Hey all! Welcome to my One Piece blog. Join me on my journey to binge watch the entire series.
As you may or may not know, I am currently watching the Impel Down arc; however, I head read past the timeskip arc in the manga a long time ago (5, 6 years?) and am now trying to watch through the anime!
That said, I wanted rank the One Piece characters before we reach the timeskip, since many characters will have upgraded abilities and haki. I’ll be ranking them based on a few factors:
- Strength – Out of 10. Strength factors will not only include physical brute strength, but devil powers and weaponry as well.
- Latent ability – Out of 5. These are special talents and skills that are not apparent in the strength ranking, that I believe could be improved upon and used for combat. For example, Nami’s climate knowledge has been used alongside her clima-tact to increase her fighting ability.
- Team role – Out of 5. Each member of the Straw Hat crew has an assigned role – ranging from musician to chef to navigator. Though each member is important, some have contributed more to the story and team and have proved invaluable for the ship’s functioning. There are also character traits that they contribute in keeping the team together and functioning.
- Danger to World Government – Out of 5. During the Impel Down arc, the straw hats have all received bounties based on their actions from Enies Lobby. In addition to bounties, the relative “ticking time-bombness” of each character will be taken into account – in other words, how serious of a threat they are to the World Government.
That means that each of the Straw Hat members will be ranked out of 25.
My ranking is as follows:
- Luffy
- Zoro
- Franky
- Sanji
- Nami
- Usopp
- Chopper
- Robin
- Brook
Without further adieu, let’s begin!
- Monkey D. Luffy
Strength – Monkey D. Luffy is perhaps the strongest member of the Straw Hat crew. Of course, he was seen battling on equal terms with Zoro in the Whiskey Peak arc – though the seriousness of the fight can be debated. With the addition of second and third gear though, I have no doubt that Luffy can leave the other two members of the “Monster Trio” – Zoro and Sanji – in the dust. Luffy doesn’t use any weapons, but arguably uses his devil fruit powers in the most powerful and creative ways. He developed the aforementioned second and third gears that has increased his powers exponentially, while the other members of the crew have not been able to exponentially grow their powers by Impel Down. He has also defeated the strongest enemies out of anyone else in the crew – Moira, Crocodile, Arlong, CP9…the list can go on. Monkey D. Luffy’s strength: 10/10.
Latent Ability – Luffy unfortunately lacks many talents required of pirates. As a devil fruit user, he drowns in water. He can’t navigate the ship, usually doesn’t steer (a job left to Chopper or Sanji – Jinbe has not joined the crew yet), can’t cook, and doesn’t know any official fighting “techniques” such as martial arts or swordplay. Everything that he has done has been powered through sheer power of will, luck, and unwillingness to give up. He also carries a mysterious power called the “Will of D” – which seems to be passed through everyone with the initial D. Luffy has the amazing ability of making people like him and support him – despite his obvious lack of charisma. Ranking this score out of 5 will be difficult – so I’ll leave it at 3.5/5. (The mysterious Will of D adds the extra 0.5).
Team Role – Luffy is the Captain of the ship – undoubtedly the most important position. Like how we talked about with his latent ability, he has a strange knack of getting people to join his side. This is what has inspired the other members of his crew to join and stay with him. Without Strawhat Luffy, there wouldn’t be anymore Straw Hat Pirates. His team role – 5/5. He is the team.
Danger to World Government – Luffy, at the moment he enters Impel Down, is one of 11 new rookies that have bounties of over 100, with his being the second highest. He isn’t the highest on the World Government’s list – they have people like Whitebeard, Shanks, and Ace to worry about – but he is on their radar. He defeated two Warlords of the Sea, and he also was the first to break into Enies Lobby and punch a Celestial Dragon. It’s also shown that Impel Down guards recognize Straw Hat Luffy – but don’t realize it’s him right away. They also sent an Admiral after him during the Saboady arc – though Luffy was lumped in with the other rookies. Right now, with his notoriety skyrocketing, I’d say the danger he poses to the World Government is a 3.5/5.
Overall Score for Luffy D. Monkey: 22/25
2. Roronoa Zoro
Strength – Zoro is one of the physically strongest members of the crew. Though he has no devil fruit power, he consistently goes after the #2 member of the enemy team, while Luffy takes #1. While Luffy has recently overtaken the rest of the crew in terms of strength due to his second and third gears, Zoro had fought evenly with him in the Whiskey Peak arc. His training regime is also extremely brutal – he’s the only member of the crew shown constantly lifting weights, and it looks to be hundreds of pounds he’s swinging around. He also carries three swords – which, at the Impel Down arc, are the Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Shusui swords. Wado Ichimonji and Shusui are both rare “Great Grade” swords of which there are only 21 swords, and the Sandai Kitetsu, though a lower “Grade” sword (still above average), is a cursed sword that is “notably bloodthirsty” – said from Zoro himself. These rare and powerful swords only add to Zoro’s strength. Zoro’s strength: 9/10.
Latent Ability – Zoro’s talents are in fighting and strength. Much like Luffy – he’s pretty useless in “realistic” pirate duties such as sailing, navigating, etc. and is constantly lost himself. As far as talents go, he’s only been given qualities such as strength, determination, and hard work. So for other latent abilities – I’ll have to go 1/5 for this.
Team Role – However, he has one quality that I believe functions as a core aspect of the Straw Hat team and prevents the team from falling apart – his upmost respect and sense of duty for the team and Luffy himself. This is shown most notably when Usopp wanted to quit the team, and Zoro was the most strict in the conditions he would accept before Usopp rejoined, reminding Luffy that he
was the Captain of the ship. Zoro has not only been with Luffy the longest, I see him doing the most to sacrifice his own goals and dreams for Luffy. Though he is the silent type, I believe that Zoro is truly a de-facto first mate to Luffy, and often is the glue that sticks the team together in the worst situations. Zoro’s Team Role: 5/5.
Danger to World Government – Zoro is one of 11 rookies with bounties of over 100 milllion berries, and one of only two that isn’t a Captain. However, due to his role of first mate instead of Captain, his danger to the World Government is secondary to Luffy and perhaps even some other Captain super rookies. He also has no stake in going against the World Government, other than to help Luffy achieve his goals. The danger he poses to the World Government is 3/5.
Overall Score for Roronoa Zoro: 18
3. Franky
Strength – Part cyborg, Franky is exceptionally strong, though not to the level of the Monster Trio.
During the Enies Lobby arc, he fought side-by-side with Robin at the tail end of the brawl, while also taking on Fukurou one-on-one. Franky takes a reduced role in the Thriller Bark arc, avoiding one-on-one brawls. His various weapons are versatile, ranging from long-range guns and rockets to short range fists. Out of the non-monster trio, he’s one of the strongest. His strength rating is 7/10.
Latent Ability – We see many times Franky’s engineering and construction skills have come into play during battles – building impromptu bridges/cannons to help support the team. He also provided some of the largest combat contributions by outfitting the Thousand Sunny with various auxiliary combat and scouting vehicles, cannons, and maneuvering abilities. His physical abilities seem capped at power outputs available on his cyborg body, but they certainly can be upgraded. His latent abilities are 4/5.
Team Role – Franky played an incredibly important role in building the Thousand Sunny. His major project over, his current role is simply maintaining the ship’s condition as the crew’s shipwright. He also, however, continues building novel contraptions alongside Usopp, who both develop new feats
of engineering that benefit the crew. He additionally carries responsibility as a new member of the “comedic relief crew” of Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky that partakes in various antics and parties on slow days. Franky’s team role: 3/5.
Threat to World Government – Before Franky burned the plans to Pluton, he was hunted highly by the World Government for the plans. He himself wasn’t a direct threat, so after the plans were burned, his bounty was at 44 million berries. It’s not to shabby, but he isn’t a huge concern to the World Government right now, other than being a member of the Straw Hats. His threat level is 3/5.
Overall Score for Franky: 17/25
4. Sanji
Strength – Sanji is seen quarreling and fighting with Zoro many times, implying he’s generally on the same playing field as Zoro in terms of strength. However, Sanji usually doesn’t fight the #2 guy on the enemy team, and he also notably “lost” to Zoro when confronting Bartholomew Kuma during the Thriller Bark arc. Zoro was the one who knocked out Sanji, not Kuma – but the implication here is that Zoro could take on a lot more damage and have more stamina than Sanji does. Which makes sense – Sanji is more of a powerful cook anyway, than aspiring to become the world’s best swordsman. Nevertheless, he is the third member of the “Monster Trio” and has developed neat abilities such as Diable Jambe, in which he spins his leg so fast it catches on fire and increase his power level. His strength level is 8/10.
Latent Ability – Like Luffy and Zoro, Sanji specializes in fighting and strength abilities. However, he is far less clueless and the fact that he has more common sense than the other two should account
for something. Though some of the names of his moves seem to be inspired by European cuisine, nothing about his other abilities shape his strength or style of fighting. Sanji’s latent abilities: 2/5.
Team Role – Sanji is not only the Straw Hat Pirate’s chef, he is also the resident womanizer and creep. His role as chef is undoubtedly one of the most important, providing heaping amounts of meat for Captain Luffy, and his antics definitely cast some comedic relief. He also ensures the safety of Nami and Nico Robin. His team role: 4/5.
Danger to World Government- Sanji, at this point, has not yet been revealed to be “Vinsmoke” Sanji and, compared to Zoro and Luffy, has a lower bounty at 77 million berries. His only notable rise to fame was his part in the Enies Lobby incident. He also takes a backseat in taking on the World Government, as his goal is the find the All Blue rather than uncovering the secrets of the One Piece or the Void Century. However, there is no denying his strength and power. His danger to the World Government: 2.5/5.
Overall Score for Sanji: 16.5
5. Nami
Strength – Nami is not known to be exceptionally strong in terms of physical strength. However, she isn’t weak – she held her own against a member of CP9 (Califa) and Baroque Works (Miss Doublefinger) – though arguably, she lost to miss Doublefinger with a huge amount of luck. She also has an extremely versatile weapon, the Clima-Takt, developed by Usopp. Keeping that in mind, I rank her strength a 4/10.
Latent Ability – What Nami lacks in strength is compensated with intelligence and smarts. When she combines her knowledge in climate and weather with the Clima-Takt, we see that it actually becomes incredibly effective at producing mass devastation with thunderbolts, or trickery through
mirages and fog. Knowing what I know now, I realize that Nami will take a backseat in fighting after the timeskip, which is a true shame because I believe she possesses large amounts of latent abilities and talents that can be used in combat. 5/5.
Team Role – Nami plays the ever important role of Navigator and has expertly navigated through storms, currents, etc. which played vitally important in keeping the Straw Hats alive. She also tends to, along with Usopp and Chopper, represent the “realistic” point of view in the Straw Hats’ ventures, generally veering on the side of caution. It is also because of Nami’s love for treasure and frugal-ness that she has acted as the de facto ship Treasurer. Nami’s team role: 5/5.
Threat to World Government – Nami has a low bounty of 16 million berries. Additionally, like most members of the crew, her bounty was only given because of her actions at Enies Lobby. Considering her attitude as well – she prefers to lay low and avoid confrontation – I would say she poses a low threat to the World Government. 1/5.
Total Score for Nami: 15/25
6. Usopp
Strength – Usopp, like Nami, is not notably physically strong. This is reinforced through his conversations with Nami that unlike the others, those two are not “monsters” and therefore have to fight with powerful weapons and tactics. Luckily, Usopp appears to have a high amount of stamina – as seen with his fight against Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Merry Chrstimas, he can take a huge beating and keep on fighting. He upgraded his ordinary slingshot to his green Kabuto, which appears to launch things farther. Most importantly, he has developed a number of powerful forms of ammunition, including the firebird star and various forms of smoke and exploding stars. Usopp’s strength, like Nami’s, is 4/10.
Latent Ability – This is where Usopp shines. While Nami is an expert in climate and weather, Usopp is an expert in more combat-oriented roles. His sniping skills are unrivaled, though the last time his sniping skill was truly put to the test was his shoot-out with Daddy Masterson way back in the Loguetown arc. He also crafts weaponry such as the Clima-Takt and his own ammunitions. Most notably, he defeats his enemies through ingenuity and creative moves, rather than brute force such as the Monster Trio. I truly believe Usopp’s latent abilities are a 6/5, but I should be fair and stick to the rubric I created for myself. Usopp’s latent abilities – 5/5.
Team Role – Usopp’s role as sniper/small time engineer is vital to the crew. He kept the Going Merry alive until they built the Thousand Sunny, and built weapons for the weaker members of the crew. He also, along with Chopper and Nami, act as voices of reason in the Straw Hat crew. However, he did have a major split with the team in the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc, though we could see that the bond was strengthened even further when he rejoined the team. Usopp’s team role – 4/5.
Threat to World Government – Sogeking’s current bounty is only 30 million berries, and he is generally unwilling to be confrontational against the World Government. His threat to the World Government – 1.5/5.
Total Score for Usopp: 14.5/25
7. Chopper
Strength – Despite his general cowardice, Chopper is actually physically strong. His upgraded devil fruit currently allows him to transform to seven forms – four more than the normal three forms – with the addition of the rumble ball. He held his own and defeated one of the Priests in charge of the Swamp Ordeal – though the survival rate was 50%. His monster form – achieved while taking three rumble balls – can completely destroy a member of CP9, though he can’t control it yet during the Impel Down arc. Considerably physically strong than Nami or Usopp, but still a member of the weakling trio, Chopper’s physical strength is a solid 6/10.
Latent Ability – Chopper has an often underutilized ability that would allow him to pinpoint an enemy weakness and exploit it. Why it is not utilized more often is not known – he could easily figure out enemy weaknesses and communicate them to the Monster Trio. It’s also been shown thahis medical knowledge does come into handy when trying to defeat enemies such as Oars, in targeting his right arm. Finally, his general naivety and lack of training implies that his power can only grow, as he is considerably younger than the rest of the crew. Overall, his latent abilities are 3/5.
Team Role – Chopper is the lovable One Piece mascot as well as the important ship doctor. His knowledge of herbs and medicines have helped healed the crew after each battle, and often accompanies Robin on more bookish outings. He also happily participates in banquets and parties and is part of the “comic relief crew” that is currently Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky. Chopper’s team role – 4/5.
Threat to World Government – The World Government currently sees Chopper as a pet for the One Piece crew, so his bounty is only 50 berries. Obviously, he’s stronger than that, but he’s still no more of a threat to the government than Nami or Usopp. His threat to the World Government – 1.5/5.
Total Score for Chopper: 14.5/25
8. Nico Robin
Strength – Nico Robin is not weak. She’s usually seen a caliber of strength above the Weakling Trio of Nami, Chopper and Usopp, but doesn’t stack up close to the Monster Trio. Her devil fruit powers also grant her a huge advantage in fights, allowing her to decapitate enemies before they can make a move, usually with some variation of deuce fleur and clutch. However, we can see powerful fighters such as Moira figure out ways to avoid her devil fruit powers and beat her in battle. In general though, her devil fruit powers in and of itself is incredibly formidable, and I think that Oda has been doing her injustice by having her take a backseat in fights. Remember – when we were first introduced to her, she was seen as an incredibly powerful figure in Baroque Works, second only to Crocodile himself. Her first scene was blowing up a ship and presumably killing Igaram, and we were shown we should be terrified of her. Nico Robin’s strength – 6/10.
Latent Ability – Nico Robin doesn’t hold many talents that could significantly boost fighting ability; other than her devil fruit powers, most of her skills seem to be in researching and studying. Robin’s latent abilities – 1/5.
Team Role – Nico Robin often takes a backseat when it comes to the Straw Hats’ daily tasks – she usually doesn’t serve as part of the comedic relief team (Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Franky), the Monster Trio (Zoro, Luffy, Sanji), the weakling trio (Nami, Usopp, Chopper), etc. However, her role as archeologist has helped them with valuable information on islands, people, etc. Don’t forget that she initially forced her way into Team Straw Hat as well. Nico Robin’s team role: 2/5.
Threat to the World Government – Nico Robin is the only person in the entire world who can decipher poneglyphs, and is actively pursuing information about the Void Century. That in and of itself should make her the biggest threat against the World Government. In addition, escaping the clutches of the government should have upped her bounty way beyond 80 million berries post Enies Lobby. Perhaps they had bigger fish to catch – but I believe she poses a much bigger threat to the World Gov. Nico Robin’s threat to the World Government – 5/5.
Total Score for Nico Robin: 14/25
9. Brook
Strength – Though skilled with a sword, and light and nimble, he still lacks power to compete with the likes of Zoro. For example, he had difficulty fighting Ryuma, though Zoro defeated him. Brook still has a number of strong attacks in his arsenal, such as the deadly three-step attack, where he slashes so quickly and lethally that the defender doesn’t realize what hit him until three steps later. He focuses more on a fencing-style sword fighting technique, and can utilize music to put opponents to sleep as well. He is still new to the group, so I believe we can see more fighting from him in the future. Overall, his strength is 6.5/10.
Latent Ability – Brook’s devil fruit could be more of a curse than a gift. His only reconciliation is that – for his circumstance only – being alive as a skeleton gives him a second chance to see Laboon. However, he is reduced to a skeleton now, and is hindered by the fact that he will drown. Otherwise, the devil fruit provides no additional fighting capabilities. It is apparent he can heal quickly though, as drinking milk will heal his bones. He also has enhanced speed and jumping due to his lightness. It also appears that there’s little room for him to improve – though he did say he had gotten stronger through five years of training, he’s a much older pirate which could but a damper on learning ne and really just lacks the muscles needed for strength. Including the fact that he can use his music in fights, I rate his latent abilities 2/5.
Team Role – Brook is new to the team, and pretty much soon after they’re split up by Kuma. He has provided comedic relief through his antics and is also their on-board musician. He is also a helpful secondary fighter, along with Robin and Franky. However, his role and close relationships have not been able to shine like it has for some OG members like Zoro, Sanjia, Nami and Usopp, which means taht his current team role is a 2/5.
Threat to World Government – While Brook was alive, he had a decent bounty of 33 million berries and was sailing the seas while Gol D. Roger was still a rookie. However, the government still presumes him to be dead, and based on his goals, he personally just wants to reunite with Laboon without, presumably, causing too much trouble. Due to these factors, I think Brook’s threat to the World Government is at 1/5.
Overall Score for Brook: 11.5/25
One Piece Bazaar 