Mythbusters/Misunderstandings and Misinformation

Due to different levels of ability and the fluid nature of translating Japanese to English, sentences will frequently be translated inaccurately. Sometimes the simplest or smallest mistranslated word can lead to confusion amongst fans. Other times, the way the translator writes the sentence in English (i.e. their use of words and grammar) can also cause confusion.

Higuma the Bear
Myth: Higuma's nickname is "the Bear"

Fact: This is actually a mistranslation by Viz. "Higuma" is the name of a Japanese bear living in the mountains. This is probably just a nod to the fact that Higuma is a mountain bandit and Viz added "the bear" because American readers would not get the reference. However, his name appears in the Japanese manga as 山賊棟梁ヒグマ (sanzoku touryou Higuma) "Mountain bandit leader Higuma."

The word Nakama has special meaning in One Piece
"Nakama" (仲間) is a Japanese word that directly translates to friend, comrade, and under some context such as One Piece, crewmate. Many fans of the series believe the word means "people who are considered closer than family", though that is not a part of the official dictionary definition of the word.

The special bond the word has come to represent for the fans, comes from the way Luffy's crew members, in particular, treat each other. However, Luffy and his crew are simply good to each other. This is shown often as most other pirates do not treat their so-called "nakama" with as much respect. There are some exceptions, like the Arlong Pirates and Buggy Pirates, after Buggy's fight with Luffy. Others, like Don Krieg and Crocodile, do not have any respect for their crewmates/associates (but still know that they are essential for maximum success) while some pirates even willingly kill their own "nakama", like Kuro. Also, one of the tightest knit crews in the entire series, the Whitebeard Pirates do not often refer to each other as "Nakama", but act as though they are family, referring to their captain as "Father" (Oyaji).

The majority of fans who watch fansubs, feel that the word has such an impact on the show, and thus the word nakama should remain as it is, and not be translated to something like shipmate or crewmate. However, there is nothing in the Japanese language that suggests the word has this special meaning, so it is basically a fan-term to the English speaking fanbase, as Eiichiro Oda has never made any comments in interviews or SBS answers that would lead credence to it.

Nakama was first left untranslated by a fansub group known as Kaizoku Fansubs, during the Arlong Park Arc. Since then, many other groups have left the word untranslated. This tradition has also moved on to other anime and manga. Though hardly translated by fans, it's almost always translated by official English versions (the one exception seems to be in the FUNimation speed subs, where nakama is sometimes left untranslated).

Bon Clay
Myth: The latter part of Mr. 2's name is Bon Clay.

Fact: This is a mistranslation made in almost every translation. It even appears on a lot of Japanese merchandise; never-the-less, in the manga his name has only been written in English once: as Bon Kurei. This name is a reference to him being his own female partner since female agents have holiday names and Bon Kurei are a series of festivals held in Japan. This is made even more likely by the fact that his coat in the anime says 盆暮れ (Bon Kurei) instead of the manga's おかま道 (The Okama Way) Or something like ボン・クレ (Bon Kurei in Katakana) which would imply the word really were English (IE: "Bon Clay"). Speaking of which...

Okama Coat
Myth: Mr. 2's coat is supposed to say "Okama Way" (おかま道) and he's supposed to be using "Okama Kenpo" not "Ballet Kenpo"! 4kids/FUNimation/The Fansubbers mistranslated it/censored it!

Fact: Mr. 2's coat does in fact say "Okama Way" and he does use "Okama Kenpo", but only in the manga and in Movie 8. For some reason, Toei had a problem with Mr. 2's constant use of the term (Possibly to avoid angering the homosexual community) so they changed it. His coat now says "Bon Kurei" and almost every time he says "Okama" it has been changed to "Ballerina/Ballet" or "Oh Come My Way". Their standards changed sometime before the release of Movie 8, because he uses all the proper terms in that film and in the Impel Down arc, but for those Alabasta episodes, the change was made by Toei, not any translators.

Baroque Works Agents
Myth: The only member to have a real name is Mr. 2 whose real name is Bon Kurei.

Fact: All the members of Baroque Works are bound to have real names other than their codenames. Examples so far:


 * Out of the 4 infiltrating members going against Baroque Works, only 2 were revealed Miss Wednesday (Nefertari Vivi) and Mr. 8 (Igaram) while the other 2 Miss Monday and Mr. 9 have yet to be revealed.
 * Mr. 0 is the codename used by the Shichibukai Crocodile.
 * Miss All-Sunday was the codename given to Nico Robin before she joined the Straw Hat crew.
 * Mr. 1 is the codename used by Daz Bones.
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei is a mix of codenames that is used to describe his character. This is the one member of Baroque Works which fans assume that his real name is Bon Kurei when this is actually his holiday part of his codename. His real name was revealed in the Impel Down story arc as "Bentham".
 * Mr. 3 was thought not to have a real name until it was revealed in the Impel Down story arc which is "Galdino".
 * Miss Doublefinger's real name is Paula.

Eating two Devil Fruits
Myth: When you eat 2 Devil Fruits, the second fruit will replace the first fruit's power.

Fact: Eiichiro Oda stated in one of his SBS that you cannot transfer the fruit's power to another person, if you take one bite of it the fruit becomes normal. This caused fans to think he meant if you eat the second Devil Fruit it will replace the first fruit but in Enies Lobby Arc, Lucci and Blueno said if you eat the second fruit after eating the first one, your body will explode and you will die.

Fact: An exception to the rule stated above is Marshall D. Teach, user of the Yami Yami no Mi fruit, who stole the power of the Gura Gura no Mi fruit through some currently unknown means not related to eating it.

Zoans can talk to Animals


Myth: People who eat Zoan fruits can talk to animals.

Fact: While this rumor is not as popular as it once was, some people still think that eating a Zoan fruit allows the user to talk to animals. This mistake is normally made because Chopper can talk to animals and humans. Though the reason for this is because he was an animal to begin with, Chopper can speak to people because intelligence is a power that comes with being human and therefore, his fruit. Although humans cannot talk to animals, many animals in One Piece often display a certain amount of human language understanding, though this is normally done for story or comic relief. In an anime filler arc there is a girl named Apis who ate a Devil Fruit that allows her to understand animals' thoughts/feelings and talk back to them, but her fruit is a Paramecia Devil Fruit.

Pirate Summit
Myth: Ace said something about the pirate summit so it must be a place or event.

Fact: There is no pirate summit, what Ace meant was "See you at the top" but he did not mean that there will be a pirate summit. Since "top" can also mean "summit" (as in the summit of a mountain) the line was easy to confuse. The "See you at the top" line was a figure of speech by Ace, challenging Luffy to become strong like him and join the top tier of strength. Pirate summit was a mistranslation found in many fan translations and sub translations. K-F, one of the Fansubbers, mistranslated it, and Stephen the script translator also mistranslated it as well. In the English manga, Viz translated it as "See you on the high seas". Also the piece of paper Ace gave Luffy was not an invitation, as it was blank. This paper is later revealed to be a Vivre Card, a special paper that is made from part of a person (usually fingernail trimmings) that allows the holder to know what direction the paper's owner is in.

The higher the bounty the stronger they are
Myth: There's no way someone like (for example) Buggy can beat Luffy. He is worth 15,000,000 Luffy is worth 400,000,000. Buggy is far too weak.

Fact: While some characters in the series such as Bellamy used them as a power rating (to his cost), they are not. Bounties are a threat level, not a power level. In other words, it is how much the World Government wants the person dead or captured. Someone weak can be issued a high bounty while a stronger one can be issued a lower bounty. However, a character's "physical" strength could very well be a threat to the World Government, for example Luffy, despite him not being very intelligent. This was made clear by Eiichiro Oda in one SBS. Another example is Blackbeard not having a bounty at all. Nico Robin is yet another example where she has had a bounty of 79,000,000 since she was a child due to her ability to read Poneglyphs. The bounties are also limited by the World Government's knowledge; they are unaware of the true strength of all pirates. Chopper for example, has an extremely low bounty despite his strength, because the World Government incorrectly assumed he was a harmless pet. There is a strong correlation between strength and bounty size because, as was mentioned, a pirate's physical strength can be a threat to the World Government. In other words, physical strength is only one of the factors taken into account for a bounty issue.

Example
How bounty issuing works can be shown through an example. After Enies Lobby, Usopp got a bounty that was higher than Chopper's but Chopper is definitely stronger than Usopp in terms of physical strength. This situation is most likely based on eye witness accounts and testimonies from the Marines and Government agents stationed in Enies Lobby during the Straw Hats' raid on the judicial island.

Among Usopp's actions during Enies Lobby, at least two accounts witnessed by Enies Lobby staff would be very notable. The first is the burning of the Government flag and the second is the sniping of a high ranking government director, Spandam, from a large distance. While these are not feats of pure physical strength, they can be considered acts of terrorism by the World Government comparable to burning a national flag or shooting a president. The mere description of these feats can easily be over-exaggerated and can be speculated to be signs of an extremely powerful character by others. Given this info, the authorities would most likely consider Usopp a threat despite not knowing his true strength, hence why Usopp got a high bounty. However, Usopp's astounding sniping abilities could also be a contributing factor to his bounty, as he was able to shoot Spandam from a distance so vast, and with such a strong wind blowing, that none of the guards present could succesfully retaliate, which is an impressive feat by itself.

Chopper, on the other hand, while he showed more feats of physical strength during Enies Lobby, almost none were properly seen by Enies Lobby staff. While the battered body of Kumadori was discovered by Enies Lobby staff, the source of his defeat was unseen to them and vast speculation as to what happened was open to them. Also since Chopper was completely immobile during the Buster Call attack and most likely unnoticed by the Marine captains, the only pure confirmation of Chopper's affiliation with the Straw Hats, and even existence, that the World Government would know of would be the picture taken of him in Water 7. Since the picture only shows what can be speculated by authorities as a pet and not a monster, Chopper would most likely be considered less of a threat than the rest of the crew, hence why Chopper got the lowest bounty.

King of the Sunny
Myth: The Straw Hat's new ship should be "King of the Beasts".

Fact: When the Straw Hat Pirates saw their new ship for the first time, Iceburg made a comment that Franky believes that the Pirate King should ride a "Beastly ship". This led fans to assume that the ship is to be called the "King of the Beasts". However, that's not the official name; in chapter 439, the ship was given an official name: Thousand Sunny, a name approved by all 8 crew members.

"If I can see it..."


Myth: Robin stated she can only form limbs on what she sees when she grabbed that South Bird back on Jaya Island.

Fact: A popular misunderstanding of Robin's powers. This was not helped by the later event of her having to form eyes on Luffy's arm during her Usopp rescue when they reached the clouds before Skypiea. Robin wasn't implying she literally needed to SEE the bird in order to grab it, but rather that she just needed to know where it is. This implies that like any limb on a person her additional ones are harder to manipulate when she can not see what she is doing, but does not literally mean she can only form body parts within her sight range. The bird had been hidden until then and once the bird was in sight and Robin knew where it was it could be grabbed.

There are a number of examples of her closing her eyes when she attacks or turning around or attack something that is not within direct sight. A good example is the previously mentioned Usopp rescue. She had her eyes closed when she formed those eyes on Luffy's arm, not to mention the end of his arm was well out of sight by the time she formed them.

Garp Captured Roger
Myth: Garp captured Gol D. Roger.

Fact: Garp did not capture Roger, but merely fought with and cornered the Pirate King on several occasions. Early translations of chapter 431 mistranslated the phrase leading many people to believe that Roger was captured by Garp. It is also revealed that Roger turned himself in, and the Marines only said that they captured him because it made them look good in the public eye.

Moriah a former Shichibukai
Myth: Robin stated Moriah was a former Shichibukai.

Fact: This was an early misconception from the pre-introduction of Moriah. According to some sources, the term "moto Shichibukai" ("former member of the Shichibukai") appeared within Moriah's description box during the original serialization. Actually this was a fan mistranslation. However early printings of Volume 47 (page 5) mistakenly label Moriah as "former Shichibukai" in the character's description and volume summary, but not in the chapters.

Moriah a Giant
Myth: Moriah is a giant. Just look at the size of him in Chapter 449!

Fact: Occasionally Oda changes the scale of characters, Moriah was one of these examples of rescaling. Due to the scale that of the three zombies that woke him up against him, most jumped to the conclusion that he was a giant. When he was fully introduced in chapter 455, the actual size of him was revealed. He is a large human like the Kairiki Destroyers and Whitebeard. Some translations have referred to him as a giant; this is either a mistake or not meant the giant race, like when giant is used to refer to a very tall person in the real world.

Moriah's nickname is King of the Depths
Myth: When introduced, his box name writes "King of the Depths, Shichibukai Gekko Moriah".

Fact: The full title for the term Shichibukai is Ouka Shichibukai, which literally translates into Below King Seven Armed Seas. Fan mistranslation has caused people to assume that the Below King part is his nickname and people went with the term King of the Depths as his nickname when in reality, it is simply part of the Shichibukai title. All other Shichibukai members have the same title written in their name boxes.

Dog-Pen
Myth: The name of the zombie that hosted Sanji's shadow during the Thriller Bark Arc was "Dog-Pen."

Fact: The zombie's name is Inuppe, which is a combination of "inu" meaning "dog" and "penguin" but is not quite the same as just saying "dog penguin." Usopp refers to it as Dog-Pen (also translated as Pendog or Denguin) in chapter 453, but this is not an official name. This is one of the most common errors by any fan to One Piece, however an accepted one as there was originally no way of recognizing Sanji's zombie otherwise.

Absalom raped Nami
Myth: Nami was raped in that bath scene by Absalom in Chapter 446.

Fact: Since he plucked her out of the bath and threw her against a wall to examine her, some mistake this as "rape". However, rape is when you force someone into an act of sexual intercourse, which Absalom did not do to Nami. Therefore while it was indeed a form of sexual assault, she wasn't raped.

Mihawk's Blade type
Myth: Mihawk's sword is a Grosses Messer.

Fact: Mihawk's blade is one of the Saijō Ō Wazamono Grade Swords, a katana type sword. Mihawk's highly decorative handle (hilt) is confusing since Katana do not have straight crossguards, instead having a round 'tsuba' guard. However, the term "Katana" literally refers to the sword blade and not the sword as a whole as the west has come to view. However, since good blades were scarce, the hilt was usually considered replaceable and they would be reused over and over again.

The reason why Mihawk's blade is often mistaken for a Grosses Messer is because of the fact that its highly decorative handle more resembles a Western sword. The most notable and accepted reason for the blade to be known as a Grosser Messer is because the style of the blades are similar to each other.

Final Yonko
Myth: As an empress, Hancock is a Yonko.

Fact: Hancock was thought by some to be the last of the Yonko, due mainly to her title being translated as empress, the feminine form of emperor. Although the translation can be considered accurate, the Japanese terms are different It has been revealed that Hancock is a Shichibukai, and her title is given for being the guardian and governor of her native Kuja tribe on Amazon Lily, which would further solidify she is not a Yonko due to the island being in the Calm Belt.

The final Yonko is revealed in Chapter 581 to be Big Mom. Later in Chapter 610, her real name is revealed to be Charlotte Linlin, and in Chapter 651 she is shown for the first time in shadow.

There is no Dadan
Myth: The name mayor Woop Slap gives when he is talking about Luffy being trouble is "Dadan." This is wrong, it should be "Dragon".

Fact: "Dadan" is a different character that had at that point not been introduced. Woop Slap wasn't talking about Dragon at all, they have different katakana spellings. Another related rumor is that "Dragon" is a bad translation by fansubs of "Dadan", which a few did. Dadan was introduced in Chapter 582.

Male and Female Fish/mermen
Myth: The male Mermen look like Arlong, the females are the ones that look like Mermaids.

Fact: There are several variations of this once popular myth, all of them incorrect. In the past, due to the fact the name for Mermaids (人魚) was just reversed for the Fishmen(魚人) the name of Fishmen had been mistranslated into "Mermen". The misconception was even carried across to the 4Kids dub, which referred to Arlong's crew incorrectly as "Mermen".

Many fans had been left with the impression that Mermaids were the female of the species and Arlong's crew were what the male looked like. Even when Hachi's mini-series was written showing both the Fishwoman Octopako and Mermaid Keimi, fans continued to make this mistake. In one of the SBSs, Oda himself verified that the two people were not the same race, yet despite this many fans continued to make the same mistakes. It wasn't until the start of the Whitebeard War Saga that these set of fans began to accept the two were different.

Pappug further explains in the Fishman Island arc that if a fishman and a mermaid have kids, their child could be a fishman, a fishwoman, a merman or a mermaid.

Laki and Aisa
Myth: Laki and Aisa are sisters.

Fact: They are in fact cousins, Aisa's mother is Laki's aunt.

Uncle Kizaru
Myth: Kizaru is Sentomaru's uncle.

Fact: There is currently no evidence to support that Kizaru and Sentomaru are related in the family sense. While Sentomaru refers to Kizaru as "Kizaru no ojiki", which can be translated as "Uncle", this can also mean that he is simply referring to him as boss (much like the Yakuza). However, this rumor, due to the direct translation, has spread across message boards, and of course YouTube. At one point, the rumor made its way to Wikipedia itself and was confirmed as a fact, but this is the sort of reason why the One Piece wiki was created. It should be noted that several characters referred to friends using family terms e.g. Chimney would refer to Luffy and Nami as "kaizoku-niichan" (pirate-brother) and "kaizoku-neechan" (pirate-sister) respectively. Johnny and Yosaku both referred to Zoro as 'aniki' as well. The best example is the Franky Family who all refer to Franky as "aniki" (big brother), since the closeness between was such that they considered themselves like a real family, hence the name. Another thing that could have given off that Kizaru and Sentomaru are kin is the fact that the kanji spelling for the latter's name spells "peach" keeping up with Momotaro's naming scheme of the three admirals and those linked to them. In any case, "Uncle" Kizaru is nothing more than a title that Sentomaru gives him showing a great level of respect.

Hito Hito no Mi: Model Female
Myth: Chopper ate the male Hito Hito Fruit, so there must be a female Hito Hito Fruit.

Fact: A misunderstanding regarding the models of Zoans. Though Zoans have model variations, not all of them have a variation so far (examples include the Mogu Mogu no Mi and the Uma Uma no Mi). This a misunderstanding that surfaces from time to time in the fandom though in general it is not that common. In regards to "Man" and "Woman" models, Chopper is only a man because he started out as a male reindeer before consuming the fruit and Zoans does not change gender, they merely transform the user into another species, human in the Hito Hito no Mi's case.

Double D Roger
Myth: His name is Gold D. Roger.

Fact: His Japanese name is ゴール・D・ロジャー romanized to Gōru D. Rojā (note there is no "D" in Gōru) and in Latin text is written in the storyline as "Gol". When we combine the "Gol" with his "D." we get "Gold" hence the origins of "Gold Roger". It is not uncommon to still see "Gold D. Roger" being used as not only is it a common error linked back to his name, but is used in several common scanlations such as those used at the scan site onemanga and for a long time the MSN site One Piece V.2.

Tom a Sunny
Myth: Tom was a Sun Pirate, he has their tattoo!

Fact: Tom does have a similar tattoo, but it is not the same as theirs. From flashbacks you can see Tom with his tattoo many years before the Sun Pirates were formed.

Hancock's Haoshoku Haki Mastery
Myth: Hancock states she has not mastered Haoshoku Haki yet.

Fact: This was a mistranslation. What she was actually saying was that she, like Luffy possesses it but he had not gotten control over it yet.

Pandaman in Impel Down
Myth: Pandaman is now more than just an Easter Egg character as he is officially imprisoned at Impel Down. If you do not believe me look at Mr. 2 Bon Kurei's list...

Fact: ...And the several alternative versions of this myth! Fans seem to forget when it came to Pandaman's appearance in Impel Down the nature of his appearances and who he is intended to be. His name can appear in many places, an example is on a gravestone in Thriller Bark, however that did not mean Pandaman is dead (though a Pandaman zombie was seen in places in the anime). The only time the storyline affected Pandaman's appearances greatly was during the Amazon Lily Arc in which he is replaced by Pandawoman. In reminder of Pandaman's nature and appearances, fans need to remember that Pandaman also appears on the level above he was listed as being imprisoned on.

End of One Piece is Near
Myth: Oda is about to end the series!

Fact: An error misunderstanding on Oda's part. Oda said in one SBS that he was where he was for the ending. This meant he had all the elements of the story now in place and had set up everything he needed for One Piece's ending. However many fans (in particular this impacted the Japanese fandom most of all) mistook this as Oda stating One Piece was about to end.

Dadan's Appearance


Myth: Dadan was the man in a flashback with Luffy and he looks like the younger Gorosei.

Fact: That was Garp, Dadan was still off-screen and had not yet made her full appearance until Chapter 582.

Ace's Father
Myth: Ace is Dragon's son.

Fact: This one caught many veteran fans and editors out and even the characters within the One Piece series displayed such confusion. It was presumed when Ace mentioned that he and Luffy had the blood of a criminal running through their veins, that Ace was referring to their father being the same person. In which case, Luffy and Ace calling each other "brothers" meant that Ace was also a son of Dragon. This later was proven false in a surprise that shocked many, when Roger turned out to be Ace's father and Luffy and Ace merely brothers by claim.

Inner Chicken
Myth: That chicken in Chapter 401 was Usopp's inner chicken.

Fact: This is the most popular misunderstanding in the One Piece fandom in the forums. When the spoiler of 401 came out with a small spoiler picture of a chicken, some fans googled the text to translate it, they got the mistranslated version saying that the chicken in the spoiler picture was a talking chicken that was suppose to appear in Usopp's past, when Jabra woke up; Usopp supposedly ran away but remembered the chicken and decided to go back to fight Jabra. When the full text was out however, and someone translated the text without the help of google it was found out that the chicken was in fact Jabra's pet (like Hattori who was Rob Lucci's pet) and its only role was waking Jabra up to realize that Usopp is in front of him. This also proved that google translation or bablefish translation is unreliable.

Aokiji is the Strongest
Myth: Aokiji is the strongest man of the Marines.

Fact: This myth owes its existence to an awkward translation where the Gorosei in Chapter 303 mention Aokiji as the most powerful of the Marines. This was not a comment on Aokiji himself, but his rank as an Admiral and as such Kizaru and Akainu could also be considered the strongest men of the Marines. Later it has been translated as the "mightiest military force" to avoid confusion. Although this myth has lost some off its appeal after the appearance of the other Admirals, it seems to inevitably resurrect itself whenever there is an forum argument on which Admiral would win if they fought each other.

In chapter 650, Jinbe reveals that Aokiji and Akainu had an all-out fight, and the winner was Akainu. While there are currently no details on the fight, it was stressed that they were equally matched for 10 days.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again!
Myth: Islands on the Grand Line are set at different times (meaning in the long run time is different on each island).

Fact: From the explanation to Little Garden and why it was still in prehistoric stages. Not a common myth, but one seen from time to time. On the Grand Line, access and technology create a diverse effect on the islands, some islands such as Water 7 fall behind others, where in Amazon Lily's case the Sea King's of the calm belt are to blame for the islands poor progress against its neighboring islands. However the misunderstanding is a translation error seen in some scans and subs, leading some to believe islands like Little Garden are set in prehistoric times because time travels differently there. The translation error is usually put down to the use "Time" being used as "Progression" in the wording. The survival of prehistoric species on Little Garden is therefore the result of the island's isolation, similar to the survival of Marsupials in Australia in the real world, rather than the effect of a time anomaly.

In the filler Rainbow Mist Arc the Rainbow Mist leads into a dimension named Ape's Concert where the time obviously runs differently then in the rest of the world, allowing the Straw Hat Pirates to meet the Pumpkin Pirates who were trapped 50 years earlier as children. However, The Rainbow Mist is both non-canon and a unique phenomenon.

Level of Shanks and Whitebeard's Haki
Myth: Shanks and Whitebeard do not have Haōshoku Haki.

Fact: In early scans of Chapter 570, part of a quote from a Whitebeard pirate was unfortunately lost in translation. The full quote goes that "Luffy has Haōshoku Haki just like Pops and Red Hair."

The Marineford War is broadcasted all over the world
Myth: Everyone in the world is able to see the war on the video.

Fact : The video broadcast is only performed in Sabaody Archipelago. From there, reporters diffuse the information to their own headquarters. The confusion comes from the fact that in Chapter 550, it was shown that everyone is aware of the immensity of the war, but the same chapter explains later how the information is provided.

Dragon is a Noble
Myth: Dragon is a noble because he is from the Goa Kingdom.

Fact: Dragon said that he hailed from the kingdom but never mentioned that he was a noble. If this were true then other members of his family including Garp and Luffy would have to be nobles too. Plus being a citizen of the Goa Kingdom does not make one a noble by default.

Zoro the First Mate


Myth: Zoro is the First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Fact: Zoro was the first to join Luffy in what later became the Straw Hat Pirate crew, but neither Luffy, Zoro, nor anyone else has ever said Zoro was the first mate. Each member of the crew has had a job profession assigned or announced already in the storyline. To date, Zoro is regarded as "Bounty Hunter" by profession and "champion" or "partner" in crew role, although yet another argument is First Mates on other crews have been described as the captain's "champion". Both the manga translation by Viz and the anime version dubbed by 4Kids and recently FUNimation, as well as the English translation of the games have also referred to him as this role. However their translations are not always direct ones, as was the case with Kuina in the 4Kids version, of the Japanese text and may have some changes due to culture differences and/or censorship.

One Manga has also included a scanlation of chapter 499 with him referred to as "first mate" but that phrase was not in the raw (the actual phrase translates as "second member" and not First Mate (副船長, Fuku Senchō, translation; "Vice Captain") though the second in command of a ship is the First Mate.

Even on this wikia, arguments over Zoro's classified role have occurred in the past, but to date officially Oda has never listed anyone as the Straw Hat Pirates First Mate and it is for now considered incorrect to name him as the First Mate until stated otherwise.

Enel and Lucci
Myth: Oda confirmed that if Enel were actually a wanted pirate, he would have a bounty of no less than 500,000,000 however, Oda also stated that if Enel were to fight Lucci, that Lucci would win without breaking a sweat.

Fact: This appeared in the Enel page in Wikipedia somewhere in Sept. 2006. This misunderstanding caused a huge uproar in the fan boards. Oda only stated that if Enel was a wanted pirate his bounty would be no less than 500,000,000 ,as there would be pirates on the Blue Sea that can be stronger than him, but Oda never said that if Enel fought Lucci, Lucci would win.

Oars will be in Chopper Plus
Myth: Oars appeared at the end of one of the trailers for Episode of Chopper Plus as a silhouette towering over Drum Castle. He must appear in the film since he is said to have died in a land of ice and snow which sounds just like a description of Drum Island.

Fact: This was later proven false with the release of the film. The appearance of Oars was simply there to promote the One Piece Anime as it entered the Thriller Bark Arc.

Whitebeard commanders strength
Myth: Each Whitebeard commander is as strong as 100 men.

Fact: This is a mistranslation of the Japanese word 百人力 (hyakuninriki) said by Jinbe in Chapter 562. Translated literally it means the force of hundred men but is in fact an idiom for tremendous strength.

Timeskip Myth
Myth: The timeskip is only in the movies. Oda stated in the interview in the Strong World movie artbook that the 10th movie is Luffy's last adventure as a 17-year old. Therefore the timeskip will not happen in the main series and Luffy is aged 18 years in all events after Movie 10.

Fact: The full statement from Oda was "And as far as something that will hold true for both the manga and the anime, this will be Luffy's last adventure as a 17 year-old", thus this misconception resulted from not reading the whole sentence. Furthermore, there is absolutely definitive proof that Oda did mean for the timeskip to happen in the main series, not just the movies, since one did indeed happen. It was confirmed in Chapter 597 that the SH pirates would meet in 2 years. And with Chapter 598 (titled "2 Years Later"), Luffy reappeared in the story at the age of 19.

What Keimi said about Hody Jones?
Myth: In Chapter 618, Keimi says to Nami that there are people stronger than Jones.

Fact: That was a mistranslation. Keimi actually says that Jones' mind is more dangerous than his strength.

Luffy hating Fishman Island?
Myth: Also in Chapter 618, Luffy states that he is starting to hate Fishman Island.

Fact: Again, that was also a mistranslation. Luffy actually said that Fishman Island is starting to hate him.

Zoro's New Bounty
Myth: Zoro's bounty increased during the timeskip by 40 million beli, from 120,000,000 to 160,000,000.

Fact: In the Jump version of Chapter 614, Neptune said that his bounty was 160,000,000; however, this was revealed to be a printing mistake in Volume 62, where the original number was stated.

Luffy's normal attacks are "Gear First"
Myth: When Luffy uses his normal attacks, these are part of "Gear First" because these attacks were used before "Gear Second" and "Gear Third".

Fact: Luffy's normal powers have never been called "Gear First" in the series, and the term "Gear First" has never been used. This term exists purely within fanbase, and its use is nothing more than fan terminology.

Blackbeard Did Not use the Gura Gura no Mi During the Timeskip
Myth: Jinbe said that Blackbeard did not use any of the Gura Gura no Mi's powers when he took control of Whitebeard's territory.

Fact: Some scanlation groups made an error regarding the translation of Jinbe's statement. The correct translation is "After the old man's (Whitebeard's) death, he (Blackbeard) was able to conquer those regions almost immediately. / A feat he accomplished using none other than the Gura Gura powers that he stole from the old man himself."