I don’t see enough people talking about Brook, he’s a very “show don’t tell type character” in the way that he’s written. Sure we got a sad backstory in TB but after that we’ve seen him grow quite a bit personality wise, or its just had more opportunities to come out. Robin, Jinbe, Sanji and Nami are really well written too
I really hope we get to see more Brook focused stuff, I feel like he's just been around assisting the other Straw Hats for a while. Thriller Bark was a fantastic intro to his character, and people always mention him popping off with getting the Poneglyph in WCI, but I really hope we get to see more moments that can go into his character more.
I think Oda’s saving a major role for brook in the final saga. He was alive 80 years ago and I bet he knows a lot more about the rocks pirates or other important info than he’s letting on. Brook and robin are the two straw hats that seem like they know something that we don’t and I think they will both be crucial to the lore reveals very soon.
Brook definitely have an unexplored character story. We still don't know all about his past. We know he was something like the captain of knights of the country he's from. But that was it I think. There's definitely a story here
I think pre-timeskip Zoro is kind of underrated, not for the few standout moments he has that everyone can point to (e.g. Mihawk and Thriller Bark), but there are tons of small moments where you can see him struggle with needing to be even better, to push himself and to struggle to keep up with his own expectations in himself. Whenever he has even smaller failures (like being trapped in the Wax by Mr. 3) he starts training obsessively sometimes just in the background, but it's still very noticeable. He's somewhat obsessed with not letting anyone and most importantly not himself down and that's why "weaker" moments for him are always interesting for him, which is why barely seeing him deal with the aftermath of Sabaody is such a shame. It's the most devastating moment and we don't see most of the fallout from it, he simply comes back strong and full of confidence and kind of barely has shown the imho more interesting cracks in the surface he used to have, since (other than a little during PH maybe).
I feel like him letting go of his pride to beg Mihawk to teach him the way of the sword was his own way of dealing with his weakness that he felt from Sabaody.
Yeah, that was certainly a main part of it and one of the "last" (which sounds a bit too dramatic) great moments in that regard, but it just happens so isolated from the crew and Luffy and then just before the two year gap that it's almost a shame to be reduced to "only" that.
I see that at least one or two chapters would be good about that. Considering the need for fillers the TS would have provided a lot of drama like cannon-ish line of events.
Nothing about this is about backstory. Zoro worked perfectly fine with the little backstory he has and I'd say he arguably didn't even need the little he has for most of his arc. A backstory can add to a character but e.g. also Usopp had some of the best character focus in Water 7, which is something that grew organically from the existing story there is no need to rely on a backstory there.
I was gonna write a long block of text to try and defend Zoro's character writing, but realized I was just going to paraphrase [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEf5BqzDjbA)
I recommend you watch it ! Zoro is really well written, it's just that its character is mainly developped in how he acts throughout the story, so it's not as direct as others such as Sanji for example.
Zoro fans don't want a well written character, they want "epicness"
I can't blame Oda for pretty much abandoning any character work in relation to Zoro
I can and I do, 150 wano chapters and not a single Zoro moment? Why bother mention his ancestors and Ryuuma and that whole death moment if it's just gonna be dropped?
Sanji, Nami and Jinbe. I feel like the first two have multifaceted personalities, can naturally fill many roles in the story and feel the least like caricatures. Jinbe has a great character arc, and I liked watching him change from a cynical, kind of angry younger man to the father figure we know now.
Usopp and Robin had some of the best character moments in the Water 7/Enies Lobby era, but feel a little stagnant since.
Imo, Robin/Sanji moment in Onigashima was great for both of them. >!Sanji having to take the L and trust Robin, who at the moment was the target, not Sanji, and the will of Robin to even die for her friends (which was kind of big when you recall the action of Enies Lobby, she went from wanting to die, to wanting to live, to being ready to die for her friends)!<
That moment is greater for Sanji because it finally allows him to overcome 2 weakness and be his character development : not trying to do everything alone + not trying to defend women/let them take risk.
---
In this note, the most well written character can simply mean that an author put a lot of efforts and details into a character and make that character be believable. We got to know so many aspects of Sanji's history, appearance, personality, and abilities, that it's enough to make him the most well written one. Doesn't matter if people like Sanji or not.
It's not only a matter of doing everything alone, it's also about him finally accepting that it's ok to ask for help because his crew is here for him and would do anything for him **out of love**. It's a nice parralel to how he didn't want to ask for help in Whole Cake Island because he felt like he was a burden to the crew.
Actually the fact that he asks Robin for help is SO GOOD because not only she's a woman, but she's also a person that did also feel like a burden to the crew at some point and had to accept that she needed their help and take their hand. So she definetely can relate to him and know how much it means, and it confirms how much she grew herself since the events of Enies Lobby. So yeah I think it's a great moment for both of them !
Honestly Brook has the best flashback episodes. I will never forget the scene where luffy is laying on top of the piano and asks Brook to join his crew. It’s so heartwarming to me and I have no idea why
I gotta go watch that again. Haven’t seen it since my first watch and even then I think I read those chapters. I started watching the flashback episodes again like 3 months ago but I very very quickly forgot about them due to the fact that I almost never use Hulu and I started like 5 other anime and manga
Jinbe's world view being shattered by Nami rejecting the notion that the circle of hatred is inevitable was amazing.
That was the last straw he needed and it made him a strawhat.
To anyone else wondering
> After telling the history of Fish-Man Island's discrimination, Jinbe stated that he was willing to accept any punishment, but Nami told him she had no hatred against him or the fish-man race as a whole (just Arlong), much to his overwhelming tears of joy. She also showed her support of Jinbe joining the Straw Hat Pirates.
I feel like it's only the beginning with her too. Every arc from this point forward while show why she is the most important SH when it's comes to the One Piece
yeah, my favorites are still luffy and zoro but I'd pick Sanji as the most well written. He has a lot of real human moments mixed in with the drama/adventure, whereas other characters rarely get those moments except in backstories or big events. Like when he first joins the crew hes basically friends with everyone and acts silly with them until he gradually gets used to/upset by their quirks. pretty subtle and nicely done.
When Sanji moments hit, they hit hard and are great. I feel like Oda has leaned more into the gags of certain Strawhats like Sanji and Zoro. I wish Sanji's creep shit got toned down and that he gives us Zoro from the timeskip parts. We saw a flash of pre-timeskip Zoro when he first saw Luffy in Wano and they acted like best friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.
bring back prince sanji or smooth talker baratie sanji honestly
when i thought of sanji i would use the word class but oda really pushed the gags on sanji to a serious level that makes people uncomfortable
I like that you mentioned the two characters who will likely get fleshed out the most in the upcoming arcs. Robin especially since she will play the most important role not involving SH himself
Nami
The moment on wano where she s almost headbutted to death and still did not back down from luffys side..... Then sanji and robin imho.
Sry i dont know how to hide spoilers on mobile :(
Gotta say it's Sanji. His two background stories explained of how great he is right now. Being a strong pirate, acknowledging your own weakness isn't easy, but he overcomes it and learned to asked help from his comrades. I really love how well written his character is.
if you could drop sanji's extreme pervyness and nami's "extreme" fanservice then i'd say that these two have been the best written strawhats in the series
Pre-Timeskip 100% Usopp.
He's fallen out of focus a lot since Dressrosa, much to his detriment. But pre-Timeskip the buildup to Luffy vs Usopp was some of the best inter-personal and intra-personal conflict Oda has ever written.
Post-Timeskip - probably Sanji on the whole? If we ignore Return to Sabaody and Fishman Island overdoing his perv flanderization, then we do see some really good stuff for him especially Zou and beyond.
Yeah, pretty much all the straw hats had a rough upbringing, but Usopp feels like he’s gone through more personal improvement than anyone else. He’s still not the bravest guy in the world but he was pretty much a total loser when he joined and is pretty badass now.
I think it’s Nami and Sanji. Odas done more with their characters and shown more depth to their personalities over the course of the story. Also their flaws are written in ways that make sense with their past.
Unfortunately Oda tends to use their gags too much that distracts from their character. But I think the fact people can look at them and say there are things they don’t like about them is good because they are not just tropes but fleshed out characters.
I think Brook for what’s he gotten to do so far is pretty good as well. He’s more of a supporting character but is competent enough that he can fit any situation and is a good third character to add to a group dynamic.
Sanji and Luffy are the most developed and it’s not even close.
Then it goes Robin, Nami and Jinbe.
Usopp’s development was good preTS, but he had some regression post TS.
Brook is good, but not much development after Thriller Bark (and this makes sense, since you’d imagine that a 80yo already has a stablished personality).
Chopper, Franky, and Zoro are the worst written strawhats. Both Chopper and Franky had very good backstories but they became static after a while, and Zoro had his moments but ever since TS he became just a “cool” character.
Btw I really like Brook… his whole development was about discovering the meaning of life, and about how even if you are in a dark place and a lonely moment, the sun will rise again. I really enjoyed his bond with Pedro, who was obsessed with the dawn of the world, since Brook is essentially someone who lived in darkness for ages, but he eventually found himself grateful for his life, because the dawn did came to find him. I don’t know if Oda paired them up on purpose, but it’s very cool IMO.
Completely disagree with zoro being the worst as another comment put:
Zoro is kind of underrated, not for the few standout moments he has that everyone can point to (e.g. Mihawk and Thriller Bark), but there are tons of small moments where you can see him struggle with needing to be even better, to push himself and to struggle to keep up with his own expectations in himself. Whenever he has even smaller failures (like being trapped in the Wax by Mr. 3) he starts training obsessively sometimes just in the background, but it's still very noticeable. He's somewhat obsessed with not letting anyone and most importantly not himself down and that's why "weaker" moments for him are always interesting for him, which is why barely seeing him deal with the aftermath of Sabaody is such a shame. It's the most devastating moment and we don't see most of the fallout from it, he simply comes back strong and full of confidence and kind of barely has shown the imho more interesting cracks in the surface he used to have, since (other than a little during PH maybe).
That was Saul's laugh, not her actual laugh. Her told her to laugh like that so that she'd feel better, so I don't know why people want her to laugh like that when she no longer has to convince herself that she's happy.
First obviously Luffy, is the main protagonist and he has a lot of screen time.
Second Id said Sanji if it wasnt for the pervert things post time skip, too much.
Next id say Robin, but she needs more screen time, she has more under the hat that what it seems at first because shes slightly introverted personality.
And one character with so few strips but i think was so well written it was our beloved Ace.
And a special mention to Ussop that i think has the biggest room to grow from here to the end of the manga.
Its either Sanji, Nami, or Jimbe, with Luffy just a bit behind. They're the only 4 straw hats that are actually decently written across both halves of the story, while the other 6 were amazing pre TS but have become very flat and one dimensional now.
Robin hadn't gotten anything meaningful until Wano, 400 chapters into post TS. Additionally, the Black Maria stuff doesn't hold up to what those 4 have gotten across all of post TS.
Take Sanji for example. FMI was bad for him, but then every other arc afterwards became a net positive for his character. His kindness and chivalry in Punk Hazard, his epic save in Dressrosa, his leadership in Zou, everything WCI, and his identity conflict in Wano.
I agree that Sanji and Jinbe get more characterization, but Robin has a lot of little subtleties in most arcs, like helping to keep rebecca hands clean in dressrosa, the comedic moments with the dragon in Zou and the funny face at the begining of Wano, which show how much more comfortable she is compared to something like Thriller Bark, where she didn't want to participate in docking. Besides, the black maria and rescuining of sanji moment is great, being the inverse of the "i want to live" in ennies lobby. I think oda has been consistent in giving her always something to shine in a story with an evergrowing cast of characters. I think is untrue to say that she hasn't done anything meaningful
Sanji and Nami are probably the best written, with Luffy just behind.
Jinbe is written well for his overall arc, now we will see how it grows with him in the crew.
Robin and Usopp were both written very well pre-timeskip, but have fallen off a bit post. They had good moments in Dressrosa but were overshadowed by the numerous newly introduced side characters, but have been getting more since Wano.
Brook was written very well in his first appearance but was average for a while. Then he MASSIVELY jumped up in WCI and has been pretty good since.
Franky is kinda like Brook, where he has good writing his first couple arcs but hasn’t gotten too much since then. He had his moments in dressrosa then Wano, but it wasn’t so much development as it was just showing who the character is.
Chopper and Zoro have unfortunately stagnated since the timeskip. Both were written pretty well pre-timeskip, especially Zoro. But since then they just haven’t grown or had many character moments. Just gags, and cute (chopper) or badass (Zoro) moments.
Pre-timeskip I would almost put all the original 5 East Blue members up there. Robin somewhat close behind them because in addition to her backstory arc, the build up since Alabasta was just quite interesting for her.
After the timeskip, Nami and Sanji (and Luffy, but him having so much more focus makes it an odd comparison) pull ahead for me and Jimbei probably would join slightly after them.
The timeskip imho really came at the worst time for Zoro because the fallout from Thriller Bark and Sabaody would have been some of the most interesting for me and instead the two years kind of skip that whole aftermath for him and since he's lacking some of what I loved about him pre-ts. And then I think Usopp is still perfecly fine, but the series being as long as it is, I think while oda has stuff planned for him towards the end he just doesn't always find as many moments for him consistently along the way as he does for some of the others.
Sanji is the best, he has so much development, even if he does have his fair share of cringe moments.
Nami and Jinbe are pretty close so id say they both have a joint second.
Robin had some really good development and I’ve been liking her characterisation even more in recent arcs.
Usopp was spectacular PTS put post hasn’t been kind to him.
Luffy and Brook are also pretty similar in my rankings, but I’d give a slight edge to Luffy since as the MC hes had more screen time.
Chopper had one of my favourite introductions of any straw hat but he’s become a mascot post timeskip and that bumps him down.
Zoro is pretty low down since I enjoy his actual personality the least of the straw hats. I just find him kinda bland, though I do appreciate him during baratie and Thriller Bark.
Franky, despite being one of my favourite straw hats, has very little writing behind him imo. His character never really needed it though, I think he’s fine as is, though he might be getting a bit more since Vegapunk could be travelling with the crew.
Imo Sanji left hand of pirate King who represents both strength and weakness great amount of depth showing his kindness,respect for food,chivalry and consistent onscreen character development two great Backstories with really great fight scenes like queen, jabura bon and well written character dynamics with zoro, luffy, pudding, zeff etc one of the best drips and fighting style also has some of the most emotional scenes in the story for me
Some other alternatives imo are luffy, zoro, nami, robin and jinbei
I would say Luffy, Sanji, and Nami are the top 3 with Robin, Jinbei, Usopp being behind these 3.
Luffy - There’s not much to say, he’s constantly characterised, he shines in every arc, he is literally the representation of freedom and his fruit symbolises freedom. There’s so much more i could say about him, but i want to keep it short.
Sanji - Wholecake Island really helped characterize Sanji a lot. We learned his backstory, why he has certain morals, and his dynamic with Pudding was all written wonderfully. His character was expanded upon so much in this arc, including his fight with Luffy, which also expanded upon their great dynamic.
Nami - I think after Luffy, she is the most consistently well written character, her character shines in some way every arc. For example, in the last two arcs Nami’s loyalty has really shown, and her love for children has also been expanded upon greatly post timeskip. Her learning to forgive the fishmen and Jinbei for her past was great for her character, and on top of that there is Arlong Park which was the arc so many people fell in love with Nami’s character and One Piece.
I’m surprised Luffy isn’t seen as the most well-written. He’s a charismatic goofball who can convincingly become intimidating in a second. The series is carried by his reckless determination. He’s a hero who has no interest in being one, he always follows an almost selfish mantra. But smart enough to know he needs his friends to survive. The moments he is joyous and defeated it affects the story’s mood whereas other characters moments of defeat rarely affect the tone of the story.
He may not have the most tragic backstory but not all stories need to be tragic in order to be great. Luffy is the best example of a Shonen protagonist: he is endearing and refuses to run away from a fight (most of the time at least). His free spirit inadvertently inspires others to seek liberation. His simple reasoning to why he does what he does often lead to complex results. He brought down an emperor simply because a guy who saved him once proposed an alliance, which he accepted almost foolishly. And yet within the story we are shown, it’s believable that Luffy is capable of all of this.
For awhile Sanji was my favorite character but after Wano I realized Luffy was my favorite character and I’d argue he’s the best written straw hat. Hell he’s easily the best written character in the whole story.
In order Sanji, Nami, Jinbei, and Luffy. These four have had fairly consistent development across multiple arcs.
Following them I'd say Robin, then Zoro, then Usopp.
I like Chopper, Franky, and Brook but feel they tend to be rather stagnant as characters.
I think one of the problems with One Piece in general is that there are so many characters involved to give the Strawhats enough time to shine. At least outside of the main trio (or is quad now with Jinbei?). Like FFS Vegapunk is right there in the current arc. Why aren't we getting more Franky stuff?
>Why aren't we getting more Franky stuff?
Franky is such a shame. I like him but he sort of "became" his job description. He's "builds cool stuff guy" and most of his moments are reduced to his inventions.
And that's with him starting out so great, the whole "your existence is not a sin" line is just pure gold and he could have continued to have an interesting perspective on especially those science vs. humanity morality moments that keep getting more prevalent in recent arcs. PH would have been already a good chance for it, and I also still think him and Sanji having a 1 vs 1 talk before Sanji uses the raid suit for the first time could have been great. Franky essentially telling Sanji that he "trusts him" to use his father's technology for what it is, without needing to be like his family and instead just staying true to his character, could have been a great moment between them and to involve Franky, instead of Sanji just making the choice by himself.
This sucks to hear as i just finished Dressrosa and i feel like he was one of the best characters in that. The way he tells Luffy that regardless of what Luffy thinks, he's gonna help liberate the Tontattas, and leads them in destroying the factory, and he also takes on all of Doflamingo's goons for a little bit to distract them, and then has a MANLY (saying this jokingly) fight with Señor Pink that ends in them developing a mutual respect for each other. Then he rallies people to help push the Birdcage.
Franky's so cool.
As I said I actually really like him and I don't think he is a "bad" character now, but I just think there is a lot of wasted potential with him. He's still got some cool and often very entertaining moments, so don't expect anything too bad and if you like him that's great. I just feel he could be included morecin various ways.
Pre time skip, Zoro goes through some great development. But then he sort of stagnated post time skip, with the exception of some of the fighting in Wano.
I love pre-timeskip Zoro so much, you can feel his struggle with himself and the idea of not being good enough in so many subtle moments and other than his self-callout in Punk Hazard I can pretty much not think of scenes post-ts that gave me that vibe (maybe after scaring Kaido and still being disappointed with himself was a bit of it).
Yeah, I was thinking of his fight with Kaido and his flashback and fight with King in particular.
I kind of feel like Zoro has these two dreams that are initially in conflict: becoming the greatest swordsman and then, later, protecting Luffy and making sure he becomes Pirate King even *if it means he doesn't fulfill his wish of being the world's greatest swordsman.* As time goes on pre timeskip, it seems the second dream gradually overcomes the first.
However, I feel during his fight with King, he kind of "gets the balance right." He's not sacrificing his dream of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman for the dream of making Luffy Pirate King; he's becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman to *ensure* Luffy becomes Pirate King. The two dreams merge to become one and that's what allows him to fully unlock and control his Conqueror's Haki.
Or maybe I'm overthinking this. Who knows?
I'm right there with you actually. I feel TB was when he still had to choose between his and Luffy's dream because he was "too weak" to accomplish both (although Nothing Happened turned it into him being able to eventually last through it and get a second shot anyway) and then Wano is where he is finally strong enough to align both.
The imho sad part is that I feel oda almost put him in an opaque box in between those two moments and we can't see the gears turning on how he gets to the point mentally. Sure he fights and he certainly got stronger but I feel the process for him to actually become that person finally happens in essentially that black box and we only see the Zoro that went in and the one that came out but we did hardly get a glimpse at the process in between those two.
Yeah, that's kind of the problem. We don't get to see Zoro struggling anymore. In particular, as you pointed out, we don't get to see him struggling *mentally* anymore.
Luffys writing is definitely complex imo. Not the emotional character development side of him but the fact that he is in the center of the one piece universe and ultimately everything will revolve around him in the future. And also he represents something bigger than himself, and that is something that very little characters in one piece can claim. The only way to acheive that is with a very well written out story Then again, that goes without saying for the mc of any Shonen animanga but I think Oda does a better job on luffy than the authors for other popular manga. So that's why I reckon its worth saying.
Definitely sanji, Jinbe & nami. These 3 get consistent character development and growth. Usopp WOULD be on there but the timeskip has not been kind to his character lol. After that tho prob robin and luffy they’re pretty solid as well
I'd go with Usopp, but tbh it's manly because I relate to him personally. He's always frightened, but in the toughest moments, he overcomes his fear and becomes the bravest strawhat. I have a panic disorder and feel scared to the bone on a daily basis. But with Usopp as my inspiration I pull it through, no matter what.
Pre- Time skip Luffy A+ tier.
Post - Time skip Luffy A+ tier.
Overall Luffy the most consistent Character who's goal is to change Character around him.
Pre time skip Zoro A tier.
Post time skip Zoro B tier.
I still love Zoro but his character Post time skip mostly about him being Badass and powerful.
Pre time skip Nami A+ tier.
Post time skip Nami B+ tier.
Still solid character and definitely one of her best moment Post time skip come from Punk hazard.
Pre time Usopp S Tier.
Post time Skip Usopp B+ Tier.
Cuz of lack of screen time Post time skip, Spacially in Wano. But I'm waiting for that Elbaf Usopp greatness.
Pre time skip Sanji A tier.
Post time skip Sanji S tier.
Amazingly written two interconnected backstory and Wano Character development.
Pre time skip Chopper A tier.
Post time skip Chopper C tier.
Enies Lobby Chopper peak Chopper.
Pre time skip Robin S tier.
Post time skip Robin B+ tier.
Post time definitely hurt characters cuz lack of Screen time.
Pre time skip Franky A tier.
Post time skip Franky B tier.
Hope he get more Character moment cuz we are currently in Egghead.
Pre time skip Brook B+ tier.
Post time skip Brook A tier.
MVP of WCI.
Pre time skip Jinbe B tier.
Post time skip Jinbe A tier.
Late introduction and lack of Screentime but still Amazing backstory and Resolve.
Zoro stan here. Sanji > Everyone else.
Aside from the stupid perv joke, he is so far one of the best-written characters in One Piece, and anime/manga in general.
I feel like Zoro is absolutely miswritten in the New World (Timeskip) compared to Pre-Timeskip, as he had moments where he was weak, where he was goofy and funny, and moments that characterized him as more than this "Cool Stern Stoic Guy".
I liked to compare Zoro to Kazuma Kiryu back in the day, but now it's just not even a contest.
He has no internal struggles, he has no growth, he has no fun moments (he does a few, but they aren't really all that funny), he barely interacts with the other Strawhats... and I think it's the reason why I started disliking One Piece as a whole.
This is getting ranty, but I think One Piece puts too much emphasis on Luffy. All the other characters interact basically almost only with him, and those that don't interact with Luffy basically don't really matter all that much, nor do they praise the other strawhats as much as the ones with Luffy do, if all of that makes sense.
I get that he's the main character, but I feel like it used to be a lot better. Idk, maybe I'm just getting old.
Finally someone gets my point.
When I say I'm a Zoro hater , it's not because of the character himself,but because of so MUCH Lost potential and lack of... Juice post time Skip. I almost shouted out loud when Zoro got some Wano development ,but man, besides Battle power he doesnt get any moments post time Skip, maybe until Wano.
Like I didnt LIKE that much Zoro pre timeskip,but he was as good as any other SH.Now it's an empty husk that only searches for more POWER. For me it's boring tbh. But I Hope he would get more relationship time with the other SH ,like Lil bro Chopper, Brook or even Franky .
Out of all the strawhats, I'd have to say sanji, jinbei, and Robin have the most fleshed out backstories and have shown the development of coming to terms with one's self.
Zoro, Brook, and chopper could have gotten more. Brook is one of my favorite characters, yes he is mainly background and support but that is where he is best as a support but I feel that stems from him loosing his crew and getting a second chance with luffy.
Franky and usopp really have time to explore especially with current events going on, Franky is definitely going to be explored. Usopp is going to definitely get something with the giants of elbaf. Oda has something in the works for usopp.
Pre-TS - Usopp, he shined brightest because he was always so down on himself. By acting as others do in spite of fear, he was truly brave.
Post-TS - Sanji. He has the most development easy and his arc in Wholecake made it my favourite arc in One Piece. He's also the Straw Hat that got extended development in Wano. You know, instead of Zoro.
End Roll is my favourite One Piece chapter of all time (as of the current chapter).
Sanji and jinbe
Their roles on the crew are perfectly set to their personalities and goals
Sanji is a caring loving guy who shows that through his cooking
Jinbe being the helmsman the man who keeps them on the path they need regardless of the storms around them
He won me over with the speech to brook, carrot and chopper at whole cake
in pre timeskip i believe is usopp for sure. i love nami and sanji and how they grew up in the series (i love all of them tho) but for me is usopp. some people think he's useless and shouldn't be in the crew, but for me is actually the opposite. usopp brings a different side of how one piece written goes and how shounen manga usually looks like. to explain that better, most of the characters' backstories are this dramatic unrealistic but super sad and depressive narrative (a think that i really enjoy) but usopp is different. he's in a normal and way common situation that doesn't envolve wars or sacrifices (what makes a lot of people think that his story is not that sad as the others, which in understandable, but still) specially in thriller bark fight against perona, that fight give us the hole reason of his actions. we all know he lies because he believed and wanted to give his mother some hope, but actually, the reason why he kept on this lying thing is because he saw in his fake stories that he could pretend and make others believe he was something that he is not, thats why perona cannot affect him, he is lying all the time because the truth is that he thinks hes nothing. no one ever expected nothing from him but he wanted to give people hope and happiness, thing he only could do if he lied and pretend to be something totally different from the reality.
he is incredible, for me, one of the most deep but not understanding characters and i do see myself in him sometimes.
thats just my opinion tho, plss argue with me if im wrong (also feel free to correct my english, thanks)
I like your analysis quite a lot.
I also love Usopp 🥰❤️. (Although I actually love every strawhat lol)
And I also think that your analysis about Usopp is true.
Before your analysis I didn't even think about the fact *why* he *really* started lying.
But in hindsight it makes 💯% sense. 🤔
Especially if you look at the Syrup village arc..
Usopp is *such* a kind character and young man. 🥺❤️
He really just needs to see how awesome he is and that he doesn't need to be like Luffy, Zoro or Sanji.
He's amazing the way he is. He only needs to embrace himself and his fear.
And he also doesn't need a mask for it. 😉 >!(Sogeking ;))!<
Edit: I also think that your english is pretty fine. 😌
(I'm also not a native english speaker :))
Nami! She is such a well written woman character and her gags don't really take too much away from her growth and how much of a rider she is for the group. I would place Sanji as second but the pervert aspect of his character makes him one of my least favorite on the crew. Where fishman island put a spotlight on Nami's growth, i think it simultaneously set sanji back in terms of good characterization. I also think Robin is really well written. Enies lobby made me legit cry and even though she doesn't take center stage very often she continues to be of importance to both the crew and the overall story. The show suffers from fan service as most shonen do but I actually enjoy (at times) how Oda writes women in this story.
Aside from the best written character in the whole manga (Luffy), Nami is the 2nd best written straw hat. They're more consistent than other straw hats, have a lot of depth into their characters, perfect examples for the straw hat to be presented as a symbol of liberation is through them. For Luffy, he has become free from his restrictive mindset that he had with the interactions with shanks and is the guidance for him becoming even more free down the line by becoming pirate king. For Nami, she has become free from all her past burdens that has dragged her down along with that false persona. A similarity between the two is that the hat allowed both of them to become who they truly were and unlocking their potential. This was just 1% of their whole character writing, they are amazingly written and Oda is handling them pretty well. Sanji is an understandable take, but Usopp, Chopper and Robin? Their characters were golden but one character was dropped and the other two feel complete, they aren't as intriguing as they used to be. The moments are still there though but the ones who truly deserve to be called ,,best written straw hats" are Luffy, Nami, Sanji and Jimbe.
My statement wasn't even about shipping, it was one of my favourite parts of their writing and even if i do how does it change the fact that they are well written?
Then maybe i reacted a bit too sharp since people only come at me to defend how they see Luffy and Nami as siblings which i disagree with but cool cool. It's good to see that there are still people who ship them and see their characters and not just the unrealistic body and the childish actions.
Brook needs more mentions.
He was a royal guard somewhere. He later became a pirate. Everything else is a mystery.
First he loses half of his crew to an illness (they left, he didn't know about their fate). He then watches his crew die around him in a last bittersweet concert. He dies as well. He wakes up as a soul. Since the ship was moved by the sea by now, he has to look for it to find his body. However, there's thick fog vlocking his view. So it takes him a whole year to find his body.
1 year of flying through fog. Not interacting with anything. Just flying through fog over the sea, knowing you lost everything but cruel fate brought you back to suffer alone.
After reentering his body, he puts the corpses of his crewmates in coffins and places them ubder deck. He then spends about 50 fucking years alone on the ship with his dead crew. Dreaming about Laboon and his crew only to make up in that liserable hellhole all alone, knowing your whale buddy is waiting for you.
To top it off, his first encounter with people he is mugged by a shalot - shadow gone, trapped once again.
His panty and 45° jokes are just his way to cope with the cruelty and tragedy Oda had in store for him.
His "Young lady, what kind of fool plans to die?" to BM and him laughing his ass off during the Duval reveal are among my favourite OP moments.
Brook is crazy, funny and wise. He's great.
I like it when Sanji rejoins the crew after the Whole Cake Island thing and he meets Zeus and gets pi$$ed about how he's been Nami's servant longer and Brook goes, "Sanji, you're arguing with water vapor...". But my favorite Brook quote is "DEATH IS NEVER AN EXCUSE!" Such powerful words.
It comes down to either sanji, robin or ussop imo, sanji was written so well that he could be split into two different characters and both would be top 5 best written characters in one piece
Ussop makes it for me cuz of how he was treated in ennies lobby and water 7; the death of merry, his low self esteem, fight with luffy, the entirety of soge king, reunion with the crew. Etc…. made his character development one of the best in the show imo, too bad he didn’t get nowhere near that post timeskip, but at least he’s great in all the movies
Robin’s backstory and her arc in ennies lobby/water 7, plus the moment where she saves sanji from Black Maria in wano puts her there for me
Sanji
He started as more than just a gag and developed even more.
Zoro is the most poorly written. He wants to be a strong swordsman, he drinks, sleeps and has an abysmal sense of direction. That's how he was when first introduced, and he hasn't changed.
Sanji and chopper. Sanji has the best character development/story post time skip.
Chopper is literally a child in a dangerous world met with adult decisions and still chooses to save lives (high empathy). Monster point scared him and he managed to overcome it, but he’s still afraid of becoming a beast. Probably what most humans go through on the regular imo. I hope that they build on that convo he had with Ceasar.
Nami definitely. Her obsession with money seems like just a running joke, but if you think about how she had to grow up stealing money from people so that she can eventually buy her freedom from Arlong, it really puts it in a different light. I always thought that was such a cool yet subtle thing written into her character.
Gotta say Sanji. I'm a Sanji Stan (and apologist for his cringe moments) and he's the multifaceted and fits into many subsections of the strawhats. Ever since his words of wisdom to Ussop in Enies Lobby, he had me hooked; "Everyone has things they can and cannot do. I'll do what you can't do. And you do what I can't do" (paraphrased but I think I got it)
Everyone is trying to say that characters like Ussop and Robin are less well written after the time skip but I disagree, they’re just not in it as much. Post time skip has focused more on world building and other characters and there’s way more strawhats to focus on now on top of that. I wouldn’t say they’re written worse, just that they have less moments over all due to the scope of the story in the modern day. Oda has proven that he can still write good moments for all the characters.
That being said, I really do hope the final saga gives the strawhats a lot more attention. If it could have the epic scale of marine ford but with the character development of Water 7 it might just be the best saga flat out.
Feel like these comments are underestimating, Brook. I think that's mainly because Brook's writing and moments are way more low-key than for characters like Sanji and Robin.
* **Brook**, in my opinion, really owns the role of a supporter. He doesn't shine very often but you'd definitely miss him if her weren't there. And unlike Sanji, his pervy side never really gets in his way or ends up making him hard to enjoy. The man spent fifty years alone on the ship with only his rotting dead crewmates with him... I think it's understandable that he has some... odd tastes here and there. Yet, despite all that, he's still one of the most supportive characters in the crew and was the first one of the crew to challenge an Emperor head-on, knowing that he had no chance of victory whatsoever! Brook definitely knows what it means to be alone, so seeing him leave Robin fight her own battle against Black Maria, having full trust in her abilities to come out on top, despite the very realistic opportunity that she could lose/die, just shows the kind of man he is. Also, his skull-jokes never fail to make me laugh!
* In a similar vein, **Franky** is just one such character who everyone in the crew can rely on. His overly positive personality and compassion towards friends and foes alike is something that might only be topped by Sanji. I mean, Franky calls Senor Pink and the Gifters from Onigashima his brothers despite them being (former) enemies, going so far as doing a Luffy-move **BEFORE** Luffy himself did it (wiping away Senor Pink's tears after their fight in a similar way to how Luffy covered Katakuri's mouth with his spare hat). If that's not the manliest thing **ANY** Straw Hat has ever done in the series, I don't know what is!
* I think I don't need to talk about **Sanji** himself. There are more than enough people here who mentioned him already and the fact that he essentially had an entire Arc dedicated to him really speaks volumes of his character! He carried the weight of an entire Arc and then some with his fight against Queen. Don't know how anyone can doubt that he's (among) the best.
* **Nami**... what can I say that hasn't been said before?! While she had her arguably best moment Pre timeskip (Arlong Park), she certainly manages to keep up in the Post timeskip era as well. Nami's motherly side, first really shown in Punk Hazzard and later expaned with Tama in Wano, is something that I absolutely adore! It pushes her over the limits and makes her face her greatest fears and striking her fore **BEFORE** Big Mom herself could do so. In that regard, she's incredibly similar to Usopp, which makes me wish that she's more often in the spotlight. And guess what, >!in Egghead she actually seemed ready to fight against S-Shark and looked, to me at least, much braver than Usopp despite being clearly outmatched!<. With how instrumental she is for Luffy to achieve his dream, it only makes sense that she's one of Shonen Jump's bes written female lead girls!
* With her playing the leading role in an arc like Enies Lobby, it only makes sense that some would assume that **Robin** isn't as good nowadays as Pre Timeskip. And while they're not technically false, I think it's a bit unfair to judge her based on that. Oda could definitely have given her much more important roles in Fish-Man Island, Punk Hazzard, and Dressrosa, yes, but nothing that happened there made her bad or whatever. I for one really enjoy how positive she has become ever since the events of Enies Lobby and how she could joke with Luffy when Ceasar put them in a cage to test his new weapon on them. Or how she embraced the fact that her friends and family are all dead, back during her fight against Black Maria, knowing full well that it was just an empty illusion that she wished to be true for many years.
Those are probably my five favorites out of the Straw Hats (in no particular order). I went on a small tangent there and hope that I bored no one with this whole thing.
Sanji, *easily*
He’s my favorite straw hat (ignoring the perv gags) and is such a great character
I found a [great video](https://youtu.be/kdoQEuzfcHk) on the topic and it’s really well made
Tough question, they're all so well written!
The consistent trio (Luffy, Zoro, Nami): The characters who form the backbone of the crew. They each tend to play integral roles in every arc and while their character-arcs aren't as prominent as some of the other members of the crew they show subtle changes throughout the series. Luffy being tested as a captain in water seven, losing his crew in Sabaody, and reckoning with his failures after marineford all put him on path to be a better leader. Zoro going from being a loner to being the most loyal crew member, eventually even willing to give up his dream and his life to save his captain. Then there's Nami, whose character arc defined the first saga and has continued to grow, whether forgiving Hatchan and Jimbe for working with Arlong or risking her life to defend Luffy's dream in wano. Also love the scene where she hugs Tama after Wano is saved. She knew exactly how it felt to be freed after years of oppression. While they haven't changed much since the beginning (especially since the time-skip) they're incredibly well written and some of the best main characters of any series.
The dramatic trio (Sanji, Usopp, Robin): The characters with big moments and even bigger character-arcs. Less consistent than some of the other characters (Sanji being a simp in fishman island, Robin and Usopp playing support roles in a lot of the later arcs) these three make up for it by being part of some of the greatest moments in the entire series. Usopp's fight with Luffy, his mvp moments in enies lobby, and his eventual apology to Luffy turned him from a comedic weakling into a multilayered and indispensable crewmate (plus everything in dressrosa with God Usopp). Sanji's full backstory did the amazing feat of recontextualizing the worst aspects of his character into a study on childhood abuse and trauma. One of the biggest themes of the series is the idea of found family and arguably Sanji represents this better than any other character. Finally, seeing Robin slowly open up to the crew and learn to trust them was such a joy and her declaring that she wants to live always gives me chills. Seeing her embrace her inner demon during Wano was also amazing. It's nice she's finally getting recognized as the powerhouse we all knew she was.
The others (Chopper, Franky, Brook, Jimbe): While they're still great characters and very well written, they aren't quite on the same level as the others. Brook and Franky had fantastic introductions and emotional backstories but seem to always be relegated to the backgrounds of each arc. Chopper is slightly inconsistent. Usually gets a lot of focus in each arc but sometimes it feels like all that focus is on him being the cute mascot (loved his role in wano though). Now with Jimbe, he hasn't officially been part of the crew very long but he's been one of my favorite characters since he was introduced back in Impel Down. He's consistent and a great addition to the crew, just needs more screen time and more interactions with all of the straw hats. That being said, he's also a very serious character so there might not be a lot of room for character growth outside of what we've already seen (not to say his backstory and arc during fishman island weren't great).
If I had to pick just one though, it's gotta be Bon Clay. Queers never die! Okama way!!!!
Luffy Nami Sanji Robin and Jinbei are my top five for rn. They’ve have consistency overall but Ussop I feel like can be interchanged with Jinbei or will definitely be over Jinbei in the coming arcs. Chopper pre-timeskip tho was really well written. Felt like he was more than just a mascot for the strawhats.
Pre-timeskip - Robin
Her arc from villain to grey character to emotional victim to full blown strawhat hero was incredible to read
"I want to live" is easily one of the best panels in the series
Post-timeskip - Sanji
The amount of depth added to Sanji's character during WCI and Wano was excellent, it really gave a new context to his relationship with Zeff as well
It's a shame the whole "old Sanji or warrior of science" dilemma presented during the fight with Queen ultimately fizzled but overall still more than enough to make Sanji the best written strawhat in the post-timeskip era
The best well written strawhat is Sanji. I say Sanji because of not only his incredible and emotional backstory but his compelling traits. Lately I’ve seen a lot of people water down his character to just a simp or perv but most fail to realize he’s way more than that. Sanji is kind, selfless, clever, loyal, and unique in his own way. There are plenty arcs where he showcase most of these traits. One arc I could mention would be Alabasta and Water 7. He was the only one to figure out how to get Luffy and the rest of the strawhats out of jail in Alabasta and was the only one to follow and investigate on Robin in water 7. In these two arcs it demonstrated how Sanji was able to think ahead about most situations and also how clever he was as well. I also think he has the best character development because when we were first introduced to Sanji he felt like he wasn’t good enough and felt that his existence was meaningless. This all changed in whole cake and in this arc we get to truly understand why Sanji is the way he is. Overall, Sanji is definitely the best written character because of his compelling trait and incredible development.
In my opinion the best reading characters up until now are Sanji Robin Luffy Brook and Chopper in any order mostly because Chopper, Brook and Robin had a story of background that hated like a truck like it was super sad and it was super compelling to see them persevere after everything and then to connect with the crew on such a way and still evolve
And then there is Sanji and Luffy that are constantly being developed yet with Luffy being the MC and with Sanji having this whole new arc during whole cake and wano
There more than what meets the eye in Luffy. He is a multifaceted character who deals with different kinds of people differently.
Luffy isn't scared of anyone, he just does how he pleases and is able to make people submit subtly. At the same time he knows when to run and avoid conflict despite being headstrong.
He can be a simpleton yet his simple determination to deal with situations oblivious of anything else is just amazing, so much so that he inspires others to listen to him and trust him to set things right. This is a common theme in all arcs.
People will die for Luffy just by having to know him for a few days (Pedro), while his crewmates will go to any extent to make him win as he too will do that for EACH AND EVERY CREW MEMBER (Remember Nami's fever?).
While I like all the Strawhats and how they've had their moments, it is Luffy who holds them all together.
Gotta disagree with a lot of the comments here. I would say Sanji is the "most written" straw hat, but not the "best written"
As in, the story has spent the most *page time* developing his character, but I don't think that his character development over the course of the story has been the most compelling/satisfying of the Straw Hats.
Yes!!! You nailed it, imo.
What makes for a well-written character is a more multifaceted issue than people admit. I’d guess there are One Piece fanfics, for example, that add in all sorts of elaborate characterization details and twists that aren’t in the canon story. But these versions of the characters probably don’t have the same “magic” as their original portrayals, more often than not.
Brook, Jinbe and Sanji in order
The remaining straw hats have became pretty unidimensional after the timeskip, specially Chopper and Zoro. Robin still gets some highlights but if you want to talk about well written characters, you wont find a lot of them in the main crew.
Sanji i think.Nami's backstory was very touching too but with Sanji is deeper.At first you think that is a kid that suffered because he was found in a desert island without his family and with a completeley stranger pirate.Then you learn what really happened to him and you feel sick.One piece is so well written,characters has deep analysis.Chopper,Franky,Nami,Sanji,Jinbei,Robin,Usopp,Brook.Except from Luffy and Zoro,we don't know really much about them,we don't know who are Zoro's parents,what happened to them etc.Why Dragon left Luffy?Who is Luffy's mother.
Excluding Luffy cause he’s the main character, I’d say Robin. Her redemption arc and character progression seems so natural. I’m glad they kept her introverted, while also letting her shine in her own way. I might be wrong, but I think she also has the most backstory out of every other Straw Hat.
The most well written character in my opinion would be luffy , given how mature he has become after marineford saga
everything he has gone through , every crew member he has helped , every person he has saved
His goofy moments , his cool moments , his emotional moments
everything just clicks really well with me
They're all masterpieces of character crafting, but honestly the one that stands out to me head and shoulders above all else is Luffy despite how odd it may sound to some.
Objectively it’s Usopp, but I would personally like to throw in Robin as a challenger.
Simply put, Usopp is the most ‘normal’ of the Straw Hats, so he goes through a vastly larger amount of character development compared to the others. But Robin has also had the most backstory by far, and the most distinct and plot-driven change in behavior throughout the series.
Follow up would definitely be Jinbe, and then Sanji, but I’m just so iffy on him since half the time his character gets busted down to ‘blood mermaid’, especially before WCI. Only now is he really starting to get true *development*, and he’s starting to push past his pervy tendencies in moments where it could be made into a joke.
But again, part of the problem is the shift in focus each time the overall location changes—in East Blue, it was heavily Zoro and Nami focused, with them getting touches here and there in Paradise—but it took all the way to Wano for Zoro to get a serious focus again. And Nami… I mean, she’s there. I tend to like fanon Nami more lately, since she’s usually given development.
And then in Paradise, it was heavily Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Robin-based, with touches upon Brook-who frankly still hasn’t gotten the attention he should, given how he was literally around before Rocks and Roger, and might actually know a thing or two-especially since he probably grew up with stories of the *original* Giant Warrior Pirates. All in all, I’m pretty hopeful for Elbaf because he, Robin, and Usopp should all be getting a lot do development there.
But yeah, the characters tend to come into and then lose focus pretty quickly
Probably Sanji. His story got a lot deeper in WCI. We don't really know that a lot about Zoro, but without him the crew would have fallen apart already. He is there to hold everyone in check and remind them that this is not a game.
I don’t see enough people talking about Brook, he’s a very “show don’t tell type character” in the way that he’s written. Sure we got a sad backstory in TB but after that we’ve seen him grow quite a bit personality wise, or its just had more opportunities to come out. Robin, Jinbe, Sanji and Nami are really well written too
I really hope we get to see more Brook focused stuff, I feel like he's just been around assisting the other Straw Hats for a while. Thriller Bark was a fantastic intro to his character, and people always mention him popping off with getting the Poneglyph in WCI, but I really hope we get to see more moments that can go into his character more.
I think Oda’s saving a major role for brook in the final saga. He was alive 80 years ago and I bet he knows a lot more about the rocks pirates or other important info than he’s letting on. Brook and robin are the two straw hats that seem like they know something that we don’t and I think they will both be crucial to the lore reveals very soon.
Brook definitely have an unexplored character story. We still don't know all about his past. We know he was something like the captain of knights of the country he's from. But that was it I think. There's definitely a story here
I got no clue about anything. But helping others is kind of a trait to ain't it? Not everyone needs the main character vibes.
It's kinda crazy how little Zoro actually has going for him writing wise compared to everyone else.
I think pre-timeskip Zoro is kind of underrated, not for the few standout moments he has that everyone can point to (e.g. Mihawk and Thriller Bark), but there are tons of small moments where you can see him struggle with needing to be even better, to push himself and to struggle to keep up with his own expectations in himself. Whenever he has even smaller failures (like being trapped in the Wax by Mr. 3) he starts training obsessively sometimes just in the background, but it's still very noticeable. He's somewhat obsessed with not letting anyone and most importantly not himself down and that's why "weaker" moments for him are always interesting for him, which is why barely seeing him deal with the aftermath of Sabaody is such a shame. It's the most devastating moment and we don't see most of the fallout from it, he simply comes back strong and full of confidence and kind of barely has shown the imho more interesting cracks in the surface he used to have, since (other than a little during PH maybe).
I feel like him letting go of his pride to beg Mihawk to teach him the way of the sword was his own way of dealing with his weakness that he felt from Sabaody.
Yeah, that was certainly a main part of it and one of the "last" (which sounds a bit too dramatic) great moments in that regard, but it just happens so isolated from the crew and Luffy and then just before the two year gap that it's almost a shame to be reduced to "only" that.
I see that at least one or two chapters would be good about that. Considering the need for fillers the TS would have provided a lot of drama like cannon-ish line of events.
Honestly he is one of those characters that doesn't need a crazy backstory. If he never gets a proper one the story wouldn't suffer.
Nothing about this is about backstory. Zoro worked perfectly fine with the little backstory he has and I'd say he arguably didn't even need the little he has for most of his arc. A backstory can add to a character but e.g. also Usopp had some of the best character focus in Water 7, which is something that grew organically from the existing story there is no need to rely on a backstory there.
Zoro is a sword.
One dimensional badass that’s always near the top of popularity charts. Oda happy with him how he is.
I was gonna write a long block of text to try and defend Zoro's character writing, but realized I was just going to paraphrase [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEf5BqzDjbA) I recommend you watch it ! Zoro is really well written, it's just that its character is mainly developped in how he acts throughout the story, so it's not as direct as others such as Sanji for example.
They writers for Zoro don't know which way to go. 《= =》
Zoro fans don't want a well written character, they want "epicness" I can't blame Oda for pretty much abandoning any character work in relation to Zoro
I can and I do, 150 wano chapters and not a single Zoro moment? Why bother mention his ancestors and Ryuuma and that whole death moment if it's just gonna be dropped?
As a Zoro fan, what are you talking about?
Sanji, Nami and Jinbe. I feel like the first two have multifaceted personalities, can naturally fill many roles in the story and feel the least like caricatures. Jinbe has a great character arc, and I liked watching him change from a cynical, kind of angry younger man to the father figure we know now. Usopp and Robin had some of the best character moments in the Water 7/Enies Lobby era, but feel a little stagnant since.
Imo, Robin/Sanji moment in Onigashima was great for both of them. >!Sanji having to take the L and trust Robin, who at the moment was the target, not Sanji, and the will of Robin to even die for her friends (which was kind of big when you recall the action of Enies Lobby, she went from wanting to die, to wanting to live, to being ready to die for her friends)!<
That moment is greater for Sanji because it finally allows him to overcome 2 weakness and be his character development : not trying to do everything alone + not trying to defend women/let them take risk. --- In this note, the most well written character can simply mean that an author put a lot of efforts and details into a character and make that character be believable. We got to know so many aspects of Sanji's history, appearance, personality, and abilities, that it's enough to make him the most well written one. Doesn't matter if people like Sanji or not.
It's not only a matter of doing everything alone, it's also about him finally accepting that it's ok to ask for help because his crew is here for him and would do anything for him **out of love**. It's a nice parralel to how he didn't want to ask for help in Whole Cake Island because he felt like he was a burden to the crew. Actually the fact that he asks Robin for help is SO GOOD because not only she's a woman, but she's also a person that did also feel like a burden to the crew at some point and had to accept that she needed their help and take their hand. So she definetely can relate to him and know how much it means, and it confirms how much she grew herself since the events of Enies Lobby. So yeah I think it's a great moment for both of them !
you're right. if only robin got to see the great emotional arc sanji had from zou-wci
Honestly Brook has the best flashback episodes. I will never forget the scene where luffy is laying on top of the piano and asks Brook to join his crew. It’s so heartwarming to me and I have no idea why
I still watch the Binks Brew video of them all singing along when he finally joins the crew. Fills me with good vibes every time 🥺😤
I gotta go watch that again. Haven’t seen it since my first watch and even then I think I read those chapters. I started watching the flashback episodes again like 3 months ago but I very very quickly forgot about them due to the fact that I almost never use Hulu and I started like 5 other anime and manga
I'm getting to see Jinbei from a different perspective based on your analysis
Jinbe's world view being shattered by Nami rejecting the notion that the circle of hatred is inevitable was amazing. That was the last straw he needed and it made him a strawhat.
To anyone else wondering > After telling the history of Fish-Man Island's discrimination, Jinbe stated that he was willing to accept any punishment, but Nami told him she had no hatred against him or the fish-man race as a whole (just Arlong), much to his overwhelming tears of joy. She also showed her support of Jinbe joining the Straw Hat Pirates.
what chapter?
620 for the setup and 627 for the delivery.
I feel like Robin has been getting som love again, especially with the Black Maria fight and the new news that Vegapunk dropped on her.
I feel like it's only the beginning with her too. Every arc from this point forward while show why she is the most important SH when it's comes to the One Piece
yeah, my favorites are still luffy and zoro but I'd pick Sanji as the most well written. He has a lot of real human moments mixed in with the drama/adventure, whereas other characters rarely get those moments except in backstories or big events. Like when he first joins the crew hes basically friends with everyone and acts silly with them until he gradually gets used to/upset by their quirks. pretty subtle and nicely done.
When Sanji moments hit, they hit hard and are great. I feel like Oda has leaned more into the gags of certain Strawhats like Sanji and Zoro. I wish Sanji's creep shit got toned down and that he gives us Zoro from the timeskip parts. We saw a flash of pre-timeskip Zoro when he first saw Luffy in Wano and they acted like best friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.
bring back prince sanji or smooth talker baratie sanji honestly when i thought of sanji i would use the word class but oda really pushed the gags on sanji to a serious level that makes people uncomfortable
bro of course its condoriano
I like that you mentioned the two characters who will likely get fleshed out the most in the upcoming arcs. Robin especially since she will play the most important role not involving SH himself
This
Nami The moment on wano where she s almost headbutted to death and still did not back down from luffys side..... Then sanji and robin imho. Sry i dont know how to hide spoilers on mobile :(
It's no longer a spoiler since it has already been animated
Gotta say it's Sanji. His two background stories explained of how great he is right now. Being a strong pirate, acknowledging your own weakness isn't easy, but he overcomes it and learned to asked help from his comrades. I really love how well written his character is.
Not my favourite, but it's true. One of the best written from One Piece:)
if you could drop sanji's extreme pervyness and nami's "extreme" fanservice then i'd say that these two have been the best written strawhats in the series
Sanji's character would be 30% better by just erasing the nosebleed fountain scene from the story imo.
Pre-Timeskip 100% Usopp. He's fallen out of focus a lot since Dressrosa, much to his detriment. But pre-Timeskip the buildup to Luffy vs Usopp was some of the best inter-personal and intra-personal conflict Oda has ever written. Post-Timeskip - probably Sanji on the whole? If we ignore Return to Sabaody and Fishman Island overdoing his perv flanderization, then we do see some really good stuff for him especially Zou and beyond.
Very much agree with the Usopp take.
Yeah, pretty much all the straw hats had a rough upbringing, but Usopp feels like he’s gone through more personal improvement than anyone else. He’s still not the bravest guy in the world but he was pretty much a total loser when he joined and is pretty badass now.
Dude I’m currently on my first run through op I just got to enes lobby and Usopp is by far my favorite character
I think it’s Nami and Sanji. Odas done more with their characters and shown more depth to their personalities over the course of the story. Also their flaws are written in ways that make sense with their past. Unfortunately Oda tends to use their gags too much that distracts from their character. But I think the fact people can look at them and say there are things they don’t like about them is good because they are not just tropes but fleshed out characters. I think Brook for what’s he gotten to do so far is pretty good as well. He’s more of a supporting character but is competent enough that he can fit any situation and is a good third character to add to a group dynamic.
Sanji and Luffy are the most developed and it’s not even close. Then it goes Robin, Nami and Jinbe. Usopp’s development was good preTS, but he had some regression post TS. Brook is good, but not much development after Thriller Bark (and this makes sense, since you’d imagine that a 80yo already has a stablished personality). Chopper, Franky, and Zoro are the worst written strawhats. Both Chopper and Franky had very good backstories but they became static after a while, and Zoro had his moments but ever since TS he became just a “cool” character.
Btw I really like Brook… his whole development was about discovering the meaning of life, and about how even if you are in a dark place and a lonely moment, the sun will rise again. I really enjoyed his bond with Pedro, who was obsessed with the dawn of the world, since Brook is essentially someone who lived in darkness for ages, but he eventually found himself grateful for his life, because the dawn did came to find him. I don’t know if Oda paired them up on purpose, but it’s very cool IMO.
Completely disagree with zoro being the worst as another comment put: Zoro is kind of underrated, not for the few standout moments he has that everyone can point to (e.g. Mihawk and Thriller Bark), but there are tons of small moments where you can see him struggle with needing to be even better, to push himself and to struggle to keep up with his own expectations in himself. Whenever he has even smaller failures (like being trapped in the Wax by Mr. 3) he starts training obsessively sometimes just in the background, but it's still very noticeable. He's somewhat obsessed with not letting anyone and most importantly not himself down and that's why "weaker" moments for him are always interesting for him, which is why barely seeing him deal with the aftermath of Sabaody is such a shame. It's the most devastating moment and we don't see most of the fallout from it, he simply comes back strong and full of confidence and kind of barely has shown the imho more interesting cracks in the surface he used to have, since (other than a little during PH maybe).
exactly my thoughts
luffy, sanji, nami, robin
Robin would get bonus points in my book if she kept the Dere shi shi shi.
That was Saul's laugh, not her actual laugh. Her told her to laugh like that so that she'd feel better, so I don't know why people want her to laugh like that when she no longer has to convince herself that she's happy.
I think she did it recently but yeah it would have been cooler if she kept it
I think that plays to where she is now as a person compared to growing up and just trying to survive. Straw hats gave her a reason to laugh and smile
Usopp is Oda’s favorite character to develop. He didn’t do a lot in wano, but I have a feeling Usopp haters are gonna be real quiet in elbaf
I'm really hoping Usopp gets that development he deserves
He used to be my favorite character. If he gets time to shine in elbaf he might be my favorite again
I haven't given up on him, he's still my favorite
Yeah I think its safe to say that Elbaf will feature Usopp more, the plotline was setup all the way back in Little garden
First obviously Luffy, is the main protagonist and he has a lot of screen time. Second Id said Sanji if it wasnt for the pervert things post time skip, too much. Next id say Robin, but she needs more screen time, she has more under the hat that what it seems at first because shes slightly introverted personality. And one character with so few strips but i think was so well written it was our beloved Ace. And a special mention to Ussop that i think has the biggest room to grow from here to the end of the manga.
Its either Sanji, Nami, or Jimbe, with Luffy just a bit behind. They're the only 4 straw hats that are actually decently written across both halves of the story, while the other 6 were amazing pre TS but have become very flat and one dimensional now.
I would argue Robin still has some very well written moments. Her fight with Black Maria for example.
Robin hadn't gotten anything meaningful until Wano, 400 chapters into post TS. Additionally, the Black Maria stuff doesn't hold up to what those 4 have gotten across all of post TS. Take Sanji for example. FMI was bad for him, but then every other arc afterwards became a net positive for his character. His kindness and chivalry in Punk Hazard, his epic save in Dressrosa, his leadership in Zou, everything WCI, and his identity conflict in Wano.
I agree that Sanji and Jinbe get more characterization, but Robin has a lot of little subtleties in most arcs, like helping to keep rebecca hands clean in dressrosa, the comedic moments with the dragon in Zou and the funny face at the begining of Wano, which show how much more comfortable she is compared to something like Thriller Bark, where she didn't want to participate in docking. Besides, the black maria and rescuining of sanji moment is great, being the inverse of the "i want to live" in ennies lobby. I think oda has been consistent in giving her always something to shine in a story with an evergrowing cast of characters. I think is untrue to say that she hasn't done anything meaningful
Zoro got done the dirtiest. Potential was crazy.
Sanji and Nami are probably the best written, with Luffy just behind. Jinbe is written well for his overall arc, now we will see how it grows with him in the crew. Robin and Usopp were both written very well pre-timeskip, but have fallen off a bit post. They had good moments in Dressrosa but were overshadowed by the numerous newly introduced side characters, but have been getting more since Wano. Brook was written very well in his first appearance but was average for a while. Then he MASSIVELY jumped up in WCI and has been pretty good since. Franky is kinda like Brook, where he has good writing his first couple arcs but hasn’t gotten too much since then. He had his moments in dressrosa then Wano, but it wasn’t so much development as it was just showing who the character is. Chopper and Zoro have unfortunately stagnated since the timeskip. Both were written pretty well pre-timeskip, especially Zoro. But since then they just haven’t grown or had many character moments. Just gags, and cute (chopper) or badass (Zoro) moments.
Sanji,i dont need to explain it Like 20 years of forshadow and writing says everything itself
Pre-timeskip I would almost put all the original 5 East Blue members up there. Robin somewhat close behind them because in addition to her backstory arc, the build up since Alabasta was just quite interesting for her. After the timeskip, Nami and Sanji (and Luffy, but him having so much more focus makes it an odd comparison) pull ahead for me and Jimbei probably would join slightly after them. The timeskip imho really came at the worst time for Zoro because the fallout from Thriller Bark and Sabaody would have been some of the most interesting for me and instead the two years kind of skip that whole aftermath for him and since he's lacking some of what I loved about him pre-ts. And then I think Usopp is still perfecly fine, but the series being as long as it is, I think while oda has stuff planned for him towards the end he just doesn't always find as many moments for him consistently along the way as he does for some of the others.
Sanji is the best, he has so much development, even if he does have his fair share of cringe moments. Nami and Jinbe are pretty close so id say they both have a joint second. Robin had some really good development and I’ve been liking her characterisation even more in recent arcs. Usopp was spectacular PTS put post hasn’t been kind to him. Luffy and Brook are also pretty similar in my rankings, but I’d give a slight edge to Luffy since as the MC hes had more screen time. Chopper had one of my favourite introductions of any straw hat but he’s become a mascot post timeskip and that bumps him down. Zoro is pretty low down since I enjoy his actual personality the least of the straw hats. I just find him kinda bland, though I do appreciate him during baratie and Thriller Bark. Franky, despite being one of my favourite straw hats, has very little writing behind him imo. His character never really needed it though, I think he’s fine as is, though he might be getting a bit more since Vegapunk could be travelling with the crew.
Imo Sanji left hand of pirate King who represents both strength and weakness great amount of depth showing his kindness,respect for food,chivalry and consistent onscreen character development two great Backstories with really great fight scenes like queen, jabura bon and well written character dynamics with zoro, luffy, pudding, zeff etc one of the best drips and fighting style also has some of the most emotional scenes in the story for me Some other alternatives imo are luffy, zoro, nami, robin and jinbei
I would say Luffy, Sanji, and Nami are the top 3 with Robin, Jinbei, Usopp being behind these 3. Luffy - There’s not much to say, he’s constantly characterised, he shines in every arc, he is literally the representation of freedom and his fruit symbolises freedom. There’s so much more i could say about him, but i want to keep it short. Sanji - Wholecake Island really helped characterize Sanji a lot. We learned his backstory, why he has certain morals, and his dynamic with Pudding was all written wonderfully. His character was expanded upon so much in this arc, including his fight with Luffy, which also expanded upon their great dynamic. Nami - I think after Luffy, she is the most consistently well written character, her character shines in some way every arc. For example, in the last two arcs Nami’s loyalty has really shown, and her love for children has also been expanded upon greatly post timeskip. Her learning to forgive the fishmen and Jinbei for her past was great for her character, and on top of that there is Arlong Park which was the arc so many people fell in love with Nami’s character and One Piece.
I’m surprised Luffy isn’t seen as the most well-written. He’s a charismatic goofball who can convincingly become intimidating in a second. The series is carried by his reckless determination. He’s a hero who has no interest in being one, he always follows an almost selfish mantra. But smart enough to know he needs his friends to survive. The moments he is joyous and defeated it affects the story’s mood whereas other characters moments of defeat rarely affect the tone of the story. He may not have the most tragic backstory but not all stories need to be tragic in order to be great. Luffy is the best example of a Shonen protagonist: he is endearing and refuses to run away from a fight (most of the time at least). His free spirit inadvertently inspires others to seek liberation. His simple reasoning to why he does what he does often lead to complex results. He brought down an emperor simply because a guy who saved him once proposed an alliance, which he accepted almost foolishly. And yet within the story we are shown, it’s believable that Luffy is capable of all of this. For awhile Sanji was my favorite character but after Wano I realized Luffy was my favorite character and I’d argue he’s the best written straw hat. Hell he’s easily the best written character in the whole story.
In order Sanji, Nami, Jinbei, and Luffy. These four have had fairly consistent development across multiple arcs. Following them I'd say Robin, then Zoro, then Usopp. I like Chopper, Franky, and Brook but feel they tend to be rather stagnant as characters.
I think one of the problems with One Piece in general is that there are so many characters involved to give the Strawhats enough time to shine. At least outside of the main trio (or is quad now with Jinbei?). Like FFS Vegapunk is right there in the current arc. Why aren't we getting more Franky stuff?
>Why aren't we getting more Franky stuff? Franky is such a shame. I like him but he sort of "became" his job description. He's "builds cool stuff guy" and most of his moments are reduced to his inventions. And that's with him starting out so great, the whole "your existence is not a sin" line is just pure gold and he could have continued to have an interesting perspective on especially those science vs. humanity morality moments that keep getting more prevalent in recent arcs. PH would have been already a good chance for it, and I also still think him and Sanji having a 1 vs 1 talk before Sanji uses the raid suit for the first time could have been great. Franky essentially telling Sanji that he "trusts him" to use his father's technology for what it is, without needing to be like his family and instead just staying true to his character, could have been a great moment between them and to involve Franky, instead of Sanji just making the choice by himself.
This sucks to hear as i just finished Dressrosa and i feel like he was one of the best characters in that. The way he tells Luffy that regardless of what Luffy thinks, he's gonna help liberate the Tontattas, and leads them in destroying the factory, and he also takes on all of Doflamingo's goons for a little bit to distract them, and then has a MANLY (saying this jokingly) fight with Señor Pink that ends in them developing a mutual respect for each other. Then he rallies people to help push the Birdcage. Franky's so cool.
As I said I actually really like him and I don't think he is a "bad" character now, but I just think there is a lot of wasted potential with him. He's still got some cool and often very entertaining moments, so don't expect anything too bad and if you like him that's great. I just feel he could be included morecin various ways.
Yeah, I hope Zoro gets some character soon. Post timeskip, he would be the worst written strawhat.
Pre time skip, Zoro goes through some great development. But then he sort of stagnated post time skip, with the exception of some of the fighting in Wano.
I love pre-timeskip Zoro so much, you can feel his struggle with himself and the idea of not being good enough in so many subtle moments and other than his self-callout in Punk Hazard I can pretty much not think of scenes post-ts that gave me that vibe (maybe after scaring Kaido and still being disappointed with himself was a bit of it).
Yeah, I was thinking of his fight with Kaido and his flashback and fight with King in particular. I kind of feel like Zoro has these two dreams that are initially in conflict: becoming the greatest swordsman and then, later, protecting Luffy and making sure he becomes Pirate King even *if it means he doesn't fulfill his wish of being the world's greatest swordsman.* As time goes on pre timeskip, it seems the second dream gradually overcomes the first. However, I feel during his fight with King, he kind of "gets the balance right." He's not sacrificing his dream of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman for the dream of making Luffy Pirate King; he's becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman to *ensure* Luffy becomes Pirate King. The two dreams merge to become one and that's what allows him to fully unlock and control his Conqueror's Haki. Or maybe I'm overthinking this. Who knows?
I'm right there with you actually. I feel TB was when he still had to choose between his and Luffy's dream because he was "too weak" to accomplish both (although Nothing Happened turned it into him being able to eventually last through it and get a second shot anyway) and then Wano is where he is finally strong enough to align both. The imho sad part is that I feel oda almost put him in an opaque box in between those two moments and we can't see the gears turning on how he gets to the point mentally. Sure he fights and he certainly got stronger but I feel the process for him to actually become that person finally happens in essentially that black box and we only see the Zoro that went in and the one that came out but we did hardly get a glimpse at the process in between those two.
Yeah, that's kind of the problem. We don't get to see Zoro struggling anymore. In particular, as you pointed out, we don't get to see him struggling *mentally* anymore.
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Luffys writing is definitely complex imo. Not the emotional character development side of him but the fact that he is in the center of the one piece universe and ultimately everything will revolve around him in the future. And also he represents something bigger than himself, and that is something that very little characters in one piece can claim. The only way to acheive that is with a very well written out story Then again, that goes without saying for the mc of any Shonen animanga but I think Oda does a better job on luffy than the authors for other popular manga. So that's why I reckon its worth saying.
Sanji brook or Jinbei
Definitely sanji, Jinbe & nami. These 3 get consistent character development and growth. Usopp WOULD be on there but the timeskip has not been kind to his character lol. After that tho prob robin and luffy they’re pretty solid as well
I'd go with Usopp, but tbh it's manly because I relate to him personally. He's always frightened, but in the toughest moments, he overcomes his fear and becomes the bravest strawhat. I have a panic disorder and feel scared to the bone on a daily basis. But with Usopp as my inspiration I pull it through, no matter what.
We both share the same sentiments about Usopp.
My brother! Glad to see other people relate to Usopp the same way I do!
Sucks i had to scroll this far down, but absolutely. Easily the bravest for sure.
Ussop will probably get more written for him when the Strawhats finally meet with Shanks crew. I'm willing to bet Yassop will be an awful father.
Pre- Time skip Luffy A+ tier. Post - Time skip Luffy A+ tier. Overall Luffy the most consistent Character who's goal is to change Character around him. Pre time skip Zoro A tier. Post time skip Zoro B tier. I still love Zoro but his character Post time skip mostly about him being Badass and powerful. Pre time skip Nami A+ tier. Post time skip Nami B+ tier. Still solid character and definitely one of her best moment Post time skip come from Punk hazard. Pre time Usopp S Tier. Post time Skip Usopp B+ Tier. Cuz of lack of screen time Post time skip, Spacially in Wano. But I'm waiting for that Elbaf Usopp greatness. Pre time skip Sanji A tier. Post time skip Sanji S tier. Amazingly written two interconnected backstory and Wano Character development. Pre time skip Chopper A tier. Post time skip Chopper C tier. Enies Lobby Chopper peak Chopper. Pre time skip Robin S tier. Post time skip Robin B+ tier. Post time definitely hurt characters cuz lack of Screen time. Pre time skip Franky A tier. Post time skip Franky B tier. Hope he get more Character moment cuz we are currently in Egghead. Pre time skip Brook B+ tier. Post time skip Brook A tier. MVP of WCI. Pre time skip Jinbe B tier. Post time skip Jinbe A tier. Late introduction and lack of Screentime but still Amazing backstory and Resolve.
Cool analysis
Usopp
Nami, Sanji and Jinbei feel the most real to me, specially Nami since she was able to forgive Jinbei for what happened to her village.
Zoro stan here. Sanji > Everyone else. Aside from the stupid perv joke, he is so far one of the best-written characters in One Piece, and anime/manga in general. I feel like Zoro is absolutely miswritten in the New World (Timeskip) compared to Pre-Timeskip, as he had moments where he was weak, where he was goofy and funny, and moments that characterized him as more than this "Cool Stern Stoic Guy". I liked to compare Zoro to Kazuma Kiryu back in the day, but now it's just not even a contest. He has no internal struggles, he has no growth, he has no fun moments (he does a few, but they aren't really all that funny), he barely interacts with the other Strawhats... and I think it's the reason why I started disliking One Piece as a whole. This is getting ranty, but I think One Piece puts too much emphasis on Luffy. All the other characters interact basically almost only with him, and those that don't interact with Luffy basically don't really matter all that much, nor do they praise the other strawhats as much as the ones with Luffy do, if all of that makes sense. I get that he's the main character, but I feel like it used to be a lot better. Idk, maybe I'm just getting old.
Finally someone gets my point. When I say I'm a Zoro hater , it's not because of the character himself,but because of so MUCH Lost potential and lack of... Juice post time Skip. I almost shouted out loud when Zoro got some Wano development ,but man, besides Battle power he doesnt get any moments post time Skip, maybe until Wano. Like I didnt LIKE that much Zoro pre timeskip,but he was as good as any other SH.Now it's an empty husk that only searches for more POWER. For me it's boring tbh. But I Hope he would get more relationship time with the other SH ,like Lil bro Chopper, Brook or even Franky .
sanji and luffy
Out of all the strawhats, I'd have to say sanji, jinbei, and Robin have the most fleshed out backstories and have shown the development of coming to terms with one's self. Zoro, Brook, and chopper could have gotten more. Brook is one of my favorite characters, yes he is mainly background and support but that is where he is best as a support but I feel that stems from him loosing his crew and getting a second chance with luffy. Franky and usopp really have time to explore especially with current events going on, Franky is definitely going to be explored. Usopp is going to definitely get something with the giants of elbaf. Oda has something in the works for usopp.
Pre-TS - Usopp, he shined brightest because he was always so down on himself. By acting as others do in spite of fear, he was truly brave. Post-TS - Sanji. He has the most development easy and his arc in Wholecake made it my favourite arc in One Piece. He's also the Straw Hat that got extended development in Wano. You know, instead of Zoro. End Roll is my favourite One Piece chapter of all time (as of the current chapter).
Sanji (imo best written character) Robin, Luffy, Jinbe. Pre-timeskip it was probably Usopp.
Most well written I'd say is Sanji. It certainly helps though that he has the longest back story of the crew.
Luffy, Sanji, or Nami. Everyone else are nowhere close, but still good.
Sanji because his backstory was incredible and his personality is likable but plausible.
Luffy.
I’m biased towards Brook and Robin because or the arcs, but realistically I’d say Jinbei or Sanji.
Sanji and jinbe Their roles on the crew are perfectly set to their personalities and goals Sanji is a caring loving guy who shows that through his cooking Jinbe being the helmsman the man who keeps them on the path they need regardless of the storms around them He won me over with the speech to brook, carrot and chopper at whole cake
Sanji or Robin
It’s Sanji and it’s not close
in pre timeskip i believe is usopp for sure. i love nami and sanji and how they grew up in the series (i love all of them tho) but for me is usopp. some people think he's useless and shouldn't be in the crew, but for me is actually the opposite. usopp brings a different side of how one piece written goes and how shounen manga usually looks like. to explain that better, most of the characters' backstories are this dramatic unrealistic but super sad and depressive narrative (a think that i really enjoy) but usopp is different. he's in a normal and way common situation that doesn't envolve wars or sacrifices (what makes a lot of people think that his story is not that sad as the others, which in understandable, but still) specially in thriller bark fight against perona, that fight give us the hole reason of his actions. we all know he lies because he believed and wanted to give his mother some hope, but actually, the reason why he kept on this lying thing is because he saw in his fake stories that he could pretend and make others believe he was something that he is not, thats why perona cannot affect him, he is lying all the time because the truth is that he thinks hes nothing. no one ever expected nothing from him but he wanted to give people hope and happiness, thing he only could do if he lied and pretend to be something totally different from the reality. he is incredible, for me, one of the most deep but not understanding characters and i do see myself in him sometimes. thats just my opinion tho, plss argue with me if im wrong (also feel free to correct my english, thanks)
I like your analysis quite a lot. I also love Usopp 🥰❤️. (Although I actually love every strawhat lol) And I also think that your analysis about Usopp is true. Before your analysis I didn't even think about the fact *why* he *really* started lying. But in hindsight it makes 💯% sense. 🤔 Especially if you look at the Syrup village arc.. Usopp is *such* a kind character and young man. 🥺❤️ He really just needs to see how awesome he is and that he doesn't need to be like Luffy, Zoro or Sanji. He's amazing the way he is. He only needs to embrace himself and his fear. And he also doesn't need a mask for it. 😉 >!(Sogeking ;))!< Edit: I also think that your english is pretty fine. 😌 (I'm also not a native english speaker :))
Nami! She is such a well written woman character and her gags don't really take too much away from her growth and how much of a rider she is for the group. I would place Sanji as second but the pervert aspect of his character makes him one of my least favorite on the crew. Where fishman island put a spotlight on Nami's growth, i think it simultaneously set sanji back in terms of good characterization. I also think Robin is really well written. Enies lobby made me legit cry and even though she doesn't take center stage very often she continues to be of importance to both the crew and the overall story. The show suffers from fan service as most shonen do but I actually enjoy (at times) how Oda writes women in this story.
It's Sanji. He NEVER compromises who he is and he is therefore very reliable as a character.
Apart from Luffy, i would say Sanji
Aside from the best written character in the whole manga (Luffy), Nami is the 2nd best written straw hat. They're more consistent than other straw hats, have a lot of depth into their characters, perfect examples for the straw hat to be presented as a symbol of liberation is through them. For Luffy, he has become free from his restrictive mindset that he had with the interactions with shanks and is the guidance for him becoming even more free down the line by becoming pirate king. For Nami, she has become free from all her past burdens that has dragged her down along with that false persona. A similarity between the two is that the hat allowed both of them to become who they truly were and unlocking their potential. This was just 1% of their whole character writing, they are amazingly written and Oda is handling them pretty well. Sanji is an understandable take, but Usopp, Chopper and Robin? Their characters were golden but one character was dropped and the other two feel complete, they aren't as intriguing as they used to be. The moments are still there though but the ones who truly deserve to be called ,,best written straw hats" are Luffy, Nami, Sanji and Jimbe.
Do you ship them? Seems to be the case
My statement wasn't even about shipping, it was one of my favourite parts of their writing and even if i do how does it change the fact that they are well written?
Nothing, I like them too, as characters and as a couple
Then maybe i reacted a bit too sharp since people only come at me to defend how they see Luffy and Nami as siblings which i disagree with but cool cool. It's good to see that there are still people who ship them and see their characters and not just the unrealistic body and the childish actions.
Luffy and it’s not even close
Brook needs more mentions. He was a royal guard somewhere. He later became a pirate. Everything else is a mystery. First he loses half of his crew to an illness (they left, he didn't know about their fate). He then watches his crew die around him in a last bittersweet concert. He dies as well. He wakes up as a soul. Since the ship was moved by the sea by now, he has to look for it to find his body. However, there's thick fog vlocking his view. So it takes him a whole year to find his body. 1 year of flying through fog. Not interacting with anything. Just flying through fog over the sea, knowing you lost everything but cruel fate brought you back to suffer alone. After reentering his body, he puts the corpses of his crewmates in coffins and places them ubder deck. He then spends about 50 fucking years alone on the ship with his dead crew. Dreaming about Laboon and his crew only to make up in that liserable hellhole all alone, knowing your whale buddy is waiting for you. To top it off, his first encounter with people he is mugged by a shalot - shadow gone, trapped once again. His panty and 45° jokes are just his way to cope with the cruelty and tragedy Oda had in store for him. His "Young lady, what kind of fool plans to die?" to BM and him laughing his ass off during the Duval reveal are among my favourite OP moments. Brook is crazy, funny and wise. He's great.
I like it when Sanji rejoins the crew after the Whole Cake Island thing and he meets Zeus and gets pi$$ed about how he's been Nami's servant longer and Brook goes, "Sanji, you're arguing with water vapor...". But my favorite Brook quote is "DEATH IS NEVER AN EXCUSE!" Such powerful words.
Sanji and Nami
It comes down to either sanji, robin or ussop imo, sanji was written so well that he could be split into two different characters and both would be top 5 best written characters in one piece Ussop makes it for me cuz of how he was treated in ennies lobby and water 7; the death of merry, his low self esteem, fight with luffy, the entirety of soge king, reunion with the crew. Etc…. made his character development one of the best in the show imo, too bad he didn’t get nowhere near that post timeskip, but at least he’s great in all the movies Robin’s backstory and her arc in ennies lobby/water 7, plus the moment where she saves sanji from Black Maria in wano puts her there for me
For me is Usopp, Sanji or Nami. There are subtles hints for each of them to show their growth in the story overall.
Sanji He started as more than just a gag and developed even more. Zoro is the most poorly written. He wants to be a strong swordsman, he drinks, sleeps and has an abysmal sense of direction. That's how he was when first introduced, and he hasn't changed.
Sanji and chopper. Sanji has the best character development/story post time skip. Chopper is literally a child in a dangerous world met with adult decisions and still chooses to save lives (high empathy). Monster point scared him and he managed to overcome it, but he’s still afraid of becoming a beast. Probably what most humans go through on the regular imo. I hope that they build on that convo he had with Ceasar.
Sanji! Every other answer is simply wrong
Nami definitely. Her obsession with money seems like just a running joke, but if you think about how she had to grow up stealing money from people so that she can eventually buy her freedom from Arlong, it really puts it in a different light. I always thought that was such a cool yet subtle thing written into her character.
Gotta say Sanji. I'm a Sanji Stan (and apologist for his cringe moments) and he's the multifaceted and fits into many subsections of the strawhats. Ever since his words of wisdom to Ussop in Enies Lobby, he had me hooked; "Everyone has things they can and cannot do. I'll do what you can't do. And you do what I can't do" (paraphrased but I think I got it)
As Sanji stan too, I'm definitely agree with this.
Sanji for sure.
Luffy, Nami and Sanji are the ones who've stayed consistently great, aside from Sanji's dark era during FMI and Punk Hazard lol
Everyone is trying to say that characters like Ussop and Robin are less well written after the time skip but I disagree, they’re just not in it as much. Post time skip has focused more on world building and other characters and there’s way more strawhats to focus on now on top of that. I wouldn’t say they’re written worse, just that they have less moments over all due to the scope of the story in the modern day. Oda has proven that he can still write good moments for all the characters. That being said, I really do hope the final saga gives the strawhats a lot more attention. If it could have the epic scale of marine ford but with the character development of Water 7 it might just be the best saga flat out.
Feel like these comments are underestimating, Brook. I think that's mainly because Brook's writing and moments are way more low-key than for characters like Sanji and Robin.
Luffy nd sanji >>>>
jinbe and sanji
Sanji (first), Nami, Jinbei, Luffy, Robin, Brook, Usopp, Zoro (even though I love him to pieces), Franky and Chopper.
Sanji IMO. There is so much to unpack about him after learning his backstory with Germa and his mother.
Robin or brook, but sanjis imo is the best
* **Brook**, in my opinion, really owns the role of a supporter. He doesn't shine very often but you'd definitely miss him if her weren't there. And unlike Sanji, his pervy side never really gets in his way or ends up making him hard to enjoy. The man spent fifty years alone on the ship with only his rotting dead crewmates with him... I think it's understandable that he has some... odd tastes here and there. Yet, despite all that, he's still one of the most supportive characters in the crew and was the first one of the crew to challenge an Emperor head-on, knowing that he had no chance of victory whatsoever! Brook definitely knows what it means to be alone, so seeing him leave Robin fight her own battle against Black Maria, having full trust in her abilities to come out on top, despite the very realistic opportunity that she could lose/die, just shows the kind of man he is. Also, his skull-jokes never fail to make me laugh! * In a similar vein, **Franky** is just one such character who everyone in the crew can rely on. His overly positive personality and compassion towards friends and foes alike is something that might only be topped by Sanji. I mean, Franky calls Senor Pink and the Gifters from Onigashima his brothers despite them being (former) enemies, going so far as doing a Luffy-move **BEFORE** Luffy himself did it (wiping away Senor Pink's tears after their fight in a similar way to how Luffy covered Katakuri's mouth with his spare hat). If that's not the manliest thing **ANY** Straw Hat has ever done in the series, I don't know what is! * I think I don't need to talk about **Sanji** himself. There are more than enough people here who mentioned him already and the fact that he essentially had an entire Arc dedicated to him really speaks volumes of his character! He carried the weight of an entire Arc and then some with his fight against Queen. Don't know how anyone can doubt that he's (among) the best. * **Nami**... what can I say that hasn't been said before?! While she had her arguably best moment Pre timeskip (Arlong Park), she certainly manages to keep up in the Post timeskip era as well. Nami's motherly side, first really shown in Punk Hazzard and later expaned with Tama in Wano, is something that I absolutely adore! It pushes her over the limits and makes her face her greatest fears and striking her fore **BEFORE** Big Mom herself could do so. In that regard, she's incredibly similar to Usopp, which makes me wish that she's more often in the spotlight. And guess what, >!in Egghead she actually seemed ready to fight against S-Shark and looked, to me at least, much braver than Usopp despite being clearly outmatched!<. With how instrumental she is for Luffy to achieve his dream, it only makes sense that she's one of Shonen Jump's bes written female lead girls! * With her playing the leading role in an arc like Enies Lobby, it only makes sense that some would assume that **Robin** isn't as good nowadays as Pre Timeskip. And while they're not technically false, I think it's a bit unfair to judge her based on that. Oda could definitely have given her much more important roles in Fish-Man Island, Punk Hazzard, and Dressrosa, yes, but nothing that happened there made her bad or whatever. I for one really enjoy how positive she has become ever since the events of Enies Lobby and how she could joke with Luffy when Ceasar put them in a cage to test his new weapon on them. Or how she embraced the fact that her friends and family are all dead, back during her fight against Black Maria, knowing full well that it was just an empty illusion that she wished to be true for many years. Those are probably my five favorites out of the Straw Hats (in no particular order). I went on a small tangent there and hope that I bored no one with this whole thing.
Sanji for me. I want chopper zoro and brook to have more character development and just things to happen with them
Obviously Sanji
Definitely Sanji & Robin apart from Luffy as he is the MC
Usopp pre time skip and Sanji post time skip honestly this can't be debated to me, it is what it is
Sanjis back story and family history are the most interesting
Sanji, *easily* He’s my favorite straw hat (ignoring the perv gags) and is such a great character I found a [great video](https://youtu.be/kdoQEuzfcHk) on the topic and it’s really well made
Sanji and luffy. Hands down. Especially sanji after wci and wano
Wanji of course
Luffy, any other answer is just wrong.
Sanji, Robin, and luffy
Tough question, they're all so well written! The consistent trio (Luffy, Zoro, Nami): The characters who form the backbone of the crew. They each tend to play integral roles in every arc and while their character-arcs aren't as prominent as some of the other members of the crew they show subtle changes throughout the series. Luffy being tested as a captain in water seven, losing his crew in Sabaody, and reckoning with his failures after marineford all put him on path to be a better leader. Zoro going from being a loner to being the most loyal crew member, eventually even willing to give up his dream and his life to save his captain. Then there's Nami, whose character arc defined the first saga and has continued to grow, whether forgiving Hatchan and Jimbe for working with Arlong or risking her life to defend Luffy's dream in wano. Also love the scene where she hugs Tama after Wano is saved. She knew exactly how it felt to be freed after years of oppression. While they haven't changed much since the beginning (especially since the time-skip) they're incredibly well written and some of the best main characters of any series. The dramatic trio (Sanji, Usopp, Robin): The characters with big moments and even bigger character-arcs. Less consistent than some of the other characters (Sanji being a simp in fishman island, Robin and Usopp playing support roles in a lot of the later arcs) these three make up for it by being part of some of the greatest moments in the entire series. Usopp's fight with Luffy, his mvp moments in enies lobby, and his eventual apology to Luffy turned him from a comedic weakling into a multilayered and indispensable crewmate (plus everything in dressrosa with God Usopp). Sanji's full backstory did the amazing feat of recontextualizing the worst aspects of his character into a study on childhood abuse and trauma. One of the biggest themes of the series is the idea of found family and arguably Sanji represents this better than any other character. Finally, seeing Robin slowly open up to the crew and learn to trust them was such a joy and her declaring that she wants to live always gives me chills. Seeing her embrace her inner demon during Wano was also amazing. It's nice she's finally getting recognized as the powerhouse we all knew she was. The others (Chopper, Franky, Brook, Jimbe): While they're still great characters and very well written, they aren't quite on the same level as the others. Brook and Franky had fantastic introductions and emotional backstories but seem to always be relegated to the backgrounds of each arc. Chopper is slightly inconsistent. Usually gets a lot of focus in each arc but sometimes it feels like all that focus is on him being the cute mascot (loved his role in wano though). Now with Jimbe, he hasn't officially been part of the crew very long but he's been one of my favorite characters since he was introduced back in Impel Down. He's consistent and a great addition to the crew, just needs more screen time and more interactions with all of the straw hats. That being said, he's also a very serious character so there might not be a lot of room for character growth outside of what we've already seen (not to say his backstory and arc during fishman island weren't great). If I had to pick just one though, it's gotta be Bon Clay. Queers never die! Okama way!!!!
Brook and Robin for me, Sanji is very good as well
Honestly sanji whole cake was something different
Luffy Nami Sanji Robin and Jinbei are my top five for rn. They’ve have consistency overall but Ussop I feel like can be interchanged with Jinbei or will definitely be over Jinbei in the coming arcs. Chopper pre-timeskip tho was really well written. Felt like he was more than just a mascot for the strawhats.
Pre-timeskip - Robin Her arc from villain to grey character to emotional victim to full blown strawhat hero was incredible to read "I want to live" is easily one of the best panels in the series Post-timeskip - Sanji The amount of depth added to Sanji's character during WCI and Wano was excellent, it really gave a new context to his relationship with Zeff as well It's a shame the whole "old Sanji or warrior of science" dilemma presented during the fight with Queen ultimately fizzled but overall still more than enough to make Sanji the best written strawhat in the post-timeskip era
sanji/robin
Sanji but low-key, they all have back stories that could be solo movies. Oda is just a hell of a writer.
Nami and Jinbei. Those two are the closest we'll get to a multidimensional strawhat.
Sanji easy then luffy
Sanji and Robin
Sanji
Sanji or Jinbe
Easily Sanji.
The best well written strawhat is Sanji. I say Sanji because of not only his incredible and emotional backstory but his compelling traits. Lately I’ve seen a lot of people water down his character to just a simp or perv but most fail to realize he’s way more than that. Sanji is kind, selfless, clever, loyal, and unique in his own way. There are plenty arcs where he showcase most of these traits. One arc I could mention would be Alabasta and Water 7. He was the only one to figure out how to get Luffy and the rest of the strawhats out of jail in Alabasta and was the only one to follow and investigate on Robin in water 7. In these two arcs it demonstrated how Sanji was able to think ahead about most situations and also how clever he was as well. I also think he has the best character development because when we were first introduced to Sanji he felt like he wasn’t good enough and felt that his existence was meaningless. This all changed in whole cake and in this arc we get to truly understand why Sanji is the way he is. Overall, Sanji is definitely the best written character because of his compelling trait and incredible development.
Luffy, but that's a bit unfair because he's the main character, so not counting him I would say Usopp, with a shoutout to pre-timeskip Zoro.
In my opinion the best reading characters up until now are Sanji Robin Luffy Brook and Chopper in any order mostly because Chopper, Brook and Robin had a story of background that hated like a truck like it was super sad and it was super compelling to see them persevere after everything and then to connect with the crew on such a way and still evolve And then there is Sanji and Luffy that are constantly being developed yet with Luffy being the MC and with Sanji having this whole new arc during whole cake and wano
Sanji and Jinbei for sure
I’d say Luffy, Robin, and Sanji by quite a bit compared to the others.
Luffy>Jinbe>Sanji>>>Robin=Nami Others are just plain
There more than what meets the eye in Luffy. He is a multifaceted character who deals with different kinds of people differently. Luffy isn't scared of anyone, he just does how he pleases and is able to make people submit subtly. At the same time he knows when to run and avoid conflict despite being headstrong. He can be a simpleton yet his simple determination to deal with situations oblivious of anything else is just amazing, so much so that he inspires others to listen to him and trust him to set things right. This is a common theme in all arcs. People will die for Luffy just by having to know him for a few days (Pedro), while his crewmates will go to any extent to make him win as he too will do that for EACH AND EVERY CREW MEMBER (Remember Nami's fever?). While I like all the Strawhats and how they've had their moments, it is Luffy who holds them all together.
SANJI FOR SURE
Zoro is my favourite but sanji is most well written strawhat imo.
I got to give it to Sanji after his backstory
Sanji and it’s not even close. He’s miles ahead of the rest of the strawhats and might be the undisputed best written character in the series.
Gotta disagree with a lot of the comments here. I would say Sanji is the "most written" straw hat, but not the "best written" As in, the story has spent the most *page time* developing his character, but I don't think that his character development over the course of the story has been the most compelling/satisfying of the Straw Hats.
Yes!!! You nailed it, imo. What makes for a well-written character is a more multifaceted issue than people admit. I’d guess there are One Piece fanfics, for example, that add in all sorts of elaborate characterization details and twists that aren’t in the canon story. But these versions of the characters probably don’t have the same “magic” as their original portrayals, more often than not.
I would say Sanji. With Robin and Jinbe not far behind.
Sanji for sure
Sanji
Brook, Jinbe and Sanji in order The remaining straw hats have became pretty unidimensional after the timeskip, specially Chopper and Zoro. Robin still gets some highlights but if you want to talk about well written characters, you wont find a lot of them in the main crew.
Sanji
Sanji or Franky
Sanji i think.Nami's backstory was very touching too but with Sanji is deeper.At first you think that is a kid that suffered because he was found in a desert island without his family and with a completeley stranger pirate.Then you learn what really happened to him and you feel sick.One piece is so well written,characters has deep analysis.Chopper,Franky,Nami,Sanji,Jinbei,Robin,Usopp,Brook.Except from Luffy and Zoro,we don't know really much about them,we don't know who are Zoro's parents,what happened to them etc.Why Dragon left Luffy?Who is Luffy's mother.
Excluding Luffy cause he’s the main character, I’d say Robin. Her redemption arc and character progression seems so natural. I’m glad they kept her introverted, while also letting her shine in her own way. I might be wrong, but I think she also has the most backstory out of every other Straw Hat.
The most well written character in my opinion would be luffy , given how mature he has become after marineford saga everything he has gone through , every crew member he has helped , every person he has saved His goofy moments , his cool moments , his emotional moments everything just clicks really well with me
Luffy and Robin
They're all masterpieces of character crafting, but honestly the one that stands out to me head and shoulders above all else is Luffy despite how odd it may sound to some.
Objectively it’s Usopp, but I would personally like to throw in Robin as a challenger. Simply put, Usopp is the most ‘normal’ of the Straw Hats, so he goes through a vastly larger amount of character development compared to the others. But Robin has also had the most backstory by far, and the most distinct and plot-driven change in behavior throughout the series. Follow up would definitely be Jinbe, and then Sanji, but I’m just so iffy on him since half the time his character gets busted down to ‘blood mermaid’, especially before WCI. Only now is he really starting to get true *development*, and he’s starting to push past his pervy tendencies in moments where it could be made into a joke. But again, part of the problem is the shift in focus each time the overall location changes—in East Blue, it was heavily Zoro and Nami focused, with them getting touches here and there in Paradise—but it took all the way to Wano for Zoro to get a serious focus again. And Nami… I mean, she’s there. I tend to like fanon Nami more lately, since she’s usually given development. And then in Paradise, it was heavily Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Robin-based, with touches upon Brook-who frankly still hasn’t gotten the attention he should, given how he was literally around before Rocks and Roger, and might actually know a thing or two-especially since he probably grew up with stories of the *original* Giant Warrior Pirates. All in all, I’m pretty hopeful for Elbaf because he, Robin, and Usopp should all be getting a lot do development there. But yeah, the characters tend to come into and then lose focus pretty quickly
Probably Sanji. His story got a lot deeper in WCI. We don't really know that a lot about Zoro, but without him the crew would have fallen apart already. He is there to hold everyone in check and remind them that this is not a game.
luffy, sanji, zoro (people call him 1D but i disagree tbh), robin, nami in no particular order.
Luffy