One Piece: 5 Confusing Non-Canonical Characters Explained

Overview

Douglas Bullet, a non-canon creation, presents an intriguing challenge to One Piece’s established lore through his immense power and complex history.
Willy, an Orca fish-man from Dead End Adventure, raises questions about the biological taxonomy of fish-men due to his unique characteristics.
All-Hunt Grount, a Marine Captain with an unusual Zoan Devil Fruit, diverges from typical Zoan conventions as it affects only his arm, sparking intrigue about his origins.

In the vast world of One Piece, numerous non-canon characters have emerged, often due to various media adaptations like films and filler episodes. These characters generally exist outside the main narrative and are not considered when crafting or expanding the core lore.

Though these characters have not been explicitly contradicted by the expanding storylines, the increasing complexity of the lore has made it challenging to reconcile their existence. Consequently, these non-canon figures often appear more inconsistent as the narrative evolves.

5 Douglas Bullet

A Force of Nature

Debut: One Piece: Stampede (Film)
Medium: Anime (Film)

Douglas Bullet serves as the main antagonist in One Piece: Stampede. He blends traits reminiscent of Kaido and Eustass Kid, having once been a member of Gol D. Roger’s crew—the only individual ever to surpass him in combat.

Bullet’s ideology, shaped by his upbringing as a child soldier, fosters a belief in “might makes right,”leading him to harbor deep distrust for others. Following a catastrophic Buster Call targeting him, Bullet was imprisoned on the sixth floor of Impel Down for 21 years, only to escape at 43 during a prison break orchestrated by Blackbeard.

Bullet aimed to eliminate all other pirates to forge his path as the strongest and claim the title of pirate king. His unmatched ruthlessness prompted a coalition of marines and pirates to ultimately defeat him. Curiously, his prolonged survival in custody raises questions, especially given the World Government’s history of executing threats far less dangerous than Bullet.

4 Willy

A Unique Species

Debut: One Piece: Dead End Adventure (Film)
Medium: Anime (Film)

With the growing prominence of fish-men in One Piece, particularly following the timeskip, the introduction of Willy, an Orca fish-man, in Dead End Adventure presents intriguing lore challenges. Willy competes in a rigged race orchestrated by Gasparde, standing in opposition to Arlong.

His existence as an aquatic mammal diverging from the established fish or cephalopod line raises significant questions about the genetic diversity of fish-men. With the canon lacking other mammalian fish-men, the origins of Willy’s species remain obscured, potentially pointing toward deeper evolutionary mysteries yet to be revealed in the series.

3 All-Hunt Grount

A Novel Zoan Concept

Debut: Episode 780 (Anime)
Medium: Anime (Filler Episodes)

All-Hunt Grount is a Marine Captain who previously operated under Kuzan until his own departure from the Marines. With a peculiarly unstable Zoan Devil Fruit power that seems limited to his arm, Grount’s existence adds a layer of complexity to the Zoan category.

His ambition to confront powerful foes like Big Mom and Monkey D. Luffy illustrates his determination, but his unusual Devil Fruit abilities raise questions about how such a selective transformation occurred. This limitation aligns closely with characteristics of SMILE fruits, which also exhibit partial transformations. However, given Grount’s circumstances, how he acquired such a fruit remains uncertain, particularly in a world where SMILEs are tightly controlled by Doflamingo and Kaido.

2 Mediator Margin

Ambiguous Alliances

Debut: One Piece Odyssey (Video Game)
Medium: Video Game

In One Piece Odyssey, Margin is portrayed as an Alabasta-based pirate with unusual clearance from the World Government to claim bounties. He leverages this position to entice other pirates, such as the Straw Hats, into handing over captured bounties in exchange for a share of the profit, which he uses to form his own crew, the Bounty Pirates.

Despite his ambitions to recruit the Straw Hats, Margin’s strategic overreach becomes evident as he ultimately misjudges his crew’s strength. His dubious status raises fundamental questions about the nature of affiliations with the World Government and how he maintains a bounty while claiming authority over others.

1 Z (“Black Arm”Zephyr)

A Discrepant Legacy

Debut: One Piece Film: Z (Film); Episode 577 (Anime)
Medium: Anime (Film and Filler Episodes)

Z, or Black Arm Zephyr, stands out as one of the most incompatible characters with One Piece’s ongoing narrative. Once a Marine Admiral, he becomes disillusioned with the organization’s limitations in addressing piracy and subsequently establishes a radical group called the Neo Marines to annihilate all pirates in the New World.

His animosity towards pirates stems from a tragic past, including the loss of his wife and son to pirate violence. While he inspires respect among marines and instructs future officers, his violent defection introduces significant narrative inconsistencies, particularly in relation to the recently established SWORD organization.

Recent developments indicate that SWORD operates as a covert group of retired marines who still engage with pirate threats. This revelation implies that Z could have pursued his goals within the Marine framework without resorting to extremism, highlighting a critical mismatch in his character’s motivation and the established lore.

Source & Images