In anime, it’s not uncommon to believe that youth is forever fromPokémon’s infamousnever-aging protagonist, Ash Ketchum, toCase Closed’s, Conan, andAh! My Goddess’s, Keiichi Morisato, who will never seem to graduate college. But for old franchises, having a protagonist grow alongside you only deepens the connection with that character as relatable pains and struggles are depicted as much more common than viewers think. Eiichiro Oda,One Piece’s creator, has embodied this sentiment in an SBSdepicting what the Straw Hat Pirates would look like at 40 and 60 years old.
Oda is infamous for thepraise and criticism his designsreceive based on their looks alone since they can go anywhere from beautiful to ugly real quick! No one can deny that he’s delivered some pretty unique character art over the years. In the SBS, Oda explores aging up his Straw Hat crew down two different timelines,one where fans can presume all went well with the crew and another that takes on a darker turn of the band of friends falling out.
An interesting theory that’s always simmered among small groups inOne Pieceis thatOda utilizes “ugly features” in charactersto symbolize their role and personality in the show. Important cast members such as the Straw Hat crew, New Generation pirates, and Red-Hair Shanks have all been relatively attractive, meanwhile, the antagonists of the show such as Blackbeard are always portrayed as sinister, grueling, and unruly. Attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder, but this theory does seem to follow along with a lot of Oda’s aged-up Straw Hats.
850 and 70-Year-Old “Cyborg” Franky (Cutty Flam)
Ever the Engineering Cyborg Regardless of the Timeline
Oda’s only included the first eight Straw Hat Pirates, so our first look is at Franky! In the good timeline where thecrew continues to pursue their dreamsof discovering the One Piece and achieving their own separate goals, Franky at 50 is still the same as you would expect with a few more lines and a grizzly look to his jaw. Interesting to consider how he managed that given that his face is also meant to be part of his cyborg self.
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His pursuits seem to have taken him to the next level,having designed an entire island that he has complete control over, including the weather in case it sways too far hot or cold. Franky is likely aged at 50, unlike the other pirates, since he is canonically older than the Straw Hats by about a decade. At 70, his features are further hardened and defined like Whitebeard’s, the cyborg even goes so far as to cut himself some gray hair to finish off the look.
Franky’s major pathways divide into him becoming anhonorable shipwright like Tomor designing more chaotic ships that can be used as weapons. It only makes sense that in a worse-off timeline,Franky becomes a state-of-the-art war robot, looking to destroy all other ships. At 70, he even becomes a battleship, perhaps to extend his consciousness to continue terrorizing the seas inOne Piece.
740 and 60-Year-Old Nico Robin
Good Genes Never Lie But Her Worse Timeline Isn’t All Bad
Designated as the crew’s resident scholar, Robin doesn’t look to age too much between her current age in the series (30), and her older iterations in the better timeline. Aside from a few hair changes, she looks the same throughout another 30 years! In the original manga,Oda theorized the ethnicity of the Straw Hat pirates, concluding Robin would have been of Russian descent, which may be a contributing factor to her aging gracefully.
Robin’s bad timeline is actually a little more interesting because she isn’t inherently as unattractive as some of the “uglier” characters fans may be used to. She looks very similar toDr. Kurehaif not a bit fuller in the face, especially at 40 years old. Her hair has taken on a more salt-and-pepper mix, marking the biggest difference in the alternate timeline. Robin’s also given up her books and efforts to become a scholar, but her 60-year-old version takes a much darker route.
While Robin’s 40-year-old version seems to have given up her love of research,her 60-year-old depiction indicates she may be involved in the black market. Whether by trading information for the right price or even being involved in the selling of humans, fans of One Piece know that Oda isn’t afraid to tackle real-world issues, no matter how political.
640 and 60-Year-Old Tony Tony “Cotton Candy” Chopper
Still as Fluffy in Any Timeline
Chopper’s aged-up appearance returns to the norm of him resembling more of a deer, regaining that fluff around his neck and chest that was synonymous with the different forms he could change into without the Rumble Ball (Normal, Human, Deer.) His 40-year-old and 60-year-old self have many similar resemblances, with his older form portraying him as a little more porky, maybe settling in with a few too many of Sanji’s delicious cooking.
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Like Robin, his dark timeline appearance is much more fascinating as Chopper takes on more of a monstrous mobster gimmick, looking like something out ofBeastars, rather thanOne Piece.The line accompanying the 40-year-old artwork states, “Straw Hat? Don’t bring up that name in my face,” indicating that,much like Chopper originally feared, humans have once again turned against him, leaving him distrusting and vengeful.
His 60-year-old version is an even more sinister figure, yelling to an off-seen entity to “Bring [him] a sacrifice!” which may indicate he’s a leader of a monster group taking out their hate on humans. While his good timeline self was porky, so is his alternate, but his facial features are more gaunt and his horns have grown out unhealthily after letting himself go.
540 and 60-Year-Old “Black Leg” Sanji
A Curious Case of Diverging Paths Based on His Father Figure
Sanji is where the different timelines start to get fascinating, especially in light of his family’s reveal in the Whole Cake Island Arc. Like many older gentlemen in One Piece, Sanji’s jawline starts to square out in his 40-year-old art, and he’s letting his hair grow out past his neck, though he still carries many of the same features that we all love and tolerate about the flirtatious cook. His 60-year-old is the most endearing of the two becausehis design resembles that of his adoptive mentor, Zeff, braiding his long hair off to the side rather than growing out his mustache.
In the bad timeline, Sanji’s resemblance at age 60 begins tolook uncannily like his father’s, probably hinting that he falls back in line with his siblings and their group of assassins. At age 40, he’s drawn as fuller in the jaw and body, no longer caring about the importance of how food is prepared between proper nutrients and care, opposing the sentiments that had made him stand out when he first appeared in the manga.
440 and 60-Year-Old “King of Snipers” Usopp
How Great the Fibber Can Rise to How Far Can He Fall
Given that we have already seen his father, you would think that we could perceive what Usopp will look like when he gets older, but Oda puts his own classic spin on the infamous Sogeking. At 40 years old, Usopp looks generally similar to how he’s depicted inOne Piece’s timeskip, but now just a little bit wiser and more confident in his expression. At 60, he really begins to look like his dad,carrying that lackadaisical attitude the Red Hair pirates are known for during their time off, now sporting graying strands of hair.
Oda is just straight-up mean with Usopp’s wrong timeline appearance because, at 40, he takes on that familiar bloated look from during the timeskip and is once again back to spewing lies, following the theme of the Straw Hat crew resorting to their worst principles. At age 60, he grew skinny and saggy, losing teeth and wearing gear covering his ears for what could be hearing implants. His hair is fully white, and his clothes are dirty, indicating he’s more than lacked in caring for himself over the years.
340 and 60-Year-Old“Cat Burglar” Nami
Return to Classic And/Or Deceiving Nami
Nami has always been a stylistic icon, featured in many cover art where she’s sporting the latest fashion trend as one of thebest dressed among the Straw Hat Pirates. It was always refreshing to see her different styles in the first portion of One Piece and her aged-up looks reflect a lot of that same mentality. At 40, she’s featured with short wavy hair and the same mischievous glint that she uses to tease the viewer.
At age 60, her hair is cut even shorter into an adorable bob that helps her to keep up a youthful appearance while also giving the impression of a more mature version of the thief we’ve all come to adore.Like Robin, she doesn’t seem to age much between these timelinesbut does grow more mysterious as a lady’s age should invoke.
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On the other hand, in a future where things go terribly wrong, Nami almost looks like Kokoro, the older mermaid from way back in Water-7. Her greed knows no bounds with her facial forming a more oblong shape, cut with many defining lines and wispy hair. At age 60, this is only doubled as her hair color fades, and she grows a hunch in her back, asking if anyone wants to buy some of her “magical” pot.
240 and 60-Year-Old Roronoa Zoro
At What Point Does It Become One Sword Too Many
Zoro ages quite gracefully in a future where everything turns out well, only pushing himself to become a better swordsman with each passing decade. What’s remarkable arethe smile lines that accompany his furrowed browbecause while, no doubt, being first mate comes with its fair share of stress, there’s also always fun to be had with the Straw Hat crew.Most humorous is his continuation to add swords to his increased repertoire.The biggest difference is his fading marimo hair along with his signature earring. Probably removed so he could place his fifth sword between his neck and shoulder.
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In a timeline where he gives up hisdream of becoming the greatest swordsman, he’s given up on wielding a sword altogether, losing his hair and teeth in the process, resulting in no longer being able to hold the blade properly. His appearance isn’t all that well-kept, losing hair directly along the top of his head to his crown. He grows it out at 60, losing both respect for his dignity and care as his beard is now all stubble and an unkempt mustache grows like a shadow over his top lip.
140 and 60-Year-Old Monkey D. Luffy
The Meat-Demanding King. Never Change, Luffy
There’s something incredibly endearing about seeing such a baby-faced character grow stubble in the future.Luffy’s aged-up versions are very sentimentalin that heresembles Shanksso closely at 40and then appears to embody a lot ofGarp’s facial features at 60rather than looking more likehis father, Dragon. He retains a lot of his youth unlike immediately gaining that square jaw that Zoro and Sanji have in their older age. The shared characteristics with his grandfather are so ironic given their divergent paths, but there is also a very soft sentiment.
In a future where Luffy no longer pursueshis dream of being the Pirate King, he loses a lot of definition and neck, as Oda tends to do for his aging characters who are “ugly,” and Luffy’s teeth only get more chipped and broken over the years. At age 60, he loses his hair in a similar fashion to Zoro, save for a small patch at the forefront of his widow’s peak. His hair has gone gray at the nape, and he’s got a fluffy gray beard to round off his face. No matter the iteration, however, Luffy’s goal is the same as it always is inOne Piece, a journey of sourcing the nearest piece of meat.
