Roronoa Zoro/Misc.

Early Concepts


Originally, Zoro was planned by Oda to be the bodyguard of Buggy. A picture of an incarnation of him in Buggy's crew was then later released in Volume 3 along with another picture of Buggy's crew. Oda described Buggy's crew as a family unit, in which Zoro was the elder brother.

Zoro has occasionally appeared wearing glasses in some of the color illustrations by Oda and in the 11th opening of the anime.

+

Zoro's Past
Zoro's past was expanded upon in the anime. Zoro was a traveler who went around defeating dojos for their signs. However, there was one person Zoro could not beat - the sensei's daughter, Kuina. In the anime she is the reason he joins her father's dojo in the first place. Kuina's father made a deal that if he could defeat her Zoro would take the sign. If not, Zoro would have to train under him. When given the opportunity to use as many swords as he wanted, he grabbed as many as he could carry and faced off against Kuina. He lost and was told he had to start with one sword before he could use more. As per the consequences of his loss, he trained at the dojo as promised.

In the manga, Zoro enters to see her dead body, eyes covered and surrounded by the students and accuses her of running away, in the anime no such scene is shown, but a funeral takes place for her instead, though later on "Ocean Dream" arc in the anime, the original manga scene is shown in a flashback.

His story is also extended in the anime by showing the time he first met and befriended Johnny and Yosaku. They cash in when Zoro takes out a large bounty and, given they pay his tab at the bar he was at for his food, can keep the rest of the money for themselves as an apology for taking their 'head'. Later, Dick appears in the town with his horde of bandits, who proceed to loot the town. Johnny and Yosaku watch as a child tries to stop the thief to no avail. Johnny convinces Yosaku that they must stop him, to which Yosaku reluctantly agrees. The two are no match for Dick, but luckily Zoro comes to claim the bounty on Dick's head to pay for a katana that he broke. After a complete victory by Zoro, Johnny and Yosaku look up to Zoro and start to call him "Aniki".

Straw Hat Separation


His adventure in Shikkearu Kingdom is also extended in the anime.

Not only did Perona refuse to give Zoro his swords back, but she also tried to turn Zoro into her servant by using her Devil Fruit powers. She got as far as managing to dress Zoro like her former subordinate, Kumashi (covered in bandages), while he had passed out before he woke up and left the room in search of his swords. In the anime, Zoro's training will begin by defeating the leader of the humandrills who copied the swordsmanship of Mihawk.

Running Gags
In most fillers, his lack of direction is further ridiculed as he has gone in the wrong direction even though his guide was still pointing in the correct way, and even turning to the right on a straight path.

Also, ever since episode 111, Zoro has been called marimo (moss-head in the dub) by Sanji in reference to his oddly colored green hair.

Wano Country Arc
At the beginning of the Wano Country Arc, the manga first showed Zoro at the magistrate's home where he cut down the magistrate. The anime expands on Zoro's encounter with the magistrate. One night after drinking alcohol, Zoro ran into the culprit of the street murders before he was falsely arrested by law enforcement. After striking down the magistrate, the anime also shows him fighting the magistrate's men. When he retrieves his swords, Zoro destroys the magistrate's home.

Merchandise
As a main character, Zoro has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. He has been featured in the series of models Portrait of Pirates. He has featured in trading figure sets such as One Piece Motion Figure box and the One Piece Styling Figures. When the Wii game, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, was released Zoro was one of the crew produced as a figure in the One Piece Locations Trading Figures series.

He also featured in One Piece Gashapon sets, including the 5 piece One Piece VS Figure Gashapon set. Another Gashapon set he featured in was the One Piece Full Color R Gashapon, of what he was featured twice. He was sold alongside Robin in the One Piece Monkey Island Mascot Keychain series.

He was issued alongside Kuina in a One Piece DeQue set featuring the Straw Hats and their past mentors/loved ones.

Songs

 * "Eyes of Zoro"
 * "Spirit of Zoro"
 * "Holy Holiday!" (as back-up singer to Luffy)
 * "Respect!" (Luffy, Zoro and Sanji)
 * "Family" (with other Straw Hats)
 * "Utae! Jingle Bell" (with other Straw Hats)
 * "You Are the One" (with other Straw Hats)
 * "Sekaichi No Otoko to Yobareru Tame ni" (Zoro, Sanji and Usopp)
 * "Akuma no Mi" (Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji)
 * "Jungle Fever" (with other Straw Hats)
 * "A Thousand Dreamers" (With other Straw Hats)
 * "We Are!" (Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji, Robin and Usopp)

Support Appearances

 * Chopper's Big Adventure
 * One Piece (Game Boy Advance)

Non-Playable Appearances

 * J-Stars Victory VS

Other Media

 * Zoro appears in every year of One Piece Premier Show. He also appears in the 2015 and 2018, Segment 1 shows of One Piece Water Battle, and every year of Sanji's Pirates Restaurant except 2014.
 * One of the Tokyo One Piece Tower's exhibits, "Zoro's Soul of Edge", centers around the swordsman, and a statue of Zoro appears at the Straw Hat Crew's Great Feast. Zoro appears in most Tokyo One Piece Tower special animations and stage shows, including every Live Attraction, One Piece 4D, The Great Treasure of Tongari Island, Immersive Theater: When the Box of Time Opens, Visitors from the Wrecked Ship, and Piece Trail: The Adventurers and the Amazing Spring.
 * Zoro appears alongside his crew in One Piece Art NUE.
 * Zoro appears in the teamLabCamera attraction of the Digital Art Island Adventure event.
 * Zoro appears in Straw Hat Pirates vs. Marines vs. Seven Warlords Holographic Battle Theater and One Piece Dramatic Stage THE METAL ~Marineford of Remembrance~.
 * Zoro appears in Super Kabuki II: One Piece in the retelling of the Sabaody Archipelago Arc.
 * Zoro appears in the first two One Piece Water Spectacle shows.
 * Zoro is the central character in one of the Hungry Days commercials. He also appears in the Vivi-focused commercial.
 * Zoro was going to appear in ONE PIECE LIVE STAGE ～Tower of Steel～, but it was postponed indefinitely.
 * Zoro's battle with Dracule Mihawk was retold by stage actors in the brass entertainment show One Piece Oto Utage.
 * One Piece Variety: I Will be the Pirate King TV host Ryuichi Hamaya dressed up as Zoro in the show's first episode.
 * A bronze statue of Zoro will be dedicated in Kumamoto as part of the Kumamoto Revival Project.

Cameos and Crossovers

 * Zoro appeared in Kyutai Panic Adventure!, where Frieza attacks Odaiba. The Straw Hat Pirates come to Goku's aid, but they are intercepted by and fight the Arlong Pirates. Zoro also appeared in Kyutai Panic Adventure Returns!, where Enel attacks Tokyo and Odaiba.
 * Zoro and other characters also appeared in "Cross Epoch".
 * Zoro has appeared in the games Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars for the DS. He also appeared in Vattroller X for the Game Boy Advance and Battle Stadium D.O.N on the GameCube and PlayStation 2. Zoro is also in Jump Force alongside Luffy, Sanji, Sabo, Boa Hancock, and Blackbeard, released in 2019.
 * Zoro makes a cameo appearance in the anime, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: during Meru's introduction, Harumi is seen reading a yaoi manga featuring Sanji and Zoro. Also, in her room, we can see action figures of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Sogeking.
 * In an episode of Kuroko no Basuke, an old man that is mopping the floor of the bathroom was dressed like Zoro.
 * In episode 5 of the webtoon anime adaptation Tower of God, one of the characters is dressed like Zoro before the timeskip.

References in Popular Culture

 * In The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XXV", several other incarnations from other franchises of the family are shown, each one with a respective theme. In the manga and anime theme, each of the family members was depicted as a specific manga/anime character, Homer is seen as Zoro, complete with green hair, three katana, and Zoro's post-timeskip outfit.
 * In an episode of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, in Harumi's room, we can see action figures of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Sogeking.
 * In the episode 7 from Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyo, the character Itaku use two sickles in his hands and the third in his mouth as Zoro.
 * Zoro appeared in the 13th episode of the third season of the popular YouTube series, "DEATH BATTLE!", where he fought Erza Scarlet from the Fairy Tail franchise and won. Before that, he fought Kenshin Himura from the Rurouni Kenshin series in the second season of the spin-off series, "One Minute Melee" and won. Later on, he appeared in Death Battle's other spin-off series, DBX, where he once again fought Rurouni Kenshin and won.
 * In episode 2 of Re:Zero, Subaru quotes Zoro's line to Mihawk "a wound on one's back is the shame of a swordsman" after reviving from being stabbed in the back.

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) (this being the food he was offered upon being first introduced into the series). Another common attack, the 36/72/108 Pondo Hou, is a reference to the 36 passions of Buddhism. Another one of Zoro's powers, Ashura, also borrows from a religion by taking its name from a group of Hindu demons. This is a bit ironic considering that Zoro is a stated apatheist, and Nami and Chopper have both claimed that Zoro is more arrogant than the self-proclaimed "god" Enel.
 * In the 4Kids English dub of One Piece, Zoro is referred to as "Zolo", however when FUNimation picked up the series, they reverted his name back to "Zoro", only keeping "Zolo" for the broadcast Skypiea episodes for consistency. 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 that this name change was either a result of trademark issues with Zorro - who shares a similar name - or to maintain similarities to the 4Kids dub. In the book The Anime Encyclopedia - A guide to Japanese animation since 1917 (2001), Zoro's name was spelled "Zorro" in the One Piece entry. Such cases as this have been common in many translations across the world, mostly because of the similarity between the two names. To date, however, this has yet to raise concerns over copyright between the two characters. However, in the second 2011 volume of the U.S. Shonen Jump magazine, Zoro's name was changed back to "Zoro". This is the first time Viz has called the character this since its first printings of Chapter 50. It was changed back to "Zolo" in the following issues, however.
 * 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, there are fans that 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 the aforementioned character "Zorro". However, the appearance of "Zolo" in Japan can be explained without relating it to 4Kids or copyright laws due to interchangeable L and R sounds. Other characters who have displayed this problem include Franky (Flanky) and Robin (Lobin). In the end, in noted cases English speaking fans may 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 removed. Instead, she was rewritten to have been seriously injured by a group from a nearby town, leaving her unable to fight; a situation which, ironically, is more violent than the original. Zoro's commitment, therefore, is to continue fighting for her sake, instead of in honor of her death. During the Drum Island Arc in the 4Kids dub, when the ankle scars he obtained during his fight with Mr. 3 were exposed, they were rewritten to have been gained from a bear trap since the Straw Hats never visited Little Garden in that version.

Errors and Corrections

 * Zoro has quite a few art errors during the serialization in the chapters. They have been corrected in their respective volumes.
 * In Jump's edition of Chapter 598, he was shown to have a scar on his right eye, but in the next chapter, it is moved to his left eye. Oda wrote in 599 that the right eye scar was an error, and that the one with the scar on the left eye is the correct one. The error was corrected in volume 61.
 * In the last panel of page 16 of Chapter 698, Zoro is seen with the wrong scar on his chest. Instead of the thin diagonal line given by Mihawk, he had the thick cross Luffy got from Akainu. This was corrected in volume 70.
 * On the cover art of Chapter 699, Zoro is seen missing the scar on his left eye. This was corrected in volume 70.
 * In the anime, Zoro's wanted poster did not include Usopp's shadow the first time that the bounty was issued, but this was later corrected in Episode 152. When the second bounty was issued Usopp's shadow was inexplicably omitted again.
 * On the cover of Chapter 77, a chicken is seen holding a newspaper that says "Wanted, Roronoa Zoro, 1,000,000". This bounty is not canon however, because the covers do not relate to the main series (unless it is a cover story).
 * In Chapter 599, Zoro's Shusui was shown with a different saya strongly resembling that of Trafalgar Law's nodachi. Although Oda did not write anything about it, it could be taken as a mistake as Zoro is then seen holding Shusui with its traditional sheath with no comments about the change. This error is fixed in the anime chapter that adapts this scene from the manga.

Trivia

 * Zoro has his own jolly roger, like all the Straw Hat crew. It has Zoro's bandanna, two swords instead of crossbones, and a sword in its mouth (the white hilt suggests that it is Wado Ichimonji, which is always the one that Zoro holds in his mouth when using Three Sword Style).
 * After the timeskip, the skull gains Zoro's three earrings and the left eye is closed with a vertical scar over it to match Zoro's own eye. The swords that make up the crossbones are more detailed: the blade pointing towards the right is dark, suggesting that it is Shusui while the other is Sandai Kitetsu.
 * Another jolly roger is seen on his armor in the cover of Chapter 699. This jolly roger is a regular skull with three swords crossing behind it.
 * Zoro is the only member of the crew that Luffy personally sought out to invite before they actually met.
 * Zoro is the only Straw Hat Pirate to be named after a real-life pirate, this being François l'Olonnais.
 * It was revealed in an interview with Oda and Rurouni Kenshin author Nobuhiro Watsuki, whom Oda worked for as an assistant before starting One Piece, that Oda intended to make Zoro a one-eyed character very shortly after starting One Piece, around a decade before Zoro would go on to lose his left eye.
 * Zoro using the blunt side of his swords against ordinary people instead of the sharp side to not kill them while still harming them due to his monstrous strength might be a reference to Kenshin Himura from the Ruroni Kenshin series who uses a sword with a reversed blade to fight his opponents without the intention of killing them due to his moral code even though striking them with the blunt side of his sword will still injure them.
 * Zoro is the first known person since Ryuma to kill a dragon, an act which made the latter a legend. Both of them also killed the dragon the same way, by decapitation in the air.
 * Zoro and Killer share some similarities as members of the Worst Generation: they are the only members who are subordinates (with a lack of an apparent position in their crew) rather than a captain, they are both swordsmen, and they are the only ones who do not have a Devil Fruit power (although Killer has the weaknesses of a user after eating a defective SMILE).
 * As a result, Zoro is the only member of the Worst Generation not to have a Devil Fruit at all.
 * Zoro's reintroduction to the series after the timeskip is reminiscent of how Mihawk was introduced. Both sliced a galleon in two and both seemingly did so due to an interrupted nap.
 * Zoro has had the most English dub voice actors out of all the Straw Hats (2 as an adult, 4 as a child).
 * In Japanese fan polls, Zoro was consistently the second most popular character, until his position was usurped by Law in the fifth poll, but he reclaimed it in the sixth poll. Furthermore, in the attack popularity polls his Three Sword Style Ogi: Sanzen Sekai came in 2nd.
 * Zoro is the highest bounty starter on the East Blue with a 60,000,000 bounty, defeating Luffy that amounts double of his initial bounty ( 30,000,000).
 * Zoro's desire in earning the epithet, Jigoku no Ō (地獄の王) mirrors Silvers Rayleigh's own epithet, Mei-Ō (冥王), both have the literal meaning of a "King of Hell". As well as them being Haoshoku Haki users and the Right-Hand of their respective captains.

SBS-Based Trivia

 * Zoro's surname, Roronoa, is the Japanese pronunciation of real-life French pirate François l'Olonnais.
 * Oda has hinted that one of the reasons why Zoro uses sushi-based puns in his Nigiri attacks are because he has never tried sushi and has some sort of fascination with it. However, this can be considered one of Oda's SBS jokes.
 * Zoro's favorite foods are white rice, Sea Beast meat, and stuff that goes with sake. His least favorite food is chocolate because it is too sweet.
 * Zoro also does not eat ice cubes, the same as Nami, Sanji and Franky.
 * Despite this, he is seen eating ice in Chapter 701. Oda jokingly implied that this person was not Zoro, due the disguise he was wearing.
 * Zoro's favorite dish to cook is sashimi.
 * Zoro's favorite type of island and season is autumn on an autumn island.
 * Zoro's specific number is 02.
 * Zoro's specific color is green.
 * Zoro smells like steel.
 * If the Straw Hat Pirates were a family, then Zoro would be the eldest son.
 * Zoro's animal resemblance is a shark, and the cover of Chapter 3 (in which he was introduced) shows a picture of Luffy riding on the back of a shark.
 * However, in the chapter 651 when all the Straw Hat Pirates, except Luffy and Nami, were represented as animals, Zoro was shown as a tiger and he was turned into a tiger in the video game, Chopper's Big Adventure. He had dragon-based attire in the video game, Unlimited Cruise.
 * If One Piece was set in the real world, then Zoro would be from Japan.
 * Zoro's thoughts are "Sword, Sword, Strength, Train, Sleep", and like the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates, "Friendship".
 * When asked which flower Zoro resembles the most, Nico Robin's Japanese voice actress replied he most resembles a thistle.
 * When Oda was later asked about what flowers he thought best represented the members of the Worst Generation, he gave an alternate answer for Zoro: Wisteria.
 * Zoro bathes once a week, the same as Luffy and Brook.
 * Trafalgar D. Water Law calls Zoro according to his name, Zoro-ya.
 * Zoro represents the prefecture of HokKaidou.
 * Other than taking naps, Zoro typically sleeps at 4:00 A.M. and gets up at 7:00 A.M.
 * If the Straw Hat Pirates were not pirates, then Zoro would be a police officer.
 * Zoro's hobbies are training and drinking alcohol.
 * If the Straw Hat Pirates had a 50-meter race, then Zoro would come in fifth place. Oda clarifies that Zoro would be ranked higher in a shorter distance race, but Zoro would get lost in a longer race.
 * If Zoro were to be given a Devil Fruit, he would have the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, albeit "consumed" by one of his swords.
 * In SBS 91, Oda showed Zoro's possible appearances at ages 40 and 60 in two separate timelines.