Krieg and Gin finally return in One Piece manga after more than 25 years

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda likes to connect the dots by making every single character in the series relevant in their own way. This is all the more impressive as One Piece’s cast is absurdly large. The immersive world of the franchise is filled with countless characters, each with their own quirks that make them unique and memorable.

Specifically, Oda has a penchant for bringing characters back after a long time, giving them a new major role to play. Doing as such, the author keeps the One Piece world alive, making it seem like a real-world in constant turmoil and development. This happened with popular villains such as Crocodile and Rob Lucci, but also with secondary characters like Koala, Wapol, and more. Admittedly, no character is ever done for sure in One Piece.

A testament to this, Don Krieg and Gin made their long-awaited comeback after more than 25 years of serialization. Their last appearance was in chapter 67, which was released in November 1998. At that time, some of the current fans of the series were not yet born. Others were already grown up then, and are now in their full adulthood. As such, Krieg and Gin’s cameo in One Piece chapter 1117 unites generations in a nostalgic embrace.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1117.

One Piece chapter 1117 marks Gin and Krieg’s long-awaited comeback with an unexpected cameo

Two iconic characters from the early One Piece

All One Piece fans remember Krieg and Gin for their role during the East Blue Saga. As the Straw Hats arrive at the Baratie, a floating restaurant in the middle of the sea, Roronoa Zoro suffers a dramatic defeat against his ultimate rival, “Hawk Eyes” Mihawk. Severely injured, Zoro sets off with Usopp to go after Nami, who had allegedly left the crew. Meanwhile, the Baratie becomes a messy battlefield.

Don Krieg attacked the Baratie to seize it as his own. Krieg intended to use the ship as a replacement for his pirate fleet, which had been previously destroyed by Mihawk. However, Krieg’s evil plans were foiled by Monkey D. Luffy. The battle between Krieg and Luffy was rough, but the young pirate didn’t give up an inch, and eventually defeated the more experienced enemy.

Dishonest and cruel, Krieg lacked any moral code. He combined his physical strength, which he employed to wield a one-ton spear and a golden wootz steel armor, with an extensive arsenal of deadly weapons. All of Krieg’s ruses, however, were in vain before Luffy’s unwavering determination.

Krieg’s second-in-command, “Man-Demon” Gin, played an essential role in the events. Gin was fully loyal to Krieg and used to carry out any of his orders without any questions. During the assault on the Baratie, Gin fought and defeated Sanji, one of the restaurant’s cooks as well as a future main member of the Straw Hat Pirates.

However, when Krieg ordered Gin to finish off Sanji, the “Man-Demon” refused to do so. In tears, Gin explained that, despite Krieg’s explicit order, he just couldn’t bring himself to kill Sanji, as the latter was the first person to ever show him some kindness. In fact, only a short time before their fight when Gin was about to die of starvation, Sanji saved his life by giving him some food.

After Luffy defeated Krieg, Gin took him and left the Baratie with the rest of their crew. Before leaving, however, Gin told Sanji that he would like to meet him and Luffy again, this time in the Grand Line.

The unexpected return in One Piece chapter 1117

Gin wanted to meet Luffy and Sanji again, this time in the Grand Line (Image via Shueisha)

Krieg was the penultimate pirate captain whom Luffy fought in the East Blue Saga, while Gin gained recognition as both a powerful fighter and an honorable individual. In particular, Gin impressed fans with his selflessness, as he didn’t want to disown his friendship with Sanji, and was willing to face the consequences of disobeying Krieg.

Despite his reputation as the ruthless “Man-Demon,” Gin couldn’t forget Sanji’s kindness. However, Gin also had so an incredible degree of respect for Krieg. When the latter asked him to throw away his gas mask and breathe the deadly poison that he had spread around, Gin accepted this tremendous punishment without a single protest.

Krieg and Gin’s last appearance in One Piece dates back to chapter 67 of Eiichiro Oda’s manga. Since then, fans have been wondering what happened to the two characters. To be fair, the last time they were seen, Gin was critically poisoned due to having inhaled the lethal MH5 gas. As such, many questions were raised about his potential death.

Expand Tweet

Based on Gin’s promise to meet Luffy and Sanji again, however, fans have always believed that the “Man-Demon” and Krieg would return at some point. After several hundreds of chapters with no clues about Gin and Krieg’s fate, the two former antagonists finally reappeared in One Piece chapter 1117.

The issue showed Krieg, Gin, and their comrade Pearl in Hachinosu, where they were depicted among the many pirates discussing the content of Vegapunk’s shocking message to the world. Compared to their last appearance, both have longer hair.

Gin could also be seen carrying a sword, which may suggest that he decided to become a swordsman. Possibly, after seeing Dracule Mihawk in action, he got fascinated with the World’s Strongest Swordsman’s overwhelming power. Unfortunately, the chapter doesn’t clarify any of this, as Krieg and Gin are featured in a single panel within the entire installment.

Sanji feeding a starving Gin (Image via Toei Animation)

Considering the more than 25 years of waiting, Gin and Krieg’s cameo was a bit anticlimactic. Fans were hyped and curious about their return, but One Piece author Eiichiro Oda didn’t seem particularly interested in highlighting these two characters. The mangaka didn’t even properly reintroduce Krieg and Gin, but just showed them in the background, with so little emphasis that they were barely recognizable.

Of course, Gin and Krieg’s return was an incredible feeling for fans. However, it also felt kind of unsatisfactory, especially taking into account Gin’s touching narrative connection with Sanji, and all the years of waiting before the reappearance. At this rate, it would have been better to simply make them reappear while reading the Straw Hat crew’s exploits in the newspaper.

Krieg and Gin are now on Hachinosu, in the New World (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece has now entered its final saga, and there are far more important issues to deal with than Krieg and Gin. With this in mind, the author might be unable to focus on these two characters and just wanted to show that they are still alive and kicking.

Nevertheless, it’s intriguing to see that the Krieg Pirates have somehow managed to enter the New World and survive. Considering that they are on Hachinosu, they probably became subordinates of Blackbeard, who is now on the island. Neither Krieg nor Gin was seen during the recent fight between Garp and the Blackbeard Pirates, which may suggest that their role in Teach’s fleet is very secondary.

Perhaps, Krieg and Gin’s cameo in chapter 1117 was just a teaser, and their adventures after the failed attack on the Baratie will be revealed when they meet the Straw Hat Pirates again, fulfilling the promise that they made back then.

Krieg and Gin finally return in One Piece manga after more than 25 years

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1117.

One Piece chapter 1117 marks Gin and Krieg’s long-awaited comeback with an unexpected cameo

Two iconic characters from the early One Piece

The unexpected return in One Piece chapter 1117

Related Links