This article contains spoilers for the One Piece series.
The Final Saga of One Piece kickstarted with the Egghead Island arc, and now, fans are already witnessing the second arc, Elbaf, being explored by Oda. This arc has blown all expectations out of the water and has delivered some of the best moments to the fans in the last few years. That said, while the Final Saga has been phenomenal for the main characters, it hasn’t been kind to all characters. Oda has wasted quite a few, but it isn’t too late to give them a role to play.
One Piece: New Powers Luffy And The Crew Will Gain In Elbaf
Luffy and the Straw Hats face their greatest challenge yet in Elbaf, and they will need these powers.
Tashigi
A Captain of the Marines
Tashigi has always been an odd character in One Piece. Since she was first introduced, all the way back in Logue Town, Oda had hinted at some role she would play in Zoro’s story. This role of hers, however, has yet to blossom.
Tashigi remains a relatively weak character, as seen in Punk Hazard, and even after that. She is yet to play a major role in the Final Saga of One Piece, but fans do hope Oda doesn’t let her character go fully to waste.
Smoker
A Vice Admiral of the Navy
One can’t talk about Tashigi without bringing up Smoker. These two are almost always together, after all. Smoker is now a Vice Admiral, but despite his upgraded rank, he hasn’t really been relevant to the story since Punk Hazard.
So far, in the Final Saga, he hasn’t made a move yet. But he will probably have a role to play once the Marines get more involved in the current events, or so fans hope, at least. It appears that Koby is central to all the attention when it comes to the Marines.
Jinbe
The Helmsman of the Straw Hat Pirates
Jinbe is the most recent member of the Straw Hat Pirates. He officially joined the crew in Wano and has stood strong as one of the strongest fighters the crew has. However, despite his strength and reliability, Jinbe is often sidelined. The more the story progresses, the weaker he seems.
Jinbe hardly played any role in Egghead, and in Elbaf, he was unable to do anything against Holy Knight Gunko. Fans were, at least, expecting him to hold his ground for a bit. It’s unlikely Jinbe will be a central focus in the Final Saga anytime soon.
Eustass Kid
A Member of the Worst Generation
Eustass Kid was a major figure during the Onigashima War against the Beast Pirates. Not only was Kid one of the fighters on the Onigashima Rooftop, but he also ended up taking on Yonko Big Mom with the help of Law.
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Kid, however, met a bad end when he decided to challenge Shanks. Right now, he seems to be severely incapacitated, if not already dead. His contribution to the story seems to have been halted, and his character is wasted in the long run.
Tony Tony Chopper
The Doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates
Another Straw Hat that will probably get sidelined a lot in the Final Saga is Tony Tony Chopper. Chopper had a decent role to play in Wano, but even since then, he hasn’t been too relevant in recent arcs.
In Elbaf, his biggest impact so far is jumping in after Gaban to help him. Chopper will probably not have much else to do in the arc.
Nami
The Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates
Fans are always complaining about Nami, and for good reason. Nami is one of the first Straw Hats, and yet, she seems not to be focused on for a significant portion of the story. She is also often outshone by characters like Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
Right now, in Elbaf, Nami has proven to be one of the least relevant Straw Hat Pirates, which is unfortunate. Fans expected her to do more, especially since many assumed Oda making her from Sweden was a hint towards her playing a huge role in Elbaf.
Usopp
The Sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates
Usopp is probably the biggest disappointment in the Final Saga so far, especially among the Straw Hat Pirates. For Usopp, the disappointment in the Final Saga hits harder because he did not have a huge role to play in Wano.
Meanwhile, Elbaf has been a long-awaited arc for Usopp. A strong connection has been forged between Usopp and this country since the Little Garden arc, but he is yet to do anything. The arc isn’t over yet, however, and Oda might still have something in store for him.
One Piece Chapter 1156 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on August 3. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1156 is August 3, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- 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
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
