These One Piece Characters Defied the Odds with Unbelievable Luck!

Summary

The success of the characters in One Piece is influenced by their sheer luck, in addition to their strength and intelligence.
Examples like Crocodile, Zoro, Usopp, and Buggy showcase how luck played a crucial role in their journeys.
Despite facing extreme challenges, characters like Luffy benefit from “plot armor” but still rely on their skills for success.

Even though One Piece may seem funny and carefree at times, it’s set in one of the most perilous fictional realms ever conceived. To thrive, characters must possess strength, intelligence, and talent, but an often underestimated key to success is their luck.

Needless to say, this world is still filled to the brim with plenty of tragedy and misfortune, but most (if not all) key figures have been extremely fortunate in one way or another. There are a lot of prominent One Piece characters that wouldn’t have made it very far if they weren’t lucky, and these are some of the most fascinating examples of this phenomenon.

7. Kurozumi Orochi

He Was A Pawn In A Game That Was Even Bigger Than Him

First Appearance: Chapter 927 (Manga) Episode 921 (Anime)

As a member of the infamous Kurozumi family, Orochi was unfairly mistreated for most of his young life. But he would never have managed to rise to power and become one of the main antagonists of the Wano Country Arc if he wasn’t incredibly fortunate.

He stole money from Yasuie by blaming Oden for many years, and never got caught. He received a powerful Devil Fruit – the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Yamata no Orochi – from Higarashi. Not only that, but he infiltrated the Kouzuki’s castle during Oden’s absence to receive the title of Shogun, and he even managed to rule over Wano with an iron fist, with the help of Kaido and the Beasts Pirates. Nevertheless, all of this happened to Orochi because he was just a pawn in Kaido’s plan, so his luck eventually ran out when the strongest creature in the world betrayed him.

6. Sir Crocodile

After Everything He Did, He Got Out Of Prison And Came Up With A New Evil Scheme

First Appearance: Chapter 126 (Manga) Episode 76 (Anime)

No big villain in One Piece has ever died, as they either remain imprisoned or get completely reformed. For example, Sir Crocodile, the evil leader of Baroque Works and the main antagonist of the Arabasta Arc, was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and locked up on Impel Down. However, unlike many other similar characters, he eventually managed to get out, thanks to the very same pirate who had previously stopped him.

When Luffy infiltrated Impel Down, he encountered Sir Crocodile in the sixth level and agreed to free the former Warlord of the Sea if he helped in the mission to rescue Ace. That was an extremely lucky situation in and of itself but, on top of that, he got involved in the Summit War of Marineford, attacked the great Whitebeard himself, and still managed to come out pretty much unharmed. And if all that wasn’t enough, Crocodile founded Cross Guild alongside Buggy and Mihawk. Not many villains in the action genre have gotten as many second chances as him.

5. Roronoa Zoro

He Seamlessly Wields A Cursed Sword And Has Escaped Death Many Times

First Appearance: Chapter 3 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

As one of the main characters of the entire series, Roronoa Zoro of the Straw Hat Pirates would never have gotten as far as he did if he wasn’t extremely fortunate. For starters, he is a master swordsman who wields Sandai Kitetsu, an infamous cursed sword, without any real issues, and he even avoided getting cut by its blade when he threw it into the air to taste his own luck.

Zoro is a formidable yet stubborn fighter who always throws himself into dangerous situations to protect his crew and, as a result, has narrowly avoided death multiple times. This got especially risky in the Wano Country Arc, in which he survived a combined attack by Kaido and Big Mom, got healed by dangerous and experimental Mink medicine, proceeded to fight and defeat King, and literally saw death in the face as a result of his severe injuries. Despite everything, Zoro is still alive and thriving, not to mention that he is somehow still sailing with the Straw Hats, despite his horrible sense of direction.

4. Usopp

He’s A Regular Human In A World Full Of Monsters

First Appearance: Chapter 23 (Manga) Episode 8 (Anime)

Most members of the Straw Hat Pirates are either Devil Fruit users, supernatural creatures, or a combination of both. But then there’s Usopp, one of the few members of the crew who is still a completely normal human being without any major advantages, as he depends on his sniper skills and clever inventions to come out on top in all of their battles. Nevertheless, and regardless of his innate skill, Usopp has managed to survive for so long for two main reasons: his cowardly nature and his absurd amounts of luck.

He was saved by his strongest friends at the very last minute on more than one occasion, he has managed to trick or outrun powerful opponents many times, he was able to defeat two extremely tricky enemies (Perona and Sugar) in unexpected ways, and he was even named “God Usopp” by a bunch of people. At the end of the day, Usopp’s weakness makes him a very relatable character, and the goofy situations he ends up in are always hilarious to watch.

3. Gol D. Roger

He Would Never Have Found The One Piece If He Wasn’t Very Fortunate

First Appearance: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

The famous King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, is arguably the most important historical figure in the world of One Piece, seeing as he found the titular treasure and kick-started the new age of piracy right before his death. Naturally, he wouldn’t have had a successful life if he wasn’t extremely lucky.

In just a few years, Roger recruited a crew of skilled, intelligent and powerful pirates who remained loyal to him, mastered the three forms of Haki, and he traveled the entire world twice in a row, without suffering any major losses. He also met Whitebeard out of sheer luck, which led to him recruiting Kouzuki Oden, who played a key role in the journey to find the One Piece treasure. Furthermore, Roger was never caught by the Marines or the World Government, and he was only captured because he surrendered himself. Of course, he did that because he knew he was going to die from a mysterious illness (which is quite unfortunate) but he was still able to die in a glorious way that changed the world exactly how he wanted to.

2. Monkey D. Luffy

He Is Protected By The Infamous “Plot Armor”

First Appearance: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)

Monkey D. Luffy is the famous protagonist of One Piece and, as a result, he has “Plot Armor,” a term used to describe main characters that are constantly protected from harm because of their importance to the story. From the very beginning, Luffy was fortunate to eat the Gomu Gomu no Mi by complete accident, which is a very powerful Devil Fruit that has helped him a lot throughout his journey.

From that point onward, Luffy came close to hurting himself and even dying in pretty much every arc, and yet he managed to always come out on top out of sheer luck. He was saved by lightning at the very last second when Buggy tried to execute him in Loguetown, Bartholomew Kuma saved him and his crew from Admiral Kizaru in Sabaody Archipelago, he was rescued by the Heart Pirates when he fell down to the sea during the Raid on Onigashima (which led to him unlocking his powerful Gear 5 form), among many other examples. But, of course, regardless of how fortunate he is, Luffy is still a compelling protagonist with a good heart, great strength and impressive battle abilities, so he doesn’t rely solely on his luck.

1. Buggy The Clown

He’s Always Failing Upwards, Even If He Doesn’t Want To

First Appearance: Chapter 9 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)

There’s no character in One Piece that’s luckier than Buggy the Clown, a pirate who, despite his incompetence and arrogance, has managed to go surprisingly far in this ruthless world. For starters, he was adopted by the Roger Pirates from a very young age, traveled with one of the most successful pirate crews for many years and even reluctantly ate a useful Devil Fruit, the Bara Bara no Mi, that made him immune to any blade attacks. He even formed his own crew and thrived on the East Blue, the weakest of the four seas (although this was an intentional choice). Even after he was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy, he was able to find the rest of his body, escaped Impel Down by helping Luffy, came out of the Summit War of Marineford completely unharmed, and even accidentally became a heroic figure to many former Impel Down prisoners, a hilarious situation that got too out of hand when broadcasted to the rest of the world via Den Den Mushi.

Thanks to his newfound popularity, Buggy eventually founded Buggy’s Delivery and became Warlord of the Sea during the two-year time skip, despite being nowhere near as powerful as the other members of that fearsome group. On top of all that, he eventually became the figurehead of the Cross Guild just because his loyal followers spread posters with his image. Despite Crocodile and Mihawk’s understandably angry reaction, this led to Buggy the Clown being named Emperor, alongside powerful figures like Shanks, Blackbeard and Luffy himself. He keeps failing upwards, even if he doesn’t want to, and at this point, most fans wouldn’t be surprised if he finds the One Piece by accident.

2025-03-16 07:21