Shichibukai
The Shichibukai (七武海 Shichibukai, literally Seven Military Seas), called the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the English anime and manga, are a set of fictional characters in the anime and manga series One Piece.
Overview
The Shichibukai were seven of the strongest pirates in the One Piece world, and as such were commonly hunted down by the Marines. They eventually made a deal with the World Government, however, for the Marines to drop the bounties on their heads and pardon them of their crimes in exchange for working in association with the World Government, in a way serving as the One Piece version of the European privateers. They are allowed to hunt down all pirates opposing the World Government at will or pirates that the World Government assigns a Shichibukai to handle, though one tenth of the collected loot must be sent to the World Government. The World Government uses them to, together with the Marines, maintain balance in the Grand Line between the World Government and the Yonkou, though they tend to be closer to the latter than the former. Due to their deal with the World Government, other pirates consider the Shichibukai “Government Dogs”. At the same time, however, they fear the Shichibukai due to their massive strength. It’s unknown if the current Shichibukai, excluding Marshall D. Teach, are the original seven.
The Shichibukai are apparently granted great deals of autonomy from what has been seen thus far. Sir Crocodile seems to have been unsupervised for an extremely long period of time. Additionally, several high-ranking Marines expressed surprise that large numbers of Shichibukai showed up when invited for a meeting. Shichibukai are welcome to any and all meetings of the World Government and the Marines, though, outside Bartholomew Kuma, they rarely bother showing up. They do not openly oppose the World Government, though are not guaranteed to follow their orders either. Presumably, the World Government tolerates these actions to remain on good terms with the Shichibukai.
The exact qualifications for Shichibukai are unknown. It may or may not be equivalent to the bounty on the person’s head, as there have been instances when a member has had a relatively low bounty on Shichibukai standards, or no bounty at all. The only known qualifications are for the candidate(s) to have strong intimidation skills and a fearsome reputation.
It is also known that all members, prior to the fall of Sir Crocodoile and his replacment by Blackbeard , had animal themes to them, whether it simply is part of their names or the very way they look and act. Several members also tend to be based off of real life pirates and at least one is based of a famous fictional pirate.
Current known members
Dracule "Hawk Eye" Mihawk
- Theme: Hawk
- Former Bounty:?
- Seiyū: Takeshi Aono
- Voice Actor (4Kids): Wayne Grayson
Dracule "Hawk Eye" Mihawk is universally regarded as the greatest swordsman in the world. Nicknamed "Hawkeye", Mihawk has thus far made three major appearances in One Piece. The first of Shichibukai to be introduced, Mihawk plays a major role as Roronoa Zoro’s ultimate goal. Pirate Admiral Don Krieg held a strong grudge against Mihawk due to the destruction of his great armada of 50 warships. All 50 were destroyed single-handedly by Mihawk for the sake of personal amusement. Mihawk is the owner of the world’s strongest sword, widely known simply as the Black Sword. Red-Haired Shanks was a former rival to Mihawk[1] in term of swordsmanship before the loss of Shanks’ left arm.
Attracted to East Blue in pursuit of Pirate Admiral Don Krieg for no apparent reason, Mihawk made his first major appearance during Baratie Arc. His appearance was marked by the swift destruction of Don Krieg’s last remaining warship. Coincidentally present, Zoro challenged Mihawk for his title. In spite of Zoro’s best effort, Mihawk held against Zoro with clear effortlessness, using a 4 inch knife against Zoro's santōryū (Three Sword Style). Unimpressed with Zoro’s sword skill, Mihawk however found Zoro’s determination to be astonishing. Honoring his opponent’s spirit, Mihawk respected his foe’s honor enough to use the Black Sword (Kokutou Yoru). The final clash ended in Zoro’s defeat and loss of two swords. Greatly pleased by his opponent’s spirit, Mihawk issued a challenge and claimed that he will wait for the day when Zoro is able to surpass him as the world’s greatest swordsman. Purposely leaving Zoro alive, Mihawk sailed away.
In a later date, Mihawk made a personal visit to Red-Haired Shanks and informed him that Luffy is coming to the Grand Line as a famed pirate. Mihawk’s latest appearance was during a joint meeting between the high Marine officials and Shichibukai, along with Donquixote Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma. The topic of discussion was the defeat of Shichibukai Crocodile at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates. It was implied by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Donquixote Doflamingo that Mihawk has the worst attendance record of all Shichibukai.
Jimbei
- Theme: Whale shark?
- Former Bounty: ???
- Seiyū: ?
- Voice Actor: ?
The Arlong Pirates used to be part of Jimbei's crew, but the two groups separated 8 years before the current storyline. While Jimbei remained in the Grand Line, Arlong traveled to the East Blue to conquer it. Arlong was referred to as the commander of Jimbei's fishman forces. He is speculated to be a Whale Shark fishman, as 甚平鮫 jinbei-zame means "whale shark" in Japanese.
Jimbei has yet to make a physical appearance, however considering the Straw Hats are heading to Fishman Island, it's possible they might encounter him.
Donquixote Doflamingo
- Theme: Flamingo
- Former Bounty: 340,000,000 Beli
- Seiyū: Hideyuki Tanaka
- Voice Actor: ?
Doflamingo (ドンキホーテ・ドフラミンゴ, Donkihōte Dofuramingo) first appeared in chapter 234 in the manga, and in episode 151 in the anime. He has a former bounty of 340 million Beli (so far the highest bounty mentioned in the manga). Currently it is unknown why his bounty was so high. He seemingly has the power to control people's bodies like puppets (this seems to be dependent on "puppeteer" movement by his fingers).
Dofamingo appears to be an extremly large man, when walking bow-legged he comes up to Kumas shoulder, there for if he were to walk up right he would as tall or taller the Kuma or Moria.
Bellamy the Hyena used to serve under Doflamingo. Both tend to laugh at people's dreams, in preparation for the "New Era." While he appears to regard those weaker than him who work under him as mere underlings rather than crewmates (which gives him a similar view to Captain Kuro on crewmates), he does still have some pride and a small sense of honor for his old flag and despises the idea of those failing while using it. Such as, when Doflamingo learned of Bellamy's defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat Captain Monkey D. Luffy, Doflamingo came to Jaya and promptly kicked him out of his crew, forcing Sarquiss to kill Bellamy in the process. It is as of yet unknown whether or not Bellamy was the only captain under Doflamingo's command. Doflamingo's flag is a smiley face with a slash through it. Interestingly enough, the same smiley face appears on Whitebeard's intravenous machine which suggests that they have some sort of history with each other.
Doflamingo is named after Don Quixote, as well as the flamingo (whose brightly-colored plumage is reflected in Doflamingo's style of dress). Doflamingo seems to have a penchant for the dramatic, as well as a habit of exaggerated posing when giving declarations. He also seems to be the most laid-back of all the Shichibukai, and displays rude bravery, demonstrated when he sits on the table during the gathering of the Shichibukai and tries to pick a fight against the Marine's Supreme Admiral, Sengoku. Also, the way he walks is rather humorous (a bow-legged waddle). Most of these things resemble habits of Don Quixote. Ironically, his ideals of the pirates of the new era, the pirates who don't dream, are exactly the opposite of the original Don Quixote ideas.
Trivia
- Like many other One Piece characters, Doflamingo has a unique laugh (fufufufufufufufufu).
Bartholomew Kuma
(バーソロミュー・くま, Bāsoromyū Kuma) A formerly brutal pirate with a former bounty of 296 million beli, he appears to be a much calmer, more reserved member of the Shichibukai who merely moves and does what he needs to. Like Mihawk and Donquixote Doflamingo, he was present at the government summit of Mariejoa following Sir Crocodile's defeat in Alabasta. Comparing his height to Perona's in Chapter 473, he is well over twenty feet tall and is only matched in size by Moria's true body. According to Gecko Moria, Kuma is the only obedient Shichibukai of the World Government.
Kuma seems to have the ability to teleport, which enables him to appear in the blink of an eye. Although the nature of Kuma's ability is unknown at this moment, he also shows the ability to make anyone he touches disappear to an unknown place, demonstrated when he makes Perona of the Thriller Bark crew disappear by touching her with his bare hand (she most likely went to the destination she said she wished to be). Also, Kuma asks Gecko Moria where he would like to travel to, further suggesting this ability. According to Perona, Kuma was known for his brutality as a pirate. However, his asking of where to "teleport" people reflects his change in personality. During a conformation of him and Gecko Moria, it was shown that the two are approximately equal in height, both being inhumanly tall.
Due to his apparently reserved disposition and the fact that he is invariably seen with a large bible, Kuma is likely modeled after Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, a gentleman pirate known for his religious obstinacy. Currently, Bartholomew has met with fellow member Gecko Moria about the appointment of Marshall D. Teach as a new Shichibukai member as well as to offer his assistance on the defeat of the Straw Hat crew. Though he has not met with them, he does have knowledge regarding Luffy's brother, Portgas D. Ace. "Kuma" means "bear" in Japanese.
Gecko Moria
Theme: Gecko
- Former Bounty: 320,000,000 Beli
- Seiyū: Unknown
- Voice Actor: Unknown
Moria is the captain of the world's biggest pirate ship, Thriller Bark, and has a former bounty of 320,000,000 Beli. Moria apparently has the power to turn people's shadows (including his own) into solid objects due to the power of the Kage Kage no Mi (Shadow Shadow Fruit), but the full extent of his powers are yet unknown. He is the one who stole Brook's, and various other beings' shadows. The loss of a being's shadow causes them to go into a two day coma, and to be vaporized if they come in contact with sunlight. The shadow acts a second soul, duplicating its owner's movements and mannerisms. Moria creates zombies by inserting a shadow into a lifeless corpse. Coupled with physiologically enhanced bodies engineered by Hogback, he is able to create powerful and obedient zombie warriors. However, if the original owner of the shadow dies, the zombie created from that person's shadow will also die. As a result, Moria has the de-shadowed people placed on their ship and removed from Thriller Bark.
He is an extremely large man and has a devil-like appearance, mainly due to his horns and shadowy figure. His size is equivalent to fellow Shichibukai member Bartholomew Kuma, but he creates smaller (but still impressively large) shadow clones to do his work. He wields a pair of gigantic scissors that he uses to cut the shadows of his victims from their bodies upon seizing them. He is a very calm person and is not even bothered by the fact that his ship and crew are being destroyed. He also has X like marks above his nose and below his chin that may be stitches. Moria's motto is to rely on others to reach his goals. His favorite phrase is: "You do it!", reflecting his slothful personality and tendency to leave all work for his underlings. This also expands to his fighting style, as he prefers to lay back and let his own shadow, Doppelman, battle with the powers of the Kage Kage no Mi.
He had captured Luffy and took away his shadow. He has placed it in the giant 900th zombie named Oz, and plans to avenge his defeat at the hands of a person named Kaidou in the New World. Luffy has recently found Moria inside Oz's freezer, and started to battle him. Moria has revealed that the only way for all of the shadows to return to their original masters is for him to give them the order to do so. The battle was interrupted when Oz went on a rampage, Moria fled followed closely by Luffy. When Luffy defeated what appeared to be Moria, it turned out to merely be a clone shadow. He entered the body of his greatest zombie, controlling him like a robot to fight against the opposing pirates.
Trivia
- Like many other characters in One Piece, Moria has a strange laugh (kishishishi).
- His name is a double-pun on his animal theme gecko and the Japanese word for 'Moonlight' (月光, 'Gekkou'), given his nightmare theme.
- Like Luffy and a few other characters in One Piece, Gecko Moria wants to be the new Pirate King
Marshall D. Teach
- Theme: Darkness
- Former Bounty: 0
Sir Crocodile's recent replacement, granted the title after his battle with Portgas D. Ace.
Former members
Sir Crocodile
- Theme: Crocodile
- Former Bounty: 81,000,000 Beli (But according to Oda, Crocodile's bounty would have been more than double that, if reflective of his actual threat level during the Alabasta arc).
- Seiyū: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo
- Voice Actor (4Kids): David Brimmer
-Stripped of his title and arrested for his attempted coup d'état of the Kingdom of Alabasta {and was soon replace by Marshall D. Teach} and involvement with Baroque Works by Tashigi. Currently on his way to serve a life sentence in Impel Down.
Crocodile is a former member of the Shichibukai, and the only person in the series to master his Devil Fruit (Sand Sand Fruit, スナスナの実 Suna Suna no Mi), and president incognito of the crime syndicate Baroque Works.
It was stated by Crocodile himself that he was not much different from Luffy once, and also wanted to become the Pirate King and have adventures. As time went by, Crocodile came to let go of his dreams, eventually becoming one of the Shichibukai. At some point Crocodile learned of a weapon called Pluton and became very interested in it.
Crocodile secretly started a mysterious group, called Baroque Works. Being careful not to attract too much attention to himself, he gathered some of the best bounty hunters in the world, and gave them codenames based on power and intelligence. His plan the whole time was to capture Alabasta and read the Poneglyph there to find the ancient weapon, Pluton. This would cause him to gain what he desired most, Military Power.
After the events of Alabasta, as a disgrace to the World Government, Crocodile was stripped of his Shichibukai status and his bounty reinstated. Though Miss Goldenweek breaks him and other Baroque Works members out of prison, he and Mr. 1 decide to stay behind which indicates that he is staying by his own free will, although the reason is unknown. In the final cover panel of this mini-arc, Crocodile and Mr. 1 (along with the newly imprisoned Mr. 2 Bon Clay and Mr. 3) were transported to the Marine prison Impel Down, He and Mr. 2 are oddly seen smiling while awaiting transer. However it seems unlikely that a prison of even sea stone can hold them as they are all extremely strong. This coupled with his genius intelligence and his own willingness to stay in prison seem to make it appear that he is planning something although that something is unknown.
Before achieving Shichibukai status, Crocodile's last bounty was 81,000,000 Beli. Crocodile had the lowest bounty of the Shichibukai at the time, and was likely the only one known to have a bounty of less than 100 million Beli. However it was stated that if his bounty represented his threat level at the time he met Luffy, it would have more than doubled and easily broken the 100 million mark. He also appears to be the most intelligent and cunning member of the Shichibukai, apparent from his ability to mastermind the entire Alabasta incident while at the same time keeping the World Government from finding out he was behind it while also making himself a national hero.
Crocodile seems to be inspired by Captain Hook from Peter Pan. The idea behind Crocodile's hook seems to have come from this famous fictional pirate, specially considering the fact he is the only pirate so far in One Piece to have a hook. Other aspects about Crocodile come from Peter Pan in general, such as his name which is from the beast that hunted Captain Hook.Also like Captain Hook's main enemy, Peter Pan, who was a young boy living in a dream world, one of Sir Crocodile's enemies was Monkey D. Luffy, who is also a young boy full of dreams.
For more information on Crocodile's involvement in Baroque Works, see here.
Manga/anime influences
The Shichibukai are loosely based on the privateers of old Europe. The privateers were approved pirates, considered heroes in their homeland and pillagers in others. Their main goal was to plunder the villages and towns of the then mighty country of Spain.[2]
See also
References
- ^ One Piece Data books - Shanks confirmed to be a rival of Mihawk once.
- ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.28 - Chapter 260, Fan question: Are the Shichibukai based on the privateers of old England and France?
