Every single work of fiction has plot armor. Those moments where characters should be dead, defeated, and have no way out, but they manage to live another day. Plot armor can keep characters alive just so the story can continue, and it has done so in One Piece. While sometimes plot armor is justified and can even make sense in the story, other times it is just silly.
Sometimes characters are just covered in it. This means they are surviving things that they really shouldn’t be, all for the sake of the story. Whether the audience loves them or hates them, here are some characters in One Piece adorned with plot armor!
7. Brook
Death is the one thing that can raise the stakes in a story. While the threat of dying and taking on pain is the thing that keeps fights tense, Brook takes all that away. Due to his Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive) Devil Fruit, he was able to return to life as a soul after dying. Although his body was a skeleton by the time he found it again.
Being technically undead allows Brook to take on more dangerous threats than his living pirate friends. Plus, he can reattach his body when it is destroyed and even has some power over his own soul and the souls of others. There isn’t much that can defeat Brook, which has helped to keep him alive.
6. Captain Smoker and Tashigi
While Captain Smoker and his bodyguard Tashigi were introduced as wanting to capture the Straw Hats, they’ve become allies of their former foes more than once. They’ve teamed up with the Straw Hats against Crocodile, Caesar, Bullet, and Doflamingo. However, despite the help that they provide the heroes, it’s evident that they are simply guardian angels who are meant to make sure the heroes survive.
While that doesn’t diminish their fighting abilities or their unique relationship, it does make them a bit less effective as characters. Still, it is nice seeing anti-heroes among the Marines, because team-ups are always interesting.
5. Inazuma
Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma were two prisoners that Luffy met in Impel Down, with Ivankov being one of the people who knew Luffy’s father. The two helped Luffy escape Impel Down and also assisted him during the battle at Marineford. However, Inazuma’s role in the events was to mostly do what Ivankov told him to do.
He saved Luffy’s life twice and was instrumental in the rescue of Ace, but that was about all he did. He made sure that Luffy survived, giving Luffy even more plot armor. While his Snip-Snip Devil Fruit was cool and had some interesting uses, he just didn’t do much without direction. It would have been nice if he was able to be a main character with some more weight in the story.
4. Pell
Pell was said to be the strongest fighter in Arabasta, and he was a dedicated protector of Princess Vivi. However, despite his strength, he wasn’t able to do much against Nico Robin or Crocodile. During the final battle, he was with the group when they found a bomb strong enough to destroy Arabasta.
Unable to disarm the bomb in time, Pell used his Devil Fruit ability to turn into a falcon in order to carry the bomb away. Despite sacrificing himself, he managed to survive the point blank range explosion and (literally) walk it off. He walked back to the capital and that was all we know about him!
3. The Going Merry
Not only was this plot armor, but it was also a plot point during the Enies Lobby arc. The Going Merry was a ship that had taken far more punishment than it should have during the Straw Hats’ adventures. But eventually repairing the ship just wasn’t cutting it anymore, and the ship had to be replaced.
However, while attempting to repair the battered ship himself, Usopp saw a ghost repairing the ship overnight. Then, during the final battle at Enies Lobby, the Going Merry sailed itself to the rescue of the Straw Hats. The spirit of the Going Merry had repaired the ship in order to sail out one last time. But this isn’t a piece of plot armor that had fans mad, but rather in tears.
2. Dr. Kureha
Whenever Nami was struck ill with the Kestia virus, Luffy traveled to Drum Island to save her. Because the tick had been thought extinct, not only did the crew need a cure but a good doctor. However, Dr. Kureha was the only doctor on Drum Island at the time, but the best one at that. She had trained Chopper after the death of Dr. Hiriluk, and she has a massive amount of medical expertise.
Despite her connections with Chopper and his backstory, she was still just there to make sure that Nami didn’t die and to provide a medical cure. Outside of her appearance to do just that, she hasn’t made too many other appearances in the series.
1. Monkey D. Luffy
The main character of any anime needs to have some plot armor. Because let’s be real here, even the best defenders of Luffy and his abilities must admit that he has gotten out of some scrapes due to being the main character. He’s faced off against powerful enemies, overcome tremendous odds, and overcome incredible difficulties. While some of his wins come legitimately, other times he gets a power-up because he can’t lose.
Luffy does have some plot armor to him, though how much he has depends on the arc. For example, with all the powerful people at the Battle of Marineford… If Luffy wasn’t the protagonist, would he have lived?
Love It Or Hate It, Plot Armor Stays!
You may think Plot Armor is a good way to keep the story going or a terrible device that should die with its wearers. But at the end of the day, it is here and it is going to keep characters alive.
Still, try to look past the plot armor, even with the characters that are solely plot armor. After all, you can still try to keep enjoying the story!
