The world of One Piece is riddled with various characters who have helped the overall development of the plot, and our favorite characters and pirate crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, led by none other than Monkey D. Luffy. Can you imagine what the show would be like without powerful opponents against whom the crew could test their strength and improve their individual abilities?
In this post, we will go through some of the best villains the anime series has introduced so far. Through their acts and villainous intentions, these One Piece villains have made it possible for our heroes to shine brightly. Also, without them, the show may very well be over. They are the twists and turns that make the plot of the One Piece anime so wholesome in the long run. So without further ado, here’s a list of the best villains in One Piece!
Spoiler Warning: Since this list features the best One Piece antagonists, there will be spoilers. So, only read the article if you are caught up with the story or don’t care about the spoilers.
Best One Piece Villains of 2023
13. Hody Jones
Hody Jones was the main villain in the Fish-Man Island Arc of the One Piece Saga. He is a White Shark fish-man and the captain of the New Fishman Pirates before they meet their end at the hands of the Straw Hat Crew. He was once a soldier of the Neptune Army led by King Neptune before he became a pirate.
His hatred for humans led him to kill Queen Otohime simply because she wanted to establish a friendship with humans. Hody Jones saw Arlong as a mentor and someone to look up to, yet his ideals and implementation methods significantly differed from his supposed mentor’s. Unlike Arlong, he had no problem torturing his own species if they went against his plans.
Hody Jones was born with a frail stature, making it difficult for him to rise to the same strength he perceived as Arlongs’. Despite this natural frailty, his unjustified hatred for human beings led him to take steroids. Interestingly, after he was defeated by Luffy both on land and at sea, the aftereffects of the steroids kicked in, making him age very quickly and making him one of the weakest characters left in the show.
12. The World Government
In the world of One Piece, where good is evil and some evil is good, the World Government is considered the biggest threat to liberty and humanity. The World Government is a global regime comprising countries from all over the world.
Initially beginning with just 20 kingdoms, the regime has, over the past 800 years in One Piece history, grown to accommodate an alliance of over 170 civilized countries. They are the most powerful military and political group in the world.
The World Government tried establishing its own rule in pirate-populated areas through the “Shichibukai,” the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The Shichibukai were a group of powerful pirates who allied themselves with the World Government to get some legitimacy.
The World Government does what it considers “necessary” to maintain world peace. They are charged with maintaining international order. However, in this quest, they do many questionable acts with no remorse. For this reason, they, more than any other group, are considered one of the biggest villains in One Piece.
11. Gecko Moria
Gecko Moria is a Paramecia Devil Fruit user wielding the Kage Kage no Mi, and he was the main antagonist in the Thriller Bark arc of the One Piece franchise.
Moria’s devil fruit allows him to manifest and control the shadows of living creatures. It also allows the user to create zombies by stealing shadows of people and inserting them into dead people. Stealing a shadow gives him momentary control over the abilities of the owner of the shadow, which he can use by infusing it into one of his zombies.
Although the best of Moria has not been seen, his abilities are enough for him to make this list. Just like he did with getting his hands on Luffy’s shadow, if Moria were to get his hand on the shadow of one of the Emperors of the Sea like Big Mom or Kaido, we are likely to see an evening stronger villain emerge.
10. Vinsmoke Judge
Vinsmoke Judge is the King of the Germa Kingdom, the leader of the elite group, the Germa 66, and interestingly, he is the father of one of our favorite characters, Sanji of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is the secondary antagonist during the first half of the Whole Cake Island Arc.
In his quest for power, he intended to gain Big Mom’s and her crew’s support and hoped to use this alliance to gain even more influence.
Vinsmoke Judge is also feared for his brain. He is a skilled scientist who once worked with the world-renowned scientist, Vegapunk. Through his knowledge of genetics, he modified his children. This means that in the future, Judge could create a stronger military made up of soldiers of the same grade as his Germa 66. This makes him a villain to be wary of.
Again, his might is recognized even by the World Government. Thus, the World Government goes as far as lending him their military might through the navy to search for his son, Sanji.
9. Arlong
Arlong is a saw shark Fishman pirate and undoubtedly one of the best One Piece villains ever. He captained the All Fishman Pirate crew and is an ex-member of the Sun Pirates crew. Notably, he was the role model and inspiration for the New Fishman Pirates.
Arlong was the main villain at the Arlong Park Arc and also, at the time, had the highest bounty in all of East Blue before Luffy defeated him for Nami’s sake. Like his successor, Hody Jones, Arlong was a xenophobe who hated humans strongly.
Arlong as a villain, exemplified excesses. He was driven by his love for money and power and saw no problem using even those he hated for his purposes. Although he keeps to his word, he has no issue exploiting loopholes in his word to serve his own ends.
8. Blackbeard (Marshall D. Teach)
Perhaps one of the most feared pirates in the world of One Piece is the leader of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach, more popularly known as Blackbeard.
He was a relatively unknown character who served under Whitebeard. However, he killed a division commander, stole the devil fruit, the Yami Yami no Mi, and ate it, thus gaining the power of darkness.
At Marine Ford, Blackbeard succeeded in stealing Whitebeard’s devil fruit, Gura Gura no Mi (Quake Quake Fruit), making him the only known person ever to have more than one devil fruit power. Having two powerful devil fruits, one of which allows him to nullify another devil fruit user’s powers, Blackbeard may very well be the strongest pirate in the One Piece world currently.
As a villain, he is one to look out for constantly, as no one knows what action he will take next. And it’s probably a given that Blackbeard will be the ultimate enemy that the Straw Hat Pirates will have to defeat!
7. Enel
Enel is a villain that remains green in memory because of how he dealt with the Straw Hats. Enel, one of the most powerful One Piece villains before the crew crossed into the Grand Line, represents evil without cause. He is the main villain of the Skypiea arc and, consequently, the grand villain of the Sky Island Saga.
He is a lawless human being with a god complex. Based on this complex, he acts ruthlessly toward the inhabitants of Sky Island, ruling them with a fist of fear. His devil fruit, the Goro Goro no Mi, a logia-type devil fruit, granted him the powers of lightning, making him a Lightning human being.
With this power, his observation haki, and his natural hatred for all around him, he is an all-around villain. However, he is defeated by Luffy, but the only reason Luffy was able to defeat him was because Luffy is made of rubber, and thanks to his devil fruit, Enel’s lightning powers had no effect on him!
6. Big Mom
Charlotte Linlin, more popularly known as Big Mom, captain of the Big Mom Pirates, is one of the four strongest pirates in the One Piece world. She is an Emperor of the Sea and one of the major villains in the story. She is the main villain in the Whole Cake Island Saga and is a co-villain in the ongoing Wano Country Saga.
Her Soru Soru no Mi devil fruit gives her the power to extract the souls of people who fear her. It also gives her the ability to give part of her soul to objects and animate them with life. Using her animated weapons, Prometheus, Zeus, and Napoleon, she dominates her opponents repeatedly.
Although she is a villain in the story, Big Mom dreams of a world without discrimination and segregation. However, given her track record and her ability to kill those that oppose or fear her, her utopia may be one that fits only her ideals and nothing else.
5. Magellan
Magellan is the former warden of the maximum security prison of the World Government, Impel Down. During the Impel Down Arc, he was the main villain. However, it won’t be right to call him a villain outright because he was just doing his job as a prison warden. His role was to prevent Luffy from leaving the maximum prison once he broke into it in search of his brother, Ace.
Magellan ate the Doku Doku no Mi, a paramecia-type of devil fruit that allows him to use, create, and control poison however he pleases. As a result of his abilities, he cannot be poisoned but enjoys eating poisoned food. Although it does not kill him, it leaves him with diarrhea which is a big problem since he loves to eat poisoned food.
Magellan is one of the best One Piece villains because of his strong control over his poisons, which worries even former Shichibukai members. And he is also one of the characters who almost killed Luffy, and even fought against Blackbeard’s crew single-handedly and incapacitated them all!
4. Crocodile
Another difficult-to-forget villain is Crocodile, the main villain in the Alabasta Arc. During the arc, using his crime organization, the Baroque Works, he wrecked the Alabasta economy, created a drought, and ruled the kingdom through fear.
When Luffy and the Straw Hats entered the city, they succeeded in taking him down. However, when Luffy invaded Impel Down, where he was being kept prisoner, he managed to escape due to the ruckus caused by Luffy. His devil fruit, Suna Suna no Mi, which gives him control over the sand in its dry form, makes him a character to look out for in the upcoming One Piece arcs.
3. Rob Lucci
A list of top One Piece villains would be incomplete without making mention of the Leader of the now-defunct CP-9 assassination group. Rob Lucci is a character that instilled fear into the hearts of both characters and fans of the show during the Enies Lobby arc.
He is ruthless, and his fight against Luffy proves his strength. I think that Luffy vs. Rob Lucci was one of the best fights in One Piece, and there are very few fights that I’ll put above it.
After his defeat by Luffy, he managed to join Cipher Pol again and is now a member of the CP-0, the strongest organization among the Cipher Pol. Since CP0 is now appearing more than ever in the story, we will likely see Rob Lucci face off against Luffy and his crew again!
Spoiler alert, he will appear in the next arc once the Wano arc concludes!
2. Kaido
Kaido is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters introduced in the show and one of the most powerful One Piece villains so far. Although the Wano Country Arc starts by pointing fingers at Kurozumi Orochi as the villain in the country, the truth about the villain behind the scenes is finally revealed.
Kaido is the leader of the Beast Pirates, and together with Big Mom, he is a former member of the Rocks Pirate Group. He is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea and is considered the “Strongest Creature in the World.”
What makes Kaido so frightful as a villain is his inhuman strength and his advanced conqueror’s haki. He has failed at committing suicide time and time again and believes that he cannot die. Also, he has a crew of over 20,000 people, with 500 of them being users of artificially created devil fruits.
With the new alliance between the Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, we can only hope to see how much more havoc he will wreak.
1. Donquixote Doflamingo
Doflamingo is a villain, through and through, and one of the most interesting characters in the story so far. He held the entirety of Dressrosa captive under his rule, using his teammates’ abilities at various strategic locations. Using the country as a base of operations, he grew to the point of being the most notable underworld broker selling artificial devil fruits.
Doflamingo is a master planner able to rationalize and take advantage of different situations. He was the arch-nemesis of Trafalgar D. Law and a member of the Shichibukai before he was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and his subsequent arrest by Admiral Fugitora. Currently, he is held at Impel Down under the watchful gaze of Magellan.
While Doflamingo might not be one of the most powerful villains in One Piece, he is hands down one of the best villains because of how cunning he can be. He killed his father and brother without remorse, he has committed several crimes without feeling guilty, and he’s shown to try to kill an entire kingdom’s population just so he could win.
Who Do You Think Are The Best Villains in One Piece?
So, that was the list featuring the best One Piece villains in the show so far. While this list will be updated, I am sure that not much will change as the story of One Piece is in its final leg. I might vary the rankings a bit depending on what certain characters do in the story going ahead, but that will probably be it.
That being said, let me know who you think are the best One Piece villains. Do you think I missed out on a villain you think should be featured? Then let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Also Read: How to Watch One Piece in Order?