For a manga about a silly goofy pirate crew, One Piece has a very large amount of trauma fit into the story. Many characters have incredibly tragic pasts, and some with even more tragic presents. Others may have overcome their terrible lives to become something better, but it still doesn’t negate the incredible suffering they’ve gone through. These characters have been through more than the others in One Piece, with incredibly tragic pasts that give them rich characters.
This article contains spoilers for One Piece through chapter 1099 of the manga. Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before continuing on to avoid spoilers!
12. Sabo
One of the three brothers that make up One Piece’s core story, Sabo has had a tragic history unlike Luffy’s. He was the child of an aristocratic family, but because he never wanted that kind of life, his family quickly adopted Stelly. He’s a real asshole of a kid, and drives Sabo further away from his parents. Lucky for Sabo though, he meets a found family in Ace and Luffy, becoming brothers through many tribulations. Sabo even eventually moves in with them at Dadan’s before tragedy strikes once more.
When Celestial Dragons come to visit the Goa Kingdom, Sabo is taken back by his family to make him look proper. Of course, he doesn’t want to go back, and instead flees with a small boat out to sea. It’s here he’s blown out of the water by a Celestial Dragon ship, now thought to be dead by those he loves. Fortunately for Sabo, he’s rescued by the Revolutionaries and raised by Dragon alongside Koala, learning their ways.
The bad part is he has amnesia, and doesn’t know about his brothers until reading about Ace’s death in the paper. All the memories come rushing back, and Sabo is tortured by the notion he couldn’t be there for Ace. Now he does his best to make up for it, defending Luffy to the death if he needs to.
11. King
Kaido’s right-hand King has quite a tragic life for someone so powerful. His tribe was killed off in front of him as a child, with him being the only survivor. If that’s not bad enough, the World Government takes him prisoner, and starts to experiment on him as the last Lunarian. They manage to make clones too, using these as the basis for the Seraphim program that replaces the Seven Warlords.
While King’s past is tragic, in the present he’s devoted himself to making Kaido the Pirate King. He hedges his bets on the wrong guy though, and ends up falling in battle against Zoro. Despite that, he’s still alive, and likely hasn’t been seen for the last time in One Piece.
10. Koala
A Revolutionary Army with a horrific past and personal stake in the fight. Koala has been through more than most before she’s even ten years old, taken by slavers as a child and sold to the Celestial Dragons. She’s made to fear for her life from everything, knowing that the slightest mistake in Mary Geoise will end up in a beating or worse for her. It’s so strongly conditioned into her that she still acts like a slave even after being freed by Fisher Tiger during his raid. Then it falls to the Fishman Pirates to deliver the young girl home across the sea.
During the voyage, Koala comes to appreciate the Fishmen that are taking her home. Though she doesn’t break from the conditioning easily, Fisher Tiger gives her the Sun Brand over the Celestial Dragon Claw, and in turn, brings her back to humanity. Koala isn’t done with the trauma though, because when Fisher Tiger delivers her home, her village has betrayed him to the Marines. This leads to her becoming a Revolutionary though, fighting against everything she went through so nobody else suffers.
9. Kyros
This man has gone through so much throughout the course of his brief time onscreen in the story of One Piece. First a gladiator in the arena with nothing to lose, Kyros was given his freedom after winning ten thousand battles, becoming a hero of the arena. After this, he was given a position by King Riku, and eventually falls in love with his daughter. They marry in secret, and have a daughter, Rebecca. Their happy family is shattered by the arrival of the Donquixote Family though, who kill Kyros’ wife and turn him into a toy soldier after he loses his leg.
Kyros doesn’t stop though, and continues to protect Rebecca even after becoming a soldier. She doesn’t even remember him, but nonetheless, he teaches her to fight. Now she can defend herself, and Kyros sets his sights on taking down the Donquixote Family alongside the Tontatta people. It works, and Kyros now finally has the happy ending with his family that he deserved for so long.
8. Donquixote Doflamingo/Rochinante
The brothers Donquixote have had some of the most tragic lives throughout the series, especially for Celestial Dragons. They were only children when their father gave up his position as a Celestial. Instead, he took his family to live among the citizens of the world after realizing how wrong they were. Unfortunately for the Donquixote Family, the people aren’t fond of the Celestial Dragons, and lynched the entire family while burning down their home.
Doflamingo and Rochinante survived, though separated. Doffy became a Warlord, forever chasing the Celestial Dragon status he involuntarily gave up. Meanwhile, Rochinante joins the Marines, becoming an adoptive son to Sengoku and a member of SWORD. Their paths of course cross again, but this time it ends in the death of Rochinante, who betrays his brother in order to save Law, his brother not by blood, but bonds.
7. Charlotte ‘Big Mom’ Linlin
Look, Big Mom is a totally evil woman, and there’s no doubt she’s one of the most vile villains that One Piece has. Still, there’s an understanding of how she got there from her backstory, because holy crap she went through a lot as a child. Big Mom was always bigger than the other children, and it was her insatiable appetite that led to her parents abandoning her at Mother Carmel’s orphanage.
It seems like this would be the end of her tragedy, but it only grows as her appetite does. Big Mom eventually is given a massive birthday dessert by Mother Carmel and the other orphans. Overcome by the taste, she quickly goes into a feeding frenzy and finishes off the entire thing. When she comes to, none of the other orphans or Mother Carmel are around, and Linlin is once more, all alone. She doesn’t know where they went, and if she does realize she ate them, it’s a memory she’s pushed deep, deep down.
6. Boa Sisters
The Boa Sisters really have it bad. They’re freed from Fisher Tiger’s slave raid as well, brought back home to Amazon Lily by the Fishman Pirates that save her. Slavery was only the beginning of their troubles though, as they were force-fed Devil Fruits and turned into playthings by the Celestial Dragons. After they escape, Hancock is made the ruler of Amazon Lily and captain of the Kuja Pirates, taking on the mantle from Shakky.
She’s still haunted by her past though, and the three sisters take on a rumor that if anyone sees their back, the person dies. They would be turned to stone immediately by Hancock’s powers, keeping their secret tragedy and greatest shame from being known.
5. Ace
Poor Ace just wanted a father that he actually knew and to have a good time with his brothers. He looks after Luffy growing up, despite how much he may not like him at first. When he, Luffy, and Sabo all make the bond and exchange sake cups, it seems like Ace may have found the family he’s wanted all along. The loss of Sabo quickly offsets that, but Ace later finds more family in the Whitebeard Pirates, and a father he never had when he was younger.
This isn’t meant to be though, and Ace is captured by Blackbeard while trying to get revenge for Thatch’s death. Turned in to the World Government, he’s put up for execution so they can draw out Whitebeard for a final battle. Ace is content to die then and there, but when Luffy steps in, he gives his life to save his younger brother. Ace’s life ends heroically, much like his adoptive father Whitebeard not long after him.
4. Trafalgar D Water Law
The next four entries are basically the trauma Olympics of One Piece, and Trafalgar D Water Law starts it off strong. His tragic past is rooted in the city of Flevence, home of the marvelous White Lead. This substance has become a massive commerce driver around the world, with the city growing rich while mining for it. They don’t know it holds disease though, and Traffy sees his family die before barely escaping the erasure of the city by the World Government. Unfortunately, he has White Lead disease, which isn’t easily cured.
When he meets Donquixote Rochinante as part of the Donquixote Pirates though, he’s taken in. Rochinante reveals his real identity and drive, helping Law to steal the Op-Op Fruit in order to heal himself. In the process, Rochinante sacrifices himself to keep Law safe, with the young pirate forced to hear his adoptive brother shot right outside while he’s sent off on a trading ship in secret. Law’s tragedy from there makes him seek out the Void Century, and begins his journey of revenge against the Donquixote Pirates.
3. Nico Robin
If there was a gold medal for traumatic pasts, Nico Robin would have been the winner for years before the most recent chapters. As a child, she saw her mother and entire. home country bombed out of existence. She barely survives the ordeal, known as the Ohara Incident, thanks to intervention by a young Kuzan, but the damage is done. From here Nico Robin is seen as the Demon Child, a survivor of Ohara with nowhere safe to run.
Robin adapts to a life of espionage and assassination, moving from organization to organization as they’re taken out. The World Government is constantly after her, and it’s not until Luffy rescues her at Enies Lobby that she finally sees some kind of hope. Robin’s declaration of wanting to live undercuts the years of darkness and suicidal tragedy she’s faced since childhood, showing redemption can come when least expected.
2. Jewelry Bonney
Bonney’s tragic past goes hand in hand with her mother Ginny, who was a slave of the Celestial Dragons years before the story. She’s good friends with Ivankov though, and when the God Valley Population Extermination Contest starts, it’s her time to make an escape. Along with Kuma, they manage to get off the island and out of danger, taking a place back at Sorbet Kingdom in Kuma’s old church. Ginny and Kuma are definitely in love, but that’s cut short when Ginny is captured by the World Government during a Revolutionary Army mission.
She’s abused for two years, eventually bearing a child and contracting the Sapphire Scale disease. The disease is passed to Bonney as well, and Ginny makes her escape from the Celestials. She dies as Bonney is returned to the Sorbet Kingdom, where Bartholomew Kuma raises her as his own daughter. Bonney’s trials and tribulations aren’t over though, as she still has to contend with the Sapphire Scale.
Eventually, Vegapunk cures her, but it’s at the cost of her father’s conscious life. He undergoes the Pacifista treatment, leading Bonney to raid Mary Geoise as a twelve-year-old child just to rescue him. It’s just another of One Piece’s central themes that family isn’t determined by blood.
1. Bartholomew Kuma
The ‘Tyrant’ and Warlord of the Sea Bartholomew Kuma is anything but a tyrant. The young Buccaneer, the last of his race, is taken into slavery as a young child along with his father. Eventually, he even sees his father killed in front of him, shot in the head by a Celestial Dragon. At God Valley, he finally sees his chance though, and with Iva’s help, eats the Paw-Paw Fruit to rescue many of them. Kuma has always wanted to do nothing more than help others, and his return to the Sorbet Kingdom shows that.
He spends a lot of time as a preacher, healing people at his church with the Paw-Paw Fruit. After Ginny is taken, he dedicates himself to the Revolutionaries before fully devoting himself to being a father. Searching far and wide for a cure to the Sapphire Scale, he finally finds it in the genius Vegapunk, though it comes at a heavy cost. Kuma has to give up his humanity completely in order to cure his daughter, becoming a weapon of destruction in the process.
Even now though, he looks to make that tragic past count for something. Much like all these characters are, desperately attempting to make the suffering of their past mean something in the Grand Line today. Now Kuma is on his way to Egghead Island for his big moment. The tragic lives of himself and other characters. propels the story of One Piece forward, and will lead to a major collision in the upcoming arcs.
