Since 1999, the animated adaptation of One Piece, by Toei Animation, has become one of the biggest and most successful anime in the entire world. Bringing it to television has allowed more and more people to experience Eiichiro Oda’s masterful pirate adventure.
Nevertheless, as faithful as this adaptation has been, there have been some glaring differences that fans of the manga have noticed. Some of them are so big that they have completely changed the way iconic characters are depicted. Whether it’s because of censorship, pacing issues, or supplementary material that has never been animated, here are some One Piece characters that manga readers enjoyed more.
10 Edward Newgate AKA Whitebeard
Takes More Damage
Whitebeard is regarded as one of the strongest pirates in the series. Fans remember him because of the impressive final battle during the Marineford Arc of the anime, where he tanked 267 sword wounds, 152 gunshot wounds, 46 cannonballs hits, and much more.
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However, his final performance was much more impressive in the manga. Not only does he take much more damage in a much more graphic fashion, but one of the most powerful blows was censored in the anime. When Admiral Akainu attacks Whitebeard in the manga, half off his face is blown off by the lava; meanwhile, he just gets his mustache burned off in the anime.
9 Trafalgar D. Water Law
Censorship Softens His Attitude
Trafalgar Law’s character development has been among the deepest in One Piece. While he’s now one of Luffy’s closest allies, he started off as a more rebellious character back when he was first introduced as one of the Supernovas during Seabody.
This introduction is much better in the manga, where Law points his middle finger at Eustass Kid. He later repeats this to mock Doflamingo during their battle. Both instances of the gesture were censored in the anime, removing a big part of Law’s bad-mannered personality.
8 Zeff
An Important Backstory Detail
Oda excels at writing backstories for his characters, and Sanji’s is often considered one of the most heart-wrenching. Watching the young cook and his mentor, Zeff, slowly starve on that small island for days made audiences understand why they both appreciate food so much.
But this backstory was much better in the original work. While Zeff cuts his leg off to save Sanji from drowning in the anime, he actually eats his own leg after giving Sanji all their rations in the manga. This makes Zeff a much more impactful character, and it ties to his culinary aspect. Luckily, this part of his story was kept uncensored in the live action series.
7 Viola
Better Design & Expanded Backstory
One of the most common criticisms of One Piece is the strange designs of its female characters. And while Oda is guilty of this, Toei sometimes exaggerates the proportions of the women even more in the anime adaptation. Viola is one of their most infamous cases, as can be seen in the comparison above.
On top of that, Oda also alluded to a huge part of Viola’s backstory in one of his SBS columns, which was sadly never adapted into the anime. He explained that she used to have an intimate relationship with Doflamingo, which makes both characters much deeper and more interesting.
6 Enel
More Screentime in the Manga
Enel is often regarded as one of Luffy’s most intimidating and powerful enemies, thanks to his godlike status and his use of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. But anime viewers may wonder why he’s one of the few antagonists that were never heard from again.
RELATED: One Piece: The Return Of Enel, Explained
Manga readers, however, are aware of his cover story. In this brief tale, readers see what happened to Enel after the events of Skypea, in which he finally reaches the moon and even helped an army of small robots to fight a crew of space pirates. This made fans wonder: Will we ever see Enel again in the main story?
5 Camie & Pappag
Introduced Earlier
Cover stories are a clever element of the manga that have barely been adapted into the anime. While they gave some characters more screen time, other characters’ entire introductions were made during these stories. The mermaid Camie and her starfish friend Pappag are a perfect example.
In the anime, these characters and their close friendship with Hatchan may seem to come out of nowhere. Manga readers, though, were aware of their existence for years before their reintroduction during the Seabody arc. These readers much more willing to accept Hatchan’s redemption, and the story made Camie and Pappag’s rescue more engaging.
4 Kuzan AKA Aokiji
Introduced In a Canon Arc
Kuzan, formerly known as Aokiji, was introduced in a somewhat strange way in the anime, where he’s first seen rescuing a bunch of random people during a filler arc. And, as much of an impact as this had, his introduction was much more meaningful in the manga.
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Kuzan first appears at the end of the infamous Long Ring Long Land arc, and he completely changes the tone of an otherwise silly arc. He also helps out Tonjit, a character that readers grew attached to over the course of many chapters, instead of a bunch of strangers. Overall, this introduction does a better job of showing off his gray sense of justice.
3 Kaido
Seems Much Stronger
The first battle between Luffy and Kaido in the land of Wano is one of the most memorable fights in the anime. It shows the audience how much Luffy has grown, while also establishing how much of a powerhouse the captain of the Beasts Pirates is.
But readers consider this clash to be much more impactful in the manga. The anime drags the fight out with its slow pacing, and makes it seem like Luffy and Kaido are on a similar level. In the manga, Kaido gets up just once and finishes Luffy off with one quick attack. This demonstrates how strong he truly is and how Luffy was way out of his league, foreshadowing how much more training Luffy needed before he could defeat this opponent.
2 Franky
Aging Voice Actor
Franky is often considered one of One Piece‘s most memorable characters. This is in part thanks to his unique voice, portrayed by the legendary Kazuki Yao. He’s such a talented voice actor that Oda specifically designed the Shipwright for him, after his previous performances as Bon Clay and Jango.
RELATED: Every Member Of The Straw Hat Pirates, Ranked By Strength
Sadly, the man is now 64 years old, and he is slowly losing his characteristic raspy voice. During the Wano Arc, Franky stands up against Big Mom, claiming he’s not afraid of an Emperor. In the manga, this is one of his most impressive moments. But in the anime, Franky sounds like he’s struggling to speak loudly. Viewers hope that Kazuki Yao takes proper care of his voice before the anime enters the final Saga.
1 Monkey D. Luffy
Extended Backstory, Better Pacing, and More
Toei is infamous for their odd choices when it comes to adapting One Piece, so it’s natural that the protagonist of the show, Monkey D. Luffy has been greatly affected by these changes. In his very first appearance in the manga, he stabs his own eye to show Shanks how tough he is. This scene was completely omitted from the anime’s initial airing.
Just like Kaido, Luffy is another victim of Toei’s pacing issues, like in his final clash against Doflamingo. In the manga, he defeats the villain with one single punch. In the anime, this is stretched out in the anime to make it seem like they’re on similar levels. This happens many times during the show, undervaluing Luffy’s power.
Another fun fact about Luffy is that he doesn’t have any thought bubbles throughout the entire manga, a clever way to show his impulsive personality. This is obviously lost in the medium of animation, where there are no speech or thought bubbles at all.
One Piece
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
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