Mythbusters/FAQ

How do myths begin? Usually by a fan asking questions, someone responds incorrectly... Next thing you know a myth is born. The following are questions often asked by fans with answers to them.

What is the New Age? Is it a cult?
At first it was thought to be a cult that the story led us to believe but later in the Whitebeard War Saga, we learned that the New Age is something that is happenning now right after the Golden Age of Pirates. New Age marks the end of the age late-Pirate King Gol D. Roger created (Golden Age of Pirates) and it is the age that started after the death of Whitebeard. After Whitebeard announced that One Piece is out there somewhere in his last moments, people were astonished and wanted to claim it for themselves and obtain the title of "Pirate King". It is believed that more people will become pirates and the ones that were already pirates and stay in the 4 "Blues" start to journey toward Grand Line/ New World. The Marines also mention the need to reform their organization for the needs of the new age since a new wave of pirates (most likely pirate that are greedy and ruthless because Donflamingo states that the New Age is not for "dreamers" like Luffy) are coming.

Why did Kuma go to the Sabaody Archipelago?
Because Kuma was a Pacifista in development, he was not completed. Before going to Saboady Archipelago, he was to be made complete and that if that happened, he'd lose his free will and because of the situation in Saboady, he decided to make his last free will actions before he was modified into a complete Pacifista. This is why he told Luffy that he'd never see him again.

Why did Kuma split up the Straw Hat Pirates?
It has been revealed that Kuma did it to save them from Kizaru, Sentoumaru, and the other Pacifistas. He did so, as he whispered to Rayleigh, as a member of the Revolutionary Army.

What did Kuma say to Rayleigh when he whispered into his ears?
He whispered that he was a member of the Revolutionary Army, and that he, like Rayleigh, wanted to help the Straw Hats escape. Though this made Rayleigh question if he should trust him while Kuma seemed to be putting his rank at risk.

OP, BB, WB - what do they mean?
Sometimes English fans give characters "joke" nicknames or shorten names to just their initals (usually out of laziness) while some of the names are mistranslations or translation variations. Occusionally, it makes it difficult to understand long-term fans if you are a new fan.

Some notable names include the following:
 * 1) Who is "Pwngoat"? It refers to Sengoku's nameless and apparently "purposeless" pet goat often seen by his side, lacking an offical name, English fans dubbed it "Pwngoat"'. Strickly speaking most likely to be found on Arlong Park Forums, but appears outside from time to time.
 * 2) Who is "Epicbeard"? Usually it refers to Whitebeard, and is a joke name for his incredibility and apparently "awesome" status as a pirate. Strictly speaking most likely to be found on Arlong Park Forums, but appears outside from time to time.
 * 3) Who is WB? Again it is short for "Whitebeard".
 * 4) Who is BB? Blackbeard
 * 5) And what is ID? Impel Down
 * 6) GM and TS? The ships "Going Merry" and "Thousand Sunny"
 * 7) What about "OP"? "OP" = "One Piece", either talking about the series itself or the treasure. "OP" can also refer to the anime "OPening" themes. Pay attention to context for this one.
 * 8) What About "ED"? Similarly to the above, while "OP" can mean "OPening themes", "ED" refers to the "EnDing" themes of the anime.
 * W7, what is that? Water 7
 * 1) TB = Thriller Bark

Where's the Fairy Tail Story?
Its common to see comparisons between the manga "Fairy Tail" and "One Piece", particularly because of the artwork. However one of the reasons why comparisons on the wikia are often removed is that most claims of similarity to both series are not properly researched by the editors, or are written as though One Piece is referencing the other series without first investigating the claims.

If one investigates both series, neither mangaka were assistants of the same mangaka or Hiro under Oda (as it is often rumoured they are). Hiro himself stated he was never an assistant of any other mangaka before becoming one himself. In fact the reason why they are similair in art style is because both Oda and Mashima Hiro were influenced by the mangaka Akira Toriyama and both admire his art style. Oda also works for Weekly Shōnen Jump while Mashima Hiro works for Weekly Shōnen Magazine. Occasionally, fans noting the series also forget that One Piece began its run in 1997, while Fairy Tail started in 2006.

Essenitally, because both take their inspirations from Akira Toriyama, its easier to make an comparison with One Piece to Dragon Ball, then it is to compare One Piece to Fairy Tail. This same rule can also be said to apply to Fairy Tail as well as to One Piece.

For further reading: See here.

What makes the Straw Hats Pirates?
Several fans claim that the Straw Hats are not pirates at all due to the fact that they don't really do any stereotypical pirate actions. Some even claim they are more revolutionaries than pirates. The pirates in One Piece are varied, but in real life not all pirates pillaged and raped though arguably most did.

In fact the reasons for becoming a pirate were varied and not all of them did the typical pirate actions:
 * Some were merely innocent merchant traders reported as pirates for one reason or another (breaking the law in any way was enough).
 * Others were seeking freedom or protest against their government who established hard taxes on merchants or were unfairly treating the population living within their jurisdiction.
 * In some cases they were freed slaves who joined pirate crews because life as a pirate was a better life then Slavery.
 * A few were acting as vigilantes (which today is illegal in many countries), in some cases hired privateers (who are often considered legal pirates), while others continued plundering even after privateering was outlawed or got greedy and attacked even their own countries' ships.

With that in mind here is a list of "crimes" they committed:
 * Declaring themselves "pirates": The storyline clearly establishes the grounds for identification as a pirate in One Piece and at the very least simply declaring oneself a pirate is enough to have the Marines arrest you. Though they declared themselves pirates, originally their actual reporting as being "pirates" was merely revenge from Nezumi because Nami beat him up. They had however acted more as vigilantes at the time because the East Blue pirates were allowed to hurt their friends and potential crewmates. Up until this point, by official means they were not classified as pirates.
 * Burning the flag of the world government: is a declaration of war
 * They have hit/attacked members of the law enforcement: a crime even in the real world. Zoro commented when he raised his swords against the Marines for the very first time after Luffy freed him, once you are declared a criminal there is no going back.
 * Holding a Hostage: though it wasn't true, they were still "involved" with the Hostage situation with the World Nobles.
 * Pillaging: At the very least the Straw Hats did pillage gold from Skypiea (though were naive to the inhabitants' own regard to gold). Luffy beat Bellamy to get Cricket's stolen gold back. Nami also had previously stolen valuables from other pirates with aid of the Arlong Pirates where needed, as well as being part of Arlong's crew who were actively pillaging villages around the East Blue. Franky had stolen off others (Usopp was a victim) to get what he wanted prior to being a 'pirate'.
 * Privateering;They have also committed at least one act that would fall into the classification of "Privateering" (Igaram hired the crew to protect Princess Vivi on a price agreed by Nami together with their actions in Arabasta against Crocodile). Initially, outside of the Shichibukai, this is frowned upon and could have gotten the Arabasta royal family in trouble.
 * Vigilantism: Throughout the East Blue, they resolved one problem after the next acting as vigilantes even where the Marines could not succeed.
 * Freeing prisoners: Zoro, Robin, Franky and various members of Impel Down were all freed by a member of the straw hats.
 * Destroying Marine ships: Although a lie, Robin was said to have destroyed a number of ships at 8 years old. Since the start of the series, an untold number of lesser Marine ships have been taken down.
 * Murder and attempted Murder: Zoro was known to have killed prior to joining the crew. Officially, Iceberg was apparently a target for murder by them, however Water 7 the place it occurred soon learned the truth.
 * Black Market: Franky had one dealing at least with Black Marketing materials.
 * Forbidden Research: Robin reads Poneglyphs something banned in the One Piece world.
 * Overthrowing a King: Wapol being kicked out by the Straw Hats.
 * Destroying government property: Enes Lobby, Impel Down and Marineford all have had serious damage dealt to them.

Though they are the least stereotypical of the pirate crews within One Piece, they are still "pirates" under the classifications released by the series itself. Traditionally, a revolutionary seeks to change things for the good or worst of a country, the Straw Hats have often made it clear they have no intended of getting involved with good causes. They themselves only get involved when a friend of theirs is hurt, and only then because a situation causes them to get involved further then they intended. They themselves do not opening seek to overthrow government or King. Pirates are criminals and while Luffy's acts of criminal actions have aided others, they are still crimes. A Revolutionary may also commit crimes but has a set goal wherein they purposely set to overthrow the government.

Isn't Haki based on...
Haki was first introduced via Shanks in chapter 1 and is often compared to other series techniques. But it took Oda hundreds of chapters to explain it. Hence forth half the problem with Haki is a number of fans felt Déjà vu come over them when they saw it for the first time in the storyline, often many forgot it was actually first seen in Chapter 1. Bleach in particular is targeted as one of its techniques works almost the same. Ultimately there is no basis for claims as most of the series mentioned and compared started after Chapter 1 was written, thus ultimately fall into the "Fair Taily" problem of how One Piece can reference another manga when it itself did it first. Often, the result is simply a repeat of the old Fairy Tail problem of it simply being that they are referencing a common cultural aspect and are not actaully referencing each other.

Whitebeard and Gundam
Another point made is that one of the Gundam from the series Turn A Gundam. Again, we have a classic "Fairy Tale" scenario. This gundam series started in 1999 and while Whitebeard's jolly roger appeared afterwards a year later, this would make the series seem to be referencing the Gundam one. However there is one piece of evidence that remains; Oda always intended there to be a character with that Mustache design in the series - Crescent Moon Galley. Galley appeared in Romance Dawn V.1, even before the series began and although the colour has changed and grown thicker, they are the same design.

In short, although the Gundam series may have had some influence on the overall design, this reference can be considered a coincidence until Oda states otherwise. This is similar to how Fairy Tale and One Piece share the same style of artwork, even though there is no relationship between the two mangaka.