Most Important Story Arc For Every Straw Hat In One Piece

Summary

• Luffy trains to unleash powerful Haki & discover his true potential in Wano.
• Nami trusts the Straw Hat crew after betrayal; growth is seen at Arlong Park.
• Usopp confronts Luffy about their friendship, showing his true feelings at Water 7.

The Straw Hats have come a very long way since they each first started their grand adventure to find the One Piece treasure, but it’s fair to say it’s not all been smooth sailing. There have been several times throughout the story where members of the crew have been forced to develop and grow as characters due to their experiences on a particular island. This applies not only to their physical strength and abilities, which can be enhanced by overcoming grueling battles, but also to their emotional maturity, which has been explored in-depth for many of the Straw Hats through several story arcs.

While the crew as a whole will always learn something new from each island they explore along their adventure, there are a select few arcs that can be seen as the most important for each of One Piece‘s main cast of characters on a personal basis. With that being said, it’s time to explore these One Piece arcs in a bit more depth to see why exactly they were such important moments in the narrative for the infamous Straw Hat crew members.

1

Nami – Arlong Park

Nami Learns To Trust In Her New Nakama After They Take Down Arlong

It can be hard to believe, considering how close she eventually becomes with the rest of the crew, but Nami wasn’t always very fond of Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji. In fact, her initial aim was to simply follow them around until she could steal their treasure and deliver it all to the malicious Fishman known as Arlong, in exchange for her village being freed from his tyrannical rule.

Once Arlong goes back on his promise, Nami is left distraught, with the horrifying memories of her mother’s murder racing through her brain as she wonders what she can do to save her village. After witnessing Luffy and the others give their all to take down Arlong, despite the fact she had just betrayed them, it was the moment she was able to put all her trust into her newfound friends, who have had her back ever since that fateful day in Arlong Park.

2

Nico Robin – Enies Lobby

The “Devil Child” Finally Admits That She Wants To Live A Free And Happy Life

When the Marines decide to blow Ohara island to smithereens after fearing the locals were learning a little too much about the Poneglyphs, Nico Robin, the only survivor of the attack, became an outcast of society known as the “Devil Child.” Considering she had been all on her own for much of her life, Robin decided to adopt the nickname as a way to survive, even joining up with the dangerous Shichibukai known as Crocodile. Robin’s true feelings, however, wouldn’t spill out until the Enies Lobby arc, where she finally admits that, despite people telling her otherwise, she does still want to live on and enjoy the rest of her adventure with her crew.

It’s extremely rare to ever see Robin show any case of emotion in the story, so Enies lobby provides an extremely rare glimpse into the woman who resides beneath the stoic and cold exterior. It would also be the arc which convinced Robin that joining the crew was the right decision, since, up until then, she had seemed pretty wary of their intentions, but that all changed once they arrived to declare war on the World Government to save her.

3

Franky – Water 7

From Antagonist To Lovable Crew Member, Franky Grows A Lot in His Introductory Arc

While some of the Straw Hats receive a major focus a little later down the line from when they are first introduced, this isn’t the case for the crew’s shipwright, Franky. When Franky pops up in Water 7, he acts as an antagonist whose only concern is boosting his ego and looking good in front of his gang, and he makes it a mission to hunt down Luffy after he wipes out his family members. Once CP-9 started getting involved, though, Franky began realizing that maybe teaming up with the Straw hats isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Franky is technically the only member to join the crew in this arc, but he does also bring the Thousand Sunny with him, allowing him to officially embark on his dream of sailing the world with a ship of his construction. Franky has had some shining moments in other arcs, such as Dressrosa with his Mr. Pink Fight, but it was in Water 7 where he received the biggest focus.

4

Tony Tony Chopper – Drum Island

The Doctor Of The Straw Hat Crew Made Quite The Memorable Introduction

Chopper is in a similar situation to Franky, where his best and most important arc is the one in which he first shows up: Drum Island. Initially, Chopper seems like little more than a timid reindeer doctor who simply works as a humble assistant to Kureha, and while all this is true, there’s much more to this fuzzy furball than meets the eye.

After Chopper reveals his tear-jerking backstory with Hiriluk and why he wants to become a doctor who can cure any illness, it becomes clear that this is a character who has a long journey still ahead of him. Deciding to leave Drum Island and Kureha behind to become a fully-fledged pirate wasn’t easy, but it would end up being the most important and worthwhile choice that Chopper ever makes.

5

Brook – Whole Cake Island

Brook Proves Himself To Be A Dependable Member Of The Crew On Whole Cake Island

While Thriller Bark is also an extremely pivotal story arc for Brook in terms of giving him a new goal and purpose in life, or in his case, the afterlife, it was on Whole Cake where he proved his worth and reliability to the rest of the crew. Not only did Brook manage to stand up to Big Mom all on his own, he even stole her Poneglyph, which would usually be considered near-impossible when on a Yonko’s territory.

It doesn’t stop there, as Brook also took it upon himself to smash Mother Caramel’s picture to pieces, giving Luffy and Bege an opening to take down Big Mom for good, even though it didn’t work. While Brook is mostly used in story arcs as comic relief, Whole Cake was where he decided to truly take a stand and show how much he cares for his fellow nakama who gave him a second shot at life.

6

Jinbei – Marineford War

Jinbei Makes Himself An Enemy Of The Marines And Begins Warming Up To Luffy

There have been quite a few important story arcs for Jinbei throughout the story, but the war at Marineford was an especially vital conflict for him to be a part of since it essentially changed his entire life. When Marineford first kicked off, Jinbei was in prison after refusing to fight alongside the Marines as a Shichibukai. However, his one lasting hope came from Ace, who asked Jinbei to watch over his brother, Luffy, if he ever got the chance.

Not only did Jinbei officially make himself an enemy of the Marines by protecting Luffy from Akainu, but he would also begin to admire the young knucklehead pirate and his fiery determination, acting as an important stepping stone in their relationship. Jinbe would also see a lot of growth in both Fishman Island and Whole Cake, but Marineford stands out for how drastically the whole event turned his life around.

7

Usopp – Water 7

Usopp’s True Feelings Are Put On Full Display As He Stands Up For His Opinions

Though Usopp may seem like little more than a clumsy goofball for the first few arcs of the series, it soon becomes clear that he has a lot of hidden feelings bubbling under the surface. When the crew arrives in Water 7, and the stakes start rising sky-high due to the Merry ship being almost obliterated, Usopp decides to speak his mind to Luffy’s face. As he starts admitting that he believes Luffy might leave him and the weaker crew members behind, he eventually challenges Luffy to a fight, only to be humiliated by his captain.

Though Usopp would eventually return to the crew a bit later on after donning his Sogeking persona, Water 7 was where fans were finally given clear insight into the sniper’s beliefs and true personality. Considering his dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea, standing up to his captain when he disagreed with him marked a courageous step toward reaching that goal.

8

Sanji – Whole Cake Island

Sanji Is Forced To Confront A Past He Had Hoped To Forget About

Despite having been one of the first members to join the Straw Hat crew, Sanji remains pretty tight-lipped about his past – that is, until he is forced to make his way to Whole Cake Island as part of an arranged marriage. With his abusive Germa family also residing on the island, Sanji is forced to confront his siblings, and most importantly, his dreaded father, who had all made his childhood a living nightmare due to his lack of powers.

The arc also dissects Sanji’s signature character trait, his selflessness, and how much he’s willing to put himself in harm’s way just to protect his crewmates. In the end, Luffy would succeed in breaking through to Sanji and convincing him to follow his own heart for once, rather than doing what others demand of him, but it took a lot of effort to get there.

9

Zoro – Wano

Wano Gifts Zoro With A Devastating New Power-Up And His Toughest Enemy Yet

Zoro always gets a big moment to shine in each story arc. Whether it’s slicing the mountain-sized Pica in two or freezing Monet in place without even touching her, Zoro has showcased his swordsmanship skills on more than a few occasions, but by far his biggest test would come in Wano when he came face to face with the menacing Yonko known as Kaido.

Zoro puts up an admirable fight against Kaido, even managing to leave a lasting scar on the beast’s surface, thanks to his new blade, Enma. Though he was already absurdly strong, gaining Enma proved to be a massive power boost for the Straw Hats’ second-in-command. This arc would even see Zoro unleash his Asura form for the very first time since Enies Lobby, which, for many people, has been his best moment in the post-timeskip or even the entire series.

10

Monkey D. Luffy – Wano

The Reality Of Luffy’s Fruit And True Potential Is Finally Revealed In Wano Kuni

Despite Luffy arriving in Wano to take down the mighty Yonko known as Kaido, he receives a pretty rude awakening after being one-shot by the beasts’ Thunder Bagua attack. For much of the arc, Luffy is tasked with training himself to become strong enough to even harm Kaido, let alone defeat him, but it’s honestly quite staggering how much he develops in this arc specifically. In Udon Prison, Luffy would finally learn how to use his Armament Haki in the same way as Rayleigh, allowing him to dish out damage without even touching his opponent.

What makes this arc so important for Luffy’s character, though, is how it sheds light on the true nature of his Devil Fruit and more specifically, its connections to the Sun God Nika and Joy Boy. This would also be the arc that officially earned Luffy the title of Yonko, which was also a huge step up for the protagonist. Though the Marineford War was also very important for Luffy’s character development on an emotional level, there’s just so much new context and lore packed into Wano that it has to take the top spot when focusing on him specifically.