20 strongest races in One Piece, ranked

Some of the mightiest races featured in the highly variegated One Piece world (Image via Toei Animation)
Some of the mightiest races featured in the highly variegated One Piece world (Image via Toei Animation)

Very few series can boast a fictional world as intriguing and varied as One Piece. Eiichiro Oda’s fanciful imagination entertains fans with countless different places, characters and organizations, giving rise to an incredibly entangled lore. Notably, most One Piece characters are humans, but they also come from other races.

Whether of natural or, in certain cases, even artificial origin, every race has its own potential, unique abilities, and natural-born features. With that being said, this thread will list all the races revealed in the One Piece franchise as of the manga’s latest chapter, ranking them on the basis of their might.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1106.


All known races in One Piece, ranked from weakest to strongest as of chapter 1106

20) Kinokobito

A Kinokobito trapped in Big Mom's collection (Image via Toei Animation)
A Kinokobito trapped in Big Mom's collection (Image via Toei Animation)

The only known member of this race was briefly displayed among the creatures trapped within Mont-D’Or’s special book. Currently, there is no information about the powers and abilities of the Kinokobito, except for the fact that they are four-legged humanoids whose bodies feature two mushroom-like halves.


19) Snakenecks

The Snakeneck Charlotte Amande as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Snakeneck Charlotte Amande as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Members of the Snakeneck Tribe have exceedingly long and thin necks. They also tend to have slender, snake-like bodies. So far, the series has only shown a few Snakenecks, such as Charlotte Amande, as well as her siblings Mascarpone and Joscarpone. All of them are hybrid offspring born to Charlotte Linlin “Big Mom” and a full-fledged Snakeneck.


18) Three-Eyed People

The Three-Eyed Charlotte Pudding as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Three-Eyed Charlotte Pudding as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Three-eyed people are identical to humans, except for the fact that the former can awaken a third eye on their forehead. This extra eye allows them to perceive the Voice of All Things and read Poneglyphs. The only known member of this race is Charlotte Pudding, a hybrid between the human Charlotte Linlin and an unknown pure Three-Eyed tribesman.


17) Wotans

The Wotan Big Pan as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Wotan Big Pan as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

As hybrids between Fish-Men and Giants, Wotans blend the typical traits of both. Their Fish-Men blood makes them naturally skilled at moving and fighting underwater, while their Giants heritage grants them insane strength. As regards size, Wotans are larger than most Fish-Men, but smaller than Giants.

The only Wotan ever shown in the series is Big Pan, a member of the Foxy Pirates. Famed as one of the “Groggy Monsters”, Big Pan has a particularly slippery skin, which makes him resistant to blunt force physical blows.


16) Dwarves

The Tontatta Tribe Dwarves as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Tontatta Tribe Dwarves as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Dwarves are humanoids so small that they can fit in the palm of an average-sized human hand. They can move at remarkable speed and possess much higher physical strength than their size would allow.

The Tontatta Tribe, a colony of dwarves living on Green Bit, recently set sail as a pirate crew, the Tontatta Pirates. Their leader is Leo, a dwarf who can combine his agility with the powers of the Stitch-Stitch Fruit to bind his opponents.


15) Zombies

Some Zombies as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Some Zombies as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Zombies are an artificial race that populates Thriller Bark. They are created through Gecko Moria’s Devil Fruit, which enables him to steal other people’s shadows and insert them into corpses, animating them.

Each zombie has the same personality, techniques, and fighting skills as the individual who originally owned the shadow. The zombie’s physical capabilities, instead, depend on the corpse. Zombies can’t regenerate, but they can ignore pain. However, they will be instantly purified by fire, or by ingesting salt.

Moria's most powerful zombies were Ryuma and Oars. Due to the very poor state in which his corpse was found, the zombie Ryuma was much weaker than the original “Sword God”.

The body of “Continent Puller” Oars was instead in perfect condition. Oars froze to death, and his corpse was preserved in ice for several centuries. Moria animated it with Luffy’s shadow, making this zombie a genuine threat for the Straw Hat Pirates during their time in Thriller Bark.


14) Longarms

The Longarm Scratchman Apoo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Longarm Scratchman Apoo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Longarms are the same as humans, but possess particularly longer arms, as they have two elbows instead of one. This race’s strongest known fighter is Scratchman Apoo, one of the Worst Generation’s Eleven Supernovas. In combat, Apoo uses his traits as a Longarm in combination with the surprising powers of the Sound-Sound Fruit.


13) Longlegs

The Longleg Charlotte Smoothie as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Longleg Charlotte Smoothie as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

There’s no difference between humans and Longlegs, if not for the latter possessing extremely tall legs. These peculiar lower limbs grant the tribespeople great physical strength and make them exceedingly tall, a feature that can turn into a weakness depending on the situation.

For over a millennium, the Longlegs have conflicted with the Longarms. The race’s strongest representative is Charlotte Smoothie, one of the three Sweet Commanders from Big Mom’s crew. Other Longlegs worth mentioning are Tamago, another member of the Big Mom Pirates, and Bluegilly.


12) Pacifista

The Pacifista cyborgs as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Pacifista cyborgs as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Human weapons developed by Dr Vegapunk on the World Government's behalf, Pacifista are cybernetically enhanced clones of Bartholomew Kuma, who was the project's prototype. They are made of a non-magnetic, highly durable metal that grants them impressive durability.

As a result of Kuma's Buccaneer DNA, the Pacifista cyborgs have great physical strength. They can also fire lasers, which Vegapunk created as a replica of Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit.

As an artificial race, Pacifista was recently upgraded. The new models, called Mark III, are equipped with a Bubble Shield made of super-resilient Yarukiman-type resin. This allows them to overcome the large majority of average New World fighters.


11) Numbers

Some Numbers as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Some Numbers as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Born as a failed attempt to recreate the Ancient Giants, the Numbers are an artificial race consisting of ten members with great raw power but particularly low intellect.

In addition to their massive size and horns, similar to those of Oars, the ten Numbers also have visible animalistic features. All of them have become part of Kaido's army.


10) Merfolk

The Merman Hyozo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Merman Hyozo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Merfolk are humanoid aquatic creatures that feature the traits of fish or other undersea creatures. For instance, Neptune is a Coelacanth merman, Hyozo is a Blue-Ringed Octopus merman, Aladine is a Goatsbeard Brotula merman, Shirahoshi is a Smelt-Whiting mermaid, and Otohime was a Goldfish mermaid.

Notably, mermen are the male Merfolk, who keep their tails intact their whole lives. Instead, female Merfolk are called mermaids. Once they turn 30, their tails split, turning into legs that allow them to walk on land.

Merfolk can manipulate water through a specific martial arts style, the Merman Combat, which seems quite similar to Fish-Man Karate. Due to their bodily features, when it comes to swimming, Merfolk are even better than Fish-Men.


9) Sky Island Residents

Skypieans, Birkans, and Shandia as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Skypieans, Birkans, and Shandia as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

In the distant past, three tribes of humanoids native to the Moon, the Skypieans, the Shandia, and the Birkans, came to Earth. The members of these tribes are substantially identical to humans, except for the fact that they have a pair of small wings on their backs. Still, they can’t use them to fly.

Curiously, however, the Birkan self-proclaimed God Enel has drums on his back. Skypieans, Shandia, and Birkans are distinguished among themselves by the different size and shape of their wings.

Friendly and civilized, Skypieans settled on Angel Island. Shandia, who is a more primitive, prideful, and warlike race, established themselves on a portion of Jaya, which was later shot up into the sky, creating the Upper Yard. The Birkans, led by Enel, seized Skypiea until the arrival of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Combining his proficiency with Observation Haki with the ravaging Logia powers of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Enel is a dangerous foe for anyone who isn’t a skilled Haki user. Shandia warriors Wyper, in the present, and Kalgara, a legendary combatant from the past, are other fighters who deserve a mention.


8) Minks

The Minks Nekomamushi and Inuarashi as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Minks Nekomamushi and Inuarashi as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Bipedal humanoids with the features of furry mammalian animals, the Minks are natural-born warriors who possess remarkable physical strength, speed, and agility. Most of the Minks live in Zou, their homeland. Notably, they can discharge electric shocks via an innate ability called Electro.

If exposed to the full moon, Minks can enter a special form called Sulong. This transformation massively boosts all their capabilities but at the cost of significant drawbacks, including lack of control and exhaustion.

Only the strongest Minks have mastered the Sulong transformation. For instance, this is the case of Nekomamushi and Inuarashi. Two Commander-level fighters, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi have equal strength and authority, which makes them the co-leaders of the Mink Tribe.


7) Fish-Men

Some Fish-Men as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
Some Fish-Men as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Fish-Men are humanoids who have lungs and gills like water-breathing creatures. Arlong is a sawshark, Jinbe is a whale shark, Hody Jones is a white shark, and so forth, as each Fish-Man possesses different features depending on the species.

The average Fish-Man is ten times stronger than the average human, which makes members of this aquatic race a force to be reckoned with. If a Fish-Man fights underwater, his combat prowess increases exponentially.

Fish-Men also have the natural ability to manipulate any surrounding water source, a skill they can maximize by mastering the Fish-Man Karate. The greatest-known practitioner of this martial arts style is Jinbe, a former Warlord who recently joined the Straw Hat Pirates.


6) Giants

The Giants Kashii and Oimo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Giants Kashii and Oimo as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

The distinctive trait of Giants is their incredibly large size, which provides them with formidable physical strength. Most Giants are native to Elbaf, which, for this reason, has a reputation for being the mightiest country in the world.

Oars and his descendant Little Oars Jr have demonic features, such as massive horns and sharp teeth. They are known as “Ancient Giants”, and are much bigger than even the other members of the same race.

Other Giants, like Oimo, Kashii, Dorry, and Brogy, are much more similar to humans, just dozens of meters high. Loki, the alleged prince of Elbaf and leader of the country’s militia should belong to the latter type too.


5) Buccaneers

The Buccaneer Bartholomew Kuma as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Buccaneer Bartholomew Kuma as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

A tribe of special humanoids taller than average humans but smaller than Giants, the Buccaneer Race once committed a certain major crime against the World Government. As a result, they are now nearly extinct, with the only known members of the tribe being Bartholomew Kuma and his father Klapp.

Buccaneers carry the blood of the Giants, which grants them outstanding physical strength and particularly durable bodies. However, physical might is not their only distinctive trait, as Dr Vegapunk implied that members of the Buccaneer Race also possess a very peculiar power.


4) Lunarians

The Lunarian Alber "King" as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Lunarian Alber "King" as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Lunarians once dwelled on the Red Line, but have now disappeared under unknown circumstances. They feature certain hallmarks, such as brown skin, white hair, and black wings. Moreover, they have a flame burning on their backs, as they can ignite themselves at will.

Turning on and off the flame, Lunarians could withstand the strongest attacks without suffering any injury, or trade some of their durability for a sudden speed boost. These powers earned them a reputation as gods who could survive anything.

The only known Lunarian survivor was Alber, whom Kaido personally chose as his right-hand man. Upon rising to fame as Kaido’s strongest subordinate, Alber was named “King”, and became known as “The Wildfire” for his ability to unleash flames with potency comparable to magma.

King’s surreal capability to bear devastating attacks without shedding a single drop of blood caught the World Government’s interest even when he was a child. Many years later, they used his DNA to enhance the Seraphim with his Lunarian traits.


3) Seraphim

The Seraph S-Hawk as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Seraph S-Hawk as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

A much mightier version of the Pacifista cyborgs, the Seraphim are living weapons that combine the godly powers of the Lunarian Race, which make them impervious to damage, with the signature skills and fighting abilities of the former Seven Warlords.

In all likelihood, Vegapunk developed a Seraph for each former Warlord. Every cyborg is equipped with a substance called Green Blood, which provides them with artificial replicas of various Devil Fruits, such as the Love-Love, the Dice-Dice, the Paw-Paw, and more.

All Seraphim have been enhanced with King’s DNA. As such, they possess the same extraordinary resilience as Lunarians. After repeatedly failing to injure them with his attacks, Luffy likened their toughness to the all-powerful Kaido’s.

Owing to their medley of formidable abilities, the Seraphim cyborgs are appallingly strong. What’s even more frightening, these cyborgs can increase their combat prowess even further as they gradually gain experience. Unsurprisingly, Vegapunk described them as “The Strongest Form of Humanity”.


2) Ogres

The Ogres Kaido and Yamato as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)
The Ogres Kaido and Yamato as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Ogres are very similar to humans, but much larger, and with visible sharp-point horns coming from the sides of their heads. Ogres are natural-born warriors, as they possess exceptional physical capabilities, ranging from durability and endurance to strength, speed, and stamina.

Ogres are still a mystery to One Piece fans, as not much is known about their origins and features. In this respect, it’s important to note that Kaido described himself and Yamato, his daughter, self-appointed son, as “Ogres”, “Oni” in the original Japanese spelling.

Several other One Piece characters, such as Avalo Pizarro, Black Maria, and Who’s Who, have evident demon-like horns. However, unlike Kaido and Yamato, their belonging to the Ogre Race has never been directly mentioned.

According to Kaido, Ogres shouldn’t befriend humans, as they aren’t intended for that. As the World’s Strongest Creature and a former Yonko, Kaido was an all-powerful individual. With his amazing physical prowess and Haki abilities, he was the living proof of the Ogre Race’s might.


1) Humans

Certain Humans achieve unparalleled combat prowess (Image via Toei Animation)
Certain Humans achieve unparalleled combat prowess (Image via Toei Animation)

Lacking any special trait or innate ability, Humans are, on average, significantly weaker than the members of other races. Still, in one way or another, they rule the One Piece world. Despite their theoretically inferior potential, Humans dominate the other races, crushing, enslaving, or oppressing them.

Humans outnumber every other breed, but this only partly explains their superiority. The simple truth is that Humans are the only creatures who really strive to surpass their limits, evolving themselves far beyond their natural-born potential.

As the highest manifestation of one’s willpower, Haki was stated to be the decisive factor that the most powerful fighters can use to overcome any obstacle. Every living being can develop Haki or eat a Devil Fruit, but all the top-tier fighters in the series are Humans. This is hardly a coincidence.

Whether by employing Devil Fruit abilities and genetic enhancements, or mastering the usage of Haki, Humans can achieve combat prowess that is unparalleled in the One Piece world.


Keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, and live-action news as 2024 progresses.

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