a child was inherently evil is wrong. To say Cora as a child was inherently good is wrong. They were a tragic case of children taken to both extremes by situations out of their control.
because he was already bad lol literally wanted to kill ppl just because they didnt bow to him, man was just Very twisted showing that is not always the nurture, my Sister and me were raised the same yet we are so different. Doffy wouldnt have listened to Sengoku lmfao why ppl bring this up? Trebol was exactly what Doffy was looking for, someone that treated him like a King and fed his ego. Ppl usually dont wanna see that bc they like Doffy and dont want to admit that he sad past didnt change him that much he was always twisted and lacked empathy as a child, is clearly seen in the manga un like his brother Who was shy and kind, he was born a psychopath.
@@ceruhermandez9651 He wasn't bad. He was raised in a society that had him believe that these were his rights. He was a child who was torn away from his home and people that gave him a superiority complex, had that compounded by the experience of losing everything, losing his mother, being literally tortured and hated by the very people he was told were beneath him from the day he was born. That's not evil, that's being raised wrong. As to why Cora wasn't the same? He was younger and hadn't been soaked into that lifestyle as much as Doffy had by that point by dint of being the younger, more protected sibling. You see this a lot in younger/older sibling dynamics. The older one is almost always given a caretaker role to the younger, which often leads to them having to grow up and understand the world around them faster - Doffy understood where his place was in his 'world', but then had it all ripped away by his father's decision, was denigrated, tortured, hated and pushed to the edge. Then he met a group of people (this was while his father was still alive, mind you!) who told him "Yes, you're right, you're above everyone else and everything you went through is wrong and you should get revenge for that." They pushed this CHILD towards killing his father, then took him in and raised him to be even worse, manipulating his hatred for the world to push him into becoming a tool they could control. Eventually he took over the reigns, but even during the battle with Luffy you could see some of the strings still binding him to slimelord fuckface in the form of manipulating him. Kid never had a fucking chance. Children aren't born evil, they are raised that way, and Doffy was very much not evil, he was a kid who lost everything that he was told from birth was his right, forced to be confronted with the knowledge that everything he knew about the world was wrong (he was so, so confused all the time - you could see it when he was demanding to know why why why about everything that happened, and with no good answers, frustration and anger festered, as is normal, which turned to hate when others stepped in to push him in that direction) and then told once more that he was originally right, doubling down on his frustration with his father for taking them from 'their rightful place'. This is what makes him such a well-written and compelling villain - because his origin was not that of an evil person, but that of a child who lost their place in the world, was forced into horrendous situations by their family, and then pushed towards hatred. The bullshit just compounded over time and manipulations until as an adult, when he could make his own choices (and not be led around by the terrible adults in his life) he was set on a track that would ultimately doom him and many, many others to lives worse than they could have been. He's a tragedy.
I think Doflamingo has all the traits of a psychopath, dark triad etc. even if they’d left him up in mariejois he’d have been one of the worst CDs (although technically we’ve not met that many and Imu is wiping out entire islands, so maybe he’d just fit in) - definitely not just nurture in my opinion… but that’s what is so great about Odas characters, room for them to be debated / discussed ❤
@@melissaedecooper7037 True. On my side of the debate, I've seen kids grow like this before and it's always a sadening thing to see. One of the great things about Oda's writing is how well it reflects real life situations, too. I've seen Doffy/Cora situations irl before - one notable one was twin girls whose mega-rich family lost all their wealth, then a divorce forcing them to be raised by different parents. One turned out a school drop-out, bouncing through men and becoming a disaster of a human (and one of the worst people I've had the displeasure to know. She pimped out her children for drugs, as an example of just how horrible she is), while her sister struggled and made a hell of a lot of herself - now runs her own business, has a wonderful family and the respect of her community. The weirdest thing about these two girls is that the one you'd think would have gone off the rails based on her demeanour as a child is the one who 'made it'. When she was a kid she would hurt animals, hit her sister and other children, shout and scream and was spoiled to hell. In comparison her sister was an angel who was sweet and thoughtful. When I look back on their lives I wonder just how much better/worse they would be had they been with the other parent. It's crazy to think about and it's one of the reasons I guess I can see how Doffy was failed as a kid, because I've seen how a real life version of 'Doffy' could have turned out with the proper love and care given. Just.. .yeah, failed by the people around him. It's sad.
Your list is so unorthodox! I love it! My list of favourite non strawhats is in order from number 1 to 5: Shanks, Law, WB, Katakuri, Ace. Honorable mention: Marco, Smoker, Doffy.
A very respectable top 5 and very cool to see you stick to your guns on Todo. I think for a vast majority of "average" One Piece fans, he wouldn't even be in a top 100 because he isn't a character with cool fight scenes or funny gags. He very much is a good character though that just takes a different perspective to appreciate fully. For myself I'd say my current top 5 (non-Straw Hats) are: 5. Killer: Wano did a massive job of making me love this character. Killer's journey through Wano, the love that Kid and his crew shows for him, and the incredible loyalty that Killer has for his captain all won me over. Even in the battle against Shanks, Killer had no issue throwing himself in the way of such a powerful attack to try and protect his crew. In the recent anime episode where Killer defeats Hawkins, a lot of reactors kind of just laughed at Killer when he declared that Kid would take down the Yonko and become King of the Pirates. That just struck home with me. Anime and Manga reactors laughing at that decleration is like the characters in universe laughing at Luffy's dream. We as readers have the outside knowledge of "Luffy is the main character" but the characters in the story don't. It's incredibly rare for characters to show that level of loyalty and belief in their captain outside of Zoro, and it always sends chills down my spine when it happens. 4. Doflamingo: I don't think I need to beat this horse. Everyone knows Doffy is one of the most interesting and well fleshed out antagonists in the series. He's just an all around fantastic character. 3. Momonosuke: People may not want to admit it because he's "an annoying child character", but he genuinely probably is one of the/if not the best written character in the series. Seeing how far Momo has come from Punk Hazard to Wano country is incredible. He has turned into a man that Oden would be proud of for sure, all while being an eight year old child expected to lead an entire nation against the strongest man with one of the strongest crews in the world. His growth is just amazing and I wish so many people didn't just write him off because he's a child. 2. Crocodile: Crocodile is proof that you don't need to have a massive lore dump about a villain like Oda did with Doffy to make them likeable. He just has such a presence whenever he's involved with something. Even if his early introduction in the story makes him seem "weak" compared to other characters, Oda has done a very good job of always having me feeling interested in him while correcting the original "weak" depiction of the character. 1. Katakuri: I just adore him as an antagonist. His design and his fight are among the absolute best in the series, but I really love his relationship. He genuinely cares about his siblings no matter what, to the point that he even fears his own mother and secretly hopes for Luffy to take her down some day. His entire battle with Luffy is just one massive gush of things to love from his image of perfection that he feels like he has to keep, to the fact that he's just as big and goofy a glutton as Luffy but sees it as a weakness that no one should ever see, to the sense of honor and growing level of respect he has for Luffy as a captain. That final seen of him telling Luffy he's seeing pretty far into the future before falling on his back always gives me chills. Some honorable mentions: Kaido is really hype but his ending was rushed and Oda didn't deliver on everything he had built up. I REALLY wanted to like Yamato, and she has one of my favorite designs in the series...but Oda just ruined her so much at the end of Wano. She just feels like such a waste of panel time after not joining the crew. Everything with her connection to Ace and her desire for freedom and to be a modern Oden, it just feels so pointless even if she does end up joining the crew later down the line. I would even say she's a detriment to Momo's character by choosing NOT to listen to him and go out to see so he didn't have to keep relying on people stronger then him for everything. Shanks is up there because he's so incredibly hype every time we see him...but he's done one attack in the series and not a whole lot else. He did stop the war of Marineford and meet with the Gorosei in secret...but we don't have much else to go off of right not. Characters like Dragon and Garp are in a similar situation for me where I need to see a bit more before I start ranking them.
The most amazing thing about crocodile is that if you keep a close eye on the story, SBS and cover story's you could actually tell crocodile has a back story, from the cover story we know he wanted to become the king of pirates, and we know he got his ass whooped by WB and then he ended up in Alabasta looking for ancient weapon, it's like luffy got his ass whooped by kaido and insted of learning ryou he went for ancient weapon
Just a side note, I don't think Kaido's story is over yet. I'm quite sure his past has somethings that could not be revealed, but when Oda decides to finally reveal them we're gonna revisit his story to complete it.
When i first read the corazon chapters i knew that you would love him because I always knew you and i have similar view and preferences to some things. Corazon is my fav too..❤ Thank you so much Merphy for introducing me to one piece and also to many other stories.♥️
My top 5 non Strawhat : 1. Corazon. He is just a godly character 2. Bon Clay. He shows that gender doesn't matter if you are a loyal friend 3. Shimotsuki Yasuie. Faking his condition to protect his citizen. 4. Dadan. She is just a normal woman but she showed her bravery when saving Ace n Luffy. 5. Kyros/Noland cant decide. They're badass and chivalric
Buggy is literally the Usopp of the bad guys when it comes to getting credit for things he has no reason to and even more than Luffy I hope Buggy gets some kind of epic win in the end and lives happily ever after.
my top 5 favorite charaters outside of SH 1. Law : everything about him from his past childhood, his morals, his personality, just who he is 2. Crocodile: one of the best villain that soon change my opinion about him during Marinford 3. Cora: experience same life as Doffy yet became kind and dedicated to Law, just so he can save Law. 4. White beard: just wanting a family and loving his kids 5. Garp: his morals, his own strong sense of justice, he loves his family, wants to protect them. him being a vice Admiral has put him in difficult situation with all his grandson all criminals but he cares. he does protect the people and listen to no one when he need to do things right
My number one by far is Bon Clay no character has ever gone from me thinking they are annoying to me crying in all my time watching anime like he did. His reason was simple. He was helping a friend.
For me: 1. Buggy - of course 2. Blackbeard - I find him FASCINATING, his encounter with Luffy in Jaya left me captivated. He's a man that has a plan, he goes with the flow, and if it doesn't work? he changes his plans and keep going. He has flaws but the security in what he does is impressive. 3. Perona - I love her, and her fight with Ussop for me is the most original and my favorite in all One Piece. 4. Corazón - I don't remember crying that much for a character reading manga coffrobincoff, it's outstanding the impact he has in the few pages that we meet him. 5. Brûlee - she has a terrible side at first, mostly like 99% of the sons and daughters of Big mom, but the love for her siblings speaks to me.
Croc is probably my favourite, and definitely one of. The Cross Guild was just too good. I wasn't expecting something so glorious so on the side. It's just...chef's kiss.
I completely agree with Crrocodile over Doflamingo. I think more people in the fanbase lean towards Doffy, but crocodile is still the villain that impresses me the most. Considering Oda has refined his antagonist formula, yet Crocodile holds up so well, it speaks to how good he really is a character. He's such a menace and had so many contingencies. Funnily enough neither Crocodile nor Doffy is my favourite Antagonist, but Crocodile is still in my top 5 favourite characters.
I didn't even think about it that crocodile actually already ran multiple islands with baroque works. He basically owned whiskey peak already, and used it to make most of the bounties.
I will say this without the tiniest bit of irony: My favorite One Pieces character is Karoo (Vivi's duck). Does he count as a straw hat though? Because he and Vivi are are the closest characters that can be considered straw hats that are not currently on the ship. Anyway, I love him SO much and I would die for him and he is not even real
Haven't watched the video yet but am willing to bet my entire one piece collection that Perona and Buggy will be mentioned. My dark horse is Caribou though, i think she's starting to warm up to him.
Merphy, I know you're probably gonna do it anyways but I NEED your remaining strawhats videos (Nami, Chopper, Ussop, and Franky) You so frequently add another dimension to the characters that it makes me love them more and sometimes even cry
I can't help but tear up whenever you talk about Whitebeard. Not because of the character per se, but what he means to you. As someone who was kicked out of the house by their parent, it really hits home.
Honorable mention for me is Momo the 8 year boy who lost his parents went into the future over came fear time after time lost his childhood had to grow up both physically and mentally and had to become a leader while everyone was treating him like a kid and low key pitting him Luffy treated him the way he needed to be treated and was the big brother he needed Momo growth and character development from punk hazard to Wano and becoming Shogun and in the future he will be known far and wide is great in time story character development imagine being younger than your little sister that’s crazy but that boy persevered and overcame his fear time after time and he was still afraid when the straw hat left but he will overcome it that 8 year child is nothing short of amazing and his growth rate from punk hazard to Wano is amazing
The call out that we, one piece fans, will stay and hear you gush over one piece characters gave me a "i'm in this picture and i don't like it" feels. Great job! :)
1. Corazon - same reasons I also just. Adore his design and the added comedy of how clumsy he is 2. Law - i never knew why people loved the dude in the spotted hat so much growing up. Now I do. Hes so interesting and well written and him and Cora go hand in hand. His dynamic with Luffy is fantastic and getting to be with him across the New World just. Makes him feel like he's apart of the crew even though he's not. 3. Koby - I adore his growth. I get so excited and happy each time he shows up in a chapter. I love that he has the friendship he does with Luffy and that he acts as a positive future for the Navy. We meet him so very very early on and getting to see his journey across the series has been great. 4. Whitebeard - he has so much impact on the story. Hes such a well done father figure and such a great contrast to the other Emperors. His first appearance leaves such an impression and his story in MarineFord is fantastic. His dream of just. Wanting a family. And putting all the treasure he got to taking care of his home island. Hes just. Such a well done character. 5. Buggy - adore this pirate hes so funny. I legit would not be mad if hes named pirate King before luffy. Like luffy gets the one piece but the government messes up as it tends to do and mistakes buggy as the man to get it all and names him (Honestly picking 5th was hard. There are other characters i just adore. Like Ace and Sabo. I also really like Momonosuke's story across the series.)
I think my list is gonna be a bit different to most people's, but hear me out. 5. Fujitora. I put him up here because the scene where he wishes he never blinded himself so he could see Luffy's smile is one of the four times I have ever cried at One Piece after viewing that scene in the anime, and the other three are to do with Strawhats so. I also just have a soft spot in this series for Marines who slowly learn to like Luffy over the course of the story and Fuji is the best example for that. I also see a lot of emotional potential for his character in the final war, with him likely leaving the Marines, as well as his constant theme around truly being on the people's side, which will probably lead to an emotional head to do with him saving people in place of the actual Marines. 4. Whitebeard. He has all the weight of Roger in terms of narrative significance but is also given an emotional core for the audience. His scene where he hugs Squard is a highlight, and the entire chapter where he dies is possibly my favourite chapter/scene in all of One Piece, hitting perfectly on emotion, cool factor, a satisfying resolution, etc. He also has the coolest Devil Fruit in the series. 3. Garp. He's always the most engaging part of One Piece every time he's on page, he's one of the most layered and genuinely believable people in the series. He comes with a lot of hype. He comes with a lot of melancholy for me too. He's gonna die, and I'm gonna cry. 2. Hiruluk. "When do people die? Is it when they're shot in the heart with the bullet of a pistol? No. When they're ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink soup made from a poisonous mushroom? No! People die... when they're forgotten. Ha! And what a life this was!" 1. Blackbeard. He hasn't even had his time in the spotlight yet and he's already a contender for my favourite character in the series. Every time he appears, he's an absolute joy to watch, while simultaneously being the most terrifying character in the series. It somehow feels like he's outside the normal restrictions characters have to be held to in this story. He's smart, he knows how to exploit the system, he's always planning five steps ahead. I've always felt like he's a video game character being controlled by a player that's already beaten the game once, and has now started up a second save file and is on an evil playthrough. Knows where all the best items are. Knows the optimal route to beating the game. He brings that pirate aesthetic sorely missing from the rest of One Piece. If you're a successful pirate in the world of One Piece, you should fear Blackbeard the most. Because he'll watch in the shadows as you break yourself down against someone else, fight harder than you ever have before for your dreams, win at the last minute, before he steals all the glory and makes it to the top off the back of your work. Like a true pirate. And yet at the same time, I get this real sense of underlying sadness from him. The one time we see him as a child he's in tears. He's never slept, meaning for half his life he's been alone. The only person he's looked up to and respected for all his life is someone who's been prevented from knowing anything about, and who he can't mention to anyone lest he be shunned and ultimately erased too. Oda originally wanted to give him two sisters but scrapped the idea, probably to further this idea of his loneliness. Whitebeard took him in as a boy, and even if it was all pretend he was still able to act as if he did genuinely love Whitebeard as a father and his crewmates as his brothers. And yet he still decided to betray them in the worst way. He's mentioned that he wants to be King of the Pirates, and in the recent chapter, king of something else, his idol Rocks' goal was to become King of the World. King - a title where you have no equal. He's committed to being alone in a world where strong bonds with other people result in real, tangible strength (think the Merry). I can only imagine what his flashback is going to be like. By the end of the series, he could honestly be one of my favourite villains of all time.
Very interesting... I read through some of the comments also. I was disappointed not to see my boy/girl "Bon Clay", talk about a character who epitomizes the core message of One Piece!
1. Dr. Hiruluk - I can't watch or read Choppers backstory without crying. His last words are my favorite moment of one piece. 2. Corazon - I was so surprised that he was your favorite because not alot have him on this kind of lists. You pretty much explained everything. 3. Law - His backstory and relationship with Corazon sold me on this character. And he has massive drip! 4. Blackbeard - I dont have a good reason for this but I really love his chaotic nature. 5. Sabo - His relationship to Luffy and Ace and his devotion to strike down the celestial dragons.
Disallowing SH parents as well (because I love them all-Bellemere, Zef, Dr. Hiriluk, etc.) mine are: 1. Garp - rewatched OP after becoming a parent. Absolutely fell in love with Garp during Marineford. Been my 2nd favorite ever since (1st is Zoro) 2. Bon-chan - in the name of friendship. 3. Whitebeard - again: I watched marineford as a parent. 4. Señor Pink - because that back story. 5. Fujitora - based admiral.
Every time we get more info about whitebeard he just becomes even better to me. Like finding out he’s a cheapskate cuz he sent all his earning to his homeland since it’s poverty stricken, or when he demanded that his crew return all of the food that the roger pirates gave them cuz we wanted to make sure odens family wouldn’t starve
1. Doflamingo. Do I need to say why? 2. Boa Hancock. This one I always found the hardest to explain, I just really like her character. The tragedy of her backstory and the way meeting Luffy affected and changed her. (I also used some of her character a few years back as inspiration to create a D&D character who ended up being my favourite ever PC- which made me like her a lot more. 😂) She always seems to project this certain level of pride and strength and it actually hurt a bit to see her looking so defeated with Rayleigh and Shakky after her encounter with Blackbeard. 3. Law. I stubbornly fought against putting him in my top 5 for so long but he’s just so damn cool I can’t fight it anymore. 4. Buggy. I mean, The way he keeps failing upwards is just great. 5. Corazon. For pretty much the same reasons Merphy gave. Hon. Mentions. Hawkins- He was my favourite Supanova during their introduction in Sabaody, and I really wanted to keep him in my top 5 but he just didn’t get enough screentime/moments overall for me to justify keeping him there. Carrot- pretty much for the same reasons as Hawkins. I really liked her to begin with, and still do. But I just don’t think she ended up getting enough to do overall. (That could change by the end of the story, who knows?) Blackbeard. He will most definitely end up in my top 5 but I kinda just want to wait for his role in the story to be done before I confirm it. 😂
If Vivy is on the list of straw hat deep dives law should be in it to, it’s okay right!! And your #1 really surprised me!! I thought you had buggy there lol but great pick. Not Perona not being in the list ahhhhhhh
I feel like the side characters are more inspirational than the straw hats tbh. You can't go wrong with Toto. It always puts a smile on my face when it finally rains on Alabasta, and you see Toto smiling, and he's just like, " I told you so!"
1. Garp: Total chad. Enough said 2. Bon Clay: He’s the character that embodies what the straw hats stand for as a family. He’d fit in perfect with the comedy trio and his resolve is incredible. 3. Law: sad boy that I want to love and follow. 4. Perona: I want her to (insert anything here and it works) me 5. Katakuri: his strength and respect for Luffy mirrors the reasons why I love zoro. If he didn’t meet big mom I have a feeling he’d be a strawhat.
Well the problem starts with Dofy being the older brother. When things got tragic, Cora really was just too young and didn't even realize what was going on. Dofy was in this survival mode because of what their father did and become a monster to save and provide for his mother and his brother. If Cora was the older brother, I'm sure there's a chance he would have taken the same path
I'm never able to make such lists because I couldn't possibly rank... anything, with all of them being so good. But the thing with Oda is... you could easily make a list of Top 20 (50/100) side characters and find good reasons for anyone. I'll admit Toto probably wouldn't be on mine but obviously your reasons are totally valid to include him. But so would be a list consisting of Bentham, Bellamy, Bell-mere, Baby 5 and Bartholomew Kuma. (Yes, semi random picks, but you get my point) Obviously, some other authors can compare but Oda is definitely up there with the best authors for a reason.
Ok, listen, in my top5 i have both Doffy and Law, so we can all agree that Cora has a specific little spot made specifically for him, ok? Like the Impel Down lv 5.5, it shouldn't be there but it's there and it's glorious.
Corazon is an easy top three for me, maybe No. 1 if I sat down and actually tried to narrow down a full list, and you 100% nailed why. Talk about doing so much with comparatively very little in terms of the story as a whole.
My top 5 non strawhats: 5. Bepo. He's just cute af. I wish i had a talking polar bear friend. 4. Queen. King is cool but queen is just more fun on screen. 3. Buggy. Need i say more? 2. Hancock. By all means I'm usually annoyed with this type of character but her love for luffy is just so endearing. 1. Katakuri. He's just amazing. Hope we'll see him again soon.
These videos always make me hope you read Attack on Titan sometime soon. It's nowhere as long as One Piece but it's the only manga that I believe is better and has even more depth and I'd love to see your insight on it
I feel like the running theme of "What will your answer be?" Is one of the best things Oda has done with the story. For Rocinante and Doflamingo, they both went through the same thing and one goes "I need to change the world" and the other goes "I need to destroy it". Which is just so fascinating to read.
I just finished the Arlong Park arc and I think this is where I will become officially obsessed 😅
Dont watch the vid
Yes your otw it’s a great show but please skip this list
@@bigbarreldarrel9660 yeah, I was wondering about him too. Honestly I thought he was a bot 🤷♀️
@@sharoncastle2177 😭
Go on bro enjoy the ride
Its the best time to be a one piece fan
Corazon is an extremely important character for the Doflamingo backstory, because his existence shows that Oda isn't trying to justify his actions by showing us his past, as evidenced by the fact that Corazon went through the same hardships and didn't end up becoming the same ruthless monster. As someone who hates when I feel that the main villain of a story has no agency over their own choices, I really appreciated what this dichotomy did to Doflamingo as a character.
The curse of being a one piece fan, just listening to this video brings you to tears😢
Absolutely. I am fighting them back just hearing how all the characters impacted her so deeply too
One character I don’t ever see get much love is Kokoro, the one true mermaid! Not only is she just straight up badass, but seeing her arc from not being able to do anything when Tom was taken away to being the literal driving force to save Robin and Franky is really beautiful.
I also love how she started calling Luffy "Pirate King" almost from the get go. It holds even more weight because she actually knew Roger.
Imo, Kyros is one of the most incredible character for me. The panel of him crying in isolation at the end of dressrosa hits so hard considering what he went through. Best biological family member in the series.
It wasn’t clear when Whitebeard’s story began, but it was incredibly intentional that “The Strongest Man Alive” had such an emphasis on family. Even when we come to understand that the yonko control or protect islands under their purview, it was incredibly interesting for Oda to make one of the most masculine characters the most caring.
I agree with 99% of what you are saying. The 1% is that IMO Oda making WB caring and prtotective is the embodiment of masculinity.
Corazon’s story sits deep with me to this day, how it all wraps up with Sengoku telling Law, “Don’t look for a reason to question someone’s love.”
What I find the most fascinating about Corazon and Law’s relationship is that they are supposed to be literally natural enemies!! With Corazon showing love to Law is a calestial dragon showing love to the natural enemy of his kind, A total inverse of how we’re supposed to view the D Clan/Calestial Dragon conflict.
Glad Whitebeard made the list. He's still my favorite character, pretty much for the same reasons as your's. But I'd like to add, that in a story where will and ambitions directly correlate to strength, the mundane wish to be a good dad made him so powerful, only the pirate king himself was able to rival him. I think that's an incredible example of positive masculinity and by far my most respected and favorite personel goal of any character in One Piece. Whitebeard still the goat!
Yeah he's the goat 🐐
The fact he was this behemoth of a man that could have brought the entire world to it's heel if he wanted to... but he never wanted any of it. Roger even offered to tell him how to get to Raftel but the man just straight out wasn't interested. The man was the gigachad of all gigachads.
He was so impactful where Roger was okay with telling him the secrets of the world even though he really had no real interest.
Yeah, for a series obsessed with titles... especially "Pirate King". The Strongest Man in the World only really ever cared about one name he earned..... Pops.
Doffy was an entitled brat whi was used to the lifestyle. Corozan didnt let people manipulate him quite like Doffy. He took the past of most resistance because life gets hard and we have to take a stand. Even if this means sacrificing everything around you to preserve principles. For Corozan, it was his relationship with Doffy to save Law. The parallels of Corozan's selflessness and universal love vs Doffy's nihilism invoke a sense of two opposinf forces fighting for souls
I love Law and Corazon and Shanks and all the obvious characters, but I think for more obscure side characters I really like Noland. Noland is so cool. I loved discovering his story and getting his flashback in Skypiea, and I love getting to still see the impacts he made in the story in places like Green Bit and the Tontattas. Noland was such an upstanding guy.
My favorite non-Straw Hats:
5. Rob Lucci is one of the best antagonists in OP, I love his cool demeanor. His impact on the story of Enies Lobby is awesome and his fight with Luffy is one of my favorites. (Egghead is certainly using him in a way that I didn’t expect, but I guess we will see what happens)
4. Crocodile. It’s Crocodile. I don’t have a good reason, I just love him.
3. Trafalgar Law is pretty self-explanatory. Law’s backstory is probably my favorite story in fiction.
2. Buggy is the greatest gag that has ever been used in a story such as this, I continue to be amazed how much Oda is able to use Buggy to create hilarious situations.
1. Doctor Hiluluk is my favorite side character. Drum Island was an arc that I wasn’t very sold on at first, but when I revisited it, Hiluluk affected me deeply. His speech is the most memorable that I’ve read in fiction, and I quote it to my friends too much. But his impact and his influence on Chopper (and Luffy, for that matter) is awesome.
Crocodile's reasoning is so real
he's just THAT GUY
Doctor Hiruluk speech is still my favourite quote of One Piece, I listen to it or read it and cry
I love how buggy keeps failing upward though ridiculous means😂😂
The amount of speculation abousts Buggy's cross guild before the reveals where INSANE. We all thought that Buggy had made a deal with Croco and Mihawk, that he had agreed to be the front man to be the target of the marines in exchange of cooperation... Even this was too much for him. Everything was just ANOTHER misunderstanding. That was the first time i laughed for days, cause every video from the fanbase was HILARIOUS
The joy you brought me by mentioning Crocodile. Corcodile has been one of my favorite characters since watching One Piece back on Toonami. Any time I see him in the story I get so happy.
Also Buggy for PK of course
If corazón ain’t on this list it’s WRONG
edit: immediately satisfied
My personal favourite characters:
5. Vivis Duck - i just really love ducks and this one was hilarious, for example in Little Gardens
If the duck doesn't count because Vivi counts as a strawhat:
5. Owner Zeff - idk, i just love parental figures and this one is heartwarming.
4. Buggy - the living meme
3. Whitebeard - such a wonderful and caring dad
2. Crocodile - favourite enemy, he is THE mafia boss
1. Dadan - she has a special place in my heart because she is very similar to my own mother. Of course less extreme and without hitting me but that kinda rude "i don't give a fuck"-attitude mixed with the loving nature of being a mother, it just happens to be extremely similar and her character speaks to me on a personal level, i just adore her.
Honorable mentions:
Bellemere, Garp, Corazon
Crocodile hands down the classiest and best enemy!
The fact that Karoo's one of your favourites and you don't remember his name...
If he doesn't count, then it's only because I count Karoo as a Straw Hat along with Vivi.
Caru is a honorary strawhat like vivi of course
@@random1piecefan
Seems like a pretty Merphy thing to do and IM BAD WITH NAMES!
This is a solid list, and Toro is probably the only one that didn't crossed my mind, and you made me realized how well written he is.
I personally put Whitebeard as number 1, because of personal reason. Lost my father when i was 11, grew up stoic and think you have to eat it up as a man.
I first read him when i was in HS, he gave me that nostalgic feeling of fatherly love. And it broke me.
Whitebeard reminds me of my grandpa. Probably my favorite old man character in any anime/manga in general.
Surprised you didn't include Perona.
Personally my list, no particular order:
- Pudding
- Law
- Boa
- Rayleigh
- Corazon
Honorable Mentions: Kuzan, Whitebeard and Yamato (unless you count Yamato as a Strawhat)
I just got the 1st box set of One Piece … volumes 1-23 and I’m so excited to re-read all of One Piece!!! I just got it last night and I read up until you 1st meet Buggy and all the nostalgia came back for when The Great Pirate King Buggy was 1st introduced 🙏🙏🙏
Funnily enough one of my favourite characters in one piece is shirahoshi, purely because of what she symbolizes.
She is one of the few characters in one piece that are *better/stronger by birth* not by their social standing or anything like that
Purely by birth, as she is an ancient weapon. Yet she is still one of the kindest and calmest characters we have. She is strong enough to destroy the world, but she still didnt lose her touch with reality as she is treated normally. Even through her traumatic past she managed to keep onto those qualities due to how much she cares for the people of fishman island.
She is the antithesis to the celestial dragons, who are purely strong through their social power and standing, and she works brilliantly as that.
Afaik, Shirahoshi doesnt even know she is an ancient weapon
@@dazk5317 she is aware of her power by now and even then earlier weve seen how her family made sure she doesnt have heavy emotional fluctuations.
We see how how she was treated led to her being an actual being instead of a caricature of a human, like the celestial dragons are (and some of the people with stupid amounts of power in reality too)
She's such a brave girl😭
@@kurasuta3715 she really is!
My list
5. Kozuki oden
4. Marco
3. Gold roger
2. Silvers rayleigh
1. Edward D. Newgate
I really like the old generation
My top 5 Non Straw Hats are as follows.
5. Buggy
4. Mr. 2 Bon Clay
3. Crocodile
2. Garp
1. Smoker
Honorable mentions: Koby and Tashigi
Yes, that's one of the thing I love about Crocodile, how his story is implied all throughout One Piece but never explained and how his defeat at the hands of Luffy kind of "brings his mojo back" by showing him through example what a real pirate, the kind of pirate he used to be (in a more evil way of course but still) before he became a "silver medalist", looks like and how it can be successful, something he lost hope in.
As for Whitebeard, funnily enough I don't want kids, I'm not nurturing and while I respect adoption just as much as any other form of having kids I wouldn't willingly get a child myself. But I still love Whitebeard in big part for all the same reasons you do. Just because I'm not interested in becoming that person doesn't mean I don't respect and love them for it.
My favourite characters outside of the SH are very similar to yours. WB, Croc, Buggy... They're just amazing. Where I differ I guess is in the tertiary characters with smaller stories because the effect of those character's story on people is deeply personal and subject to change so Corazon and Toto don't make my top 5 but Belmer does, she's probably the parent figure I've loved most in this story.
As for the fifth, it's getting very hard, Bon Clay is an obvious choice. I particularly admired his pragmatism: He's not like Luffy, he doesn't sacrifice himself if he doesn't see a sliver of hope of that helping, but he will also hold himself accountable for fleeing and do what he can to help after surviving. And when he sees a way to help like in Alabasta or at the end of Impel Down, he doesn't hesitate. But it could be someone else, there are just so many of them in the manga... I would have voted Vivi but just like you I definitely count her as a SH.
I love how in impel down its how crocodile got his grove back.
I think one of the things people tend to miss with Doffy vs Corazon, is that Doffy was older. He understood better than Cora just what they had lost - even if only a little bit more - and had been molded by CD society more than his younger brother had, just by dent of having lived there longer. On top of that, he was guided/manipulated down a darker path. Their story really shows how being raised by good/bad people can change children born in the same place. If Doffy had been taken in by Sengoku, sure, he may not be as good a person as Corazon who had a headstart on 'goodness' just by dent of being more maleable/younger but he certainly would not have turned out like he did. On the flip side, if Corazon had been taken in by slimelord mcgee instead, maybe he wouldn't be as terrible as Doffy, but he would likely have been molded into a villain despite his inherent desire for goodness.
A lot of children in our world find themselves in situations where they start out in good and bad places and make the flip based on how they're raised. How many children don't have a chance because of their circumstances? We all know of at least one or two people where you can say "If you know how they were raised, you know they didn't have a chance." It's masterful story and character building from Oda because it so easily reflects real life situations but pulled to the maximum drama possible. Children are a product of how they are raised.
Not to absolve Doffy or Cora of their choices, of course - they both ended up being adults who made their own choices - but their actual starting points were night and day from each other. A lot of people do the whole "they both started at the same point and look at how their choices matter" but completely ignore the fact that their paths diverted from each other early on and that diversion shaped them into people who made the choices they made. To say Doffy as a child was inherently evil is wrong. To say Cora as a child was inherently good is wrong. They were a tragic case of children taken to both extremes by situations out of their control.
because he was already bad lol literally wanted to kill ppl just because they didnt bow to him, man was just Very twisted showing that is not always the nurture, my Sister and me were raised the same yet we are so different.
Doffy wouldnt have listened to Sengoku lmfao why ppl bring this up? Trebol was exactly what Doffy was looking for, someone that treated him like a King and fed his ego.
Ppl usually dont wanna see that bc they like Doffy and dont want to admit that he sad past didnt change him that much he was always twisted and lacked empathy as a child, is clearly seen in the manga un like his brother Who was shy and kind, he was born a psychopath.
@@ceruhermandez9651 He wasn't bad. He was raised in a society that had him believe that these were his rights. He was a child who was torn away from his home and people that gave him a superiority complex, had that compounded by the experience of losing everything, losing his mother, being literally tortured and hated by the very people he was told were beneath him from the day he was born. That's not evil, that's being raised wrong.
As to why Cora wasn't the same? He was younger and hadn't been soaked into that lifestyle as much as Doffy had by that point by dint of being the younger, more protected sibling. You see this a lot in younger/older sibling dynamics. The older one is almost always given a caretaker role to the younger, which often leads to them having to grow up and understand the world around them faster - Doffy understood where his place was in his 'world', but then had it all ripped away by his father's decision, was denigrated, tortured, hated and pushed to the edge.
Then he met a group of people (this was while his father was still alive, mind you!) who told him "Yes, you're right, you're above everyone else and everything you went through is wrong and you should get revenge for that." They pushed this CHILD towards killing his father, then took him in and raised him to be even worse, manipulating his hatred for the world to push him into becoming a tool they could control.
Eventually he took over the reigns, but even during the battle with Luffy you could see some of the strings still binding him to slimelord fuckface in the form of manipulating him.
Kid never had a fucking chance. Children aren't born evil, they are raised that way, and Doffy was very much not evil, he was a kid who lost everything that he was told from birth was his right, forced to be confronted with the knowledge that everything he knew about the world was wrong (he was so, so confused all the time - you could see it when he was demanding to know why why why about everything that happened, and with no good answers, frustration and anger festered, as is normal, which turned to hate when others stepped in to push him in that direction) and then told once more that he was originally right, doubling down on his frustration with his father for taking them from 'their rightful place'.
This is what makes him such a well-written and compelling villain - because his origin was not that of an evil person, but that of a child who lost their place in the world, was forced into horrendous situations by their family, and then pushed towards hatred. The bullshit just compounded over time and manipulations until as an adult, when he could make his own choices (and not be led around by the terrible adults in his life) he was set on a track that would ultimately doom him and many, many others to lives worse than they could have been.
He's a tragedy.
I think Doflamingo has all the traits of a psychopath, dark triad etc. even if they’d left him up in mariejois he’d have been one of the worst CDs (although technically we’ve not met that many and Imu is wiping out entire islands, so maybe he’d just fit in) - definitely not just nurture in my opinion… but that’s what is so great about Odas characters, room for them to be debated / discussed ❤
@@melissaedecooper7037 True. On my side of the debate, I've seen kids grow like this before and it's always a sadening thing to see. One of the great things about Oda's writing is how well it reflects real life situations, too. I've seen Doffy/Cora situations irl before - one notable one was twin girls whose mega-rich family lost all their wealth, then a divorce forcing them to be raised by different parents. One turned out a school drop-out, bouncing through men and becoming a disaster of a human (and one of the worst people I've had the displeasure to know. She pimped out her children for drugs, as an example of just how horrible she is), while her sister struggled and made a hell of a lot of herself - now runs her own business, has a wonderful family and the respect of her community.
The weirdest thing about these two girls is that the one you'd think would have gone off the rails based on her demeanour as a child is the one who 'made it'. When she was a kid she would hurt animals, hit her sister and other children, shout and scream and was spoiled to hell. In comparison her sister was an angel who was sweet and thoughtful. When I look back on their lives I wonder just how much better/worse they would be had they been with the other parent. It's crazy to think about and it's one of the reasons I guess I can see how Doffy was failed as a kid, because I've seen how a real life version of 'Doffy' could have turned out with the proper love and care given.
Just.. .yeah, failed by the people around him. It's sad.
Your list is so unorthodox! I love it! My list of favourite non strawhats is in order from number 1 to 5: Shanks, Law, WB, Katakuri, Ace. Honorable mention: Marco, Smoker, Doffy.
But Jimbei is a Straw Hat already.
@@Lackadais1cal O man, I forgot. What an idiot. It slipped my mind. Will have to edit it.
A very respectable top 5 and very cool to see you stick to your guns on Todo. I think for a vast majority of "average" One Piece fans, he wouldn't even be in a top 100 because he isn't a character with cool fight scenes or funny gags. He very much is a good character though that just takes a different perspective to appreciate fully.
For myself I'd say my current top 5 (non-Straw Hats) are:
5. Killer: Wano did a massive job of making me love this character. Killer's journey through Wano, the love that Kid and his crew shows for him, and the incredible loyalty that Killer has for his captain all won me over. Even in the battle against Shanks, Killer had no issue throwing himself in the way of such a powerful attack to try and protect his crew. In the recent anime episode where Killer defeats Hawkins, a lot of reactors kind of just laughed at Killer when he declared that Kid would take down the Yonko and become King of the Pirates. That just struck home with me. Anime and Manga reactors laughing at that decleration is like the characters in universe laughing at Luffy's dream. We as readers have the outside knowledge of "Luffy is the main character" but the characters in the story don't. It's incredibly rare for characters to show that level of loyalty and belief in their captain outside of Zoro, and it always sends chills down my spine when it happens.
4. Doflamingo: I don't think I need to beat this horse. Everyone knows Doffy is one of the most interesting and well fleshed out antagonists in the series. He's just an all around fantastic character.
3. Momonosuke: People may not want to admit it because he's "an annoying child character", but he genuinely probably is one of the/if not the best written character in the series. Seeing how far Momo has come from Punk Hazard to Wano country is incredible. He has turned into a man that Oden would be proud of for sure, all while being an eight year old child expected to lead an entire nation against the strongest man with one of the strongest crews in the world. His growth is just amazing and I wish so many people didn't just write him off because he's a child.
2. Crocodile: Crocodile is proof that you don't need to have a massive lore dump about a villain like Oda did with Doffy to make them likeable. He just has such a presence whenever he's involved with something. Even if his early introduction in the story makes him seem "weak" compared to other characters, Oda has done a very good job of always having me feeling interested in him while correcting the original "weak" depiction of the character.
1. Katakuri: I just adore him as an antagonist. His design and his fight are among the absolute best in the series, but I really love his relationship. He genuinely cares about his siblings no matter what, to the point that he even fears his own mother and secretly hopes for Luffy to take her down some day. His entire battle with Luffy is just one massive gush of things to love from his image of perfection that he feels like he has to keep, to the fact that he's just as big and goofy a glutton as Luffy but sees it as a weakness that no one should ever see, to the sense of honor and growing level of respect he has for Luffy as a captain. That final seen of him telling Luffy he's seeing pretty far into the future before falling on his back always gives me chills.
Some honorable mentions: Kaido is really hype but his ending was rushed and Oda didn't deliver on everything he had built up.
I REALLY wanted to like Yamato, and she has one of my favorite designs in the series...but Oda just ruined her so much at the end of Wano. She just feels like such a waste of panel time after not joining the crew. Everything with her connection to Ace and her desire for freedom and to be a modern Oden, it just feels so pointless even if she does end up joining the crew later down the line. I would even say she's a detriment to Momo's character by choosing NOT to listen to him and go out to see so he didn't have to keep relying on people stronger then him for everything.
Shanks is up there because he's so incredibly hype every time we see him...but he's done one attack in the series and not a whole lot else. He did stop the war of Marineford and meet with the Gorosei in secret...but we don't have much else to go off of right not. Characters like Dragon and Garp are in a similar situation for me where I need to see a bit more before I start ranking them.
The most amazing thing about crocodile is that if you keep a close eye on the story, SBS and cover story's you could actually tell crocodile has a back story, from the cover story we know he wanted to become the king of pirates, and we know he got his ass whooped by WB and then he ended up in Alabasta looking for ancient weapon, it's like luffy got his ass whooped by kaido and insted of learning ryou he went for ancient weapon
No Caribou?
Just a side note, I don't think Kaido's story is over yet. I'm quite sure his past has somethings that could not be revealed, but when Oda decides to finally reveal them we're gonna revisit his story to complete it.
If he talk about kaido.. they need to reveal rocks..so it will come later surely
For sure, Kaido isnt Crocodile where Crocodile doesnt need a backstory.
True but remember that Oda revealed Kid´s backstory in a SBS.
I also hope theirs mention of what race Kaido is. He met Rocks as a teenager so it's possible it won't get brought up in that backstory.
Merphy, your bit about wanting to let your kid's friends know that if they need a mom you will be their mom made me tear up a bit lol
The panels you chose, my goodness.... They really packed the maximum punch, my tear ducts were not ready
When i first read the corazon chapters i knew that you would love him because I always knew you and i have similar view and preferences to some things.
Corazon is my fav too..❤
Thank you so much Merphy for introducing me to one piece and also to many other stories.♥️
My top 5 non Strawhat :
1. Corazon. He is just a godly character
2. Bon Clay. He shows that gender doesn't matter if you are a loyal friend
3. Shimotsuki Yasuie. Faking his condition to protect his citizen.
4. Dadan. She is just a normal woman but she showed her bravery when saving Ace n Luffy.
5. Kyros/Noland cant decide. They're badass and chivalric
The fact that a “minor” character like Toto can be a Favorite character for someone, Shows how amazingly this story is written
Buggy is literally the Usopp of the bad guys when it comes to getting credit for things he has no reason to and even more than Luffy I hope Buggy gets some kind of epic win in the end and lives happily ever after.
my top 5 favorite charaters outside of SH
1. Law : everything about him from his past childhood, his morals, his personality, just who he is
2. Crocodile: one of the best villain that soon change my opinion about him during Marinford
3. Cora: experience same life as Doffy yet became kind and dedicated to Law, just so he can save Law.
4. White beard: just wanting a family and loving his kids
5. Garp: his morals, his own strong sense of justice, he loves his family, wants to protect them. him being a vice Admiral has put him in difficult situation with all his grandson all criminals but he cares. he does protect the people and listen to no one when he need to do things right
another merphy monday 🙏🏾
My number one by far is Bon Clay no character has ever gone from me thinking they are annoying to me crying in all my time watching anime like he did. His reason was simple. He was helping a friend.
You're a breath of fresh air in the OP community. Keep up the great work!
For me:
1. Buggy - of course
2. Blackbeard - I find him FASCINATING, his encounter with Luffy in Jaya left me captivated. He's a man that has a plan, he goes with the flow, and if it doesn't work? he changes his plans and keep going. He has flaws but the security in what he does is impressive.
3. Perona - I love her, and her fight with Ussop for me is the most original and my favorite in all One Piece.
4. Corazón - I don't remember crying that much for a character reading manga coffrobincoff, it's outstanding the impact he has in the few pages that we meet him.
5. Brûlee - she has a terrible side at first, mostly like 99% of the sons and daughters of Big mom, but the love for her siblings speaks to me.
Croc is probably my favourite, and definitely one of. The Cross Guild was just too good. I wasn't expecting something so glorious so on the side. It's just...chef's kiss.
1:04 I feel called out but also true tho
Merphy, you can't just make a 19 minute long video titled "Top 5 One Piece Characters" and all 5 spots are just Caribou....
*deletes entire channel*
I completely agree with Crrocodile over Doflamingo. I think more people in the fanbase lean towards Doffy, but crocodile is still the villain that impresses me the most. Considering Oda has refined his antagonist formula, yet Crocodile holds up so well, it speaks to how good he really is a character. He's such a menace and had so many contingencies.
Funnily enough neither Crocodile nor Doffy is my favourite Antagonist, but Crocodile is still in my top 5 favourite characters.
I didn't even think about it that crocodile actually already ran multiple islands with baroque works. He basically owned whiskey peak already, and used it to make most of the bounties.
I will say this without the tiniest bit of irony:
My favorite One Pieces character is Karoo (Vivi's duck). Does he count as a straw hat though? Because he and Vivi are are the closest characters that can be considered straw hats that are not currently on the ship.
Anyway, I love him SO much and I would die for him and he is not even real
When I recently reread one piece, Karoo made me tear up quite a few times. He is just such a close ally to Vivi, and protects her at all cost.
Karoo wore the X so he is a straw hat.
He is a honorary strawhat like vivi.
Man now I’m crying again 😭
Glad you included Whitebeard and Corazon, they are some of the best One piece side characters, thanks A LOT Napier 😭🌊😍💖✨⚡🔥
Haven't watched the video yet but am willing to bet my entire one piece collection that Perona and Buggy will be mentioned. My dark horse is Caribou though, i think she's starting to warm up to him.
Merphy, I know you're probably gonna do it anyways but I NEED your remaining strawhats videos (Nami, Chopper, Ussop, and Franky)
You so frequently add another dimension to the characters that it makes me love them more and sometimes even cry
Corazon deserves so much more love.. him and law are two of my favorites
Corazon is also my favourite character just love him so much nice to see him on somebody elses list one the top, good taste merph🤝
I had completely forgot about Toto thank you for bringing his story up here 😭 such a good one
Great picks. Corozon breaks my heart every time I think about his saying goodbye to law
I can't help but tear up whenever you talk about Whitebeard. Not because of the character per se, but what he means to you. As someone who was kicked out of the house by their parent, it really hits home.
Honorable mention for me is Momo the 8 year boy who lost his parents went into the future over came fear time after time lost his childhood had to grow up both physically and mentally and had to become a leader while everyone was treating him like a kid and low key pitting him Luffy treated him the way he needed to be treated and was the big brother he needed Momo growth and character development from punk hazard to Wano and becoming Shogun and in the future he will be known far and wide is great in time story character development imagine being younger than your little sister that’s crazy but that boy persevered and overcame his fear time after time and he was still afraid when the straw hat left but he will overcome it that 8 year child is nothing short of amazing and his growth rate from punk hazard to Wano is amazing
Because Toto...blesses the rain.
My top 5:
1. Kuzan
2. Garp
3. Blackbeard
4. Sakazuki
5. Fujitora
The call out that we, one piece fans, will stay and hear you gush over one piece characters gave me a "i'm in this picture and i don't like it" feels. Great job! :)
I also love Toto so much! Surprise to see he here
Buggy is the secret protagonist of One Piece.
"i bless the rain down in Africa!" - Africa by Toto
Loved the list, but I haven’t seen any comments talking about the GOAT Bon Clay!!! Top tier side character with an awesome pay off
Kyros is a wholesome character ❤
1. Corazon - same reasons I also just. Adore his design and the added comedy of how clumsy he is
2. Law - i never knew why people loved the dude in the spotted hat so much growing up. Now I do. Hes so interesting and well written and him and Cora go hand in hand. His dynamic with Luffy is fantastic and getting to be with him across the New World just. Makes him feel like he's apart of the crew even though he's not.
3. Koby - I adore his growth. I get so excited and happy each time he shows up in a chapter. I love that he has the friendship he does with Luffy and that he acts as a positive future for the Navy. We meet him so very very early on and getting to see his journey across the series has been great.
4. Whitebeard - he has so much impact on the story. Hes such a well done father figure and such a great contrast to the other Emperors. His first appearance leaves such an impression and his story in MarineFord is fantastic. His dream of just. Wanting a family. And putting all the treasure he got to taking care of his home island. Hes just. Such a well done character.
5. Buggy - adore this pirate hes so funny. I legit would not be mad if hes named pirate King before luffy. Like luffy gets the one piece but the government messes up as it tends to do and mistakes buggy as the man to get it all and names him
(Honestly picking 5th was hard. There are other characters i just adore. Like Ace and Sabo. I also really like Momonosuke's story across the series.)
I love your dream of being a safe haven for kids, Merphy. I’m sure you’ll make a huge difference in the lives of kids around you.
I think my list is gonna be a bit different to most people's, but hear me out.
5. Fujitora. I put him up here because the scene where he wishes he never blinded himself so he could see Luffy's smile is one of the four times I have ever cried at One Piece after viewing that scene in the anime, and the other three are to do with Strawhats so. I also just have a soft spot in this series for Marines who slowly learn to like Luffy over the course of the story and Fuji is the best example for that. I also see a lot of emotional potential for his character in the final war, with him likely leaving the Marines, as well as his constant theme around truly being on the people's side, which will probably lead to an emotional head to do with him saving people in place of the actual Marines.
4. Whitebeard. He has all the weight of Roger in terms of narrative significance but is also given an emotional core for the audience. His scene where he hugs Squard is a highlight, and the entire chapter where he dies is possibly my favourite chapter/scene in all of One Piece, hitting perfectly on emotion, cool factor, a satisfying resolution, etc. He also has the coolest Devil Fruit in the series.
3. Garp. He's always the most engaging part of One Piece every time he's on page, he's one of the most layered and genuinely believable people in the series. He comes with a lot of hype. He comes with a lot of melancholy for me too. He's gonna die, and I'm gonna cry.
2. Hiruluk. "When do people die? Is it when they're shot in the heart with the bullet of a pistol? No. When they're ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink soup made from a poisonous mushroom? No! People die... when they're forgotten. Ha! And what a life this was!"
1. Blackbeard. He hasn't even had his time in the spotlight yet and he's already a contender for my favourite character in the series. Every time he appears, he's an absolute joy to watch, while simultaneously being the most terrifying character in the series. It somehow feels like he's outside the normal restrictions characters have to be held to in this story. He's smart, he knows how to exploit the system, he's always planning five steps ahead. I've always felt like he's a video game character being controlled by a player that's already beaten the game once, and has now started up a second save file and is on an evil playthrough. Knows where all the best items are. Knows the optimal route to beating the game. He brings that pirate aesthetic sorely missing from the rest of One Piece. If you're a successful pirate in the world of One Piece, you should fear Blackbeard the most. Because he'll watch in the shadows as you break yourself down against someone else, fight harder than you ever have before for your dreams, win at the last minute, before he steals all the glory and makes it to the top off the back of your work. Like a true pirate.
And yet at the same time, I get this real sense of underlying sadness from him. The one time we see him as a child he's in tears. He's never slept, meaning for half his life he's been alone. The only person he's looked up to and respected for all his life is someone who's been prevented from knowing anything about, and who he can't mention to anyone lest he be shunned and ultimately erased too. Oda originally wanted to give him two sisters but scrapped the idea, probably to further this idea of his loneliness. Whitebeard took him in as a boy, and even if it was all pretend he was still able to act as if he did genuinely love Whitebeard as a father and his crewmates as his brothers. And yet he still decided to betray them in the worst way. He's mentioned that he wants to be King of the Pirates, and in the recent chapter, king of something else, his idol Rocks' goal was to become King of the World. King - a title where you have no equal. He's committed to being alone in a world where strong bonds with other people result in real, tangible strength (think the Merry). I can only imagine what his flashback is going to be like. By the end of the series, he could honestly be one of my favourite villains of all time.
Huh. I assumed Caribou would be number 1.
1:04 *defense mechanism activated* It's so early on a Monday morning to be taken for granted.
Backwards
@@royalfun1031 ...
It's so early on a Monday morning to be taken for granted. *defense mechanism activated*
Very interesting... I read through some of the comments also. I was disappointed not to see my boy/girl "Bon Clay", talk about a character who epitomizes the core message of One Piece!
1. Dr. Hiruluk - I can't watch or read Choppers backstory without crying. His last words are my favorite moment of one piece.
2. Corazon - I was so surprised that he was your favorite because not alot have him on this kind of lists. You pretty much explained everything.
3. Law - His backstory and relationship with Corazon sold me on this character. And he has massive drip!
4. Blackbeard - I dont have a good reason for this but I really love his chaotic nature.
5. Sabo - His relationship to Luffy and Ace and his devotion to strike down the celestial dragons.
Ah yes, Buggy + 4 others!
17:48 unbelievable that Buggy was so close to fall upwards once again in a matter of less than 20 minutes lmao
5- Crocodile
4- Law
3- Corazon
2- White Beard
1- Marco
Disallowing SH parents as well (because I love them all-Bellemere, Zef, Dr. Hiriluk, etc.) mine are:
1. Garp - rewatched OP after becoming a parent. Absolutely fell in love with Garp during Marineford. Been my 2nd favorite ever since (1st is Zoro)
2. Bon-chan - in the name of friendship.
3. Whitebeard - again: I watched marineford as a parent.
4. Señor Pink - because that back story.
5. Fujitora - based admiral.
“You’re one piece fans I’m sure you’ll stay regardless” DAMN you didn’t need to call us out like that 🤣🤣🤣
Every time we get more info about whitebeard he just becomes even better to me. Like finding out he’s a cheapskate cuz he sent all his earning to his homeland since it’s poverty stricken, or when he demanded that his crew return all of the food that the roger pirates gave them cuz we wanted to make sure odens family wouldn’t starve
Love to hear about your story about Adopting and your connection with Whitebeard! Very beautiful story.
"He's very cool and I like him lots!" You're so eloquent!
Grabbing my popcorn before I read the comments lmao
1. Doflamingo. Do I need to say why?
2. Boa Hancock. This one I always found the hardest to explain, I just really like her character. The tragedy of her backstory and the way meeting Luffy affected and changed her.
(I also used some of her character a few years back as inspiration to create a D&D character who ended up being my favourite ever PC- which made me like her a lot more. 😂)
She always seems to project this certain level of pride and strength and it actually hurt a bit to see her looking so defeated with Rayleigh and Shakky after her encounter with Blackbeard.
3. Law. I stubbornly fought against putting him in my top 5 for so long but he’s just so damn cool I can’t fight it anymore.
4. Buggy. I mean, The way he keeps failing upwards is just great.
5. Corazon. For pretty much the same reasons Merphy gave.
Hon. Mentions.
Hawkins- He was my favourite Supanova during their introduction in Sabaody, and I really wanted to keep him in my top 5 but he just didn’t get enough screentime/moments overall for me to justify keeping him there.
Carrot- pretty much for the same reasons as Hawkins. I really liked her to begin with, and still do. But I just don’t think she ended up getting enough to do overall. (That could change by the end of the story, who knows?)
Blackbeard. He will most definitely end up in my top 5 but I kinda just want to wait for his role in the story to be done before I confirm it. 😂
Lmaooooo that Law description. Why that's kinda funny
Yeah, carrot shhould have been a strawhat or at least done more :(
If Vivy is on the list of straw hat deep dives law should be in it to, it’s okay right!! And your #1 really surprised me!! I thought you had buggy there lol but great pick. Not Perona not being in the list ahhhhhhh
"Every Strawhat including Vivi"
YES. Vivi stocks at an all time high
I feel like the side characters are more inspirational than the straw hats tbh. You can't go wrong with Toto. It always puts a smile on my face when it finally rains on Alabasta, and you see Toto smiling, and he's just like, " I told you so!"
1. Garp: Total chad. Enough said
2. Bon Clay: He’s the character that embodies what the straw hats stand for as a family. He’d fit in perfect with the comedy trio and his resolve is incredible.
3. Law: sad boy that I want to love and follow.
4. Perona: I want her to (insert anything here and it works) me
5. Katakuri: his strength and respect for Luffy mirrors the reasons why I love zoro. If he didn’t meet big mom I have a feeling he’d be a strawhat.
Some really unexpected favs but still amazing list
Well the problem starts with Dofy being the older brother. When things got tragic, Cora really was just too young and didn't even realize what was going on. Dofy was in this survival mode because of what their father did and become a monster to save and provide for his mother and his brother.
If Cora was the older brother, I'm sure there's a chance he would have taken the same path
Whitebeard, Wyper, Magellan & Hannybal, Doflamingo, and Kyros. Now, I'll watch the video.
I have not thought about some of these stories in years. Oh man the feels. Its a terrible day for rain. Expect for Toto I will always cry every time.
"Crocodile is very cool, and I like him lots!"
Truuuuuue! So based Merphy, this is why we love you.
Love you Merphy!!!
"you are one piece fans, im sure you will stay and listen to gushing about characters" nailed it
I'm never able to make such lists because I couldn't possibly rank... anything, with all of them being so good. But the thing with Oda is... you could easily make a list of Top 20 (50/100) side characters and find good reasons for anyone. I'll admit Toto probably wouldn't be on mine but obviously your reasons are totally valid to include him. But so would be a list consisting of Bentham, Bellamy, Bell-mere, Baby 5 and Bartholomew Kuma. (Yes, semi random picks, but you get my point)
Obviously, some other authors can compare but Oda is definitely up there with the best authors for a reason.
1.- Crocodile
2.-White beard
3.- Buggy
4.-BB
5.- Cora
Ok, listen, in my top5 i have both Doffy and Law, so we can all agree that Cora has a specific little spot made specifically for him, ok? Like the Impel Down lv 5.5, it shouldn't be there but it's there and it's glorious.
Corazon is an easy top three for me, maybe No. 1 if I sat down and actually tried to narrow down a full list, and you 100% nailed why. Talk about doing so much with comparatively very little in terms of the story as a whole.
I’m so happy someone else thinks corazon is the best character in the show
This video gave me an emotional gut punch and reminded me once again how great one piece is🥲
I just came here to make sure that Crocodile was on the list. I 'm so glad he is also one of your favorite characters
My top 5 non strawhats:
5. Bepo. He's just cute af. I wish i had a talking polar bear friend.
4. Queen. King is cool but queen is just more fun on screen.
3. Buggy. Need i say more?
2. Hancock. By all means I'm usually annoyed with this type of character but her love for luffy is just so endearing.
1. Katakuri. He's just amazing. Hope we'll see him again soon.
These videos always make me hope you read Attack on Titan sometime soon. It's nowhere as long as One Piece but it's the only manga that I believe is better and has even more depth and I'd love to see your insight on it