With over 2 decades of time on the page and on the screen, One Piece is filled with memorable characters. Dashing heroes, epic villains, and of course the Straw Hats themselves. All of these characters are beloved by the fans as we watch them hurdle towards the Final Saga. However, not all characters are as well liked as the main cast. There are plenty of characters that aren’t well written or weren’t well made. For some reason, something about them seemed confusing, off, and underwhelming, and those are the characters we are looking at today! Here are some of the most poorly made characters in One Piece.
7. Tashigi
A competent marine, a swordswoman to match Zoro, and a rare display where the audience was rooting for her. For many people, officer Tashigi and Vice Admiral Smoker were both amazing characters in the East Blue Saga. They acted as both enemies and allies to the Straw Hats, and could have been given some serious screen time.
However, Tashigi has had several lackluster appearances in the series despite the strong start. Eventually, even her rivalry with Zoro faded away. Many fans dislike how this strong look into the philosophy of the Marines was discarded, and hope to see both characters return someday.
6. Fleet Admiral Akainu
One of the worst acts that any marine has ever done was committed by Akainu. He not only taunted the fleeing Whitebeard Pirates at Marineford, but also brutally murdered Ace during the war’s climax. He’s a hate sink for fans, but sadly that is all he is.
Aside from showing off some interesting Devil Fruit powers, Akainu has been created to be hated and nothing more. He just hasn’t received the character development of the other villains or even the other admirals, and that is something that many fans dislike. In a series where nearly everyone has some depth, Akainu just doesn’t. That makes him poorly made, despite the role he has played in the story.
5. Usopp
While Usopp is a fantastic character and someone that audiences can relate to, he still comes across as poorly written compared to the other Straw Hats. While he has upgraded his arsenal, seems to be braver when the situation calls for it, and has had some amazing fights and moments… he just hasn’t had much consistency with any of that.
Many fans want to see the resident Straw Hat sniper get a better dream and some more concrete character development. Until then, the comparisons between him and the other Straw Hats will just get wider.
4. Eustass Kid
While he looks fantastic, has some amazing powers, and has had some great moments… Eustass Kid isn’t the best member of the Worst Generation. He has managed to take down Big Mom along with Law, and has played his part in many key moments of the series.
However, his often suicidal single minded devotion to defeating Shanks and his crew makes him little more than a punching bag. He’s got a lot of potential to become something great with his pirate attitude and bloodthirsty desire for revenge, but he hasn’t really gone and developed that into anything of substance.
3. Boa Hancock
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Boa Hancock is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She’s also a powerful fighter, great leader, and a great Devil Fruit user. She has a ton of potential to be one of the major players in the final saga, but lately she’s turned into a One Note gag.
Once she falls in love with Luffy, those qualities go away and she simply becomes lovestruck. While this does make her a powerful ally for Luffy and the Straw Hats, many find that her obsession overpowers all the other things that make her amazing. It’s also an interesting choice for a series that dislikes romance so much.
2. Hody Jones
The Fish-Man island arc managed to fill the screen with lore and villains alike. While we as the audience learned more about the world and the people inside of it, we also got to see some cool villains and conflict between all of the exposition. However, Hody Jones fell short as the main villain, because at this point in the story he wasn’t what the story needed.
Hody Jones was largely driven by pure hatred of humans and a desire to see the fish-men rule the underwater kingdom. He was a generic bad guy who wanted to destroy stuff because he could, and he didn’t have the deeper backstory of all of the other villains on the show. While he was a formidable opponent for the arc, he doesn’t have the staying power to be memorable.
1. Gecko Moria
Despite being one of the Seven Warlords Of The Sea, Gecko Moria was pretty lackluster. Especially since he came on the heels of the fan favorite villain Rob Lucci. However, he wasn’t able to strike the same chord with fans. He primarily allowed his shadow stealing Devil Fruit to do the work for him. So he wasn’t very proactive in terms of being a bad guy.
While the Thriller Bark arc had some great moments to it, the main villain just wasn’t one of them. Gecko Moria has made a few appearances since then, but he’s mostly just been comic relief or someone for the heroes to easily slap aside.
There Is Still Time For Redemption
A lot of these characters should have roles to play in the Final Saga. They might get the development they need to become fan favorites. Hopefully as the story continues they will be given time to shine and turned into characters that everyone will love.
But if they don’t, then they will simply go down as ‘what could have been characters.’ It can be a bit tragic, but that will just make the fans appreciate the more fleshed out characters all the more once the series comes to an end.
