Does Sanji Die in One Piece? (Manga and Anime)

Vinsmoke Sanji is best known as the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates in Oda’s One Piece manga. He is the fifth member of the crew and the fourth to join, doing so at the end of the Baratie Arc. Now, Sanji is an indispensable part of Luffy’s crew and throughout the decades, he has been featured in some dangerous missions that the Straw Hats have done, with some of them being potentially fatal. Now, in this article, we are going to give you Sanji’s story in short and tell you whether he dies in One Piece, i.e., whether he is dead or alive.

Vinsmoke Sanji is, of course, alive in One Piece and did not die as of the time of writing. Now, seeing how One Piece really isn’t a tragedy, the death of a Straw Hat member wouldn’t make sense for now, since it just wouldn’t be Oda’s style. Having said that, Sanji has been in several near-death adventures over the years and fans have speculated about his potential death, but at the moment – he is alive and well.

Since we couldn’t really pinpoint an exact situation that fans think of when they think of Sanji’s death, we have decided to tell you Sanji’s story in One Piece in the following paragraphs. Through it, you will see how the character has been evolving from his debut and where he is at the moment. We know that he is alive and through this article – which is going to contain spoilers, mind you – we hope to help you understand why Sanji is such an integral part to the story.

Does Sanji die in the One Piece manga and anime?

Sanji is the fourth son of the Vinsmoke family: unlike his brothers, cynical and violent due to the experiments of his father Judge, Sanji was a normal child with an innate passion for cooking inherited from his mother Sora; in fact, to prevent these mutations, the woman took a drug during her pregnancy which, however, only had an effect on Sanji.

Mistreated by his brothers and disowned by his father, after his mother’s death Sanji decided to flee and, helped by his sister Reiju, embarked on a ship as assistant cook; some time later the ship was attacked by Zef’s pirates: due to a storm Sanji fell into the water and Zef dived into the sea to save him, landing on a rock: here Zef gave the boy a bag which he said contained a third of the food that he had managed to recover while he would keep the rest.

After seventy days without food, Sanji decided to steal the pirate’s food, discovering that his bag was full of gold and jewels and that he had amputated and eaten his leg to survive. Zeff then reveals to him why he saved him: both dream of finding the All Blue, a legendary stretch of sea where you can find any kind of fish. Rescued, they decided to open a floating restaurant together, the Baratie, and Zeff taught Sanji to fight with kicks to preserve his hands for cooking alone.

Years later, the newborn Straw Hat crew arrives at the Baratie, including Captain Monkey D. Luffy, the swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the thief Nami and the sniper Usopp. At the same time Gin arrives at the restaurant, second in command of the Creek fleet, about to starve after the fleet was decimated by Drakul Mihawk in the Long Line.

Gin gives his life as a token of gratitude to save Sanji from the poisonous gas Creek launched while he was being defeated by Luffy during the clashes, despite the fact that Sanji had decided to feed the pirate and take his captain to the restaurant with the intention of stealing the restaurant ship. Sanji then thanks Zeff for taking care of him up until that point and joins Luffy and his friends as a cook. He manages to reach the Great Line and meets the crew of Arlong and the naval captain Smoker with the help of his new friends.

Here they meet the princess of Alabasta Nefertari Bibi, discovering that her kingdom has been targeted by the member of the Fleet of Seven Crocodiles. Once in Alabasta the crew, joined by the ship’s doctor TonyTony Chopper, collides with the Baroque Works, an organization headed by Crocodile: specifically Sanji faces and defeats Mr. 2.

After the adventure on Skypiea Island, where they faced off against Enel, as well as the Foxy Pirates, Sanji, Zoro and Luffy try to stop the admiral of the Navy Aokiji from the intent to capture Nico Robin, archaeologist and former right-hand man of Crocodile who joined the crew in the meantime. When Robin is then kidnapped by CP9, the crew, together with the cyborg Franky, attack the island of Enies Lobby to free it: Sanji, after having neutralized the cook Wanze on the train of the sea, once on the island he is neutralized by Califa, refusing to hit her as a woman, then recover and eliminate Jabura.

Following this, the navy puts a bounty on his head, but instead of a photo he is represented by a drawing that does not look very similar. At Thriller Bark the crew meets the skeleton musician Brook and runs into the crew of Gekko Moria: Sanji faces Absalom, and then tries to sacrifice himself in Zoro’s place to protect Luffy from Orso Bartholomew, however being neutralized by his companion.

At the Sabaody archipelago, after meeting the mermaid Kayme, he meets Duval, a bounty hunter whose face is identical to the photo on Sanji’s wanted poster: despite Duval trying to kill him, he manages to defeat him by changing his characteristics. After Luffy attacks a world Noble to defend Kaymie they are attacked by Admiral Kizaru and again by Bartholomew, who sends the members to various parts of the world: Sanji ends up in Momoiro where he meets Emporio Ivankov, who, having learned that he is a fellow of Luffy, decides to train him for the next two years.

Back at the Sabaody Islands, Sanji reunites with the crew and, once they reach Fish-Man Island, they help to foil a conspiracy against the kingdom by Hody Jones and his pirates. Once in the New World, they land at Punk Hazard, where they team up with the Heart pirate crew led by Trafalgar Law in order to overthrow Emperor Kaido.

Here they capture the scientist Caesar Clown, producer of artificial devil fruits and protégé of Donquijote Do Flamingo, who gets rich by selling these fruits on the black market and especially to Kaido. They also meet the samurai Kin’emon and Momonosuke, who join them. In Dressrosa, after escaping Doflamingo, Sanji, Nami, Brook and Chopper are attacked by the ship of the Empress Big Mom, being forced to temporarily separate from the crew.

The four head to Zo, where they meet the mink tribe: here Sanji is kidnapped by Capone Bege, a member of Big Mom’s crew, to force him to marry Charlotte Pudding, daughter of the empress, to enter into an alliance between the family Charlotte and the Vinsmokes. Initially Sanji, after an altercation with Luffy, agrees to the union provided that his companions, who have arrived on Whole Cake Island to save him, can sail safely; however, when he learns that this marriage is a farce to eliminate all the Vinsmokes, Sanji asks his captain for help, obtaining it.

Through Jinbe’s mediation, they then form an alliance with Bege to eliminate Big Mom during the wedding. After thwarting the plan to eliminate the Vinsmokes, however, they are forced to withdraw due to the failure of the plan concocted by Bege. Miraculously escaping the empress they arrive in Wano Country, Kaido’s headquarters: here they discover the truth about the origins of Kin’emon and his companions, also learning about the story of Kozuki Oden.

Gathered, the Straw Hat pirates and the samurai assault Onigashima, home of Kaido’s crew: here Sanji, after being briefly captured by Black Maria and freed by Robin, faces and neutralizes Queen thanks also to the manifestation of the genetic modifications operated on the Vinsmoke by Judge. Sanji played a major part in the defeat of the two Emperors Big Mom and Kaido in Wano Country, after which he continued with Luffy on their journeys. As you can see, Sanji has several dangerous encounters over the years, but he has survived them all and is still alive and well.