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While author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s smash-hit anime and manga series One Piece is revolutionary in many ways, it does still have its pitfalls. This, however, is true of almost every anime and manga series, with all always falling prey to one classic stereotype of the medium in one way or another.
However, with how expansive and vast One Piece’s story and cast have become, there are plenty of examples of this within Oda’s series. From the most beloved to the most hated, many anime stereotypes exist, are embodied, and, in some cases, even elevated throughout the series’ publication history.
Here are 10 One Piece characters who fell victim to stereotypes, ranked in no particular order.
The Monkey family and 7 other One Piece characters who fell prey to classic anime and manga stereotypes
1) Vinsmoke Sanji
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Sanji is a particularly interesting case among One Piece’s stereotypical characters. On one hand, he displays an incredible depth of his love for women via his full backstory, showing his mother and sister play pivotal roles in making him who he is. On the other hand, he still gets nosebleeds every time he sees a beautiful woman, scantily clad or not.
The point in the series at which he most greatly succumbs to this stereotype is the Fish-Man Island arc, where he goes comatose from having too many nosebleeds. Unsurprisingly, the cause of these nosebleeds was seeing the alluringly beautiful mermaid women of the island.
2) Boa Hancock
One Piece’s Pirate Empress is the classic beauty queen in anime and manga, making even the most stoic of men fall to their knees and profess their love upon seeing her. She even comes complete with Barbie-esque proportions while somehow having the strength to overpower even the burliest of men in the series.
While this issue isn’t exclusive to Hancock, she is the most emblematic of the stereotype, demonstrating what’s so problematic about such an approach. In an area where the series is already most criticized, she is that flaw’s biggest blemish.
3) Usopp
Despite making advances at intermittent rates which feels like one step forward and two back, One Piece’s Usopp still plays the timeless cowardly companion role. He’s shown to constantly lie to get out of fights, attempting to falsely intimidate his enemies rather than fight them.
This is exaggerated even further after the time-skip, where Usopp spent two years learning to survive and fight while also getting in tip-top fighting shape. Despite this time spent, he remains as cowardly as ever in the contemporary series.
4) Buggy the Clown
One Piece’s very own gag character not only embraces and represents the stereotype fully but also brings it to new heights with the success he has. Buggy the Clown has gone from early-series villain to mid-series frenemy, to eventually failing upwards to the point of being considered Luffy’s equal by the people of the series’ world.
He not only finds a way to survive every situation which should be his last but is also somehow able to come out in an even better situation than he was in before. His role as the gag character has arguably taken the trope to vast new heights, which will likely influence future mangaka for generations to come.
5) Silvers Rayleigh
Silvers Rayleigh’s introduction paints him as the prototypical old man who’s somehow stronger than everyone younger than him. He’s even shown to be more knowledgeable in the series’ power systems than Luffy is upon his introduction, eventually teaching One Piece’s protagonist everything he needs to know.
Oda does everything in his power to have Rayleigh live up to the stereotype as well, having him stand on equal ground with a Marine Admiral in his first combative appearance. There’s little doubt he perfectly emblemizes the strong old geezer stereotype found in a plethora of anime and manga series.
6) Monkey D. Luffy
The first of One Piece’s Monkey family to be addressed here, Luffy perfectly fits into the classic shonen protagonist tropes. He eats a lot, seems to only care about fighting, food, and his friends, and marches to the beat of his drum no matter what others say.
While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially with how Oda executes his character to deepen these otherwise shallow traits, it is still a classic stereotype. As a result, his inclusion on this list is more than justified.
7) Monkey D. Dragon
From the moment he first appeared in One Piece’s Loguetown arc, Monkey D. Dragon played perfectly into the absentee father stereotype. His very first action is him saving Luffy, his son, without so much as a word, let alone a greeting, introduction, or “I love you” before his son starts his journey.
The stereotype is only exacerbated as fans later learn that Dragon is the leader of the Revolutionary Army and is one of the most wanted and dangerous men in the world. It perfectly plays into the well-established tropes of the main character’s father being arguably just as impactful to the series as the main character themselves.
8) Monkey D. Garp
The final known Monkey family member, Garp perfectly portrays the role of the main character’s relative who raised him and begrudgingly supports his goals. In this particular case, the begrudging support aspect is brought to new heights by having Garp be a Marine Vice Admiral and Luffy one of the most wanted pirates in the world.
There’s a time in the series when this philosophical conflict comes to a head, resolved in a way that many fans consider one of the most memorable moments in the series.
9) Tony Tony Chopper
Despite impressing as a legitimate fighter and pirate early on in the series, Tony Tony Chopper has sadly fallen to the rank of the cute series’ mascot. He hasn’t had many legitimate one-on-one fights in post-time-skip One Piece, instead, he focused on doctoring and playing a support role.
While this is all fine, he’s often portrayed as the crew’s friendly mascot more than anything else. Many argue that the Wano arc’s amnesiac Big Mom plotline portrayed this perfectly, with the cuddliest and cutest of the Straw Hats of course being the one who first finds the unconscious Yonko.
10) Tashigi
Finally, Captain Tashigi of the Marines fits perfectly into the tsundere anime girl stereotype when finding herself in the vicinity of Roronoa Zoro. Even though she has displayed several other character traits in the first half of the series, this tsundere side of her became the predominant aspect of her character in post-time-skip One Piece.
It’s a sad truth, but even the series’ antagonistic presences aren’t immune from falling into some of the most disliked anime stereotypes ever.
