Character Discussion Rank Nami, Zoro,& Sanji in Order of Importance to the One Piece Story

[HerreraIsBack]

Let's analyze everything...

Spoiler: One Piece without Zoro

At Shells Town we'd just have Luffy defeating Morgan and going to Orange Town next. At Orange Town I believe Zoro saves Luffy so the story would end here unless Luffy awakens

Spoiler: One Piece without Nami

At Cocoyasi Village Luffy most likely would still connect to the people and save them from fishmen. They'd have no navigator and would sink their ship on their way to Reverse Mountain and the story would end there and no awakening would save Luffy. That considering that Luffy would still beat Buggy at Orange Town without Nami trapping his parts.

Spoiler: One Piece without Sanji

The crew would still cook and eat on their own but right at Cocoyasi Village we have Sanji fighting Kuroobi and saving Luffy. Without him one of the others would have to fight two fishmen (not together since Arlong was waiting for the fights to be over). Zoro wouldn't have a problem and Usopp ran away so much he wouldn't be a target. But without saving Luffy no one would stop Arlong so the story ends here

Only for that is very hard to say who was more important. I'd like to analyze by replacing them about less skilled versions of them. Let's say a less skilled Nami, Sanji and Zoro.

A less skilled Nami may still not be enough to survive Reverse Mountain but if it does I think the crew would do just the same to the rest of their trip.

A less skilled Sanji would be enough to defeat Kuroobi and most Sanji enemies (including surviving Gin) but may not be enough to pull out Mr.Prince moments and the crew would be doomed in... Alabasta? Enies Lobby?

A less skilled Zoro would definitely not kill Mihawk's boredom and they are not surviving after Baratie.

So Zoro is definitely the most important and Sanji potentially more important than Nami but could be otherwise too.

 

[Rumble]

Out of the three, Sanji has had the most story developed to himself and he's played the unique roles both on his own and in charge of a group.

I think Nami and Zoro are about equal.

 

[Dark Knight Sanji]

Sanji’s narrative has had the biggest influence in the story, plus with his fleshed out backstory taking a significant chunk of the story it is hard to argue against it. But this is a Shonen and character relevancy is largely-tied to strength. Since I have Zoro stronger than Sanji (not by that much) he should be more relevant going into the end game. The Wings of the Pirate Ling are crucial for Luffy to be the Pirate King which is essentially the entire story.

 

[kekaro]

Sanji Negs, like i dont even feel compelled to write it out here, to anyone who reading the manga the last 15 years with their eyes open its clear. If some scholar is the opposite opinion they can posts sbs backstories i guess


I would say Zoro second Nami doesnt really do shit post-ts even less than zoro but you could switch the too

It speaks volume that even with all the 6 trolls together cant even nudge the poll with how clear the distance is

 

[Rej]

Sanji is more than a character. He is also a plot device to connect different aspects of the story into a greater picture.

His story is about surviving, protecting and overcomming. While Zoro is very similair, Sanji is more connecting to different characters across the series. Sanji has more ties to character and arc plots. I love both Sanji and Zoro but Sanji gets a slight upper hand in here. Zoro is slightly following behind.

 

[MonsterKaido]

Wings > Lami

 

[[No Name]]

Used to be Zoro > Nami > Sanji pre Sabadoy / Thriller bark

Now it's
Zoro > Sanji > Nami since Sabadoy

 

[Welkin]

This is really interesting actually

Zoro is at one which is self explanatory

Earlier on in One Piece I might've given 2nd place to Nami but due to the story leaning into the whole "if you aren't strong you aren't nearly as relevant" thing Sanji's had a lot more time to shine

That's not to say Nami is unimportant but if you go through a lot of arcs she's kinda forced to take a backseat due to her lack of strength

Even in Elbaf Oda pulled the most obvious switch of all time like a chapter or 2 before Imu arrived by subbing out Nami with Sanji before she was immediately captured by Gunko

It's kinda sad cause that's the exact same reason we can never have these conversations and involve Usopp. Oda is obsessed with keeping him weak so the current framing of the story forces him into a lesser role because the weaker you are the less relevant you are... unless we're talking about Jinbei in Egghead who got sidelined for no reason

 

[PuckTheGreat]

In the context of the main protagonists journey, I'd say:

Wings > Nami (Honestly her role in the story isn't any different from any other SH, the only difference btw her and them is that she's the main female lead, hence why Oda gives her special treatment on cover pages)

With regards to Zoro and Sanji, Zoro edges Sanji out based on his narrative role as the No.2 on the crew, and as the No.2 there are certain tings Oda has a tendency to let Zoro have. For instance, him having Zoro take Luffy's pain on Thriller Back even though Sanji also volunteered to do so. Or stuff like including Zoro in the supernova alongside Luffy etc. So in conclusion, with regard to narrative weight as Luffy's support I'd say they are bang equal but as the No.2 Oda let's Zoro have certain privileges that he doesn't afford Sanji.

That said, we still don't really know all that much about Nami's origins so who knows maybe this becomes an important plot point in the overarching story of one piece. If it does, I might have to re-access the above.

 

[terabyte]

Nami still gets more to do than most of the crew, like being the one to advise Luffy to split the crew in Dressrosa, getting the Sunny to Zou fast enough to save the Minks, help Luffy defeat Cracker and so on, but it's fairly clear Oda wants to put the Wings above everyone besides Luffy of course. She did have a fairly strong start in Elbaf with frying Road and the giant animals, guiding the SHs out of Legoland and travelling with Luffy and Zoro to meet Gaban at the castle, but then she got swapped with Sanji.

Maybe the latest color spread is a hint to Nami having greater importance in the future though, given how she was behind Luffy and under Roger while all the other SHs besides the Monster Trio were tiny. Who knows.

 

[Royal Kick]

As expected, Sanji fanatics will put him first and Sanji haters will put Nami before Sanji. Zoro > Sanji > Nami is the right ranking in terms of importance (for anyone objective and not crazed by their agenda).

 

[Blazing Lion]

Deuteragonist > Heroine > No.4/5

 

[PuckTheGreat]

As expected, Sanji fanatics will put him first and Sanji haters will put Nami before Sanji. Zoro > Sanji > Nami is the right ranking in terms of importance (for anyone objective and not crazed by their agenda).

Tbf I get some of the arguments that people like Yasheen are making on behalf of Sanji with regards to him being the most fleshed out development wise etc. Hell what Oda's doing with Sanji's development strength wise with his unique development route by fleshing out the lineage factor or even stuff like him being similar to the Lunarians and the Buccaneers ability wise is also significant for the narrative as Oda is and could be giving us more insight on said plot points through him. Not to mention how Germa's history could tie into the overall plot of One Piece so it depends on how you interpret the thread title I think.

With all of the tings I've said above alone, if we are talking importance to the narrative from a story telling perspective then a strong argument can be made for Sanji but if we are talking about Luffy's journey in particular then I think it's Zoro > Sanji > Nami simply bcoz Zoro is the No.2 of the crew.

Don't know what the guys saying Nami > Sanji are smoking though lol but well I guess you could argue from the perspective of Nami's navigation skills but only problem is that you can make the same argument for Robin with the same line of thinking.

If Nami trumps Sanji importance wise narratively, it'll have to be related to her origins imo.

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

Deuteronogist > Heroine > No.4/5

It's written deuteragonist you animal, and it's not even true.

 

[Rumble]

The proof is in the pudding.

Oda’s writing is clearly weighed in favour of Sanji.

 

[grey matter]

This is really interesting actually

Zoro is at one which is self explanatory

Earlier on in One Piece I might've given 2nd place to Nami but due to the story leaning into the whole "if you aren't strong you aren't nearly as relevant" thing Sanji's had a lot more time to shine

That's not to say Nami is unimportant but if you go through a lot of arcs she's kinda forced to take a backseat due to her lack of strength

Even in Elbaf Oda pulled the most obvious switch of all time like a chapter or 2 before Imu arrived by subbing out Nami with Sanji before she was immediately captured by Gunko

It's kinda sad cause that's the exact same reason we can never have these conversations and involve Usopp. Oda is obsessed with keeping him weak so the current framing of the story forces him into a lesser role because the weaker you are the less relevant you are... unless we're talking about Jinbei in Egghead who got sidelined for no reason

This.

Honestly, there is a case to be made for Sanji being no1 even.
Even though in verse Zoro is clearly treated as more important, Sanji drove an entire arc (WCI) in a way that Zoro didn't (Wano could've been that, but it wasn't)

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

This.

Honestly, there is a case to be made for Sanji being no1 even.
Even though in verse Zoro is clearly treated as more important, Sanji drove an entire arc (WCI) in a way that Zoro didn't (Wano could've been that, but it wasn't)

The murder of Zoro plotlines is one of Oda biggest crimes. Shadowed by the murder of Usopp character arc but still

 

[Rumble]

Even though in verse Zoro is clearly treated as more important,

The question is who is more important to the One Piece story, not who is perceived as more important relative to Luffy by others.

Well before his secret prince origin was revealed, Sanji had substantively and qualitatively the most varied material out of the Strawhats following Luffy.

 

[Reborn]

I asked perplexity, copilot and chatgpt


All 3 gave only one answer - in terms of story importance after Luffy.....Zoro > Nami > Robin

 

[Rumble]

I asked perplexity, copilot and chatgpt


All 3 gave only one answer - in terms of story importance after Luffy.....Zoro > Nami > Robin

AI scrapes data.

Zoro has wider appeal, and he also skews to more illiterate fanboy cunts that flood the internet with their headcanon assertions of his position and importance.

It’s very obvious who ranks first based on just the source material itself.

If free AI services get to the point where it could examine the material and produce an objective analysis based on it, they would indicate Sanji received substantially more focus in writing dedicated specifically to him, and how is story mirrors that of many other prominent characters in the story, not the least of which Luffy.