Mythbusters

Like many series, One Piece is open to many myths. This page describes such myths. The myths come in four basic forms: Mistranslations/Misunderstandings, Speculations, Rumours and Translator Jokes and Fake Spoilers. Some of these myths still exist due to their nature or the naivety of fans. To help editors identify these myths, any such myths will be written here to help avoid confusions and finally explain their details.

Mistranslations and Misunderstandings
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.

Eating two Devil Fruit
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 can't 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, Lucchi and Blueno said if you eat the second fruit after eating the first one, you'll explode and die.

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

Fact: While this rumour isn't 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. In a filler arc there is a girl named Apis who ate a devil that allows her to talk to animals, however 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 an mistranslation found in many fan translations and sub translations. K-F, one of the Fansubbers mistranslated it, Stephen the script translator also mistranslated it as well and said he'll correct it soon. Also the piece of paper Ace gave Luffy was not an invitation, as it was blank.

The higher the bounty the stronger they are
Myth: Theres no way someone like (for example) Buggy can beat Luffy. He is worth 15,000,000 Luffy is worth 300,000,000. Buggy is far too weak.

Fact: While some characters in the series such as Bellamy used them as a power rating, they are not. Bounties are a threat level not a power level. Someone quite weak can have a high bounty and some quite strong can have a low bounty. Although, a characters "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 Oda in one SBS. Another example is Blackbeard not having a bounty at all. The bounties are also limited by the World Government's knowledge; they do not know the true strength of all pirates. Chopper for example, has an extremely low bounty despite being quite powerful, because the World Government incorrectly assumed he was a harmless pet.

Example
How they work may be done 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 Strawhats' 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 a extremely powerful character by others. Given this info, the authorities would most likely considered Usopp a threat despite not knowing his true strength, hence why Usopp got a high bounty.

Chopper, on the other hand, while he showed more feats of physical strength during Enies Lobby, probably none of which were properly seen by Enies Lobby staff. While the battered body of Kumadori was discovered by Enies Lobby staff, the source of how he got that way was unseen to them and vast speculation was 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 Strawhats, 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 considered less 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 is "King of the Beast"

Fact: Sometimes we jump to conclusions without waiting for anything official from Oda and embarrass ourselves once the truth is out but sadly, that's the price of human nature. 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 Beast". However, that's not the official name from Oda; 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 attack 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. 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 isn't within direct sight. A good example is the previously mention with Usopp's 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 Gold 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.

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

Fact: This was an early misconception from the pre-introduction of Moria. Within chapter 455 the term "moto Shichibukai" was found within Moria´s description box, this translates to "Former Shichibukai". This was a mistake, however in vol.47 the mistake was not corrected and in the introduction box leaving the mistake to exist alongside the correct version.

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

Fact: Occasionally Oda changes the scale of characters, Moria 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 probably a human being with "Giantism" like the Mighty Destroyers and Whitebeard. Some translations have referred to him as a giant; this is either a mistake or not meant literally, like when giant is used to refer to a very tall person in the real world.

Dog-Pen
Myth: Sanji's shadow was put inside "Dog-Pen" during the Thriller Bark arc.

Fact: Sanji's shadow was indeed put in the dog-faced member of the Penguin Zombie Trio. However, the zombie's name is Inuppe. Usopp refers to it as Dog-Pen (also translated as Pendog) in chapter 453, but this isn't 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.

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 is confusing since Katana do not have such handles. However, the term "Katana" literally refers to the sword blade and not the sword as a whole as the west has come to view. The handle is usually considered replacable, however since good blades were not so many they were 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 seems too westernised. Often simulaities are drawn because Mihawk's blade and the Grosses Messer of the real world. The most notable and accepted reason for the blade to be known as a Grosser Messer is because the style of the blades are simulair to each other.

Speculations
Another type of myth comes from speculations. Often it is like a game of Chinese Whispers, what one person says as a speculation may end up as being taken as a fact after several people have repeated a popular speculation. After mistranslations and misunderstandings, this is the most common form of myth to rise through the fans of the series. Speculations are easier to kill than rumour based myths because as the series progresses, they are proven as fact or fiction and are rarely discussed again.

Death Buster Call Star
Myth: Buster Call having laser beams

Fact: Fans just love to make unfounded predictions and hope for the Buster Call to be a huge and scary Death-Star like ship, packed with lasers that can blow up the island like how Death Star blows up Aldaraan. Chapter 396 proves this wrong. The Buster Call turns out to be a military operation involving a fleet of World Government ships headed by five Vice Admirals, whose mission is to bombard the island until everything is burned down.

Usopp's Long Nose
Myth: Usopp's nose serve as a sniping projectile, helping him to lock on his target and made a perfect shot!

Fact: Whoa! That's so wrong. There are times when he is facing the other way while his slingshot are facing the different way, he manage to make a perfect shot anyway. Even with his nose he does not always make a perfect shot, Usopp's nose has nothing to do with his sniping skills, he's just born with a long nose. Look at his dad Yassop, he manages to make a perfect shot and he has a short nose.

Miss Goldenweek and Carue
Myth: I think Carue ate Miss Goldenweek

Fact: This is so far the oddest, grimmest, and most insane speculation made by few members at the fan board. During the ending of Little Garden arc, Carue was seen charging at Miss Goldenweek, after that she disappeared, Luffy, Usopp and Carue were seen eating Rice Crackers. However many fans tried to find out what happened to Goldenweek and the term "I think Carue ate Miss Goldenweek", "Didn't Carue eat Miss Goldenweek?". And stranger yet, the Miss Goldenweek section in Wikipedia used to support the claim. In reality, Miss Goldenweek has her own Side Story during the early Enies Lobby arc, she was shown alive and living in a Wax House with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

D Means Dragon
Myth: Dragon appeared in Logue Town and Luffy was able to hear the dragon talking in the Apis Arc. The D must mean DRAGON.

Fact: The Apis arc (otherwise known as the Warship Island Arc) was not Canon. Therefore everything in it (except for a few things like the Calm Belt information) was not written in the manga by Oda. This rumour was originally created by a popular anime blogger who took a wild guess after watching the arc. Due to the popularity of the said blog, others also pondered on the idea (though some fans came to this meaning on their own accord). However, it has been proven Dragon has a important plot role.

Mushy Stuff
Myth: X character in One Piece is in love with X other character in One Piece.

Fact: Its not uncommon to see pairings mentioned like Luffy x Nami, however some fans try to force the speculation into fact when it is not. When asked if there would be romance in One Piece in a SBS letter, Oda replied "they are in love with adventure". There are no hints released in the manga itself. As such, most love referencing comes in the form of perverted comments from one character to the other. However, fans of any series will take even the smallest detail as a hint otherwise. Remember: One Piece is not a shoujo, so don't expect much romance.

Buggy Scarred Shanks
Myth: Those marks on Shanks' left eye match those left behind when Luffy was hit in the face by Buggy with his knives. Buggy must have done that to Shanks!

Fact: Shanks states that he got the scars from Blackbeard.

Dragon has a wind Devil Fruit
Myth: It's obvious by the way he said "Wind Blast" back in Logue Town that Dragon has a wind Logia Devil Fruit.

Fact: We know nothing on this yet, although it's still a possibility.

Oda's Character references
Myth: Oda based his idea for X character from One Piece to Y character from Z series.

Fact: While some characters like Jango have obvious design origins, others are not so easily compared. If you really want to, you can compare just about every character to someone else out there. Many characters are based on other characters. Without the word of Oda, saying stuff like "Brook looks like Jack Skellington from Nightmare before Christmas" is just speculation.

The Parents
Myth: Makino is Luffy's mother. Shanks is Luffy's father.

Fact: No one knows who Luffy's mother is. Makino is a friend, her concern for Luffy is no different then the mayor's. Shanks is revealed not to be Luffy's father, but rather Dragon is. This was a combination of fans noticing Shanks' concern for Luffy and that Shanks' was drawn very similar to Luffy in the beginning of the series.

Whitebeard a D
Myth: Whitebeard has got to be a D! Look at how strong he is!

Fact: So far his name has only been given as "Edward Newgate", since Gold Roger's name was revealed to be "Gol D. Roger" some speculate his name is actually "Edwar D. Newgate" however this remains to date just speculation. It also be consider that not all strong characters are D.s anyway.

Example
Zoro has survived multiple wounds and thrown giant buildings at enemies.

They Will Join!
Myth: That character would be great on the Straw Hat crew, they must join!

Fact: With every new arc that is released comes the hunt for Luffy to add more members to his crew. Many fans will speculate as to who will join and when.

Past speculated members:
 * Vivi: Traveled with the Straw Hats throughout the Baroque Works Arc, but had no position she could held. In the end although the other Straw Hats wanted her to come with her and were prepared to turn the Going Merry around to pick her up, she bid them a tearful farewell. Vivi's commitment as princess to Alabasta prevented her from leaving her home country and later she admitted she would have not been able to keep up with them.
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei: Bon Kurei assisted the Straw-hats with their escape from Alabasta and wanted to be friends with them. In the end, Bon Kurei departed with the crew to distract the marines that were chasing them.
 * Conis: Having music skills and a fair knowledge of dials, plus huge interactions with the Straw Hats, she was speculated to be the Straw Hats next member, fulfilling the role of musician. However she displayed little fighting skills and was content with staying on Skypiea with her father.  She was never asked to join the Straw Hats nor showed any interest in travelling with them.
 * Wiper: Due to his insane willpower and strength Wiper was believed to be the next crew member to join, however he had no position he could fulfill. In the end Wiper neither showed any interest in joining nor was asked to join by Luffy. Until Skypiea no other arc had passed by without a crewmember joining.
 * Paulie: Due to early hints (such as him building asound trust with Luffy) and Franky being set up as a villain during the Water 7 arc, many fans speculated Paulie would join and fulfill the role of Shipwright. However as the Enies Lobby arc progressed on, it became clearer Franky, not Paulie would join. In the end Paulie was never asked to join by Luffy and showed clear loyalty to Iceburg.
 * Ceberus: Luffy captured the ceberus in Thriller Bark and rode on it's back for a while. When readers saw this, many came to the conclusion that Luffy would keep it as a pet. This is as of now impossible, as the ceberus (Along with all other zombies) were purified by Gecko Moria.
 * Perona: After Perona's fight with Usopp, Perona decided to use the Thousand Sunny to escape. Many fans began speculating that Perona may end up joining the crew. She was given a extensive and detailed explanation on her Devil Fruit, which in itself was rare for any Devil Fruit user in the series to receive. Her happy attitude and seemingly invincible power also was believed to be signs of this. Her desire for a subordinate with both a cute voice and appearance led others to point to Chopper as a replacement for Bearsy, along with the hint Luffy wished to catch one of her ghosts to keep it as a pet. In the end her fate was left unknown at the hands of Kuma.

Rumours
Often these are started by one person posting on a site such as Wikipedia or on a forum. They are different from speculations as they are not being put forward as a possible idea, but rather as fact. Often, there is no ownership claim to such rumours as to who started them. They are just random statements being put off as false facts. Rumours are usually less common then other myths because they take some time to manifest in the fandom. Due to their nature and how they have worked their way into the fandom, they are the hardest to kill even when proven to be incorrect.

Fake Bounties
Myth: Example: Mihawk carries a bounty of 600,000,000 and Shanks a bounty of 700,000,000.

Fact: If Oda gives a bounty, it will appear in the Manga itself either on a wanted poster or in an info box when the character is first introduced. Outside of that, only the SBS will feature bounty amounts and estimates. Confirmed bounties will also appear in catch up chapters like Grand Line Times.

These rumored bounty amounts were started off by fans, mostly thanks to people who created fan-based posters of the characters, speculated rumours or even fanfiction. There are many fans who believe them; however, they are not true. Other bounties often seen are Whitebeard being worth 1 billion and Gold Roger being worth 1.2 billion.

In addition to this, the mention of Ace's bounty being 400 Million also came out of an early fake spoiler rumor of chapter 441. The origin is that the fake spoiler stated that Luffy and Ace's combined bounties were over 700 Million. No exact amount was placed on Ace's head; however, at the time, everyone knew Luffy's bounty was 300 million. Thus, it meant Ace's head was worth at least 400 million according to the fake spoiler.

A Thriller Bark fake spoiler put Gecko Moria's bounty at 370 million. The information is confirmed fake; the amount is 320 million. One fake placed Mihawk's bounty at 540,000,000 and Whitebeard's at 120,000,000,000. Another pitched Dragon at 500,000,000.

4Kids Promised English "We Are..." Intro
Myth: 4Kids used "We Are" in the convention before One Piece was dubbed. They promised they'd use it, where is it?

Fact: Firstly, it is rare for a company to commit itself to such things beforehand, as once they promise such things they cannot change them or it would make them out to be liars. Secondly, there is no proof this was a promise made by 4Kids. In fact, 4Kids said they preferred the rap they eventually released alongside the series. There is also no evidence supporting the claim that they created the English version of "We Are", only that it was created for promotional reasons. Several unconfirmed sources suggest that not 4Kids but FUNimation had produced that introduction back when the bidding on the series was still going on as an "example", but this has yet to be confirmed.

Lastly, this was a promotional viewing at the time of the introduction. It has not been unknown for anime series to be featured with their original introductions at conventions to hype up the series before release.

Skipping Arcs to get to Chopper
Myth: 4Kids skipped straight through the Apis Arc/Warship Island Arc, Laboon Arc, Little Garden and several other episodes to get Chopper in the series ASAP due to his marketing value.

Fact: Some fans noticed that after Chopper joined, the amount of episodes being skipped was cut down. There is no given explanation for the skipping of those episodes and arcs or word from 4Kids on the matter. Without 4Kids's side of the story, it is hard to say what the truth is.

What we do know is that the original channel on which the English dub was featured did not allow references to blood, violence, or death at all. Also, any show that receives low ratings is harder to sell and 4Kids has been noted to leave out poor rated episodes from other anime they have dubbed. With that in mind we can only speculate on the reasons that may have caused those episodes to be taken out:


 * The missing Arlong Park episodes and cut scenes featured blood (such as the look at the wound Zoro received from Mihawk and Nami stabbing her arm) and death (Bellemere was shot for example).
 * Buggy's Mini-Arc received low ratings in Japan.
 * The missing Logue Town arc episodes had little to offer to the arc overall. Usopp's duel with Daddy the Father referenced fighting and death. They also received low ratings in Japan.
 * The Apis/Warship Island Arc was made for children in Japan; however, it still featured death (in the form of a dragon dying, even though it was reborn a minute later). To top it off the Arc itself was met with low ratings in Japan.
 * The Laboon arc featured Luffy hurting a whale, which would have been a serious issue to an American audience.
 * Coby's mini-series received low ratings.
 * Little Garden arc featured the start of bloodier fighting scenes and had more references to death.
 * The fillers after the Arabasta Arc had nothing to do with the rest of the series and all received low ratings in Japan. Zoro's backstory was possibly left in due to his popularity with the American audience. Although filler, the Rainbow Mist arc was written into the story.

Another important fact to remember is that 4Kids gave up the rights to the show at the start of the Jaya arc. Had they been allowed to continue with the series, it is likely that more episodes would have been cut further along in the series.

Mihawk and Elements
Myth: Mihawk can cut all four elements, it says so in X Data Book.

Fact: This is an old rumour that has been around since the release of the Data books, with origins currently unknown. There is nothing in the books about such a thing. However, this is one of those rumors amongst the fandom that just doesn't die easy.

Lucky Roux is fast
Myth: Lucky Roux is the fastest person in the Grand Line.

Fact: This is an old rumour that has been around since the release of the Data books, with origins currently unknown. The original rumor came once more from info in the Data books (which later was confirmed to be absent from any of the databooks). This is based on Luffy's past when Roux appeared out of no where to kill a bandit. Again, this is not actually a proven true fact.

The 7 Shichibukai leave their Crews
Myth: When the Shichibukai gain their rank, they must abandon their crews.

Fact: This is very wrong! In the entire series not once does Oda state this in neither Chapter nor SBS. It is unclear how this managed to manifested in the English fandom. There are currently three theories as to how it happened in which one or all may be the source of this myth;


 * 1) Sometimes a 4Kids mistranslation is blamed as most English fans who state this have not gone over the original Japanese version. An exact source for this has never been supplied.
 * 2) One source of blame is how the Shichibukai were introduced. Mihawk was introduced without a crew, Arlong was introduced having split away from Jimbei's crew and Crocodile did not have a pirate crew. Both Kuma and Doflamingo appeared at the Shichibukai/Marine meeting by themselves. Later Doflamingo returns to punish Bellamy for disgracing his old flag. These things combine are thought to give many fans the impression the Shichibukai are crewless.
 * 3) When the fans who make this mistake are questioned as to source, they usually link their information to the introduction of the Shichibukai made by Yosaku. This misunderstanding is however untrue and there is no such statement made in Yosaku's story about who the Shichibukai are.

Since the World Government does not care what a Shichibukai does so long as it maintains the balance in the world it seems unlikely they'd enforce such a rule on the Shichibukai who they seem to rely on much. So far, the only Shichibukai who seems to truly be a loner is Mihawk. This remains one of the strongest myths amongst the English speaking fandom. Even with newer chapters being released that prove the rumour is wrong and evidence from older chapters, every time the subject of the Shichibukai is raised someone will put forward this myth.

Straw Hat Death
Myth: Oda stated a crew member will die!

Fact: Possibly one of the most famous forum rumours. Back in 2003 Oda was claimed to have given verbal word that a member of the Straw Hats will die. At the time the series was still in Skypiea.

The story goes (as often told by long-term fans) that later on when this did not happen, Oda said sorry as things hadn't gone as planned. The member of the crew that was suppose to die in 2003 is said to have been the Going Merry, which was originally planned to go down then. When Skypiea played out for too long the death of the Going Merry was delayed for 4 years while Oda finished the other arcs before it and (eventually) led the storyline up to the end of the Going Merry at the end of the Enies Lobby arc.

Oda has stated many times over the last few years that the series has gone on longer then he expected, he only planned it to last for 5 years.

Translator Jokes and Fake Spoilers
Translators like a joke as much as anyone. Several past myths have spawned from jokes such as these. Often these are fewer then the other types of myths but are harder to kill than normal myths. The reason is simply that they are often written by sources that people rely on, and without knowing any better the fans take the info as fact. Until someone points them out, these myths appear as the most innocent of all the myths because unless they're obviously fake, they are harder to prove as fake by the non-Japanese speaking fan.

Norland is a D.
Myth: His name is Montblanc D. Norland!!!

Fact: A joke that came directly from kaizoku-fansubs. Basically, they decided to do a stupidity test to see what would happen. Nevertheless their joke swept through much of the fandom and apparently it took several weeks to kill the myth. Meanwhile, it leaked into just about every forum (leading to embarrassment for many people). His name is just Montblanc Norland.

Aokiji, Ace and Blackbeard
Myth: Aokiji interrupts the fight with the two pirates to ask what they are doing.

Fact: Shonen Jump Magazine takes a reglaur break for a few weeks over the christmas holidays, at which point the fandom is often flooded with fake spoilers. During the gap between the end of the Enies Lobby arc and the start of the Thriller Bark arc this became a regular sight amongst the spoilers being released as it happen to fall over the christmas period.

In one case, a fake copy + paste picture was even provided as a real scan. Initially, all of the fake rumours said the same thing, however there were differences between the story with every released fake spoiler. Aokiji was later revealed to be with Garp on board his ship, hitching a ride back to the Marine HQ, while Blackbeard and Ace's fight was left to take its course.

Luffy a Shichibukai
Myth: Luffy's grandpa will offer him the position of Shichibukai.

Fact:Just as the Ace and Blackbeard myth, this was fake. The Shichibukai are offered their place by the World Government. Garp just doesn't have the authority to grant him that position. This rumour has also reappeared as speculation from many fans reactions to the chapter 472 spoilers. Further, it is unlikely that they would offer him a position or that he would accept, considering his actions at Enies Lobby(declaring war on the World Government by burning their flag).

Franky's dad is SUUUPER!
Myth: Franky's dad is a Yonkou.

Fact: Nothing is known about him. Franky is the son of a pirate, when the Franky Family begged the Straw Hats to take him with them, this cropped up in the spoilers for the next chapter. Later when the chapter was released, there was no further information on Franky's parentage. This Chapter was highlighted by the fact that only a few chapters prior, Garp had just introduced the Yonkou.

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