One Piece is a series widely regarded for its diverse cast of characters, whether that includes funky cyborgs, stoic men in baby outfits, talking reindeer, or whatever the nose-ramen guy was. However, if there was ever a list of characters that creator Eiichiro Oda could do a slightly better a job of designing, it would be female characters. One Piece had, at one point, been a series well regarded for its large cast of female characters that weren't consistently sexualized by the anime or manga.
That all changed as the series went on and after Oda got married. By his own admission, he got more perverted after his marriage and has since dwindled his female character designs to just two circles and an X. Arguably, however, Oda has found a middle ground with one fan favorite in particular, the Pirate Empress and ruler of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock. Seemingly able to juggle both fan service and genuine, Shonen credibility, Boa has been at the forefront of the series' coolest, female characters. However, no character is ever perfect, and Boa in particular has a few glaring issues. As such, this list will be running down 10 things about her that do a little more than disappoint. They just don't make sense.
10 Character Design
As stated above, Oda has struggled for the last few years with the anatomical accuracy of his female character designs. Boa Hancock, more so than most female characters, should not be able to stand. She is a twig carrying two large boulders, and it is a miracle that she doesn't have a broken back. And while the series isn't exactly known for realism, it always seems like female characters don't get their fair share of diverse character designs.
Boa Hancock, in particular, can almost be mistakenly confused with post-timeskip Nico Robin, as well as a variety of female character in Wano, which is strange, considering that her moniker is being the most beautiful woman in the world. Boa's character design, more than anything, is mostly hype and an exaggeration of other female characters.
9 Falling for Luffy
While Boa is the ruler and best fighter on Amazon Lily, her most predominant character trait within the series is her seemingly undying love for Monkey D. Luffy. After having protected her secret and revealing that he once punched a Celestrial Dragon, the class of people who had once tormented her, she quickly falls head over heels for him.
This is understandable given Luffy's gestures and what they mean for her in particular, but they're still shallow aspects to get her to fall in love with a guy that she barely knows. If anything, those are the only two things Luffy knows about her. From then on, she is constantly surprised to learn more about his life, whether that means his brother or having female members in his crew, and that's a pretty poor sign for any relationship.
8 How She Got Her Devil Fruit
On the topic of Boa's backstory, she notes that she got her Devil Fruit from a Celestial Dragon who wanted her to use it for their entertainment. While mutating someone against their will does seem cruelly entertaining to an extent, this is still a little confusing for the Celestial Dragons to do.
Don't they know how powerful Devil Fruits are? Did they not think, at any point, Boa could use her newfound abilities against them? Entertainment is one thing. Arrogance is one thing. Pure stupidity is what this was.
7 How Her Devil Fruit Works
Going back to Boa's Devil Fruit, does anyone know how it exactly works? At first, it seems like the victim needs to be looking at her, while she does her hand-heart thing to create a beam. However, it is later revealed that she is just able to summon hearts out of nowhere, whether that means her tiny, pistol one or the literal arrows she can summon.
Then, the weirdest part being, she is also able to turn to stone whatever part of the body she kicks. At this point, does anyone even need to look at her? Does she really need to do the heart hand?
6 How She Managed to Sneak Luffy into Impel Down
Continuing the trend of "What exactly are the limits of the Love-Love Fruit?," Boa would use this to help Luffy sneak into Impel Down. After sneaking him in through the front entrance by hiding him under her dress, she would soon use her power to evade Luffy being found out during a pat down, turning the guard to stone, allowing Luffy to escape.
However, when she turns the guard back to normal, they seem to have no memory of ever turning to stone, not even of the fact that she did her dramatic, hand thing. Did they not see the hand thing? Does her power also erase memories? Come on, Oda.
5 Becoming a Warlord
Given Boa's backstory and overall distaste for men, it is truly a wonder that she became a member of the Seven Warlords for a variety of factors. This means that Boa would, at some possible point, have to serve or protect the Celestial Dragons if the Marines found it fit. This would also mean having to work with a predominantly male oriented organization. Vice Admiral Tsuru has an all female crew, but they didn't exactly send her to talk with Boa.
Last but not least, while Boa does state that she became a warlord to provide her kingdom some protection, she's left many wondering what exactly she's done. She outright denies their request to join in the Paramount War and doesn't appear to be doing any other service. Isn't she jeopardizing her status? Does she actually care?
4 Being the "Strongest Woman" on Amazon Lily
Being the ruler and top dog of Amazong Lily means one thing and one thing only: being the strongest. Amazon Lily is not dictated by preconceived notions of beauty but by pure strength and combat skill. The anime even shows a nice montage where this hulking woman takes down a petite fighter, and the Amazon crowd rejoices.
However, Boa not only gets to be the strongest fighter (as indicative of her status), she's also somehow still the most beautiful woman in the world. This begs the question: What was all that speal about "real" beauty? It didn't translate directly to the most important character. Looks aren't everything yet their ruler still has it? What's the message here?
3 Staring "Down" On People
In all honesty, this one is a little forgivable given the pure hilarity and quirkiness of it. Boa Hancock is supposedly so smug and self-righteous that when she looks down on people, her gaze all the way around to the point where she stares upward. Classic One Piece personality.
This is pretty much just middle school argument logic with Boa going, "Oh, yeah! I can stare down at you this much!" What kills the intent however is the fact that, in addition to being funny and childish, it is also a major opportunity for the series to just show her cleavage, making these scenes also blatant fan service.
2 Her Sisters
One Piece has made it a point that biological factors and looks don't necessarily contribute to who can be a part of your family. However, themes aside, how does biology work in the series? Not only do her sisters turn out disproportionately larger than her, they also have widely different hair and eye colors.
They had these traits long before they got their Devil Fruit powers, leaving one to believe that they were born this way. At some point, this series is gonna they that they're adopted sisters. Otherwise, Oda needs to look up how genetics works.
1 Being Forgiveable
Oda, how beautiful is Boa Hancock? Really, what does that mean in the series? She has kicked puppies and baby seals. She has turned an entire Vice Admiral crew to stone. During the Paramount War, she clearly colluded with Luffy and attacked specifically Marine soldiers. Smoker even notices this, yet Boa somehow gets away scott free. Again, are there not women among the Marines? Shouldn't Boa have at least been fined for essentially crippling several soldiers?
What about Impel Down? Did anyone not think to relate Luffy's invasion with one particular, last minute visitation? The extent that people forgive her goes beyond beauty or even plot armor. Boa has somehow become invisible to common sense.