Summary
- The deaths of key figures in One Piece have a significant impact on the story's world-building and character development.
- The important deaths of Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger worsened the relationship between Fish-Men and humans in the story.
- Ace's sacrifice inspired Luffy to become a stronger pirate, while Whitebeard's dying speech revealed the existence of the One Piece treasure.
One of the best things about Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is its deep and constant world building, since this ambitious story has featured multiple important historical events that have changed the entire world (and its characters) forever. And, of course, the deaths of some of its key figures have greatly contributed to that factor.
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While this series is infamous for having many unnecessary deaths, it’s important to keep in mind that many others have made an incredible impact on its history. The deaths of many relevant One Piece characters have been quite impactful, with the following being the most significant examples so far.
8 Jaygarcia Saturn
Left A Huge Power Vacuum That Was Immediately Filled
- Chapter 1125 (Manga)
The Five Elders were introduced relatively early on in the story to establish who was controlling the World Government from the top, although it would later be revealed that they were all serving under a mysterious entity known as Imu. After years of just sitting around in their office, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, was the first one to have a major active role in the story, when he appeared in the Egghead Arc.
While Saturn managed to kill Doctor Vegapunk, he and his fellow Elders failed to stop his final world-changing message from being released to the public. This angered his master, Imu, who didn’t hesitate to kill Saturn, much to the horror of all the marine soldiers who were watching. This not only showed the marines and the other Elders that they are all expendable and they should be fearful of Imu’s power, but it also left a huge power vacuum in the World Government. Nevertheless, it was immediately filled in by Figarland Garling, who became the new Warrior God of Science and Defense.
7 Nefertari Cobra
Made Sabo Seem Like A Cold-Blooded Murderer
- Chapter 1054 (Manga), Episode 1081 (Anime)
At one point in the story, it is revealed that the King of Arabasta, Nefertari Cobra, was seemingly killed by Sabo during the Levely, who was now seen as a cold-blooded killer and gained the epitaph of “Flame Emperor.” However, Sabo himself later told Dragon and Ivankov that he was being framed, and that Imu and the Five Elders were the ones who killed Cobra.
In reality, Imu and the Five Elders tried to kill the King of Arabasta when he questioned them about the “Will of D” and his ancestor, Nefertari Lili. Of course, Sabo tried to rescue him, but Cobra told him to escape and to tell Luffy and Vivi about what happened. This shocking assassination, combined with Sabo’s unfair accusation, was calculated by the World Government to show people what happens when they know too much and ask too many questions. Of course, the ramifications of Cobra’s death still have not been truly felt in the story, but it was already quite impactful by itself.
6 Queen Otohime And Fisher Tiger
Worsened The Relationship Between Humans And Fish-Men
- Otohime: Chapter 626 (Manga), Episode 546 (Anime)
- Fisher Tiger: Chapter 623 (Manga), Episode 543 (Anime)
Unfortunately, Fish-Men and Merfolk have been unfairly discriminated against in the world of One Piece for countless years, and things got even worse when two of their most important historical figures were killed. Queen Otohime of the Ryugu Kingdom was a known political activist who was always fighting to improve her people’s relationship with humans (to the point that she even spared the life of a Celestial Dragon) until she was suddenly shot when she was gathering signatures for her cause. While Hody Jones was responsible for her murder, he blamed a random human pirate to fuel the hatred among his people.
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On the other hand, Fisher Tiger was the captain of the Sun Pirates and a former slave for the World Nobles. He was famous for freeing other slaves with his crew. Sadly, he was betrayed by a bunch of civilians when he was returning Koala to her hometown, and he succumbed to his injuries after he was shot by multiple marines. In his dying breath, Fisher Tiger claimed that he was never able to accept humans and said farewell to his loyal crew. The deaths of Otohime and Fisher Tiger made their people more reluctant to try and make peace with humans, but some of their friends and allies were inspired to keep fighting the good fight in their name.
5 Kouzuki Oden
Kick-Started A Complex Plan That Took Over 20 Years To Complete
- Chapter 972 (Manga), Episode 974 (Anime)
There’s no doubt that Kouzuki Oden was a great samurai, and his contributions to both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates were incredibly important. However, leaving Wano to set sail on an adventure was possibly the biggest mistake he made in his life since it allowed Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido to take over Oden’s home country, enslaving its inhabitants and destroying its environment in the process.
Of course, Oden and his loyal followers, the Nine Red Scabbards, tried to fight back, but they were eventually captured and sentenced to death by execution. Oden was not going to let that stop him and his legacy, so he sacrificed himself for his friends, lifting a plank of wood so they wouldn’t be affected by the boiling water he was standing in. While he inevitably succumbed to his injuries, his heroic actions motivated the Nine Red Scabbards to avenge him, even if some of them had to travel twenty years into the future to achieve this. On top of that, Oden's death also inspired many other people from Wano, like Yamato or Shimotsuki Yasuie, to keep fighting for their country, no matter what.
4 Doctor Vegapunk (Stella)
Changed The Entire World With His Dying Message
- Chapter 1108 (Manga)
Doctor Vegapunk was a brilliant scientist who had already changed the world while he lived, thanks to his many inventions. But when he began researching the Void Century, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn and Admiral Kizaru traveled to Egghead to quickly dispose of and silence him. After many trials and tribulations, they were successful when Borsalino stabbed his former friend through the chest with his light powers.
But there was a major problem: the moment Vegapunk’s heart stopped beating, a hidden Den Den Mushi transmitted a pre-recorded message to the entire world, in which the famous scientist revealed everything about the Void Century, the One Piece, the Will of D, and the fragmentation of their planet. Vegapunk was so smart that he anticipated his own murder, so he and two of his satellites (Shaka and Pythagoras) recorded that message a few days before the Egghead Incident and erased their memories, which allowed him to transmit his forbidden knowledge to the whole world, even after his death.
3 Portgas D. Ace
Inspired Monkey D. Luffy To Become A Better And Stronger Pirate
- Chapter 573 (Manga), Episode 482 (Anime)
The tragic sacrifice of Portgas D. Ace is arguably the most well-known death in all of One Piece. After all, entire story arcs revolved around his execution, not to mention that it caused a huge all-out war between pirates and marines. Monkey D. Luffy was eventually able to rescue his older brother, until Admiral Akainu tried to kill the Straw Hat Pirate. Ace put himself in the middle and took the attack to save his little brother’s life.
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Ace’s abrupt death had a huge impact on pretty much everybody who knew and loved him, like Whitebeard, Marco, and the other members of his crew, while also giving the World Government the upper hand in the Paramount War. But the person who was impacted the most was Luffy himself, who saw his brother dying in front of him and was left in a catatonic state due to the immense shock he felt. While, at first, he was understandingly heartbroken and almost quit his pirate journey because of this, he decided to keep going when he realized that he still had his entire crew by his side. At the end of the day, Ace’s death inspires Luffy to become a better pirate who can use his strength to protect his friends and never let anyone close to him die again.
2 Edward Newgate (Whitebeard)
Revealed To The World That The One Piece Is Real
- Chapter 576 (Manga), Episode 485 (Anime)
If killing Portgas D. Ace wasn’t already enough, his captain and father figure, the legendary Whitebeard, also perished during the Paramount War (although he was unfairly murdered by Blackbeard, not by the Marines). This would seemingly be enough for the World Government to claim victory, but his death was so epic and impactful that it changed the world in a way they did not see coming.
Whitebeard was a resilient fighter who could not be stopped by any means, so he died while standing on his feet, with multiple wounds on his body. On top of that, his final words were all about how the One Piece is real and that its inevitable discovery would result in a huge world-changing battle. Whitebeard’s dying speech shocked the whole world, seeing as it inspired a lot of people to become pirates and keep searching for the legendary treasure.
1 Gol D. Roger
The Death Of The Pirate King Kick-Started The Entire Plot Of The Series
- Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)
But, of course, Whitebeard’s death only reassured people that the One Piece was real, since there was another prominent historical figure who revealed its existence to the world many years before that: Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, who told the world that his legendary treasure, the One Piece, was hidden somewhere in the world, right before he was executed by the World Government.
The impact of Roger’s death can’t and shouldn’t be understated because it single-handedly kick-started the new Golden Age of Piracy and inspired many prominent future pirates to begin their journey, like Shanks, Buggy the Clown, Donquixote Doflamingo, Sir Crocodile, and Monkey D. Luffy himself. One Piece is one of those works of fiction that begins the moment a relevant character passes away, so it would be fair to say that this legendary story would not exist if it weren’t for Gol D. Roger’s epic death.
- 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
- 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
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
