Is Luffy Brazilian? Here’s What Nationalities One Piece Characters Would Be!

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is one of the most popular manga and anime series ever. The (mis)adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew are popular around the world, with millions of fans waiting for new chapters of the manga and new episodes of the anime, both of which are still ongoing. One Piece is one of the “Big Three” anime series, alongside Bleach and Naruto, and in this article, we have decided to talk about the amazing characters of this series.

What we are about to give you is a list of the nine Straw Hat Pirates members and their real-life nationalities. Why only them? Well, fans of One Piece will know that the famous SBS sections always contain various fun and interesting information, and in SBS 56, Eiichiro Oda was asked to provide us with the nationalities of his protagonists, and here is what he said:

Oda revealed the nationalities of some of his characters

Like many interesting and fun information, the nationalities of the Straw Hats were revealed in the special SBS section, in which Oda answers fan questions. This piece of information was revealed in SBS Volume 56, and the question was as follows:

D: Nice to meet you, Oda-sensei. I have a question. If One Piece was set in the real world, which countries would the nine Straw Hats come from? Pen Name: MICHAEL JACKSONS’ BROTHER

O: Well. I’ll just put what fits with the character’s image.

• Luffy: Brazil
• Zoro: Japan
• Nami: Sweden
• Usopp: Africa
• Sanji: France
• Chopper: Canada
• Robin: Russia
• Franky: USA
• Brook: Austria

So, now that we have the official information let us see each character individually. Now, we don’t have any information to go on, as Oda-sensei said that he simply picked the nationalities by looking at his characters, but introducing them a bit is never a bad thing.

Monkey D. Luffy

Nationality: Brazilian

Oda revealed Luffy to be Brazilian, and seeing that he is somewhat exotic, it does make sense from a certain point of view; we could very well imagine him coming from Brazil. Luffy, also known as “Straw Hat” or “Straw Hat Luffy” after his trademark, is the captain of the Straw Hat Gang.

His big dream is to find One Piece, a legendary treasure, and thus become the pirate king. As a child, he ate the Hito-Hito no Mi fruit (model Nika) and therefore has a stretchy rubber body. At first glance, Luffy always appears lively, carefree, aimless, and inquisitive. But if he finds a goal, he never lets it out of his sight and never gives up.

Roronoa Zoro

Nationality: Japanese

Making Zoro Japanese made perfect sense. He is a samurai, One Piece is from Japan, and although he doesn’t have a Japanese name, his nickname (Bushido) is enough for us to agree with Oda on this one. Zoro, also called “Pirate Hunter,” is a former bounty hunter and was the first to join Luffy. His goal is to become the best swordsman in the world. To achieve this goal, he trains very hard in order to be able to defeat the current best swordsman, the samurai of the seas, Dracule “Hawkeye” Mihawk. He is the only known swordsman who fights with three swords at the same time. Zoro is somewhat similar to his captain and values loyalty very highly. His weakness is his poor sense of direction.

Nami

Nationality: Swedish

Nami is said to be Swedish, and this is a pick that we are not so sure about; she definitely could be European, but with her ginger hair, she would probably be British or even Russian rather than Swedish, but this one is not that far off, really. Nami, also known as “Cat Burglar” Nami, is the team’s navigator and cartographer. Nami is very spirited and loves nothing more than oranges and money. Her dream is to draw a perfect map of the world. After first using a simple wooden stick in battles, she later uses the Usopp-constructed climate baton, the components of which create special bubbles that release either heat, cold or electricity.

Usopp

Nationality: African

Save for the nose, Usopp actually does look like a character from Africa, and we actually do agree with Oda’s pick when Usopp is concerned. Usopp, also known as “Sogeking,” is the crew’s marksman and weapons specialist and was the ship’s carpenter before Franky joined the gang. Usopp is the son of Yasopp, a member of Shank’s pirate gang, and Banchina. Often a coward, storyteller, and liar, he can sometimes be counted on in sticky situations. His goal is to become a brave warrior of the seas and later also the best marksman in the world.

Vinsmoke Sanji

Nationality: French

Sanji being French makes sense in a symbolic sense and from a cultural point of view, as the French have consistently been labeled as great lovers, which somewhat fits Sanji, even if only in a comical way. Sanji, also known as “Black Leg,” is the chef on Luffy’s ship. He has a weakness for beautiful women and will flirt with any pretty girl, often acting very childishly. In order to spare his hands, which are needed for cooking, Sanji only fights with his feet.

Tony Tony Chopper

Nationality: Canadian

Chopper being Canadian is also symbolic, as Chopper is a deer. We all know that the deer (or moose, to be more precise, but they are similar) is an animal traditionally associated with Canada. “Cotton Candy Lover” Chopper is a male reindeer who ate the human-human fruit, becoming a human reindeer. Chopper is the only known person who can power up their Devil Fruit with something called Rumble Balls. He’s the ship’s doctor for the Straw Hats. He is very introverted, therefore shy, and has a hard time taking compliments, but he has the ability to talk to animals.

Nico Robin

Nationality: Russian

Nico Robin being Russian is not far off, but it is also not the most precise pick; she looks more Italian or even Spanish than Russian, but like in Nami’s case, it’s not that far off. Nico Robin is an archaeologist and the fourth oldest member of the crew. She ate from the Flora Flora fruit, which gave her the ability to grow parts of her body in any place she could see. Her goal is to piece together the Rio Poneglyph, which is said to contain the truth about the real story. Because of her archaeological studies and the destruction of Ohara, she is the only person in the world who can read and decipher this Poneglyph.

Cutty “Franky” Flam

Nationality: American

Franky being American also makes a lot of sense; he has Elvis’ hairdo, and there is also a very symbolic meaning behind Franky being American, so we can also agree with this one. Franky, actually “Cutty” Framm is a cyborg and the ship’s carpenter for the Straw Hat Gang after they rescued him and Robin from the Enies Lobby. He dreams of building a ship that will take him around the world. This ship is said to be the Straw Hat Gang’s new ship, which the gang received as a thank you. In order for the dream ship to be able to do this, however, he accepted Luffy’s offer to join.

Brook

Nationality: Austrian

Brook being Austrian makes as much sense as Brook still being alive in the first place – none. We don’t know why Oda picked Austria for Brook, because even when he was alive, he did not look Germanic; maybe this was just a random one? Brook, also often called “Soul King,” is a living human skeleton and a Rumba pirate gang member. The fact that he is a living skeleton is thanks to the dead realm fruit, which allowed his soul to return to his body after his physical death.