Roger’s List: Top 5 Characters Who Need to Be Seen in a Fight

Ahoy! Roger's List has struck land!

Greetings my subjects! Welcome to another segment of Roger’s List. My name’s Roger and I’m here to chart, graph, and list some of the highest (and possibly lowest) facets of the greatest Pirate Epic known to man: 

"MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND!"

Actually it’s just One Piece.

Yeah, sorry to get your hopes up like that Luffy. Anyway, last month, I began by showing a list of the Top 10 greatest fights of One Piece, and I promised to come back this month with a whole new subject. Well… I guess you can consider this your April Fools, cause we’re still talking about fights. Only this time we aren’t talking about fights that have happened, but fights that should happen in the foreseeable future. There are certain characters in this story that have demonstrated some impressive powers and skills, but have yet to implement said skills in a fleshed out one-on-one confrontation. So, to not keep these guys waiting, here is the Top five One Piece Characters We Need to See in a Fight.  
 

#5: Robin

At this point in our lives, I believe it is safe to say we have seen more than enough fan service for Nico Robin.

Way...

 

way...

 

WAAAAAY MORE THAN ENOUGH FAN SERVICE!

Now… I love my gorgeous, tall, dark haired, blue eyed, top heavy, perfect skinned, intelligent, book worm, 30-year-old anime heroines with their dry sense of humor, never lose their temper, voice of Stephanie Young, and a midriff so small she looks like she’ll snap in two at any given moment as much as the next bloke, but you know what I would really love? Too see my gorgeous, tall, dark haired _bla-bla-bla you get the point_ in a fight.

Now hold your horses. I am perfectly aware that Robin has been active in several confrontations. She’s taken out Pell and Tashigi in Alabasta, Yama in Skypeia, Spandam in Enies Lobby, Hammond in Fishman Island, and was active in several group fights against Oz, PX4 and Hogback’s zombies with Chopper, but… honestly…I have a hard time counting any of those as actual fights. The main difficulty with Robin is that her Flower Flower Devil Fruit powers make here an expert at grappling/disarming/dispatching her enemies in an instant before they can even get to any collateral damage. Effective sure, but they don’t really make for a compelling battle where we’re suppose to see someone in a violent struggle and beat the odds under pressure.

While I can see perfectly why it would be more difficult to stage a full on battle with Robin’s abilities than most of the other Straw Hats, I don’t think it’s impossible. Conceptually, Robin has one of the most unique and diverse skill sets of the crew, and is easily the brightest and most resourceful of them all. Robin has used her abilities in the past to construct ropes, jumps, nets, fans, wings, giant gongs, and can even make near full copies of herself. All we need now is to implement some of these in a legit one-on-one battle. Heck, even the most recent video games have found ways to string some of these abilities together to make battle worthy. It just takes a little effort.        

#4 and 3: Coby and Helmeppo

Over the course of the series, Coby and Helmeppo have been quickly building their strength so they may someday rival our heroes in the New World. You can arguably say that they have progressed quicker than any other character in all of One Piece (mastering one of the six superpowers in just a couple months), no short thanks to training from our protagonist’s very own Grandpa.

In a recent filler episode that aired only in Japan, we got to see a sneak peek of the duo in their new Post Time Skip uniforms. So far, I’m intrigued. Coby is now Captain of his own vessel (impressive, considering the amount of weight he probably had to pull to get in good graces with the new Fleet Admiral) with Helmeppo as his supporting officer. I would not be surprised if they knew all six superpowers at this point. Coby also displayed himself to be in full control of his Observation Haki. Whether or not he also possesses Armament Haki is still unknown, but I wouldn’t doubt it.

While I’m sure Coby and Helmeppo’s next run-in with the Straw Hats will come in due time, it would be nice to see them in action against some other Pirates. Perhaps we can see them battle some of the other Supernovas like Capone or Urogue. Maybe they can be the ones to hunt down Crocodile. Could they get Devil Fruit abilities of their own in the future? I don’t know why, but I can totally imagine Helmeppo with the Roo Roo Nomi (Kangaroo Man Anyone?)

#2: Drake

Ever since we first met the Supernovas back on Sabaody, I’ve had my eye on X Drake. Impressive fighter, former marine Rear Admiral, Robin Hood motif, and a one of the most badass Devil Fruit Powers we have seen. Yeah, this guy can morph into a T-Rex. Freaking Tyrannosaurus Rex-Man! Awesome!

Given this guy’s former Navy experience, it is highly likely he is trained in the six superpowers, all of which are enhanced by his Zoan Devil Fruit abilities. It is said that the more carnivorous and fierce the animal, the stronger the fighting abilities of the user become. By that logic, Drake should have enough power to make Rob Lucci look as threatening as a newborn kitten.

While we did get to see Drake’s full on Dino form tear shit up at Sabaody, we have still not seen his Human/Dino hybrid form. His latest exploits showed him attempting to draw the attention of one of the Four Emperors, Hundred Beasts Kaido, who just so happens to be the same Emperor that Luffy and Law have made their next target. It is quite feasible that a common enemy may draw Drake to the side of the Straw Hat and Heart Pirates in the near future, and the man named after Sir Francis himself may finally see some real action (on screen this time).  

#1: Kid

I’m going to level with you all, I wasn’t all into this guy in the beginning. He came across to me as a bully who was all talk and killed innocent civilians because they looked at him funny (and honestly, who could blame them? What kind of man finds purple lipstick badass?) But after time, and seeing how similar his ambitions were to Luffy’s, I started to look closer at his ideals. This man sees from the start how cruel the world is, and how the World Government has bullied their way in control all of humanity to the point where learning our own history is a crime punishable by execution. Eustass Captain Kid has grown to be a favorite anti-hero/full on villain of mine (still trying to decide which of these he really is) and I cannot wait to see him put his Metal where his Mouth is.

Eustass possesses a Devil Fruit power of Magnetism, which essentially means he can control metal like Magneto from X-Men. In theory, his power can allow him to repel hundreds of cannonballs at once and instantly take out entire Navy Fleets. Pasifistas? No problem. He can turn them inside out in an instant. Just about any Marine or pirate who uses a standard weapon is going to have a bad day when they run into Kid. That said, given his latest battle scars, he appears to be someone who can take it as much as he dishes it.

But probably what makes Kid a more lethal enemy than any of Luffy’s prior adversaries, is that be possesses one vital quality that Kuro, Krieg, Arlong, Wapol, Crocodile, Eneru, Rob Lucci, and Hordy Jones have all lacked. Conviction. Resolve. Ambition. In these aspects, Luffy has triumphed over every one of his foes a hundred times over. Not Kid. In fact, Kid’s most famous line thus far in this series relates to this exact trait:

“Live or Die! Bastards who fail to have that much resolve should never have come to this ocean!”

Something tells me the battle between him and Luffy for the title of Pirate King is going to be something glorious. However, considering his entire crew has this Heavy Metal motif going on, there sure as hell better be some hardcore music going off in the background when they finally go at it. Got that Toei? I’m talking Bruce Falconer’s work on DBZ quality.

And those are my Top Five. Before some of you execute me for leaving out so many of the obvious ones like, oh I don’t know… Shanks, Dragon, The Blackbeard Pirates, Kaido, Big Mam, or even the Five Elders (if they can fight at all), well, my answer for why I left them off the list would be that because these are such big powerhouses in the One Piece universe, we probably are going to have to wait till the very end of the series to see them in action. 

The five I chose are characters we should, in theory, see in combat sometime before the next big war. Doflamingo is another one, but seeing as the Dressrosa Arc is currently underway, and a confrontation with him is just about inevitable at this point, that felt pointless.

But please, feel free to share what characters you are most looking forward to see in a showdown. Until next time, my name’s Roger, and they just made the list.