One Piece: Roger Pirates, Where Are They Now?

The Roger Pirates were a seminal pirate crew in One Piece. They are the only crew who have made it across the entirety of the known world, culminating in a final destination at Laugh Tale, where their captain Gol D. Roger claimed the titular One Piece and gained the title of King of the Pirates. His voluntary execution, initially meant to deter piracy, had backfired greatly when his last words included the promise of the legendary treasure if any pirate crew was willing to find it.

After he disbanded his crew and subsequent execution, most Roger Pirates went into hiding, with the Marines refusing to deactivate their bounties until their deaths were confirmed. Nonetheless, at least a few of its many members are still alive and have had various levels of involvement in the main story over two decades after their disbandment.

1

Shanks

From Apprentice To Emperor

• Role in the crew: Apprentice, joined as a baby

Shanks was descended from the Figarland family of World Nobles, with his father and brother both becoming members of their law enforcement branch, God’s Knights. Yet he was inadvertently captured by the Roger Pirates as a baby, when they discovered him in a treasure chest they recovered from God Valley. He was eventually made an apprentice in the crew, sharing a rivalry and friendship with fellow apprentice, Buggy. He was given his captain’s straw hat, a keepsake which he would wear with pride. After Buggy came down with an illness, Shanks decided to take care of him and consequently was one of a few members to have not made the trip to Laugh Tale.

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After the Roger Pirates disbanded, Shanks founded a crew of his own, the Red Hair Pirates. He came across a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, with aspirations of being a pirate and a wish to join his crew. Shanks saw a bit of his own captain in this boy, and accordingly gave him Roger’s straw hat, making him promise to return it once he had become a great pirate. Beyond influencing the series protagonist, Shanks gained the rank of Emperor, meaning he is publicly recognized as one of the most threatening pirates to the World Government. His identical twin brother, Shamrock, claims Shanks visited Mary Geoise once in the past, but seemingly rejected his birthright of nobility. Shanks and his crew are fairly powerful, being shown easily defeating foes at moments when they are not partying. More recently, Shanks has expressed an interest in finally visiting Laugh Tale many years later to claim the One Piece.

2

Buggy

A Figurehead Emperor

• Role in the crew: Apprentice, joined at a young age

Buggy was born on the Grand Line and later joined the Roger Pirates at a young age. When exactly he became involved with the crew is unknown, but alongside Shanks, he was an apprentice at age 9. He argued with Shanks over trivial topics such as whether the North Pole or South Pole is colder, and ultimately holds something of a grudge against him. Shanks was indirectly responsible for making Buggy eat the Bara Bara no Mi, a Devil Fruit that he planned to sneak away and pawn off for money. This meant Buggy could no longer swim, and consequently, had less opportunity to find buried treasure. Despite their differences, Shanks showed that he cared for Buggy, when he voluntarily stayed behind to help him manage his illness, rather than go to Laugh Tale.

Like Shanks, Buggy has since become the captain of his own pirate crew, yet has had markedly less power. He holds a grudge against Luffy, as an extension of his grudge against Shanks, having lost against the pirate once, and failed to execute him a subsequent time. He has since done time in Impel Down, after wandering onto a marine base and teaming up with Luffy to escape. His achievements, such as the aforementioned prison break, his status as a member of the Roger Pirates, and his friendship with Shanks, have all been used to foster the false impression that he is a powerful pirate. This has resulted in many powerful former inmates joining his ranks after escaping Impel Down alongside him.

Sometime after the Summit War, he became a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a roster of government-sanctioned pirates. He used this position to form an illegal mercenary guild known as Buggy’s Delivery. However, after the warlord system was abolished, Buggy quickly found himself at a disadvantage. He was not only an easy target for the government, but also had Crocodile, a fellow ex-warlord, whose funds he used to form his own guild calling in a debt. Having insufficient funds, Buggy instead offered to pay for exposure by advertising Crocodile’s new organization, Cross Guild. However, Buggy’s subordinates, who were responsible for printing the flyer, falsely assumed he was the leader of this new group. Crocodile and his co-founder, Mihawk, used this to their advantage and scapegoated Buggy by making him a figurehead leader. Due to Cross Guild being an organization that incentivizes marine hunting by putting bounties on them, Buggy has achieved the designation of Emperor.

Yet despite his power being theoretically in name only, Buggy has used his charisma and reputation to make calls of his own, most recently demanding the mercenaries find him the One Piece and make him pirate king.

3

Silvers Rayleigh

Roger’s Right Hand

• Role in the crew: First Mate, authority second only to Roger

Silvers Rayleigh was the First Mate of the Roger Pirates, serving as Gol D. Roger’s right-hand man. Although he initially rebuffed a young Roger, the two eventually became crewmates and led perhaps the most infamous pirate crew in the series. Rayleigh was the crew’s disciplinarian, likely due to Roger’s more lighthearted nature, having been seen scolding Shanks and Buggy for their pointless bickering, which occurred amid a battle the rest of the crew was participating in. Rayleigh was unwilling to watch Roger’s execution, instead toasting a drink to his beloved captain upon his passing.

Since retirement, Rayleigh has become a coating mechanic, helping modify ships so they can traverse underwater. He also has ties to Amazon Lily, having married Shakuyaku, the proprietor of Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar, who was once Amazon Lily’s empress. He is notably one of three men the empire’s current ruler, Boa Hancock, does not hate, due to the role he played in helping protect and mentor her. He takes this role quite seriously, having traveled to Amazon Lily once the warlord system was abolished, as it left the territory no longer protected by the government. He became aware of Luffy when Shanks raved to his former mentor about the boy and eventually met him in person thanks to Hatchan, a fish-man who was a mutual friend of Luffy’s.

During the timeskip, Rayleigh was Luffy’s trainer, having taught him how to better use all three types of haki. He is shown to be far calmer as a mentor to Luffy, likely due to no longer needing to regularly discipline others. Despite being an elderly man, it should be noted that Rayleigh is quite powerful, having fought on par with Admiral Kizaru and intimidated Emperor Marshall D. Teach, despite the power each of these men possesses.

4

Crocus

An Accomplished Medical Specialist

• Role in the crew: Ship’s Doctor, acted as a medical advisor to Roger and his crewmates

Crocus was a doctor of some renown, acquainted with the Rumbar Pirates, the former pirate crew of Brook, which he was briefly the captain of, after its previous captain’s passing. Traveling with the crew was a young whale named Laboon, who they did not believe could survive the Grand Line, and left in Crocus’s care, promising to return someday. After the allotted timeframe had passed, Crocus became concerned. He was invited to join the Roger Pirates, with them believing he was the only doctor who could treat Gol D. Roger’s disease enough for him to complete the journey. Despite being friendly, he occasionally clashed with the captain, usually bemoaning his drinking habits amid his disease. He had incorrectly believed the Rumbar Pirates fled the Grand Line, being unaware of the majority of the crew’s tragic passing at sea, as well as Brook’s survival. Nonetheless, he traveled with the Roger Pirates and even fought alongside them. In line with his medical practice, he elected to discharge certain crewmates he believed were too ill to travel, such as Buggy and Kozuki Toki.

After the crew’s disbandment, he resumed taking care of Laboon. He tried to inform Laboon of the perceived cowardice of the Rumbar Pirates, but the whale refused to believe him and smashed against the walls of Reverse Mountain, continually scarring himself in the process. Laboon swallowed another crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, who encountered Crocus. The crew aided him in fighting off Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, who wanted to kill the whale for meat. Luffy subsequently befriended the whale and illustrated a poorly drawn Jolly Roger on his face, in a successful bid to keep him from hitting his head against the wall. After Brook, who managed to survive his crew’s destruction thanks to his Devil Fruit, became a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Crocus noticed Laboon’s mood had improved remarkably. Like most of his former crewmates, Crocus has also remarked upon how similar Luffy is to Roger.

5

Inuarashi and Nekomamushi

Two Red Scabbards

• Role in the crew: Apprentices, joined when they were fairly young children

As a pair of trouble-making children from the Momoko Dukedom in Zou, a young Inuarashi, a dog mink, and Nekomamushi, a cat mink, made a journey over to Wano, after learning of a pact their tribe made with the Kozuki family. They were captured alongside a fish-man named Kawamatsu, and rescued by a young Kozuki Oden. This resulted in them becoming a handful of warriors who would be lifelong companions of Oden, known as the Nine Red Scabbards.

They stowed away to join the Whitebeard Pirates, alongside Oden. Like their master, they came from an isolated area and wanted to learn how vast the outside world truly was. Oden became both a husband and father as a pirate, having been romantically involved with Amatsuki Toki. After some time spent traveling with the Whitebeard Pirates, the crew was caught in a skirmish and subsequent exchange with the Roger Pirates. Oden decided to switch crews and accompany Roger, being impressed by the final journey he wished to attempt. Oden and most of his companions decided to travel with Roger. However, once Toki fell ill, they decided to accompany Oden’s family back to Wano, as he continued sailing with the crew.

Once Oden returned after accompanying the crew to Laugh Tale, he was subsequently betrayed, humiliated, and ultimately killed as a result of the Orochi family’s takeover of the shogunate, in collaboration with the Beasts Pirates. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi feuded whenever they were together, stemming from them blaming each other for their supposed role in Oden’s death. This dispute resulted in each of them having dominion over the Momoko Dukedom for 12 hours of the day once they became its rulers. They steadily worked toward rebuilding their friendship and restoring Kozuki rule to Wano. Ultimately, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi decide to move back to Wano, abdicating all 24 hours of the Momoko Dukedom’s rule to Carrot, a rabbit mink, who had traveled with the Straw Hats.

6

Scopper Gaban

Roger’s Left Hand

• Role in the crew: Left-Hand Man, held some level of authority over the crew

Scopper Gaban was a member of the Roger Pirates, who was comparable to Rayleigh in terms of power. He favors axes as his primary weapon, rather than the swords commonly used by his crewmates. He was a member of the crew as far back as their time in God Valley, but the circumstances that made him join are unknown. He was first shown in the present day, albeit with his back facing the viewers, sharing a drink with Crocus, showing he is not averse to keeping in touch with former crewmates.

Sometime after the crew’s disbandment, he went to live in Elbaf, where he became the common-law husband of Ripley, a member of the country’s final generation of warriors, who is currently a biology teacher. He also fathered Colon, a human-giant hybrid who seems averse to the anti-war reforms of Elbaf’s recent generations. Gaban refuses to legally wed Ripley due to how rapidly he ages as a human compared to the giants. It is notable that Colon, despite appearing the age of a human boy, is actually 20 years old, and Ripley, despite being even older than her husband, at age 80, is still a young woman by human standards.

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Gaban fancies himself a preacher of love due to his interracial relationship, noting how it is one of many in the world. He recently challenged the Straw Hat Pirates to a battle, with the prize being the key to freeing Loki, the destructive giant prince of Elbaf. Like so many of his crewmates before him, he too is impressed by Luffy’s similarities to Roger.

7

Those Dead And Disappeared

The Other Roger Pirates

• Role in the crew: Captain (Roger), Miscellaneous (Others)

Only three members of the Roger Pirates are confirmed to have died. Gol D. Roger himself was voluntarily executed, due to having achieved his goal whilst battling an incurable disease. Oden and Toki were killed after the former’s return to Wano, with the former being killed by Kaido, and the latter in a lynching effort organized by Kurozumi Orochi. The Kozuki children, Momonosuke and Hiyori, who traveled with the Roger Pirates, survived, and are currently involved in the effort to restore Wano to its former glory, with Momonosuke being the current shogun of Wano.

As for Roger’s other crewmates, their current situation is ambiguous for the moment. No one else is confirmed to have died since the crew’s disbandment, although it is likely not all of them will be seen in the present day. Most of them are likely in hiding or otherwise located where the government will not go, as their bounties are still active until their deaths are proven. It is quite possible that some will return, and like Gaban, others may be hiding in plain sight. That being said, for the moment, their fates are all unknown.

One Piece

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Release Date

October 20, 1999

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Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)

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