Marine Ranks

The system of Marine Ranks is fairly straightforward, where each rank is clearly delineated.

Officers present at Marine Headquarters are considered the elite forces of the Marines. All ranks present from "Lieutenant" above are usually trained here, exceptions being those in command of other Marine bases which includes Axe-Hand Morgan and Nezumi.

This page will list the Marine ranks and the soldiers who hold the titles.

Rank Insignia
The Marines do not have a system of rank insignia per se. There is significant variation in the kind of uniform worn by officers, with many options to wear a variety of dress showcasing their own eccentric style. Marines are also allowed to wield whatever weapon they are most comfortable with, no matter how unusual it is. They are even free to fight bare-handed. However, as a general rule set down by the author, uniform guidelines are as follows:
 * Upon first entering the Marines, new recruits are given the standard uniform, consisting of a white, short-sleeved shirt emblazoned with the Marine emblem; a simplified seagull with the word "MARINE" underneath it, on the back; a blue neckerchief; dark blue trousers; and a baseball cap also with the word "MARINE" across the front. All officers at the rank of seaman (一等兵) and below wear this. The quasi-rank of "Zatsuyō" (雑用) adds the kanji 雑 Zatsu ("various" or "odds and ends") to the sleeves, and to the Marine emblem on the back.
 * Once an officer has reached the rank of petty officer (伍長), he or she can choose from a number of different uniforms, including his or her personal clothes. Only those who really want to appear "sailor-like" will stay with a more traditional uniform.
 * Sailors at the rank of ensign (少尉) and above are allowed to wear the coat with "Justice" (正義) on the back. This coat tends to be worn like a cape, draped over the shoulders with the arms not in the sleeves. It should be noted that the sleeves of these coats are often much longer than the wearers' arms.
 * For the rank of lieutenant commander (少佐) and above, a suit worn underneath the "Justice" coat is the preferred attire.

There are, of course, exceptions: Jango and Fullbody wear their own clothes with the "MARINE" hat, despite holding the rank of "seaman recruit" (三等兵). This may have something to do with the exceptional circumstances by which both of these men were brought into their present situation, or it may simply be lenience on the part of their captain, Hina.

Fleet Admiral


"Fleet Admiral" (元帥) is the highest Marine rank, and is the commander of the entire organization. It is just above admiral but below the World Government Commander-in-Chief and the Gorosei. The fleet admiral and the three admirals are the only ones within the Marines capable of legally initiating a Buster Call, as well as granting World Government agents or lower ranking Marines the right to do so.

Admiral


Admiral is the second highest rank in the Marines, senior to a vice admiral and junior to the fleet admiral. As part of the Three Great Powers, the three admirals are amongst the most powerful characters in the series.

Abilities
The admirals are crowned the World Government's "Greatest Military Powers" (最高戦力), and are the strongest individual fighters within the World Government and the Marines. These three admirals are respected and feared amongst the entire world.

As seen in Sabaody Archipelago, the mere presence of just a single admiral was enough to cause a panic on the island and make the entire population flee from the island, including the Eleven Supernovas; the fact that Monkey D. Luffy challenged all three of them brought great shock to witnesses. Other notable examples of the admirals' reputation is Nico Robin from the Straw Hat Pirates, related to her childhood trauma, she constantly loses her grip and starts panicking whenever an admiral is around, this being significant as she rarely panics even in most of the dangerous situations, and that Akainu's presence alone was enough to deter the Blackbeard Pirates from making a trade with the Marines for a Marine Battleship, and effectively frightened the Blackbeard Pirates off the island they were inhabiting briefly. Indeed, Aokiji's resignation has left a very detrimental impact on the Marines' military strength.

Three Admirals of the Golden Age of Piracy


All three of the admirals that were active before the end of the Battle of Marineford are very high-level users of Haki, shown when using Busoshoku Haki together to block Whitebeard's powerful shock wave. All three of them are also able to survive a strike imbued with Haki, despite it nullifying their intangibility, though Aokiji did bleed from the mouth after a sneak attack by Jozu, imbued with Haki, though it made no further injuries; Akainu survived two Haki-enforced slashes in the neck, though he noted the discomfort the strikes made.

The difference in physical prowess between admirals and vice admirals also seems to be dramatically high (with the exception of Garp), as one of Whitebeard's quake-imbued punches was enough to incapacitate a vice admiral giant, yet Akainu took two (both of which were also imbued with Haki, further increasing damage) and still had more than enough stamina left to keep fighting. Also, while Whitebeard was able to overpower the strength of a giant with ease, Kizaru and Akainu both managed to hold down his pole-arm by standing on it with a single foot.

However, what makes the three admirals quite formidable is that they all have Logia-type Devil Fruit powers, each representing their respective color. All of their powers are very destructive, even when comparing to an average Logia user. They are all strong enough to combat against Whitebeard alone, with Kizaru and Akainu causing him severe harm (albeit that Jozu interfered in Aokiji's fight), as well as to fight on par with the top three Whitebeard Pirates commander each, and eventually overpowering the said commanders with relative ease, with Akainu even killing one (although Kizaru and Aokiji's opponents were distracted and Akainu's magma has a natural superiority to Ace's fire). Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru are seen to be proficient swordsmen when creating blades from their own element and wielding them. It is unknown if Akainu also shares this ability, though, as he has only been seen using molten fists for close combat. However, Akainu and Kizaru too, are proficient hand-to-hand combatants, whether combining their skills with their Devil Fruit or by simple raw strength.

Admirals after the Battle of Marineford
After the Battle of Marineford, due to fleet admiral Sengoku's resignation, both Kuzan and Sakazuki were nominated to be his immediate successor. The two of them expended their Devil Fruit abilities in a ten-days battle, turning the two halves of Punk Hazard into frozen and fiery wastelands. With Sakazuki's victory and Kuzan's resignation afterwards, the Marines lost a great asset in their military power, and the battle was considered to be world-famous like none other.

Sometime within the two years, the Marines had a World Military Draft and two new admirals were added to bolster their fighting force: Issho, who goes under the alias Fujitora, and a yet-to-be-seen individual who goes by the alias Ryokugyu. Both are considered to be "beasts" by Donquixote Doflamingo. Along with them is the sole remaining admiral of the previous generation, Borsalino (Kizaru).

Issho possesses Haki, as do all admirals. He also possesses a Devil Fruit power that he can channel via his sword, allowing him to manipulate gravity at intense magnitude, capable of crushing his foes into the ground and create a giant crater as a backlash. The force is strong enough to drag down meteors from space that even two Shichibukai-level pirates entered a state of fear.

Duties
Aside from having control over the thousands of soldiers who rank underneath them, the admirals are the only Marines, along with the fleet admiral, within the World Government who have the authority and ability to issue a Buster Call. They are also the only ones who can grant World Government agents the permission to use the Buster Call. The admirals' only superior, aside from the fleet admiral, are the Gorosei and the World Government Commander-in-Chief.

Should a World Noble be opposed or injured, an admiral will be summoned to take down the opposing party in question and/or the assailants who did the damage. Failure is not acceptable.

With sufficient evidence and reason, an admiral can revoke a Shichibukai of the title, while pardoning criminals for working under a Shichibukai. Although, in all fairness, this authority is also granted to lower ranking personnel with sufficient evidence.

Merchandise


The admirals have been featured sparingly in the fan merchandise. All three are set to be featured in the One Piece Super Deformed Figures, One Piece Super Effect Devil Fruit User, and One Piece Figuarts Zero figure series.

Early One Piece


In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces was revealed an early concept of the admirals.

Trivia

 * All three pre-timeskip admirals share many similarities:
 * They are based upon Japanese actors and are drawn to resemble them, and their birthdays are the same as the said actors.
 * Their aliases are taken from Momotarō legends, they are a pheasant, a dog and a monkey assisted the boy hero, Momotarō, on his adventures. Coincidentally, each personality fits the aliases (Aokiji, the pheasant, is somewhat lazy; Kizaru, the monkey, is quite absent-minded and irresponsible; and Akainu, the dog, is very loyal).
 * Each of their Logia-class Devil Fruits correspond to specific features of land (molten rock), sea (frozen water), and sky (sunlight).
 * Their color-schemes (yellow, blue, and red) are the three primary colors in the subtractive color system.
 * The three are visually similar: they each wear different suits that correspond to their Devil Fruit color, the color of the cuffs on their coats also correspond to their respective colors, they all have black hair and are of the same height, and they all possess some kind of accessory on their heads which they often use to cover their eyes: Aokiji wears a sleep mask, Kizaru has orange sunglasses, and Akainu uses a Marines cap.
 * In Gigant Battle, they are incorrectly shown to be different heights with Aokiji as the tallest, then Kizaru, and then Akainu as the shortest.
 * Former Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp has, on more than one occasion, turned down the promotion to become admiral. He has stated that he does not need a higher position to do what he wants. While being officially ranked as a vice admiral, his power was once or still is enough to qualify him for the rank of admiral before he retired.

Vice Admiral
"Vice Admiral" (中将) is the third highest rank in the Marines. These officers can have varying duties and amounts of authority. For example, one vice admiral, John Giant, is seen to have some special authority, as he was the first in the entire Marine Headquarters to receive the report of the Buster Call and could also evidently command other vice admirals to dispatch. There are always at least five vice admirals sent with a Buster Call fleet.

The general attire of a vice admiral is that of a Marine coat with epaulets and a suit and tie worn underneath. The only vice admiral to wear an attire different from others is, again, John Giant, who wears a gold and red uniform with a strain of medals on his chest. While most vice admirals wear standard blue epaulets, Garp wears black and red, while Tsuru wears gold.

Vice admirals are well known for their strength, and it would seem that most of them are swordsmen and several have been shown using Rokushiki. Many Giants who are shown to be Marines are vice admirals, a testament of their immense strength. Another attribute that is common among vice admirals is that they all know and can use at least one type of Haki, though only Garp, Vergo and Smoker have been shown using it in obvious ways.

Rear Admiral
"Rear Admiral" (少将) is the fourth highest rank in the Marine, and is the first (and the lowest) admiral rank.

Commodore
"Commodore" (准将) is the fifth highest rank in the Marine.

Captain
"Captain" (大佐) is the sixth highest rank in the Marine. One of the duties that could have a Marine captain is to be the commander of one of the several Marine branches established on the islands around the world. In addition, a captain is often seen navigating the seas in order to capture pirates and keep order, in these cases, the captain is the leader of the ship, as long as there are no higher-ranking Marines on board. A Marine captain is considered a strong Marine officer whose experience and battle performance are forces to be reckoned with. Most of the several Marine captains seen in the series, are powerful fighters with Devil Fruit powers, high combat skills or tactics.

Commander
"Commander" (中佐) is the seventh highest rank in the Marine.

Lieutenant Commander
"Lieutenant Commander" (少佐) is the eighth highest rank in the Marine.

Lieutenant
"Lieutenant" (大尉) is the ninth highest rank in the Marines.

Lieutenant Junior Grade
"Lieutenant Junior Grade" (中尉) is the tenth highest rank in the Marines.

Ensign
"Ensign" (少尉) is the eleventh highest rank in the Marine, and the lowest and last rank within commissioned officers. This is the lowest rank given permission to wear the kanji "Justice" (正義) on the backs of their clothing.

Warrant Officer
"Warrant Officer" (准尉) is the twelfth highest rank in the Marine, and the highest amongst the Infantry and Sailor Division. There are no known characters who hold this title.

Master Chief Petty Officer
"Master Chief Petty Officer" (曹長) is the thirteenth highest rank in the Marine.

Chief Petty Officer
"Chief Petty Officer" (軍曹) is the fourteenth highest rank in the Marine.

Petty Officer
"Petty Officer" (伍長) is the fifteenth highest rank in the Marine. There are no known characters who hold this title.

Once a Marine rises to this rank, he or she is allowed to wear many different uniforms or even civil clothes. However, many petty officers prefer to appear "sailor-like" and continue wearing the traditional uniform.

Seaman First Class
"Seaman First Class" (一等兵) is the sixteenth highest rank in the Marine.

Seaman Apprentice
"Seaman Apprentice" (二等兵) is the seventeenth highest rank in the Marine. There are no known characters who hold this title.

Seaman Recruit
"Seaman Recruit" (三等兵) or "Recruit" (新兵) is the eighteenth highest rank in the Marine.

Chore Boy
"Chore Boy" (雑用) is the nineteenth highest, or more specifically, the lowest rank, in the Marine. Chore boys have no official uniform besides a white Marine shirt without decoration and blue Marine trousers.

General Inspector
"General Inspector" (大目付) is a special rank which has the duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration, corruption, or defection in the Marine organization. The only known General Inspector at the moment is the former Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Instructor
"Instructor" (教官) is a special rank which has the duty of training Marine recruits to become strong and rise in rank. So far, resigned Marines of high prestige are requested to remain as instructors for the future generation.

Site Navigation
Rangs de la Marina