Summary
- One Piece characters come in ridiculously varying sizes- some over 100 feet tall, creating challenges in fights.
- Massive characters like Sanjuan Wolf symbolize extreme power and make Luffy seem like an underdog, despite his strength.
- Character height differences in One Piece set tones for opponents’ strength and keep Luffy as the series’ perpetual underdog.
One Piece has always had some of the strangest body proportions in all of fiction. While many other series attempt to keep characters in a relatively similar size category, One Piece characters, on the other hand, can reach incredibly absurd sizes. Even seeing two characters, like Doffy and Luffy, who are both supposed to be human, standing side by side, the actual height difference is almost comically ridiculous.
In fact, many characters seem to be absolutely massive for no apparent reason, besides the fact they were born that way. However, though it may seem a bit silly at first, the sheer height difference in characters serves an interesting purpose in the One Piece story. Mainly, the ridiculous size differences between characters help accent the struggle for power between these opposing forces.
Related
One Piece: Who Was King Harald?
King Harald will be a very relevant character in the Elbaf arc. Here’s who he is in One Piece.
One Piece Bad Guys Are Unreasonably Big
Even Humans Grow Over 10 Feet Tall For Some Reason
Taking a look at One Piece’s many characters, oftentimes, some characters are made to be ridiculously large. The former Emperor Big Mom, for example, despite being a standard human, with no apparent special lineage, stands at nearly 30 feet tall. Other characters, like the One Piece villain, Doffy, who looks to be the size of an average human at first, actually stand at around 10 feet tall. Compared to someone like Luffy or Zoro, who stands at a realistic 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches respectively, having these towering giants, despite not actually being giants, can be a bit hard to believe at times.
Ow… a fish just bit me. – Sanjuan Wolf as he wades through the Ocean
At the same time, some of One Piece’s other characters can grow to be even larger than these standard humans. Giants, for example, stand at a ridiculous height, easily surpassing massive characters like Big Mom. Gerd, a New Giant Pirate who was once a friend of Big Mom before she destroyed their village, stands roughly 55 feet tall, nearly doubling the height of the former Emperor. However, none of these even compare to the tallest humanoid character in One Piece, Sanjuan Wolf, a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, who stands at over 590 feet tall.
Some Characters In One Piece Are A Little Too Big
Anything Over 100 Feet Tall May Be Too Large
- Sanjuan Wolf Is Over 100x Larger Than Luffy
- Despite This Sanjuan Wolf Is Weaker Than Luffy
When comparing the 5-foot-8 hero of the story to a Sanjuan Wolf, it’s easy to see the ridiculous size differences that One Piece brings to the table. To use an often overused comparison, Sanjuan Wolf, the Blackbeard crew member, is nearly as large as two football fields in height alone and most likely wider. If Luffy were to stand next to the Blackbeard pirate, it would nearly be impossible to see the protagonist of One Piece at all. Overall, it would take one hundred copies of Luffy stacked on top of one another to reach the height of Sanjuan Wolf.
Related
One Piece: Why Loki Did Not Kill King Harald, Explained
Loki is said to have killed his father, King Harald in One Piece. This might not be true.
Although this height difference may imply the Sanjuan Wolf may be a formidable opponent for Luffy in the story of One Piece, as it currently stands, Luffy is probably much stronger than the Blackbeard Pirate, who has already been bested by a much smaller opponent, Garp. However, due to the massive size difference between the characters, in comparison, being smaller makes even a stronger character feel like the underdog in the fight. Plus, taking down a much larger opponent often makes for a far more epic moment.
Introducing Large Characters Has Its Advantages
The Size Difference Between Luffy And Enemies Makes Fights Seem Challenging
The size differences in One Piece, besides being visually interesting, help keep Luffy feeling like an underdog, despite his extreme increases in power. Although Luffy is quickly becoming one of the strongest characters in the series, by introducing taller and larger characters, Luffy still feels like the underdog in almost every fight he’s in. Additionally, taller characters help symbolically raise the stakes, acting as a simple way to show off the extreme power of a character based on how absurdly tall they are.
Power isn’t determined by your size, but by the size of your heart and dreams. – Luffy
While height doesn’t mean everything in the world of One Piece, most of the time, it helps set the tone for how strong an opponent will be. Additionally, the ridiculous size comparison between Luffy and other characters helps keep Luffy as the underdog, no matter how much stronger he gets. In the end, having characters ranging from normal human height to characters who are hundreds of feet tall is one of the quirks of One Piece that helped make it into the unique show it is today.
