General & Others Why is Zoro so popular?

[ImmaIvanoM]

It's no question that Zoro is one of the most popular characters from One piece. Examples of this popularity are:
1. he's been the second most popular character in shone jump polls since the start with the exception of the Dressrosa poll where he was third following Law.

2. Artur from library of Ohara translated the popularity data from One piece magazine 8 and in it Zoro was the first place for two out of six demographics and second place in every other demographic besides 9 year olds who like had Chopper in first place even above Luffy.

3. Some notable individuals have said Zoro is their favorite character such One of Oda's editors and youtubers such as Nux Taku, Grandline Review and Super Eye patch Wolf among others.

4. Popularity polls from western youtubers such as Rogersbase and Tekking also end up having Zoro in first place

5. Even popularity polls held on this very forum and on the deceased Orojackson consistently had Zoro in first or second place.

And so on.

With that I ask why Zoro is so popular?

EDIT:
Recently Artur has made a poll of his own with up to 5000 votes and once again the results speak for themselves

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1229014392865525760

 

[Just a member]

Imo Zoro is a character that is build up to be the perfect shoulder for the shounen main character. It is nothing new but for sure it has been polished compared to previous "experiments" (which were successful without a doubt):

Dragonball: We have Goku as the main character, an easy going MC who acts as a moron 99% of the time; his "shoulder" that in the end is almost a vrother and for sure the right complement for him is Vegeta, always serious, determined, code of honor. Luffy and Zoro have their roots oin this, and DBZ MC have their roots set in other mangas before DB as well (just don't ask me what they are XD). Then of course other examples such HxH or Naruto in which the core of the formula stays true but with little changes.

So, just as an example, I always liked Vegeta more than Goku and so when OP come out and become popular it was just normal to like Zoro more than Luffy.

Then if you want to make comparison with other characters, starting with what I said abvove, Zoro already starts with a status of co protagonist aka he is the 2nd for importance in the SH, after him you can argue come Sanji and Nami in 2 different categories, Nami as the original core crew shared some degree of importance yet she is clearly below Zoro for importance at this point, same goes for Sanji fight wise but he too has way less focus than Zoro, if we retake the DBZ comparison Sanji can be compared to Junior or maybe even Gohan, maybe sometimes he takes the spotlight (Cell games - WCI) but everybody knows the MC is Goku and Vegeta is the 2nd.

So it is a manga formula in which Zoro's role and character is well thought out even beofore the starting of the manga, he is build to be the MC complement and some people (just like me) like that kind of charcater over the always happy and easy going MC (if we want to stretch it maybe they can even be compared to Superman and Batman..).

 

[Diamond]

Whilst Zoro isn't my favorite Strawhat, it's obvious to why he's popular. He has a very appealing color scheme, an interesting fighting style, but most importantly, he appeared in some of the most memorable moments in One Piece. Stuff like "I will never lose again" and "nothing happened" are amazing moments that define his character.

Also he's the Strawhat macho man, people love those types, lol.

 

[Master OF Haki]

Because Zoro is a Fan Boy character, he's made to be popular. Zoro is Oda's greatest marketing tool which will keep One Piece popular no matter how much stupid things Oda does recently. Shonen jump manipulates the polls to make Luffy more popular than Zoro but in reality Zoro is ahead of everyone by popularity and Luffy is one of the most hated MCs, he's hated by Zoro fans (which are the majority of One Piece fans) because Luffy is MC and because of that he always defeats the strongest antagonist, he's given the most screen time, he's much stronger than Zoro (and because of that they always try to convince you that he's as strong as Luffy and even stronger and Oda always finds a way for Zoro to be weakened by samthing since he's soooooo strong etc.).
Zoro is back bone of One Piece he's the one that made One Piece so much more popular than the other mangas (by filling in as much stupid idiots as possible) and he's the reason why One Piece is still popular after 20+ years.

As long as Oda keeps Zoro Fan Boys satisfied One Piece will remain popular NO MATTER WHAT and ODA KNOWS THIS OHHH HE KNOWS THIS.

 

[Finalbeta]

He is popular because of his personality first of all

He is the kind of character who had the balls to challenge the WSS and never run away but take his slashes whilst knowing he stood no chance

The kind of guy who never gave up in his life no matter how difficult life could be

Same guy always being loyal to his nakama and never betraying a single one

Same guy who always trains hard to reach his goals and never ditches them

A true life model.

 

[Jackteo]

Trying to be as brief as possible: he is a character written to seem always successful.
On top of that he is a serious character (not like Luffy) and he uses swords (almost everyone like swords) .
A character like that is just the easiest (subconscious or not) pick of all

 

[nik87]

Man or a woman, Zoro has qualities that both hold in high regards.
Independent, strong guy with sole focus on his goal, not complaining about the hardships but rather embracing them.
Big brother figure who does what's necessary and cuts directly to the point and at the same time not interested in the praise.
You either love him or love to hate him, either way, the energy is love.

 

[Worst]

When u make a moment like this look cool

U are cool that's it........If Kaido wasn't a thing i would "PROBABLY" be a sword boy too

 

[Enma]

When u make a moment like this look cool

U are cool that's it........If Kaido wasn't a thing i would "PROBABLY" be a sword boy too

It's never late to go the right path, my friend:cheers:

 

[Luffy is the mc]

Because he's strong and badass. He is charismatic. Just look at urouge words to see how people view him in the one piece world.

 

[Worst]

It's never late to go the right path, my friend:cheers:

Club Boys for life

 

[Topi Jerami]

Surely not the main reason, but "because he uses swords / is a swordsman" reason helps too.

People who already liked other animes such as Inuyasha, Samurai X, Bleach, etc (show with swords), when they began to watch One Piece, they may automatically choose Zoro as the favorite character because he has the most similar fighting style with their favorite characters from previous anime.
At least that worked for me. When I watched Inuyasha my favorite character is Sesshomaru so when I began to watch One Piece after that, Zoro became my favorite character automatically.

 

[Enma]

Sword Boys for life

 

[Chrono]

Hes a character created to be "badass". Its literally defines him. It his biggest blessing and biggest curse. As a badass character he will forever look "cool" and "intimidating" and "edgy". Which appeals to the majority because we all want to be like that. However it makes him lose his "relatability" and "humanity". Seemingly a plot device to make OP more aesthetically pleasing.

A lot of people see Luffy, and dont really care about OP. However when they see Zoro, they will grow intrigue....because of his character design and what it is potraying. However this character design, is nothing short of what Zoro truly is.....which is a bland character that is offering to the story what we already expect. He doesnt add much humour to the story, much development ( well not anymore), nor does he contribute to any of the emotional moments of OP. He is only a contributer to the "badass" moments. And to most people that is good enough.

This ofcourse is about post timeskip Zoro. Pre timeskip Zoro had a lot more depth, however he is currently watered down to this current state which he is in. That is the "plain face" era of Zoro. The "plain face" era of Zoro is excused as "character growth", however it is nothing but the author not knowing what to do with him anymore. Zoro is generally seen and viewed as more "serious" now by the general public, because his character cannot do anything but brood. His character isnt smart, comedic, emotional, adventurous enough to carry the plot anymore. With him needing a side character like Hiyori to carry his entire side plot for him.

Too keep this short. Zoro is very popular because of his personality coupled with his appearence. However the amount of presence his character carries is sacrificed with the amount of emotional flexability he no longer possesses. This is carefully chosen as Zoro isnt created to be a complex, or no longer is. But he is just Shonen eyecandy to convert people into OP fans.

There is something else I wanted to say but I forgot.

 

[Finalbeta]

I'm proud of being a Zoro fanboy :cheers:

 

[Ice devil slayer]

Simple
Zoro has everything to be a main character

 

[Aknolagon]

Because Zoro is perfect!
You don't need to be dumb and be pervert to be a good character and have a "personnality"!! In real life, people love when someone is mysterious and serious with a little sense of humor! Zoro is not only my favorite character of OP but also of all time!
He is arrogant yes, and sometimes idiot but he is a hardworker, loyal, a true friend! Someone who you need to follow in real life! Never ever he disappointed me, that's what i want from a character.
His wano adventure was great with yasu! And with zoro you know you will have great fight. Clean and simple!

Luffy is unique and Zoro is unique, both of them complete each other! That's why we love them and OP!

 

[Finalbeta]

Simple
Zoro has everything to be a main character

Well he is:

A leader = has enough personality for it as well as the strenght, also is a very loyal person

The strenght = portrayed as Luffy’s equal since their first showings

Charisma = He is a particularly badass character

 

[pedxi]

Did someone lowkey say Zoro is smarter than Sanji

 

[KiriNigiri]

Because Zoro is a Fan Boy character, he's made to be popular. Zoro is Oda's greatest marketing tool which will keep One Piece popular no matter how much stupid things Oda does recently. Shonen jump manipulates the polls to make Luffy more popular than Zoro but in reality Zoro is ahead of everyone by popularity and Luffy is one of the most hated MCs, he's hated by Zoro fans (which are the majority of One Piece fans) because Luffy is MC and because of that he always defeats the strongest antagonist, he's given the most screen time, he's much stronger than Zoro (and because of that they always try to convince you that he's as strong as Luffy and even stronger and Oda always finds a way for Zoro to be weakened by samthing since he's soooooo strong etc.).
Zoro is back bone of One Piece he's the one that made One Piece so much more popular than the other mangas (by filling in as much stupid idiots as possible) and he's the reason why One Piece is still popular after 20+ years.

As long as Oda keeps Zoro Fan Boys satisfied One Piece will remain popular NO MATTER WHAT and ODA KNOWS THIS OHHH HE KNOWS THIS.

Got any more conspiracy theories you’d like to share?