Summary
One Piecehas introduced the fans to quite a lot of incredible twists and turns over the years. While some of these are incredibly elating, ensuring that the fans experience joy and excitement, others are downright sad, depressing, and of course, in many cases, tragic.
When it comes to writing tragedy, Oda is a master of this art and he has employed it on many occasions in his story. One Piece has seen quite a lot of tragic twists over the years, however, only a few can be considered to be the best of the lot.
8Fisher Tiger’s Past
Betrayed By Humans He Saved
When it comes to exploring tragic pasts, Oda only gets better. One of the most tragic pasts that he has written in a story is that of Fisher Tiger, the legendary Fishman who, long ago, climbed Marijoa and freed countless slaves. Fisher Tiger saved a lot of slaves from the grasp of the Celestial Dragons. Although he tried to not be engulfed by the hatred that he had against humans for what they did to him and his loved ones, he did have resentment in his heart for them, as seen when they sold him out and killed him, despite him saving a human child.
Fisher Tiger also revealed that he himself was a slave in the past and that is why he knew the suffering of all those who were locked up and Marijoa. He acted without prejudice and saved both humans and Fishmen, despite having suffered at the hands of humans for many years. Fisher Tiger died tragically, when he rejected a blood transfusion from humans because he did not trust them anymore and had lost all faith in them, however, he still had faith in the next generation.
7Otohime’s Death
Shot By Her Own Kind
Just like Fisher Tiger, Otohime was another prominent figure in the history of the Fishmen, and she died quite a tragic death as well. This tragic twist came towards the end of her goal of getting enough signatures to bridge the gap between the Fishmen and the humans.
Otohime did her job brilliantly, but she was later assassinated by one of her own, who despised the humans and was completely against the idea of living together with them, being consumed by the ideas of hatred instead.
6Hancock’s True Self
Her Slave Past Was Revealed
One of the biggest tragedies that Oda has elaborated upon inOne Pieceisthe true past of Boa Hancock.When Boa Hancock was introduced inOne Piece, her personality was not all that likable. Hancock appeared to be arrogant, rude, and often, inconsiderate of other people’s feelings.
However, there was a reason why Hancock was forced to put up a wall and that was explained later on in the story. Essentially, Hancock was revealed to be a former slave, who was used by the Celestial Dragons for their own pleasure in atrocious ways. Hancock was force-fed the Love Love Fruit and her tragic past made it so that she hated all men and trusted absolutely no one from there onwards. This was quite a tragic twist in the story and explained quite a lot about her character, her vulnerability, and of course, later down the line, her love for Luffy.
5The Truth About SMILEs
Orochi’s Cruel Strategy To Strip Emotions From Wano
One of the most masterful plot points that Oda introduced in his story was that of the SMILEs and it was also the most tragic twistthat fans experienced in Wano.Up until the Wano arc, fans believed the SMILEs to be just Devil Fruits that grant powers pertaining to the animals.
However, in Wano, it was finally revealed that the SMILEs actually had a 1 in 10 success rate. All the nine others suffered from the standard Devil Fruit side effects and, most shockingly, were stripped of all their emotions other than the ability to smile perpetually, even in grief. That is precisely why these fruits were named SMILEs in the first place.
4The Straw Hat Separation
The Destruction Of The Crew On Sabaody
The separation of the Straw Hat Pirates in the Sabaody Archipelago arc was anticlimactic, and a shock for many fans. That in itself makes it a very tragic twist inOne Piece.
This separation came at the back of a massive victory in Thriller Bark, and as soonas the Straw Hat Piratesarrived on the island of Sabaody, they got themselves caught up in a lot of chaos, which eventually led to them being defeated by the Marines, with Kuma splitting them apart later on. On that day, the Straw Hat Pirates were completely decimated.
3The Genocide Of Flevance
The North Blue Country Was Eradicated
Oda has written quite a lot of powerful and absolutely shocking plotlines intoOne Pieceand the genocide of Flevance is certainly one of them. The country of Flevance was certainly one that prospered due to White Lead being mined there once. Also known as Amber Lead, this material was extracted from a white ore, which in itself was poisonous.
The World Government knew about this a century ago, however, kept this information hidden. Eventually, this disease consumed everyone in the town of Flevance. What’s even worse is that this led to a prison being created around Flevance by neighboring countries, who believed this disease to be contagious. The truth was that Amber Lead was absolutely not contagious at all and even the Government knew this. Yet, the country was completely closed off and everyone inside those butchered by an extermination squad, completely erasing the population in one night, just to protect the Government’s secrets
2Ginny’s Death and Kuma’s Suffering
One Piece’s Most Tragic Backstory
Ginny and Kuma are two characters that are deeply intertwined inOne Pieceand their stories are certainly the most tragic, with shocking twists. Having both been slaves of the Celestial Dragons, Ginny and Kuma successfully managed to escape on the day of the God Valley Incident. They grew into prominence after escaping and started a new life for themselves.
Eventually, they even joined the Revolutionary Army, however, that is when Ginny was kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons and forced to marry one of them. She was forced to bear a child, and, eventually, experimented upon, whichgave her the Sapphire Scale Disease and consumed her life. Kuma himself raised Ginny’s child after her death and sold his own free will for the sake of the baby that Ginny had left behind, which was Bonney, becoming a shell with no emotions – essentially dying for the sake of the child.
1Ace’s Death
The Most Shocking Death In One Piece
Of course, to this day, the most tragic twist inOne Piececame at the end of the Paramount War,where Ace ended up dying despite being saved by Luffy.
Ace sacrificed his life to save his brother, Luffy, which was ironic, to say the least. This was a major shock in One Piece and changed the course of the story forever, forcing Luffy to grow stronger.
