In anime, One Piece has arguably one of the largest and most developed casts. Whether they are heroes, villains or even characters that toe the lines of each, the series has consistently delivered when it comes to fleshing them out, even those most would deem pathetic and just flat-out jokes. This couldn’t be truer than with everyone’s favorite loser, Buggy the Star Clown.
Buggy was arguably the first true villain in One Piece, and while he came across as more of a one-off gag character than anything else, he has repeatedly returned throughout the course of the story, normally playing a relatively large role. To make things even stranger, every time he appears in the story, he seems to somehow succeed through failure, making him a true enigma. In the most recent One Piece chapter, Buggy has managed to do what should have been impossible: become a legitimate contender for the title of King of the Pirates.
Buggy the Clown: The Rise of a Legend
From the moment Buggy first met Luffy, he seemed to dedicate himself to killing him, and while he never managed to do so, this desire ironically led to him becoming one of the most dangerous pirates in the world. On his quest for revenge, he ended up getting captured by the Marines and sent to Impel Down. Strangely enough, he somehow avoided them finding out that he was a Devil Fruit user, and coincidentally was planning his breakout when Luffy arrived to free Ace. By not posing any real threat, Buggy would have made history by being one of the few people to escape from the most fortified prison in the world, which would have brought him an incredible amount of respect and recognition.
Further proof of his unrealized brilliance is that, once the situation became far harder due to Luffy causing a large commotion, Buggy thought to free as many other prisoners as he could, creating a huge riot as a distraction that he could use to sneak away and escape. This plan didn’t go the way he originally thought it would, but in its failure came an even greater outcome. Rather than sneak away, due to Luffy’s own massive prison break, both of their groups combined and joined forces, leading to a massive breakout. Out of gratitude and appreciation, all the Impel Down prisoners Buggy freed, all of whom were significantly stronger than he was, decided to follow him with the utmost devotion as though he was a prophetic savior.
Even after getting dragged to Marineford, the last place he wanted to be, Buggy continued to succeed. It was revealed to the world that he was a member of Roger’s crew, which helped give him fame, and after clashing with the Admirals and even the Warlords, Buggy became known as a legendary pirate by surviving every one of these encounters. He even managed to hijack the news live feed during the event, further increasing his notoriety. He went from being something of a pseudo-hostage to the person who gained the most from the event.
Not only did Buggy become one of the most respected pirates in the world, but he also gained one of the largest and strongest crews on the seas. In fact, he gained so much notoriety that the World Government offered to let him become one of the Seven Warlords, which he gladly accepted. From there, opened an incredibly profitable business, Buggy’s Delivery, that operated as a pirate/mercenary service-for-hire organization.
From Yonko to Potential Pirate King
After the Seven Warlords system was disbanded, Buggy became a target of the World Government. Thankfully, he managed to survive thanks to the assistance of Sir Crocodile, Daz Bones and Dracule Mihawk. While Crocodile came to collect on the debt Buggy owed him after loaning him money to start his business, Buggy didn’t have the money left after certain setbacks. He only managed to avoid certain death by pledging his loyalty to Mihawk and Crocodile, promising that he and his men would serve them in their goals as a part of Cross Guild. Though this was his intention, fate had a different idea in mind.
Due to their utter devotion to their captain, Buggy’s men cannot fathom a world where Buggy isn’t in charge of the organization, and when they were making fliers notifying the world of Cross Guild’s formation, they made it seem like Buggy was the leader of the group rather than an underling or even an equal. Both Mihawk and Crocodile were furious, but it was too late to do anything — instead, they decided to use him as a false figurehead, making him the face of the organization while being the ones that run the organization behind the scenes. However, it was through this accident that Buggy managed to do the impossible and become one of the new Yonkos, alongside Luffy.
In the most recent chapters, Buggy took further advantage of his situation. When Mihawk and Crocodile were discussing how to move ahead in acquiring more power and wealth, a beaten and bloody Buggy put them in their place, telling them that they should go after the One Piece itself like real pirates, even though they would have to face fierce opposition.
It was revealed that Buggy had always wanted to be the King of the Pirates himself but gave up on this dream after seeing how much more potential Shanks had, going so far as to believe that the title deserved to go to him instead. Despite their strange relationship, Buggy seemed willing to serve under Shanks and support this ambition, almost like how Zoro and King did so for Luffy and Kaido respectively. However, after hearing that Shanks had no intention of finding the One Piece when Roger died, Buggy felt a sense of betrayal, refusing to work under him afterward. He believed that Shanks was the one to follow Roger’s footsteps, as he felt didn’t have the potential to; however, now that he’s made it as far as he has, he sees that he has a chance to achieve his dream, now more than ever.
Even while getting beaten even further by Mihawk and Crocodile, Buggy still declared to his crew that they would be going after the One Piece. Buggy realized that despite his overwhelming disadvantage against the two other former Warlords, he was the one that still held all the cards. Cross Guild only works because he is there, as his crew would refuse to follow anyone else, even Crocodile and Mihawk. Their level of devotion is so high that they would gladly die for Buggy and take on any foe in his name — something that Crocodile and Mihawk have realized, as they would have otherwise already killed Buggy by now.
Mihawk once stated that Luffy had the greatest power in the sea, being able to recruit allies wherever he went. Ironically, Buggy has the same quality, though it seems to work entirely by accident. Nevertheless, it is this quality that has put Buggy on equal footing with Shanks, as he now has even managed to back Mihawk and Crocodile into a corner, forcing them to do what he wants. Buggy is an interesting character because he has a strange way of succeeding at whatever he puts his mind to — and now, with his new resources, he might actually become the next King of Pirates.
