One Piece: Why Luffy and his contemporaries are called the Worst Generation, explained

One Piece stands out for a lot of different reasons, including the wide array of characters, with the Worst Generation being the best example of author Eiichiro Oda's approach to things. This is a special group of new pirates who managed to cause a lot of trouble for the Marine and the World Government, with Luffy and the Straw Hats being a very good example of how they affected those organizations throughout the series.

The Worst Generation has been one of Oda's most peculiar decisions throughout One Piece since the characters of the Worst Generation have had a lot of different uses in the story. The recent case of Jewelry Bonney in the Egghead Arc is a very good example of that.

However, the origins of the Worst Generation are tied strongly to the series' plot points, and the other name, the Eleven Supernovas, is the direct result of Oda's writing on the fly.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

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Explaining the origins of the Worst Generation in One Piece

Before they were called the Worst Generation, this group of rookie pirates was known as the Eleven Supernovas, and the entire collection of characters, minus Luffy and the Straw Hats, made their debut during the Sabaody Arc. As an interesting fact, author Eiichiro Oda came up with the designs for the Supernovas in just one night, which goes to show how he can work on the fly in some circumstances.

The Supernovas all sailed to the Grand Line at a similar time and all found themselves in Sabaody at the same time, introducing characters who would go on to have significant roles in the story, such as Trafalgar Law, Eustass Kidd, and Jewelry Bonney. They would cause mayhem in Sabaody during that arc in the manga, although the title of the Worst Generation would be name-dropped after the two-year time skip.

It was during this period that some of the pirates of this generation became a lot more prominent, with the likes of Law and Marshall D. Teach being some of the most significant, as a direct result of the events in the Marineford Arc. Whitebeard's death during the events of Marineford represented the end of the Golden Age of Piracy and the beginning of the New Age, which was going to be represented by the Worst Generation.

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The role of the Worst Generation in the series

Some members of the Worst Generation in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

The role of the Worst Generation throughout the One Piece manga has been very interesting to analyze because their roles have been quite diverse throughout the years. While Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat crew have been the most important by far and the biggest obstacle to the World Government, the other characters have had more inconsistent contributions.

Trafalgar Law might be the most prominent after Luffy, with their alliance being key to defeating several antagonists in the New World, including the likes of Donquixote Doflamingo, Big Mom, and Kaido. Eustass Kidd has always been compared to Luffy without the latter's luck, which is shown through his actions in the series, losing almost every time and recently having a crushing defeat against Shanks and his men.

The rest have usually been supportive of other Yonko or had minor roles, with the biggest exception being Jewelry Bonney. She was eventually revealed to be the daughter of Bartholomew Kuma and has been a major plot point in the events of the Egghead Arc.

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Final thoughts

The Eleven Supernovas were introduced in the Sabaody Arc of One Piece as the rookie pirates with the highest rewards at the time. They eventually grew into the Worst Generation because of the impact they had on the World Government and the New World.

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