Cavendish, not Bartolomeo, will be One Piece's best-written Straw Hat Grand Fleet character

Modified Oct 03, 2024 10:00 GMT

Cavendish, not Bartolomeo, will be One Piece's best-written Straw Hat Grand Fleet character (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece chapter 1126 featured Bartolomeo getting beaten by Shanks as he invaded Shanks' territory. Bartolomeo's display of loyalty to Luffy indicated that he was surely a true follower of the Straw Hats and could also be the best-written Straw Hat Grand Fleet character. However, this loyalty could be holding the character from being the best-written one.

It all boils down to Bartolomeo having no personal ambitions and just being Luffy's fanboy, which could result in his downfall in the future. Meanwhile, a much better choice could be Cavendish who also became a part of the Grand Fleet alongside Bartolomeo, but at least has personal ambitions, which would make him the best-written character from the Grand Fleet.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

One Piece: Exploring why Cavendish might be the best-written character from the Straw Hat Grand Fleet

Bartolomeo as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1126 featured the Red-Hair Pirates corner Bartolomeo and his crew on an island. Bartolomeo's pirate crew was beaten, and Shanks asked them why they did so. Bartolomeo couldn't help but apologize for his recklessness, but the Red-Hair Pirates wanted to teach them a lesson.

So, one of the Red Hair Pirates gave Bartolomeo a vial saying that he would get in trouble if he didn't give it to his fleet's captain, Luffy. The vial apparently had poison in it, so Bartolomeo had to make a choice quickly. Eventually, he drank the vial and apologized to Luffy for acting recklessly.

The vial didn't actually have any poison and was just being used by Shanks to check Bartolomeo's loyalty to Luffy. After this act, the fandom branded Bartolomeo as the 'best-written character from the Straw Hat Grand Fleet' due to his loyalty to Monkey D Luffy.

However, this loyalty could lead to him becoming the worst character associated with the Straw Hat Pirates.

Bartolomeo as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

As of his introduction in the Dressrosa arc of One Piece, Bartolomeo hasn't shown any signs of having any personal ambitions other than to follow Luffy in his journey to become the Pirate King. Yes, this goal is shared by his entire crew too, but they also have personal ambitions that help them go through the tough times in life.

The prime examples are Zoro's aim to become the strongest swordsman and Sanji's aim to find the All Blue. So, it makes Bartolomeo one of the weakest pirates and quite possibly one of the worst characters from the the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. In comparison, there exists a better character who could be stronger and has belief that's more selfish than commendable.

Hakudo (left) and Cavendish (right) (Image via Toei Animation)

That pirate from the Straw Hat Grand Fleet is Cavendish, who has the aim of becoming popular. As selfish as this aim may be, it's enough to qualify him as a fighter rather than a fanboy like Bartolomeo.

Moreover, his split-personality, Hakuda, is also unexplored, and its potential could be equal to one of the Straw Hat Pirates. So, where Bartolomeo's loyalty is good on one side, him having no personal ambitions makes Cavendish the 'possible' best character from the Straw Hat Grand Fleet of One Piece.

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Edited by Bhargav