One Piece makes its mark by breaking an essential shonen convention

While One Piece is considered a classic amongst the shonen demographic for manga and anime, there are some interesting tropes it chooses to break. One of the most recognizable breaks it chooses to make is the lack of a direct deuteragonist, which other classic series such as Naruto and Dragon Ball Z clearly possess.

While one can argue for some of the series’ characters being more deuteragonist-like than others, there is no clear-cut answer for who alone is One Piece’s deuteragonist. In fact, the series tends to shift those who receive secondary focus to Luffy from arc-to-arc, sometimes even pushing the star’s point of view aside to focus on other global events.

Follow along as this article fully breaks down why One Piece doesn’t have a set deuteragonist.

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Zoro and Shanks are One Piece’s best deuteragonist options, but neither truly and fully fit the role

Why the series has no true deuteragonist

From the beginning of One Piece, it was clear that mangaka Eiichiro Oda intended to focus on his protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, only. This became even more apparent as the series progressed, culminating in the Amazon Lily arc, where Luffy became the main focus amongst the now-separated Straw Hat crew.

However, what never truly became apparent was who Oda intended the series’ deuteragonist to be, if anyone at all. There are certainly some arguments for a few key characters who are essential to the series’ story, but none truly fit the deuteragonist role. One of the most popular selections for these arguments is Roronoa Zoro.

Zoro is the first member of Luffy’s Straw Hat crew to both be introduced and formally join the crew. He’s been one of Luffy’s oldest friends and strongest allies; as a result, often correcting his Captain when he sees him making a potential misstep as a leader. The two biggest examples of this are in the Water 7 and Punk Hazard arcs.

Zoro as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Zoro is also usually given the second strongest enemy of each arc to fight, which has been a near constant throughout the series. The few exceptions that exist to this rule are usually either due to him being injured or not being present for wherever the series’ focus happens to be at that moment.

However, a few key facets of his character clearly hold him back from being the series’ deuteragonist. One is that fans are almost unknowledgeable of his backstory, especially relative to his fellow Straw Hat crew members. Zoro is essentially the only member of the crew not to receive a full-length flashback, instead having two incredibly short backstory discussions throughout the series.

While a fully-flushed out backstory isn’t essential for a deuteragonist, his unique and distinct lack of characterization and history prior to joining the Straw Hats is an issue. Crewmate Vinsmoke Sanji suffered from a similar issue before the Whole Cake Island arc, where his family was introduced, and his upbringing prior to meeting Zeff was addressed.

Sanji as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Even though One Piece fans were expecting such events to occur, the recently concluded Wano arc gave Zoro no such treatment. With Sanji also being one of Luffy’s closest and strongest allies, on whom he relies essentially as much as Zoro, the former almost outweighs the latter in terms of deuteragonist status.

However, when discussing who the series’ overarching deuteragonist is, there’s actually a better choice than the two Straw Hats. That being said, this third party pirate isn’t a dead ringer for the role either, but certainly can have more of an argument made than Zoro and Sanji.

It is none other than Red-Haired Shanks who is the closest to being the series’ overarching deuteragonist for a variety of reasons. Firstly, he’s the one who influences Luffy into becoming a pirate and striving to find the One Piece, being the most direct and major influence to the series’ story.

Shanks as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei Animation)

He is also very impactful to One Piece’s plot during his rare appearances, such as at the Marineford War. Even his offscreen actions can affect the plot significantly, like him intercepting Kaido when the latter was on his way to participate in the Marineford War. His meeting with the Gorosei will also likely see a similar impact, despite the exact nature of their conversation being unknown to fans as of yet.

However, even Shanks is incredibly far from being able to be considered the series’ true deuteragonist. One of the main things holding him back is his infrequent appearances, even if he is incredibly impactful to the series’ narrative and Luffy’s journey as a pirate.

Moreover, since the two are now Yonko and desire to find the One Piece for themselves, they are technically in opposition with each other. While he was influential in the protagonist’s development and characterization, Shanks’ eventual need to oppose him in order to obtain the One Piece simply puts him too far out of the deuteragonist qualification.

As a result, fans can argue that One Piece’s individual arcs have their own clear-cut deuteragonists. Zoro’s would be the Romance Dawn arc, where he’s first introduced and his initial backstory was revealed. Meanwhile, Sanji’s would be the Baratie and Whole Cake Island arcs, with the him being introduced in the former and later the two arcs equally revealing different aspects of his backstory.

This could also expand to other Straw Hat crew members, with many seeing their deuteragonist role come during the arcs they were introduced in. One exception is Nico Robin, whose deuteragonist arc is arguably Enies Lobby, where her backstory is revealed and her character gets reborn.

Even characters who aren’t officially Straw Hats can be the deuteragonists of arcs where the focus is still affixed to Luffy and the Straw Hat crew. Some major examples of this are Vivi Nefertari during the Alabasta arc, Princess Shirahoshi during the Fish-man Island arc, and Trafalgar D. Water Law during the Dressrosa arc. To a much lesser degree, Rebecca also qualifies as a deuteragonist during Dressrosa.

From left to right, top to bottom, Vivi, Rebecca, Law, and Shirahoshi as seen in the series' anime (Image via Sportskeeda)

As a result, it’s clear that One Piece isn’t written with a true, one-and-done deuteragonist throughout the series. Instead, Oda seems to prefer taking an individual approach to the deuteragonist of each arc, a tactic that has worked exceptionally well in One Piece so far.

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