One Piece Top 10 Villains

One Piece unfolds the tale of a spirited young lad aspiring to be the Pirate King, aiming to seize the fabled treasure once owned by the legendary Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Luffy and his crew embark on a global journey, navigating the seas to reach the Grand Line. Along the way, they forge new alliances and face numerous adversaries.

Eiichiro Oda, the mastermind behind One Piece, crafts each character with meticulous detail, bringing them to life with compelling narratives. While not every viewer may connect with every character’s motivations, goals, or backstory, there’s a universal coherence that resonates with anyone who dives into the captivating world of One Piece.

One Piece: The Best Villains, Ranked

10. Magellan

Affiliation: Marines

Bounty: None

Debut: Chapter 528

Devil Fruit: Doku Doku No Mi

Magellan is one of the scariest villains of the series. He is also the only one who gets very close to killing Luffy. While most villains who defeated Luffy, defeated him in a fight, Magellan just killed him instantly. He is the former chief warden of the Impel Down, powered by the Doku Doku No Mi fruit which allows him to control all kinds of poisons.

He was feared by every inmate in the Impel Down prison due to his abilities but Luffy being who he was, tried to break into the prison. Out of anger, Magellan shoots poison on Luffy, paralyzing and almost killing him in the process. If not for Ivankov’s healing abilities, The Straw Hat Pirates would have to find a new captain for the crew.

9. Rob Lucci

Affiliation: CPO

Bounty: None

Debut: Chapter 323

Devil Fruit: Neko Neko No Mi, model: Leopard

Rob Lucci was the big bad of Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs. At a very young age, this infamous killer killed 500 hostages without a drop of tears in his eyes. His attitude and cold blooded nature has given him quite some fame in the Marines, who believe he is a ruthless murder and they are not wrong at all.

His ruthless nature is enough to scare his opponents but if that was not enough he is also one of the strongest fighters in the World Government. His cruelty, cold-blooded nature and ruthless fighting made him one of the most iconic villains in the show.

8. Enel

Affiliation: God’s army

Bounty: Unknown

Debut: Chapter 254

Devil Fruit: Goro Goro No Mi

With the help of Goro Goro no Mi and his army, God Enel took over Skypiea. He is also one of the first characters to use the Observation Haki or Mantra. With the help of the Observational Haki and his devil fruit powers he kept an eye on everyone in Skypiea, making sure no one fought back or tried to dethrone him.

His Observational Haki and Devil Fruit powers did fool everyone into believing that he was an omnipresent, omniscient god. If not for Luffy’s devil fruit powers which were direct counter to Enel’s lightning powers, our future king of pirates would have turned into a relic of the past pretty fast.

7. Hody Jones

Affiliation: New Fishman Pirates

Bounty: Unknown

Debut: Chapter 608

Devil Fruit: None

Many One Piece fans don’t find this character very attractive and most of them will be shocked to see him in the list. The problem with Hody Jones is that he is not a powerful character, but what most of us fail to see is that he is not supposed to be influential, instead he is supposed to be evil.

Hody Jones is a fishman who hates the human race to the point where he will do anything and everything in his power to destroy it. He is so driven by hate that he killed Otohime along with millions of other people. While he is no comparison for all the other overpowered beings, his crooked ideology of fishman power and his belief in it makes him stand out in the crowd.

6. Big Mom

Affiliation: Big Mom Pirates

Bounty: 4,388,000,000 berries

Debut: Chapter 651

Devil Fruit: Soru Soru No Mi

She is the main villain of the Whole Cake Island arc. She is way more evil and disgusting then her son Charlotte Katakuri.Big Mom’s real name is Charlotte Linlin, some of her feats include destroying the giant’s homeland when she was just a child.

Her Soru Soru No Mi fruit allows her to steal other people’s souls and trap them in inanimate objects. This also allows her to create homies to fight by her side. She is a little paranoid and her crew only have her childrens. She is not someone you might want to mess with. In anger, she will destroy everything that comes her way, even her own children.

5. Kaido

Affiliation: Animal Kingdom Pirates

Bounty: 4,611,100,000 berries

Debut: Chapter 795

Devil Fruit: Uo Uo No Mi, model: Seiryu

Kaido is the antagonist of the Wano country arc and is called “The world’s strongest creature” for a very good reason by the way. If the list was based on powers, he would definitely be number one or two. If not for Blackbeard, Kaido would be the strongest character on the show.

He took over Wano country decades ago and ruled it with Orochi. He also killed half or even more of the Worst generation like it was child play. He defeated Luffy twice and almost killed him. The only reason Luffy survived was due to his Advanced Conqueror Haki combining with his Gomu Gomu no Mi devil fruit and upgrading him to gear 5.

4. Crocodile

Affiliation: Baroque Works

Bounty: 81,000,000 berries

Debut: Chapter 126

Devil Fruit: Suna Suna No Mi

Crocodile is one of the few people who defeated Luffy and he did it not once but twice. He is also one of the strongest people in the show. Crocodile took over the nation of Alabasta without even breaking a sweat.

Crocodile’s plan of destroying Alabasta and taking over it is still one of the greatest plans that showed that he was much more than just a fighter. He is a tactician and a smart man, which just adds to the threat.

One of the popular theories among fans is that he used to be a woman and might be Luffy’s mother, which explains why Luffy was never able to defeat him. Crocodile’s fame even reached the most ruthless of them all, Donquixote, who wanted to team up with the former for a long time.

3. Blackbeard

Affiliation: Blackbeard Pirates

Bounty: 2,247,600,000 berries

Debut: Chapter 223

Devil Fruit: Gura Gura No Mi & Yami Yami No Mi

Many believe that he will be Luffy’s final opponent in the series and rightfully so, unless Oda reveals that Shanks is evil. Blackbeard is a very calculative and observant person. While his appearance might fool one into believing that he is an idiot with ego problems but nothing can be further from the truth.

Blackbeard is the only known character in the One Piece universe who has powers from two devil fruits. His Gura Gura No Mi is a paramecia-type devil fruit and his Yami Yami No Mi is a logia-type devil fruit. Due to his powers he is known to shake the world. He is also one of the biggest criminals who boast of a bounty of 2,247,600,000 berries. Even if indirectly, Blackbeard is responsible for the death of Whitebeard.

2. Akainu

Affiliation: Marines

Bounty: None

Debut: Chapter 397

Devil Fruit: Magu Magu No Mi

Akainu is one of the most famous characters of the One Piece franchise, maybe infamous would be more fitting for him. Even though he is a Marine Fleet Admiral, he really doesn’t care about protecting people or the world from the threat of notorious pirates.

He believes in Absolute Justice and in his crooked sense of duty goes to extreme extent to deliver it. His only goal is to make sure that his “Absolute Justice” philosophy prevails no matter what. He is also one of the strongest characters. During the Buster call on Ohara, he casually destroyed a ship with innocent civilians on it. He is also the one who killed Ace after he manipulated Squard into stabbing Whitebeard at Marineford.

1. Donquixote Doflamingo

Affiliation: Donquixote Pirates

Bounty: 340,000,000 berries

Debut: Chapter 232

Devil Fruit: Ito Ito No Mi

He is one of the most memorable villains on the show. His entry at Punk Hazard was enough to send shivers down everyone’s spine. While Donquixote is not the most powerful villain of the show, he is definitely the most ruthless of them all.

He has committed some really unthinkable, unforgivable and heinous crimes in his life. He killed his father and his own brother without showing any sort of remorse. He turned the people of his native country, Dressrosa, against their king Riku and took over the kingdom, becoming the king himself.

Conclusion

The amount of villains we are introduced in One Piece makes it hard to choose the best one. While some have really tragic backstories that set them on this path, others are just utterly evil men who just want to watch the world burn. Some of these characters are so powerful that they can level up an entire island in feat of their rage.

Nonetheless One Piece still remains one of the best anime adaptations of a manga. It is not only popular among the anime fans but also among the general audience as well. You can guess how popular One Piece is based on the fact that it has two anime remakes and one live action adaptation all of them available on Netflix. The manga was first published 20 years ago and is still going strong with new fans joining the journey each year.

Top 10 Best Villains in One Piece Anime – FAQs

1. What is the Big 3 anime?

In the early 2000’s, Naruto, One Piece and Bleach were called the Big 3 anime due to their influence on the anime world.

2. Is Naruto more popular than One Piece?

According to Oda, Yes, Naruto is more popular than One Piece. Oda the creator of One Piece claims that while One Piece might be the most sold manga of all time, Naruto has a larger fanbase. Whether it is true or just Oda’s humility, we cannot tell.

3. When was One Piece released?

One Piece started out as a weekly Shonen Manga in July 1997 and it was adapted into anime form in October 1999. Early this year, fans got to witness a live action adaptation of the beloved manga on Netflix.

4. Did Netflix announce a new One Piece series?

Yes, on 20th December 2023, Netflix dropped a teaser on their official YouTube channel announcing the remake of the original anime with new animation style and design.