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As beloved asOne Pieceis, the series is hardly without its faults. Ever since its early days,One Piecehas often done things visually and narratively to earn the ire of fans and critics, and while some of those points have been improved on, others have arguably only gotten worse over time.
Among the various criticisms levied atOne Pieceover the years, none is stronger than the criticism of howOne Piecehandles its female cast, especially in recent years. That issue is incredibly complicated, but at the very least,One Piecefinally has a perfect opportunity to set the record straight onOne Piece’s female cast.
Why One Piece’s Female Characters Are So Controversial
The Biggest Problems With One Piece’s Female Characters
DespiteOne Piece’s popularity, it’s easy to see why its female characters are so controversial. For starters, as is unfortunately common withshonenanime and manga, the female characters typically get far less screentime and development than the male characters, and they’re almost always the weakest members of whatever group they’re a part of.
That criticism also feeds into the odd way many of the female characters are written. Aside from Vivi, princess-type characters are often written as passive damsels in distress, Tashigi has never once been treated as a serious rival to Zoro, and Tsuru has a Devil Fruit related to laundry, and it all comes together to create an air of sexism.
One Piece’s fanservice is also a major issue, as not only do most female characters have cartoonish proportions, but there’s always an extreme focus on their breasts and butts, especially with how often they’re dressed in revealing outfits. Granted, the anime tends to exaggerate much of that, but unfortunately, the manga is also plenty bad about it.
Overall, between how little attention the female characters get, the odd and somewhat offensive way some of them are written, andOne Piece’s typical brand of over-the-top fanservice, it’s easy to see why the female characters are so controversial, and that will likely remain an issue with fans and critics for years to come.
One Piece’s New Anime Can Finally Address Its Biggest Criticism
Why One Piece: Heroines Will Be Good For The Anime
One Piece’s female casthas always deserved better, and there’s finally a good opportunity to see that happen. At One Piece Day 2025, among the many announcements and reveals for the franchise, one of the most notable was thatOne Piece: Heroines, an anthology novel about the adventures of the female cast, would be getting an anime.
Nothing substantial was revealed fortheOne Piece: Heroinesanime, but the point is that it’s an anime that putsOne Piece’s often-ignored female characters in the spotlight for a change, so if there was ever a time forOne Pieceto prove to fans and critics that its female characters do have depth to them, it would be now.
Naturally, the original books speak for themselves; none of the stories are particularly deep, but they all do a great job of fleshing out characters like Nami, Robin, Vivi, and Uta and reminding fans that there’s more to them beyond fanservice, something even the manga is prone to forget at times.
What also makesOne Piece: Heroineswork is that everyone’s love for fashion, beauty, romance, and other effeminate things is always present, but it’s balanced out by their strong character writing.One Piece: Heroinesperfectly illustrates how the female characters can be great characters while still embracing effeminate qualities, and that does a lot to tackle such a controversial topic.
Why One Piece’s Female Characters Are Better Than People Think
One Piece’s Female Cast Deserves More Credit
As great asOne Piece: Heroineswill be, it’s fixing a somewhat overblown problem. While there’s plenty to criticize aboutOne Piece’sfemale characters, it goes too far when fans attempt to insist that it’s irredeemable when, in reality,One Piece’s female characters are plenty greatmore often than not, even if they don’t always get much to do.
Even the way some girls are treated as eye candy isn’t as bad as people say; while it has been done excessively at times, the girls being treated like that don’t usually let it define them, and they’re even prone to use it to their advantage, which adds both depth to their characters and some occasional comedy to the story.
No character better embodies these traits than Nami. Nami has always had incredible character development and is consistently able to stand on her own while proudly embracing her feminine traits, and all while explicitly never having a romance with Luffy, as well. That’s always made Nami one of thebest female characters in anime, and that won’t change anytime soon.
Nami has always had incredible character development and is consistently able to stand on her own while proudly embracing her feminine traits.
The wayOne Piecetreats its female characters will always have its critics, and for good reason, but it’s better than people tend to think, and withOne Piece: Heroinesbeing the first time the female characters get to truly be themselves, it hopefully won’t be long before one ofOne Piece’s most controversial issues is finally put to rest.
