Dracule Mihawk


 * The subject of this article is sometimes called "Juraquille Mihawk" or "Juracule Mihawk".

Dracule Mihawk is a member of the Shichibukai and the first one to be revealed. He is also the current holder of the title, "Greatest Swordsman in the World". Mihawk served as Roronoa Zoro's swordsmanship teacher during the two-year timeskip.

Appearance
Mihawk is a tall and lean man with a short beard, moustache and sideburns that point upwards. His nickname comes from his strangely colored yellow eyes, which resemble a hawk's eyes.

He wears black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant that hides a little dagger, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears white (light purple in the anime) pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size.

He wears a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, and carries Yoru on his back. His large sword, which he keeps on his back at times when not in use, has a curved black blade, and is also in the shape of a crucifix, with a golden handguard decorated by red beads (which are blue and green in the anime), and an hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big bead at his extremity.

At his home in Kuraigana Island's castle, he sports different pants and an open white shirt with a ruffled neck. When he met up with Zoro outside, he had a plain dark cloak draped over his shoulders. Twenty four years ago, during Gol D. Roger's execution, Mihawk did not have his beard, nor did he wear his hat, and his hair was scruffier and shorter. He already had his crucifix pendant, and sported what looked like a flower-patterned jacket. Although it cannot be directly seen, he did not seem to be in possession of Yoru at that time.

After the timeskip, he shows some more wrinkles near the eyes.

In Volume 63 SBS, Oda drew the Shichibukai as children. Mihawk is shown with many scratches and bruises from training. He used a bokken as his weapon. He dressed in a dark-colored open jacket, short pants, shoes and a light-colored belt.

Personality
Like many other characters he has a unique laugh, or uniquely to himself bearing two: "Wahhahhahha/Kukukuku."

Dracule Mihawk is possibly one of the most serious characters in One Piece; very little seems to surprise him, he rarely smiles, and he has only been seen laughing twice in the series so far. He takes the revelation about Luffy being Dragon's son in stride, despite the surprise of those around him. He never unnecessarily reveals emotions on the battlefield, even when he is trumped (such as "Diamond" Jozu intercepting his flying slash aimed at Whitebeard, or Luffy surviving his onslaught).

He displays a sense of honor which other Shichibukai seem to lack, with the exception of Bartholomew Kuma (before his final modification into PX-0) and the former Shichibukai Jinbe. He recognizes and respects the swordsman's code and he even permitted Roronoa Zoro the luxury of training at his hand for his dedication and selflessness. He is also unafraid to reference his title of "Greatest Swordsman in the World" in relation to himself, indicating a high level of confidence in his own abilities (a fairly conceded point).

Mihawk is selective when it comes to fulfilling his duties as a Shichibukai, as evidenced by his history of poor attendance at Shichibukai summons, as well as his decision to hunt and harass some pirates over others. Zeff speculated that the reason Mihawk attacked Don Krieg and his men might have simply been because they disturbed his nap. Mihawk admitted that the only reason he followed them all the way back to East Blue from the Grand Line was to kill time.

Though he is the swordsman above all the world's swordsmen, Mihawk remains grounded. While he has obviously become jaded regarding the abilities of other swordsmen, he is able to recognize talent. In fact, he has a desire to see Roronoa Zoro surpass him after having witnessed Zoro's incredible will and determination after their battle. When he speaks to Zoro, he states he will wait for Zoro, no matter how long it takes and notes that he will continue to be the world's greatest swordsman, showing great confidence in his own skills and abilities. He also understands that Luffy's natural charisma and quick amassing of comrades is his most dangerous attribute.

Mihawk also shows some curiosity for the people he decides to attack. He attempted to strike Whitebeard just to see what the power distance between himself and Whitebeard was and he attacked Luffy just to see if fate is on Luffy's side or not.

He also appears to have a sense of hospitality, having tolerated (somewhat) Perona and Zoro's presence upon his return to Kuraigana Island right after the Whitebeard War; he even went as far as relay to Zoro the events that occurred concerning his captain, Monkey D. Luffy. In addition, he offered a boat to help the Straw Hat's swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, leave the island.

Friends
Although it seems as if he has no friends whatsoever, Mihawk appears to build a level of respect for those he finds interesting enough to battle with, and those who survive. Such an example is when Zoro challenged him to fight at Baratie, and even though he lost, Mihawk was impressed enough to spare him and declare his respect (although indirectly). Despite that, however, he does not seem to have anyone who he is particularly fond of.

Shanks
In the past, Mihawk was a rival to one of the most powerful pirates in One Piece, Shanks. However, Mihawk lost interest in him after Shanks lost his left arm. He retains a neutral, though somewhat friendly relationship with Shanks, and is able to track him down if the need arises. He and Shanks do manage to get along, regardless of the fact that the two are opposites in personalities. Shanks is also able to get Mihawk to join in when he threw a party to celebrate Luffy's coming, even when moments beforehand Mihawk had scorned how laid-back Shanks was.

Mihawk even mused out an apology to Shanks during the battle at Marineford, where he declares that he will not be holding anything back against Luffy right before going after him. When Shanks showed up during the Whitebeard War, Mihawk left the battle, stating that battling Shanks was beyond the scope of the World Government's agreement.

Boa Hancock
Mihawk has shown to be one of the few men who have shown no interest in Boa Hancock's charms or beauty.

Crocodile
During the Battle at Marineford, Mihawk had a negative encounter with Crocodile. When Daz Bones is shown saving Luffy from Mihawk on Crocodile's orders; however he cannot hold his ground against Mihawk's attack for very long. When Mihawk is about to finish him off, Crocodile himself intervenes to prevent his former colleague from causing any further damage. Despite Mihawk being the greatest swordsman in the World, Crocodile still speaks down to him, telling him to watch out since he is in a bad mood.

Gekko Moriah
Mihawk himself has not shown to have direct interactions with Moriah. However, he did live for 2 years with his fellow crew member Perona. When news of his false demise were printed in the newspapers he acknowledged the lack of credibility, seeing Moriah perfectly fine after the war ended.

Buggy
Mihawk encountered Buggy while attacking Luffy during the Whitebeard War at Marineford. Luffy tried to use Buggy as a human shield against Mihawk's attack. Buggy got enraged when Mihawk cuts through him, chopping him to tiny pieces in the process. After using his Devil Fruit powers to reform, Buggy sends one of his patent Muggy Balls at Mihawk. However Mihawk easily deflects it back at Buggy giving the scene a comic effect.

World Government
Being a Shichibukai, Mihawk is an ally of the World Government. However, he does not care about their goals. From his discussion with Sengoku, it is stated that Mihawk rarely attends the meetings at Mariejois. Despite those facts, he receives an amount of respect and fear by the marines. Even Fleet Admiral Sakazuki (being an Admiral at that certain time) referred to Mihawk’s strength, by focusing on his eyes. He also answered the call of the Marines to summon for the upcoming war. The only occasion that Mihawk is shown to be obedient to the World Government is when he went to Marineford to fight against Whitebeard (although he left when Shanks arrived).

He got acquainted with the Straw Hat Pirates prior to the Marines becoming aware of them and he provided shelter and training to Roronoa Zoro. He is also a friend of Shanks, one of the Yonko.

Roronoa Zoro
It's still too early for you to die. My name is Dracule Mihawk! Discover your true self, the true world, become stronger! However long it may take, I shall await you at the top. Surpass this sword! Surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!!! Having lost one rival in Shanks, he now shares a rivalry with Zoro, and is prepared to wait as long as it takes for Zoro to become strong enough to beat him. To this end, Mihawk watches Zoro's progression and is delighted when Zoro gains his first bounty. After the war Zoro is shown prostrating before Mihawk, requesting training from the Shichibukai. Mihawk initially dismisses this request as Zoro reacting to an inability to defeat the Humandrills and escape the island. He chides Zoro and expresses regret for "over-estimating" the swordsman. When Zoro explains that he has defeated the Humandrills and requires training from Mihawk to defeat him. Mihawk comments that in order to make the request Zoro must have found something more valuable than his ambition. He agrees to the request and orders Perona to patch up Zoro so that the training can begin.

Monkey D. Luffy
It's not some sort of special power, but he has the ability to make allies of everyone he meets. And that is the most fearsome ability on the high seas... Mihawk sees Luffy as a great threat. During the battle at Marineford, he expresses that Luffy has the most dangerous ability in the world; that of turning anyone around him into his allies, including former enemies. He even challenges Luffy to a duel. Even though he easily gains the upper hand, Luffy is saved by Vista. However, Mihawk seems amused when he hears about his progress throughout the series. He even accepted Zoro’s request when he heard that he wanted to become stronger for Luffy’s sake.

Don Krieg
Mihawk also made an enemy of Don Krieg, destroying Krieg's entire fleet when he attempted to conquer the Grand Line. Mihawk, for his part, does not even consider Krieg a threat. Upon sighting Mihawk, Krieg's anger led him to attack Mihawk, despite having witnessed Zoro's defeat and his own ship having been sliced apart. Mihawk did not even bother to retaliate, instead merely slashing Krieg's ship again and departing during the distraction.

Other
Mihawk seems to have made lots of enemies in the past. Especially most of the swordsmen of the world want to have a chance to challenge him like the Fifth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Flower Sword Vista who was thrilled to see Mihawk in the battle. He challenged him to battle with pleasure. Also, two okamas from Impel Down attacked him saying that they dueled him in the past. However, Mihawk replied that he doesn’t remember the name of every insect that he crushes. Vista expressed a desire to fight Mihawk and was happy that he got to cross blades with him, calling him the greatest swordsman in the world.

Abilities and Powers


True to his epithet, "Hawk Eyes", Dracule Mihawk has exceptional eyesight, able to easily track Luffy's high-speed Gear Second movements, and strike with extreme precision, releasing a long-range slash at him while there was a chaotic battlefront of New World pirates and Marine officers between them.

In addition, he is also a talented teacher: after training Zoro for two years, he accomplished more than the dojo had achieved in the many years Zoro had trained there. Although it help that Zoro skills were already greatly developed by the time Zoro became Mihawk disciple.

Mihawk's strength is so great that Don Krieg accuses him of having the power of a Devil Fruit. However, in the Databooks, his abilities appear to be pure skill and power. Dracule Mihawk is the only Shichibukai whose strength is based totally on natural human skill, being completely human (Jinbe being a Fishman), and possessing no Devil Fruit powers.

His first demonstration of power was defeating all but one of Don Krieg's fleet of 50 ships and 5,000 men by himself just before a storm struck. Perhaps the most accurate and evident demonstration of his incredible power is the fact that he has remained unharmed during the whole series (just like his fellow Shichibukai Donquixote Doflamingo and Boa Hancock).

Mihawk travels around in a coffin-shaped raft with two green-flamed candles, a single black sail, and a single seat. The fact that he can traverse the unforgiving oceans, as well as the Grand Line itself, in such a meager craft is yet another testament to his abilities.

Physical Abilities
Although he has never been seen resorting to physical combat, his fortitude suggests that he naturally possesses superhuman strength and resilience. It is especially worth noting that, during the Battle of Marineford, while the Whitebeard Pirates (one of the strongest pirate crews in the world, with top members Whitebeard and Ace being killed, Marco being heavily-wounded and Jozu losing his right arm), the Marine Admirals (with Akainu taking a severe beating from Whitebeard's attacks and Aokiji being harmed for the first time in the whole series) and the Shichibukai (with Moriah, Kuma, Teach and former members Crocodile and Jinbe being heavily-wounded) had very difficult battles, Mihawk had remained truly unscathed through the whole conflict.

Swordsmanship


In terms of combat, Mihawk is the single greatest swordsman alive in the One Piece world, naturally commenting on his immense mastery of swordsmanship: back in the East Blue Saga (where Zoro, while at his weakest in the storyline, was still notorious across that entire stretch of ocean as the "Pirate Hunter" and had effectively mastered both "Santoryu" and "Nitoryu" fighting styles), he was capable of effortlessly defeating a three sword-wielding Zoro with the single "crucifix" knife, his Kogatana, hung around his neck disguised as a pendant, generally used as a dinner knife.

He has been known to have frequently fought with Shanks when they were younger. He is also skilled at teaching, as he was shown to have taught Zoro quite extensively during their two years together.

The fact that Mihawk used to be a rival of one of the Yonko implies that Mihawk might be one of the strongest characters in the series. Because of his status, defeating him is Roronoa Zoro's ultimate goal. Mihawk also seems to have great strength, as he was able to stop Zoro, a formidable swordsman with great mastery and enormous strength even to launch entire buildings and destroy them with powerful slashes, with only a single dagger, and handling it with just one hand.

Mihawk demonstrates an immense skill in swordsmanship especially in reference to his Yoru. Having the abilities to slice and destroy entire fleets of ships or giant icebergs and yet graceful enough to deflect the course of bullets with only a slight touch. He is also able to cut through steel with ease and rapidity, as demonstrated with the steel-bodied Mr. 1, whom Zoro struggled to beat.

Weapons
Mihawk has a pendant cross knife worn on his neck. He is shown using it as a tool to eat with, but in his hands it is also a deadly weapon capable of defeating any minor or moderately skilled swordsmen.

Mihawk wields the Black Sword Yoru, the strongest sword in the One Piece world. When he accepts challenges for his title, he only draws this blade for those with enough spirit to earn Mihawk's respect, or enough power to present a threat. Yoru is an ornately-decorated, life-sized sword (about 7 feet) shaped like a crucifix with a shiny black blade, which is curved at the end.

Past
He was among those present at Gol D. Roger's execution. He also made the castle of Kuraigana Island his home.

Much of Mihawk's past remains a mystery. However, he once saw a strong rival in Shanks. Their battles were said to shake the whole of the Grand Line and Mihawk often sought Shanks out for duels.

After Shanks lost his arm ten years before the story, Mihawk ceased seeking him out for duels. At some point, Dracule Mihawk earned the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman" as well as having joined the ranks of the Shichibukai.

Mihawk had been responsible for single-handedly destroying Don Krieg's entire fleet, excluding Krieg's flagship, during his failed attempt at entering and conquering the Grand Line. The destruction of Krieg's fleet drove the pirate from the Grand Line. He then followed Don Krieg to East Blue, to the Baratie and destroyed their flagship.

Baratie Arc
While he is at the Baratie, he encounters the Straw Hat Pirates, and Zoro immediately challenges him. However, Hawk Eyes claims he is not an idiot who uses their all to hunt rabbits and draws out a small pocket knife. Even with his santoryu, Zoro is easily blocked by the knife which leaves him to question if the gap between the two is really that far.

Hawk Eyes pierces Zoro with his pocket knife and he questions Zoro why he did not step back. Zoro says that all the oaths, promises and deals he made would be gone if he had stepped back and says that death would have been better. Mihawk was so impressed by Zoro's spirit, however, that he grants him a face-off against the Black Sword. Zoro then performs his strongest technique, Sanzen Sekkai, but Mihawk completely overpowers it and shatters two of his three swords in the process (all but the Wado Ichimonji).



Zoro, admitting his total defeat, allows himself to be cut down by Mihawk face-to-face, like a true swordsman. Mihawk accepts this offer and cleaves open a massive diagonal cut across Zoro's entire chest, but he holds back just enough to allow Zoro to live. As Luffy attacks Hawk Eyes, he reveals that Zoro is not dead and tells him to surpass himself. Zoro tearfully calls out to him, proclaiming that no matter what, he would never lose again. Afterwards, Mihawk tells Zoro his full name, and gives him a challenge:

It's still too early for you to die. My name is Dracule Mihawk! Discover your true self, the true world, become stronger! However long it may take, I shall await you at the top. Surpass this sword! Surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!!!

After hearing Zoro's goals and giving him a challenge, Mihawk asks Luffy what his goal is. When Luffy tells Mihawk it is to be Pirate King, Mihawk tells him that was even harder than surpassing him.

With the events against Zoro over, Mihawk decides it is time to head back to the Grand Line for a nap. Don Krieg takes offense to the Shichibukai's attitude towards his men and launches an attack on him. Mihawk simply calls out "You fool!" and in one final strike he strucks at Krieg's ship again, causing the already wrecked ship to fall further into pieces. When the dust clears Mihawk is nowhere to be seen.

Loguetown Arc


Soon afterwards, Mihawk is seen visiting Shanks to bring news of Luffy's coming. When he reaches the island where Shanks is, he encounters some members of the Red Hair Pirates. He asks them about their superior's whereabouts. He finds Shanks and shows him Luffy’s first wanted poster.

Shanks says that he cannot let him leave and throws another party despite already being unwell from his previous drinking session.

Jaya Arc
After Montblanc Cricket's decision to help the Straw Hat Pirates reach sky island, Mihawk is seen carrying Luffy's second bounty poster as well as Zoro's first poster on his small ship traveling towards Mariejois. Mihawk is seen again after Luffy defeated Bellamy. He is surprised to discover their new bounty since he does not anticipate on Luffy and Zoro's accomplishment under such a short time.

Mihawk afterward reaches Mariejois. His visit was unexpected by Sengoku as they had planned to find a replacement for the seventh Shichibukai, Crocodile. Laffitte appears and states he wishes to put forward his captain's name for nomination of Shichibukai. The name of "Teach" is put forward by Laffitte.

Marineford Arc
He answered the call to the Shichibukai to battle Whitebeard and join the war, and is later shown dining with the other Shichibukai, except for Jinbe and Boa Hancock. When the execution of Portgas D. Ace begins, he is next seen standing alongside Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gekko Moriah and Boa Hancock, ready for the battle ahead.



When Aokiji froze the two tsunamis that Whitebeard caused, Mihawk was one of the first Shichibukai to attack, wishing to measure his strength against Whitebeard. His attack, "Sekai Ichi no Zangeki" (the strongest slash in the world), was stopped by Jozu.

He shows slight amusement upon Luffy's arrival at Marineford, remarking that the Straw Hat pirate never failed to make things interesting. When Sengoku reveals the fact that Dragon is Luffy's father, he only comments that such a revelation is not really surprising. When Luffy manages to break through the line, Mihawk goes to meet him head on. He addresses an apology to Shanks, saying he will not hold back and wonders if fate will save Luffy from his black sword.



His fight with Luffy mostly consisted of various long-range sword-slash attacks, the first of which attacked Luffy from long range and damaged him, and one which was strong enough to cut off the head of one of the frozen tsunami and send it crashing down upon the battlefield. For a brief moment of time Mihawk consistently launched slashes to Luffy, who managed to execute mostly-successful dodging. However, Luffy could not attack, was losing distance, and was having great trouble even simply dodging. Luffy grabbed Buggy, stuck in Crocodile's Sables, and used him as a shield against Mihawk's attacks. Buggy, enraged, launched a Muggy Ball at Mihawk, who effortlessly deflects it back at Buggy. As Buggy took the hit, Luffy dashed past Mihawk. However, the Shichibukai still had his sights on Luffy.



Marco ordered Vista to take over the battle. As Luffy made his way to the execution platform once again, Mihawk concluded that Luffy's strange ability to make allies out of anyone is the most dangerous ability in the world. After the army of Pacifista appeared, Mihawk commented to Vista that it was time to finish their battle while the latter stated they both had a point in their favor. After Whitebeard got stabbed, Mihawk was the only one to ignore the event and did not even gaze at him. He is later seen fighting in the Oriz Plaza after the pirates managed to get through the siege wall.



When Luffy and Ivankov try again to reach Ace, Mihawk again arrives to stop them, but he is stopped by Daz Bones, of whose name he is aware. Daz Bones is no match for him and is easily defeated, but Crocodile intervenes and engages in combat with Mihawk, telling him to watch out because he is in a bad mood. He is later seen standing alongside Gekko Moriah, seeing Whitebeard's dead, but still standing, body.

After that he is seen leaving the battle with the arrival of Shanks, stating that he agreed to help in the war against Whitebeard, but fighting against Shanks was not part of the agreement.

Post-War Arc


After the battle, Mihawk shows up in the castle on Kuraigana Island. After reading about Moriah's presumed demise, Perona starts to cry. Mihawk, without any sympathy, tells Perona to go cry elsewhere. Perona then scolds Mihawk for his lack of hospitality. Mihawk responds by saying that Perona intruded into his house while he was gone. He also says that despite the newspaper's assertions about Moriah having died during the battle, he was alive during the whole big confrontation between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Marines. However, Mihawk cannot give Perona a definitive answer on whether or not Moriah is indeed alive and questions the validity of the newspaper. Mihawk is unaware of the fact that Doflamingo was ordered to kill Moriah.

He is later seen in the ruins near the castle, watching Zoro's fight against the armed baboons roaming the island. He comments on how Zoro is still far away from the sea even though he was away from the castle for a long time. When Mihawk sees that the boat he provided to Zoro gets damaged, he comments that the boat is now useless, but Zoro brushes off that comment saying that he can just use part of the boat to help him swim to his destination. Mihawk then explains to Zoro the reasons behind the baboons' fighting style, and then asks him to return to the castle and leave the following morning, but Zoro refuses, saying that he needs to reach Luffy. Mihawk gives up, and allows him to do as he pleases.

Zoro later comes back and asks Mihawk to train him. Mihawk tells Zoro to go, believing such an idea to be foolish. He tells him that he should be ashamed of himself, that seeing him come back crawling for help after losing to the baboons is just plain painful to watch and then closes the matter by telling him that he had been overestimating him, thus, that he will not be training him. However, Zoro answers Mihawk that he has already defeated them and that there is nothing left beside his head, but that he is not stupid enough to believe that he could win against him at this moment.

In a rare moment of emotion, Mihawk starts laughing uncontrollably at the absurdity of his demand (training by his hand a swordsman who wants to kill him). However, he comprehends that Zoro is not acting for his own benefit, and, that on the contrary, he found something much more important to him than his own life or dreams. Impressed by his resolve, which is to bear the mark of disgrace for his captain, despite the fact that he is a man who has a great sense of honor. Mihawk gives in and tells Perona to heal Zoro so they can begin his training, which takes place during the next two years.

Major Battles

 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Shanks (numerous times, unseen)
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Krieg Pirates
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Roronoa Zoro
 * Shichibukai and the Marines vs. Whitebeard Pirates and their allies
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Vista
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Daz Bones
 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Crocodile

Filler Battles

 * Dracule Mihawk vs. Jinbe

Anime and Manga Differences
During the war at Marineford, Jinbe comes to Luffy's aid and challenges the swordsman. He uses his Fishman Karate to slow the oncoming cannon balls shot at him that Mihawk then cuts. The two then engage in a short clash, sending Jinbe flying back as he continues to pursue Luffy.

After Luffy's message is revealed, Mihawk and Zoro went outside the castle and Mihawk tells Zoro that the Humandrills are divided in ranks and that there is a leader among them, who has imitated his (Mihawk) swordsmanship style.

Censorship


In the 4Kids dub, the bloody slash he gave Zoro was erased to him just ripping his shirt, plus the drinking scene with Shanks was edited out, too. He was also given a French-Caribbean accent, possibly linked to "Dracule" being a variation on "Dracula", though this is a mismatch against a Transylvanian accent used in popular fiction for vampires.

All of the crosses on Mihawk are edited out in the 4Kids English dub, changing his necklace to an "I," and shortening the "arms" of his sword. This is mainly due to their religious references. In One Piece Grand Battle!, amongst the unlockable art content are unedited artworks from the anime showing pictures of Mihawk without these edits. In the FUNimation dub, his sword and necklace remain unedited. However, in the English version of the game Unlimited Adventure, these previous edits were continued even though the right had already passed to FUNimation, who had decided not to continue this edit.

Etymology
There was some dispute as to Mihawk's name. Many fans argue that his name was "Dracule" or "Juraquille". Viz, 4Kids, and FUNimation chose to use "Dracule" for his name.

His name seems to be formed from "Dracula" (ド ラキュ ラ).

It can be speculated that it is because of Dracula's name being partly in Mihawk's family name and partly because his Japanese Voice Actor does not pronounce the "u". "U" is often silent in Japanese and Japanese voice actors will often not speak the "u" in words even when required to do so. There is currently no explanation as to why "Dracule" exists in the English version although a theory by fans is that it is because of the noted similarity to the name "Dracula" in the first place and a generally acceptance amongst fans is that it is what Oda is aiming for. However, for the name to be "Dracule" correctly, the beginning in Japanese would be "ド" instead of "ジュ". One note is that "ジュ" can be read as "Du" as well as "Ju" which can give the variation "Duracule" and because of interchangeable "l" sound also "Duracure", "Joucurare" and "Jucurares" can exist are possible variation names. Other arguments included that the name "Dracule" stems from a Latin text to Japanese error on Oda's part (also seen with Rob Lucci's name and the word "Luce"), or that it is intended to be an unusual translation in the first place.

On merchandise, it had been reported that "Dracule" existed before; however, there are many problems with relying on merchandise as there have been many mistakes made in the past when a mangaka does not supply a name for a character (such as with Chew and Mr. 2 being referred to as "Chu" and "Bon Clay" until Oda provided the corrected names). "Juraquille", the other popular fan name, did not transfer back into Japanese well. Its romanizaion in itself is "Jurakuyrure", which is a mismatch against the romanization of Mihawk's name ("Jurakyūru").

Fans often avoided the argument over his name by using just "Mihawk" and miss out his surname completely as without confirmation from Oda, it was considered the most neutral take on his name. To this end, with the question on Mihawk's Latin name open for debate, he was subject to many variable degrees of false etymology.

The One Piece Green: Secret Pieces databook confirmed his name to be "Dracule" finally ending this dispute after years of fan debate.

Trivia

 * His favorite drink seems to be wine. There was a bottle and a glass of red wine near him both when he sat with other Shichibukai at Mariejois and in his living room at Kuraigana.
 * The only duel between Shanks and Mihawk that was actually seen is in the game One Piece: Unlimited Cruise 2. It was used as an intro for both of them as bosses.
 * On his character poster for Grand Battle! that appears when he is unlocked, his name is spelled "Mihark".
 * In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Mihawk ranked as the 12th most popular character, making him the most popular of the Shichibukai.
 * He was the first Shichibukai shown in the series.

Links

 * Hawk - Wikipedia article about the animal reference in Mihawk's name

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