One Piece stands out from the Shounen crowd with its unique take on the pirate adventure. In its eclectic world, various pirates race across the seas, seeking to pillage, conquer, or look for the grandest treasure of them all, the One Piece. Though the competition is filled with all manner of ruffians and criminals, there is some order within the sea.
Said order and the very direction of each pirate crew are dictated by the romance and power of the pirate captains. Though the title of captain is a prestige within its own right, not all of them are made equal. For every noble, selfless captain, there's another around the corner already abandoning their crew. This list will be looking at both sides, as it lists both the best and the worst of One Piece's world.
10 Worst: Alvida
Alvida is very much the definitive pirate. She is a strong, monstrous woman that sparks fear into all that look at her. She's cruel enough to swing her mace with malicious intent and savvy enough to use that energy to ransack other ships. Besides those strong qualities for a criminal, Alvida loses a lot of points as a captain.
With the same strength that she uses against enemies, Alvida dishes out punishment in spades to her own crew. Considering that young Koby was kidnapped into joining her crew, there's not a lot to mention that everyone else on her ship was there willingly.
9 Best: Fisher Tiger
Fisher Tiger was more than a pirate. He was a revolutionary looking to free the various oppressed beings torn apart by the World Government's cruel waters. As a pirate captain, though, it speaks leagues to his legend that no one on his crew was forced to join.
Each member was either a volunteer or a freed Fish-man who looked to Fisher with great appreciation and admiration. Each trusted Fisher with their lives, as he led them against an entire world that was against them.
8 Worst: Kaido
To be fair, Kaido's crew is one of the most powerful and terrifying in the entirety of the New World, and they certainly have a lot of privileges as the army of the man who helped conquer Wano. In terms of everyone's one-to-one relationship with Kaido, however, things start to drop off. Kaido often goes on drunken rampages that wipe out members of his own crew.
Though the SMILEs are a powerful prospect, it was an incredible risk to just hand them across his crew, forcing about half of them to an eternal, frozen smile. Seeing as to how Kaido has treated Kid and Basil Hawkings, it would also suffice to say that Kaido has garnered a lot of his crew by force, beating at least a few of them to gain their fear and subjugation.
7 Best: Gol D. Roger
As the Pirate King himself, it would be safe to say that Gol D. Roger was a pretty rad captain. In a world where teamwork isn't all that big among pirates, he was well regarded for having a pirate crew that was just as in tune with one another as each was powerful. There was a passionate, loving rapport among all of them that made the Roger Pirates look more like one's favorite sports bar instead of a band of criminals.
Everyone worried over their captain's failing health and when he was eventually executed, each of them cried. To this day, his first mate still tears up over the fond memories of his beloved captain.
6 Worst: Big Mom
The Emperors don't really have a great track record with being good captains. Big Mom's entire crew is comprised of her own children, which doesn't really bode well for her parental standards. Each one is raised and nurtured to be powerful, demented killers, with some of her youngest even aspiring to stab one another.
As motherly as she is, her children are still raised within a toxic environment that somehow torments each other's looks, despite each of them being amalgamations of different species and whatever Big Mom is. As the proverbial cherry on top, Big Mom is prone to eating her own children when she's under one of her hunger spells. Double whammy: She gets to be a bad captain and a bad mom.
5 Best: "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate
Helping the Emperors' average a little bit, Whitebeard was a kind and understanding captain that fostered his forces more like a family than as the outcasts and delinquents society made them out to be. Though the old man was a powerful, fearful adversary, Whitebeard still outstretched his hand to those he liked and would take in all manner of the world's wildest characters.
It was a love and sincerity that was foreign to many of them that would eventually go on to save some of them. As captain, Whitebeard would call each one of his crew members his child, and each one would regard him as their father.
4 Worst: Kuro
A blast from the past, Captain Kuro is the captain of the Black Cat Pirates who posed as a butler on Syrup Village to evade the Marines. While there, he launched a long con to steal the riches of the island's elite family. Being the heroes that they are, the Straw Hats arrive in time to stop Kuro as well as recruit a sniper.
Kuro doesn't make things easy, however. A ruthless captain, he was willing to both hypnotize his crew as well as slaughter them during one of his rampages. Considering the mixed bag that Kuro was, one wonders why the Black Cats didn't just run off with Jango. He was the actual one making them stronger, and he could even moonwalk.
3 Best: "Red-Haired" Shanks
In the aftermath of the Reverie Arc, a Marine briefing disclosed that one of "Red-Haired" Shanks's greatest strengths is the balance of his crew. With a diverse group and a strong, base core, the Red-Haired Pirates are one of the most feared pirate crews who can clash with the best of them, yet they are nothing without the kind hand of their captain.
Shanks himself is a jovial, laid back man who often dedicates his crew's time to partying and resting from partying. He's pretty much a version of the cool boss that somehow works.
2 Worst: Buggy The Clown
Buggy, at the very least, seems to be respected by his core crew. They've stuck with him this far and haven't called him out for his lies. With that being said, Buggy is a captain of lies. He has nothing but the outright admiration and love of his vast, pirate army, yet the man himself would abandon them in a second if the going got tough.
Before that, Buggy has profited from his crew's success despite seemingly having done no work himself. He is a captain within imaginations only; at one point or another, reality is going to catch up with Buggy and he might actually have to fight somebody.
1 Best: Monkey D. Luffy
Standing at the top of this list is Monkey D. Luffy. Despite a few character faults, he is a great captain. He has more than gained the respect and trust of a band of people who have been through so much turmoil in life. Being the one guiding smile that has given them hope, Luffy has led his band of misfits through enemy forces, burning islands, and fun parties alike.
Luffy has fought tooth and nail to defend the honor and dreams of his crew members, and this has manifested as natural chemistry that fluidly transitions into tight teamwork on the battlefield. Accepting talking reindeer and skeleton alike, everyone wants to be a part of the Straw Hat Pirates.