Summary
The diverse and sizeably large cast of Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piecefeatures a slew of memorableantagonists who have challenged Luffyand his allies in terms of both their strengths and ideologies. MostOne Piecestory arcs make use of a succession of minor villains building up to the main antagonist, who is usually Luffy’s final opponent in the climactic final battle that concludes each saga.
While mostOne Piecevillains are clever, charismatic, or exceptionally powerful (or a combination of all three), some do not exhibit any of these redeeming qualities, and their downfall is usually a consequence of their innate character flaws. Hence, on this train of thought, here are some of the most incompetentOne Piecevillains that have featured in the seriesso far.
Anime Debut
One Piece Episode #4 “Luffy’s Past! The Red-Haired Shanks Appears”
Regarding Buggy, the word “incompetent” might not completely fit the bill given that he is now one of the Four Emperors of the Sea and the public face of Cross Guild after starting as the main villain of the Orange Town Arc in the East Blue Saga. However, despite his fame and reputation, he is quite spineless and inept, which would turn into a major problem if he were to be pitted against some of the more powerful individuals who rule over the New World inOne Piece.
Furthermore, the main reasons behind his rise to prominence are the oddly charismatic persona he has created for himself and his uncanny ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Beyond these factors,Buggy is cowardly, egotistical, selfish, and driven by a need for attention, with many of these traits having caused him to act rashly when provoked. He is also neither a clever strategist nor a strong combatant and leader, which is why he can be viewed as incompetent due to the rank he currently holds.
One Piece Chapter #449 “The Mysterious Four of Thriller Bark”
One Piece Episode #343 “His Name is Moria! Trap of the Great Shadow-Stealing Pirate”
Laid back and relaxed for the most part,Gecko Moria is a former Warlordof the Sea and the main antagonist of the Thriller Bark Arc in the pre-time skip era ofOne Piece. Once a headstrong young pirate who dreamed of conquering the New World, Moria was dealt a shocking blow by Kaido, who massacred his entire crew, leaving him as the only survivor. Since then, Moria has avoided direct conflict and generally delegated his tasks to others, adopting a lazy and somewhat arrogant outlook on being a pirate.
Believing that he could become Pirate King by amassing an army of zombies as powerful subordinates to do his bidding, Moria’s lethargy and lack of faith in his power diminished the potential of his Kage Kage no Mi Devil Fruit abilities. Ultimately, after his defeat against Luffy aroused concern from the World Government over his limited usefulness when compared to theother Warlords of the Sea, Moria was stripped of his title before the time skip.
One Piece Chapter #45 “Before the Storm”
One Piece Episode #21 “An Unexpected Guest! Sanji’s Food and Gin’s Grace”
Deceit, arrogance, and excessive reliance on his arsenal of weapons led Don Krieg tostruggle against Dracule Mihawk duringthe Baratie Arc, but it was his extreme superiority complex that eventually caused his downfall. Krieg’s delusions of grandeur led him to believe that he could become the Pirate King with elaborate weapons and a large fleet of ships, but he was in for a rude awakening.
When Mihawk destroyed his entire armada — said to be the largest of its kind in the East Blue — Krieg was forced to confront his relative lack of strength as the Warlord chased him back from the Grand Line. His willingness to use underhanded means to secure victory earned the ire of many individuals inOne Piece, and this was compounded by his boastful personality along with his stubborn refusal to accept that he was simply not as strong as he believed himself to be.
One Piece Episode #207 “Long Ring Long Land’s Big Adventure!”
Although he possesses a particularly strong Devil Fruit — the Noro Noro no Mi — with the power to slow down or immobilize targets, Foxy the Silver Fox was burdened by an intense sensitivity to criticism, where he would grow depressed and inconsolable at the slightest insult. He is also prone to using deceit and trickery to reach his goals, as seen in how many times he cheated during each stage of the Davy Back Fight between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Foxy Pirates.
In hisrole as the main antagonist ofthe Long Ring Long Land Arc, Foxy’s main involvements were as a gag character, since none of his actions really had any bearing on the subsequent arcs ofOne Piece’s Water 7 Saga. That being said, Foxy’s extreme sensitivity is a huge hindrance to his ability to put up a real fight against any opponent, which is why he makes it to this list.
One Piece Chapter #355 “Spandam”
One Piece Episode #249 “Spandam’s Conspiracy! The Day the Sea Train Shook”
Spandam is as close as Eiichiro Oda has come to singling out a poster child for incompetence despite his high rank within the World Government’s hierarchy. Short-tempered, sadistic, heavy-handed, and lacking any redeeming qualities, Spandam does not command any respect from his peers or subordinates, which makes his position as the former chief of CP9 inOne Pieceall the more perplexing.
His cowardice and complete lack of combat ability contrasted his power-hungry nature as well as his belief in the “ends justifying the means,” per the World Government’s philosophy of “Absolute Justice.” Alternatively, Spandam is extremely self-serving, even in the face of all his faults, as seen in how he accidentallytriggered the Buster Call on Enies Lobbyand then pinned the blame on his CP9 subordinates.
