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With One Piece being as vast a series as it is, the cast is equally large and diverse. As a result, there are so many different characters in One Piece for people to pick favorites or least favorites from.
It’s incredibly understandable to have characters that are disliked in a series as big as One Piece. Even if these characters aren’t written particularly menacingly or villain-esque, there’ll always be a few fans out there who dislike them for whatever reason.
Here are the five most popular One Piece characters, and five who are disliked by some in the fandom.
These five One Piece characters have a case to make for most popular
1) Luffy
It should be no surprise that the series’ star protagonist made his way onto this list. Luffy is an incredibly well-written and likable character, with relatable values and morals for general audience members.
Being the best symbol of freedom in One Piece, fans also relate to Luffy’s desire for freedom immensely. Everyone old and young, man or woman has felt a desire for freedom beyond what they currently have. In this regard, almost every audience member can relate to Luffy.
2) Zoro
The cool, calm, and collected vice-captain of the Straw Hats is also beloved by fans everywhere. Zoro always seems to steal the spotlight whenever he’s on stage, from his first appearance to even recent chapters from the Wano arc.
For this reason as well as his fulfillment of the role of vice-captain, Zoro is a beloved fan favorite. He serves as the mature, older brother figure for the Straw Hat crew and is always keeping Luffy in check. It’s plain as day to see why so many One Piece fans call Zoro their favorite character.
3) Robin
Interestingly enough, Robin was likely one of the most disliked characters in One Piece when she first joined the Straw Hats. Robin was given no backstory, had previously been a villain, and wasn’t meshing with the crew at large for a majority of the Skypeia arc.
Yet, after the Water 7 saga, so many fans say Robin is one of their favorite characters overall and even Straw Hats. Her tragic backstory as the sole survivor of Ohara tugged at fans' heartstrings, and Robin’s announcement of wanting to live during the Enies Lobby arc is an animanga scene that will go down in history. Robin has certainly earned her place as one of One Piece’s most popular characters.
4) Law
Like Robin, Law also has a tragic backstory that further served to connect fans to him. Unlike Robin, Law was liked essentially from his first introduction. Even when little was known or seen of his story and combat prowess, fans loved Law’s overall aesthetic and Devil Fruit power.
By the time the New World comes and the more personal and even comedic sides of Law are shown, he balloons in popularity to a full-fledged fan favorite. The Dressrosa arc solidifies this, thrusting Law’s personal relationships and history front and center as Doflamingo’s reign is brought to an end.
5) Shanks
It almost seems that, no matter what corner of the One Piece community you look into, no one ever has anything bad to say about Shanks the character. Some may criticize his lack of screentime, or uncanny ability to show up at the most historically significant moments in the series. Yet these criticisms of Shanks are attacks at author Eiichiro Oda’s writing style more than anything else.
Shanks is almost like the beloved uncle of the One Piece family, who gets along with everyone and brightens their days with his presence. Indeed, community reaction to the One Piece Red movie showed this. Shanks’ role in the story is also very important, serving as the most direct bridge from Roger’s era to Luffy’s, arguably even more than Silvers Rayleigh.
These five One Piece characters seem to never do right in fans’ eyes
1) Akainu
Rightfully so, current Fleet Admiral Akainu (also known as Sakazuki) is one of the most universally disliked characters in the series. His chief offense is being held responsible for the death of Portgas D. Ace, sworn brother of Luffy and Sabo, and a general fan-favorite.
Outside of this, Akainu seems to embody every oppressive aspect of the World Government, which Luffy diametrically opposes. Akainu is also poised to be one of Luffy’s final opponents given his status as Fleet Admiral, so fans can rest assured he’ll get his comeuppance one day.
2) Wapol
Wapol is a particularly interesting case regarding his general dislike by fans. Although certainly antagonistic, Wapol isn’t necessarily as villainous or evil as other One Piece antagonists. Instead, fans tend to find him generally annoying and his presence in the series undesirable.
While fans can point to Akainu’s killing of Ace and Doflamingo’s dastardly Dressrosa deeds as reasons why they’re disliked, most fans will say Wapol is just annoying. His presence on screen never feels relevant or significant, even during the Drum Kingdom arc in which he is the featured antagonist.
3) Foxy
Much like Wapol, Foxy isn’t necessarily evil or particularly malicious. He certainly fills the role of antagonist well for the generally disliked Long Ring Long Land arc, but like Wapol it is somewhat of an annoyance to fans. Foxy’s Devil Fruit is certainly interesting, yet most of his screen time feels like a chore to sit through for most of the arc.
While it may not help that the Long Ring Long Land arc overall is generally disliked, the blame certainly still somewhat falls on Foxy’s character. He’s uninteresting, annoying, and arguably a filler villain who somehow snuck his way into the canonical tomes of One Piece.
4) Saint Charloss
The Celestial Dragon Saint Charloss is quite an interesting addition to this list. Charloss himself, a man with no titles or attachments, doesn’t necessarily serve as an antagonist nor villain of the One Piece series. Yet a single action of his broke the dam that was keeping the dislike of audience members at bay.
While Charloss’ attacking of Hachi is detestable and certainly enough on its own to earn the ire of fans, Charloss also appears during the Revery arc. In his brief screen time, he’s seen trying to take Shirahoshi for his own, still wanting a mermaid to take home to Mariejois for himself. Although foiled, this rekindled the embers of anger which audience members still held for Charloss.
5) Trebol
Trebol is exceptional on this list in the sense that he’s generally found annoying, is an antagonist, and certainly commits villainous actions during One Piece; his checking of all three of these boxes earned him the anger of fans everywhere. Trebol is disliked for everything from his appearance to his dub and sub voices to even his past actions relating to Doffy’s raising.
Trebol is also introduced as Sugar’s guardian, an extremely creepy buddy system matchup even if sensible and pragmatic. Trebol has also been shown to fail spectacularly throughout Dressrosa, lending further fuel to the fire of the community’s general dislike of him.
Note: The article reflects the writer's own views.
