Most Overrated Devil Fruits In One Piece

Devil Fruits continue to be a noteworthy aspect of One Piece. These fruits grant abilities to those who consume them in exchange for their ability to swim. While they have been muscled out by haki as the primary power indicator, it is true that many Devil Fruits are still indicative of a boost in power.

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However, not all Devil Fruits are created equal. Due to certain narrative conventions, some Devil Fruits that were introduced earlier on are not as valuable as once perceived. It is worth mentioning that these Devil Fruits are not necessarily terrible or even bad. It’s just that their quality is lower than expected.

1

Suna Suna no Mi

Weakened by Armament Haki and Excess Liquid Exposure

• User(s): Crocodile (Formerly Mr. 0)
• Classification: Logia

Pretty much every Logia Devil Fruit was nerfed by the introduction of Armament Haki, a power that could physically counter any Logia element, regardless of how tangible it was. This was likely a necessary inclusion as the series progressed, due to certain characters being overpowered with fairly niche and limited weaknesses. Despite this fact, it has made Logia users with pre-established weaknesses seem far less powerful than they were implied to be prior to introduction.

The most notable example is Crocodile, who once deemed himself “invincible” as long as he fights in a desert. Although he defeated Luffy twice due to him countering the pirate’s limited liquid resources, Luffy took him down when they clashed with a less extractable reservoir: his own blood, as he punched Crocodile with open wounds. Although Crocodile poisoned his bloodstream, Luffy managed to power through and finally end his reign of terror in Alabasta. Yet the existence of many failsafe Devil Fruit counters, such as the previously established seastone (largely used by the marines), and Armament Haki, which anyone can learn if they train enough, proves that the ability’s weaknesses are far less niche than once suspected. Yet when combined with the mere weakness of excess liquid (which is moderately inconsistent due to Crocodile’s liquid extraction powers), he is also a far less threatening foe than once established.

2

Mane Mane no Mi

No Transferrable Combat Skills and Better Powers Are Present

• User(s): Bentham (Formerly Mr. 2 Bon Clay), Kurozumi Higurashi (Formerly)
• Classification: Paramecia

This Devil Fruit allows its user to imitate the appearances of others that they touch. However, this will only copy physique, with other factors such as clothing, equipment, and virtually anything that is not the body itself not being imitated. Its known users are skilled actors who can mimic others to unsavory ends, such as impersonating a political figure to tap into their power. However, for Bentham, this had the drawback of every other character he impersonated being unable to use his martial arts skills, due to lacking the flexibility present in his body.

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At least some, if not all, of the prior constraints introduced for this ability go out the window for the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Kybui no Kitsune. This Devil Fruit allows for much more accurate duplication of individuals, including to their outfits. Due to being a fairly new Devil Fruit, with its user Catarina Devon of the Blackbeard Pirates going unfought thus far, the exact weaknesses and limitations are unknown as of now. That said, at present, it appears to be an exclusively superior counterpart to the Mane Mane no Mi, retroactively limiting the rarity of the power and seeming inferior to the newer Devil Fruit.

3

Mera Mera no Mi

Not So Hot Anymore

• User(s): Sabo, Portgas D. Ace (Formerly)
• Classification: Logia

The Mera Mera no Mi is still an incredibly potent Devil Fruit, as control over something as disastrous as fire is not something to be taken lightly. That being said, with the introduction of other “hot” new Devil Fruits, it is shown to be weaker than other powers with similar abilities. The Magu Magu no Mi is the most noteworthy example, with its user, Akainu, having blasted out magma that neutralized the Mera Mera no Mi’s flame powers, resulting in the death of its previous user, Ace.

Another example, albeit one not yet seen directly in combat against any other hot devil fruits, is the Netsu Netsu no Mi, eaten by Charlotte Oven of the Big Mom Pirates. It shows an ability to directly manipulate heat and body temperature, even allowing the user to touch the seawater to do damage without consequence, as long as they are not submerged within it. That said, its own difficulty attacking foes with heat resistance has been noted, perhaps making the outcome against the Mera Mera no Mi or Magu Magu no Mi somewhat harder to project.

4

Zou Zou no Mi

A Cowardly Devil Fruit Power

• User(s): Funkfreed (Spandam’s Sword)
• Classification: Zoan

Zoan Devil Fruits allow their users to become animal-like, but they are often said to have minds of their own. This can manifest during certain awakenings, where the users are influenced or, in some cases, overpowered by the Devil Fruits they’ve eaten. This is also seen during the fairly new innovation of inanimate object Zoans, where animals manifest inside non-living beings who “eat” Zoans.

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One example is Funkfreed, Spandam’s now sentient sword who is his only means of protection. Spandam is a coward and a weakling who is both one of the most detestable characters in the series and possibly its very weakest, at least in terms of those who participate in combat. However, his sword, which looks rather big and intimidating, can turn into a mighty elephant in the hopes of attacking foes itself. The only problem is that this elephant is also a total pushover, being physically restrained when it is not too scared to confront the danger itself. While perhaps a stronger user could overpower this instinctive cowardice and transform into something more, this sword makes the power of an elephant seem far less awesome than it normally would be. When one considers that the apparent personality of the Devil Fruit itself is that of the one controlling the sword, it makes it seem somewhat overrated.

5

Any Devil Fruit Eaten By A Fish-Man

Cancels Out Their Greatest Strength

• User(s): Vander Decken IX, Jack, and Sasaki
• Classification: Paramecia (Decken), and Ancient Zoan (Jack and Sasaki)

Fish-men are a present species throughout One Piece. Confirmed to have a common ancestor with humans, they are nonetheless shunned by them due to their fish-like physiologies, which allow them to breathe underwater. Fish-men are already physically stronger than humans on land, but the divide deepens underwater, where fish-men gain power and humans only weaken.

Despite the ability to swim being a far more significant aspect to fish-men than humans, some sacrificed theirs in favor of a Devil Fruit. Decken’s Mato Mato no Mi, which he appropriately identifies as a curse, allows him to mark people and objects with a physical touch and then allow anything he touches with the same hand to lock onto the touched object. He requires flutter kick coating to even move underwater.

More baffling are the Zou Zou no Mi, Model: Mammoth and the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Triceratops, eaten by Jack and Sasaki of the Beasts Pirates. These powers allow their users to turn into a mammoth and triceratops, as implied, but this comes at the cost of being able to travel through their strongest terrain. This is seemingly a result of Kaido’s mandate to have an All-Zoan pirate crew. Nonetheless, Jack and Sasaki were robbed of their strongest terrain and consequently beaten on land by combatants who didn’t even consume Devil Fruits in the first place, proving just how overrated this particular fruit actually is.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)