Why Chopper’s Bounty Is Low

Key Takeaways

• Chopper’s low bounty at 1000 berries is comically low despite his medical skills and battle contributions.
• World Government sees Chopper as a pet, not a fighter, leading to his low bounty even after major battles.
• Speculations on Chopper’s low bounty range from secret admirers in the Marines to hiding the importance of the Mink race.

Chopper’s incredibly low bounty is one of One Piece’s funniest ongoing gags. He is a major force in many battles and the doctor of the Straw Hat crew. Moreover, he has enough medical knowledge to cure a disease made by Queen the Plague in a short time, despite this, the reindeer is currently worth only 1000 berries.

An amount that many find incredibly comical and one that Chopper always gets comically annoyed when he sees it. The reason why Chopper has such a low battle has been debated among various fans, and some reasons stand out more than others, particularly with the airing of One Piece: Fan Letter.

Understanding Chopper’s Role In The Straw Hats

Upholding Dr. Hiriluk’s Legacy Shows Chopper’s Commitment To Medicine

Chopper serves as the very cute doctor of the Straw Hat pirates. After leaving Drum Island, Chopper has committed himself to upholding his mentor, Dr. Hiriluk’s oath and belief that there’s no such thing as an incurable disease. With this mindset, Chopper has gone ahead to study various kinds of medicine and serves as the invaluable healer who patches up the crew after a major battle. Aside from his primary role as the doctor of the crew, Chopper also serves as a secondary combatant, even if his combat capabilities might not be the best. Oftentimes, Chopper shies away from a fight, not necessarily because he’s weak but because he tends to underestimate his battle capabilities. With his Kung Fu, various transformations, and Monster Point, Chopper is undoubtedly strong, but even then, his bounty has barely increased.

Why Chopper Deserves A Higher Bounty?

Analyzing His Contributions In Major Battles

As seen with the Giant captains, Dorry and Brogy, who have received new bounties in the Elbaf arc of the One Piece manga, it’s evident that the World Government gives remarkable bounties to those they think deserve them. This begs the question of whether Chopper deserves a higher bounty, particularly if the World Government sees him as a threat, and more importantly, whether Chopper’s contributions to the crew and overall ‘damage’ on the outside world warrant recognition beyond his misclassification as the ‘pet’ of the crew.

The answer to these questions is undeniably yes. While Chopper is often seen and acts like a cute pet, he’s a highly skilled doctor, and as at Enies Lobby, he had pure destructive power compared to the top combatants of the crew. As the World Government is often quick to get scoops on things like Luffy’s Gear 5th form and Franky’s General Franky robot, it’s a surprise they’re seemingly unaware of Chopper’s Monster Point form and its potential for destruction.

The Start Of Chopper’s Low Bounties

Seen As A Pet Rather Than A Fighter

Chopper’s low bounty has been a long-running gag of the series, and it continues to highlight just how the World Government sees him as nothing more than a pet. Chopper’s first bounty was 50 berries, and it was after the Enies Lobby arc. The Straw Hats and Chopper himself believed the bounty was given as a result of many thinking he was nothing other than the pet of the Straw Hats rather than the doctor of the crew.

At the time, this theory was plausible, but over the course of several arcs, particularly ones like Sabaody, where Chopper turned into a massive, uncontrollable monster to attack Sentomaru and Kizaru, and the Wano arc, where Chopper faced Queen, a headliner of Kaido, even if for a limited time, the truth as to why Chopper’s bounty remains so low is unknown and often comically speculated. After the Enies Lobby arc, where Chopper got a bounty of 50 berries, his next bounty received a 100% increase, but even then, compared to the rest of his crewmates, it was simply comical. Even after confronting Kaido and Big Mom’s crew on Onigashima and curing Queen’s deadly virus, Chopper’s bounty amounted to a meager bounty of 1,000 berries.

This point raised several speculations, as various members of the World Government had seen Chopper’s true potential for themselves. His versatility in particular is one thing that stands out. Moreover, during arcs like Enies Lobby, Sabaody, and Wano, Chopper had actively been put in the limelight, particularly with his Monster Point transformation, so what could possibly make his bounty continue to remain so low?

The Irony Behind His Bounty

Speculations On Why His True Worth Goes Unrecognized

Since the One Piece: Fan Letter episode, fans have been led to believe the reason Chopper has a very low bounty is because he has a secret admirer in the Marines who’s preventing that from happening. As seen in the episode, the Benevolent King of the Waves is amazingly infatuated with Chopper and could possibly prevent Chopper’s bounty from growing high enough to a noticeable degree to secretly protect him. Of course, whether or not he’s a canonical character is up for debate, but even if he’s not, a similar character could serve the same function in the One Piece series. After all, Chopper really is cute, and it’s entirely plausible he has secret Marine supporters.

Aside from this comical but very plausible speculation, some fans believe that Chopper’s low bounty is propaganda to hide the Mink race as Bepo, the second-in-command of the Heart Pirates and an incredibly powerful combatant has a bounty of only 1,500 berries. If this turns out to be true, it’ll raise a lot of questions about whether the World Government is purposely hiding the importance of the Mink race due to their connection to Zunesha and Joy Boy, or if it’s one individual who’s single-handedly manipulating information and the possible reasons behind it.

Aside from that, Chopper’s cute factor and underestimation of his abilities may simply be the case, or the fact that he’s seemingly hard to tell apart from a Tanuki, and many people would come to claim bounties without having the actual Straw Hat ‘pet’.

Overall, the factual reason behind Chopper’s low bounty is unknown, but if it was for a reason as silly as having a Marine fanboy, fans of the series would simply find it comical as it’ll be such an Oda thing to do. On the flip side, Oda could also be hiding a huge secret behind it, and even then, fans of the series won’t put it past the One Piece author.

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