Throughout the journey of the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro has stood behind Monkey D. Luffy’s quest to obtain the One Piece and become the pirate king. Unlike other members of the crew with varying dreams, Zoro is unique for his steadfast loyalty to Luffy and readiness to risk it all for the sake of his captain. Yes, every member of the crew has a specialized role, but Zoro differs in his personal journey towards his dream and relationship with Luffy.

Zoro is a fan favorite character for a reason and the purpose of his character within the narrative holds significantly more weight behind his actions than any other member of the Straw Hats. At first glance, he might appear to be a rather shallow character, but take a closer look into his psychology and actions to better understand the man who will become the strongest swordsman in the world.

10Zoro’s the Most Level-Headed

Zoro has Nerves of Steel

As the primary melee fighter behind Luffy, Zoro’s role as a swordsman is to protect the crew and fight enemies with lethal precision. Unlike any other member of the Straw Hats, Zoro’s only purpose is to cut down anyone who stands in the crew’s way. Being a swordsman, Zoro has to be calm and collected in the heat of battle and not only does he excel in this, Zoro is one of the most tactically minded fighters in One Piece when it counts.

Most often, Zoro fights the number two or commander of the big bad that Luffy defeats by the end of any arc, but he also makes difficult decisions that other Straw Hats can’t bear. Sometimes his advice to Luffy or decisions he makes when things get serious seem callous in nature, but Zoro only has the crew’s best interests in mind, even if he can come across as cold-hearted.

9Zoro Serves as Luffy’s Compass

Zoro Doesn’t Need a Compass to Find Luffy

While navigation equipment might help Zoro’s directional issues, his role as Luffy’s advisor and voice of reason carries a lot of weight on the crew. His advice is usually the last thing any of the Straw Hats want to hear, but it’s usually what they need to hear at the end of the day. Zoro doesn’t mince his words when it comes to his suggestions for Luffy in a given situation. Even if Luffy disagrees with his advice, Zoro’s words never ring hollow.

A key moment in the series that highlights Zoro’s advisor role to Luffy was during the Water 7 arc where Ussop challenged Luffy to a fight over the Going Merry. Zoro told Luffy that he can’t be the one to apologize or offer Ussop a place back with the crew, since it would show weakness and erode the respect of the rest of the crew. If Luffy were to lose the respect of his crew, their journey would be over. The rest of the gang thought Zoro was heartless, but they didn’t disagree with his words.

8Zoro is the Most Loyal

Zoro Would do Anything for Luffy and the Straw Hats

As the most senior member of the Straw Hat crew behind Luffy, Zoro has been with his captain the longest and the two have become best friends. Out of everyone, Zoro is the most loyal member of the crew and Luffy’s greatest believer. Unlike the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro is the only member that found a new dream, or at least revised his original dream of becoming the greatest swordsman alive.

Zoro still wants more than anything to defeat Dracule Mihawk and become the greatest, but throughout their shared adventure, by the time of the Thriller Bark arc, Zoro came to a realization about his dream. More than anything, he wants to help Luffy become the pirate king and to do that, he must become the strongest for his captain instead of just himself.

7Zoro Threw Away his Pride for the Crew

Zoro Bowed to his Greatest Rival

After the events on Sabaody Archepelago that separated the Straw Hats across the world, Zoro ended up in the presence of the greatest swordsman in the world and his personal rival, Dracule Mihawk. From his perspective, Zoro failed the crew and couldn’t protect anyone in the face of the overwhelming powers of the Warlord Kuma. So, Zoro had no other choice but to beg Mihawk to train him, not for the purpose of beating him, but to become stronger so Zoro could protect those he cared about most, his friends.

Initially, Mihawk refused Zoro’s request, believing it to be a pathetic display of Zoro’s character as a swordsman, but after he found out that all the strongest creatures on the island, giant baboons with swords, were defeated by Zoro, he changed his mind to train him. Mihawk had foolishly believed that Zoro just wanted to be trained to defeat the baboons and get off the island. Instead, Zoro’s thirst to become stronger by any means, meant him having to beg and that’s what earned Mihawk’s respect.

6Zoro Isn’t Afraid to get his Hands Dirty

Zoro Doesn’t Hestitate to Kill

As the resident swordsman on the crew, Zoro serves as the first line of attack in any fight the Straw Hats find themselves in, and he isn’t shy when it comes to getting his hands a little bloody. Unlike the rest of the crew, who usually don’t kill their adversaries, Zoro is by far the most ruthless member of the Straw Hats and has no problems taking the lives of anyone he deems a threat. He even seems to enjoy cutting down his foes when it suits him, but his bloodthirsty nature doesn’t control him, unlike many villains in the series.

Zoro will cut down anyone who tries to hurt his friends, often killing dozens, if not hundreds, of other pirates and marines. Out of all the Straw Hats, Zoro has the highest kill count by a large margin. But, he is rarely the one to attack first or even start the fight, so credit for self-defense, at the very least.

5Zoro is the Vice-Captain

Zoro is the Most Senior Member of the Straw Hat Pirates

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Early in the East Blue Saga, Zoro met Luffy and his whole life changed. As the first person to join Luffy on his quest for the One Piece, he has been with the future pirate king the longest out of any Straw Hat Pirate and his relationship with Luffy is second to none. Zoro and Luffy consider each other best friends who will always have each other’s backs.

Even as the primary fighter of the crew, Zoro serves as Luffy’s main advisor and voice of logic, as his Vice-Captain and First Mate. While more of an informal role considering the Straw Hats don’t operate within a hiearchy, Zoro still advices Luffy on hard choices that he doesn’t want to hear and makes difficult calls in the best interests of the crew. His seniority isn’t much of a factor in the crew’s dynamic, but when he speaks about a serious issue, the others listen.

4Zoro Would Throw Away his Dream for Luffy

Zoro was Ready to die to Save Luffy

At the end of the Thriller Bark arc, Zoro protected Luffy from the Warlord Kuma by offering to trade his life for Luffy’s. Kuma made a deal with him that he would spare Luffy if Zoro took all of Luffy’s pain, and he gave him a taste. Upon receiving a fraction of Luffy’s pain, Zoro almost passed out from his misery, but stood firm and accepted the rest, regardless of the consequences. At this moment, Zoro chose Luffy’s survival over his own dream of becoming the best. He figured that if he couldn’t protect his captain, he had no chance of becoming the greatest swordsman.

Sanji did attempt to take Zoro’s place in the deal with Kuma and was ready to give up his own dream of finding the All Blue, but Zoro knocked Sanji out because he knew that he had a better chance of surviving and because this encounter with Kuma was the deciding moment of Zoro’s journey and what it meant to become the strongest.

3Zoro was the First to Join Luffy

Zoro Became the First Straw Hat to Believe in Luffy’s Dream

After being saved by Luffy early in the East Blue Saga, Zoro chose to follow Luffy on his quest to become the pirate king. Zoro figured that if he had to become a pirate to become the world’s strongest, he would so long as he joined Luffy’s crew. He could have just left Luffy after they escaped together from a marine base, but he chose to stay and follow Luffy because of just how insane both of their dreams were. Luffy wasn’t shy in his belief in Zoro’s potential either, and the two quickly became fast friends and allies.

Zoro was the first person in Luffy’s quest to call him pirate king. And since then, he’s done nothing but support his captain in conquering the Grand Line. The more opponents that stand in Luffy’s way, the stronger Zoro gets in return. Considering Zoro’s ultimate ambition is Dracule Mihawk, he still has a ways to go to reach that level.

2Zoro is the Second Most Powerful Straw Hat

Zoro is one of the Wings of the Pirate King

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Roronoa Zoro is one of the members of the Straw Hat Pirates and easily one of their strongest members, with moves like Ashura standing out.

Being the second most powerful in the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro stands as the last line of defense to get to Luffy. His primary job is to protect the Straw Hats and defeat their enemies. Luffy fights the big bad while Zoro fights the second most powerful villain, usually a commander. And with powerscaling rising as the series continues, Zoro is effectively fighting at Yonko level and almost equals Luffy in terms of raw power.

During the Wano arc and the rooftop battle against Kaido and Big Mom, Zoro awakened Conqueror’s Haki and did significant damage to Kaido. Though Zoro doesn’t currently appear to realize he has Conqueror’s Haki. Still, he is the only other Straw Hat member besides Monkey D. Luffy to possess the color of the supreme king. Considering only one in a million are born with such incredibly rare haki, the fact that the Straw Hats have two members with Conqueror’s Haki makes them one of the most deadly forces on the Grand Line.

1Zoro has Difficulty with Direction

Zoro’s Lack of Awareness has Become a Problem

It’s gotten so bad that, as of the Egghead arc, the Straw Hats are in universal agreement to not let Zoro wander off on his own for fear of him getting lost. It took multiple Straw Hats in the arc to talk Zoro down from wandering off. His potential to get himself lost has never been greater in the series, as Zoro has quite the long history of wandering and ending up in random places.

Throughout One Piece, Zoro has picked a random direction and started walking, only to find himself in a completely different area. Every arc, Zoro is bound to find himself lost in some regard, since it is one of his character’s key traits and the primary joke Oda has created around Zoro. It wouldn’t be surprising at this point in the series if he somehow ventured to another island on the Grand Line without a log pose. Such is Zoro’s crippling, signature trait.