Summary
- Oden's adventurous journey and wild personality make him a legendary and fascinating character.
- Characters like Inuarashi, Ashura Doji, and Kawamatsu showcase the strength and diversity of the samurai in One Piece.
- Izo's unique fighting style, backstory, and sacrifice make him a memorable and intriguing samurai.
Though the samurai don't become a very relevant faction in the One Piece story until a few hundred chapters down the line, there are still plenty of characters who follow the samurai code that fans have come to love for their own unique reasons. The majority of samurai from the series hail from the land of Wano, but another shared characteristic is their expertise at using a sword, though this isn't always a requirement to become worthy of earning the title.
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The samurai as a group have gone through many hardships over the course of One Piece's story, which is why so many of them feel that they have a point to prove, putting everything on the line to try and restore Wano back to its former glory. Sometimes, these characters will also receive a fair amount of development and will be able to partake in a few epic fights, which only serve to make them even more intriguing and memorable as individuals.
8 Inuarashi
Inuarashi Stands Out For His Eyecatching Design And Fascinating Backstory
- First Appearance: Episode 756
Inuarashi is a man — or rather, a Mink — who's full of secrets. While he is one of the leaders of the Mokomo Dukedom alongside his hot-headed partner Nekomomushi, what makes him so interesting, aside from his absurdly creative appearance, is his serious and stoic persona. As someone who had clearly seen his fair share of battles, it resulted in him quickly becoming one of the most interesting characters to come out of the Zou arc.
Once his flashback with Oden is revealed, fans would finally get an insight into how Inuarashi matured into such a deadly samurai, and why his loyalty to the samurai-Mink alliance remains so strong. Though Inuarashi, unfortunately, doesn't get as much screen time as many of the other samurai during the Wano arc, he's still someone a lot of fans have come to adore.
7 Ashura Doji
The Strongest Monster In Kuri Steals Every Scene He's In With His Infectious Charisma And Overwhelming Power
- First Appearance: Episode 910
What is made very clear about Ashura Doji, just from his large and menacing appearance alone, is that he's an absurdly powerful samurai. Previously known as "Monster of Kuri," Ashura Doji would pledge his allegiance to Oden after he was bested in combat by the future hero of Wano, eventually becoming one of his closest allies, though he would be one of the few Scabbards who was not transported twenty years into the future after Oden's untimely demise.
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As a result, by the time he appears in the story, Ashura Doji has become a terrifyingly strong warrior who Kin'emon repeatedly states the samurai need to get on their side to have any hope of pulling off the risky raid on Onigashima. Ashura Doji's impressive strength and infectious charisma make him a fun character to watch in-action — especially when he's able to show off his sword skills against a tough opponent.
6 Kawamatsu
Kawamatsu Shows That Anyone, Regardless Of Background, Can Become A Samurai
- First Appearance: Episode 910
As a Fishman who washed up on the shores of Wano with his mother, Kawamatsu wasn't exactly given a warm welcome by the locals who strung him up and threatened to kill him. Thankfully, the young kappa was saved in the nick of time by Oden, and after joining him, he would go on a wild adventure where he learned to become not only a brave and courageous samurai, but also a protector of the weak.
As the guardian of Hiyori, Kawamatsu would essentially become a caring parent of the young girl who was always trying to prevent her from getting into trouble, showing a sensitive side to him which would rarely be seen from a sharp and stoic samurai. At the same time, Kawamatsu would also come across as a truly badass samurai when he first appears in Udon Prison, especially with the way the guards talk about him, as if he's some kind of dangerous monster who is the stuff of nightmares.
5 Denjiro
Denjiro's Mysterious Persona And Exuberant Fighting Style Result In A Very Intriguing Character
- First Appearance: Episode 909
Denjiro makes his debut pretty early on in the Wano arc, though this isn't the name he goes by initially. Known as Kyoshiro, the shifty samurai acted as a loyal servant to the horrid shogun of Wano, Orochi, who proved he was more than willing to cut down anyone who looked at him or his master the wrong way. However, it was always clear something was a little off about Kyoshiro from the moment he first appeared on-screen, with his anti-hero persona making him one of the most interesting newcomers in the first act of Wano.
This would be before he even reveals his true identity as Denjiro, one of Oden's loyal scabbards who was acquiring power and biding his time before he could assist Kin'emon and the others from behind the scenes. Denjiro gets a lot more focus than many of the other scabbards, and he's a character who really stands out thanks to his interesting personal arc and relevance to the story.
4 Izo
Izo's Unique Fighting Style And Multiple Allegiances Make Him A Very Interesting Samurai
- First Appearance: Episode 461
Though it wasn't made clear that he was a samurai at the time, Izo actually first shows up in the story during the Marineford War, where he contributed in the effort to save Ace from being executed. A major reason why Izo is such a unique member of the samurai is because, rather than using a sword, Izo utilizes two deadly hand cannons to dish out damage, allowing him to move around a battle arena in the blink of an eye with his impressive speed and mobility.
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During the Wano arc, Izo would make a grand return, even going as far as to sacrifice his own life while fending off CP-0 to ensure Kin'emon and the other samurai could complete the raid and defeat Kaido once and for all. If Izo hadn't shown up when he did, the raid could have gone horribly wrong, and when paired with his intriguing backstory and flashy fighting style, it results in him being a very memorable character within the series.
3 Shimotsuki Ryuma
A Tough Opponent For Zoro Who Remains Relevant To The Story Despite Being Long Gone
- First Appearance: Episode 342
Though Ryuma technically appears quite early on in the story during the crew's adventure aboard Thriller Bark, he's not exactly his usual self. In fact, all that's left of Ryuma is his rotting corpse, which was brought back to life by Gecko Moria to force him to serve as a member of his zombie army. As a legendary samurai who made his name in Wano, Zoro was well aware of Ryuma's skills as a swordsman, resulting in one of the most epic sword fights in the series when the two inevitably clash.
Because Ryuma was introduced well before anything was even known about Wano in the story, he became a hot topic of conversation and debate among the fanbase for many years. Even when the crew finally arrive in Wano, Ryuma's influence on the world can still be felt, and as a role model of Zoro's, Ryuma is someone who many fans have come to highly respect.
2 Kozuki Oden
The Legendary Oden Has Been On A Truly Exciting Adventure That Many Pirates Can Only Dream Of
- First Appearance: Episode 960
The hero of Wano, Kozuki Oden, is mentioned many times before fans even get to see his face, but it's fair to say his flashback certainly lived up to the hype. Despite once being little more than a womanizing, rebellious troublemaker, Oden's desire to open Wano's borders to the world would take him on a wild journey. Not only would he travel as one of Whitebeard's 'sons' among his crew, he would also sail the seas with none other than Gol D. Roger — and was even there by his side when the crew managed to reach the One Piece treasure.
While he has achieved some truly outstanding feats, Oden as a character is also incredibly fun to follow. His wild and hot-headed personality paired with his immense strength sees this legendary samurai getting involved in all kinds of chaotic scenarios. During his final moments, he would prove his true loyalty to his scabbards and his personal beliefs by holding his friends above a boiling pot of oil while he himself boiled to death. The Red Scabbards may hype up Oden quite a lot before his official reveal, but with a single flashback, fans were able to understand just why the brave and courageous hero is looked back on so fondly, becoming one of One Piece's most fascinating characters whose incredible legacy will never fade away.
1 Kin'emon
From Bumbling Coward To Leader Of The Samurai, Kin'emon Has Been On Quite The Journey
- First Appearance: Episode 580
When Kin'emon first encounters Luffy and the crew on Punk Hazard, he comes across as a clumsy and aloof older man who seemingly had just stumbled onto the island accidentally. In reality, Kin'emon was once a close ally of Kozuki Oden and was flashed twenty years into the future so that he could reclaim Wano from the clutches of Kaido and return Momonosuke to the throne. Considering Kin'emon starts off the story severely under-prepared to save his homeland of Wano, seeing him push on and mature as a character as he starts gaining more allies is truly commendable to watch.
By the time the raid on Onigashima begins, Kin'emon has established such a reputation that he is hailed as one of the leaders of the samurai, and puts up an honorable fight against Kaido's Beast Pirates. Out of all the samurai, Kin'emon has one of the most satisfying character arcs out of the bunch, and he is one of the most memorable temporary members of the Straw Hats crew in the entire series.
- 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
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 21
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 1122
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.72
