Straw Hat Pirates

File:Strawhatpirates.jpg

Straw-Hats' Jolly Roger.

The Straw Hat (Mugiwara) Pirates (sometimes referred to as the Luffy Pirates) are the main focus and protagonists of the anime and manga One Piece, called "Straw Hats" after Luffy's signature straw hat that was given to him by Shanks. Up until the Water 7 arc, they lived on a ship called Going Merry, which had been temporarily out of commission until the end of the Enies Lobby arc. The Straw Hat crew stands out amongst pirate crews, or other evil people for various reasons. They never attack innocent people and always step in to stop an injustice. They are basically good guy pirates, led by their own sense of justice and their spirit of adventure, though they could care less about breaking the law, especially considering how Luffy said "I don't care about the world or about the government" during one of his encounters with the World Government's agents. In recent chapters, the Straw Hats declared war against the World Government, which may likely result in each member being given a bounty or having their bounties raised.

A shared trait of all of the Straw Hats is that they all have a dream they wish to fulfill, and a tragic past.

Straw Hat Pirates

Statistics

• Current Location:
  • Manga: Water 7
  • Anime: Enies Lobby
• Current Enemies:
  • World Government
• Ships:
  • "Going Merry" - The crew's ship from chapter 41 to chapter 430.
  • As yet unnamed ship, currently being built out of the legendary Adam wood.
• Number of Crew Members: 6 (Franky and Usopp not counted)
• Combined Bounty: 239,000,000 Belli

File:Mugiwara.jpg

From left to right: Nico Robin; Sogeking (a.k.a. Usopp; not officially rejoined); Roronoa Zoro; Monkey D. Luffy; Sanji; Tony Tony Chopper; Nami; Franky (not officially a Straw Hat as of yet)

Current Crew Members

• Captain: Monkey D. Luffy
• First Mate: Roronoa Zoro
• Navigator: Nami
• Chef: Sanji
• Doctor: Tony Tony Chopper
• Archaeologist: Nico Robin

Former Crew Members

• Marksman: Usopp, quit during Water 7 arc; Acting as allies during Enies lobby incident as Sogeking, though everyone except Luffy and Chopper saw through his disguise.
• Former Ship: Going Merry died right after rescuing the straw-hats from Enies Lobby (chapter 430). It was buried in a viking funeral
• Nefertari Vivi & Karoo: She was helped by the Straw Hats and together they took out Baroque Works. Though she very nearly joined, she reluctantly refused and remains the princess of Alabasta.

Crew Strength

Despite only having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are extremely strong. So far, they had defeated pirates and other groups that are considered powerful:

• Lady Alvida's Pirates
• Buggy's Band of Pirates (Their captain served on board of Gold Roger's crew)
• Black Cat pirates
• Don Krieg's Pirate Armada (Though they were previously heavily damaged by Mihawk)
• Arlong Pirates (composed of fishman, who by themselves have strong physical abilities)
• Wapol crew
• Baroque Works (which includes Sir Crocodile, a Shichibukai)
• Bellamy the Hyena
• Eneru and Skypiea's Priests
• Foxy Pirates (Davy Back Fight)
• Franky Family (san Franky)
• 2000 Marines (at least 1000, which is by Luffy alone) on Enies Lobby
• CP9 (Considered the strongest in all of its history, including members that were thought to be able to survive a Buster Call's attack)

Anime Only

• Ganzack's Pirates
• El Drago Pirates
• Trump Sibling Pirates
• Gasparde's Pirates

Dreams

Each crewmate has their own dream to achieve. Some, like Chopper and Nami, are already doing so, while others, like Luffy and Zoro, are trying to reach a certain goal. It should be noted that all these dreams force them to travel the Grand Line. So far, Luffy's dream is the hardest to achieve. Not only would his goal require him to make it all the way to the end of the world, but he must also defeat foes whom the world considers invincible. Even those whom he knows personally, such as his elder brother who also wants to obtain the treasure One Piece, Portgas D. Ace.

• Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King and raise a 'super' crew to back him up. To become the Pirate King, he must find Gold Roger's famed treasure, One Piece, which is inferred to be in Raftel. As for a crew, he has brought together so far six people who have caught his attention. Luffy also is looking for Shanks, to meet up with him again and return his straw hat to him.

• Zoro's dream, shared with Kuina, is to become the world's greatest swordsman. To fulfil this dream, he must surpass every swordsman in the world, including the world's current greatest swordsman Mihawk.

• Nami's dream is to draw a map of the entire world. She has already mapped all the areas that have been traveled, and it can be assumed that she will create a world map once the story is over. Also at the beginning of the story she was also trying to get 100,000,000 Belli in order to buy and save her hometown, Cocoyashi Village, from the clutches of the fishman pirate Arlong.

• Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea, much like his father, Yassop. For this to happen, he must become a strong enough sniper to be recognized. He also has an ambition of travelling to Elbaf, the warrior nation of the giants, and to see the great warriors that he idolizes so. Usopp has realized this dream to some extent in Sogeking

• Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find the All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line, and waters from all over the four seas gather there, bringing fish from all over the globe.

• Chopper's dream is to travel across the world, exploring with his friends and expanding his horizons. He also has an ambition to become a Panacea and be a doctor that can cure any disease - even the one held by an entire country.

• Robin's dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the True History, continuing the research of her mother, Nico Olvia, and her old teacher and mentor, Professor Clover.

The "X" Mark

During their Alabasta adventure, they had to face a very tricky opponent, Mr. 2 Bon Clay. He, with his Devil Fruit Power, can turn into anyone of them, so Zoro came up with a very good idea, which excited Luffy. They made a black X mark on their left arms, as a symbol of their belonging to the Straw Hats.

• When Vivi is heading toward Alubarna, the capital city of Alabasta Kingdom, she met Ussop, but she wasn't sure if he was him or not. As she asked him to show their recognizing symbol, he showed a bandage, but without undercovering the X mark. Vivi understood that he was Bon Clay disguised as Ussop and ran away.
• When the Straw Hats were leaving Alabasta, they could not say good bye to Vivi in a proper way, to avoid the princess being recognized by the marines as their crewmate. So, they stand with their backs facing Vivi, raising their left hands and showing their X. Vivi replied in the same way too, as a symbol of their unbreakable friendship tie.

Recruitment

In the beginning of the manga, Luffy claimed that he wanted at least 10 people to join his crew before entering the Grand Line. This was changed after Usopp told Luffy that after "the chef" joined them, they would rescue Nami and go to the Grand Line. Although this is long past the expiring date, it can still serve as evidence that there will be 10 or more Straw Hats at one point of the manga. Luffy also claimed in the beginning of the manga, that he will gather a crew strong enough to surpass his childhood hero Red-Haired Shanks.

Usually when he asks someone to join, Luffy is turned down completely. Later on the person in question will join anyways. The major exceptions to this rule are Usopp, who was thrilled to be asked to join and accepted immediately, and Nico Robin, who invited herself into the crew and had to convince the others to let her stay. Luffy doesn't seem to mind if someone he wants to recruit has a profession or not. He allows Usopp to join, and later on names him the team's sniper, and considered Vivi a member even though she has no profession. He also offered Gaimon the chance to join his crew (which Gaimon tearfully turned down) when Gaimon had no apparent usfulness to the crew.

Though most adventures in One Piece are random, there seems to be a 'process' for recruitment. First, a situation arises where someone new is needed. The crew comes across someone who fulfills the criteria (i.e. Chopper the doctor, Nami the navigator). Luffy offers the person a position, and is usually turned down initially. Meanwhile, a situation arise where, some way or another, Luffy ends up battling a 'boss' character, and the would-be crewmate battles the underling (i.e. Luffy vs Don Krieg after Sanji battles Gin and Pearl), during which their backstory and dreams are revealed, thus convincing them to join the Straw Hat Crew. This process also fooled many fans into thinking Vivi would become a permenent crew member. The only crew members not following this process were Nami and Robin, both of whose history was revealed later on. Nami's official recruitment was when Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji defeated Arlong and his pirates. Robin was the first to initially willingly join, and officially after Luffy's crew came to her rescue from CP9.

If a Straw Hat crew member leaves the crew without Luffy's permission, Luffy usually does his best to recruit them back. So far Robin and Usopp have both left the crew, Robin however rejoined it later. Usopp has officially left the Straw Hat crew, yet returned to the crew in his alias "Sogeking" to help rescue Nico Robin. It is yet unknown when, or if, he will truly rejoin the crew.

Next Member Clues

File:Shipwright.png

Luffy draws his ideal shipwright

Currently the Straw Hats intend to find a shipwright to join the crew, and there is much speculation among fans as to who will be the eighth member. At this point, it is highly likely that Franky will assume this position, although some other characters (most notable among them is Paulie) may still be seen as a viable option.

Clues Franky may join

One clue Franky may join comes from Luffy's description (and rather terrible drawing) of his ideal shipwright. He stated he wanted someone built like a mountain, with big arms, and that he must be 5 meters tall. Aside from a shipwright, Luffy also wanted a musician to join the crew ever since the beginning of the series ("because pirates love music.") It is quite possible that with the recruitment of a shipwright, Luffy will decide he has all the essential jobs, and decide to pursue a musician. Franky, who is also skilled in the guitar, may possibly take the role as the shipwright and the musician (although his role as a Musician might be temporary as Usopp played two roles, as the Sniper, and the temporary shipwright).

Franky has a dream like the current Straw Hats (to build a ship that can travel all the way to the end of the world, presumably Raftel) as well as having a past in which something tragic happened. In the latest chapter, the Going Merry has been burned, thus giving Franky a chance to fulfill his own dream of building a ship that will sail to the end of the Grand Line.

One of the problems mentioned when they first decided to get a shipwright to join the crew was finding one willing to join a pirate crew. Since being seen with Usopp, Franky has been labeled an ally of the Straw Hats by CP9 several times and they presume he is with them already. He has defeated three CP9 members (Fukurou, Spandam, and Nero) already and has been an important aid in Robin's rescue. Franky admits until he met the Straw Hats, he never had the chance or the strength to carry out the vengeance against Spandam he has desired since CP5 took his mentor Tom away. This is the first sign he now thinks highly of the Straw Hats.

He appeared in a color spread in chapter 377 with the crew over a banner that said 'Mugiwara Pirates'. He also appeared with them on the cover of Volume 43 [1]. He will be a playable character in the new Shonen Jump game: Jump Ultimate Stars for the Nintendo DS in Japan [2].

Recently in chapter 431, after Franky and the Straw Hats return to Water 7 from Ennies Lobby, Franky provides what may be the beginning of officially joining the crew. Talking with the Straw Hats, he reveals that he used the 200 million berri he stole from them to buy a large piece of the Adam Tree. The Adam Tree is a legendary tree whose wood is said to be invincible. Gol D. Rogers ship was built out of wood from the Adam Tree, but no others. Franky intents to build a new ship from the wood he just received and sail around the world in the new ship. The clincher is that Franky also intends to give the ship to the Straw Hats for not only saving him and his 'family' but for all the trouble they caused them on Water 7. Since he intends to give them the new ship as well as sail on it around the world, Franky seems to be saying he will either be joining the crew or at least travelling with them.

Other Possibilities

• Given that the Franky Family are allies of the Straw Hats, the World Government may hunt them down. The CP9 agents are the only ones on Enies Lobby who've seen the Franky Family and know they are from Water 7. If the agents died in the Buster Call, then the Franky Family is safe. If they survived (as most people in One Piece tend to do), it is possible Franky will have to return to them to captain a new pirate crew.
• Alternatively, Galley-La, the Giants, and the Franky Family may elect to join the Straw Hats. As evidence for this, the Marines have referred to all of the forces assaulting Enies Lobby as 'Straw Hats.' Moreover in chapter 380, Zambai, Franky's lieutenant confirmed that all the forces invading Enies Lobby were Straw Hats. However, everyone joining the Straw Hats would push the size of Luffy's crew to six times the size he would prefer.
• The final (and most unlikely) possibility is that the Franky Family will join up with the Straw Hat pirates as a separate division of a larger Straw Hat fleet. Many pirate groups seem to be organized this way, notably Don Krieg's pirate armada, (with sub-commanders Gin and Pearl), and Whitebeard's fleet, whose second division is captained by Luffy's brother Portugas D. Ace. Ace himself, however, has noted that "a small crew seems right," for Luffy.

Bounties

The Straw Hats have 3 bounty heads in their crew, with a total bounty of 239,000,000 Berries:

• Monkey D. Luffy currently holds a 100,000,000 Berry bounty on his head, but because of his victory over Rob Lucci and the CP9, his bounty may increase signifincantly in the coming chapters. Since he defeated Sir Crocodile in the Arabasta Arc he has had a 100,000,000 Berry bounty. Before that, he had a 30,000,000 Berry bounty after beating Arlong back in the East Blue Saga.
• Roronoa Zoro has a 60,000,000 Berry bounty on his head for defeating about 100 bounty hunters at Whisky Peak, and for defeating the Baroque Works agent Mr. 1 (a.k.a. Das Bones).
• Nico Robin has had a 79,000,000 Berry bounty from over 20 years ago, when she was eight. The claimed cause was that she had sunk 6 Marine ships, yet in the Enies Lobby arc it is revealed as nothing more than a lie from the government, and the real reason behind her bounty is her ability to read Poneglyphs. The 6 ships she was accused of destroying were actually destroyed by Jaguar D. Saul during the Buster Call on Ohara while he was trying to protect her.

Due to the assault of Enies Lobby, it is speculated that some members may earn bounties or recieve bounty increases. News of the event was recently delievered to an excited Blackbeard, exclamining that it would give Luffy a huge bounty.

"Temporary Pirates"

Through the series there have been people who have traveled with the Straw Hat Pirates for a short period of time.

Travelling Companions

• Koby (travelled with Luffy through the Alvida and Axe-Hand Morgan arcs): Koby left to join a naval base as a choreboy, and never was interested in becoming a pirate.
• Johnny and Yosaku (Baratie and Arlong Park arcs): They traveled to Baratie and helped Usopp transport Zoro to Cocoyashi Village where Nami had taken the Going Merry. They stayed there once the crew headed to the Grand Line because they could no longer be partners to Zoro as he was now a criminal and as bounty hunters they could not be seen with criminals.
• Apis (Anime only; Warship Island arc): Traveled with and also helped by the Straw Hats to return a Thousand Year Dragon to its nest.
• Portgas D. Ace (Anime Only; part of the Alabasta arc): Neither on the Straw Hats' side or against, he runs into them in Alabasta and tags along for a short while, destroying the Billions' ships.
• Anaguma/Adelle Bascùd (Anime Only; Movie 4: Dead End Adventure): Sailed with the crew during the Dead End Race.
• Gan Fall & Pierre (Skypiea arc): The Straw Hats helped him free Skypiea from Eneru, and he remained as the new god.

Major Allies

• Mr. 2 Bon Clay (End of Alabasta arc): He helped Straw Hats to safely leave Alabasta, disguising himself and his crew as the Straw Hats, fighting against the ships led by Captain Hina.
• Franky & Franky Family: (Enies Lobby arc) The family had helped the Straw Hats during the assault of Enies Lobby to ensure they can face the CP9 in Tower of Justice. Franky himself also helped the Straw Hats defeat a CP9's agent, unlock Robin, and fought against 200 Marines captains during their escape from the island.
• Paulie,Peepley Lulu & Tilestone: (Enies Lobby arc) Paulie, Lulu & Tilestone also helped the Straw Hats during the assault of Enies Lobby. Paulie also saved the lives of the Franky Family and the two giants during the Buster Call.
• Oimo and Kaashi: (Enies Lobby arc) Originally working for the World Government as the gatekeepers of Enies Lobby, they changed sides when it was revealed by Usopp that the government had been lying to them for the past fifty years. They provided support to the Franky Family and Galley-La shipwrights in defending against the various Marines during the courthouse battle, and also helped carry them to safety when the Buster Call started attacking.
• Sogeking (Usopp): While everyone except for Luffy and Chopper recognized him as Usopp, "Sogeking" himself had not stated that he's joined the Straw Hats, while Usopp has officially quit.

Soon To Be Nicknames

• Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy
• Demon Eyes Roronoa Zolo
• Tempeast Nami
• Sogeking Usopp
• Flame Legs Sanji
• The Beast Tony Tony Chopper
• Black Dahlia Nico Robin
• Man Of Steel Franky