This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
Summary
- Zoro is not the second main character in One Piece like many fans believe.
- One Piece has different deuteragonists based on each arc, not one consistent character.
- In the Elbaf arc, the new secondary main character is Loki, not Zoro.
Fans know very well that the Straw Hat Pirates are central to the story of One Piece and that Luffy and his crew are the most important characters here. After all, fans have followed the journey of the Straw Hats for a long while now, and they will continue to do so in the coming years. Within the Straw Hat Pirates, it is only natural that Luffy is at the center of attention at all times. He is the captain of the crew and the protagonist of the story.
One Piece: Oda Confirms Luffy's Next Power-Up After Gear 5
Luffy will have a newer power up after Gear 5 as his enemies are only getting stronger in One Piece.
However, often, fans wonder about the second main character of the story, and many consider this to be Zoro. Sadly for these fans, Zoro being the second main character is nothing but a misconception and his role isn't more or less important than any other Straw Hat.
Why Some Fans Mistake Zoro To Be The Second Main Character
- Zoro Is The Number 2 Of Yonko Luffy
- Zoro Was The First Straw Hat to Join Luffy
Often, shonen stories have a main character and a side character who then takes the secondary role. This is the case with stories like Naruto, where Naruto Uzumaki is the protagonist, while Sasuke serves as the secondary main character, or a deuteragonist of the story. One Piece, however, is different.
Taking the head of a number 2 of a Yonko also suffices! — Lucci to Zoro
Given that so many fans from Naruto and other similar stories jump on One Piece, they naturally assume that Zoro is going to be the second main character of the story. After all, he's the Number 2 of Straw Hat Luffy, and the first pirate to join Luffy's crew. While this is true, it doesn't make him the deuteragonist of the story. In fact, Zoro's role is just as important as that of anyone else on the crew. Zoro does get more shine than some others, like Brook or Jinbe, but it still doesn't make his overarching role more important. In One Piece, Oda follows a different formula.
One Piece Has Different Deuteragonists, Based on Each Arc
One Piece Has Had Many Deuteragonists
When it comes to the second main character of One Piece, there exists none. This is because when it comes to the entire story, the only character who can be considered a main character is Luffy, and then his crew serve as secondary main characters as a collective. But, as far as individual main characters go, this changes based on every arc.
For instance, Zoro served as the deuteragonist of the Shell's Town arc, but in the Baratie arc, it was Snaji. In Arlong Park, Nami was the deuteragonist, while Robin took this role in Ennies Lobby. In the Paramount War Saga, Ace served as the second main character of the story, and so on and so forth.
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A presumed dead One Piece character, might be returning to the story soon as Oda hints at it in recent chapters.
This pattern continues in the post-timeskip as well. In the Dressrosa arc, for example, Trafalgar Law is the second main character of the story. In Whole Cake Island, Sanji is once again the deuteragonist of the story.
Even in the Final Saga, the Egghead Arc clearly made Bonnet the deuteragonist and had the fans follow her story as the secondary main character, second only to Luffy in importance.
Loki Is The Deuteragonist of The Latest Arc Elbaf
Right now, One Piece is in the Elbaf arc, and here, Oda has a new secondary main character. The deuteragonist of the Elbaf arc is going to be none other than Loki, and although many presumed him to be a villain, he's actually going to be a major ally and an extremely important character moving forward.
One Piece Chapter 1151 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on June 8. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1150 is June 8, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- 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
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
