Talk about a killer first impression! Join Ashley as we look over the best debuts of One Piece characters
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 One Piece Character
00:10Introductions.
00:18The first person the Straw Hats meet in the Grand Line is Crocus.
00:22The elderly man has hair like his flowery namesake, and some surprising connections
00:26to major characters.
00:31When most of the crew is swallowed by a whale, they're startled to find Crocus relaxing
00:36on an island inside the Great Beast.
00:47His intense staredowns with the crew, as well as his blithe comedic responses to their questions
00:53about who he is and where they are, are the stuff of comedic gold.
00:58Crocus knows how to use a running gag to its fullest potential.
01:13While every member of the Straw Hats gets a great introduction, few of them are quite
01:18as unique as Brooks.
01:20The crew is in the spooky Florian Triangle, which is full of ghost ships.
01:25When they come across a singing skeleton with an afro, they're instantly unnerved.
01:31Except for Luffy, of course.
01:38Upon meeting him though, Brook proves to be a cheerful, if perverted, member of the undead.
01:44In addition to whether he can poop, Luffy has a very important question for Brook.
01:50Will he join Luffy's crew?
01:59Brook's nonchalant acceptance is almost as hilarious as everyone else's reaction
02:03to the news.
02:04Of course, Brook joining wasn't that simple, but right from the jump, he proves he belongs
02:10with the Straw Hats.
02:20While Ace makes a brief appearance during the Drum Island arc, his first proper introduction
02:24is in a bar in Alabaster.
02:27This scene is first comedic, as Ace seems to have died, but is merely asleep in his
02:32food.
02:37Then things turn serious when Smoker shows up, revealing Ace's connection to Whitebeard
02:43and that he's Luffy's older brother.
02:45And finally, it's funny again when Luffy makes a dramatic and hilarious entrance.
02:58Ace then has a reunion with his little bro, revealing his fiery devil fruit powers and
03:03gets to meet Luffy's crew.
03:05As far as first introductions go, this one has a little bit of everything and firmly
03:10establishes Ace as an entertaining and cool character.
03:23You never know who the Straw Hats will run into on their journey.
03:27One of the most surprising is the lanky, lazy guy they encounter napping.
03:32Turns out he's Marine Admiral Aokiji, whose real name is Kuzan.
03:37Aokiji immediately terrifies the nigh-unflappable Robin, and the rest of the crew soon learns
03:43why.
03:53The Admiral's ice powers are enough to freeze a whole section of ocean, and he soon proves
03:59invulnerable to the attacks of every member of the crew.
04:08After freezing Robin solid, he easily hands Luffy one of his only complete defeats.
04:14While the Marines are a threat throughout One Piece, Aokiji is the first major indication
04:19of how terrifying they can be.
04:29The Straw Hat Pirates aren't the only big names making their mark in the Grand Line.
04:34When the crew reaches the Saburi Archipelago, they're informed that nine of their peers
04:39have also attained bounties over 100 million and are at the same location too.
04:54We're treated to a rapid-fire introduction of these powerful rookie pirates.
04:59Seeing their bounties, unique designs, and some of their abilities is a real treat, but
05:04it's the way they all showcase their personalities and bounce off each other that makes their
05:09collective introduction truly fantastic.
05:17Some of their interactions in these little snippets have big payoffs later down the road.
05:23It's tough to make a flood of new characters work this well, but One Piece pulls it off
05:27beautifully.
05:34Hawkeye's Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the world.
05:39Built up as a man Zoro is searching for, Mihawk debuts when he is responsible for destroying
05:45Don Krieg's pirate fleet, because he was bored.
05:48Mihawk pursues Krieg to East Blue and slices up his enormous flagship like it's nothing.
06:04Zoro challenges Hawkeye to a duel, and the warlord further cements his incredible skill
06:09and power by toying with East Blue's best swordsman.
06:13Although Zoro's resolve impresses Mihawk, he also gives him a horrendous scar as well.
06:24Mihawk sets the bar high for the seven warlords, as well as for Grand Line characters in general.
06:31He gives us a taste of the peak of One Piece power, and it's incredible even now.
06:48After the Straw Hats meet Shaki, the bartender hypes up the supernovas plenty.
06:54But then, she claims her man Rayleigh is a hundred times stronger than all of them.
07:07And if anything, she was downplaying that figure.
07:10Soon afterwards, when Kamiya's captured, one of her captors is knocked out by a then
07:15mysterious force.
07:17We pan over to see an old man drinking in a cell next to a giant, the latter of whom
07:22accuses the other of using haki.
07:25While the old guy claims to just be an old coating mechanic, the caption that appears
07:29reveals that he's Silver's Rayleigh, former first mate to the pirate king, Gold Roger.
07:36What a legendary way to introduce this living legend.
07:50At a bar on Jaya, Luffy sits next to a large, unshaven man, whom he quickly finds himself
07:56comedically at odds with.
07:58Both have the exact opposite taste in food and drink.
08:10While a fight nearly breaks out, it's soon diffused.
08:14Luffy does get into a fight with another pirate, but outside, Teach gives Luffy a rousing speech
08:20about pursuing your dreams.
08:29Later, after learning how much Luffy is worth, we learn the truth.
08:33This seemingly random guy is Blackbeard, the pirate Luffy's brother Ace has been pursuing.
08:40Not only that, other background characters from around town are part of his crew too.
08:46This is an incredibly creative way of introducing one of the series' main villains with humour,
08:51inspiration and a crazy twist.
09:00Number 2, Porcelino aka Kizaru.
09:03Out of all the marines, Porcelino, or Kizaru, has the best introduction.
09:09Another one of the admirals, Kizaru is called in to resolve an incident at Sabari instigated
09:15by Luffy.
09:16To start, Kizaru rides in on a cannonball like a badass.
09:28Then he illustrates his incredibly powerful light powers by destroying one of the massive
09:32mangroves of the archipelago with a single kick.
09:36Finally, he makes short work of four of the supernovas gathered there.
09:45Kizaru's slow speech pattern and absent-mindedness are hilarious, but also contrast perfectly
09:55with his frightening speed and power.
09:58It's a phenomenal antagonist introduction, but not quite One Piece's best.
10:27Number 1, Kaido.
10:29All these character debuts leave an impact, but only Kaido's does it literally.
10:43First seen as a shadowed figure on a sky island, Kaido leaps off of it as the narrator describes
10:49his desire to die, as well as the highlights of his life.
10:54Now every attempt to kill him has failed, but he has been captured by the marines many
10:59times, yet always escaped.
11:08And as he picks himself up out of the Kaido-shaped crater and towers over three supernovas, we
11:14learn that Kaido is considered the strongest creature on Earth, on land, sea, or in the
11:21air.
11:22With his personification of strength on steroids, this unstoppable, unbeatable monster, Luffy
11:28picked a fight with him.
11:50What's your favorite One Piece introduction?
11:53Let us know in those comments below.