Roronoa Zoro

Roronoa Zoro, known as Roronoa Zolo in the English versions, is a former bounty hunter turned pirate. He is the first person to join Luffy's crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, and is a master swordsman. Despite no clear role being given to him, Zoro is often labeled by fans as the second-in-command of the pirate crew (the First Mate).

Appearance
Zoro is Luffy's First Mate, partner, and champion, almost always is seen carrying around his three swords. On his left ear he wears three earrings and normally a bandanna tied around his left arm. The rest of his clothes vary from time to time, however usually he wears long black/greenish trousers and black shoes and a green sash around his waist.

His body is covered with scars from his many battles- during the Baratie Arc he lost a duel with his rival, Mihawk, and was left with a massive scar across his torso. In the Little Garden Arc he tried to free himself from a wax prison by cutting off his feet. Although he did not entirely succeed, he gave himself a scar around each ankle.

The other remarkable feature is his green hair, of which Sanji often teases him about, calling him 'marimo' (moss-ball).

According to Oda, Zoro resembles a shark. Oda uses the color green to represent Zoro, and he smells of steel.

Personality
Zoro has a stern, serious and distanced personality, but unlike Robin he often reacts in a goofy and exaggerated comic style. His sense of reason when it comes to actual dealership of the crew. He will often point out the seriousness of situations (such as Usopp's leaving the crew) and will stand by Luffy's decisions.

When the crew sails from one island to another, he normally either trains with weights or just sleeps and is normally awakened in a rather violent way by either Nami or Sanji. His only apparent job onboard ship is using his enormous strength to haul up the anchor. He also likes sake, almost to the degree that Luffy likes meat, but like Nami, he never gets drunk due to his inhumanly-high tolerance for alcohol.

Though he is very perceptive during battle, his sense of direction is extremely poor. Even though his sense of direction is very poor, he has other strong senses and is often one of the first members of the crew to hear an enemy approaching or sense danger. Zoro can also be very vigorous and won't back down when he is determined to achieve a goal or defeat an enemy. When Zoro has the intention to fight seriously, he normally ties his black bandanna (which is usually tied around his left upper arm) over his head. Unlike most of the crew apart from Robin, Zoro does not shrink from the idea of using deadly force against dangerous enemies. If he is fighting weaker enemies, like the Galley-La employees in Water 7, he uses only the blunt sides of his swords.

Relationships
He lacks Luffy's trust in others and is often over cautious when dealing with certain people. But usually, he will resort to intimidation when it comes to most situations, causing others (usually people much weaker then him) to react with complete fear.

Luffy likes to make fun of Zoro for his lack of orientation, despite his sense of direction not being much better (Zoro often gets lost, even in small spaces or when he is led by someone). Zoro likes to compete with Sanji and they often get into fights over petty matters, often at inopportune moments.

Zoro has a unique relationship with Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi of the Marines. Tashigi and Zoro met in Loguetown, where she helped him search for new katana. Tashigi says that she wants to confiscate all great swords from the pirates and headhunters who wield them, not realizing at the time that Zoro is one of those pirates. Zoro defeated her once when she attacked him after finding out the truth about him, but refused to fight her again in later confrontations due to her uncanny resemblance to his childhood friend, Kuina. Whenever he sees her, he runs away claiming that she is the one person he cannot fight.

Abilities and Powers
Zoro is a master swordsman, able to use one, two and three swords in varying attack styles, although he is most comfortable with his Santōryū (literally: three sword style). Lacking a third hand for a third sword, Zoro holds his third sword in his mouth.

Zoro is arguably one of the strongest humans in One Piece; while most super powered pirates and villains gain power from eating one of the Devil Fruits, Zoro has gained his powers through hard work and training. Some of his sword techniques can be used as projectiles - using the air itself to hurt the enemy. Even without his swords, he has monstrous strength (in one instance he lifted and tossed an entire building at an opponent ) and he can use some sword techniques without his swords. Zoro has shown to pack powerful punches even developing the ability to pump his arms up with pure muscle.

In Chapter 417, Zoro gains a new ability called "Asura", which gives him the appearance of having six arms and three heads, like the demons of the same name. It is unknown if this is an illusion caused by the speed of his attacks, a manifestation or his fighting aura, or if he actually gained extra body parts, though the latter is unlikely since he also has six new swords in this form.

Zoro's Swords
Zoro's most important sword is Wadō Ichimonji, (The One Road of Harmony), which was once Kuina's sword and is one of the 21 Ō Wazamono or '21 Great Edges' of the world. This is the sword he puts in his mouth when using santoryu. He also had two other swords he used in his right and left hands (the ones he had before Kuina's death) were destroyed by "Hawk Eye" Mihawk during the Don Krieg Arc. His other two swords, obtained in Loguetown after the Arlong Arc, are the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri (currently broken).

Sandai Kitetsu (Third Generation Demon-Splitter, known as Kitetsu III in the Viz translation) is supposedly capable of cutting anything. While the Shodai Kitetsu was a Saijō Ō Wazamono (excellent grade sword) and the Nidai Kitetsu was an Ō Wazamono, Sandai Kitetsu is a Wazamono or 'Sharp Sword' that has a curse which caused all the previous owners to fall to tragic deaths.

Yubashiri (Snow Run), Zoro's third sword, is an extremely light but strong sword, and is one of the world's 50 Ryō Wazamono. As of chapter 426, Yubashiri has been destroyed, and Zoro is seen on the next page using what appears to be a generic Marine-grade sword. It may be a mistake of Oda but he is seen at Going Merry's death with his original sword but it is possible that he kept the hilt to have it repaired.

Zoro often speaks with his sword held in his mouth, though it's unknown how he manages to do so. The creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda, has said that it is his heart that allows him to speak, though Oda is known for giving joke answers to fans' questions, as well as just making up answers on the spot to avoid leaving a fan's question unanswered. One possibility is that he learned ventriloquism on his own in order to communicate while fighting.

Past Story
As a boy, Zoro trained in a dojo. Even as a child, Zoro was strong enough to defeat most adults. However, there was one person Zoro could not beat - the sensei's daughter, Kuina. After their 2000th fight (and Kuina's 2000th victory) Zoro challenged her in private for one more match - with real swords. He lost. Afterwards Zoro cried out of frustration, he claimed he cannot fulfill his dream of becoming the world's best swordsman if he cannot beat Kuina. After Zoro clearly said that was his dream, Kuina started to cry as well, saying that she wants to be the best swordsman too, but her father says that girls can't be master swordsmen so she doesn't have much time left and that she is already beginning to mature. Zoro yelled at her that she shouldn't say that because she can beat him, and the two make a promise - that either of them must become the worlds best swordsman. The next day, Kuina died falling down the stairs of her house.

Zoro, remembering the promise, decided to fulfill the promise for both of them, and he asked the teacher for Kuina's sword, Wadō Ichimonji, and he started to develop a new fighting style - santōryū, a three-swords-style. Before her sudden death, Zoro fought with two swords, but after her death Zoro started using her sword as well, clenched in his mouth.

Somehow he eventually learned of Mihawk, who is currently the greatest swordsman in the world. Zoro eventually went to sea looking to find and challenge Mihawk to a duel, but got lost and could not return to his home. Since fighting is more or less the only thing Zoro is really good at, he would usually take on a bounty hunter job in order to pay for sword repairs and meals. From then on, he quickly made a reputation as a "Pirate Hunter". Because of his reputation, Zoro was offered a position and a number in Baroque Works because of his bounty hunting skills, but declined when he was not allowed to become the boss. Afterwards, he killed the person who offered, an earlier Mr. 7 of Baroque Works.

Present Story
A moment of kindness landed Zoro in trouble with Helmeppo, the wimpy son of the Marine captain Axe-Hand Morgan. Zoro joined Monkey D. Luffy's crew after being saved from execution by the Marines, and is now one of Luffy's crew as the first mate. Holding on to his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world he only joined Luffy to accomplish that goal, though Luffy doesn't mind - on the contrary, he only sees it natural that the greatest swordsman and the greatest pirate are on the same crew.

Zoro finally got an opportunity to prove his skill when the crew came across Dracule Mihawk, who was attacking the ship of Don Krieg. The world's greatest swordsman was challenged by Zoro, but despite using his full power, Mihawk easily held him off with a six-inch knife, lamenting that he didn't bring anything smaller with him. Despite being badly wounded, Zoro continued to fight, and impressed by his courage and will power, Mihawk gave him a chance to face his Black Sword. Zoro used his strongest attack at the time, Sansen Sekai (Three Thousand Worlds), but even so, two of his swords were shattered by Mihawk's following attack, leaving only Wadō Ichimonji. From that point on, Zoro swore never to lose to another swordsman again.

Zoro has proven his skill with the sword against several powerful foes while fighting for the Straw Hats, including taking down the fish-man Hatchan, and defeating an entire town of Baroque Works agents at Whiskey Peak. He even defeated Das Bones, the powerful assassin in Baroque Works. After Baroque Works was defeated in Alabasta, he was given a bounty of 60 million beli.

He continued to travel with the Straw Hats to Skypiea, defeating Ohm, one of Eneru's underlings. With the defeat of Eneru, Zoro and the Straw Hats returned to the Grand Line.

After Enies Lobby
Chapter 430: With the Going Merry, everyone has managed to escape Enies Lobby safely. However, after escaping, Iceburg arrives in a Galley-La just in time to pick up the Strawhat Pirates as the Merry suddenly breaks apart. Luffy then gives the Going Merry a viking funeral by burning it as the crew tearfully says goodbye (Zoro, though, maintained his tough guy appearance).

2 days later, back in Water 7, he is seen staring at the broken hilt of his sword wondering what he should do. Finally, he was then seen rushing to meet the others, probably to warn them of the marines arrival. However, as usual, Zoro ends up getting lost on the way there. When he arrived, he was attacked by Sergeant Helmeppo with dual kukri knives, but quickly defeated the young man.

In Chapter 435, He was seen trying to buy a sword but had no money and was thrown out. Later on, Zoro's new bounty is revealed; the bounty is set at 120 Million beli. He also helped launch Franky towards the "Thousand Sunny", the Straw Hat's new ship. He was later seen, when he and Sanji inform the rest of the crew that Garp's battleship was near the island. As of chapter 438, Zoro takes the position that Usopp shouldn't be allowed back with the crew if he returns still full of pride, his reasoning being that Luffy as captain must stand firm as it was Usopp that left them and lost the duel with Luffy over the fate of the Going Merry. As so, he smiles when Usopp apologizes for being stubborn and asks if he can re-join the crew.

Current Events (Spoilers)
After sailing for some time on the Thousand Sunny, Zoro and the rest of the crew came across a mysterious barrel floating on the ocean. Upon opening it, a flash shot up from it. After braving a storm that mysteriously came afterwards thanks to Nami and Franky, Zoro and the rest of the crew found themselves in the presence of a ghost ship.

This ship apparently belonged to a skeleton named Brook who through by chance initially accepted Luffy's offer to join the crew. This apparent new addition to the crew made Zoro scold Nami and Sanji for not keeping Luffy from inviting the skeleton. Zoro then joined for dinner as the skeleton related his past to the others. Just as Brook was about to perform before Zoro and the rest of the crew, a ghost appeared and some clanking sounds were heard. These sounds were caused by the gates of the island that suddenly appeared, Thriller Bark, closing. These events prompted Brook to head to the island before Zoro and the rest of the Straw Hats' eyes.

After witnessing Franky's present to the Straw Hats that the cyborg decided to show them, Zoro and the rest of the Straw Hats decided to look for Nami, Usopp, and Chopper who had not returned. However before Zoro and the rest could go to the island, they were stopped by an invisible thing. The thing stole one of Zoro's swords and tried to stab Luffy with it. Luckily, Franky kicked it away before it found it's mark. The thing later left Zoro and the rest baffled.

After the Thousand Sunny got caught in what was apparently a spider web, Zoro and the rest descended to the island. There they met the Cerberus which didn't intimidate Zoro. After Luffy tamed the beast, Zoro and the rest met two more of the island's creatures. Luffy caught the "Geezer Tree" while Franky caught the unicorn. Zoro, along with Sanji, then stopped Luffy before he could allow the "Geezer Tree" to join the group.

Zoro and the rest then came across some ghosts who affected some of them with their strange abilities. Zoro seeing his companions in such a pitiful state merely shook the whole matter off only to be affected by one of the ghosts himself. After Zoro and the rest who also affected by the ghosts recovered, they pressed forward. Zoro and the rest later met with some Zombies and defeated them with a combo technique. The group then met with a old man who looked like a Zombie. The old man asked them to defeat Gecko Moria who had stolen his shadow.

Major Battles

 * Zoro vs. Morgan
 * Zoro vs. Cabaji
 * Zoro vs. Sham and Buchi
 * Zoro vs. Mihawk
 * Zoro vs. Hatchan
 * Zoro vs. Baroque Works agents
 * Zoro vs. Luffy
 * Zoro vs. Mr. 3, Miss Goldenweek, Mr. 5, Miss Valentine
 * Zoro vs. Mr. 1
 * Zoro vs. Braham
 * Zoro vs. Ohm
 * Zoro and Sanji vs. Hamburg, Pickles, and Big Pan
 * Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, and Chopper vs. Franky Family
 * Zoro vs. Kaku

Filler Battles

 * Zoro vs. Erik the Whirlwind
 * Zoro vs. Billy the Bandit
 * Zoro vs. Mountain Whale Dick
 * Zoro vs. Golass
 * Zoro vs. Pin Joker
 * Zoro vs. General Hotdog
 * Zoro and Luffy vs. Saga
 * Zoro vs. General Maji
 * Zoro, Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin vs. Governor

Early One Piece
Originally, Zoro was planned by Oda to be the bodyguard of Buggy the Clown. A picture of an incarnation of him in Buggy's crew was then later released in vol 3 along with another picture of Buggy's crew.

Translation and Dub Issues
Most of Zoro's attacks are puns and some also have religious connections. One of Zoro's more common attacks, Oni Giri (Demon Slash), is a pun on the japanese word onigiri (rice ball). Another common attack, the 36/72/108 Pondo Hou, is a reference to the 36 passions of Buddhism. Zoro's newest power, Asura, also borrows from religion by taking its name from a group of Hindu demons. This is a bit ironic considering that Zoro is a stated atheist, and Nami and Chopper have both claimed that Zoro is more arrogant than the self-proclaimed "god" Eneru.

In the English dub of One Piece, Zoro is referred to as "Zolo". Originally, the English version of the manga by VIZ spelled his name as "Roronoa Zoro", but it was changed to "Zolo" in chapter 50. It is possible this name change is a result of trademark issues with Zorro, who shares a similar name.

In Japanese promotions and in some art work, the character is often referred to as "Zoro" but is also spelled "Zolo" in a few cases, mostly in promotions. However, many fans claim that "Zoro" was the creator's intended spelling, since it is almost always spelled that way in art and it is supposed to be based off of "Zorro", the aforementioned character. In the end, many fans choose to specifically refer to the dub version of Zoro as "Zolo", while referring to the original version as "Zoro".

In the English dub by 4Kids, Kuina's death was censored and instead she was written to have been badly hurt by a group from an nearby town and was unable to fight anymore--oddly enough, this can be seen as more violent than the original. Zoro's commitment therefore is to continue on fighting for her now she cannot not fight any more instead of because she died.

Trivia

 * His family name, Roronoa, comes from the real-life French pirate François l'Ollonais.
 * In Japanese Fan Polls, Zoro is consistently the second most popular character.
 * Zoro's favourite foods are White rice, sea monster meat and stuff that goes with ale.

Related Articles

 * Straw Hat Pirates
 * Captain Morgan arc
 * Mihawk
 * Kuina
 * Tashigi