Summary

Buggy the Clown surprises fans by rising from a comical character to a powerful figure in One Piece's lore.
Despite his weak nature, Buggy commands loyalty and power, even becoming a Warlord of the Sea and Emperor.
Teaming up with big names like Crocodile and Mihawk, Buggy sets his sights on the One Piece, aiming to move up in the hierarchy.

Buggy the Clown was introduced to the world of One Piece as a literal pirate clown. As a comical character and one of the first minor antagonists to be introduced in the series, few fans expected Buggy to be relevant to One Piece’s lore after so many chapters and episodes. Surprisingly, Buggy has continued to put himself in positions that command great authority.

Even among regular pirate captains, Buggy fails to have the necessary toughness expected of a pirate captain, and he is a former member of the Roger Pirates. Interestingly, all he has achieved has stemmed from his comical strategies of trying to run away and save himself; however, it seems fate and Eiichiro Oda have other plans as his comedic tactics always take him to higher heights rather than to the rank of a nameless pirate.

One Piece: What is Buggy's True Goal?

Buggy pretends to only be interested in money and power, but there seems to be more to his character than just that.

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By Isabella Sara Novack

The Birth Of Buggy’s Ambition

Why And How Did He Become A Pirate?

Young Shanks & Buggy As Roger's Apprentices In One Piece

As a child, Buggy was an apprentice on Gol D. Roger’s crew alongside Shanks. How and what drove him to become a member of Roger’s crew is unknown. However, Buggy has always been fascinated by physical pirate treasure (gold). While he did have the ambition to strive for the title of Pirate King, Buggy spent many years living as a lowlife small-time pirate, with his connection to Roger being the only form of recognition he had. During his time on Roger’s crew, Buggy and Shanks spent many years together, to the point where they could be considered close.

However, Buggy always saw Shanks in a competitive light and blamed him for making him (Buggy) consume the Bara Bara no Mi. After the Roger pirates disbanded, Buggy declined Shanks’ invitation to join his crew and went to start his own.

Because of his underwhelming abilities, Buggy never seriously competed with the big-name pirates in search of the One Piece and focused on obtaining treasure instead. Comically, his obsessiveness over treasure has been used to manipulate him several times, as seen with Shanks. Additionally, despite his innate cowardly and spineless nature, Buggy is willing to perform rash actions all for the sake of treasure, as seen with him following Luffy into the depths of Impel Down because he was promised a Captain John’s armband that Luffy wore, which supposedly contained a treasure map.

Buggy’s Rise To Power

Buggy’s Leadership Style And The Loyalty He Commands

Buggy’s rise to power is one of the most surprising and uncompelling truths in One Piece. From being a backwater pirate to becoming a Warlord of the Sea and eventually becoming an Emperor of the Sea, Buggy has been through various levels of power and authority in the series. However, the use of his devil fruit has seemingly not undergone any form of advancement compared to when he was first introduced.

After his encounter with Luffy during the Orange Town arc and the Loguetown arc, Buggy was captured by the Marines and sent to Impel Down. As fate would have it, Buggy was rescued by Luffy, and during their escapades, Buggy earned the loyalty of various Impel Down inmates, which he carried to Marineford. Because of the loyalty of the many dangerous Impel Down inmates, Buggy earned himself a spot as one of the warlords of the sea.

As a Warlord of the Sea, Buggy borrowed money from Sir Crocodile to start his business, Buggy Delivery. However, after the denunciation of the warlord system, Crocodile came for his money, and with Buggy being a clown in name and truth, he had none to offer, and Crocodile almost sold him to slavery.

At the hands of Crocodile and Mihawk, the founders of Cross Guild, Buggy’s outcome was uncertain. However, his subordinates went ahead to publish a poster portraying Buggy as the leader of Cross Guild, with Mihawk and Crocodile being depicted as his subordinates. By having the notorious Crocodile and Mihawk, the strongest swordsman in the world, who is said to be equal to Shanks, a current Emperor of the Sea. Buggy having those two as his subordinates makes him eligible to become an Emperor if only that was the truth.

Looking at Buggy's life, his greatest strength is undoubtedly his great luck. Even Luffy would not be guaranteed to survive the many ordeals Buggy has been through, given how weak Buggy is. However, Buggy's continually increasing notoriety is one of the running gags of the series, and it makes many wonder if Oda has any plans for him.

Featured Buggy Deserves More Credit One Piece

One Piece: Why Buggy Deserves More Credit

Buggy is often treated as a gag character, but does the "Genius Jester" deserve more credit than he actually gets?

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By Suzail Ahmad

The Formation Of Cross Guild

Teaming Up With Big Names Gives The Clown Some Leverage

As an Emperor of the Sea, Buggy is supposedly one of the strongest pirate captains in the series. However, fans know the truth about his weak and spineless nature. Despite all his recognition, Buggy would not hesitate to run away, leaving his trusted crew members behind if his life was endangered.

However, being an Emperor of the Sea and ‘teaming up’ with Crocodile and Mihawk has given the clown some leverage and bravery as he declares that they go after the One Piece as the Cross Guild possesses the manpower to do so. This shows that despite his weakness, Buggy has always coveted becoming the Pirate King, and now that he has an opportunity, he would like to take it. With the formation of Cross Guild, Buggy’s luck, his many Impel Down subordinates, and Crocodile and Mihawk, Cross Guild has become a powerful adversary for anyone they set their sights on.

Potential Strategy To Move Up In One Piece’s Hierarchy

How Can Buggy Contribute To One Piece’s Lore?

While Buggy remains weak, he possesses tremendous luck that takes him to higher heights regardless of what he does. Moreover, with his new ‘allies’ and position, many would have to think twice before they make a move on the clown-turned Kingpin. As Buggy now sets his eyes on the One Piece, Oda may have plans for him that fans can’t yet imagine. After all, despite remaining spineless, Buggy the Clown has moved from a 15,000,000 berry bounty to a whopping 3,189,000,000 bounty.

One Piece is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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