One Piece: 8 Characters Who Earned Whitebeard’s Respect

The legendary pirate Edward Newgate, commonly known as Whitebeard, is not a man who is easily impressed. Considering he was literally the strongest man alive in his prime, for someone to truly make an impression on Whitebeard, they would need to go above and beyond, proving they have what it takes to either become a worthy rival or a loyal member of his crew.

Though Whitebeard is much more considerate and friendly than the majority of the pirates in One Piece, he does have a habit of easily dismissing people if he doesn’t see them as strong, or in other words, worthy of his precious time. The characters below, however, ended up earning Whitebeard’s respect through their actions and words, often earning them a spot on his ship, or at least becoming someone he was willing to keep his eye on during his grand adventures across the deep blue seas.

8

Izo

After Izo Stumbled Onto His Ship Alongside Oden, Whitebeard Started To Warm-Up To The Gun-Wielding Samurai

• First Appearance: Episode 461

When Oden suddenly decided to jump onto Whitebeard’s ship just as they were disembarking from Wano, Izo, suspicious of his intentions, made the choice to join him. Marco was the one who ended up bringing him on board, but the captain, Whitebeard, didn’t seem too pleased about some random samurai joining his ranks, though his opinion of Izo would gradually change over time.

While Oden eventually left Whitebeard’s crew to join Roger, Izo stayed on the ship all the way until they met their end in the Marineford War. While this does mean he was kept off-screen for a good chunk of the story, the fact that Izo became the 16th division commander shows how much trust and respect Whitebeard would have for the pistol-wielding samurai.

7

Kaido

Whitebeard Would Have No Choice But To Respect His Former Crewmates’ Strength

• First Appearance: Episode 736

Considering how absurdly strong the two are individually, it’s hard to imagine how much chaos Whitebeard and Kaido were causing as a part of the Rocks crew. While it’s unlikely Whitebeard would have a lot of respect for Whitebeard’s skewed sense of morality or his obsession with going on murderous tirades, what he did come to respect was the Yonko’s devastating power.

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After the death of Oden, Whitebeard could have easily marched on into Wano to get revenge, but he decided to turn away instead, knowing that Kaido was strong enough to wipe out an entire country if he was riled up. There are not many people in the world of One Piece who are strong enough to intimidate even Whitebeard, but Kaido is an exception.

6

Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy’s Determination To Save Ace From Being Killed Didn’t Go Unnoticed By Whitebeard

• First Appearance: Episode 1

In order to save Ace from being executed by the Marines, Whitebeard brought his entire fleet to Marineford and was prepared to wage war if that’s what was necessary, but little did he realize he would also be getting some backup in the form of Luffy. Luffy’s hot-headed and brash nature is a little off-putting to Whitebeard at first, but as soon as Luffy starts charging his way towards Ace, wiping out countless marines along the way, Whitebeard understands that he and the young boy are after the exact same thing.

The fact that Luffy was able to put himself in such danger, even standing up against all three Admirals at once, certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Whitebeard, who had great admiration for Luffy’s efforts in the war. While Whitebeard would only get to know Luffy for the last few hours of his life, his opinion of him completely changed after seeing him spring into action.

5

Kouzuki Oden

Oden Came Across As A Bumbling Idiot, But Whitebeard Came To Ackwnoledge His Passion To Become A Pirate

• First Appearance: Episode 960

When Whitebeard and his crew randomly disembarked on Wano, Oden couldn’t help but beg the legendary captain to bring him along so he could live his dream of exploring the world and, eventually, opening up Wano’s borders. Initially, Whitebeard wanted little to do with the clumsy samurai and even tasked him with holding onto a chain being dragged across the sea for three whole days as a way to humiliate him.

After Oden miraculously managed to prove his worth, though, Whitebeard officially made him a part of the crew and would come to greatly respect his skills as a swordsman. Though Oden would eventually jump ship and join Roger’s crew a little later on, Whitebeard still loved Oden as one of his own, despite being less than happy about his presence on the ship when he first tried to join.

4

Shanks

Whitebeard’s Fellow Yonko, Shanks, Was Much Easier To Get Along With Compared To Kaido And Big Mom

• First Appearance: Episode 1

As a Yonko, Whitebeard and Shanks were sworn enemies, though they didn’t always act like that. Sure, the two captains wouldn’t mind getting into a scrap every now and again to compare their Haki and sword skills, but as shown when Shanks agreed to stop Kaido from interrupting Whitebeard’s journey to Marineford, there’s still a high level of respect shared between them.

The main reason for this is that, unlike Kaido and Big Mom, Shanks isn’t a sadistic warmonger who enjoys killing anyone who looks at him the wrong way. At his core, he’s a pure-hearted captain who is always willing to enact justice when necessary, which earns him a lot of brownie points from Whitebeard.

3

Portgas D. Ace

It Was Hard Not To Acknowledge And Respect Ace’s Unwavering Loyalty To The Crew

• First Appearance: Episode 91

As a young and naive pirate, Ace was determined to kill Whitebeard, but after hundreds of failed attempts, he eventually gave in and accepted a spot on his crew instead. While Ace’s loyalty to his captain and the rules of the crew would become stronger over time, Whitebeard would similarly form a strong bond and clear respect for Ace, especially his dedication to keeping the “family” together.

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When Blackbeard betrays the crew and runs off with the Yami Yami no Mi, Ace takes it upon himself to chase him down, and while it might not have been the smartest move, seeing how far Ace was willing to go to make things right made a big impression on Whitebeard. While he could have easily left Ace to die after being captured, Whitebeard had so much love and respect for Roger’s son that he would wage an entire war just to try and save him.

2

Marco

The Blue Phoenix Would Make Such An Impression On Whitebeard That He Eventually Became His Right-Hand Man

• First Appearance: Episode 151

Marco’s backstory hasn’t been explored in great depth in the story, but what is clear is that he was a member of Whitebeard’s crew for much of his life. In the flashbacks, Marco is shown to be a rather stubborn and childish pirate, which isn’t exactly what Whitebeard usually looks for when recruiting new members, but it wouldn’t take long for Marco to start proving to Whitebeard why he deserves to rise up the ranks.

Eventually, Marco’s skills as a strategist, paired with his Mythical Zoan fruit, which can be used both offensively and for support, made him worthy enough in the eyes of Whitebeard to become the crew’s 1st commander. It was clear during Marineford that Whitebeard has plenty of trust in Marco’s abilities and has a great deal of respect for the man who was always there by his side, no matter what.

1

Gol D. Roger

Roger Was One Of The Only Men Strong Enough To Be Considered A Rival

• First Appearance: Episode 1

The flashback where Whitebeard and Roger clash swords is one of the most epic scenes in the entire series, but what’s most notable about this fight is that the two clearly aren’t trying to kill one another. With their eyes wide and huge grins covering their faces, Whitebeard and Roger love nothing more than getting into an intense duel, before then drinking away the pain with a few bottles of sake right after.

Roger’s mastery of Haki made him one of the only people capable of going toe-to-toe with Whitebeard. Years before, though, Roger was a sworn enemy of Whitebeard, and more specifically, the Rocks crew, though, admittedly, it’s hard not to eventually harbor some respect for someone as charismatic and strong as the legendary Gol D. Roger.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)