One Piece: Non-Canon Characters Who Make No Sense

Summary

Douglas Bullet, a non-canon character, challenges the lore of One Piece with his brutal strength and imprisoned backstory.
Willy, a mammal fish-man in Dead End Adventure, poses a challenge to canon logic due to his existence diverging from established fish-men species.
All-Hunt Grount, a Marine with unique powers, defies Zoan Devil Fruit norms by only affecting his arm, raising questions about his creation within the series.

As a longtime enthusiast of the One Piece universe, I’ve seen my fair share of characters come and go, but none have left me as bewildered as these four intriguing individuals. Each one, in their unique way, seems to challenge the established narrative or simply doesn’t fit within the current timeline.

In the world of One Piece, numerous characters outside the main narrative have been introduced, often due to factors like films, additional episodes, and merchandise. These characters are merely supplementary and don’t form part of the core storyline. Consequently, they are not considered when shaping or progressing the series’ lore.

Despite being frequently formed in specific areas, these characters haven’t been definitively contradicted by the lore so far. However, as the lore evolves, it becomes increasingly challenging to explain how certain characters could fit within it. Consequently, these non-canonical characters seem less plausible than they initially did.

5. Douglas Bullet

Too Brutal To Live

Debut: One Piece: Stampede (Movie)
Medium: Anime (Film)

In the animated series, “One Piece: Stampede,” Douglas Bullet serves as the primary villain, bearing characteristics reminiscent of both Kaido and Eustass Kid. Previously, he was a member of the Roger Pirates, being the only one who ever defeated Gol D. Roger in battle. Similar to Kaido, his upbringing as a child soldier fostered a belief that strength justifies righteousness, leading him to mistrust others. Following a Buster Call, an operation specifically directed against him, during which pirates actually allied with marines, Bullet was imprisoned on the sixth floor of Impel Down.

It seems he had been imprisoned for 21 years before managing an escape at age 43, during Teach’s prison break. Despite the Blackbeard Pirates not showing much solidarity among themselves, Blackbeard was too fearful of Bullet to effectively recruit him and instead allowed him to fend for himself as he made his getaway. Afterward, Bullet aimed to eliminate all other pirates in order to surpass the deceased Roger, believing this would make him the most powerful and potentially the new pirate king. Consequently, it took numerous pirates, marines, and several strong combatants to bring down the formidable Bullet.

It’s surprising that a notorious mass-murderer like the character Bullet, who caused significant trouble for the marines, lived for over two decades under the World Government despite his dangerous nature. In contrast, Roger, who was stronger than Bullet, was executed without much difficulty by the same government. Considering Bullet’s resilience and ability to escape, it remains puzzling why he wasn’t eliminated sooner, especially since he later managed to escape once more and continued to pose problems.

4. Willy

A Mammal Fish-Man

Debut: One Piece The Movie: Dead End Adventure (Film)
Medium: Anime (Movie)

In the world of One Piece, Fish-Men have become more significant characters post-timeskip, with one even joining the Straw Hat Pirates. However, since the events depicted in Dead End Adventure, they seemed less frequent. The movie titled Dead End Adventure, similar to many earlier One Piece films in being voiced only in Japanese, presents a new character, Willy, who is an Orca Fish-Man and appears to be a rival of Arlong. He takes part in Gasparde’s fixed race.

At the time under discussion, Arlong’s backstory was yet to be fully revealed, leaving room for interpretation about his origins. A more debatable aspect concerning Willy is that he resembles an aquatic mammal instead of a fish or an octopus, which is unusual among fish-men. Although various species that fish-men can transform into have been introduced, no other confirmed aquatic mammal fish-man has appeared in the storyline. The reasons behind this inconsistency are unclear and may be resolved if One Piece eventually reveals the shared ancestor between fish-men and humans, as well as when and why they diverged.

3. All-Hunt Grount

A Unique Zoan User

Debut: Episode 780 (Anime)
Medium: Anime (Filler Episodes)

Marine Captain All-Hunt Ground once served under Admiral Kuzan (formerly), prior to his own departure from the Marines. Ground’s unique Zoan Devil Fruit is still difficult for him to master. Kuzan, with his icy abilities, subdued Ground, who then joined the Marines under him. Ground was highly driven, aiming to challenge formidable foes such as Big Mom and Monkey D. Luffy. Despite losing initially to Luffy, he vowed to best him in their next encounter.

Unusually, Ground’s Devil Fruit powers seem to influence only his arm, contrasting with other Zoan types that impact the entire body. This characteristic suggests an inherent will in every Zoan Fruit even before consumption, although this aspect wasn’t fully established yet. However, the way it affects his body is more akin to a SMILE, which only partially manifests and persists to some extent. While SMILES and their users were known at this point in the story, their origin as resources created by Doflamingo and distributed to Kaido makes it unlikely for marines to obtain them, especially considering Ground’s young age when he consumed his own Devil Fruit.

2. Mediator Margin

No Mere Middle Man

Debut: One Piece Odyssey
Medium: Video Game

Hailing from Alabasta, Margin is a pirate who somehow holds unique clearance from the World Government that allows him to collect bounties. He exploits this position by persuading other pirates, such as the Straw Hats, to hand over defeated pirates with bounties, promising them a share of the earnings as a finder’s reward. However, Margin has used his role in an underhanded manner to form his own crew of pirates, known as the Bounty Pirates, who possess high bounties and show great promise in his eyes.

Later on, he intended to challenge the Straw Hat Pirates, aiming to incorporate them into his Bounty Pirates once he believed his own crew was powerful enough to take them on. However, he significantly underestimated the abilities of his own crew, particularly since the Straw Hats had already defeated many of their members without his direct involvement. It seems that the roles were usurped by the Evil Brothers, two pirates whose bounties Margin chose not to enlist.

The doubts surrounding Margin’s role appear to be significant for several reasons. Initially, although Warlords hadn’t been abolished at the launch of One Piece Odyssey, they seemed to be the only pirates directly linked to the government, with their bounties being frozen. Secondly, despite his apparent affiliation, Margin still has an active bounty, even going so far as for the Evil Brothers to hand him over in their bid to replace him. It remains unclear why he holds such a position when he possesses an active and substantial bounty, especially given that this game is set post-Dressrosa Arc, where pirates with government ties were under intense scrutiny.

1. Z (“Black Arm” Zephyr)

An Entire Backstory Cut Down By SWORD

Debut: One Piece Film: Z (Film); Episode 577 (Anime)
Medium: Anime (Movie and Filler Episodes)

Among all characters from “One Piece,” it’s Z, or Zephyr, who seems to clash most significantly with the storyline. Initially, a Marine Admiral, Z chose to abandon his post because he felt the Marines were incapable of handling pirates effectively. In response, he established a militant group known as the Neo Marines, aiming to annihilate all pirates in the New World. Interestingly, Z was widely respected by many Marines, with some of his students eventually rising through the ranks to become Admirals and Vice-Admirals.

Z held a deep hatred for pirates, stemming from when his wife and son were murdered by one. He stayed on as an instructor, but the majority of his division, as well as his arm, were lost to an unnamed pirate with a Devil Fruit. Said pirate was invited to become a Warlord during the timeskip, which ultimately led Z to defect.

The problem lies in the assumption that Z’s existence and his significant betrayal imply there’s no legal means to eliminate or challenge pirates on behalf of the marines. However, recent evidence shows this notion is incorrect, with the emergence of SWORD being confirmed. SWORD is a covert marine unit, composed of retired marines in name only, who operate within the system yet have greater autonomy in their actions. They can deny any association with them later, as per the World Government’s convenience.

Given that Captain Drake of SWORD, who secretly operated as a pirate before the timeskip, it’s reasonable to infer that SWORD was active even before Z’s defection from the Marines. This implies that Z could carry out all his actions, including eliminating pirates in the New World, without needing to leave the Marines. It remains uncertain if a Warlord’s status would exempt a pirate who killed Z’s unit, as SWORD was only revealed later when Warlords were being phased out. Since Drake fought against the World Government and Marines while undercover in SWORD, it’s possible that his death could be denied again, given the World Government’s history. The main reason Z might not have joined SWORD instead of leaving the Marines altogether seems to be that this plot point wasn’t established in the early 2010s.

2024-12-14 20:36