This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga
It's become somewhat of a common trope in shonen series that there will always will be that one wise old man who also happens to be incredibly strong, despite his age. In the case of One Piece though, rather than there just being a single elderly powerhouse, the series is actually packed full of strong pirates and marines who, despite being on the older side, are still capable of dealing an incredible amount of damage thanks to their Devil Fruit abilities, their physical strength, and their mastery over their Haki.
The author of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, has actually commented on why he wanted to make the old timers seen in the story so immensely powerful, and to be honest, it was definitely a good decision on his part to make this happen, considering how beloved many of these individuals have become. Anyone who has been wondering why there are so many powerful characters in One Piece who never seem to slow down with age finally has their answer, as Oda has opened up about what specifically pushed him to write these characters in this particular way.
Some Of One Piece's Strongest Characters Are Elderly
Fans Can Never Judge A Book By It's Cover
- One Piece characters don't seem to slow down with age
- Some of the strongest characters are nearing retirement
It would be easy to assume that a character who has been living the life of a pirate for more than a few decades would ultimately start slowing down once they reach retirement age. However, while there are some characters who may enjoy calling it quits to live a quiet life after their grand adventures, most of them will simply go on to become even stronger the older they get, and there's a plethora of examples of this being the case.
For example, Big Mom and Kaido, who were once loyal members of the Rocks crew, would eventually become Emperors of the Sea after forming their own pirate crews after Rocks was taken down at God Valley. Kaido in particular would be so absurdly strong that Luffy would be forced to channel the underlying power of the Sun God Nika to even land a scratch on him, despite the protagonist being many years younger than his powerful foe. With that being said though, it's not just the pirates who have gotten stronger with age, as this also applies to many marines who will gladly fight for their cause, no matter how old they get.
"I survived again...old Whitebeard did it right" - Kaido
Sengoku is a prime example of a marine who, despite being much older than the average soldier, was still more than happy to wipe out massive swarms of pirates with his Zoan Devil Fruit during the Marineford War. Akainu and Kizaru are two other notable figures who were capable of eliminating countless numbers of trespassers during the chaotic conflict, even though they too are no longer as youthful as they once were. Clearly, Oda has no problems with making his older characters just as, if not stronger than the youngsters, and he's finally revealed why this is the case.
Oda Wanted To Show How Cool Elderly People Truly Are
The Author Didn't Want Them To Fade Into Obscurity
According to the author, there's a plethora of elderly people in real life who he considers to be "cool", but admits that many of them are no longer strong, considering how long they've been around and kicking. As a result, he wanted to pay respect to the older generation by making his elderly characters as powerful as possible, and when looking at how much carnage characters like Garp and Kaido are capable of inflicting, it's fair to say that older fans would be extremely proud of what Oda has managed to achieve with his depiction of these characters.
Oda's comments actually make a lot of sense when looking at how much he has been influenced by real-life individuals, many of whom would now be in their older years. For example, it's well known that many One Piece characters are based on actors and celebrities who were prominent several decades ago when Oda was still an up-and-coming artist. For example, the admiral Kizaru was heavily based on famous Japanese actor Kunie Tanaka, who was extremely popular in the 1980s and 90s, and who sadly passed away only a few years ago. Yusaku Matsuda, who was considered to be one of Japan's most influential actors around that same time, was also used as a reference when Oda was creating the cool and calculated Aokiji, with their designs being more or less identical.
It's pretty evident that Oda wanted to demonstrate just how awe-inspiring these figures were to him when he was a young man to a whole new audience of readers, who may have not even heard of these individuals before due to being so young. However, while it's definitely intriguing to learn why Oda has made his older characters so formidable as fighters, it does beg the question of who is considered to be the strongest of them all.
Which Elderly Character Is The Strongest?
Marines, Pirates, The World Government, Every Faction Has Its Army Of Old Warriors
- Garp is an absolute powerhouse, even though he's far past his prime
- Kaido was considered unbeatable for much of his life
- The Five Elders possess demonic powers that make them a significant threat
The world of One Piece is packed full of strong characters, though ironically, some of the most powerful tend to also be the oldest, with the biggest example of this being Monkey D Garp. Though Oda has been careful not to show too much of Garp in action, from the glimpses that have been seen so far, it's clear that even in his older years, Garp hasn't slowed down one bit, to the point where many consider him to be not only the strongest marine, but the potentially even the strongest character in the entire series.
"Their unstoppable evil rampage, which trampled over all in its wake, was finally quelled by Marine Vice Admiral Garp" - Sengoku
His biggest showcase of power came when he decided to rescue Koby from Pirate Island. With a single Galaxy Impact punch, Garp was able to send shockwaves through the entire island, knocking back anyone in close proximity without even touching them. As someone who is partly credited for defeating Rocks and his entire crew, Oda has made it clear that Garp was a true monster in his prime, but even today, the marine has proven that he is still more than happy to take down anyone who dares to stand in the way of him and his mission.
Kaido is also considered to be an incredibly strong old-timer who was knocking out pirates left, right and center before Luffy eventually defeated him after activating Gear 5. More recently, the Five Elders have also been showcasing their own strength on Egghead Island, using their demonic-like transformations to wreak havoc across the island without a care in the world for any casualties. Garp, Kaido, and the Elders are definitely among the strongest older One Piece characters, but Imu also deserves a mention, even though their powers are still largely shrouded in mystery.
- 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
- Writers
- Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
