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One Pieceis filled with a ton of characters who have a range of purpose and importance to the overall storyline. No matter how powerful they are, Eiichiro Oda doesn’t forget why he created them in the first place. Sometimes, they even appear just for the sake of reminding people of their power.
Dracule Mihawk is the biggest victim of this. Despite his status as the Strongest Swordsman in the World, he rarely makes an appearance inOne Piece.He’s not even considered a person viable to find the titular legendary treasure, which puzzled fans.
It’s not a secret the lone pirate has a huge fanbase that loves his character and they think highly of him. However, they forget that his true purpose in the story is to be an obstacle in someone else’s path and to essentially be defeated.
The Warlord-turned-Cross Guild founder has already reached his goal inOne Pieceand now he’s only waiting to be surpassed. Oda made this obvious since his first appearance in theBaratie Arc.
Mihawk is loved by many fans but Oda might not share the same sentiment
Ever since his introduction as Zoro’s ultimate rival on his path to becoming the Strongest Swordsman in the World, Mihawk has set the standard for mastery of it. He wasonce Shanks’ rival tooand they were known for fighting each other very often until the latter lost his arm.
It’s implied that ever since he stopped fighting Shanks, the swordsman has lost his motivation to truly fight since he doesn’t have any competition. Hedoesn’t even have Conqueror’s Haki, despitehis title as the strongest. It seems the swordsman’s purpose waiting for someone to surpass him.
One Piece: Eiichiro Oda Has Already Shown Why Mihawk Has Conqueror’s Haki Despite What You’d Like to Believe
Mihawk meets Zoro during theBaratie Arcafter we find out the pirate had singlehandedly destroyed Don Krieg’s massive ship. The Straw Hat’s swordsman didn’t stand a chance against him.
Ever since then, Zoro has vowed never to lose a fight andthey are yet to have a rematch. They meet each other again on Kuraigana Island where he trains him into the much stronger Zoro we know now. This was a strange thing to do but not when you realizeEiichiro Odanever intended to do anything with him.
This Reddit user phrases it perfectly. Mihawk doesn’t exist to be a cool swordsman and the co-founder of the Cross Guild. He’s just a tool for Zoro’s development inOne Piece.
Mihawk’s greatest achievement caused his lost potential inOne Piece
The Strongest Swordsman in the World should’ve been something to be proud of in theOne Pieceuniverse. Dracule Mihawk, however, shows us the downside and loneliness of what it meant to be the greatest.
When you reach the top, there’s nothing else left for you and Mihawk is the perfect example of that. While he could’ve gained fame from the Cross Guild, Buggy stole the spotlight instead. This essentially squashed any major role of his in the race to get the One Piece.
Gear 5 Luffy Will Cook Mihawk- One Piece Fans Are Still Delusional About the Power Level of the World’s Strongest Swordsman
Overall, Mihawk doesn’t have a purpose beyond being Zoro’s ultimate obstacle. He’s the stepping stone to claiming the title the green-haired swordsman has been working towards and he’ll be damned to let him get in the way of it. Oda never intended to make Mihawk relevant beyond this.
One Pieceis available on Crunchyroll.
Bidisha Mitra
Articles Published :802
Bidisha is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with over 700 published articles. With over 7 years of writing experience, she’s versatile and adept. When she’s not writing, she’s also a voice actor on the side.Bidisha is currently continuing to learn Japanese and gets more fluent everyday. Her expertise is One Piece, Bungo Stray Dogs, and Haikyuu, but has been watching anime for over a decade. She was previously a Content Writer reviewing the latest Kpop music.
