Fish-Men? Why One Piece Has These Strange Characters
If you’ve been watching One Piece on Netflix, then you probably have more than a few questions regarding some of the crazy characters appearing onscreen. Perhaps the most mysterious characters are the Fish-Men who are fleshed out (fished out?) more in the anime and manga than they are in this recent adaptation. Instead of bouncing all over the internet like you just swallowed the Gum-Gum fruit, you should kick back and let us explain everything you need to know about the freaky Fish-Men of One Piece.
Across the board, the main commonality is that all Fish-Men have gills located between their necks and shoulders.
The first thing you should know about the Fish-Men of One Piece is that they are one of two dominant groups that help to rule the seas. While the land has many nations and even pirates vying for control, the ocean is split into two groups: Fish-Men and merfolk. The merfolk have the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of fish, but true to their name Fish-Men are like hybrids of humans and fish that still walk upright on two legs.
Like most of the characters in One Piece, we are using the term “Fish-Men” as a catch-all term for the entire race, but you should know that they collectively have just as much genetic variety as humans. The anime has particularly driven home that Fish-Men can vary greatly in terms of coloration, strength, and overall size.
There are even species that have more than two arms or legs, which ironically means they no longer look all that much like fish or men.
The average member of their race is about ten times as strong as a human, and they get even stronger when fighting underwater.
Since there are so many variations when it comes to the Fish-Men of One Piece, you may wonder what qualities they share. Across the board, the main commonality is that all Fish-Men have gills located between their necks and shoulders. Certain other similarities are more confined to specific groups based on their shared interests or employment (for example, a group of Fish-Men pirates may have a highly visible tattoo such as the Jolly Roger, both to express crew unity and to clearly show others who they work for).
Another point of commonality concerns biology: despite the species’ variations we mentioned above, all Fish-Men (or, more accurately, the rarely seen Fish-Women) can give birth to live young. Speaking of what leads to giving birth, it’s also possible for the Fish-Men of One Piece to breed with other races, including humans. That’s relatively rare, though, due to the prejudice that Fish-Men have against humanity (and vice versa) due to years of oppression and racism.
While the land has many nations and even pirates vying for control, the ocean is split into two groups: Fish-Men and merfolk.
Since One Piece is a franchise built around major fights between characters, the last thing you should know about the Fish-Men is that the average member of their race is about ten times as strong as a human, and they get even stronger when fighting underwater. Some of them also master Fish-Men Karate in order to wield combat skills both in and out of water, and if they have the ability to communicate with sea monsters like Aquaman can, they are even more dangerous.
Unlike One Piece protagonist Luffy, they don’t need the Devil Fruit to gain extra powers, and consuming that fruit would be really bad for them because it would take away their ability to swim.
