Celestial Dragons may be One Piece's most misunderstood characters

Modified Nov 25, 2024 01:30 GMT

Celestial Dragons may be One Piece's most misunderstood characters (Image via Toei Animation)

One of the most iconic villain/antagonist groups in all of mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series is none other than the Celestial Dragons, the highest royalty that exists in the series. The Celestial Dragons attained such high status by nature of being descendents of the 20 rulers who first formed the World Government. By birthright alone, they’re given the privilege to live in Mariejois or venture down into the world and commit any infallible action they’d like.

Likewise, given the behavior and actions many of them have been shown to have in the series, fans often call them the most evil characters in the entire manga.

However, this is somewhat inaccurate, especially considering truly evil characters in the series. In reality, One Piece’s Celestial Dragons aren’t evil, but instead perverse, corrupted products of the world they were brought up in and the history they were taught.

One Piece’s Celestial Dragons aren’t evil, but they are corrupt

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Before diving into the difference of Celestial Dragons being evil versus corrupt, it’s worth establishing that Oda himself has already suggested this in-series. One Piece’s Egghead Arc saw Saint Shalria as the only Celestial Dragon who questioned Dr. Vegapunk’s words and their meaning, while others simply demanded he be shut up and killed.

This distinction is key, as it shows that the Celestial Dragons aren’t inherently evil like other characters are.

Discussing Shalria is also advantageous as this scene of hers perfectly showcases how they’re corrupt rather than evil. The Celestial Dragons are simply victims of extreme brainwashing and disinformation, not even knowing the true history of the world they live in despite sitting at its literal and metaphorical peak.

They truly do not know what they’re doing because they don’t know the real circumstances of their world as it is currently, and in terms of its origins.

Further driving this point home is the fact that a core message of One Piece is that actions create evil, not existences. The characters of Tom, Franky, and Nico Robin all serve to prove this, being branded as evil for reasons which aren’t wholly accurate.

Tom and Robin were blamed for the actions of their associates, while Franky was persecuted simply on suspicion of possessing information which endangered the World Government.

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This overarching point is further illustrated when comparing the Celestial Dragons to characters like Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Kurozumi Orochi, and Donquixote Doflamingo. All were clearly characterized as being inherently evil and sadistic, truly wishing death and cruelty on others.

Saturn and Doflamingo further distinguish the difference between the Celestial Dragons’ corruption and their own true evils by nature of the knowledge they possessed.

However, this isn’t meant to excuse the Celestial Dragons’ actions, which are just as reprehensible whether the collective can be deemed evil or not.

That being said, it’s key to differentiate their actions as being born out of true ignorance and privilege rather than inherent evil desires which are within them.

Final thoughts

The Celestial Dragons may be awful people, but they're not quite evil (Image via Toei Animation)

Without a doubt, the Celestial Dragons are one of the franchise’s most complex groups of characters. There’s so much to consider when analyzing their actions and role in the story, especially in the wake of Shalrya’s Egghead Arc appearance.

However, it is clear that Oda differentiates the Celestial Dragons’ perverse corruption from the true evils of the world, such as those characters mentioned above.