One Piece: 10 Harsh Realities About Being A Pirate | CBR – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Although One Piece can be quite a fun anime series, the series also shows some of the harsh realities of being a pirate and what they go through.

Every kid has wanted to be a pirate at onepoint in their childhood. Series likeOne Piecehaveromanticized the life of a pirate as a jaunty adventure on the high seas filled with thrills and excitement.

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As fun as Luffy and his crew make it look, being a pirate is not all fun and games. Life on the high seas is fraught with peril and it's easy to forget how troubling it is to be a pirate. The Straw Hats make it look easy but it's important to remember these ten harsh realities about being a pirate.

Scurvy is a word that gets lobbed around as if they were cannonballs being shot at enemy shipsbut people tend to underestimate how serious it is.One Pieceacknowledged this when the Straw Hats first met Yosaku and Johnny early on in their adventures who suffered this affliction. The obvious solution is to get plenty of fruit but that can be a risky endeavor. The last thing a pirate needs is to eat a Devil Fruit by accident and lose their ability to swim. Although it's reaching the point where pirates don't have a choice.

When the show first started, criminals like the Black Cat Pirates didn't need Devil Fruit to instill fear and be a successful pirate crew. As Luffy built up his crew and made his way to the Grand Line, more pirates with Devil Fruit powers popped up that could easily level cities if they wished.

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As if that weren't bad enough,some marines have eaten Devil Fruit that could one-shot a pirate crew. If anyone wishes to last more than a month on the Grand Line, they'll need to grab some Devil Fruit. Even then that's just the start.

In today's day and age, people's attention spans are shorter than the fuse on a cannon. When pirates do have downtime, they don't have the luxury of going to a brothel or watching TV. They're out at sea stuck on their one ship with the same people for weeks. Sure, there's work to do and alcohol helps pass the time but unless thereare books or plenty of sea shanties to be sung, it's going to get boring pretty fast. Even when pirates do make it to shore, they can't afford to relax.

If there's one thing pirates love more than treasure it's the infamy they garner from piracy. With so many astonishing pirates with godlike powers about, it's difficult to stand out among the rest. It's hard to stand out when they are clown pirates, cyborg pirates, and of course, straw hat pirates causing all sorts of chaos and completing legendary feats.

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Even among pirates, coming up with an original gimmick is a challenge that many must accept if they want enough notoriety to warrant a bounty. When they do get it, it tends to backfire in ways they never see coming.

Once someonedecides to become a pirate, there is no turning back. From the moment a pirate commits their first crime, they are a wanted fugitive whether they are the captain of a ship or one of their subordinates.Not only will the local authorities be a constant threat, but so will bounty hunters looking to reap a reward. Unless a crew finds a sanctuary for pirates, they risk being reported to the authorities whenever they reach the port for supplies. Hard to enjoy the life of a pirate when there's always the lingering threat of being caught.

The Grand Line is home to a variety of oddities from Fish Men to Giants but at least there is a minimal chance that they can be persuaded. The real threats are the colossal Sea Kings that can rip a ship asunder with little to no effort. Unless someone has the patience and charm of Luffy, there's no way to talk these creatures down. Any pirate that stumbles across one will be in for the fight of their lives. One would think they're the greatest threat to pirates but that isn't the case.

It's bad enough competing against other pirates but at least they are disorganized and can be dealt with one crew at a time. The Marines are far more complex and organized when it comes to hunting down pirates. The Marines have more than their fair share of corrupt, bad apples that will give out their twisted brand of justice.

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It doesn't matter if their prisoners are guilty or not, they will still subject them to cruel and unusual punishments. Making one question if the World Government is too vast to constantly monitor or if the elders running it are looking the other way.

Just as there are corrupt marines, noble pirates also exist like the Straw Hat Pirates. Just because a pirate crew is ransacking places and causing destruction doesn't mean they are doing so with ill-will. It's a shame that their heroism won't be shared with the rest of the world. When Luffy toppled Crocodile's criminal empire and freed Arabasta from his control, the public was told the Marines stopped him.

Most likely that wasn't the only time the World Government have covered up the truth and any pirates looking to do a good deed aren't likely going to get credit.Still, it's not the worst thing they've done.

Naturally, becoming a pirate means saying goodbye to home sweet home and everyone that isn't joining the crew. Promises can be made easily but keeping them is a completely different matter. Just look at the Straw Hat Pirates; how long has it been since Usopp said farewell to Kaya or Sanjay to the Baratie staff? When a pirate sets sail, they won't be seeing their loved ones for years if not decades.Assuming that they ever make it back.

The Straw Hat Pirates stand out not just for their insane power set and incredible accomplishments but because they are one of the few good pirates. Luffy may make being a pirate sound like loads of fun but a majority of the pirates in the series have all committed horrific atrocities.

Ranging from massacres to slavery, they're one of the reasons people tolerate the Marines and rely on them for protection. Pirates are criminals who plunder, pillage, kill, and destroy with little to no regard for the law. If Luffy ever does become King of the Pirates, he'll have his work cut out giving pirates a good name again.

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Jackson Brueheim is a writer, editor, riffer, and animation lover that lives out in California. He's written articles for the defunct site Nerdcrave, worked on numerous short films, served as a PA on two feature films, developed a Mystery Science Theater 3000-inspired web series called What a Riff Off, and currently writes list articles for CBR. He graduated from St. Mary's College of California in Moraga, CA, where he receved his BA in English and currently attends a vocational film program for adults on the Autism spectrum called Futures Explored in Livermore, CA. When he's not making up lists, he listens to film and comedy podcasts, listens to Let's Plays while playing video games, enjoying modern cartoons, anime, and films, writing the occasional fan fic or spec script, and trying to get better at drawing.

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One Piece: 10 Harsh Realities About Being A Pirate | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources