Key insights
- Some characters in One Piece should never eat devil fruits due to their established identities, abilities, and weaknesses.
- Characters like Bepo, Dracule Mihawk, and Monkey D. Garp have unique strengths and abilities that would be nullified by eating a devil fruit.
- Eating a devil fruit would affect the character development, fighting style, and efficiency of characters like Koby, Shanks, and Franky.
Devil Fruits are the characteristic energy system of One pieceand anyone who eats one of them automatically gains a strange but useful superpower. However, these mysterious fruits are very rare and not every important character in the series has had the opportunity to eat one. And some of them should never do this.
Several key figures in the One piece The world has built its entire identity on the mastery of another energy system such as Haki or Rokushiki, and therefore consuming a devil fruit would go against its established character. Additionally, they grant their users a debilitating weakness to water, which can be a major disadvantage in this vast semi-aquatic world. The following characters should never consume any of these bizarre fruits.
8 Bepo
This mink has a huge advantage over its brothers
- First appearance: Chapter 498 (Manga) Episode 392 (Anime)
Members of the Mink Tribe have two efficient weapons in their arsenal: their Electric ability and their Sulong Transformation, so most of them do not need to consume Devil Fruit to fight their opponents. However, Sulong can be quite unreliable as it only activates when there is a full moon in the night sky. But a special mink, Bepodoesn't have this problem.
Thanks to Tony Tony Chopper, Bepo has access to a drug that can activate his Sulong form regardless of the moon's position. Combined with his solid martial arts skills, this transformation is very effective, not to mention that it allowed Bepo to save his captain, Trafalgar Law, by swimming into the sea. So a devil fruit would just ruin all of that.
7 Dracule Mihawk
What would be the point of being the strongest swordsman?
- First appearance: Chapter 49 (Manga) Episode 23 (Anime)
Dracule Mihawk was established as the “strongest swordsman” in the entire world One piece world since the series' first storylines. He has certainly remained true to this prestigious title, as his skills with the sword are unparalleled, as he can easily cut through giant battleships or icebergs.
Mihawk can also use Haki, but he does not rely on it in battle, unlike Shanks and other similar swordsmen of similar skill levels. It's obvious he worked hard to get there. Consuming a devil fruit would completely negate his efforts and cause his title as the Strongest Swordsman to lose all meaning. It would feel like cheating.
6 Monkey D. Garp
He became a hero of the Marines Without One
- First appearance: Chapter 92 (Manga) Episode 68 (Anime)
There is no doubt about that Monkey D. Garp is one of the strongest characters in One piece because he defeated the infamous Rocks D. Xebec (with the help of Gol D. Roger) and received the title of “Hero of the Marines”. After that, he continued to capture dangerous pirates and even began mentoring younger marines like Koby and Helmeppo.
With a combination of immense physical strength, Rokushiki techniques, and the three Haki types, Garp is an absolute beast in battle and has managed to pull off impressive feats, such as his powerful Galaxy Impact, which completely obliterated most of Hachinosu. Garp has come this far without even thinking about eating a devil fruit, so he certainly doesn't need one now.
5 Koby
It would go against his inspiring character development
- First appearance: Chapter 2 (Manga) Episode 1 (Anime)
No character in it One piece has grown just like Koby: he has developed from a weak boy who wanted to join the Marines into a heroic marine captain who is so strong that he can even destroy part of an island with his powerful Honesty Impact. It's immediately clear that Koby is Garp's protégé and he shares a similar fighting style with his master.
What's particularly important about Koby is that he has also worked extremely hard to get to where he is today, and eating devil fruits would lessen the effects of his character growth and development. Of course, devil fruit users still have to put a lot of effort into their fights and training (Monkey D. Luffy is a clear example of this), but Koby wouldn't get any benefit from eating one at this point.
4 Shanks
He is already one of the most experienced Haki users in the series
- First appearance: Chapter 1 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)
“Red hair” Shanks is the only emperor in One piece without devil fruit powers, and he would never have been able to earn and keep that title if it weren't for his impeccable Haki skills, which have always been so powerful that even Whitebeard himself recognized him for it. This is all expected from someone who trained under Gol D. Roger himself.
After Luffy has faced so many menacing enemies with crazy devil fruit powers like Big Mom and Kaido, Shanks' main role in the story is now to prove how far a Haki master can go. His devastating victories over Ryokugyu and Kid demonstrated his complete mastery of the three types, and there is arguably no one in the world who can use Haki as efficiently as him. What all this means is that not only should Shanks not eat devil fruit, but he was practically written to never need one.
3 Frankie
He already has his advanced cyborg technology
- First appearance: Chapter 329 (Manga) Episode 233 (Anime)
With the Straw Hat Pirates, Eiichiro Oda achieved an almost perfect balance, as only 4 out of 10 members of this crew ate a devil fruit. And while some of them could make an argument for eating one someday, there are others who should never do so Frankie is one of the clearest examples.
The point of Franky as a character is to introduce cyborgs into the story and show everything that a smart and talented engineer can achieve using cutting-edge technology. He already has a durable metal body, numerous weapons, and can even pilot a giant mech, so he wouldn't benefit from a devil fruit anyway. Curiously, Franky is one of the few characters who has stated that he does not want to eat devil fruit, as Luffy offered him the Mera Mera no Mi during the Dressrosa arc, but he rejected it because he does not want to lose his ability to swim .
2 Vinsmoke Sanji
He is an expert swimmer with superhuman abilities
- First appearance: Chapter 43 (Manga) Episode 20 (Anime)
That is certain Sanji is one of the best swimmers among the Straw Hat Pirates and was often the first member of the crew to jump into the water to save Luffy or Chopper from drowning. It would be a shame if he ever ate a devil fruit, as it would destroy one of his most useful abilities.
Not to mention, the powers of a devil fruit won't even give him the upper hand in battle, as Sanji can already perform many impressive techniques without them: he was already a skilled martial artist and could even stretch his legs in flames with his deadly Diable Jiambe . Additionally, he recently awakened the genetic changes in his body that made him even faster, stronger, and more resilient.
1 Jinbe
It would literally ruin his entire character and fighting style
- First appearance: Chapter 528 (Manga) Episode 430 (Anime)
Fishmen and Merpeople are all about their innate amphibious abilities, and as such any member of these races would be handicapped by the prospect of eating devil fruits, as evidenced by the series' only two specimens, Vander Decken IX and Jack. Jinbe is no exception, as he is inevitably the Straw Hat Pirates' most skilled swimmer. He is also the crew's helmsman, meaning his position means he is always too close to the sea water for this to be a major weakness.
Additionally, Jinbe is also a master of Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu, two unique martial arts that rely on his swimming and water manipulation skills. So this weakness to water would completely negate the efficient fighting style he has used for many years. There would be no benefits whatsoever for Jinbe to have the Devil Fruit's abilities, and it is certain that he will reach the end of the series without eating any of them.
