Straw Hat Pirates

The Straw Hat Pirates (Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan) are the main focus and heroes of the anime and manga One Piece. They are also called "Straw Hats" after Luffy's signature straw hat that was given to him by Shanks. Up until the Water 7 arc, they originally sailed on the Going Merry. After the Enies Lobby arc, they gained a new ship to sail on called the Thousand Sunny. They are currently made up of 9 members whose total combined bounty equals to more than 700,000,000.

Crewmembers
As a result of Luffy's choice in who joins, the Straw Hats are notable for being one of the most varied, if not bizarre, pirating crews in the One Piece world. Their ranks have members so vastly different from one another that it almost seems random in retrospect. These include a shape shifting reindeer that can be mistaken for something else depending on his form, a cyborg who wears almost nothing except for shirts and speedoes, and a lively undead perverted skeletal musician. Amongst them they have four Devil Fruit (Luffy, Chopper, Nico Robin, and Brook) users which includes Luffy himself. The majority of them are also fairly young, with all but three members being adults pass their early twenties, (ironically the two oldest members are just as childish as the others).

Crew Strength
Despite only having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are a very powerful crew. In fact, after the incident that occurred at Enies Lobby, the World Government has labeled them as one of the most powerful and dangerous pirate crews in the One Piece Universe. All of them have at least one talent in which they are virtually perfect (and each are more or less a formidable fighter in their own right), and several, especially the captain, first mate, and cook, have astonishingly inhuman strength. Each crew member in the beginning has some fairly high fighting abilities but as they progressed on each crew member had to become stronger due to each opponent they have encountered being significantly stronger than the last.

Relationships amongst the Crew
Each member of the crew value their friendships above all else. Despite their comic annoyance with each other from time to time, they also often enjoy their time together and love being a member of the crew. One of the major themes of the series is how committed they are to each other, to the point where they are willing to give up what is most dearest and personal to them, such as their dreams and even their lives, for the well-being of any one of them who has lost their way. If one single member is hurt by an outside force, the other members will become enraged and take drastic action to avenge their brethren.

Recruitment
In the beginning of the manga, Luffy claimed that he wanted at least 10 people to join his crew before entering the Grand Line. This was changed after Usopp told Luffy that after "the chef" joined them, they would rescue Nami and go to the Grand Line. Although this is long past the expiring date, it can still serve as evidence that there will be 10 or more Straw Hats at one point of the manga. Luffy also claimed in the beginning of the manga, that he will gather a crew strong enough to surpass his childhood hero Red-Haired Shanks.

Invitation
Usually when he asks someone to join, Luffy is turned down completely (the way he's turned down varys) and he usually tries to get them to join anyway which more or less gets him and his crew into trouble with marines or other pirates, but has enough moral not to force the person to join against their will. Later on the person in question will join anyways for reasons of their own. The major exceptions to this rule are Usopp, who was thrilled to be asked to join and accepted immediately, and Nico Robin, who invited herself into the crew and had to convince the others to let her stay.

Luffy doesn't seem to mind if someone he wants to recruit has a profession or not. He allows Usopp to join, and later on names him the team's sniper, and considered Vivi a member even though she has no profession. He also offered Gaimon the chance to join his crew (which Gaimon tearfully turned down) when Gaimon had no apparent usefulness to the crew. Also notable is the Gentleman Skeleton Brook, who actually accepted Luffy's initial invitation to join the crew but later claimed that he couldn't honor it due to his lack of a shadow, which would result in his death should he step into sunlight, as well as unfinished business with the zombies of Thriller Bark. However after the Straw Hats and Brook finally defeat these zombies, Brook soon asks if they would honor his initial acceptance, which Luffy did.

Recruiting Process
Though most adventures in One Piece are random, there seems to be a 'process' for recruitment. First, a situation arises where someone new is needed. The crew comes across someone who fulfills the criteria (i.e. Chopper the doctor, Nami the navigator). Luffy offers the person a position, and is usually turned down initially. Meanwhile, a situation arise where, some way or another, Luffy ends up battling a 'boss' character, and the would-be crew mate battles an underling (i.e. Luffy vs Don Krieg after Sanji battles Gin and Pearl), during which their backstory and dreams are revealed, thus convincing them to join the Straw Hat Crew, during this Luffy's current crew would assist him in battling various enemies generally in rank of abilities and overall strength which is matched by whoever they are battling (i.e. Zoro vs Kaku, Sanji vs Jyabura, Chopper vs Kumadori, Nami vs Kalifa). This process also fooled many fans into thinking Vivi would become a permanent crew member.

The only crew members not following this process were Nami and Robin, both of whose history was revealed later on. Nami's official recruitment was when Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji defeated Arlong and his pirates. Robin was the first to initially willingly join, and officially after Luffy's crew came to her rescue from CP9. On the other hand, Luffy has recently offered a skeleton named Brook to join the crew when they went into the Florian Triangle. While Brook eventually declined joining (after initially accepting), it has been revealed that he was a former musician for a pirate crew which would fill one of the positions that Luffy wants for his crew.

Luffy has several times stated the need for a musician, because "pirates love music", and thinks of this more important than other positions. Franky, in addition of being a shipwright, plays a guitar. This plea however was finally fulfilled when Brook joined the crew.

Returning to the Crew
If a Straw Hat crew member leaves the crew without Luffy's permission, Luffy usually does his best to recruit them back. So far Nami, Robin and Usopp have all left the crew, Nami and Robin however rejoined it later. Robin rejoined the crew after they convince her that she should want to live while Nami rejoins after Arlong, who was blackmailing her was defeated.

While Robin and Nami was never on bad terms with the crew when she left Usopp was however a different case. Usopp had officially left the Straw Hat crew, over a dispute concerning the Going Merry yet returned to the crew in his alias "Sogeking" to help rescue Nico Robin. Afterward, Usopp originally planned to make the crew beg for him to return, but Zoro had given the crew a stern speech about him rejoining them on their terms, not his, and would accept him only if Usopp begged them after a thorough apology. After being ignored while they were fighting off Garp, Usopp finally capitulated and Luffy happily (and tearfully) accepted him back (accidently clashing their skulls together in the process).

Dreams
Each member of the Straw Hats has a dream they want to achieve. These dreams are their reasons for joining Luffy's crew, and essentially the driving force behind their lives. Each Straw Hat's dream was inspired by tragedies (often deaths) in their childhoods that involved at least one person they idolized and cared for deeply. Some, like Chopper, Nami, Franky, and Usopp are fulfilling their dreams by accumulating knowledge and/or achieving a certain task while sailing the Grand Line. Others, like Robin, Zoro, Luffy, Brook, and Sanji are searching for a person/place/thing that can only be found on the Grand Line. Whatever the reason, each of the Straw Hat's dreams involve traveling the Grand Line, and each Straw Hat member refuses to die before achieving their dreams. However, their determination doesn't extend to sacrificing their comrades for the fulfillment of their dreams. A prominent example: two of their members - Zoro and Sanji - almost gave up their dreams while they try to placate Kuma into letting Luffy live. So far, Luffy's dream is the hardest to achieve. Not only would his goal require him to make it all the way to the end of the world, but he must also defeat foes whom the world considers invincible. Even some of those he knows personally are after One Piece, making them his rivals. These include his elder brother, Portgas D. Ace and his childhood hero, Red-Haired Shanks.

Members' Dreams

 * Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King and raise a 'super' crew to back him up. To become the Pirate King, he must find Gold Roger's famed treasure, One Piece, which is implied to be in Raftel. As for a crew, he has brought together so far nine people who have caught his attention. Luffy also is looking for Shanks to meet up with him again and return his straw hat to him.


 * Zoro's dream, shared with Kuina, is to become the world's greatest swordsman. To fulfill this dream, he must surpass every swordsman in the world, including the world's current greatest swordsman Mihawk. Very recently, Zoro nearly gave up his dream in an attempt to convince the Shichibukai from killing Luffy, proving his loyalty towards his captain as well as the rest of the crew


 * Nami's dream is to draw a map of the entire world. She has already mapped all the areas that she has traveled, and it can be assumed that she will create a world map once the story is over. Also at the beginning of the story she was also trying to get 100,000,000 Belli in order to buy and save her hometown, Cocoyashi Village, from the clutches of the fishman pirate Arlong.


 * Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father, Yasopp. After the Little Garden arc, he also developed a secondary dream to visit Elbaf and see the warrior giants he idolizes.


 * Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find the All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line somewhere, and waters from all over the four seas gather there, bringing fish from all over the globe. He also wished to consume the Suke Suke no Mi but unfortunately Absalom has already eaten it destroying his dream.


 * Chopper's dream is to travel across the world, exploring with his friends and expanding his horizons. He also has an ambition to learn the cures to all diseases and become a great doctor.


 * Robin's dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the True History, continuing the research of her mother, Nico Olvia, and her old teacher and mentor, Professor Clover.


 * The Going Merry's dream as the crews ship was to sail with the Straw Hats forever which it revealed to the crew upon its demise. In the end it was a dream it could not achieve, it was last seen as it was sent to the bottom of the ocean while its crew tearfully watched on. However, Merry's spirit supposedly inhabits the Straw Hats' new ship, the Thousand Sunny, and therefore it's dream may live on.


 * Franky's dream is to create and travel with a dream ship which would experience countless battles, can overcome extreme hardships, and can reach the end of the Grand Line. He has created the ship which the Straw Hats are riding and it's his task to keep it in good condition.


 * Brook's dream is to return to his crewmate, Laboon, whom his former crew, the Rumbar Pirates, had left behind at Reverse Mountain for his safety with the promise to return after crossing the Grand Line. He wishes to fulfill that promise as well as that of his former crewmates who died at sea to deliver a Tone Dial of their final performance before their death.

Individuals
Through the series there have been people who have either traveled with the Straw Hat Pirates for a short period of time or aided them in one way or another. Many these individuals would be considered temporary pirates in a way. The most notable of these people is Vivi, as she traveled with them for almost the entire Baroque Works Saga, and even considered permanently joining them.

Coby
A rather timid cabin boy, and the first person Luffy asks to join his crew. Coby traveled briefly with Luffy after he was freed from his servitude to Alvida. He later joined the Marines after the incident with Captain Morgan. He still considers Luffy his friend even though they are now on opposite sides.

Johnny and Yosaku
Two oafish but good-hearted bounty hunters who were once Zoro's partners. They traveled with and assisted the Straw Hats from Baratie to Commi Island.

Nojiko and Genzo
The two helped keep Luffy from drowning when he was temporarily submerged in the water of Arlong Park.

Nefertari Vivi and Carue
Originally thought to be enemies, the two became allies when the Straw Hats were told of Vivi's situation. They traveled with and assisted the pirates for almost the entire Baroque Works Saga. Vivi being close to them, considered joining them and was even asked to join the group. She however turned down the position in order to take care of her country, Arabasta. Despite not actually joining the crew, she is considered an honorary Mugiwara.

Dorry and Brogy
After the Straw Hats defeated Mr. 3 and his cohorts, and helped the two giants, the two gratefully aided the pirates by destroying the Island Eater that was blocking their path from Little Garden to Arabasta.

Portgas D. Ace
Upon arriving in Arabasta, the Straw Hats met Ace, Luffy's brother. He aided them by stopping Smoker from catching Luffy and destroying a fleet of five Billions ships that were pursuing them. In the anime, he sort of traveled alongside with them through the Arabastan desert while looking for some answers to Blackbeard's whereabouts. He left the group to continue his search but not before giving Luffy a mysterious piece of paper.

Mr. 2 Bon Kurei
When the Straw Hats first met him, the okama befriended them without knowing their true identities. After Baroque Works was defeated, he repented his ways and said they could be friends once again since the organization he worked was no longer active. He aided the Straw Hats by hiding their ship, the Going Merry, when there were Marines searching around Arabasta and by disguising himself and his men as the pirates in order to draw away the Marines pursuing them.

Gan Fall and Pierre
The former god of Skpiea and his pet bird aided the Straw Hats during their time in Skypiea. From defending their ship from Shura to ultimately battling alongside them against Eneru in the Survival Game, the knight and his stead valiantly aided the pirates a lot despite Gan Fall's age and weaknesses.

Conis and Pagaya
A family of Skypieans who helped the Straw Hats. While she somewhat caused the Straw Pirates a bit of trouble by calling the Super Express Shrimp to take away their ship, Going Merry, Conis nonetheless was forgiven. To make up, she decided to help the Straw Hats in any way she could.

After Eneru appeared on the Going Merry, she healed both Usopp and Sanji after they were badly electrocuted by the God. Conis's father, Pagaya, also helped the Straw Hats in their journey. He fixed up the Waver they found in the St. Bliss and gave it to Nami. This Waver proved to be instrumental in the pirates' battle against Eneru.

After all of the hardships in Skypiea, Conis and Pagaya lead the Straw Hats to Cloud End where they could return to the Blue Sea with the use of a Octopus Balloon.

Aisa
Traveled a bit with the Straw Hats during their time in Skypiea. She aided them greatly with her Mantra ability.

Wiper
Originally hostile to the Straw Hats, Wiper aided the pirates in toppling down Giant Jack once he found out their reason for trying to ring the giant bell of Shandia. With his Reject Dial, the berserker almost died in trying to help the pirates defeat Eneru and save Skypiea. Later he and his entire tribe became grateful to the Straw Hats for their efforts.

Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe
The three of them aided and traveled with the Straw Hats in their fight against Cipher Pol. Kokoro steered the Rocket Man across the vast ocean from Water 7 to Enies Lobby and into the Tower of Justice. She later saved most of the Straw Hats from drowning in the underwater tunnel by dragging them out when she revealed that she was a mermaid. Kokoro's granddaughter, Chimney, and her pet rabbit, Gonbe, also aided the Straw Hats by finding out about the entrance to the underwater tunnel. They led Luffy to the entrance and left marks for the rest to follow.

Yokozuna
The Sumo Frog became a traveling companion of the Straw Hats when the pirates were traveling via Rocket Man to Enies Lobby. Wanting to save a friend which he wasn't able to the last time, Yokozuna jumped onboard the Rocket Man to save Franky. In Enies Lobby, he along with some Franky Family members bravely defended the courthouse against the horde of Marines and Government Agents until Oimo and Kashii came to aid them. Later, after the events in Enies Lobby, Yokuzuna helped Franky build the Straw Hats' new ship, the Thousand Sunny.

Oimo and Kashii
Two Elbaf giants.Originally they worked for the World Government as gatekeepers of Enies Lobby and opposed the advancing Franky Family forces invading the island. However when Usopp, as Sogeking, revealed the awful truth of their employers regarding their bosses, Dorry and Brogy, they quickly switched sides and started rampaging around the judiciary island. They gave major support to the Franky Family in defending the courthouse against the Enies Lobby and later carried them to safety when the Buster Call was engaged. After the Enies Lobby events, they decided to stay in Water 7 and await Usopp's return before returning to Elbaf.

Camie, Pappug and Hatchan
A mermaid and starfish rescued from a Sea King. The Straw Hats helped them rescue Hatchan so that they can reach Fishman Island. They later became the guides on the Sabaody Archipelago so they could get a bubble coating for the Sunny to descend beneath the ocean.

Groups
Along with the following individuals mentioned forehand, there have been also been various organizations who assisted the Straw Hats in their adventures. These oraganizations have helped the Straw Hats either to reach a certain goal or to defeat a common enemy. One of the most notable of these is the Franky Family who, along with several other characters, formed an army of sorts in order to fight against a common foe.

Saruyama Alliance
During the Straw Hats' time on Jaya, the alliance helped them to reach Skypiea. Their boss, Montblanc Cricket, informed them about how to reach the Sky Island through the use of the Knock Up Stream and the South Bird. The rest of the alliance modified the Going Merry into a "flying mode" to better maneuver the force of the current. Later, the Straw Hats repaid the alliance's efforts by ringing the Golden Bell thus clearing up the Montblanc family name.

Galley-La Company
The company originally fought against the Straw Hats when they learned that their president, Iceburg, was almost assassinated by Nico Robin. When the truth was finally learned, the three of the remaining Galley-La foremen decided to join the Straw Hats to fight against CP9. They, together with the Franky Family, formed a fighting force that invaded Enies Lobby and helped the Straw Hats reach their destination. After the Enies Lobby incident, the Galley-La company provided temporary room and board for the pirates while Iceburg and the foremen helped Franky build their new ship.

Franky Family
Originally, the Franky Family were on opposite sides with the Straw Hats. From the gang robbing the pirates of their money to the Straw Hats destroying the Franky House, the Straw Hats and the Franky Family had a fierce opposition to one another. However when the gang's boss, Franky, was captured by CP9, the Franky Family sought aid from the Straw Hats to rescue him.

They were allowed to join the pirates to fight against CP9 and together with the Galley-La foremen formed an army that aided the Straw Hats in reaching their goal in Enies Lobby. After the events in Enies Lobby, the Franky Family decided to give the Adam Wood they bought with the Straw Hats' money to the pirates as thanks for rescuing Franky and to provide the materials to replace the ship the pirates lost.

Later after Franky's bounty was revealed, the Franky Family asked the Straw Hats to take Franky along with them in order to protect him. This request was accepted and resulted in a ruckus and a tearful goodbye between the gang and their boss.

Rolling Pirates
A pirate crew forced to live on Thriller Bark after Gecko Moria captured their shadows, they collected one-hundred shadows around the island as they awaited the day someone would arrive to defeat the monstrous captain. From the advice of their captain Lola the Proposer, they used the shadows on Luffy to transform him into Nightmare Luffy and allowed him to defeat Moria's greatest creation: the zombie Oz. The crew would also stand by the Straw Hats during their final confrontation with Moria and fellow Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma. Lola repaid them by giving them the biblicard for her "mama" in the New World.

Anime Only
In the anime adaptation, the Straw Hats have also had their share of allies and traveling companions. These individuals too have either traveled with them or aided them in some sort of way.

Akisu and Borodo
Two thieves who traveled with the Straw Hats in the second movie after the Going Merry was supposedly stolen by the Trump Siblings. They aided the Straw Hats against Bear King and his pirates.

Apis and Ryuji
A little girl who ate the Hiso Hiso no Mi and a Thousand year Dragon who traveled with the Straw Hats after the Loguetown arc in the anime. The Straw Hats aided them against Marine Commander Nelson and Erik the Whirlwind.

Anaguma and Shuraiya Bascùd
Anaguma originally snuck on board the Going Merry and traveled with the Straw Hats during the Dead End Race in the fourth One Piece movie. Shuraiya, while actually pursuing his own goals, unintentionally helped the Straw Hats by slowing Gasparde's ship down for them to catch up.

Locations Visited
So far, the Straw Hat pirates had visited over 21 locations during the series from Fuusha Village in the East Blue to Shabondy Archipelago in the Grand Line over 490+ chapters.

As of chapter 491, they have arrived at the other side of the red line, and are trying to overcome the predicament of how to get down to Fishman "Island" so for now are anchored at  Shabondy Archipelago.

Place Visited

 * 1) Fuushia Village(East Blue)
 * 2) Alvida's Island(East Blue)
 * 3) Shelltown(East Blue)
 * 4) Organ Island(East Blue)
 * 5) Island of Rare Animals(East Blue)
 * 6) Gecko Island(East Blue)
 * 7) Baratie(East Blue)
 * 8) Commi Island(East Blue)
 * 9) Louge Town(East Blue)
 * 10) Reverse Mountain(Grandline)
 * 11) Cactus Island(Grandline)
 * 12) Little Garden(Grandline)
 * 13) Drum Island(Grandline)
 * 14) Arabasta(Grandline)
 * 15) Jaya(Grandline)
 * 16) Skypiea(Grandline)
 * 17) Longring Longland Island(Grandline)
 * 18) Water 7(Grandline)
 * 19) Enies Lobby(Grandline)
 * 20) Thriller Bark(Grandline)
 * 21) Sabaody Archipelago(Grandline)