10 Most Tragic Backstories in One Piece

TRAFALGAR LAW

Law was born in the country of Flevance in the North Blue, which was known as the “White City” for the color of the Amber Lead that was mined there.Law’s childhood coincided with the time when the symptoms of Amber Lead poisoning were at their peak within the country, and he was doomed to die before reaching adulthood.Law’s sister, who was in an advanced stage of the disease, was slowly dying. A local nun was collecting children to be taken off the island during the war and offered Law to come with her. He declined as he didn’t want to leave his sister behind. However, an extermination crew shot his parents before his very eyes. The nun and his friends were likewise killed in the raid and his parents’ hospital was burned down with his sister inside during the destruction of the country.An emotionally wrecked Law managed to escape the quarantine by hiding under dead bodies being shipped outside the city. Having lost everything and a wrong levied against everyone dear to him, Law became nihilistic and omnicidal, wishing to destroy as much of the world as he could without believing in anything anymore.Law’s life takes a drastic turn with the arrival of a mysterious figure known as Corazon, the younger brother of Donquixote Doflamingo. Corazon did eventually succeed in giving Law the eventual power to heal his Amber Lead Syndrome after feeding him the Ope Ope no Mi. Corazon’s selfless act to protect Law reaches its zenith when he sacrifices himself to save the young boy from Doflamingo’s wrath. This heart-wrenching moment not only shapes Law’s perception of family and sacrifice but also leaves an indelible mark on his character.

NICO ROBIN

Nico Robin, the enigmatic archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates, carries a haunting backstory that adds a layer of mystery to her character. Hailing from Ohara, an island of scholars seeking the truth of the Void Century, Robin witnessed the brutal annihilation of her homeland by the World Government. Robin’s mother was never able to return to her daughter, as the World Government destroyed Ohara and killed all of its inhabitants in order to prevent the knowledge of the Void Century from being revealed.As the sole survivor, Nico Robin carried the weight of her people’s history, making her a target of persecution. Forced into a life of constant evasion, Robin’s journey is a tapestry of loneliness, survival, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Her resilience and enigmatic aura make Nico Robin a compelling and tragic figure in the world of One Piece.

NAMI

Nami was born to unknown parents as an orphan of war from the Oykot Kingdom.  She was found as a baby by Nojiko, then shortly after by a heavily-injured Bell-mère, a female Marine, in the aftermath of a hostile battlefield. Bell-mère took Nami and Nojiko back with her to Cocoyasi Village, where she would then adopt the two children. The three became as close as any real family. However, when Nami was still a child, the fish-man pirate Arlong invaded her village and murdered her adoptive mother right before her eyes. Nami was then kidnapped and forced to become a cartographer for Arlong after he noticed the quality of her maps at such a young age.This pivotal event fueled her determination to free her village from Arlong’s control and marked the beginning of Nami’s journey toward becoming not just a skilled navigator but also a symbol of resilience and unwavering strength.

SANJI

Sanji was born as the third son and fourth child of the Vinsmoke Family, the reigning royal family of the Germa Kingdom. Sanji’s father, Vinsmoke Judge, planned to genetically enhance all of them before birth to make them have superhuman abilities and no emotions, and thus turn them into perfect soldiers in the future. His mother, Vinsmoke Sora, was against this practice and while being still pregnant, she took a drug that would ensure they would grow as normal humans with emotions. This intent resulted successful only on Sanji, at the cost of severely weakening her own health beyond recuperation.Sanji suffered relentless abuse from his family, particularly his emotionless father and cruel brothers.Eventually, Judge became convinced that Sanji would never develop superhuman abilities and decided to erase his son’s existence from his future plans by putting an iron mask on him and locking him in a Vinsmoke castle dungeon.The Vinsmoke family’s disregard for his aspirations and their harsh treatment fueled Sanji’s determination to escape. His journey from the restrictive confines of the Germa 66 to the freedom of the open sea with the Straw Hat crew showcases not only his culinary prowess but also the strength it took to defy his traumatic past and forge his own destiny.

BOA HANCOCK

Hancock’s backstory is one of the most tragic in the series. When Hancock was twelve years old, she and her sisters were included into the Kuja Pirates crew and were sailing on their ship, when suddenly, they were captured by slavers and sold to the World Nobles. The three suffered the greatest horrors imaginable. Four years later, Fisher Tiger appeared in Mary Geoise and freed as many slaves as he could without discrimination.Unfortunately, despite being freed, the experiences that Hancock went through corrupted her innocence, and she would later grow up to distrust everyone (with the exception of her sisters), men especially. Over the years, despite Elder Nyon’s love and mercy, Hancock became cold, burying any warm feelings, kindness, and sensitivity deep within her, and although she would later become the Empress of the Kuja, she was selfish and uncaring towards her people.

DONQUIXOTE DOFLAMINGO

Doflamingo was born into the Donquixote Family, one of the twenty royal families that formed the World Government. However, when he was eight years old, his father chose to cease being a World Noble and live a normal life along with his wife and two children. After moving to an unknown northern country, Doflamingo was still accustomed to his old lifestyle as a World Noble and arrogantly expected the commoners to bow for him. But despite his father renouncing his World Noble title, the people who they tried to live among resented them due to their longstanding hatred for the World Nobles.The people of the country persecuted him and his family, burning down their mansion and driving the family into a makeshift shack on a junk pile, forcing the children to eat out of garbage cans out of desperation. This traumatic experience shaped Doflamingo’s personality and led him to become the ruthless and manipulative pirate that he is today.At the age of ten, Doflamingo then decided to kill his father to regain his former status as a World Noble. He then returned to Mary Geoise with his father’s head in an attempt to regain his old status as a World Noble, but he was rejected as one of a “family of traitors” by the Celestial Dragons. Since then, he swore revenge on the Celestial Dragons for rejecting him.Doflamingo’s backstory is a tragic one, but it provides insight into his motivations and character. His experiences as a child led him to become the ruthless and manipulative pirate that he is today. Despite his villainous nature, Doflamingo is a complex character with a rich backstory that makes him one of the most interesting characters in One Piece.

SOUL KING BROOK

More than fifty years before the current events of the One Piece series, Brook was a member of the Rumbar Pirates. One day, the Rumbar Pirates came across a baby whale that got lost. After they played some music to cheer her up, the whale began following them. The Rumbar Pirates grew attached to the whale, accepting it as a sort of crewmember.After stopping at Reverse Mountain for some time to fix the ship, the Rumbar Pirates decided to leave Laboon under the care of Crocus. The Rumbar Pirates decided to leave it behind, fearing that further events could be too dangerous for Laboon, who was still a baby.

They then promised Laboon that they would return after some time.One day, captain Yorki and several other members of the crew caught an incurable disease. A selfless man, Yorki told the crew to leave him and the infected, worrying that the others could catch the same disease.Brook was appointed as the new captain of Rumbar Pirates, and they resumed their journey. Upon entering the Florian Triangle, they were attacked by some enemy pirates, who wounded all of them with poisoned weapons. As a result, Brook and the others were slowly wasting away, with no other horizon than death.Knowing that he had eaten the Yomi Yomi no Mi, Brook suggested one last thing to his crewmates. He suggested to them that they should play one last song that would be recorded on a Tone Dial that they had previously bought from a merchant. Since he would be revived after death, Brook promised his crewmates that he would take this Dial and play it for Laboon to hear. Overjoyed with Brook’s proposal, the remaining Rumbar Pirates mustered what little strength they had and started singing their favorite song one last time. Though joyful at recording their song, the remaining Rumbar Pirates slowly succumbed to the poison and died one after another. They each fell with smiles on their faces until only Brook was left. With a heavy heart and remembering the promise he made to Laboon, Brook continued playing all alone until he finally succumbed to the poison and died.After a year of searching, the soul of Brook found the Rumbar Pirates’ ship and his body, which had decomposed to bones. Resurrected as a skeleton, Brook put his comrades’ remains in coffins. However, Brook remained ever aware of his crew’s inability to keep their promise to Laboon.

TONY TONY CHOPPER

Chopper was originally a reindeer born 17 years ago on Drum Island, with the slight oddity of a blue nose, which caused other reindeer, even his parents, to treat him as an outcast (always making him follow the herd from far back). When the young reindeer ate the Hito Hito no Mi, however, his herd ostracized him (and with the increase in intelligence granted by the fruit, he was now acutely aware of it), and he struck out on his own. Unfortunately for Chopper, his attempts at communicating with the humans on Drum Island proved disastrous, with the villagers mistaking him for a Yeti and shooting at him. Chopper faced the harsh reality of prejudice from both humans and reindeer alike.His life took a turn when he encountered Dr. Hiluluk, a quirky and compassionate doctor who became a father figure to the lonely Chopper. Despite being short, their relationship was extremely strong, with Hiriluk being Chopper’s first friend. Hiriluk in return loved Chopper and even ate a poisonous mushroom to encourage Chopper to became a doctor.] That showed how strong Hiriluk’s love was, as he took the deadly dish despite his life’s work not yet proven to be completed. Chopper was devastated by his death and decided to become the best doctor he could through the teachings of Kureha. Despite the superior skills of Kureha and other doctors, Chopper would forever memorialize Hiriluk as the “greatest doctor in the world”.

SENOR PINK

Senor Pink, the seemingly eccentric and flamboyant member of the Donquixote Pirates, surprises fans with a backstory that reveals the depths of his character. Senor Pink’s backstory is a complex one that involves love, loss, and redemption.Pink met a woman named Russian, whom he fell in love with. He kept from her that he was a pirate—since she hated pirates—telling her that he was a legitimate banker, and the two were ultimately married. They had a son, Gimlet, but he died while Pink was on business with the Donquixote Family. When Russian found out that Pink was not a banker, she ran away from him. She was later caught in a landslide, making her fall into a permanent vegetative state. Since then, Senor Pink dressed like a baby because that was the only thing that made her smile. Even after her death, Pink continues to wear the infant clothes to this day, showing a deep sign of lingering love for her.

Bartholomwe Kuma

Bartholomew Kuma is a member of the near-extinct special race known as the Buccaneers. Four years after his birth, government agents tracked and captured Kuma’s family, enslaving them to the World Nobles. As Kuma grew up, he and his family were severely abused to the point that his mother died and he wished for death as well, but his father begged for him to endure. To cheer Kuma up, Clapp told Kuma about the warrior of liberation: Nika, that would one day rescue them from their imprisonment. Clapp sung Nika’s rhythm for Kuma before he was shot and killed by a noble.Kuma finally escaped during the God Valley Incident.At 17 years old, Kuma became a priest, spending his sundays helping the elderly population of a nearby village by literally taking in their pain every week through his Devil Fruit abilities, with Ginny taking care of him every time he did so. While Kuma had feelings for Ginny, he refused to accept her marriage proposal due to what happened with his mother, who was enslaved solely for having a buccaneer husband. At a certain point Ginny was captured by the World Government and became a wife to a World Noble. After contracting the Sapphire Scales disease, Ginny was released from slavery and used the little time remaining to her to return to the Sorbet Kingdom with her child, dying as a result. After mourning her death, Kuma swore he would adopt Bonney as his daughter and take care from now on in order to honor Ginny’s memory. Because of Bonney’s condition, Kuma was very protective of her. The reveal that his daughter would likely die before she could enjoy life, however, left him heartbroken.At a certain point Kuma was once again enslaved by the World Nobles. Heis now a human weapon called a “Pacifista”, developed by the scientist Vegapunk. Once Vegapunk finished his modifications on Kuma, the Warlord was converted into the first complete Pacifista cyborg, with the serial PX-0, and mentally died in the process.