Roronoa Zoro

Template:Infobox OPchara/Header Template:Infobox OPchara/Footer Roronoa Zoro (ロロノア・ゾロ) , known in the United States, Canada, and Australia as Roronoa Zolo is a fictional character in the anime and manga, One Piece. Being a member of the Straw Hat pirates, he has a bounty of 60 million berries.

Originally, the American version (Viz) spelled his name as "Roronoa Zoro", but it was changed to "Zolo" in chapter 50. His name was changed in the North American English versions for trademark reasons, and to match up with the dub of 4Kids Entertainment. The French and Spanish versions write Zoro's name as "Zorro". This name is also used in the German version but his backname was changed to Lorenor, mainly because it was easier to spell.

Zoro is a mighty swordsman who fights with santōryū, three japanese samurai swords (katana), and his own peculiar fighting style. Though not a samurai, he appears to maintain a certain degree of bushido, and is frequently mistaken for one.

History

Zoro originally was a bounty hunter, with ambitions of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. However a moment of kindness landed Zoro in trouble with Helmeppo, the wimpy son of the Marine captain Axe-Hand Morgan. Zoro joined Monkey D. Luffy's crew after being saved from execution by the Navy, and is now one of Luffy's "Straw Hat pirates". Holding on to his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world he only joined Luffy to accomplish that goal, though Luffy doesn't mind. Zoro also occasionally gets into verbal (and sometimes physical) fights with the ship's cook, Sanji. He also has an extremely bad sense of direction.

Zoro is arguably one of the strongest humans in One Piece; while most super powered heroes and villains gain power from eating one of the Devil Fruits, Zoro has gained his powers through hard work and training in his sword techniques. Zoro also has sufficient stamina to survive wounds strong enough to kill most normal men instantly. With his "santōryū", he has created extremely deadly attacks. Example attacks include the "Tatsumaki" (Dragon Twister in the English dub) and the "Thirty-Six Pound Cannon" (Single Sword Rising Phoenix in the English Dub, his "Seventy-Two Pound Cannon" and "One Hundred and Eight Pound Cannon" are called the Double and Triple Sword Rising Phoenix respectively in the dub), which cuts the very air to damage his opponents from afar.

File:Roronoa Zolo's santoryu (sheathing katana).jpg

Roronoa Zoro's santōryu

His three-sword-fighting-style is unique as the last sword is held by teeth. Before the sudden death of his childhood rival Kuina (Kuina was injured in the English anime, while Kuina died in the manga and Japanese version of the anime), Zoro fought with two swords but after her death, Zoro started using her sword - Wado Ichimonji - in addition to his other two, to fulfill his promise to Kuina that one of them would be the greatest of swordsmen. Though Zoro often speaks even when using the third sword, it's unknown how he manage to speak when his mouth is clenched holding a sword. The creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has said that it is his heart that allows him to speak (though Oda is known for giving joke answers to fans' questions, as well as just making up answers on the spot to avoid leaving a fan's question unanswered). A better explanation is that he learned ventriloquism on his own so he can communicate even when fighting. He is usually more lazy when the Straw Hat crew isn't fighting, spending almost all of his leisure time (as in, whenever he isn't fighting or training) sleeping soundly.

Currently, Zoro's greatest defeat has been at the hands of another great swordsman, Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk. The wound he suffered at the business end of Mihawk's blade had to be closed by the use of metal staples (this is revealed during the battle with Arlong in the Japanese anime) and has resulted in a hideous scar. Zoro vowed to one day face that man again and defeat him in a duel. Until that day, he said firmly, not even Shinigami (the God of Death) can take his life away. Since his defeat he has done a lot of hard training all for the day he will face "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk again including, but not limited to: swimming in icy water; performing one-finger push-ups; and training with weight sets several feet tall.

It seems that, after every significant battle, Zoro is dripping with blood and heavily wounded. At one point, while he was trapped, he attempted to sever his own legs to escape and fight his enemies.

Throughout most of the series, Zoro is unable to cut steel with his sword, though his sword is able to go through rock. In combat against one of the soldiers of Sir Crocodile, Daz Boness a.k.a. Mr. 1 - a man who had eaten the Supa Supa no Mi (literally "Slice Slice Fruit"), which turned his body into a living steel weapon - that weakness came back to haunt him. Without being able to cut the steel that Daz Boness was forged of, none of Zoro's attacks were successful, and he was savagely defeated. But his oath absolutely forbade him to give up. So he rose up once more, bloodied from the vicious attacks he'd sustained; death was close upon him. It was in that state of near-death that he awoke - everything, from the softest feather to the toughest steel, had a "Chi" or "breath". This breath was the key to his victory. Sheathing the Wado Ichimonji, the symbol of his oath, he readied himself and sought the breath of Boness' steel. His foe charged and, in that instant, Zoro struck him down with a single blow, showing that he became a stronger swordsman. Once more he sheathed the sword, and gave his thanks to his enemy.

Currently in the manga Usopp and Zoro are handcuffed together (Thanks to a mistake of Usopp) and battling both Jabura and Kaku in the attempt to acquire the key to Robins' handcuffs.

File:RoronoaZoro.PNG

Roronoa Zoro in Sanji's clothing

Side note: The "cut steel part" of his story creates a goof in the anime. In an anime-only scene where Luffy and the others encounter Fullbody and his ship, the Marines fire a cannon on the Strawhats, and Zoro cuts a shell in half. This can be explained as that the manga didn't mention that Zoro was unable to cut iron or steel. (Note: It is also possible that the shell was made of a weaker metal.) Another instance is during the filler Apis Arc, where Zoro is shown cutting thick steel chains.

Abilities and powers

Zoro is a master of swordsmanship, able to use one, two and three swords in varying attack styles. Along with his mastery of his self-developed sword art, Zoro has above average speed and lifting capacity, as demonstrated when he perfoms his various manuevers. He also has an abnormal amount of stamina, able to withstand massive blood loss and prolonged battles.

===Santō-Ryu Attacks=== (Three Swords Style)

Oni Giri (Demon Slash) (crosses arms over the sword and sorta slashes out in to a 3way X; he first uses this in the series against Captain Morgan)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on rice ball "onigiri," 
          ironically it's the same food that was given to him on his first apperance on One piece

Tora Gari (Tiger Hunt)/ Tiger Trap (Puts his hand swords over his mouth blade and swings forward w/ them)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on uneven hair

Santō-Ryu Ougi Sanzen Sekai/ Three Thousand Worlds (used only twice, first (unsuccessfully) against Mihawk duing the Krieg arc, second against Luffy during the memory arc filler. He twists the hand holding the swords and untwists them as he charges forward.)
Tou Rou Nagashi (Hunting The Wolf)/ Streaming Wolf Swords (a dodging/parrying technique used to deal with RokutouRyuu Hachi)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on a Buhdist ceremony where paper lanterns are drifted to sea

Tatsumaki (Dragon Coil)/ Dragon Twister - Zoro spins with his sword to create a dragon-like tornado (he uses this attack to beat Hachi)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on the literal word for Tornado

Takanami/ Hawk Wave - In a flash Zoro strikes within various enemy

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on the word "High Waves"

Yaki Oni Giri/ Burning Oni Giri (a variation of the Oni Giri where the swords are on fire; he uses this to finish Mr. 5)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on baked rice balls (Yaki Onigiri)

Ushi Bari/ Bull Charge (executes a multi-hit running attack with two swords held out like a bull's horns; he uses this attack on Mr. 1 unsuccessfully)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on the name of the bars in japanese sushi houses

Gazami Dori/ Crab Grab (all three swords are horizontally parallel to the target, suddenly clamping down on it like a crab's claw; he uses this attack on Mr. 1 unsuccessfully.)
Hyaku-Hachi Pound Hou (108 Pound Cannon)/ Triple Sword Soaring Pheonix (same principle as the 36 Pound Cannon using all three swords to create a spiral of air to damage its target. He uses this attack to finish off Orm and uses a 300 pound version where it is combined with Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Cannon; this was to break a hole in Aqua Laguna)
Karazuma Gari (Demon Crow)/ Raven Hunt (a flying multiple slash technique used to destroy the Franky Family's cannonballs)
Gyuuki Yuzume -Cattle Demon Brave Hoof
Ebima Yonezu Oni Giri - Charm Demon, Sleeples Night, Demon Slash

===Nitō-Ryu Attacks=== (Two Swords Style)

Takanami/ Hawk Wave (while airborne, creates a powerful gust of wind to knock opponents over; he uses this attack at Drum Island and Whiskey Peak)
NitouRyuu Iai: Rashoumon (a dual sword drawing technique so powerful, it split a train carriage in half without harming any of the agents traveling within)
Nana-Jyuu Pound Hou - 72 Pound Cannon (same principle as the 36 Pound Cannon using two swords)

    -Note: Literal Kanji translation for this attack is 72 Passion/Desire phoenix

===Ittō-Ryu Attacks=== (One Sword Style)

IttōRyu Iai: Shishi Sonson (Lion's Song)/ Lion Strike (using his newfound understanding of his master's philosophy and Kuina's sword, he senses the 'breath' of Mr.1's steel body and finally manages to cut it with a single sword strike)

   -Note: The name of this attack is a pun on the word for hand-me-downs from father to son

San-Juu-Roku Pound Hou (36 Pound Cannon)/ Single Sword Soaring Pheonix (unlike the Takanami/Hawk Wave, this attack uses the air itself to slash the target from a distance using one sword; he uses this attack to beat Braham at Skypeia)

   -Note: Literal Kanji translation for this is 36 Passion/Desire Phoenix

===Mutō-Ryu Attacks=== (Swordless Style)

Tatsumaki (Dragon Coil)/ Dragon Twister (the same as SantouRyuu's Tatsumaki, but without swords, only with the arms)

Trivia

His surname, Roronoa, comes from the real-life French pirate François l'Ollonais. His first name is redolent of the famed swordsman Zorro.
Eiichiro Oda stated that he made Zoro as a bodyguard of Buggy in earlier versions of the story; he scrapped that idea for the final version of One Piece.
Zoro tends to sleep when the crew is sailing, even through blizzards. He is usually awakened either by Nami or Sanji in a rather violent way.
Zoro has an unnatural ability to get lost even in small spaces. The manga speaks of him as not having any sense for directions. Luffy often makes fun of this, despite the fact that he isn't any better. These kind of traits are often added to powerful characters, in some anime and manga, to show that they also have their oddities.
Zoro is 19 years old. His birthday is on 11/11; a slight pun considering number palindromes are called 'Zorome' in Japanese.
Zoro is left-handed.
Zoro has a huge scar on his chest from his duel with Mihawk. He also has scars on his ankles from the battle with Mr. 3 when he was going to cut off his legs to free himself.
Zoro's dream is to beat Mihawk, currently the strongest swordsman in the world.
Zoro's most important sword is Wadou Ichimonji ["The One road of Harmony"] (Kuina's Sword, within the top 21 best swords in the world as one of the 21 Ou Wazamono or '21 Great Edges'). His other two swords, obtained in Roguetown, are the Sandai Kitetsu ["Third Generation Demon-Splitter"] (a Wazamono or 'Sharp Sword' that has a curse in which all the previous owners fell to tragic deaths) and Yubashiri ["Snow Run"] (one of the 50 Ryou Wazamono).
Zoro is 178 cm tall or 5' 10".
Zoro usually doesn't get along with Sanji.
Has a 60,000,000 beli bounty after defeating Mr. 1
His Poundo Hou attacks is refrence to the 36 passions of the buddhism (Sight, Hearing, Speech, Smell, Touch, Thought and on to those desires, Good, Evil, Neutrality, and onto those desires, Purity, Corruption. Total # of combinations: 36)