A Missing Element In The Series

Key Takeaways

• Bounty hunters are noticeably absent in One Piece lore, missing potential for a three-way power dynamic.
• The rivalry between pirates and bounty hunters could have added depth and intensity to the series.
• The presence of bounty hunters would have made bounties more than mere notoriety, creating constant threats for pirates.

The world of One Piece is vast and explores a plethora of elements that make its world and story-building deep and pronounced. However, despite its vast world-building and incredible lore, the series has a missing aspect that would have originally been considered a no-brainer—the presence of Bounty Hunters.

Aside from Pirates and Marines, Bounty Hunters would have made the world of One Piece so much deeper as it’ll explore the wants and priorities of different subsets of people, each with power in their own right. Moreover, bounty hunters would serve as a group of people who are loyal to neither Marines nor Pirates, only to the bounties they get to claim.

The Mystery Of Bounty Hunters

Where Are All The Bounty Hunters?

With all the characters in One Piece, a question permeates the air—Where are all the bounty hunters? Or rather, where have they all gone to? Interestingly, bounty hunters used to exist in One Piece’s lore early on in the series. Before Zoro joined the Straw Hats, he was known as a bounty hunter, as he would catch Pirates and claim their bounties, even if he only did it to feed and survive.

Additionally, although it was only a filler arc, the Ice Hunter Arc strongly showcased the presence of bounty hunters in One Piece’s lore. In the arc, Don Accino, the user of the Atsu Atsu no Mi, was a successful bounty hunter with a crew. He had captured so many pirates and hung their flags as a form of victory token. In battling the Straw Hats to claim their respective bounties, Don Accino’s crew ultimately lost, but they put up a hell of a fight against the Straw Hats and even managed to steal their Jolly Roger.

The Missed Potential

How Bounty Hunters Could Have Added Depth To The Series

In a universe where bounties are celebrated, the absence of characters actively pursuing these bounties is nothing short of missed potential. Pirates’ sworn enemies are undoubtedly the Marines, but they don’t have to be their only enemy, and Marines don’t always have to expend their already limited resources to pursue the Scourge of the Seas. The Marines have often had their hands tied, dealing with multiple powerful pirate crews at a time. In similar situations, bounty hunters could have been easily leveraged.

After all, with the glory that’ll come with defeating a distinguished pirate, alongside the millions and billions of berries, a strong enough bounty hunter would be sure to make a move. In this way, the One Piece world would easily have a three-way hegemon consisting of the Marines, Pirates, and Bounty hunters, rather than creating a force such as the Warlords of the Sea, who are pirates that serve the Marines. A bounty-hunting hegemony would much more easily become the equal of the two other hegemonies, making it great for the story as a whole.

Pirates Vs. Bounty Hunters

A Rivalry That Never Was

Pitting pirates against bounty hunters would undoubtedly have become an intense rivalry surpassing the ones present in the current One Piece. After all, bounty hunters’ entire livelihood would exist on the notion of capturing pirates to trade in for rewards with the Marines. Unfortunately, this natural rivalry never truly developed, at least not prominently. In the initial parts of the series, Baroque Works served as a major bounty-hunting organization, but even they lost sight of true bounty hunting and became relegated to nothing more than Crocodile’s henchmen who sought to take over a country. Rather than stick to bounty hunting, Baroque Works eventually became more pronounced as a criminal organization.

With the severe lack of bounty hunters and the prominent use of bounties in the series, it begs the question as to why pirates are given bounties rather than simply tagged as dangerous and given danger levels. All things considered, normal civilians would be utterly incapable of catching pirates, and if Marines capture Pirates, they’ll be seen as heroes rather than being given the bounty as a reward. Moreover, pirates themselves could not claim bounties from the marines, as they’re already branded as ‘evil’ and ‘unjust’.

A World Full Of Bounties But Few Hunters

Examining The Disconnect And How Bounty Hunters Could Have Changed The Power Dynamics Of One Piece

Why give a bounty if there’s no one to claim it? Is the point of giving a pirate a bounty only to show how dangerous they are? Only Eiichiro Oda can truly answer these questions, but putting One Piece’s already deep lore into perspective, bounty hunters could have taken the focus off the principles of freedom and order that pirates and marines embody, respectively, as they would occupy a more morally ambiguous middle ground between the two forces. Following this line of thought, the bounties issued by the Marines function more as status symbols than incentives for capturing a fugitive. But even the thought of the Marines issuing ‘trophies’ in the form of bounties for pirates strikes an ironic contrast with their form of justice.

If bounty hunters were present, they would challenge this dynamic by turning bounties from badges of honor into more deadly stakes that would truly allow only the more dangerous pirates to feel comfortable wearing bounties of significantly large amounts. This would also quickly weed out the weak from the strong, as characters like Buggy and Usopp would feel more indignation with their bounties than pride. Moreover, it would be absolutely hilarious to have characters like Usopp being chased down for their bounties and having them wish their bounties were lower than what was assigned.

Conclusively, having bounties without sufficient ways for them to be collected serves as a loophole in the series, and a lot of unique twists and turns could have been gotten from there. Moreover, having bounty hunters would have made the concept of bounties that much more significant. The fearsome reputation that high bounties bring would no longer be limited to mere notoriety but would become a constant threat, putting even the strongest pirates on edge.

One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.