Whether they harass a poor village, are formidable rivals or tyrants, the villains of One Piece are always as interesting as the heroes. We offer you our top 10 of the best villains.
One Piece characters aren’t the most complicated: usually, if they look mean, that’s because they are. Despite everything, they manage to lead us from betrayal to twist and turn, creating frustration and drama among readers and spectators. And we must not believe that simplicity rhymes with lack of interest. Because the antagonists imagined by Eiichiro Oda generate as much enthusiasm among fans as for the “nice” pirates.
Luffy and his crew make friends everywhere they go, it’s true. But Mugiwara being straight in his flip-flops, the slightest injustice is enough to make him come out of his hinges to face the biggest villains of the seas. He doesn’t like tyrants. Neither do those who enjoy hurting their companions or innocent people. And if a villain commits the irreparable by preventing someone from eating their fill, they will automatically have to deal with the future king of pirates.
There are many allies in One Piece, as are enemies. While the manga and the anime have entered the final saga of the story written by Oda, we are giving you a ranking of the ten most impactful villains in our eyes.
Warning: this article talks about elements from the One Piece manga, and may therefore reveal possible elements that have not yet arrived in the anime.
10 – Baggy le Clown
Buggy could seem insipid as a villain: apart from showing cruelty or destroying a city at the beginning of the story, he seems to play his role as a clown especially well, compared to the other villains of this top.
His ability to separate his body into different parts thanks to the Bara-Bara fruit (or Chop-Chop) allows him to escape from most of the perilous situations in which he finds himself. But his real strength is to always be in the right place at the right time, to harass and exhaust his enemies, or to take advantage of sometimes absurd opportunities.
By constantly failing, Buggy succeeds in spite of himself in achieving the title of Yonko, the Emperors of the seas capable of standing up to the Admirals.
9 – Big Mom
Big Mom, also known as Charlotte Linlin, will initially present herself as a benefactor wishing to live with her large family… but the terrifying leader of Totto Land shows herself merciless towards those who refuse to obey her, and who generally find the death.
When it came to forging an alliance with Kaido, Big Mom didn’t hesitate to cause a lot of trouble for the people of Wano. She is finally beaten by Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid, but will not have failed to make an impression, in the manga as in the anime – including that of Sanji.
8 – Rob Lucci
Rob Lucci is the ultimate soldier, the one who follows orders without a trace of conscience getting in his way. Which leads to complex situations: the strongest member of the secret group of Navy assassins, the “CP9” , will carry out missions without ever questioning their validity.
The first big fight with the Leopard Man takes place at Enies Lobby, but the character will not disappear after his defeat against Luffy: he is back in the final saga, after having climbed the ranks and joined CP0. He then wreaks havoc on Egghead Island, before confronting Luffy and Zoro.
7 – Sakazuki alias Akainu
What makes Akainu famous is the way he treats his own subordinates like disposable items. Beware of those who dare to think differently from him, or worse: disobey him. Because it is fiery lava that awaits them.
But Akainu is best known for his iconic role in the Marineford arc. He is at the origin of one of the most memorable deaths in One Piece, his fist passing through Ace’s chest and leaving his mark in the shape of an X on Luffy, a direct witness to the horrible murder of his big brother.
Although we haven’t seen much of Akainu since he became Sakazuki, we know that his promotion to Chief Admiral of the Navy was very poorly received by Admiral Aokiji. Which led to a titanic fight dividing the climate of Punk Hazard Island, and causing Aokiji to lose a leg in the process.
6 – Kaido
To put it simply, Kaido is a bully. The villain swears by strength and despises the weakest. He takes control of the country of Wano, which he governs with extreme disdain towards its population, using them as cannon fodder thanks to artificial devil fruits.
In reality, Kaido’s strength is also his greatest curse: the powerful leader is constantly looking for an opponent equal to him. From there to pity him… impossible for the audience of One Piece, especially when discovering that he plans to destroy the country of the samurai. Without the intervention of Luffy and his Gear 5, or that of Momonosuke, the dragon would surely have succeeded in carrying out his sinister plans.
5 – Crocodile
As soon as Luffy and company cross the Grand Line, they are greeted by hostile forces from Baroque Works. The organization cultivates secrecy so well that its members go so far as to ignore the identity of their leader – it is better not to know, in fact, because knowing it is synonymous with the death penalty.
Crocodile’s goal is to overthrow the kingdom of Arabasta to find the Poneglyph containing information on the ancient weapon called “Pluto”, supporting and manipulating rebels. And his duel against Luffy was enough to take readers and spectators by surprise. Because Mugiwara lost, showing for the first time truly weakness in the face of an enemy shown to be overwhelming.
4 – Don Quixote Doflamingo
Doflamingo is the son of an ancient Celestial Dragon. Appreciating the privileges accompanying this rank, the future privateer does not appreciate losing them when his father leaves the noble family. From then on, he will do everything in his power to regain a similar status. Even if it means going through the world of crime.
When training his crew, he makes sure to take care of his members, even if it means resorting to brutal means to get rid of those who overshadow them. The captain is not, however, kind to the rest of the world: to obtain what he desires, he does not care at all about forcing a king to martyr and kill his people. Doflamingo is certainly one of the most notable villains in One Piece, and his cruelty alone is not enough to explain the impact he had on the public.
We must also count on his unparalleled strength, which will have pushed Luffy to his limits. And, in passing, offered the first appearances of Gear 4 of the elastic hero.
3 – Barbe Noire, alias Marshall D. Teach
It’s difficult to summarize Blackbeard’s misdeeds in One Piece! After pretending to be a friend of Luffy, the terrible captain quickly revealed his cards, and benevolence is not part of his game.
Between Ace’s capture to deliver him to the Navy, his infiltration into Impel Down, the murder of Whitebeard and the theft of his abilities, the list goes on. And his power matches his malevolence, since he leads a fleet divided into different teams, at the head of which are commanders… just that!
We can no longer count the pirates who have disappeared after confronting the villain’s crew, his latest victims in the anime being Trafalgar Law and the Heart: since their muscular encounter, the Surgeon of Death has remained radio silent.
2 – Saint Jaygarcia Saturn
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn… is nothing like a saint. On the contrary, the one who is among the Five Elders, these leaders who enjoy manipulating the world to their liking, is a real assassin.
Enjoying maneuvering in the shadows alongside his formidable partners, Saturn also does not hesitate to take to the field to brutalize innocent people. Many heroes will bear the brunt of an encounter with the monster, who also likes to take on a terrifying appearance the better to crush his victims.
In the manga, Saturn calls on Buster Call to shave Egghead, upset that Dr. Vegapunk did not want to carry out all his orders regarding Kuma. And too bad if in the process he wipes out an entire population and centuries of research beneficial to humanity. A charming person.
1 – Nose
The principle behind the World Government is that, apart from the Celestial Dragons, no entity can rule the world. A principle swept aside by the entry on the scene of Imu, who seizes the Empty Throne, which is then no longer empty at all.
The character seems to be the embodiment of injustice, the very essence of tyranny. His hold on the World Government almost raises him to the rank of divinity, and he is probably the villain with the highest kill count. It was he who, among other things, ordered the destruction of the island of Lulusia, which was literally wiped off the map.
As a big bad, Imu remains very mysterious for the moment: Eiichiro Oda had fun dropping only a few clues about him, thus reinforcing his aura as a super-powerful character whose mere mention makes even the most influential of the New World tremble.
The final saga of One Piece having started many chapters ago, the author of the manga will certainly reveal more in the coming months. And it is also possible that other villains will appear, as Luffy prepares to leave Egghead to sail towards a new arc, of gigantic dimensions.
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