The 10 Best Pirates in Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series

Adapting beloved characters and arcs from anime into live-action has proven to be no easy feat. Considered sacred source material, the One Piece manga and anime’s delightful storylines and a cherished ensemble cast of swashbucklers had no shortage of beloved pirate allies and foes that fans nervously waited to see depicted in live-action. While many live-action anime adaptations have fallen short, Netflix’s 2023 One Piece live-action series defied expectations with its surprise success.

By merging various story arcs and characters, the adaptation better renders the few fan-favorite pirates platformed in Season 1, offering even the most devoted One Piece fans a refreshing alternative to the anime and manga. Luffy’s allies and adversaries are given impressive live-action adaptations in One Piece, offering fans both faithfully depicted pirates and ones elevated from existing canon with exciting new elements expanding on the source material.

10 Don Krieg’s Presence Is a Fleeting Homage to His Anime Form

Don Krieg is portrayed in live-action by actor Milton Schorr.

In the manga and anime, Don Krieg is the East Blue’s most formidable foe and, by proxy, the first real challenge for Luffy and company. A Beratie boss battle, Krieg’s arc lasts multiple episodes, with his attempted overthrow of Baratie catalyzing Sanji’s decision to join the ranks of Luffy’s crew.

Despite Krieg’s established import in One Piece predecessors, the live-action Netflix series reduces the pirate lord to a glorified Easter egg for eagle-eyed fans to admire. Instead of being a challenge for the Straw Hat Pirates, the live-action Don Krieg is a challenge for Dracule Mihawk, with Mihawk’s conquering of Krieg used to establish the former as a lurking danger for the folks on the Going Merry. This deviation from the anime is one of the better live-action One Piece plot changes, with Krieg’s would-be screen time used to better flesh out other characters, like Arlong and Koby.

9 Gold Roger’s Excellent Execution Eased Audience Angst

Gold Roger is portrayed in live-action by actor Michael Dorman.

Wealth. Fame. Power. The man who had everything in this world… The Pirate King, Gold Roger. The great treasure he left behind, One Piece has opened the curtain on a grand era! It is a time when eager pirates set sail, battle, and become great! The Great Age of Pirates! Words he spoke drove countless men out to sea. And so men set sights on the Grand Line, in pursuit of their dreams. The world has truly entered a Great Pirate Era!

The stakes were high when Netflix’s One Piece adaptation opened with a live-action depiction of the anime’s iconic opening narration. Gold Roger’s declaration of his titular treasure hidden at sea delivered at his execution serves as the inciting incident to One Piece‘s pirating adventures and, in the instance of the live-action adaptation, establishes the tone for the series to follow.

Despite his limited screen time, Michael Dorman channels intensity as Gold Roger befitting the character’s Warlord of the Sea title while never wavering in breathing humanity and whimsy into the role. Dorman’s performance brings to life the indelible spirit and sense of adventure at the heart of the One Piece story, preparing audiences to root Luffy along his journey to become King of the Pirates. The accurate, intense depiction of such an adored moment cooled fan doubt and raised excitement for the adventures beyond.

8 Alvida Is the Perfect First Foe, With a Promise of More

Alvida is portrayed in live-action by actress Ilia Isorelýs Paulino.

The first boss battle is an important checkpoint for any action-packed protagonist’s story. Luffy’s encounter with the dangerous pirate lord Alvida in the live-action One Piece is no exception. In her brief appearance at the series’ start, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino demands attention with her intimidating and charismatic screen presence, whether wielding Alvida’s anime-and-manga-accurate spiked club or making the pitiful Koby’s life a living hell.

Alvida’s mighty aura makes it clear she’s tough to take down, making her the perfect foil for live-action Luffy’s debut fight scene. With her grit outmatched by Luffy’s charm and gum-gum abilities, Alvida is sent packing by a rubbery attack from Luffy. Her arc seems primed to continue in Season 2, though, with the Season 1 finale teasing an unlikely alliance with her and Buggy. Hopefully, the live-action One Piece finds ways to elevate Alvida’s story from the source material, which controversially has much to do with objectifying the character’s physical appearance.

7 Dracule Mihawk Remains Formidable and Fancy as Ever in Live-Action

Dracule Mihawk is portrayed in live-action by actor Steven Ward.

No hero’s journey is satisfying without the hero redeeming themselves after a devastating defeat. In that spirit, One Piece‘s live-action adaptation expertly deploys Dracule Mihawk — the proverbial dark before the dawn for the Straw Hat Pirates. After taking out anime big-bad Don Krieg, Mihawk swiftly defeats Roronoa Zoro with a brutal slice of his blade — an especially shocking display after spending episodes establishing Roronoa as the deadliest dueler in the series.

The battle puts Roronoa out of commission and, most tragically, snuffs out the Going Merry muscle’s dream of being the greatest swordsman. The coupled devastation sows discord among the Straw Hat Pirates, giving them a tough hand to overcome before winning the day at season’s end. While Mihawk’s screen time is reduced compared to the anime, the marriage of the psychological and literal warfare he enacts on the One Piece heroes lends credence to his power among the ranks of the adaptation’s other pirates.

6 Kuro Slices and Dices His Way Into Live-Action Immortalization

Kuro is portrayed in live-action by actor Alexander Maniatis.

Alexander Maniatis brings Kuro to life in One Piece in two episodes inspired by the Syrup Village arc from the manga and anime. Secretly the Black Cat Pirates’ captain, Kuro poses as the mild-mannered butler Klahadore to long-con — and eventually kill — estate master Katya and inherit her wealth.

Kuro’s dichotomy of insidious and flamboyant behavior is on full display in live-action, as in the anime with Maniatis’ performance of the duplicitous character evoking anime and manga counterparts whether Kuro’s iconic cat claws are sheathed or not. Maniatis’ adept portrayal of the pirate’s familiar attributes is a major contributor to the live-action One Piece‘s successful adaptation of the source material’s tone. Excitingly, Kuro survives his final clash against Luffy and company, leaving fans hopeful the Black Cat Pirates will return in future live-action One Piece seasons.

5 When It Comes to Formidable Foes, Buggy the Clown Is No Joke

Buggy is portrayed in live-action by actor Jeff Ward.

Considering pop culture’s constant churn of clown-coded baddies and Buggy being so beloved among longtime One Piece loyalists, Jeff Ward had a daunting assignment when cast as the pirate villain in Season 1 of Netflix’s One Piece adaptation. Not only did the actor have to distinguish himself among the Straw Hat rogues gallery, but he also had to stand out among an overpopulated field of jeer-worthy jesters.

Ward’s Buggy evades comparisons to ghosts of Jokers and Pennywise’s past, giving the live-action Straw Hat Pirates and One Piece Season 1 its most recurring and devilish antagonist. Throughout his season-long arc, Buggy dishes sidesplitting humor while pendulum swinging between fearsome foe and unlikely ally, then back again. It’s quite the journey, but the enigmatic villain never grows tiresome, keeping fans excited to see the implied partnership between him and Alvida teased in One Piece‘s Season 1 finale to take shape in Season 2.

4 Shanks Faithfully Tugs Heartstrings as Luffy’s Father-Figure

Shanks is portrayed in live-action by actor Peter Gadiot.

Plenty of paternal drama peppers the popular One Piece anime and manga series, with protagonist Luffy and his fellow ensemble members all having a handful of father and mother figures. Netflix’s adaptation introduces Luffy against the backdrop of his childhood, spent reared by renowned swashbuckler Red-Haired Shanks. Shanks’ presence in both recurring flashbacks and flash-sideways scenes situates the pirate as integral to the story in the live-action One Piece saga as he is in the anime iteration.

Throughout its multi-decade run, it’s been heavily implied that all roads — or in this case, waters — lead to Luffy having to defeat Shanks to become the King of the Pirates and obtain the titular treasure. The Netflix series seems to be setting the stage similarly, with Peter Gadiot’s performance as Red-Haired Shanks anchoring the pirate’s parental relationship with Young Luffy in emotional stakes sure to devastate audiences should their eventual faceoff prove inevitable. One Piece also fares well at demonstrating Shanks’ pirate expertise in live-action, staying true to the qualities that make him one of the highest bounties in the anime canon.

3 Chef Zeff Leads by Example Through His Unthinkable Sacrifice

Arlong is portrayed in live-action by actor McKinley Belcher III.

Like Gold Roger, the loyal retelling of Chef Zeff’s arc was imperative to successfully channeling the One Piece anime’s essence in live-action. Not only is Craig Faribrass a dead-ringer for his anime analog, but he also brilliantly captures the constitution and spirit some pirates possess in the world of One Piece — the kind that inspired Luffy’s dreams to be King of the Pirates and audiences have rooting for over decades watching the classic shonen.

Zeff’s sacrifice of his leg to help sustain young Sanji and keep him alive is the kind of moral compass that the Going Merry gang needs exposure to when developing their pirate code. In Zeff’s rescue and continued guardianship over Sanji through adulthood, as well as in his acts of bravery against the invading forces of Arlong and his men, he perfectly demonstrates the nobility, loyalty and sense of honor propelling Luffy and crew onward and upward in their pure-hearted pirating journey.

2 Live-Action Arlong Is More Than a Monstrous Mobster

Arlong is portrayed in live-action by actor McKinley Belcher III.

Arlong is a one-dimensional baddie in both the One Piece manga and anime. Like the live-action adaptation, he’s a gang leader cruelly controlling Nami under the false promise of one day bartering her hometown back to her. Impressive prosthetics and a solid performance from Mckinley Blecher III successfully render Arlong as much a cut-throat presence — physically and visually — as he is in the source material, but One Piece‘s live-action iteration complexifies the villain by fleshing out both he and his fish people at large as a tragically oppressed people that previous One Piece stories did not.

The only thing more dangerous than a villain as powerful as Arlong is a powerful villain who believes their cause is righteous. While there’s not much Arlong does to garner sympathy beyond his more realized backstory, the slight tweak goes a long way in sustaining the character as Season 1’s big bad. Fueled by rage and contextualized by his refreshed origins, Arlong bests the Straw Hat Pirates throughout Season 1 of the live-action One Piece before ultimately being defeated in the finale’s climax. The added dimensions to Arlong make him a more captivating antagonist, and his increased presence in live-action is a welcome change.

1 Monkey D. Luffy Is a Hero Fans Can Hang Their (Straw) Hat On

Monkey D. Luffy is portrayed in live-action by actor Iñaki Godoy.

If Iñaki Godoy’s Monkey D. Luffy didn’t swim, the live-action One Piece would sink. Luckily, fans and critics alike were delighted by Godoy’s command over the iconic anime protagonist. His uncanny channeling of Luffy’s wonder and appetite for adventure satisfied even the most veteran fan’s prerequisites for bringing the One Piece hero to the screen in live-action.

If Luffy’s continued victories and perseverance are any indication, then the most coveted attributes for a pirate would be prioritizing power as much as being an enthusiastic, galvanizing force to his crew. Luffy’s greatest live-action displays — and the moments where Godoy’s performance shines brightest — aren’t his rubbery attacks when he goes gum-gum but rather his unflinching loyalty to his friends in their times of need. Triumphant moments like Luffy’s declaration of “Of course I will” when Nami asks him for help defeating Arlong get to the root of what makes the character special while celebrating the cheesy emotionality fans love about One Piece.