Best Marine Character Designs In One Piece

Key Takeaways

• Marine designs in One Piece are unique, with individualized alterations to their traditional uniforms.
• Characters like Hina, Aokiji, Smoker, Dalmatian, and Fujitora showcase distinct appearances and personalities.
• Each Marine’s design reflects their personality, backstory, and role within the story, adding depth to the “bad guys.”

In the world of One Piece, it’s not only the pirates who are given unique character designs, as this also applies to a fair share of the Marines. While many of the Marine grunts may look fairly normal and uninteresting, those of the higher ranks tend to have a lot more to their appearances, making them a joy to see whenever they pop up on screen, despite technically being the story’s bad guys.

Since the Marines are a collective group of soldiers, they do technically have uniforms, but most of the time, the members will tinker and alter the traditional getup to have something more suited to their style. A character’s design and choice of clothes can say a lot about them, and considering the Marines typically don’t get as much screentime as the pirates do in One Piece, this can be handy for getting a good idea of who they are just by looking at them.

8 Hina

Hina’s Stylish Design Makes Her Instantly Recognizable During Her Brief Appearances

• First Appearance: Episode 127

Hina doesn’t make too many appearances throughout One Piece’s story, but she is still instantly recognizable thanks to her glossy red coat and purple-shaded sunglasses which can always be seen resting above her eyes. Her pink hair is also a rather unusual color, but it does a great job of differentiating her from the other female characters in the series, which Oda can often struggle with at times.

Hina usually also has a very stern and serious look on her face which can make her quite intimidating, despite not even being an admiral. Hopefully, she’s able to make more appearances in the future and have more of an impact on the story as a loyal member of the Marine fleet.

7 Aokiji

A Formal Yet Casual Design Which Says A Lot About Aokiji’s Lazy Personality

• First Appearance: Episode 226

Since Aokiji leaves the Marines after his bout with Akainu, this will be focusing on his pre-timeskip appearance, where the effortlessly cool admiral possesses a pretty unusual fashion sense. On the one hand, there’s an element of formality to the way Aokiji looks, what with the yellow tie and half-buttoned-up jacket, but the inclusion of the sleeping mask, alongside his unkept hair, also highlights his rather lazy personality.

Aokiji’s design is quite unordinary in the sense that one wouldn’t guess he’s an immensely strong admiral from his appearance alone. It’s always been implied that Aokiji isn’t exactly thrilled with being in the Marines, and therefore, having barely any references to his position is a clever way to express his more lone-wolf persona.

6 Smoker

Smoker’s Appearance Manages To Look Intimidating And Absurd At The Same Time

• First Appearance: Episode 48

Smoker has plenty of small features integrated into his design which can be pinpointed, but by far the most noticeable is the two cigars that never leave his mouth. Despite looking badass with his slick silver hair and fur-collared jacket, the cigar pairing, alongside the extras he keeps strapped to his arm, adds some goofiness to his design, while also feeding into his Devil Fruit.

The large blade that hangs from his back still ensures Smoker has an intimidating aura around him though, alongside his facial expressions which usually range from mildy frustrated to full-blown annoyance. Smoker has largely kept the same design after the timeskip, albeit with sharper facial features and longer hair.

5 Dalmatian

It’s Hard To Look Away From Dalmatian’s Cute And Spotty Design Whenever He Shows Up

• First Appearance: Episode 462

Dalmatian probably has the most out-there design of any Marine, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Dalmatian’s Devil Fruit allows him to transform into the animal of the same name, causing the top of his head to change into that of a spotty god, and a tail to stretch out from behind him.

Though this sounds like it should look ridiculous on paper, Dalmatian’s physical prowess and stern expressions still ensure that he comes across as a fearsome member of the Marines. There are also some vibrant color contrasts in his outfit, specifically his red undershirt paired with a dark green jacket manages to make him even more eye-catching, as if he wasn’t already.

4 Fujitora

Fujitora’s Appearance Presents Him As A Calm And Stoic Wiseman With Quite A History Behind Him

• First Appearance: Episode 630

Compared to a lot of One Piece characters who often have over-the-top and exaggerated designs, Fujotira presents himself as a well-put-together Admiral who doesn’t need to go overboard with his style to look cool. Instead, Fujitora opts for a purple robe and scarf that stretches up to his neck, while his admiral jacket follows him from behind.

Of course, another prominent design feature of Fujitoria is the slash across his eyes, which has caused him to become blind. It may be a small detail, but it’s one that added so much intrigue to his character as fans wondered where the scar came from, and whether losing his sight had enhanced Fujitora’s Haki in any way. Nonetheless, the humble old wiseman look Fujitora goes for allows him to stand apart from many of his fellow Marines.

3 Kizaru

A Stripy Dress Code Paired With Iconic Facial Expressions Makes Kizaru A Joy To Watch In Action

• First Appearance: Episode 398

Sakazuki’s derpy facial expressions, paired with his striped suits and tie highlight that he is one of the more fun-loving and carefree Marines in the series. Not only that, but Kizaru has an unusually realistic facial structure and hairstyle in contrast to most other characters in the series, the reason being that he was actually modeled after Kunie Tanaka, a popular Japanese actor from the 70s and 80s.

He therefore almost looks like someone ripped straight out of a seinen manga, but still retains just enough goofiness to slot him perfectly into the One Piece cast. Oda hasn’t tinkered with his design too much throughout the series, but the changes to his stripes do indicate that, potentially, Kizaru has numerous of the same shirts stashed away which are all different colors, which is definitely in line with his character.

2 Aramaki

Aramaki’s Design Is Littered With Intriguing Details And References

• First Appearance: Episode 882

Aramaki, also commonly known as Greenbull, was only recently revealed in the One Piece story, but to say his design is eye-catching would be a massive understatement. Aramaki decides to ditch the undershirt to instead expose his bare chest while his admiral cloak covers his back, indicating he’s a much more reckless and unkept Marine than some of his comrades.

When looking closely, there are also small flower patterns on one side of his pants, along with a tattoo running down the left side of his chest. Just from looking at him, it’s clear Aramaki has a lot of stories to tell, and it’s certainly refreshing to see an admiral whose design is a little more rough around the edges rather than opting for the formal look.

1 Akainu

A Perfect Example Of How To Showcase An Evil Villain While Still Retaining A Human Element

• First Appearance: Episode 278

Akainu, the former Admiral who would go on to become the fleet admiral of the Marines, has an intimidating look, to say the least. His broad shoulders which are covered by a long white cape, paired with the scowl that never leaves his face and a cap that often covers his eyes, immediately tell viewers this is not a guy to be messed with.

What takes Akainu’s design to the next level though is the smaller details which imply there is much more to this character than initially meets the eye. For example, the floral Hawaiian shirt and pink flower provide a more elegant contrast to the rest of Akainu’s look. This does make sense considering it’s revealed he is a much calmer person behind the scenes when enjoying hobbies like cutting his bonsai tree, but his design is simply a masterclass in presenting a villain as being scary, while still providing just enough features to remind viewers that they are still human.