Seven Warlords of the Sea
The Shichibukai, called the Seven Warlords of the sea in the English dub (七武海, literally Seven Military Seas) are a set of fictional characters in the anime and manga series One Piece.
The Shichibukai are seven of the most powerful pirates in the series. They made a deal with the World Government for the Navy to drop its bounties on their heads, provided that they work for the government. Even though their bounty is dropped, they are still allowed to loot and pillage at will, with the Government looking the other way. The first of them to be introduced is Dracule "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, who defeated and severely wounded Roronoa Zoro at the Oceangoing Restaurant, Baratie.
The other known members of the Shichibukai are Donquixote Doflamingo, Bartholomew Kuma and Jimbei, so far there are two members that are yet to be introduced, plus Jimbei, who hasn't made a physical appearance. Sir Crocodile was initially a member of the Shichibukai, but he was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy at the end of the Alabasta arc, arrested for his crimes, and stripped of his rank. His replacement has not yet been decided, but the captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach, appears to be interested in the position. Sir Crocodile's replacement and the other two as-yet unnamed members have not yet been shown in the manga.
When a pirate joins the Shichibukai, he must give up his crew and work solo hunting down other pirates. However, this does not mean they will completely give up their crew and forget it still exists. As demonstrated by Donquixote Doflamingo, who left his old crew to Bellamy the Hyena but returns to punish Bellamy for failure and disgracing his old flag.
All current and former known members of the Shichibukai have animal-themed names.
Current Shichibukai
There are two unknown members.
Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk
(Hawk)
Donquixote Doflamingo
(Flamingo)
Doflamingo first appeared in chapter 234 in the manga and in episode 151 in the anime. He has a former bounty of 340 million beli; it is unknown why his bounty was so high. He has the power to control people's bodies like puppets by using some form of psychokinesis, but it is not yet stated whether or not he possesses Devil Fruit powers.
Doflamingo's former crew was being led by Bellamy the Hyena. Like Bellamy, Doflamingo laughs at peoples' dreams, in preparation for the "New Era". When Doflamingo learned of Bellamy's defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat Captain Monkey D. Luffy, Doflamingo came to Jaya and forced Sarquiss to kill Bellamy.
Trivia
- Doflamingo is named after Don Quixote, as well as the flamingo (whose brightly-colored plumage is reflected in Doflamingo's style of dress). "Doflamingo" may in fact be a misreading of the author's intent, since in the particle "de" in French is often rendered as "do" in katakana transliteration, and Eiichiro Oda may not realize that "de" in Spanish is pronounced differently. If one takes this into account, the spelling of the name can be emended as "Don Quijote de Flamingo."
- Donquixote Doflamingo's first demonstration of power was at the meeting between the Shichibukai and the Marine's high commanders, where he caused two marines to attack each other.
- Doflamingo seems to have a penchant for the dramatics, as well as a habit of exaggerated posing when giving declarations. He also seems to be the most laid-back of all the Shichibukai.
- While he appears to regard those weaker than him working mere underlings rather then crewmates (which gives him a similar view to Captain Kuro on crewmates), he does still have some pride and a small sense of honor for his old flag and despises the idea of those failing while using it.
- Currently, Doflamingo has the highest bounty displayed in all of One Piece.
Bartholemew Kuma
(Bear)
Little is known about Kuma except that his former bounty was 296 million beli. Like Mihawk and Donquixote Doflamingo, he was present at the government summit of Mariejoa following Sir Crocodile's defeat in Alabasta. Due to his apparently reserved disposition and the fact that he is invariably seen with a large bible, Kuma is likely modeled after Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, a gentleman pirate known for his religious obstinacy. So far he doesn't seem to talk. "Kuma" means "bear" in Japanese.
Jimbei
(Speculated to be a Whale Shark)
Jimbei is a fish-man that was the former head of what is now the Fish-Men Pirates but left to become part of The Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although Arlong was referred to as Jimbei's equal, the odds of one of The Seven Warlords of the Sea having a former bounty of 20,000,000 on his head is very unlikely, so until it is confirmed on whether or not Arlong was Jimbei's equal before he left his true bounty remains unknown (though it could be interpreted that his rank is based on his growing up with Jimbei on Fish-man Island and not on actual strength). He is speculated to be a Whale Shark fish-man since that is what Jimbei means in Japanese.
Former Shichibukai
- Sir Crocodile (Crocodile) - Stripped of his title and arrested for his attempted coup d'état of the Kingdom of Alabasta and involvement with Baroque Works.
Candidates to Replace members
Sir Crocodile:
Manga/Anime Influences
The Shichibukai are loosely based on the privateers of old Europe. The privateers were approved pirates, considered heroes in their homeland and pillagers in others. Their main goal was to plunder the villages and towns of the then mighty country of Spain. [1]
The concept is also based on the movie The Seven Samurai which is one of Eiichiro Oda's favorite movies.
References
- ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.28 - Chapter 260, Fan question: Are the Shichibukai based on the privateers of old England and France?
