This article contains spoilers for the Final Saga of One Piece.
Summary
Quick Links
The slow introduction of the Straw Hats has always been one of the most unique aspects ofOne Piece. Rather than introducing the main crew right away, instead, Oda chooses to introduce new members slowly over time, allowing them to feel like more natural additions to the story. Due to this style, fans are always predicting which characters may be new Straw Hats, often taking their theories to the internet and various communities on social media.
However, in the modern age of the series, it has gotten to a point where some members of the community are starting to get sick of hearing about a new Straw Hat joining the crew. For someOne Piecefans, it feels like every new character introduced to the series is going to be the “next Straw Hat”. In fact, some of these fans truly believe that there will never be another new Straw Hat, making Jinbe the last member to officially join the crew.
Fans Have Been Trying To Guess The Next Straw Hat Ever Since Jinbe Officially Joined
From Yamato To Bonney Many Characters Were Potential Candidates
In the early days of the series, Luffy actually mentioned how many members he would want to join the Straw Hat Pirates, saying 10 members, not counting himself, of course, would make for a perfect crew. As of now, with the addition ofJinbe on Whole Cake Island, the Straw Hats have 9 additional members outside of Luffy, meaning that Luffy is one character short of reaching his 10-person goal. However, Luffy may have picked a random number as an estimate, meaning he could end the series with even more, or at the very least one less, than his original idea.
Oh just shut up and come with us already! - Luffy to Chopper
Currently, ever since the Wano Arc ofOne Piece, fans have been heavily theorizing that a character will join the crew soon. One of the biggest theories throughout Wano was that Yamato would join the crew, while others believed thatthe SWORD member, X Drake, could have been a potential candidate. When neither of these came true, the theories continued on Egghead with Kuma and Bonney being new potential crew members. When neither of these characters joined the crew, once the Straw Hats arrived on Elbaf, fans now believe that either Loki or Gunko will become the next Straw Hat.
Fan Speculation For The Final Straw Hat Has Gone Overboard
Every New Character Is A Potential Straw Hat At This Point
Overall, while it’s nice to speculate on which characters may join the Straw Hat Crew, at this point in the series, it may be going a bit overboard. In the past, the introduction of each character felt like a national addition to the roster of the story. However, as is the case with many of the characters that fans are constantly hopingwill joinOne Piece’sStraw Hats, these characters would be far from natural or logical choices to join the crew, at least not without hefty amounts of character development. Even a character like Yamato, who felt like a good fit for the crew personality-wise, very obviously had other priorities, like defending Wano, that would make him a bad fit for the crew overall.
Additionally, a lot ofOne Piecefans already believe that the current Straw Hat Crew has a perfect dynamic. Adding another character so late in the series, especially withthe Final Saga well underway, would make it hard for the new crew member to establish a strong connection with the rest of the group. This would be doubly true for characters like the God’s Knight, Gunko, and Loki who have had a very short amount of time in the story so far.
The Final Straw Hat Already Exists
For Many Fans Vivi Will Be The Final Straw Hat
However, many fans agree that if a person were to jointhe Straw Hat Crewas the last member, it wouldn’t be a new character like Loki, Yamato, or Gunko. Instead, it would be Vivi, who is already an honorary member. Unlike most new characters, Vivi already has a strong bond with many of the crew members of the Straw Hats and works well with the overall dynamic of the crew.
But if there is one day where we meet each other again… will you take me as a friend? - Vivi
In the end, although Vivi would be a strong choice asthe last member of the crew, the Straw Hats may not even get another member. Overall, it seems just as likely that the crew will remain as it is until the end ofOne Piece. Still, hopefully, if someone does join the crew, they will fit in naturally like every new addition thus far.
One Piece
Cast
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.
