Why Captain Buggy Might Be The Most Important Character In One Piece

Who is the most important character in One piece? Luffy? I mean, if you're a CASUAL fan, I guess I could see that.Gol D. Roger? He did set off this whole "Golden Age of Pirates" thing, but he's been dead for, well, all of the series, so I can't really place him in the top spot.Shanks? Well, he gave Luffy his Straw Hat and kickstarted the young pirate's adventure.Without Shanks, there would be no One pieceBut also no, it's not Shanks.

It's this guy right here:

"But Daniel?" You say, figuring that I must have meant to insert a photo of Zoro or something, "That's Captain Buggy. There's no way he's the most important One piece character. "Well, first of all, you don't exist, because everyone loves Captain Buggy and no one would dare question him.And secondly, Buggy is the most important character because he represents everything good about One piece. And what's good about One pieceWell, for starters, the series has a massive amount of story and history that connects everything and lends every moment a sense of emotional and dramatic weight.And wouldn't ya know …

… there's Buggy and The Roger Pirates' Honorable Mention, Shanks, in the same flashback.So, yeah, Buggy perfectly symbolizes all of the interconnectedness of the Grand Line's past, meaning that when we see stuff like this …

… we get more out of it because their relationship has already been set up.But what about the relationships in the Grand Line's Present? One of the greatest aspects of One piece is Luffy's ability to surround himself with powerful friends and allies, and the bonds that Luffy shares with his crewmates and fellow pirates often inform the themes of the series.

Look at that! It's Captain Buggy aiding the future King of the Pirates (if Buggy doesn't attain that title first) in his quest to save Ace. And considering that Buggy has made allies with characters like Gaimon, Alvida, Mr. 3 and the hundreds of former Impel Down inmates that he helped rescure, we should extend the trait of "Good at befriending people and gathering support" to Captain Buggy as well. Luffy isn't the only person in One piece with infectious charisma.

But a One piece character best nothing unless they feel special.The best ones are usually colorful, have impressive, ingenious powers, and have a distinct personality that sets them apart from all of the other various creations of Eiichiro Oda. Are you checking off Buggy's boxes for these traits as I list them?

After Luffy dealt with the relatively mundane ax-handed evil of Axe-Hand Morgan, Buggy was one of the characters that established a template for fun One piece villains, and in doing so became one of the most memorable ones.He's also the first villain to use a Devil Fruit in the series, so that's neat.

But a mark of a good character is usually in how they evolve over a period of time, and Buggy is not lacking in that, either.You have the Lil Baby Buggy from Roger's Crew, you have Buggy: Classic of the Orange Town arc, you have Hard Times Buggy from Impel Down, you have Marineford MVP Buggy from the Marineford arc, and then you have Warlord Buggy when he becomes a member of the Shichibukai in the post time-skip era. of the care and change that Oda has dealt out to his characters over the past twenty years.

So, we've established that Buggy is an important character, but is he a star? Can he carry the weight of the franchise? Ummm, I think it's a little obvious.I mean, the dude has a starring role in the 3D2Y special and is gonna be in the One Piece: Stampede film. He's also playable in nineteen One piece video games. Buggy isn't just a side character. This dude puts. Food. On. The. Table.

And while I don't usually like to get into arguments about who the most powerful person in the One piece universe is, I will say this as a definitive fact: No villain has gotten closer to beating Luffy.

So what does this all mean, aside from the fact that Buggy should be on all One piece promotional material going forward? Well, it means that Buggy, even if he isn't actually the most important character in One piece, represents so many of the things that make One piece a fantastic manga / anime.And he is a shining example of Oda's ability to craft characters that aren't just fun, but truly unforgettable.And if you're wondering where he goes from here, well I guess you're just gonna have to keep watching One piece, which is available in full on Crunchyroll.

Also, it's Buggys birthday today, and I think he'd feel bad if I didn't write something nice about him.

Do you consider yourself a member of Buggy's crew? What's your favorite Buggy moment? Let us know in the comments!

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Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!