One Piece: Most Stubborn Characters

Summary

• Kinemon’s unwavering determination to save Wano despite setbacks shows true loyalty and resilience.
• Enel’s stubborn god complex makes him a fierce fighter who refuses to be convinced otherwise.
• Luffy’s stubborn nature enhances his strength and likability, as he charges forward towards his dream.

Anyone who knows anything about One Piece will be well aware of just how stubborn and hard-headed a lot of the characters who reside in this wide and wonderful world can truly be. Considering the One Piece universe is one packed full of dreams, beliefs, and ideologies, it only makes sense why so many characters would feel the need to push others away and ignore their advice when they are so stuck in their own ways.

On the other hand, though, while stubbornness can be a benefit to some characters, allowing them to charge full-speed ahead without anyone getting in their way, it can also make them hard to work with, or even talk to. This characteristic applies to not only a handful of the series’ heroes, including some Straw Hats, but also some of the villains who have refused to let Luffy and his crew convince them out of their master plan and evil mindset. It’s time to see how stubborn these One Piece characters can really get — and what exactly made them this way in the first place.

9

Kine’mon

Kine’mon Never Gave Up On Saving Wano, No Matter How Much He Lost Along The Way

• First Appearance: Episode 580

Being one of Oden’s loyal followers, Kine’mon was given the task of re-opening Wano’s borders after it was taken over by the malicious Kaido and his deadly Beast Pirates. Despite being ship-wrecked, betrayed, and seemingly having a low chance of reclaiming his country, Kinemon continued to remain positive, despite how much he had to endure.

It would have been easy for Kine’mon to simply live a happy life with Momonosuke without returning to the chaos of Wano, but he never lost sight of his objective and even stepped up as the samurai leader during the Raid on Onigahsima. Kine’mon would go as far as to sacrifice his own life to free Wano from the Beast Pirates, and though he thankfully didn’t die, it just goes to show how determined he was to carry out his master’s dream.

8

Enel

There’s Simply No Hope In Convincing Enel Out Of His God Complex

• First Appearance: Episode 167

Enel isn’t just stubborn in his personality, but also as a fighter too. On the one hand, Enel’s Devil Fruit and impressive Observation Haki cause him to believe that he is a god who should naturally rule over the rest of the Sky Islands, no matter how much Luffy and the others may try to convince him otherwise. As a result, he feels no guilt when obliterating villages and striking down anyone that speaks ill of him with his electric powers.

As mentioned earlier, though, Enel is also a fighter who can be a real thorn in the side of his opponents, considering he just refuses to ever give up. Even after being taken down halfway through the Skypiea arc, Enel simply jumpstarts his heart to come back to life; simply unwilling to let anyone belittle his god-like persona.

7

Whitebeard

There’s Hard To Kill, And Then There’s Whitebeard

• First Appearance: Episode 485

The former Yonko, Edward Newgate, commonly known as Whitebeard among the pirates and marines, is one of the most formidable fighters in the entire series. While his Gura Gura no Mi fruit grants him earth-shattering strength, he is also a master hand-to-hand combatant and possesses some incredibly powerful Haki, but it wouldn’t be until the Marineford War that it was made clear just how downright stubborn this ‘father’ truly is.

During that conflict, Whitebeard was the main target for not just the marines, but even a few pirates too, including Crocodile, who tried to take his head early on in the conflict. In the end, though, it would take 267 sword slashes, 152 bullets, and 46 cannonballs to take Whitebeard down, and even then, he remained standing in death. The fact Whitebeard didn’t receive a single wound to his back shows just how stubbornly loyal he is to the pirate code; setting a good example for the rest of his crew in the process.

6

Smoker

Smoker’s Stubborn Pride Puts Him At Odds With Luffy

• First Appearance: Episode 48

Smoker is put in a pretty awkward position as a Marine. Despite his profession meaning he is automatically an enemy of pirates, Smoker has seen first-hand just how much effort Luffy and the Straw Hats have put in to saving people, whether it be freeing the county of Alabasta from the clutches of Crocodile — or the kids who Caesar Clown was using for his own experiments.

Despite that, he refuses to ever fully buy into the idea that Luffy, or any pirate for that matter, can ever be morally good or redeemable, which is ultimately what makes him an opponent to Luffy. More recently, Smoker has started to show signs of questioning his position as a Marine, though for a long while, he’s remained stubbornly loyal to the World Government.

5

Portgas D. Ace

Ace Could Never Believe He Was Worth Saving Due To His Lineage

• First Appearance: Episode 91

As the son of the infamous Gol D. Roger, Ace didn’t exactly have a pleasant upbringing. Ace would constantly be mocked and belittled for his lineage to the man who kicked off the great pirate era, causing him to see himself as worthless and not worthy of being cared about. Though his mindset began to change after joining Whitebeard’s crew, he would latch onto the ‘family’ idea so closely that it caused him to chase after Blackbeard after he betrayed Ace and the rest of the crew, despite it clearly being a bad idea.

Where Ace’s stubbornness really shines through, though, is during Marineford, where he cries out for Whitebeard and Luffy to leave him be, not seeing himself as worthy enough to be saved. Right up until the end, Ace remained stuck on the idea that he is not someone who should be of any concern to others, though in his final moments, he did eventually manage to say thank you to Luffy for loving him over all those years.

4

Boa Hancock

Boa Will Always Have Her Way, Rather Than Taking The Opinions Of Her Allies

• First Appearance: Episode 409

From what has been revealed through flashbacks and backstories, Boa Hancock has been a fairly stubborn individual from a pretty young age. Despite Gloriosa taking her and her sisters in, Hancock seems less than willing to acknowledge the ‘debt’ that she owes the village elder, instead preferring to scold and look down on her.

Once she falls in love with Luffy, she becomes even more assured in her own convictions, despite multiple people pointing out how absurd the whole thing is. As was shown with her infiltration into Thriller Bark and the Marineford War, there’s nothing Hancock won’t do for Luffy in order to gain his attention, no matter how dangerous it may be.

3

Buggy

Buggy Will Believe He’s The Very Best Until The End Of Time

• First Appearance: Episode 4

It’s honestly shocking the number times Buggy has been saved by a member of his crew, or even by Luffy, only to claim that it was his idea all along to try and make himself look like a worthy pirate captain. The truth is, Buggy simply can’t shake the idea that he is a brave and heroic pirate who can achieve anything, and though he is still a coward, it doesn’t matter how scary a situation gets; it won’t shake his high opinion of himself.

Ironically, this has somehow managed to work in Buggy’s favor, considering he is now considered a Yonko, despite that ultimately being the result of other people’s work rather than his own. Trying to tell Buggy he’s little more than a timid and easily-scared pirate is like speaking to a brick wall; he simply won’t accept it.

2

Akainu Sakazuki

It Seems Unlikely Akainu Will Ever Turn His Back On His Form Of ‘Absolute Justice’

• First Appearance: Episode 225

Every admiral of the Marines has their own unique sense of justice that feeds into how they will act when face-to-face with a batch of pirates. For Akainu, his ‘Absolute Justice’ doctrine means that, no matter what, he will do what is necessary to exterminate anyone who is a pirate, or is even affiliated with them, alongside those who risk exposing the Marine’s secrets.

Nowhere is this more evident than when Akainu ordered a Buster Call on Ohara due to their research on the Void Century, killing almost everyone on the island, despite many being innocent civilians. Akainu has faced plenty of scrutiny for his brutal approach to being the commander of the fleet, especially from Fujitora and Garp, but it doesn’t matter how many of his own men turn on him — Akainu will never let his convictions slip.

1

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy’s Stubborn Nature, Which Constantly Thrusts Him Into Danger, Is One Of His Biggest Strengths

• First Appearance: Episode 1

Luffy isn’t the type of guy who likes taking advice from others. Once he has a goal in mind, he will throw himself head-first into achieving it, no matter how many people may doubt him or warn him of the risks. No character knows this better than Law, who, on many occasions, has tried to conjure up a strategic plan with Luffy, only for the knucklehead captain to charge right in without having a care in the world for being tactical.

Luffy is also one of the most stubborn fighters in the entire series, somehow managing to return to his feet after being annihilated by the likes of Doflamingo, Crocodile, and even Kaido. Luffy’s stubborn nature is one of the biggest reasons why he is such a beloved protagonist, though, as it feeds into his goofy persona while also presenting him as an endearing character who will achieve his dream of being the Pirate King, even when all the odds are stacked against him.