When you think of anime, it’s hard to overlook One Piece. In fact, you should never disregard One Piece for numerous reasons, but I’ll stick to the basics: its overpowered and downright undefeatable characters are part of what makes the series so good.
With a show set on the high seas with pirates of all kinds, it should be no surprise that there are plenty of powerful characters with some of the wackiest powers. Whether they’re from the Pirates, Navy, or just strong entities in their own right, there is plenty of variety regarding One Piece characters and their core powers.
These powers might stem from their Devil Fruits, their powerful Haki, or even pure brute strength. Naturally, we can’t rank mysterious entities like Nika or Joyboy who haven’t yet appeared in the story, but keeping that in mind, here are our picks as the strongest characters in the franchise today.
20. Sabo
Surely, some people are bound to disagree with this choice, but at this point in the story, Sabo is surely one of the strongest characters in One Piece. He managed to escape the Five Elders, nearly unscathed, and still fought his way through, leaving Lulusia Kingdom. He also has his late brother’s Devil Fruit, the Fire-Fire fruit, which already gives him a huge advantage in nearly every fight. Plus, we can’t underestimate his powers because even without a Devil Fruit, he was still appointed Dragon’s second in command.
19. Boa Hancock
Hancock’s powers and strength are almost overlooked by fans, but she didn’t become a (former) Warlord out of thin air. Her Love-Love fruit turns everyone into stone if she wishes them to, purely because every man, woman, and creature is attracted to her. Her immense beauty paired with her fruit makes her an opponent even feared by Blackbeard, with Luffy as the only person immune to her powers. Yes, people can stab themselves to rid their lustful thoughts, but that can only take them so far in a one-on-one fight.
18. The Five Elders
Truthfully, the Five Elders are undeniably the hardest characters to rank on this list. We don’t know how strong they are – in fact, we barely know anything about these almost mystical entities. We do know, however, that they respond to Imu, and ultimately, they’re the leaders of the World Government. At this point, we’ve seen Saturn’s true form – which in and of itself was terrifying – and his Haki, but we have yet to see them fight. Though, we can hardly dispute their strength, so we’re placing them at 18 for lack of knowledge.
17. Silvers Rayleigh
We all know who Gol D. Roger is and just how powerful he became, but there’s one name that doesn’t share the same spotlight, and that is Silvers Rayleigh. The Dark King was the right-hand man for Roger and possessed the brains, strength, and swordsmanship to best most of the characters in the One Piece universe. That said, again like many other characters his strongest abilities come down to Haki, which like many entries on this list, can use all three types.
16. Kuma
Kuma is a difficult character to place, so at 16, it seemed like a fair ranking. He has plenty of traits that work to his advantage, namely, his size, raw power, speed, and, especially, his Paw-Paw fruit. At the same time, he is also programmed to fully respond to the World Government as a Human Weapon. Lacking free will and the fear of getting hurt, Kuma is ultimately a fearless killing machine. Simultaneously, we’ve seen time and time again that his copies, the Pacifistas, aren’t indestructible despite being extremely powerful.
15. Kuzan
Much like Kizaru and Akainu, Kuzan is an Admiral worthy of being considered one of the strongest characters in One Piece. At this point, we know that his mentor was none other than Monkey D. Garp, and Kuzan feels confident enough that he can defeat the “hero” of the Marines. His Devil Fruit, along with his genius in battle – evident from his 10-day fight with Akainu – surely makes him one of the most powerful characters in the manga.
14. Kizaru
The Marine Admiral Kizaru, is indisputably one of the strongest characters in the series. Not only did his power get him to the Marines’ position that he’s in, but his name alone is feared all over the sea. Ultimately, he is the fastest character in the series, and we now know, that not even Luffy’s Nika form can top Kizaru’s Glint-Glint fruit. His devil fruit alone allows him to create, control and turn into light as well, so that in and of itself is quite explanatory as to why he’s on this list.
13. Luffy
Luffy’s spot among the most powerful characters in One Piece can no longer be debated – though his placing is still lower than many like to admit. But hey, he could hardly defeat – by himself – anyone above him on this list. Granted, we most recently saw him defeat Kaido, but ultimately, he didn’t do it alone. So let’s go over some of his strengths.
At this point, we all know he possesses immense physical strength and, of course, is one of the few characters in the story to have mastered all three kinds of Haki. However, in spite of his genius in battle, Luffy’s strength also lies in having one of the strongest fruits in One Piece: the Human Human, Model: Nika fruit. Every single one of his opponents post-Wano has struggled to face Luffy after his awakening – even Kizaru. The emperor’s constant improvement in battle surely earns him a place on this list, and of course, gives him a lot more space to grow.
12. Big Mom
Deemed by many as the weakest former Emperor of the Sea, Charlotte Linlin — or Big Mom — is still one of the strongest characters in One Piece. Her immense physical strength, a threatening size, and the Soul Soul fruit should be enough to deem her absolutely terrifying. However, she can use all three Haki types, and perhaps what’s most terrifying about Big Mom is her deafening aura. Her very existence inflicts bone-shaking fear upon (nearly) everyone around her, which is just about perfect, considering she can steal the soul of those who fear her.
11. Kaido
The members of the four emperors keep on coming, and this time it’s Kaido. While he isn’t the world’s strongest man, he is the world’s strongest creature, and for good reason. Along with his physical abilities, Kaido has the power of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon fruit that allows him to transform into a serpentine Azure dragon and a human-dragon hybrid at will. Along with this, he has mastery of all Haki types and he’s simply a nearly-indestructable creature.
10. Blackbeard
Another of the four emperors, Marshall D. Teach — more commonly referred to as Blackbeard — is undeniably one of the strongest characters in One Piece. Blackbeard is the only person in the franchise who wields the power of two devil fruits: the Dark Dark and Quake Quake fruits. Not only can he now generate shockwaves and quakes but he also has the power of darkness that can reduce anything to nothingness. Aside from his fruits and even his mastery in Haki, he’s quite an evil being to his very core, stopping at no means to obtain what he wants.
9. Hawkeye Mihawk
When it comes to master swordsmen, there is no one more skilled than Dracule “Hawkeye” Mihawk. Nowadays, he is the co-founder of the Cross Guild, a former Warlord of the Sea, and holds the title of the “Strongest Swordsman in the world.” He’s known to often duel with Shanks – one of the Four Emperors, mind you – purely for fun. He’s a master in at least two known Haki types and overall, he’s an opponent that even some of the strongest admirals wouldn’t want to face.
8. Akainu
Sakazuki is one of the Marines’ strongest characters, to the point where he became a Fleet Admiral in the Marines. He’s ate the Magma-Magma Devil Fruit, which granted him the ability to wield and transform his body into magma. As you’d expect, this gives Sakazuki the power to endure high temperatures and very few fruits will actually win against him. That paired with his strength, smarts, and the legions of Marines under the command should give you a solid idea of why he ranks at number 8 on our list.
7. Shanks
Shanks’ place on this list may be up for debate, as we still have yet to see his power on full display, but he’s surely deserving of a high spot on our list. At this point in the story, we know that he possesses an extremely powerful mastery of Haki, excellent swordsmanship, and undeniable physical abilities. Given that he is so respected by all characters within the series – five elders included – it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine him as the strongest living character today.
6. Monkey D. Garp
Monkey D. Garp is out of his prime, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be any lower on his list. Garp boasts incredible strength that makes him capable of crushing mountains with his bare fists. Alongside Gold D. Roger, he took on and defeated characters placed above him on this list. Even at his current age in the story, Garp is taking on Kuzan – who is at his prime – and the Blackbeard pirates, though we’re not yet sure how that battle turned out. Nonetheless, Garp is still one of the strongest characters in the series right now.
5. Whitebeard
Edward Newgate, or Whitebeard, was known for the longest time as the strongest man in the world of One Piece. With a title like that it, should be no real surprise why he takes a top-tier spot on this list. After eating the Quake-Quake Devil Fruit, Whitebeard was gifted the ability to cause quakes and generate powerful shockwaves which in and of itself is extremely overpowered. Alongside with wielding Murakumogiri, his massive stature and immense strength and intelligence in battle, Whitebeard was just one of the strongest characters in the story.
4. Rocks D. Xebec
There is no real argument, Rocks D. Xebec is one of the strongest character in One Piece. It took both Gold D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to ultimately take down Rocks, that were led by Xebec. While we don’t know a lot about this character or his powers, to command such a powerful crew of his own, he was most definitely one of the most dangerous pirates of all time, albeit he wasn’t liked among any of his crewmates.
3. Monkey D. Dragon
While we don’t know the specifics of just how strong Dragon is, he commands a massive revolutionary army, so it’s unlikely he rose to this position without some truly spectacular powers. In fact, his reputation is so feared that it instantly made Luffy a target simply for being his son. While number three might seem high or low, depending on who you ask, Dragon is known as the “World’s Worst Criminal,”which clearly means he is the biggest threat to the world government and worthy of topping this list.
2. Imu
Granted, Imu is still a mysterious variable in One Piece — as are many characters in this entry — but there are a few reasons that lead us to believe that he is, at the very least, second to our strongest character. For starters, he is the supreme leader of the world government, occupying the empty throne and even leading the five elders. Ultimately, he is the single ruler of the world, capable of sinking entire islands and lands regardless of where he might be.
1. Gold D. Roger
Gold D. Roger is the only character to have ever obtained the One Piece and reached Laugh Tale – that alone should tell you why he is placed atop this list. While the king of the pirates may be dead, there is no doubt it took decades of hard work and improvement on his part to get where he ended. For years, we see plenty of his achievements.
Roger, along with Garp, managed to take out everyone in God Valley, including the Rock pirates – comprised of three former Emperors of the Sea. We don’t know the full extent of his power, but he certainly held knowledge and sufficient strength to have become the World Government’s number one priority, and thus, the strongest character in One Piece thus far.
