Tashigi

Ensign Tashigi (たしぎ少尉 Tashigi Shōi) is a Marine serving under Commodore Smoker.

Appearance
She has chin-length, dark blue hair and dark brown eyes. She is known to look remarkably like Zoro's deceased friend Kuina.

Chapter 439 marks the full debut (after a single image on the cover of chapter 432) of a markedly different "look" for her as well as having longer hair; however, it is not clear whether this is an intentional redesign, or simply a result of the author's continually evolving art style and the length of time she had been out of the spotlight.

Personality
She was first introduced when the Straw Hat Pirates docked in Loguetown, where she was stationed. Smoker, her superior officer, seems to regard her as a protege; the two work very well together. While adept at sword fighting, she is usually clumsy, which tends to get on Smoker's nerves. She is also very well-versed in katana, knowing their names and origins.

Like Smoker, Tashigi has her own view of "Justice" which differs from the Marines' own definition, and will fight for what she sees as the right thing to do. Tashigi's stated goal is to remove all Meitō from the hands of those who would use them for their own selfish ends.

Like Kuina, Tashigi felt that as a woman, she would be inferior to men as swords users, and felt insulted when Zoro refused to kill her. However, this doesn't stop her from trying hard to get stronger and achieve her dreams.

Marines
Her relationship with her superior, Smoker, is strictly professional. However, Smoker constantly insults her for her mishaps such as mistaking a fellow marine soldier for Smoker due to her not wearing her glasses.

Enemies
She seems to hold a grudge against Zoro after she aided him to finding new swords, although at the time, she was unaware of who he was.

Weapons
Tashigi uses her katana, the Meitou Shigure. Not much is known about her fighting style other then she has a similar style to what Kuina used. Though nothing special compared to the higher skills levels of many swordsmen in One Piece, she is a highly competent fighter, capable of taking down multiple opponents in seconds. However, at the end of the Arabasta arc she had resolved to get stronger, and a proud Smoker told her subordinates that they could only wish they had her guts.


 * Kamaitachi (鎌鼬, Sickle Weasel): Used by Tashigi with her Shigure.

Loguetown Arc
When Zoro first saw Tashigi, he was instantly struck by how much Tashigi looks like his deceased childhood friend Kuina.

Tashigi would later meet Roronoa Zoro once again in Loguetown (whom she had inadvertently helped pick new swords before she learned his name) and after seeing a supposedly cursed sword swerve out of the way to spare Zoro's outstretched arm from being mutilated, she thinks him an extraordinary swordsman. Once she finds out who he really was however, apparently under the belief that the swordsman deceived her (to which Zoro countered that she should have asked who he was first), she confronts him as the Straw Hat Pirates are making their escape from the town. Zoro initially beats her, disarming her of her sword before starting to leave. She takes this as an insult, which in turn sparks a childish argument between the two before Dragon's arrival separates them. Afterward she sets out to sea with Smoker, chasing after Zoro and the rest of the Straw Hat crew and eventually winding up in Arabasta.

Arabasta Arc
During their pursuit, Tashigi and Smoker capture Mr. 11 and discover information about Baroque Works. She re-meets Zoro in Rainbase and demands a rematch but all it does is set off another argument before he manages to escape her.

During the battle for Arabasta, Tashigi is badly wounded while fighting against Nico Robin while trying to free King Cobra despite his pleas for her to back down. Crocodile comes across her limp form afterward, insulting her sense of justice before he continues on. However she bears witness to the triumph of Luffy and his crew in beating him and stopping the war. She then personally (in fitting irony) arrests him after his defeat at the hands of someone else. She is then granted a promotion by the World Government despite Smoker's objections.

Post Enies Lobby
Tashigi appears again after receiving word of the Straw Hats after their fight against the Buster Call. While trying to relay the news to Smoker, she ends up telling another sailor, since she wasn't wearing her glasses.

Marineford War
When the execution of Portgas D. Ace is announced, Tashigi reports to the summoning of the Marines to reinforce Mariejois.

Three hours before Ace's execution, she was seen listening to Sengoku's speech about Ace's past.

She's shocked by Luffy's arrival at Marineford, but has to alert Smoker to this new factor in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates. As Luffy is charging to the execution platform, Tashigi attempts to fight Luffy, but Smoker got to him first.

As Sengoku is putting the final phase of his plan into motion, Tashigi and Smoker retreat to the plaza.

Tashigi is then seen again witnessing a marine seeking help for his wounded comrade only to be told to leave the fallen and to continue on with the fight. Tashigi thinks to herself that even after the marines completed their goal, they won't stop.

After the arrival of Shanks, she is seen standing down with the other marines.

Major Battles

 * Tashigi vs. Koze & Packi
 * Tashigi vs. Roronoa Zoro
 * Tashigi vs. Mr. 11 (not seen)
 * Tashigi vs. Miss All-Sunday
 * Tashigi and Smoker vs. unnamed pirate with a bounty of 50,000,000 (not seen)
 * Tashigi, Smoker and other Marines vs. Whitebeard Pirates

Translation and Dub Issues
Like Kuina, her name comes from a flightless bird. The fact she is named after a flightless bird is a reflection of herself. In regards to the bird itself, Oda stated though a bird cannot fly, it doesn't mean it never will.

The Viz Manga gives her the rank of Sergeant, while the FUNimation dub gives her the rank of Sergeant-Major.

Merchandise
Tashigi has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. She has been featured in the series of models Portrait of Pirates.

Trivia

 * In 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Tashigi is ranked the 42nd most popular character in One Piece.
 * Once a fan asked about Tashigi's glasses as she seems nearsighted but she lifts her glasses to see a sword. Also, she was also seen not wearing glasses running and asked if the glasses were for show. Oda stated she does need them.
 * In Japan, the act of taking another's sword is seen as a strong statement, which often means the wielder was not worthy of the blade which Tashigi is doing so by supposedly by taking the blades from criminals.
 * So far, Yamaoroshi and Kashū are the only known swords to have been taken from their original respective owners by Tashigi.
 * Tashigi's art style has changed greatly throughout the series. On her first appearance, she looks like Kuina but during the Whitebeard War saga, her art style has become more distinct.
 * Her clumsiness, in note her particular habit of falling over, can be seen as a joke towards Kuina's own demise since she died when she fell down a set of stairs.

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