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Summary
One Pieceis a series famous for its concise storytelling, which can be seen by its creator, Eiichiro Oda, who has made one of the most expansive and detailed worlds in all fiction. Not only does the series excel on such a huge scale with fleshed-out countries, lore, politics, history, and cultures, but also on a relatively microscale with the development of the countless characters. The characters are arguably the best-written parts of the franchise.
Because of this mastery of character writing that Oda has put inOne Piece, it has led to some of the most iconic and loved villains in the entire anime industry. While most of them reside as the big bads of a single arc, some transcend this pattern by serving as antagonists who have far grander plans outside the islands on the Grand Line. So, let’s take a look at thebest of these kinds of villains.
Story Arc
Jaya
When looking at all theOne Piecevillains altogether,Doflamingo is often the one that fans chooseas the greatest villain in the entire story. His ruthlessness, genius intellect, incredible design, and unique personality all come together to make one of the most sadistic yet alluring characters that anime has ever seen. Though he is undeniably an evil manipulator, he is almost unanimously loved, making him one of the industry’s greatest villains.
Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what’s right and what’s wrong!
Although he is the central antagonist in the Dressrosa arc, he can still be considered an overarching villain due to his importance during the events of Punk Hazard and even before that, when he was introduced as one of the original 7 Shichibukai. It was due to his efforts directly that Kaido was able to amass such a strong crew with the production of Smile Fruits, as well as his influence on the character arcs of both Law and Bellamy. Moreover, he also played a huge role in the Marineford War on the side of the World Government.
Reverie
Perhaps no one fits the bill of an ‘overarching villain’ better than Great Imu. Pretty much everything about this person is a mystery that fans have been trying to piece together since their first appearance. What is known, however, is thatImu is the mastermind behind the World Governmentwho has been alive since the Void Century and was the one who formed the organization to defeat Joyboy in the first place. As the one above even the Gorosei and Admirals, Imu is essentially the World Government itself.
Great Imu… The 5 Elders are at your service!
The entire state of the planet in the current setting is because of Imu’s influence as the ruler of the world, as they have been the ones to erase whole islands and sink half of the world under the sea since the Void Century. As of now, not much more can be said about Imu, though it is more or less confirmed that they are the shadow ruler pulling the strings from behind the scenes and having the world exist directly to their parameters for 800 years. It is most likely that Imu will be the final villain that the heroes will have to defeat.
The opposite of Luffy
First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 223, “I Promise Never to Fight in This Town”
While Imu is the greatest threat that the world faces in terms of power and stature, perhaps the best overarching villain inOne Pieceis none other than Marshall D. Teach himself! Blackbeard is one of the most important characters in the series and the one linked to some of the most important moments as well. He haspersonal connections and parallels to Luffywhile also being the one to inherit the will of the infamous Rocks D. Xebec.
Fate has chosen me to conquer this world!
First seen way back in the Jaya arc, Blackbeard rose from a no-name pirate to one of the Yonko in a very short amount of time. There is still a great deal of mystery to him due to his unique body and lineage, with him appearing at crucial moments in the story, such as capturing Ace and leading to the Marineford War. Due to his power, influence, mystery, development, and history, Blackbeard is possibly the greatest overarching villain in all ofOne Piece.
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
