As one of the longest-running anime in history, One Piece does not follow the typical storytelling conventions often seen in a 12 or 24-episode series. Currently airing at over 1000 episodes, greater episode numbers mean more potential plot holes to fill.
If specific points in the One Piece story played out differently, imagine how that would affect, or even improve the current storyline. Even with the manga’s continuous production, in the pre-time skip period alone, One Piece missed some surprising opportunities.
10 Luffy Doesn’t Eat The Devil’s Fruit Right Away
In episode 4 of One Piece, Luffy almost drowns when he is thrown into the sea after Higuma abducts him. Moments later, he was almost eaten by a Sea King. If Luffy had eaten the fruit at a later time he would be able to swim and Shanks wouldn’t need to rescue him (or lose an arm for it).
Without that initial bond between Luffy and Shanks from eating the Devil’s Fruit and being rescued, Shanks would probably not have given Luffy the straw hat right away. If that had been the case, Luffy’s pirate crew would be named differently, and he would have to earn the straw hat later on in his pirate adventures.
9 Koby Joins Luffy’s Pirate Crew
In One Piece‘s first episode, Luffy rescues a captive cabin boy named Koby. While the event occurred during Luffy’s search for the pirate hunter Zoro, Koby could have easily been recruited to become the first member of the Straw Hats.
Koby had more or less been held captive by the Alvida Pirates for two years after they struck a deal not to kill him in exchange for cabin maintenance services. Meeting Luffy inspired Koby to stand up for himself and gain the courage to pursue his dreams. Koby would eventually join the Marines later in the story, but he could have followed Luffy as he considered the latter to be his first friend.
8 Vivi Rejoins The Straw Hat Pirates
Despite only hanging around until the end of One Piece‘s Alabasta arc, Vivi Nefertari (along with her pet Karoo) is considered one of the original members of the Straw Hat Pirates. However, her magisterial duties eventually required her to take her leave of the Going Merry crew. If Vivi had a proxy who could look after the kingdom, the princess would have continued her tenure as a crew member for many more adventures.
A lot of fans continue to express their frustrations because they believe that Vivi could have done a better service by becoming a pirate: their adventures would make her a lot stronger, and she could use her royal status to influence other kingdoms and form alliances.
7 Going Merry Was Repaired To Become The Thousand Sunny
Every pirate crew can be easily identified by their ship, and the Going Merry has become an iconic trademark for a whopping 296 One Piece episodes. Thanks to the cheerily named vessel, the Straw Hats have gone on many adventures and emerged victorious from numerous battles.
At one point, the Going Merry even repaired itself by magically manifesting a Klabautermann and rescued the Straw Hats at Enies Lobby during a Buster Call. The Going Merry had enough spirit to even ask the mayor of Water 7 for repairs, so Franky and the shipwrights could have used the Adam Wood to repair the Going Merry instead of the Straw Hats moving on to the Thousand Sunny.
6 Usopp Never Disguises Himself As Sogeking
During the Enies Lobby arc, Sogeking made a name for himself. After shooting the World Government flag down and attacking CP9’s leader, Spandam, Sogeking declared war against them. Most of the Straw Hats, except for Luffy and Chopper, knew that Sogeking was Usopp in disguise.
Had Usopp apologized before joining the mission to rescue Robin, he could have gained the 77-million bounty as himself. Zoro may have intervened in Usopp’s return to the crew for challenging Luffy’s authority, but the experience could have provided some serious growth for Usopp.
5 Nami Follows Bell-mère’s Footsteps And Becomes A Marine
One Piece fans to this day still do not know the full depth of Nami’s origins apart from being adopted by the marine, Bell-mère, together with her adoptive sister Nojiko. Nevertheless, she remains a vital character, filling the essential role as the Straw Hats’ navigator and cartographer.
With Arlong’s murder of Bell-mère, and his subsequent hostile takeover of Nami’s home village, Nami’s deep-rooted hatred for pirates is understandable. Coupled with her love for her foster, Nami has more than enough motivation to become a Marine herself. If she were to join Luffy’s crew after becoming a Marine, she wouldn’t so easily be lumped in as part of the Weak Trio.
4 Akainu Disappears After Killing Ace
As one of the most hated characters in One Piece, there’s no reason for the audience to want Akainu to stay alive. Even if the Marines are supposedly allies of justice, fleet admiral Akainu is was wrong for killing Luffy’s brother, Ace, during the Paramount War during the Marineford Arc.
While Akainu’s only saving grace was the theory of indirectly helping Sabo regain his memories, he doesn’t serve any other purpose in the narrative apart from irking the viewers. To please the fans, Akainu can be removed from the story through an act of revenge by Ace’s pirate allies.
3 Blackbeard Also Steals Ace’s Devil Fruit Ability
By default, Devil Fruit users cannot consume more than one. However, Blackbeard, for some unknown reason, can steal Whitebeard’s Gura Gura no Mi abilities. If one of Blackbeard’s Devil Fruit abilities is the power to steal other powers, then nothing stops him from also taking Ace’s Mera Mera no Mi.
Apart from being one of the Four Emperors, Blackbeard also has a history of being a warlord and working with the Marines. Potentially, he could become the next main antagonist for the Straw Hats. With a greater array of powers, there could be a marvelous showdown in One Piece‘s future.
2 Marco Becomes The Captain Of The Whitebeard Pirates
After the Paramount War, the remaining members of Whitebeard’s crew sought revenge against the Blackbeard Pirates. As a result of their brutal defeat, they disbanded.
While Marco does become the de facto leader of the Whitebeard Pirates after Whitebeard’s death, their arc could have continued for a lot longer had they not decided to attack right away. If the crew took its time and prepared accordingly, their role in the Wano arc would have been much bigger with Marco as a full-fledged captain, rather than fighting alone.
1 Straw Hats Met In 3 Days, Not 2 Years
The timeskip may have lobbed off two years’ worth of potential storylines, but One Piece continued to air weekly. With the sudden changes that occurred in the story, viewers missed out on the Straw Hats’ interim adventures. In Episode 400, the crew decided to split up and lay low until they could meet up again in three days – the time it would take to add a magical coating to the Thousand Sunny before the crew’s trip to Fish-Man Island.
If the Straw Hats had managed to successfully outrun Sentomaru and Pacifista, they could have met in three days as promised and come up with a better plan on how to conquer the rest of the Grand Line. Bartholomew Kuma teleported the crew to different places where they could harness their skills. But a little heads-up and proper farewell wouldn’t hurt before jumping ahead with the timeskip.
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