One Piece: The Most Underrated Fights In The Series, Ranked

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One Piece is well-known for its incredible length, and over the course of the story, it’s presented countless battles where strong characters demonstrated amazing powers. Many of these fights are widely considered to be among the greatest, not just within the series itself, but throughout the entire anime and manga world.

We all recall iconic battles that dramatically altered the storyline – think Luffy against Rob Lucci or Zoro versus Mihawk – but what about the fights that don’t get as much attention? One Piece has showcased countless other clashes with significant consequences, fascinating abilities, and impressive fight scenes that fans surprisingly overlook. There are many great examples, but here are eight of the most noteworthy battles so far.

Nico Robin Vs. Yama

Robin’s First Solo Fight Proved She Was Worthy Of Being A Straw Hat

  • Duration: Chapters 263 to 265 (Manga) Episode 174 (Anime)
  • Arc: Skypiea Arc
  • Winner: Nico Robin

Nico Robin is a fan-favorite character, but she doesn’t often get dedicated fight scenes. That’s why her battle with Black Maria in the Wano Country Arc is so well-loved. What people sometimes overlook is that much earlier in the story, during the Skypiea Arc, she actually fought Yama – one of Enel’s top officers – all on her own.

The fight began after Yama damaged some old ruins, which rarely makes Robin angry. Although the Birkan commander skillfully used his Ten-Fold Axe and even injured his enemy, he couldn’t defeat the Straw Hat Pirates’ newest member, Robin. She cleverly used the many powers of her Hana Hana no Mi to overcome him and make him suffer for his actions. It was a short battle, but it proved how important Robin is to the crew.

Usopp Vs. Chew

A Fun Showcase Of Usopp’s Tactical Genius

  • Duration: Chapters 83 to 88 (Manga), Episodes 38 to 40 (Anime)
  • Arc: Arlong Park Arc
  • Winner: Usopp

Usopp’s fights are consistently enjoyable and captivating because he doesn’t depend on brute force-unlike Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji-and instead needs to cleverly trick his enemies using deception and his inventions. While many fans cherish his battles against characters like Perona or Sugar, his initial one-on-one fight against Chew during the Arlong Park Arc is often overlooked and deserves more recognition.

Usopp felt completely unprepared facing Chew, a powerful and quick Fish-Man who can fire water blasts from his mouth. Watching the Straw Hat Pirates’ sniper conquer his fear, trick his enemy multiple times, and ultimately defeat him with a hammer was truly inspiring. This battle is so well-done that the One Piece live-action series on Netflix even recreated it very closely.

Franky Vs. Fukuro

One Of The Weirdest Comedic Fights In The Entire Series

  • Duration: Chapters 400 to 406 (Manga), Episodes 285 to 289 (Anime)
  • Arc: Enies Lobby Arc
  • Winner: Franky

The Enies Lobby Arc has so many memorable fights – such as Luffy versus Rob Lucci or Zoro against Kaku – that it’s easy to overlook some of the smaller, but still really fun, battles. Franky‘s fight with Fukuro is a prime example of this.

By this point in the story, it was pretty clear that Franky was going to join the Straw Hat Pirates, so he needed to show just how powerful and capable he was, and he definitely delivered. Thanks to his cyborg body and unusual weapons, he was able to go toe-to-toe with the CP9 agent in terms of both strength and resilience. Ultimately, this is one of the most strangely amusing fights in the series, largely because Fukuro is such an odd character, but also because Franky actually pauses the fight to ask Chopper for more cola, resulting in a really funny exchange between them.

Killer Vs. Basil Hawkins

An Intense Clash Between Two Underrated Secondary Characters

  • Duration: Chapters 1011 to 1029 (Manga), Episodes 1028 to 1054 (Anime)
  • Arc: Wano Country Arc
  • Winner: Killer

Killer and Basil Hawkins often get overlooked as being among the strongest of the Worst Generation, despite having distinctive appearances and intriguing powers. Luckily, they had a chance to battle each other during the Wano Country Arc to demonstrate their strength. However, because that arc was packed with constant action, their fight didn’t receive as much attention as other battles that happened around the same time.

Just as Killer is fiercely devoted to Kid, similar to how Zoro is to Luffy, Hawkins exploited their strong bond. He used the abilities of his Wara Wara no Mi devil fruit to transfer any harm meant for Kid onto Killer instead. This put Killer in a difficult spot until he had a crucial realization: Kid is missing his left arm, but Hawkins isn’t. The moment Killer decisively destroys Hawkins’ left arm to win the fight is incredibly rewarding and has solidified this battle as one of the best and most cleverly crafted in the entire series.

Zoro Vs. Rob Lucci

It Was Already Great In The Manga, But It Was Even Better In The Anime

  • Duration: Chapters 1091 to 1100 (Manga) Episodes 1028 to 1144 (Anime)
  • Arc: Egghead Arc
  • Winner: Roronoa Zoro

Many fans consider the fight between Roronoa Zoro and Rob Lucci in the Egghead Arc to be unimportant, or “filler,” especially when compared to the amazing battle between Luffy and the Five Elders. But, in reality, it’s a fantastic fight that really highlights how strong, skilled, and developed both characters have become.

Watching Zoro battle Rob Lucci, a former major villain who previously only Luffy could overcome, was a fantastic way to demonstrate Zoro’s growth. It also highlighted that the CP0 agent had awakened his Devil Fruit, making him significantly stronger than before. While the fight was already well-done in the original manga, Toei Animation’s incredible animation and flawless cinematography took it to another level.

Luffy Vs. Blueno

The Exciting Debut Of Luffy’s Gear 2 Form

  • Duration: Chapters 382 to 388 (Manga), Episodes 269 to 273 (Anime)
  • Arc: Enies Lobby Arc
  • Winner: Monkey D. Luffy

Many fans recall the battle between Luffy and Blueno as the debut of Gear 2, which was the main character’s first significant power boost throughout the series. Although this moment is understandably famous and sticks in people’s minds, discussions often focus solely on that part, overlooking the rest of the fight, which is exciting on its own.

Luffy using Gear 2 is visually impressive and incredibly rewarding. Blueno taunts him, claiming he’ll evade the attack, but is instantly launched away by Luffy’s powerful Jet Pistol. Even with this surprising power boost from Luffy, Blueno was a strong adversary. He skillfully and creatively used the abilities of his Doa Doa no Mi, but ultimately couldn’t withstand his injuries and unexpectedly lost consciousness before Luffy.

Luffy And Nami Vs. Charlotte Cracker

An Unexpected Team-Up Between The Captain And His Navigator

  • Duration: Chapters 836 to 843 (Manga), Episodes 797 to 806 (Anime)
  • Arc: Whole Cake Island Arc
  • Winner: Monkey D. Luffy And Nami

The battle between Luffy and Charlotte Katakuri was the highlight of the Whole Cake Island Arc, but it’s easy to overlook that the Straw Hat captain faced another Charlotte sibling beforehand, and it proved to be a challenging fight. Charlotte Cracker is a remarkably strong adversary who, thanks to his Bisu Bisu no Mi ability, can create massive biscuit soldiers. These soldiers have incredibly tough armor, strong enough to resist even attacks from Luffy’s Gear 4 form – a technique he’d recently used to defeat Donquixote Doflamingo.

Wow, the mission to rescue Sanji on Whole Cake Island was such a huge deal! It was our first real dive into the territory of one of the Emperors, and seeing Luffy fight against Cracker really showed us just how powerful New World pirates are – they’re on a whole other level! It quickly turned into a battle of endurance, because Cracker could just keep summoning endless soldiers with a clap of his hands. But then Nami had this incredibly smart idea! She used her Clima-Tact to bring the rain down, softening up all those biscuit soldiers and making it possible for Luffy to, well, *eat* his way through them! It was such a surprisingly brilliant move for her, considering she doesn’t often get a chance to shine in battle, and it led to the creation of Luffy’s massive Tankman form! He finally took down Cracker with that, and it was amazing!

Sanji Vs. Wanze

The Most Creative Sanji Fight In The Series

  • Duration: Chapters 369 to 372 (Manga), Episodes 258 to 261 (Anime)
  • Arc: Water 7 Arc
  • Winner: Sanji

Even though Sanji is a skilled professional chef and the cook for the Straw Hat Pirates, his fights don’t usually involve food. That’s what makes his battle against Wanze (a peculiar cook from CP7) on the Sea Train so smart and amusing, though it’s sometimes forgotten because of his fight with Jabra at Enies Lobby. What makes it unique is Wanze’s unusual fighting style, called Ramen Kenpo, where he actually kneads dough *in his mouth* to make ramen noodles that he uses in battle.

This is a direct contradiction of Sanji’s belief in not wasting food, highlighting how different these two chefs are in their personalities and how they see the world. The battle is strangely captivating, and a particularly memorable moment is Sanji using large knives as swords – something he never does again, as he deliberately avoids fighting with his hands. This often-overlooked fight also marked the first time we saw Sanji’s amusing technique of altering his opponent’s appearance by kicking them in the face, which he used to briefly make Wanze look more attractive.

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2025-09-29 19:38