This list contains spoilers up to the Whole Cake Island arc
Summary
- Nami turned against Luffy to pay off Arlong for her village - early betrayal with emotional repercussions.
- Usopp clashed with Luffy over the Going Merry, leading to a duel and Usopp leaving briefly.
- Zoro confronted Luffy on loyalty, demanding respect for Usopp before considering his return.
Considering how much time they've spent together along their journey to reach the One Piece treasure, the Straw Hats really do feel like one big family. Just like any family, though, these characters do still fall out every so often, which has even resulted in a few members turning against Luffy for their own set of personal reasons. While One Piece as a series is packed full of interesting characters, the Straw Hats are ultimately the heart and soul story, so seeing them butting heads, and sometimes, even getting into full-blown fights with one another, has made for some extremely emotional moments.
One Piece: Every Straw Hat Pirate's Former Crews
Many of Luffy's crewmates have been affiliated with different crews before joining the Straw Hats. Here's a look at each one.
One thing is for sure though, if somebody were to abandon the crew and go against the captain, they would need a very good reason to do so, considering how much Luffy has put on the line to protect and support his crew members. With that being said, these are all the Straw Hats who, at one point in the One Piece story, decided to turn on Luffy and go their own way.
5 Nami
Initially, Nami Had No Intention Of Sailing The Seas With Luffy
- Reason: To Steal Treasure And Pay Off Arlong
These days, Nami is one of Luffy's best friends and most loyal companions, but this certainly wasn't always the case. When Nami first joined Luffy's crew at the very beginning of the story, it was always pretty clear that she was hiding something, and this suspicion was confirmed when she decided to leave the crew stranded after stealing their ship. This wasn't just so Nami could become filthy rich, though that might have been part of the plan, as she was instead trying to pay off Arlong so that he could end his reign of terror over her village, but unfortunately for Nami, Arlong ended up going back on his word.
Thankfully, Luffy didn't seem to care all that much about the fact that Nami turned on him, as he was a lot more concerned about her safety, prompting him to land in Arlong Park to deal with the dangerous Fishman once and for all. Admittedly, this betrayal happened very early on in the One Piece story, so it is at least somewhat understandable why Nami decided to cut ties with Luffy when she did, but that's something she could never do in the current story, considering how close the two have become since then.
4 Usopp
A Clash Of Opinions Leads To A Heartbreaking Brawl
- Reason: Disagreeing With Luffy About The Fate Of The Going Merry
There are many reasons why the Water 7 story arc is considered such a standout by many fans, but a big one is that it's packed full of emotion. A prime example of this is when Usopp, who refuses to leave the old and battered Going Merry ship behind, ends up clashing with Luffy, who is more interested in finding a new ship that can carry the straw hats for the rest of their adventure. This fallout actually led to Usopp challenging Luffy to a duel, and though he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against the powerful captain, he still put up a pretty admirable fight nonetheless.
One Piece: Which Straw Hat Is Most Loyal To Luffy?
Out of the nine Straw Hats, who is most loyal to Monkey D. Luffy?
Usopp would then go on to take on the persona of Sogeking, where he hides his face while also acting as an ally to the Straw Hats without them even knowing. Thankfully, the lovable sniper was eventually brought back into the fold at the end of Enies Lobby, but this was still definitely a very nerve-racking moment, which led many fans to believe that Usopp was truly gone for good.
3 Zoro
Zoo Confronted Luffy And Questioned His Ideals
- Reason: Disagreeing With Luffy About Letting Usopp Back So Willingly
While Luffy is known for being a little reckless and hot-headed, most of the crew will still follow him as loyal crewmates, but one member who's not afraid to stand up to his antics is Zoro. During the Enies Lobby arc, after Usopp stormed out of the ship and decided to leave the crew, Luffy was ready to bring him back almost immediately, that is, until Zoro made his opinion known. The deadly swordsman reminded Luffy that he can't just play silly games if he wants to be called a captain, since he needs to demand authority and should only accept Usopp back if he apologizes.
Zoro even goes as far as to claim that he will be the next one to leave the crew if Luffy lets Usopp back without first demanding the respect that he deserves as the head of the crew. While the two didn't end up in a fight, at least not this time, it still stands as arguably the most heated moment between the duo, where Zoro refused to follow Luffy's orders, prompting the captain to grow and mature as a result.
2 Nico Robin
Robin Didn't Want her Infamous Reputation To Put The Crew In Danger
- Reason: Wanting To Protect The Crew From Being Targeted By The Government
Despite appearing like a kind, considerate, and generous member of the crew when she first joined, Luffy and the Straw Hats were reminded constantly by others that having Robin on their ship would only result in death and destruction. While this is implied numerous times, it wouldn't be until Water 7 that the actual reasoning for this claim starts to become clear, especially once Robin's tragic backstory of how she fled Ohara as a child after it was obliterated is shown to the audience.
One Piece: Who Are The Closest Friends Of The Straw Hat Crew?
Which characters are the strongest friends of the Straw Hat Pirates?
Realizing that the target on her back would eventually spread to the others, Robin decides to leave in order to prevent them from getting mixed up with the World Government and CP9. As the captain of the crew, Luffy always prefers his members to speak to him directly any time they run into an issue, but rather than asking for help, Robin decided to abandon him entirely. The good news is, this didn't end up breaking Luffy's trust in Robin as he and the other Straw Hats would go to extreme lengths to save her, encouraging her to admit that she really does want to continue living on after all.
1 Sanji
The Straw Hat Cook Let His Selfless Nature Get The Better Of Him
- Reason: To Stop The Straw Hats Getting Caught Up With Germa And Big Mom
There's a lot to love about Sanji, but the one character trait that is both a blessing and a curse for him is his selflessness. Sanji is always more than willing to put himself in danger so long as it keeps the rest of the crew safe, as was demonstrated when he was forced into a marriage on Whole Cake Island by his father, Judge. Not wanting to get Luffy and the others caught in the crossfire, Sanji pretended that he no longer wanted anything to do with being a pirate, and even though Luffy wasn't buying any of it, the Straw Hat chef even pummeled him with a few hard-hitting kicks to try and send him away.
Beneath the surface, though, Sanji just wanted to continue sailing with the rest of his nakama, but he also quickly realized that getting out of the arrangement made between Germa and Big Mom was looking more or less impossible. Luffy did eventually succeed in snapping Sanji out of his dilemma to convince him to come back to the Sunny, but it was only after Sanji did everything he could to try and drive the captain away in order to prevent him from putting himself and his dreams of becoming Pirate King in danger.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Writers
- Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 21
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Producers
- Yoshihiro Suzuki
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
