Does Hibari love Koby in One Piece? Explained

Modified Aug 24, 2024 21:30 GMT

Does Hibari love Koby in One Piece? Explained (Image via Toei Animation)

In recent weeks of the One Piece anime series, several new characters have been introduced, many of whom are members of SWORD under Monkey D. Garp’s command. One of these characters is Hibari, a Marine Commander who is present on Hachinosu Island as a part of the SWORD force attempting to rescue Koby from the Blackbeard Pirates.

Both during the raid on Hachinosu Island and before, it’s been made clear that Hibari is quite close to Koby. She even goes as far as to beg other SWORD members to help save him. While it’s clear that the two are close friends, many fans are now questioning “Does Hibari love Koby in One Piece?” as a result of how their relationship is characterized.

Hibari's feelings for Koby in One Piece, explained

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While the mainline series doesn’t confirm it, additional supplemental information combined with One Piece’s story suggests that Hibari is romantically interested in Koby. As mentioned above, they’re shown to be quite close in the mainline anime series, with Hibari moving to the point of tears over his well-being and emphasizing how much he has done for her in the past.

However, there’s nothing about either of these aspects of their relationship that inherently suggests that Hibari loves Koby. Likewise, their interactions on Hachinosu Island fall into a similar category, clearly being close to each other but romance not being obviously implied on either side.

Thankfully, the SBS question corner for One Piece volume 107 saw several questions concerning the pair asked, which reveal much more about their relationship. In turn, this additional information, which comes from series creator, author, and illustrator Eiichiro Oda himself, clearly implies that the answer to “Does Hibari love Koby?” is a resounding yes.

Hibari and Koby’s past

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In the volume 107 SBS corner, one reader directly asks Oda if Hibari is in love with Koby. In typical Oda fashion, he didn’t exactly give a logical answer, instead musing on how the person asking used a very old expression to represent “in love with.” A translator’s note on the question explains that the word used refers to a “butterflies in the stomach” type of love feeling, which fits well given Hibari and Koby’s ages.

Oda’s actual answer to the question seems to be that he’s “dense and doesn’t really understand,” which fans have taken as commentary on Hibari’s feelings for Koby. This falls in line with Oda’s response to similar questions, which often see him claim to not understand the romance of his characters in One Piece.

Oda even repeats this phrase in another question, which asks about the details of Hibari’s bear plushie. He explains that it’s a lucky charm Hibari got when she was little and that Koby once saved her life on a battlefield but at the expense of the bear being lost. A few days later, Koby was seen injured and being told off by one of his superiors. In Koby’s hand was Hibari’s bear.

It was revealed that he returned to the battlefield to search for Hibari’s treasure, which caused her to cry tears of joy and gratitude. Oda even adds that she secretly named the bear “Koby-senpai,” after which he says he’s “quite dense” and likewise isn’t sure if she’s “head over heels” for him or not.

In summation

Hibari does indeed love Koby in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Given all of the above, it seems that Hibari does indeed love Koby. The pair’s shared history, Hibari’s name for her bear, which Koby rescued, and her feelings for him as seen in the mainline anime series all support this interpretation. However, Oda’s series is not primarily a romantic one, meaning whether or not fans will actually see them get together is still in question.