The families of pirates are a partially examined aspect of One Piece. As one may expect, there are no real fixed dynamics. Some pirates are the children of government workers or the wealthy, in which case their piracy can be taken as rebellion. Other pirates come from humbler beginnings and turn to crime for the chance of fortune.

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Somewhat less common are pirates whose parents were also involved in piracy. The exact circumstances behind such cases differ, but oftentimes the relationships are less developed, likely due to what piracy entails. Nonetheless, these pirates have all set out to sea like their parents before them.

1

Usopp

Son Of Yasopp

• Their relationship: They respect each other, but also have not seen one another for many years

Yasopp is a master marksman whose shots can have fatal implications for the opposition. He is also one of the first pirates seen in the series. A young Monkey D. Luffy befriended him along with his crew mates in the Red Hair Pirates when they were docked in Foosha Village. Since then, the crew has gained further notoriety, with their captain, Shanks, being considered a Yonko, one of the four most threatening pirates to the government. Within the crew, Yasopp has been distinguished as a “Senior Officer.” Yet Yasopp’s journey did not come without sacrifices. He was an absentee father, who left his wife, Banchina, and their child, Usopp, at home while he set out to sea.

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Despite their loss, neither Banchina nor Usopp hated Yasopp for his desertion, and both were immensely proud of him. Yasopp was mutually proud of his child, and Luffy was able to recognize him, unprompted, due to Yasopp’s continual stories about having a son around his age. Eventually, Usopp joined the Straw Hat Pirates, and they had many adventures together. Much later, Luffy himself would also receive the distinction of Yonko. While Shanks believes his reunion with Luffy should occur sometime soon, Yasopp is somewhat nervous about finally meeting his son again after so many years spent apart.

2

Portgas D. Ace

Son Of Gol D. Roger

• Their relationship: Roger did not want Ace’s life to be affected by his reputation. Unfortunately, that ended up happening anyway, and Ace is negative towards his father as a result.

Gol D. Roger was a pirate captain who was seemingly beloved by all who ever sailed with him. He is positively adored by many who knew him while he was alive, and even certain rivals admit a grudging respect for him. Alongside his crewmates, Roger found the One Piece and cemented himself as the King of the Pirates. His execution was a rallying call for many, tempted by the promise of his treasure. Yet it is wrong to say his acclaim was universal. Between the public, who feared him as a dangerous criminal, the pirates who suffered losses to him, and the World Government, who wished him dead in the first place, Roger had many enemies.

Yet perhaps one fascinating addition to his chorus of critics is his child, Portgas D. Ace. Despite sharing a name with his father’s legendary weapon, Ace was nowhere near as close to his father as the sword. Ace, born Gol D. Ace, notably amended his surname to reflect his mother’s, out of respect for shortening her lifespan by delaying his conception, which was done to hide him from the government. Roger, however, did request Ace be adopted by Monkey D. Garp, his rival, who was a marine Vice Admiral. The reason for this was an unsuccessful bid to prevent Ace from being hurt by the stigma of having a legendary pirate for a father. This connected Ace to Monkey D. Luffy, who would eventually become one of his two sworn brothers, alongside Sabo.

Ace’s hatred for his father seems not to stem from his occupation, but a mixture of the resulting infamy and neglect he received because of it. Ace himself set sail, founding the Spade Pirates, before eventually becoming a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, a crew captained by a friendly rival of Roger’s. It is noteworthy that, despite Ace’s noticeable hatred for his father, he isn’t too different as a pirate, having a similar rebellious personality and approach to piracy.

3

Franky

Son Of An Unknown Pirate Couple

• Their relationship: Non-existent since the pair abandoned him 26 years ago. He resented pirates as a whole for many years due to this fact.

Little is known about Franky’s birth parents aside from the fact they were pirates. He was born in the South Blue, but his parents threw him off their ship when he was 10 after they had entered the Grand Line. From a young age, he showed a level of skill at putting together various objects. His tinkering did not go unnoticed, as Tom, a shipwright, took him in as one of his apprentices, alongside a young boy by the name of Iceburg. Franky grew somewhat prejudiced against pirates during this time. He was notably invited to join the legendary Roger Pirates by Kozuki Oden, but declined because of his past.

With much prompting from his friends and allies in Water 7, Franky eventually joined the Straw Hat Pirates as their shipwright. Due to his essentially non-existent relationship with his parents, as well as the very fact of them barely being characters, it is hard to compare and contrast their piracy with his own. However, it is clear his tendency to make adjustments to his ships, his various inventions, and even himself as a cyborg, factor in heavily, showing influence from his time studying how to be a shipwright under Tom. In general, it seems like whatever lessons in piracy his parents had taught him have since been supplanted by his lessons from Tom.

4

Charlotte Katakuri

Son Of Charlotte Linlin

• Their relationship: Seemingly positive, Katakuri follows his mom’s order to the letter. How he feels about them and how she has shaped his life overall are unclear.

Charlotte Linlin tends to heavily involve her family in her piracy. Many of her strongest crewmates are children conceived in rapid marriages which tend to end as soon as the child is born. Between the ages of 18-to-60, Linlin gave birth to 85 children. Her strongest child is generally considered to be Charlotte Katakuri.

Like virtually all of her children, Katakuri is a member of her crew, the Big Mom Pirates. He notably is one of the Three Sweet Commanders, a distinguishing title for her strongest children, which gives them a level of authority over most crewmates. Katakuri seems to have a decent enough relationship with his mother. He has also inherited aspects of her, such as her imposing strength and voracious appetite. Katakuri tends to take his role in the family quite seriously, acting as a protective older brother to his younger siblings and a dutiful son to his mother.

It should be noted that Linlin’s nature toward her children is not exclusively generous. While she will give certain children authority over her territories, and will often enable their vices, it is clear in most cases that they are subordinate to her. She will generally use children as pawns in arranged marriages to gain power. Additionally, she will not respond favorably to any attempt to leave her territory. Any potential feelings Katakuri may have had about life outside his mother’s confines are not currently known. Her supposed passing at Wano is a disputed fact, but as the second-eldest son, and strongest member of the crew, he is currently one of two pirates favored to lead it in her absence.

5

Yamato

Son Of Kaido

• Their relationship: Mutual hatred, stemming largely from Yamato’s admiration of Oden.

Kaido was the muscle in the Kurozumi clan’s takeover of Wano. His residency in the country allowed him to manufacture and trade arms with the likes of Doflamingo and allowed many of the country’s fabled weapons to be available for trade in the criminal underworld. He was notably the killer of Kozuki Oden, the man poised to become Wano’s shogun before Orochi’s takeover. In his time since, he has attempted to build up his crew, The Beasts Pirates, both by feeding them artificial Zoan Devil Fruits known as SMILEs and destroying and reconstructing any crew who crosses his path, forcing them to join his crew.

His son, Yamato, idolized his nemesis, Kozuki Oden. He desired to emulate the man to such an extent that his gender identity differed from the one he was assigned to at birth. Although Kaido respects his son’s identity, the Oden fanaticism leads to their relationship being irreparably fractured, with some minor caveats. Kaido respects the might of his son and teases the idea of making him Wano’s next shogun after betraying Orochi. Similarly, despite his father’s abuse, Yamato had some level of maintained belief in Kaido’s decency, being genuinely shocked when he discovered the shackles his father told him would explode if he left the country did, in fact, explode.

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Yamato’s dream of being a world-traveling pirate mirrors that of Oden, who sailed with both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates before returning to Wano. Although Yamato is currently charged with protecting Wano, he has expressed an eagerness to sail with the Straw Hat Pirates after finishing up his work in the area. Like his father, Yamato is an Oni and is significantly more powerful than the average human. His might would certainly be an invaluable asset to the Straw Hats if the two ever joined forces.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)