8 of the greatest female captains in One Piece

Female captains are rare in One Piece, but there are surprisingly enough of them to discuss. Considering their notoriety and fame, a few of them are actually on par with their male counterparts in this instance.

Anime-only characters are eligible for this list, as it would be much smaller otherwise.

Note: This article will only include women who were revealed as captains by September 24, 2022. It will also primarily focus on their fame and relevance to the series as leaders of their crews.

Ranking 8 of the best female captains in One Piece

8) Alvida (Alvida Pirates)

Alvida is a fairly notable character, but her role as a female captain was short-lived. She led the Alvida Pirates, a crew that essentially served as a warm-up to Luffy at the beginning of his adventure in One Piece.

Her crew would later merge with the Buggy Pirates. Predictably, that led to her no longer being the de facto leader of the pirate crew. Buggy became the captain, and Alvida merely became one of the higher-ranked crew members of the group.

While her character is pretty good, it wouldn't make sense to rank her highly as far as women captains go, hence the dead last position here.

7) Desire (Sweet Pirates)

Desire is a female captain (Image via Toei Animation)

Non-canon anime-only female captains still count for a list like this one. Desire was the leader of the Sweet Pirates, most notable for being a childhood friend of Bartolomeo. She captured Luffy in the Silver Mine Arc, but One Piece's beloved protagonist would escape alongside Bartolomeo.

More filler stuff happens, and Bartolomeo would eventually save her from a villainous pirate named Bill. She gets an offer to join Bartolomeo, but she rejects it. Desire then continues her adventures as one of the few women captains in One Piece, albeit one that fans might not see again.

6) Charlotte Lola (Rolling Pirates)

Charlotte Lola (Image via Toei Animation)

Lola might possess a very small pirate crew, but she's at least canon and still active within her position in One Piece. She's one of Big Mom's many daughters and is responsible for helping Luffy defeat Gecko Moria, the main antagonist of the Thriller Bark Saga.

Her crew is one of the Straw Hat's first allies, which is an impressive feat to overlook. They might not be exceptionally powerful, but it's still something worth noting.

5) Whitey Bay (Part of the Whitebeard Pirates)

Whitey Bay is another notable female captain (Image via Toei Animation)

Technically speaking, Whitey Bay is a subordinate captain of one part of the Whitebeard Pirates. Therefore, she doesn't have quite the same leadership over her associated crew as the other entries on this list.

She's seldom seen compared to the other entries on this list, so ranking her high wouldn't be fair to the more notable women who get far more screen time. The Ice Witch is known to be quite powerful, so it also wouldn't make sense to rank her lower than the minor captains listed above her.

She was most prominent in the Marineford War Arc and is later stated to have been defeated by Edward Weevil within the anime.

4) Shakuyaku (Kuja Pirates)

Shakuyaku ruled over the Kuja Pirates long before Boa Hancock did. She's no longer an active captain, but her importance and infamy make her worthy of this spot. The iconic Monkey D. Garp used to chase her back then, and he was a Marine known for his power.

She would fall in love with Rayleigh and become associated with her bar on Sabaody Archipelago. While it's hard to know how strong she is now, One Piece fans can at least confirm that she's intelligent and skillful in acquiring information easily.

Unfortunately, her legacy is full of events that mostly happened off-screen, meaning that One Piece fans didn't get to see her full adventures in all her glory. Ergo, she can't be ranked much higher than this.

3) Jewelry Bonney (Bonney Pirates)

Jewelry Bonney (Image via Toei Animation)

The sole female member of the Worst Generation is one of the most notable captains in One Piece. She's been captured by Blackbeard and arrested by Akainu, yet she's still alive and well. Bonney is still active and was most recently seen on Egghead alongside Luffy's crew.

She's one of the most important women in One Piece, and unlike the other aforementioned pirates, her adventure and legacy are still growing. The following two characters are incredibly significant to the series, so it's unlikely that she'll overtake them at the moment. At the very least, it's safe to say that she's more recognizable than the previous entries here.

2) Boa Hancock (Kuja Pirates)

The most popular female captain in One Piece is, unsurprisingly, Boa Hancock. She's considered to be extraordinarily beautiful in-universe, so it's no surprise that her Devil Fruit is associated with lust. However, she's not just a pretty character.

Boa Hancock has a surprisingly tragic backstory, which has helped flesh out her character to be more than just eye candy who happens to fall in love with Luffy. She was also the only woman in the Seven Warlords of the Sea, making her far more successful as a pirate compared to the previous entries on this list.

However, the number one most notable female captain should be rather obvious.

1) Big Mom (Big Mom Pirates)

Big Mom is the most incredible female captain (Image via Toei Animation)

Charlotte Linlin was the only woman amongst the Four Emperors, making her by far the most notorious female captain in all of One Piece. She is extremely important, being the main antagonist of the Whole Cake Saga, as well as being one of the most notable villains in the Wano Country Saga.

Big Mom has a massive bounty of 4,388,000,000 Berries, something that most male captains come nowhere close to. Its value is hardly surprising, considering the numerous vile atrocities she's been associated with, but Luffy thankfully put an end to all that.

She was last seen falling into one of Wano's volcanoes and hasn't been heard from since.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective.