The Straw Hat Pirates Flashbacks Ranked

 Written by Shiggins

These tears won't go away...

I'll be honest, I was trying to find a good excuse to do this article. "It's the anniversary of One Piece's first flashback" or something, but then I decided nah. I'll do it because I want to do it! That's a good enough excuse, right? No? Oh.... Well anyway, since every single member of the Straw Hat Pirates crew has a flashback that's sad and explains why they are the way they are, let's rank them all!

Sanji (The Second Time)

This is NOT the flashback involving "Red-Leg" Zeff. That one comes up later but for now, we're here with the second time we saw Sanji's history and what made him the way it is and... Yeah I really didn't like this one, partially because of how much the first flashback with Sanji did to explain who Sanji is and why, so this felt unnecessary, on top of everything else I didn't like about it.

In this flashback, we discover that Sanji is the middle child of a family of genetic freaks who were programmed to be emotionless and cruel so they could help their father, Vinsmoke Judge, rule the seas one day. His mother sacrificed her health to ensure that Sanji would come out as a good person, and he got bullied and imprisoned for being weaker than the others, until his sister (who is also good for some reason) saved him and helped him escape his situation.

When we first met the Vinsmoke family, I thought they'd be interesting, but taking away their emotions and reducing them to typical bullies who live to do nothing but torture Sanji makes them all feel interchangeable and inconsistent. Judge himself is a boring trope that was already being done better in many other places, such as My Hero Academia's Endeavour, and the torture from both him and the siblings' is so over-the-top that I'm convinced Stephen King should have been credited in some way. This is the type of flashback that is so ridiculously tragic that it comes across as manipulative, and I end up feeling nothing by the end of it. And the worst part about it is that it didn't even need to exist! The original Sanji flashback was perfect for what it needed to do, so this one never needed to happen!

 

Usopp

I feel bad even putting this one on the list. It's so brief and token that half of you probably don't even remember it (unless the anime version is extended by an extra ten episodes or something for filler). And because of that, this entry is going to be the shortest one by far. It's not that this one is bad per se, but it comes up, then leaves as quickly as Usopp's dad who abandoned him.

Usopp had a mum who was sick, and his dad ran off to be on Shanks' crew and explore the seas. She always hoped he'd come back, so Usopp took up lying that pirates had come by, hoping it would make her feel better. When she died, he kept up his lying routine to deal with the grief. This flashback is passable and it does result in the creation of the wonderful Usopp so I can't complain too much, but it isn't anything special and is far surpassed by the rest of this list.

 

Tony Tony Chopper

I was never really into Chopper as a character honestly. His design is cute enough, but his weird attitude to try and deny praise always made me roll my eyes, and that Kung Fu Point form is just gross. It doesn't help that Drum Island was probably the first bad arc of the series, but at least the flashback had a few fun moments worth talking about, and is probably the highlight of the arc.

Chopper's flashback involves a doctor named Hiriluk, who found the confused reindeer after they had eaten a devil fruit and been kicked out of his herd. Hiriluk named Chopper, gave him his signature hat and taught him some of the basics of medicine, as well as how amazing pirates are. They had fun together, good times, bad times, and eventually Hiriluk died, just like every other paternal figure in these flashbacks.

The best part about this flashback is the relationship between Chopper and Hiriluk, as the two have their violent moments but the friendship is written well enough that they come across as endearing rather than problematic. There's also the terrible tragedy behind Chopper's attempts to create Hiriluk's medicine that is particularly brilliant, mistaking the poison symbol for the pirate flag that Hiriluk loved so much, but the insane actions behind Hiriluk's methods keep this from being any higher. Hiriluk stole money, knocked out children, made patients who begged him to leave him alone even worse and more. Rather than come across as quirky and misunderstood, he comes across as a maniac who has his kind moments with Chopper. I hear the anime fixed this issue, but I'm only focusing on the manga so... 

 

Nico Robin

Ever since her introduction, Nico Robin has been presented as a "devil woman". A demon with a dark past, who has caused countless individuals misery and grief, while making sure to sacrifice everyone she could to survive. In some ways, I almost didn't want to know what the backstory was because the mystery of what she did was interesting enough. Of course, we did eventually learn it and it's... mixed for me.

Robin was born on the island of Ohara, and was one of many archaeologists there who knew how to read the poneglyphs (which are basically the clues to find the One Piece itself). She had an abusive aunt and pathetic uncle take care of her while her mother left her to find the True History (more One Piece lore stuff), but Robin stayed strong. Eventually, she met a giant named Saul, they became friends, the marines arrived, ruined everything, and Robin became the sole survivor of the island's destruction and massacre, now a target of the marines for being the last person alive who can read the poneglyphs. Oh and her mother died during this too. 

The flashback itself is well-constructed and paced, and it is quite surprising to see how well the story justifies why Robin is given the reputation she's had since her first appearance. A lot of stories would not have been able to pull that off. However, I placed this lower down on the list for the same reason I disliked Sanji's second flashback; It feels determined to make me feel sad no matter what. The amount of tragedies that happen to her is almost egregious, constantly battering the reader over and over with misery until I was practically numb to the experience. Saul, Ohara, Robin's mother and the abusive parents all could have been done individually and they would have been effective. Placing them all in to the one flashback causes them to practically compete for Maximum Sadness Points, making me less engaged as a result. If there had been even more miserable experience in this flashback, I'd probably call it comical. All these complaints aside, the flashback is still effective enough at what it's trying to do and the moments are strong when looked at individually, so I've placed it here. 

Luffy

Being the main protagonist of the story, Luffy gets the privilege of not just having a longer flashback, but having an entire arc about it! Yes, Luffy's flashback is a full-blown arc set after the amazing Marineford arc, which entirely focuses on Luffy growing up alongside his beloved brother Ace and... ugh... Sabo.

This flashback arc reveals that Monkey D. Luffy was taken by his grandfather Garp (one of my favourite characters actually) to be placed under the care of a bandit named Curly Dadan. Luffy met Ace and his friend Sabo, and he eventually managed to become good mates with them and eventually brothers. Luffy and Ace discovered Sabo was related to the Celestial Dragons, they fight together against pirates, and eventually Sabo was believed to have died trying to leave the island. 

The arc does a great job showing Luffy's childlike desire to be friends with cool loner Ace, and the brotherhood that grew between them is handled extremely well. It also helps that this arc was shown to us just after Ace had died in the previous arc, making this growing friendship and reliance on each other all the more tragic as a result. The environment also helps to give us some much-needed insight into why Luffy is as tenacious and ridiculous as we all know him to be but... I hate that I cant read this arc without thinking it only exists to bring in Sabo, a character I've complained about before as basically being a replacement for Ace. Sabo did not exist in any capacity before this flashback, I checked, and he's never mentioned or referenced in any way until after Ace dies. He was made to replace Ace, so Luffy could still have a loving cool older brother with fire powers and a cool hat, and I hate that so much because of how powerful Ace's death was, and what it meant for Luffy's development as a character. I like Sabo, don't get me wrong, but he will forever be Ace 2.0 to me and that's such a black mark against this flashback.

Franky

SUPER! I love Franky! I love his whacky hair, and his big smile and his poses and his machinery. I don't like his post-timeskip design but he makes up for it being having Patrick Seitz play him in the dub, so it's all good as far as I'm concerned. And while his sad flashback couldn't help but feel token at this stage, it's still mostly effective as building up who he is. 

In Franky's flashback, we discover his real name is actually Cutty Flam, and he was once an orphan (there's a lot of them in this world, huh?) who was found by a friendly merman named Tom. Tom was a carpenter who, alongside his other orphan Iceburg, taught Franky how to build and treat ships with the love and care they deserve. Of course, tragedy struck as Tom became involved in a huge situation involving Gol D. Roger, a train, and a government asshole named Spandam.

Once again, the relationship between the flashback's lead and the guardian figure is well-written enough that it comes across as endearing, which is very impressive when this is the 10000th flashback of sadness the series has had so far and we've seen a lot of these by now. The circumstances around Tom's death and his situation with the marines help makes this flashback stand out and avoid being miserable the entire time, and the inevitable betrayal hits harder because of that balance. Franky's guilt over the death of Tom impacts his character during this arc heavily, and his transformation into a cyborg, while obviously bullshit, is very fun too. No, not everyone would put this entry as high on the list as I did, but every list is subjective and I love Franky too much to put him any lower.

Jinbe

Can honestly say I never expected Jinbe to be an official part of this crew, but it's such a fun idea. Jinbe is a great character, and he works especially well as a voice of reason. His work to bring Luffy back from the grief of losing Ace is a highlight in terms of character development, so it's no wonder his flashback does such a good job at enhancing the story and the world too. 

During the Fishman Island arc, Jinbe gives us the full story of his time as a violent pirate while part of the crew of Captain Fisher Tiger, alongside Arlong and several other fishmen. A lot of stuff happens, including the deaths of Fisher Tiger and the queen of Fishman Island, and it's a wild affair all around.

What's great about this flashback isn't just how it helps us see the path that Jinbe took to become the man he is today, including befriending Luffy's brother Ace, or how well it manages to kill off two major characters without feeling excessive, but how it all connects to the themes presented throughout the Fishman Island arc, and any other time we've seen fishmen in the series. There's so much to go through that I don't have space to do it justice, but I'm sure there's a Youtube channel out there explaining why Fisher Tiger's death is as poetic as it is tragic.

Nami

Now here's a classic one that I assume most people, even non-OP readers, would know of. This is arguably the first flashback that's relevant to not just the character, but to the story itself as we learn the history of the Straw Hat crew's navigator and the full extent to which she's been lying to both the characters and the audience.

Although this flashback is about Nami, it's also about her guardian and adoptive parent Bell-mère, a former Marine who quit her job to raise Nami and her sister Nojiko, and the struggles they went through as a poor family until Arlong, one of the best early villains of the series and a ruthless bastard, came to town and began his human-hating rule over them all, killing Bell-mère and forcing Nami into piracy.

There's a lot to like in this flashback, from Bell-mère herself to the nefarious tactics of Arlong which are only more interesting since we saw the Jinbe flashback and learned about his motivation behind it all, and it was great to see Nami, one of the best of the crew, finally get her due as a character. Yes, a parent predictably dies because that happens in almost every flashback before and after this, but the way Nami is tortured by Arlong to use her talent for his benefit is chilling, and it makes Nami's tears in the present all the more tragic and understandable. What an arc, what a flashback, what a character.

Sanji

One of the many reasons I hate the second flashback of Sanji Vinsmoke is how damn perfect his original flashback was in establishing the chef as a character and the relationship he formed with an unexpected ally, the pirate captain "Red Leg" Zeff. Sanji is often one of the best characters in the crew, especially back in the pre-timeskip days, and this flashback helps tell us why that is.

A young chef working on a ship, Sanji and the rest of the crew were attacked by pirates. A terrible wave took both Sanji and the pirate captain, Zeff, and stuck them both on an island together. Zeff immediately took control and said Sanji was to stay on one side of the island, Zeff stays on the other, and they each get one bag of food to live off of. As the days go on, Sanji runs out and becomes desperate, eventually trying to rob Zeff in his hunger but discovering that Zeff had only treasure and no food! He had given Sanji everything and ate his own leg, the reason behind his infamous reputation, to stay alive himself.

What a beautiful story that could have gone made it to the top 2 if I didn't hate that second flashback so much. Nobody dies, unlike every other flashback, the life lesson about caring for life and food is brilliantly taught without any large monologues or exposition, and the twist of Zeff eating his own leg is not one I saw coming yet is unforgettable for both the audience and Sanji, who carries this event with him everywhere he goes. It's a fantastic flashback in a fantastic arc, and one that easily reaches the top 3.

Zoro

This one was tough for me to place for a few reasons, and I'm pretty sure nobody but me would place it this high. If you're one of the ones who would do so, then please comment below and why because I do want to know if I'm alone or not here. Anyway, Zoro is the best character, his flashback was the first to be revealed, and it's so deceptively simple that I'm shocked how bare bones it feels by comparison to the others. 

Zoro was a young kid once, born with hair of grass, and training to be a mighty swordsman. However, despite his strength and constant victories against everyone around him, he was constantly overwhelmed by his friend Kuina, daughter of his sensei Koushirou. The two both vowed to become the greatest swordsman of the land, despite Kuina being made to believe her gender kept her from that path, but then Kuina died from a fall and Zoro was heartbroken.

Yes, it's another death (although this was the first of the bunch so it gets some more leeway with it) but what's crazy about this death is that it's not a big sacrifice or murder or whatever. Kuina fell, broke her neck. The fragility of life, no matter how strong they are, is something Zoro has never forgotten, and it spurs him on to this day. It's not complicated or dramatic, but there's an elegance to this backstory that makes me love it so much.

Brook

I cried. I'm not even kidding or exaggerating. I cried when I read this arc. Brook is one of my favourite characters of the entire series, I love the Thriller Bark arc, and seeing it finish off with the explanation of how Brook ended up in his position at the start of all this was such a perfect way to cap it off. Let's stop setting it up and just talk about it!

Brook was once a member of the music-loving Rumbar Pirates, and they were all friends who had great and terrible times together. They befriended a young whale named Laboon, who would later become a friend of the Straw Hats, and the crew eventually found their way to the Grand Line like so many other crews. Brook ate a Devil Fruit, and when the crew all tragically died from disease and enemy pirates, Brook was brought back as a skeleton and lived in loneliness on the ship for decades. 

If you didn't cry when Brook and his friends played their song together during their final moments, then I don't know what else to tell you. We knew Brook's story was going to be tragic from the get-go because of his status as a skeleton and the few hints about his past he'd given us so far, and we also knew about the Grand Line's infamous reputation of killing off pirates who weren't ready for the terrible conditions and enemies. All of these perfectly set up the flashback and help make it feel natural, and again... I cried. 

What's your favourite flashback? Let me know in the comments below!