One of the most trusted right hands of any in One Piece, Tashigi is the critical support for Smoker through most of the series. There’s a lot more to her than just a sidekick though, and she’s a relatively detailed character despite her somewhat less screentime as of late. That said, she’s made some comebacks in the recent Egghead Island arc, so there’s no better time to get into who Tashigi is.
Warning that this article contains spoilers for One Piece through chapter 1095. Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before reading further!
Who is Tashigi?
First introduced to the series as a Vice-Captain, Tashigi is the right hand of now – Vice Admiral ‘White Chase’ Smoker. She’s fiercely loyal, and dedicated to bringing justice to those who seek to hurt others. Tashigi also has a major sense of right and wrong, being one of the first to realize that Straw Hats may not be all bad. It’s one of her defining traits to help those in trouble, no matter who they may be, and she even proves to be a beloved leader to her company when she’s later promoted.
Tashigi at most points serves as a foil to Zoro, as she’s the spitting image of his childhood friend Kuina. They both seek to become master swordsmen, but Tashigi’s end goal differs from Zoro’s by a lot. She doesn’t care about being a master swordsman, but collecting all the graded swords so that they can’t be used by evil people.
Sword Hunter
To that end, she makes a vow to hunt down every named and graded sword. Her mission gets off to a bad start already though, considering Zoro ends up with two of them in Loguetown. Lucky for her one breaks around the time of Enies Lobby, but she’s going to be really mad when she finds out Zoro has Enma now, one of the greatest legendary swords ever forged.
Her mission is going to be so much more difficult than when she undertook it at Loguetown. Now that both the Marines and Straw Hats are approaching the final stretch, strong swords are easily found, but not easily separated from their owners. Even Zoro barely gives up on Shusui, and only finally makes a concession when he’s offered Enma in return.
Punk Hazard Incident
Tashigi takes control big time during the Punk Hazard incident, even when she is switched with her Vice-Admiral, Smoker. She does have some issues with how he behaves while in control of her body, which is anything but ladylike much to her dismay. It’s only when they find the children hidden away in the Biscuit room that things change, and Tashigi really starts to come into her own as a leader.
Her care for the children is incredible, even with the situation they’re faced with. Even when they turn against the Marines trying to help them, Tashigi makes sure none finds harm. Despite everything working against them, they manage to get the kids out and free. All thanks to help from the Straw Hats and Trafalgar D Law.
Tashigi of SWORD
While she’s a devoted member of the Marines, Tashigi is one of the few who’s loyal to the true mission they hold. She wants to uphold justice and do what’s right, even if it means going against the orders of higher-ups. This starts when she sees the attempted coup in Arabasta by Crocodile. Here Tashigi sees that the Straw Hat Pirates are the true protectors of the peaceful people. Her confidence is shaken here. She sees firsthand how far the Marines are willing to go to look like the good guys. That’s even if it was their fault Croc was loose.
Unfortunately, she sees the same situation in Punk Hazard, but on an even worse scale. The kids have been experimented on, and a Navy Vice Admiral was one of the terrible humans behind it. Now she has to see the truth covered up again despite barely escaping with her life. Not for nothing, it leads her to join the covert unit SWORD for the Marines. Tashigi is last seen helping the entire SWORD unit to free Koby and the other captives on Fullalead, though it’s unclear where Smoker is.
Ghost of Kuina
By far the most striking thing about Tashigi is her resemblance to Zoro’s dead friend Kuina. She was his best friend during childhood. They made a vow to each other, swearing to compete to become World’s Greatest Swordsman. Unfortunately, Kuina was defeated the next day by a staircase that proved too strong for her. Now their vow was left for Zoro to continue alone.
There are some theories that Tashigi is actually Kuina. Some scenarios insist that she never really dies, but is instead sent away by her father out of shame. Others think she may just have total amnesia. It is likely considering she doesn’t recognize the bright green hair on Zoro. This plot thread seems to have been dropped more recently unfortunately. Hopefully with the final saga roaring into action, things will become clear soon.
What’s Next for Tashigi?
After helping the others save Koby, it’s unclear where Tashigi is going. Likely she’ll be regrouping with her fellow SWORD members at the G-5 base. They’ll have a time figuring out what to do about Garp’s situation. There’s no way she won’t end up after the Straw Hats in the next arc or so. Now especially since the Egghead Island Incident involves the greatest military force since Marineford. Tashigi is sure to be on the way as soon as she links back up with Smoker. That is, assuming the children from Punk Hazard are taken care of.
Now the question becomes where will Tashigi’s loyalty lie in the next few arcs. No way she would help the World Government after seeing everything that the Celestial Dragons do on Marijoa, but she may not have just yet. Either way, the news of Jay Garcia Saturn on Egghead will very likely change the minds of her and Smoker. Tashigi will continue to fight for justice throughout the Grand Line and beyond in One Piece, whether it be with the Marines or not.
