Brook


 * The subject of this article is sometimes spelt Brooke.

Brook is a skeleton who was found by the Straw Hats onboard a ghost ship after they opened a mysterious barrel adrift on the open ocean and escaped from a mysterious storm. He is a musician who ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi and is one of the main focuses of the current arc.

Appearance
Brook is a tall skeleton dressed in formal attire complete with top hat and cane. In life, Brook was a tall skinny man with a slight goatee on his chin. Despite being completely fleshless, his head still has an afro which he says is because his hair has deep roots. Brook's coat, top hat, pants, and afro, are black while the inner linings of his coat are yellow orange. The ribbon tied in between his coat and around his neck is blue. The outer covering of Brook's cane sword which he carries is purple. Also due to his many years of seclusion his clothes have become somewhat tattered.

In Gear Spirit, Brook is presented with different a color scheme than the one depicted in both the manga and anime. The color of the collar of his coat is gray while the ribbon and the frills coming out of his coat are purple. In some artwork within the game, Brook's nose socket is uncolored. The outer covering of Brook's cane sword is also colored red in the game. This color scheme is so because the game was developed before an official color scheme from the manga was presented.

Personality
Brook is an eccentric character with a distinct personality of his own. While he looks like, and claims to be, a gentleman, he possesses very bad manners such asking to see ladies' panties and waiting impatiently for food. He also seems to overreact at times like when the Straw Hats were alarmed at him for being a living skeleton or having no shadow he was the one making more fuss than they were.

Despite being a skeleton, Brook says that he is scared by ghosts and zombies. In order to fight the various Thriller Bark Creatures without fear, Brook has convinced himself that if he sings while fighting, he wouldn't be afraid of them. This singing of his while fighting, has given him the name of "Humming Swordsman" by the zombies. Brook also often cracks "dead jokes" about himself complimented with his distinct laughter of "Yohohoho".

Before encountering the Straw Hats, Brook stated that he was very lonely while floating adrift on his ship and adored the company of the Straw Hats. He invited himself in for dinner upon arriving on board the Thousand Sunny. While most of the crew seem content with him, for now Zoro and Sanji seem unhappy about him being around (at one point Sanji told Franky not to get friendly with him).

His distinct personnality and laughter allowed Nami, Ussop and Chopper question a "guardian" of Hogback's lab, Ryuuma, who had Brook's signature laughter and personality. This was because Ryuuma possessed Brook's shadow until Zoro defeated Ryuuma, returning Brook's shadow to its rightful place.

Friends
Brook cares alot for his afro. Being the only thing of him that didn't rot away after he died, it means alot to him. It is the only thing he believes that Laboon would still recognize after fifty years. Since it won't ever grow back again should it be cut, Brook is ever more protective of it.

"In addition to losing our nakama, my face, my body, I've lost it all. Even if we met again you wouldn't recognise me at all in this skeleton form. I don't have anything left but they all said... this head of mine made you laugh...!!! I'll protect this look to the end because I'm coming to see you I just hope you're waiting at our promised cape...!!! " - Brook about the need to protect his look.

Because of the promise Brook and the rest of his crew made to Laboon, Brook feels obligated to meet up with Laboon in order fulfill that promise. He feels that Laboon wouldn't forgive them for dying irresponsibly in the Grand Line.

Enemies
Because of the mess he made back five years ago in Thriller Bark, three of the Mysterious Four know how troublesome he was. Only Perona doesn't know of his doings well because she was asleep back then.

Abilities and Powers
Brook is a musician who is able to play any musical instrument. He usually uses a violin to play his music. His musical abilities are so good that Laboon used to sing along to his music when they were together.

Brook also knows how to purify the various Thriller Bark Creatures with sea-salt.

Devil Fruit
While he was still alive, Brook ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi. The fruit allows the user to come back to life for a second time. Though his soul wasn't able to find his body in time before it decomposed completely to a skeleton, he has some advantages. One that has been seen so far is that because he just light weighted bones, he also seams to be able to survive large amounts of damage, and he is able to run on water, despite being a Devil Fruit user. Supposedly drinking milk can heal his bones because of the calcium.

Fighting Style
In his cane Brook hides a sword known as a shikomizue, which he can use to great extent. His fighting style while using it resembles classical fencing. Though not as physically gifted as Zoro, he was able to keep up with what Zoro was doing while he fought Ryuuma.

Brook's main attack as of yet is known as 鼻唄三丁:やはずぎり, "Hanauta Sanchou: Yahuza Giri", loosely translated into "Three-Verse Humming: Notch Slice". The attack is the fastest cutting technique of his kingdom's assault squad, it was originally named "Requiem Banderole", but was given the other name by his old nakama.

Broken Promises
Fifty years ago, Brook used to be part of Yoki's pirate crew, the Rumba Pirates. His job was being one of the many musicians that comprised most of the crew. While he and the rest of the crew were still in the West Blue, their ship was one day followed by a baby whale who had gotten lost, Laboon. Seeing that the whale was really upset, Brook suggested to his captain that they should play some music to cheer the whale up. Together with the rest of the crew, Brook played a beautiful song that cheered Laboon up. Since then, he and the rest of the crew used to sing songs with Laboon. When the Brook and the rest of the Rumba Pirates entered the Grand Line, they were followed by Laboon. Seeing that the Grand Line was a place too dangerous for a young whale, they left Laboon at Reverse Mountain under the care of Crocus. They promised Laboon that they would return back for him.

Upon entering the Florian Triangle however, Brook and his crewmates were attacked by pirates. He was killed in the battle however since he ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, his soul was able to return to his body. Unfortunately for him, though, he lost his body because of the fog in the area and searched for it for one year. When he returned to it, it was just a pile of bones. Only his afro remained in tact because it was firmly rooted.

The Humming Swordsman
After some time, Brook's ship drifted to Thriller Bark five years ago. Wanting to fix the rudder, he disembarked and explored the island. All he found however was the various creatures that inhabited there. He was then captured and saw how Moria was able to create zombies. His shadow was then stolen. After being set adrift on his ship, Brook retraced his path and went back to the island. There he learned of the zombies' weakness while spying on some. He then interrogated Hogback for where his zombie counterpart was.

After dispatching some zombies, Brook found his zombie counterpart, Ryuuma. However during the battle, Ryuuma proved too strong for Brook. After receiving some severe blows to his skull, Brook asked for mercy from Ryuuma and quietly ran away from Thriller Bark. The battle left Brook with a crack in his skull. For the next five years since then, Brook had been training himself in order to beat Ryuuma the next time they would meet.

Surprise Meeting
After the Straw Hats escaped from the mysterious storm, the pirates encountered Brook's ship floating aimlessly with Brook apparently singing. Wanting to discover what was onboard Luffy, Nami, and Sanji boarded his ship. There they met the skeleton apparently drinking tea. After being punched by Nami for indecency, Luffy asked him to join his crew. Brook accepted much to everyone's surprise.

After boarding the Thousand Sunny and joining the Straw Hats for dinner, Brook explained his past. It was later revealed that Brook had no reflection or shadow. Brook explained that his shadow was stolen, though refused to say by whom out of regard for the Straw Hats' safety. Because of this, he couldn't go out into the sunlight else he would disintegrate like a similar person who also lost his shadow. With this, Brook humbly declined to join the Straw Hats since he felt he would be a burden to them. Luffy however promised Brook that he would get Brook's shadow back.

Happy to see living people after being alone for so long and overjoyed at the welcome the Straw Hats had given him he decided to preform for them. Suddenly, just as Brook was about to perform before the Straw Hats, a ghost appeared out of the wall. Brook, followed by the Straw Hats, then rushed out of the kitchen and found out that the Thousand Sunny was drifting apparently beside an island from West Blue, Thiller Bark. Upon seeing this, Brook said his farewell and jumped off board the ship and ran across the water to the island.

Return of the Dead Man
Upon arrival back on the island, Brook went around once again purifying the various creatures. Brook was then later seen by Franky and Robin falling from the sky and onto the rubble that was once a bridge connecting Hogback's mansion to the main mast of Thriller bark. After getting up, he defeated Tallaran (the spider monkey) with a single attack using a sword hidden in his cane. After purifying Tallaran, Brook then explained to Franky and Robin how shadows are taken. Franky then asked Brook a simple question about his being. Upon asked about this, Brook then explained to Franky and Robin about his past with Laboon. He explained to them his wish to return to his whale friend.

I don't think he would forgive us for having died irresponsibly and because of our selfish promise would yell into the skies if he could... That death isn't an apology...!!! Because a man once said...!!! That they absolutely would come back!!! - Words of Brook on Laboon.

After explaining things to Franky and Robin, Brook then rushed off. He then found Ryuuma sitting down in Hogback's lab and drinking tea. He then challenges him. The battle with Ryuuma, is currently a fierce one as Ryuuma is able to match Brook's swordsmanship. As Brook fights and receives bone cracking blows, the thought of meeting up with Laboon no matter what runs through his mind.

Despite fighting Ryuuma vigorously, Brook once again loses to the zombie. With his bones severely broken, Brook is laid defeated before Ryuuma. Unable to defend himself against Ryuuma, Brook's assailant decided to cut off Brook's afro. However just as Ryuuma was about to cut off Brook's afro, the entire island suddenly moved thus luckily saving Brook. Franky and Zoro then came to Hogback's lab. With a block against one of Ryuuma's strike targeted at Brook and Franky, Zoro then tells Brook that he will fight against Ryuuma instead and get Brook's shadow back. After an intense battle that lead to the roof of mansion, Zoro defeated Ryuuma with a technique that set the zombie ablaze. With Ryuuma's corpse incinerated, Brook got his shadow back.

As Brook, along with Zoro and Franky, took a moment on the roof to recover from the excitement, Luffy's zombie, Oz came rampaging out of the main mast and calling out for the Straw Hats. The behemoth's appearance frightened Brook completely. Brook then witnessed a gigantic battle, between the Straw Hats nearby and Oz, then took place in the inner courtyard between the main mast and the mansion. The battle unfortunately didn't go all too well for the Straw Hats and Brook was unfortunately included in the fray.

Due to his previous battle with Ryuuma, Brook was completely unable to move as the Strawhats around stood up from Oz's attacks. He is however told to step aside and rest as they take on the behemoth themselves. Brook however, figuring that they would need alot of salt to purify Oz, went to Thriller Bark's kitchen and gathered a large amount of the stuff. While there, he drank some milk in order to heal some of his wounds. He then returned just in the nick of time to save Usopp from Oz, who was now aided by Gecko Moria, while carrying a large sack of salt.

With the sack of salt, Brook decided to join in the fight against Oz. However, due to still being injured a bit, all that Brook could do at the moment was to hold onto the sack as the Strawhats attacked Oz. After dodging some of Oz's moves aided by Moria's Devil Fruit powers, Brook asked Nami, Usopp, and Robin to help him in a tactic against Oz. Using Usopp's Kuwagata, Brook was propelled towards Oz. While being propelled, Brook was spun by Robin and was shocked by a cloud created by Nami. With electricity surging through his bones, Brook then thrust himself through Oz's shoulder and shocked the behemoth as he ripped through. After going through Oz, Brook unfortunately then crashed into the building behind Oz. While stuck, Oz tried to stomp Brook. Luckily, Usopp saved the skeleton by redirecting Oz's attention from Brook with an attack.

Though saved by Usopp, Brook was still knocked unconscious by Oz's attempted attack and fell to the ground. As the battle with Oz and the Straw Hats raged on, members of the Straw Hats slowly joined Brook in unconsciousness as they were taken out by Moria and Oz. Just when only Nami and Usopp were left and Oz was about crush them as well as the knocked out combatants, Brook and the Straw Hats were saved by Luffy who was then infused with the strength of a hundred shadows. As Luffy drove Oz and Moria away from the inner courtyard with massive attacks, Brook, as well as the unconscious Straw Hats, were carried off to safety by a group of shadowless victims lead by the pirate Lola.

Current Events (Spoilers)
Even so, Brook arose along with the Straw Hats, stating he has enough strength to still help out. By request of Luffy, Brook grabs him and climbs up Thriller Bark with help from Robin. Brook then tosses Luffy towards Oz and wishes him luck, as Luffy attacks Oz with Gomu Gomu no Giant Bazooka. He also saw the brutal fight bewtween Luffy and Moria powered up by his Shaodw Asgard move, which Luffy won, thus returning all the shadows Moria had stolen, and at the nick of time, as the sun-light threatened to destroy the Thriller Bark Victim's Accociation, Sanji, Zoro and Robin. He was also included in the fray against Bartholomew Kuma, even though he didn't lift his blade against the Shichibukai, it would seem he was also damaged by the "Ursa Bomb".

A whole day after the chaos had ended, the Straw-Hat Pirates and the Rolling Pirates has a mighty feast, in the Thriller Bark mansion, to celebrate their victory, with Brook playing the piano. He also reveals to Sanji that he witnessed the actions taken by Zoro and Sanji earlier against Kuma, and commended their bravery. Later, he and Luffy have a conversation about the song Brook is playing. Luffy says he knows of it, telling that Shanks and his crew sings it al the time, to which Brook replies that any pirate, from olden days, know of it. Luffy then says he should join his crew now that he has reclaimed his shadow. But once again Brook refuses. He tells Luffy that there is one more thing he has not told them about.

"I made a promise with a nakama. If i do not realize that first... then i am not fit to be a man" -Brook about his promise to Laboon.

Luffy then tells him, that he know about his promise to Laboon. When he hears that Laboon is still waiting for him at Reverse Mountain, he stops playing the piano, and bursts into tears. He then starts to remember the first time they met Laboon.

Major Battles

 * Brook, Yoki, and other Rumba Pirates vs. Unknown
 * Brook vs. Ryuuma
 * Brook, Franky, and Robin vs. Talleran
 * Brook vs. Ryuuma (round 2)
 * Brook, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Chopper and Franky vs. Oz and Moria
 * Brook, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Chopper and Franky vs. Oz

Early One Piece
The concept of Brook, a skeleton musician, had already been thought up by Oda the first time he drew Laboon. Brook's overall design however wasn't finalized back then but the basic idea was kept for a long time until Brook was finally revealed.

Trivia

 * If Brook joins the Straw Hats, he will be the oldest and tallest member being over 50 years old at least, not to mention that he is even taller than Franky who is over seven feet tall.