In most shonen anime, the plucky protagonist will be someone who abides by the law and follows all the rules in order to set a good example and make the world a better place. One Piece does things a bit differently though, as Luffy and the gang are considered criminals due to them deciding to become pirates, something which is forbidden by the World Government. On the other hand though, there are plenty of Marines who, while following the law, have their own evil intentions that they seek to carry out by using their power, influence and high reputation.
In the middle of all of this are those who stick to the World Government’s rules, but who still want to do what’s right and help those around them, which would class them as being described as “Lawful Good”. These individuals may get in the Straw Hats’ way on the odd occasion due to their allegiance to the laws and traditions set in place, but this doesn’t automatically make them a bad person, even if they might play the role of antagonist every now and again.
5 Koby
Koby’s Unwavering Loyalty To The Marines Has Seen Him Rise Pretty High In The Ranks
Koby is one of the very first characters introduced in One Piece, and he initially comes off as little more than a scared and whiny errand boy for Garp. This all changes though once he grows old enough to start training with his mentor, eventually becoming a fully-fledged Marine who would even participate in the battle at Marineford where he would hesitantly try to prevent Luffy from reaching his brother. The fact Koby was willing to face down one of his longtime friends for the sake of remaining loyal to the World Government shows where his loyalties lie, even though Akainu was prepared to kill him just moments later.
Despite how devious and destructive the Marines can be, Koby has never once shown signs of turning his back on them, and it wasn’t long before his unwavering loyalty resulted in him being promoted to the special forces group known as SWORD. Since then, he has put his life on the line on numerous occasions to carry out his orders, including trying to arrest the immensely powerful Boa Hancock, which didn’t end up going too well.
4 Smoker
Smoker Uses His Powerful Devil Fruit And Combat Expertise To Apprehend Any Pirates That He Views As A Problem
Until Smoker was formally introduced to the story during the brief Loguetown Arc, each one of the marines Luffy and the gang had faced were presented as being malicious, evil, and having a lack of care about getting civilians caught in their crossfire. It’s made clear though that Smoker is much different from his peers, as is demonstrated right away during his introduction, where he can be seen comforting a small girl after bumping into her. This might seem like a small act of kindness, but it goes a long way in highlighting Smoker’s recognition of right and wrong, and how, even though he follows the law to a fault, this doesn’t mean he abuses his power and authority in the process.
With that being said though, Smoker still has an underlying hatred for pirates, seeing them as a stain on the world who must be apprehended and captured in order to bring peace and justice to the world. Despite this, Luffy has saved his life on numerous occasions which has helped to convince Smoker that not all pirates are as bad as he may have once thought, but regardless, he’s still dedicated to hunting them down as part of his duty as a Marine.
3 Fujitora
Fujitora Cares More About Helping And Protecting People Than Most Of His Marine Peers
Fujitora toes the line between being lawful good and chaotic good, as although he technically does follow the law, since he is an Admiral after all, there’s also been several occasions where he speaks back to his higher-ups and doubts their decisions. This isn’t to suggest Fujitora is a rebellious character though, as he does still work through the legal system whenever he wants to make positive changes. The biggest example of this is how he spearheaded the abolition of the Shichibukai, since he believed that their safety from Marine forces resulted in many of them turning into evil tyrants who gladly abused and manipulated entire nations of people to their will.
There have been times when Fujitora has shown some level of sympathy for the pirates, especially in the case of the Straw Hats, but this has never prompted him to go against his position as an Admiral. For example, though Fujitora is appreciative of Luffy’s efforts in cleaning up Dressrosa, he still takes Luffy on in a battle and reminds the Straw Hat why he’s so feared among so many pirate crews who roam the seas.
2 Garp
He May Not Be Fond Of The Celestial Dragons, But This Doesn’t Stop Garp From Serving Out His Orders As A Marine
There have been a few moments in Garp’s long and celebrated career as a Marine where he’s stepped out of line, such as when he rushed to stop Akainu from killing Ace, but for most of his life, he’s been loyal to a fault. In fact, Garp was shown to be visibly annoyed and disappointed when Luffy stated he wanted to become a pirate at a young age, something Garp blamed on Shanks, who was also around a lot during Luffy’s childhood.
Garp is well-known for being one of the Marine’s strongest assets, especially after the God Valley Incident, which earned him the title “Hero of the Marines”. As a result, there are a lot of younger Marines who look up to Garp and his achievements, so he always needs to ensure he’s acting in-line in order to make a good impression. With that being said, he does carry a seething hatred for the Celestial Dragons, but this has never gotten in the way of his actual duties.
1 Nefertari Cobra
Cobra’s Loyalty To The World Government Ultimately Ended Up Getting Him Killed In The End
Despite being the rule of the powerful Kingdom of Alabasta, Cobra would always answer to the World Government, following their belief that all pirates present a threat to the balance of the world. While he does show hospitality to the Straw Hats during the Alabasta arc in the story, this was only because they rescued him from Crocodile at a time when the Marines couldn’t care less, but even after this, he still pledged allegiance to the government at large.
He also played a big part in pushing through the abolition of the Shichibukai after experiencing first-hand how much chaos they could cause, and continued to be present in the next Revery. During this meeting though, Cobra would decide to ask the Five Elders about one of his relatives, Lili, who had gone missing years ago after refusing to become a World Noble. Even though the Elders refused to give Cobra any information, he still managed to keep his composure, knowing full well that he could get in real trouble for lashing out. Unfortunately though, Cobra’s loyalty would eventually result in his death at the hands of Imu, which shook a lot of people’s faith in the government and whether they could be trusted.
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