Fish-Men

Fish-men are one of two humanoid races that inhabit and rule the seas (the other being the merfolk). In terms of leadership, Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, and Arlong were said to have the highest respect amongst their people. They are classified as Type C creatures, "Big Savage".

Appearance
Fish-men are more fish-like than merfolk, usually looking like a combination between a man and a fish or other aquatic creature, such as an octopus, manta ray, or sawshark; however, they still have legs (in fact, Decken has four). They also have gills between their shoulders and necks, sometimes covered by their clothing, as well as often having webbed hands. Depending on species, they may have multiple limbs (mainly extra arms).

Size may also differ greatly between individuals, as Arlong was much taller than any of his crew members, but was small compared to Fisher Tiger, while Wadatsumi is even bigger than an ancient giant like Oars.

For fish-men pirates in pirate crews that are primarily fish-man based (Sun Pirates, Arlong Pirates, and New Fish-Man Pirates), it appears customary to have that crew's jolly roger tattooed somewhere on the person's body, showing allegiance to a crew.

Biology
Fish-men have gills near their necks, which only work when they are in water. On land, they can breathe with their lungs like humans do. However, their gills cannot breathe in air, like a normal fish cannot breathe in air through their gills.



Even though fish-men are part fish (or at least closer to fish biologically than human) and have been considered such by prejudiced humans in the past, they are still mammals and give birth to live young. Fish-men are also able to modulate the sounds that they make, enabling them to speak in the same language as humans. At least one fish-man, Jinbe, has the ability to talk to other animals such as whales, showing that a fish-man's larynx may be far more adaptable and capable of more than a human's. There are many merfolk who bear physical traits normally unique to fish-men, like Den's webbed hands and Shyarly's fangs. Furthermore, fish-men can sometimes demonstrate powers usually unique to merfolk, such as Jinbe's ability to communicate with whale sharks.

Even with merfolk and fish-men in the same immediate family, the primary species (merfolk or fish-men), subspecies (type of fish) and appearances may differ drastically. This is a result of them still carrying the genes of their ancestors, so the appearance is not determined only by the parents, their traits can come from anywhere in their ancestry. Humans, fish-men, and merfolk have the same blood types, and can donate blood if the types match.

The fish-men's subspecies have many variations, just like merfolk, based on various types of fish. So far, with the exception of the half fish-man Dellinger (whose fish traits are that of the Fighting Fish), all known fish-men are based on real-life fish species. Also, their size may vary greatly, with Wadatsumi being a fish-man the size surpassing that of an average giant. Unlike merfolk, fish-men eat meat, including fish, although whether this is a dietary necessity or just custom is unknown.

Hybrids
Fish-men can interbreed with other races. As revealed during the Long Ring Long Land Arc with Big Pan, fish-men can breed with giants, producing a hybrid that has the biological abilities of a fish-man and the huge body of a giant (but still smaller than a full one, as noted by Robin). These are known as Wotans.

It is also possible for humans and fish-men to interbreed, with Sapi and Dellinger being examples of children produced from such unions. Interestingly, when a human and a fish-man interbreed, their offspring mostly resemble humans, apart from a dorsal fin (and possibly other fish-like traits that are not yet shown under clothing) that is in some cases retractable.

Pappag explained that fish-men (fish-men and female fish-men) can have children with merfolk (mermen and mermaids). The resulting child's race can be either fish-men or merfolk.

Fish-men and Their Species

 * Arlong: Sawshark
 * Chew: Smelt-whiting
 * Hatchan, Octopako, Karma: Octopus
 * Kuroobi: Ray
 * Kaneshiro: Goldfish
 * Pisaro: Ocean Sunfish
 * Take: Carp
 * Shioyaki: Salmon
 * Macro: Pelican Eel
 * Gyaro: Pop-eyed Goldfish
 * Tansui: Arowana
 * Capote: Billfish
 * Tom: Cowfish
 * Jinbe: Whale shark
 * Hammond: Daggertooth Pike Conger
 * Kasagoba: Marbled Rockfish
 * Hody Jones: Great White Shark
 * Dosun: Hammerhead Shark
 * Zeo: Japanese Wobbegong Shark
 * Daruma: Cookie-cutter Shark
 * Ikaros Much: Giant squid
 * Vander Decken IX: Japanese Bullhead Shark
 * Wadatsumi: Giant Tiger Blowfish
 * Fisher Tiger: Sea Bream
 * Hack: Brocade Perch
 * Jack: Giant Grouper
 * Kawamatsu: Japanese Puffer
 * Sasaki: Bluespine Unicornfish
 * Willy (Film): Orca
 * Jube (Filler): Squid
 * Nuru (Filler): Anglerfish
 * Gad (Game): Hammerhead Shark

Half fish-man and Their Species

 * Sapi (Half fish-man, half human): Unknown
 * Big Pan (Half fish-man, half-giant): Loach
 * Dellinger (Half fish-man, half-human): Fighting Fish
 * Charlotte De-Chat (Half fish-man, half human): Unknown
 * Sebastian (Half fish-man, half-giant; filler): False Kelpfish

Inter-species Relationships
Despite their opposing beliefs, fish-men usually get along well with merfolk. However, it is not unknown for fish-men to take advantage of the merfolk's nature.

Fish-men typically consider humans to be an inferior, weaker species. However, this does not apply to all fish-men. For example, Tom cared for and looked after two humans (Iceburg and Franky) and even protected them from the actions of Spandam and CP5. Another example is Jinbe, who considers Portgas D. Ace an equal and holds the Whitebeard Pirates in high regard because of Whitebeard protecting Fish-Man Island. Jinbe would later feel the same way about Ace's younger brother, Monkey D. Luffy. Fisher Tiger was noted to hate humans but chose not to discriminate when it came to slaves. When he broke into Mary Geoise to free the fish-man slaves, he also freed the other races as well. Additionally, Fisher Tiger did not wish to kill humans for their discrimination, as it would only cause more anger and resentment, and even personally returned a human slave girl back to her home. Despite the racism that Kawamatsu suffered, to the point of losing his beloved mother, he did not spite humans due to being saved by the fair-minded Kozuki Oden.

Furthermore, when the Straw Hats were suspected of having kidnapped several mermaids from Mermaid Cove (which has actually been Caribou's doing), some fish-man citizens insisted that the pirates should not be convicted without solid proof, implying that at least some fish-men are willing to grant humanity the benefit of the doubt.

Despite this, Jinbe states the majority of fish-men believe humans are a violent and dangerous race who discriminate against fish-men. They believe any members of their species who have attempted to negotiate with or challenge humans have been defeated solely for the crime of being a fish-man.



Meanwhile, humans define both fish-men and merfolk as "fish" instead of "men". This led to centuries of discrimination as the fish-men fought to prove their worth to the world. Only two hundred years ago did the World Government begin to bridge the gap by making an alliance with Fish-Man Island. Jinbe's appointment to the Seven Warlords of the Sea was an attempt to strengthen the bonds between the races, but eventually ended in his resignation. Despite attempts at reconciliation, relations remained strained for centuries. Many humans continued to see fish-men as freaks, or in the case of the Sabaody Archipelago, slaves for the World Nobles. Such bad relations between the races would influence certain sects of fish-men, and these fish-men would even go so far as to return to the humans what had been done to them. This was seen with Arlong Park in East Blue, where Arlong attempted to enslave the humans as they had enslaved his men and succeeded in doing so for eight years. Hody Jones, who admired Arlong's ideals, enslaved humans and sent them on suicide missions or dragged them through the battlefield as cannon fodder and mules.

Despite the harsh relationships between races, hybrids with humans do appear from time to time, such as Sapi and Dellinger.

Fish-men are one of the races present in Totto Land, where they live in harmony with other races.

Fish-men are worth an average of 1,000,000 on the slave market.

Overall Strength
Do you know the difference between you and I? It's our species! This is the strength of the fish-men species from birth. Heaven gave us the power to separate us from you. So we are different! Humans are lower and weaker since the day they were born.

From birth, fish-men are physically ten times as strong as normal humans. This difference is magnified underwater, where a human's power is cut in half, while fish-men are not only completely unhindered, but are even strengthened. Jinbe himself noted that on dry land, he had little power to offer. Considering the impressive strength of a fish-man as powerful as him, this shows the massive difference in the potential of any fish-man when in the water compared to being on dry land.

Overall, the fish-man race can be considered unstoppable in battle while in their natural habitat, the sea. As expected, they are excellent swimmers, and are capable of swimming through the water at a great speed and force. However, their speed is no match for the merfolk, who are the fastest swimmers in the world. In addition, they can still talk under water and cannot drown. However, breathing air into their gills makes them suffer like a normal fish would. While they can use their gills to breathe in water, they have to switch back to their lungs to breathe in air.

If a fish-man were to eat a Devil Fruit, they, like anyone who partakes of the fruit, will lose their ability to swim forever. They will still be able to breathe underwater, though they will be unable to move while in it.

Like merfolk, fish-men also possess the ability to communicate with sea creatures. In particular, fish-men seem adept at communicating with large sea monsters, and possess a unique capacity to bring out the primal rage in such creatures. This ability was first demonstrated when Arlong induced Momoo into a primal frenzy to have him attack the Straw Hats during the battle at Arlong Park, despite Momoo's initial reservations about doing so. The ability was shown again in more detail when Hody and, to a more limited extent, the officers of his crew used it to induce the large Sea Monsters the New Fish-man Pirates had in their possession into a similar rage to the one created by the Energy Steroids they had been eating. The animal being influenced has to be at least somewhat willing to comply, as was shown when Surume quickly stopped squeezing Shirahoshi on Hody's command due to Luffy's intervention, and afterwards refused to follow any more of Hody's orders. Just as with normal merfolk, fish-men are still unable to communicate with Sea Kings; only the Mermaid Princess who awakens the power of the ancient weapon Poseidon, currently Shirahoshi, is capable of doing so.



The Fish-Man Dojo of Fish-Man Island teaches the martial art Fish-Man Karate, which a number of fish-men have displayed skill in. This fighting style in particular has both land and sea based attacks, a style suited to the fish-men's advantage in the water, but does not leave them completely unable to defend themselves on land when they have to. The style allows the user to manipulate water, including the moisture in the air and the water inside of peoples bodies. Their most effective weapon is the sea itself, as the most powerful fighters can take a few drops of water and hurl it so hard that the impact is as hard as a bullet. To this extent, in the hands of a powerful fish-man, even a small splash of water becomes a lethal weapon.

Fish-men often have unique abilities, matching those of the species they are based on, that make them further superior to ordinary humans outside of the physical strength difference. Hatchan, being an octopus fish-man, has six arms that give him a huge advantage over most fighters with just two arms, and he can spit ink. Chew, as an archer-fish, could shoot water from his mouth like a bullet. Arlong as a sawshark fish-man could regrow his teeth after they broke. Zeo is a Japanese wobbegong who can camouflage himself. Though only half fish-man, Big Pan inherited slippery skin from his mudfish fish-man heritage. Both Zeo and Big Pan have demonstrated that a fish-man's ability can be akin to that of a Devil Fruit.

Members of the shark family have been seen as particularly fearsome fighters; Arlong, Jinbe, and Hody Jones, three of the strongest known fish-men combatants, are all shark-based breeds. The New Fish-man Pirates have a notably large number of officers that are shark breeds, and the only fish-man amongst the Whitebeard Pirates, Namur, is also a shark fish-man. The shark based-breeds were confirmed to be considered a fear to the other citizens on the island when Daruma attacked the candy factory. The citizens also expressed concern over the squid fish-man in the crew, Ikaros Much, indicating that this type of fish-man was also a cause for concern.

Fish-men who eat Devil Fruit and are rendered unable to swim must wear a bubble to compensate. However, their water-based abilities prove helpful considering that in water, most Devil Fruit users are rendered completely powerless. The Devil Fruit Kage Kage no Mi in particular has little advantage at all against a fish-man who knows its fatal weakness, salt. Arlong commented on Nami's navigation skills, stating that they can learn about navigation very easily, but they cannot find a good navigator. This may indicate that their race has an overall weakness in skillful navigation. Arlong himself in particular came to admire Nami's own skills, and in a rare act considered her skills on par with the fish-man "superiority", confessing that she simply could not help what species she was.

As mentioned by Jinbe, fish-men can change the course of sea currents and even generate a maelstrom when they fight seriously, as shown when the Sun Pirates battled against the Big Mom Pirates in order to save the Straw Hats.

Jinbe was noted to have acknowledged the strength of Sea Kings on one occasion, thus proving that even their race is aware of the danger of Sea Kings in the Grand Line.

Beliefs
Fish-men's view of life under the sea is dominated by their belief that they should rule over all other fish. They also hate humans for the years of oppression and slavery that they suffered. This is not shared among all fish-men, though, as Tom, Jinbe, and Fisher Tiger have respect for humans and other races. It can also be assumed that Namur, as a commander of the mostly human Whitebeard Pirates, does not share this prejudice. However, the New Fish-Man Pirates, specifically the officers and captain, took this hatred to irrational levels due to being raised in an environment that basked in the hatred, despite not being subjected to any oppression themselves. They were fully willing to die and destroy their own bodies to achieve their revenge in fear of the day that humans and fish folks would coexist and cease their animosity. Due to the long-term neglect in the Fish-Man District, this hatred has been passed down to future generations.

Many fish-men, particularly pirates, also adorn symbols across their bodies to represent their group association. So far the marks they have adorned include the Sun Pirates' "mark of the sun", the Arlong Pirates' jolly roger, a tattoo of unknown significance, and the New Fish-man Pirates' jolly roger of a beheaded human crossed out with the "mark of the sun" surrounding it. Kaneshiro, Pisaro, Take, Shioyaki, Namur, and Tom also had other tattoos on their bodies.

Due to Fish-men and Merfolk giving birth to children who get genetic traits from their distant ancestors, and thus usually not looking anything like their parents, they aren't surprised by the appearances of others, no matter how bizarre. It also doesn't make sense to them when people discriminate against others just because of how they look.

Translation and Dub Issues
The kanji for Fish-Men (魚人) is the reverse of the name for mermen (人魚). As a result, the English dub that was made by 4Kids inaccurately refers to the species as mermen. As a result, mermaids were thought by some to be the female of the species while fish-men were the male, although this is not the case.

Anime and Manga Influences
Fish-men were developed from the concept of the reverse mermaid, who had a fish upper half and human lower legs. Oda confirmed details about their race in a SBS corner and how instead of the fish half being centered around the tail end, it was focused instead on the upper half of the body.

The fish-man and merman conflict with humans bears a striking resemblance to the events of the Manga/Anime series Blue Submarine No. 6. In the series, a scientist named Zorndyke had witnessed his own family killed via racial purging prior to the storyline. He created a new race that were hybrids of human and the DNA of various Marine lifeforms. Zorndyke started a war between his "children" and mankind as a form of punish to mankind for its immoralities. Zorndyke's "son" and general, Verg, had qualities shared by both Arlong and Hody Jones. Verg preached and believed in superiority over humans and led a crew that wiped out many great cities, killing millions in the process while under the belief his "father" was creating a world for them. The reality was the new species was meant to rival, not wipe out mankind and the war was nothing but a test. When the conflict ended, Verg was given the chance to meet humans face to face, however, Verg decided humanity had nothing to offer him and refuse to speak to them rather then take the chance to settle their differences.

Trivia

 * Early on, Luffy drew what he thought a mermaid looked like. The first drawing was just a fish with four legs. The second was a fish standing up on two legs, looking more like a fish-man than a mermaid. When Sanji wondered if Nami was really a mermaid, Luffy added hair to his second sketch and wrote Nami's name. Luffy created Nami Fish-Woman (ナミ魚人). Ironically, someone who looked like his drawing of "mermaid" Nami actually appeared in Chapter 626. However, it is unknown if she was a female fish-man or mermaid since only the head and arms were seen.
 * Originally, Oda planned on introducing fish-men as far back as Chapter 3. However, due to his editor he held it back, ending up introducing the concept during the Arlong Park Arc instead.
 * Vander Decken IX was the first fish-man known to possess a Devil Fruit ability, thus being the first fish-man shown to be unable to swim. Jack is the second.
 * There was originally going to be a starfish fish-man named Hitodenashi (ヒトデナシ), a member of the Arlong Pirates, and Hatchan was originally going to be a squid female fish-man named Maple Reed (メイプル・リード).
 * Despite their race being referred to as "Fish-Men", Hatchan, Ikaros Much, Octopako, and Karma are based off of cephalopods, animals that are more closely related to arthropods than to fish. Whether Fish-Men can be based on other aquatic animals such as crustaceans or cnidarians is unknown.

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