Summary
- Zoro's simple backstory in One Piece is perfect for his character and philosophy.
- Zoro's fight against fate, stemming from Kuina's death, makes him challenge destiny.
- Zoro's encounters with Enma and the Grim Reaper symbolize his mastery over fate.
Backstories in One Piece have always been one of the most important elements of the series. Ranging from heart-warming to heart-breakingly sad, these backstories tend to pull a lot of weight when explaining character motivations throughout the story. Now, with the Kuma backstory fast approaching in the anime, the saddest backstories are at the forefront of many fans’ minds.
While fans often go back to Sanji or Robin’s backstory as some of the best in the series, one backstory that doesn’t seem to get the same level of respect is Zoro’s backstory. Although a little simple, this One Piece backstory is absolutely perfect for his character and does a better job explaining the philosophies and way of life that Zoro follows than any other backstory. Although the backstory hasn’t been touched since the early days of the series, it still stands as the most underrated backstory in all of One Piece.
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Zoro Has The Most Simple Backstory In One Piece
Some Fans Believe That The Character Could Have Had More Depth
During Zoro’s backstory, as a young child and after the death of his parents, Zoro was looking to learn to become a powerful swordsman, like his father. Due to this, he went to train in Shimotsuki Village Dojo, where he met a young girl who also dreamed of becoming a powerful swordsman, Kuina. Here, although Zoro was a fairly talented swordsman, he was still bested in every battle by Kuina, who seemed to be a prodigy in the field. This eventually led to a confrontation between the two using real swords, which Zoro once again lost.
Someday, one of us will become the greatest swordsman ever! - Zoro to Kuina
From here, the two reveal that they both share the same dream of becoming the world’s strongest swordsman, though Kuina, believes the task is impossible since her father tells her that she is limited as a woman. Zoro tells his childhood friend, Kuina, that when it comes to being a swordsman, the only thing that matters is skill, and the two resolve to work as hard as possible to become the best swordsman. However, the next day, while polishing the real swords she had used the night before, Kuina trips and falls on a set of stairs, suffering a fatal injury.
Zoro's Backstory Is Heavily Important To His Modern Philosophy
One Fan Breaks Down How Relevant His Backstory Still Is
- Zoro's May Be Fighting Fate For Kuina
- Kuina Succumbed To Fate And Not A Strong Opponent
While many feel that this is a cheap way to end a fairly dramatic backstory, a user by the name of blueontheradio posted on Reddit how this may contribute to Zoro’s philosophy in the modern realm of One Piece. Overall, this Reddit user believes that Kuina dying in a random circumstance and not a powerful opponent has made Zoro view the concept of fate differently. Due to Kuina’s death, Zoro now believes that fate will be the one to take everyone’s life at the end of the day, and if someone dies, fate was what decreed they weren’t meant to survive.
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The One Piece fan continues by saying that although this concept of fate seems unstoppable, Zoro isn’t willing to submit to it. Instead, after Kuina's death, Zoro is constantly pushing his own limits and challenges fate frequently. Between the Nothing Happened moment on Thriller Bark and Zoro throwing the Sandai Kitetsu in the air, it seems that Zoro fights fate head-on instead of trying to run from it.
Zoro's Endless Fight Against Fate Makes Him Stronger
He Wouldn't Be Where He Is Today Without His Backstory
By the time Wano rolls around after Zoro receives Enma, the One Piece analyst explains that since the sword drains the wielder's life energy and represents death, by mastering, symbolically, Zoro has started to master his own fate. Additionally, Zoro’s encounter with the Grim Reaper also reinforces this concept of mastery over death. This all culminates in Zoro’s new title, “King of Hell,” something that shows that Zoro is a swordsman who challenges fate and wins.
I'll become, the King of Hell. - Zoro
In the end, this is an interesting new way to look at Zoro’s backstory in One Piece and does a better job tying it to his modern character than any other analysis before. The concept of Zoro challenging fate, because he saw a better swordsman than him lose to it, is a perfect idea for his character. Hopefully, the audience will have the chance to see Zoro have at least one last massive encounter with fate before the end of One Piece.
- 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
- 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
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
