One Piece: The 6 Most Pointless Sacrifices In The Series

Sacrifices are a common narrative device in the world of shonen manga/anime, and Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is obviously no exception. Throughout this series’ extensive run, many prominent characters have given up something important, even their lives, to save someone else, and as a result, those moments became some of the most impactful instances in the entire story.

However, not every scene in One Piece can be so meaningful, as some characters’ sacrifices end up feeling completely pointless, whether it’s because they failed to achieve something or because it felt like they could have easily looked for another, more sensible solution instead. This is not an extremely common occurrence, but it has already happened a few times in the series, and these are some of the most egregious examples.

6

Ashura Doji

His Abrupt Sacrifice Didn’t Even Stop Kanjuro

• Debut: Chapter 920 (Manga), Episode 910 (Anime)

As incredible as the Wano Country arc was, many fans still criticize it for its unexpected and unfulfilling deaths, and Ashura Doji’s sacrifice is a perfect example of this issue. Right after the Nine Red Scabbards recovered from their injuries, Kouzuki Oden appeared before them, and he was the first to realize that Kurozumi Kanjuro was trying to trick them with one of his living drawings.

Ashura Doji didn’t hesitate to tackle the fake Oden to quickly get him out of the room, but he immediately lit up some explosives that killed the pink-haired samurai. While he obviously acted without thinking, the room was filled with many fully recovered and strong samurai, so they could surely have come up with another way of getting rid of a drawing and its explosives without losing someone. The worst part is that this was merely a distraction, and the real Kanjuro attacked the Nine Red Scabbards shortly after Ashura Doji’s anticlimactic sacrifice.

5

Little Oars Jr.

The Whitebeard Pirates Lost The Paramount War Despite His Sacrifice

• Debut: Chapter 554 (Manga), Episode 463 (Anime)

The Paramount War of Marineford was a world-changing event that resulted in the deaths of many relevant characters, but there was one particular sacrifice that felt quite pointless. The ancient giant known as Little Oars Jr. was heavily injured during the battle (especially after Gecko Moria stabbed him through the chest), and yet he used the last of his strength to carry one of the Whitebeard Pirates’ battleships into the Marineford Plaza.

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After successfully carrying the massive ship through the barricade, Little Oars Jr. was shot by cannons and fell onto the ground, seemingly unconscious. The problem is that, despite his efforts, this tactic was not enough to help the Whitebeard Pirates win the war, which concluded with the deaths of both Portgas D. Ace and Whitebeard himself. Weirdly enough, it was never confirmed in the story whether Little Oars Jr. died or not after his sacrifice, so fans are not even sure if he’s still alive.

4

Smiley

Caesar Clown Intentionally Killed His Greatest Experiment For Nothing

• Debut: Chapter 668 (Manga), Episode 594 (Anime)

Most One Piece fans have forgotten about one of the most unusual characters in the series, Smiley. This was a giant pet that Caesar Clown created when he forced a bunch of toxic substances to “eat” the Sara Sara no Mi, Model: Axolotl. Needless to say, this bizarre experiment was all part of his plan to make money from underworld figures by selling them deadly chemical weapons.

In order for his Shinokuni weapon to function, Caesar fed Smiley a strange candy that killed the creature, suppressed its Devil Fruit powers, and dispersed its toxic gases throughout Punk Hazard. This heartless sacrifice was not only a complete waste of a perfectly good Devil Fruit, but it was also for absolutely nothing, because the Straw Hat Pirates and the G-5 Marines were able to stop Caesar’s plans and forced him to confess how to cure those who were affected by Smiley’s poisonous gases.

3

Ryunosuke

Was He Just Kanjuro’s Cruel Joke?

• Debut: Chapter 803 (Manga), Episode 752 (Anime)

One of the most absurd yet hilarious scenes in One Piece transpired during the Zou arc, when Kanjuro used his Devil Fruit powers to draw a cartoon dragon named Ryunosuke and bring him to life. The Wano samurai and the Straw Hat Pirates rode on his back in order to climb through Zunesha’s legs, which took the poor thing a lot of time and effort.

Fortunately, and thanks to the Straw Hats’ encouragement, Ryunosuke was able to climb all the way up to Zou before reverting to his original drawing form and leaving his new friends in tears. As funny (and oddly emotional) as this scene is, it felt pointless when it was later revealed that Kanjuro was a traitor all along, and that he was intentionally trying to mess with the Nine Red Scabbards and their plans. This meant that he could have easily made a much bigger drawing instead of making poor Ryunosuke suffer. Making the Straw Hat Pirates grow fond of him before turning him back into a drawing seems like a cruel joke in hindsight.

2

Hody Jones

Sacrificed His Health By Taking Energy Steroids, And Luffy Defeated Him Anyway

• Debut: Chapter 608 (Manga), Episode 527 (Anime)

Hody Jones was the main antagonist of the Fish-Man Island arc, and as such, he decided to use a special drug called Energy Steroids so he could confront Monkey D. Luffy and his crew. When consumed, these mysterious pills greatly enhanced his physical strength, so Hody became an unrecognizable beast after overdosing on them.

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Despite his impressive newfound power, he was not able to defeat Luffy in this new form, seeing as the Straw Hat Pirate had become significantly stronger after the two-year time skip. The worst part is that the Energy Steroids had a very dangerous side effect that Hody was not entirely aware of: he rapidly aged to the point where he became a feeble old Fish-Man who couldn’t even stand without a cane. At the end of the day, this was a stupid sacrifice that did not help Hody Jones or the rest of his crew.

1

Tsumegeri Guards

The Most Hilarious And Insulting Sacrifice In The Series

• Debut: Chapter 196 (Manga), Episode 120 (Anime)

The Tsumegeri Guards are a group of special Arabasta warriors who are only remembered by fans because they were the stars of one of the most egregious and insulting scenes in the entire series. In order to protect their kingdom from Sir Crocodile, these four men drank Hero Water, a special liquid that granted them incredible strength, but it would also kill those who consumed it after five minutes.

The Tsumegeri Guards sacrificed their lives to become stronger and confronted Sir Crocodile… who used his sand-based Devil Fruit powers to avoid all of their attacks and flew to a roof so he could wait for the Hero Water’s side effects to kick in. As heroic as their sacrifice was, Crocodile pretty much played with the Tsumegeri Guards and mocked them until their last breath, not to mention that not even the other royal guards of Arabasta, like Chaka and Pell, could defeat the Warlord of the Sea after they died.

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)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)