Anime

The 10 Strongest One Piece Characters

Published

9 months ago

July 16, 2023

Shawna Schofield

Who are the strongest One Piece characters?

One Piece debuted in 1999, and since then, it has become one of the best shonen series of all time.

A major reason for its continued success is the many memorable characters that have been introduced throughout the series.

However, in terms of strength, many of these characters are not on the same level, which is why we’ve decided to rank them!

The 10 Strongest One Piece Characters

In order to create this list, we took into consideration the abilities of each character, as well as what they have achieved in the anime.

While there will always be debate over who is the absolute strongest, we’ve done our best to be subjective in our research.

Here’s our list of the 10 strongest One Piece characters:

10. Kaido

Kicking off our list is Kaido, who serves as the primary antagonist if the Wano arc.

Along with being the most formidable opponent Luffy has faced thus far, Kaido is said to be the strongest creature in the world.

Unfortunately, despite his prowess, he still managed to be captured and tortured many times, though he survived due to his durability.

In fact, Kaido is famous for being indestructible because of his strength and the fact that his Devil Fruit literally allows him to transform into a dragon.

Kaido is certainly one of the strongest anime characters in One Piece, though he comes in at number 1o because Luffy ultimately defeated him.

9. Sabo

Sabo is the chief of staff for the Revolutionary Army, and he is outranked only by Supreme Commander Money D. Dragon.

A sworn brother of Luffy, the World Government views him as an extremely powerful threat, and for good reason.

After the events of Levely, Sabo has become known as the Flame Emporer due to his ability to create, control, and transform his body into flames.

However, even before eating the Mera Mera no Mi Devil Fruit, Sabo had enough power to rise to the position of second in command easily.

Moreover, Sabo is a master of the Ryusoken fighting style, which allows him to break swords, armor, and even skulls while remaining unharmed.

The only thing holding him back from being higher on our list is the fact that we’ve yet to see him go all out in a fight, so the true extent of his power is yet unknown.

8. Monkey D. Dragon

While the politics of One Piece can get confusing, essentially, Monkey D. Dragon leads the main opposing force against the World Government, the Revolutionary Army.

Labeled the World’s Worst Criminal, Dragon is Luffy’s father, and he is one of the most interesting characters in terms of strength.

In the series, we never see him perform any impressive feats of strength, though we know he must be on par with members of the Four Emperors.

Additionally, since the World Government considers him to be their worst criminal it’s safe to say his strength must be considerable.

It is very likely that we will see his power on full display in future episodes, but until then, we’ll continue to speculate.

7. Dracule Mihawk

A strong contender for being one of the best bearded anime characters, Dracule Mihawk is a world-famous pirate who holds the title of the Strongest Swordsman in the World.

Formerly one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea until the group’s dissolution, Dracule hasn’t even eaten a Devil Fruit, but he can still destroy giant ships with ease.

His incredible power even allowed him to destroy Don Krieg’s entire fleet of 50 ships and 5,000 men single-handedly.

Due to his skills with a sword, he was previously a rival to Shanks, and they often fought in legendary duels until Shanks lost his arm to the Lord of the Coast.

Dracule’s immense physical strength and formidable sword skills have easily made him one of the strongest characters in the series and one of the few not to need Devil Fruit powers.

6. Akainu

Akainu became the new Fleet Admiral after defeating Aokiji in an earth-shattering fight.

As a believer in absolute justice, he will go to any lengths to ensure that his version of justice is met and relentlessly pursues any pirate he can.

In terms of physical abilities, Akainu was able to go up against Whitebeard, and while the old man ultimately overpowered him, the fight was intense.

His endurance and durability are astonishing, as is seen during his fight with Whitebeard when he took several quake punches without faltering.

Along with his physical power, he also has Devil Fruit abilities like Sabo, having eaten the Magu Magu no Mi Logia Devil Fruit, which allows him to control and turn into magma.

Akainu is certainly a force to be reckoned with, and he is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters in the One Piece world.

5. Shanks

Chief of the Red Hair Pirates, Shanks is the only known Yonko not to have eaten a Devil Fruit and instead uses his mastery of Haki to fight his opponents.

Although the full extent of his power has yet to be shown, the fact that he was able to stop powerful characters like Akainu and Kaido with relative ease shows he is definitely strong.

As one of the Four Emperors, Shanks is known as one of the most powerful pirates in the world, and his bounty of 4 billion bellies is the highest of all the emperors.

Once a rival to Dracule, even after losing his arm, he is able to match Whitebeard in a duel and stand against Akainu’s magma fist.

His strongest ability, though, is his Haki, and he is one of the few people in the One Piece world who can use all three types.

This includes the rare Haoshoku Haki, which allows him to exert his willpower over others, causing them to flee or pass out.

Suffice it to say, Shanks has the ability to do devastating amounts of damage that few in the series can match.

He may not be on the same level as the best Dragon Ball Z characters, but he is still impressively powerful.

4. Blackbeard

The only character with two Devil Fruits, Blackbeard is one of the most notorious characters in One Piece and certainly one of the strongest.

His two Devil Fruits give him an incredible amount of power, with one allowing him to create, control, and transform his body into smoke-like darkness.

The other Devil Fruit ability was stolen from the body of Whitebeard, and it allows him to create earthquakes and powerful shockwaves.

To make his power even more intimidating, the power he stole from Whitebeard is said to be great enough to destroy the world.

As the captain-turned-admiral of the Blackbeard Pirates and one of the Four Emperors, Blackbeard is a terrifying figure who can tear through almost everyone else.

It should be noted that some fans believe Blackbeard will be Luffy’s final boss at the end of the series, and we have to admit that the fight would be glorious!

However, there is also someone else further down on our list who could prove an even more deadly opponent.

3. Monkey D. Luffy

Speaking of Luffy, we can’t have a list of the strongest characters in One Piece without mentioning him!

The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and current member of the Four Emperors, Monkey D. Luffy, is the main protagonist of the whole anime.

Luffy’s goal is to find the One Piece treasure left behind by the legendary figure Gol. D Roger, and become the Pirate King.

While he started off as an unknown, Luffy worked his way up to become one of the most powerful pirates in the world.

With the power of his Devil Fruit, his body is essentially rubber, meaning bullets won’t hurt him unless coated in Haki.

Even so, his speed and agility make him hard to catch, and his mastery of Haki is on par with Shanks, making him capable of using all three forms.

What’s more is that Luffy is consistently growing stronger, meaning by the end of the series, it is likely he will become the most powerful character in the entire world of One Piece.

2. Imu

Imu is the king of the world and the holder of the Empty Throne, holding the highest position in the World Government.

However, their existence has been kept a secret from the rest of the world and only teased to fans in silhouetted scenes, so fans don’t know their gender or defining features.

That said, whatever Imu is, they appear to have sharp red eyes and wear a crown of tall spikes that give them a wholly imposing appearance.

What makes Imu so terrifying is that much of their power remains unknown, though they appear to control an incredibly powerful weapon that can annihilate entire islands in seconds.

This weapon was used to destroy the Kingdom of Lulusia, and it manifests as beams of lasers that rain down on a target, leaving nothing behind.

The reason why we’ve placed Imu in our number two spot is that we know their power has to be incredibly vast for them to be in control of the entire government.

We also believe that the full scope of their power will become increasingly apparent in future episodes, and they may end up being the final challenge Luffy has to face.

1. Gol D. Roger

Gol. D. Roger may not be alive in the series, but it was his One Piece treasure that kickstarted one of the best action anime series of all time that is still going strong after two decades.

The legendary Pirate King, Roger did what no one thought was possible; he conquered the Grand Line and amassed an incredible fortune.

However, because he was suffering from an incurable disease, he disbanded his crew and turned himself in for execution.

Before his death, he used his last words to promise his title and treasure to anyone who could find One Piece.

Unlike many of the strongest characters in the series, Roger didn’t have any Devil Fruit powers, but he was considered the strongest pirate of all time.

Nearly unstoppable in battle, he possessed incredible strength and the ability to command all three forms of Haki.

As a swordsman, he could even overpower the master samurai Oden with a single strike and clash against Whitebeards murakumogiri.

Although Luffy could very well surpass him one day, as of right now, Gol. D. Roger remains the strongest character to have existed in the One Piece world.