Going Merry is the ship— no, the crewmate that carried and accompanied the Straw Hats in the first half of their journey. She is a ship that, in every sense of the word, saved the Straw Hats’ lives at least a handful of times. Calling Merry a core member of the pre-timeskip One Piece crew would in no way be overestimating what she has done. In fact, it will only be doing her justice.
With that being said, it could be argued that despite having high practicality, Going Merry isn’t exactly a frontrunner when it comes to the design department. She definitely was perfect for a small crew like the Straw Hats, but any dedicated fan could name at least a handful of ships with a more striking design than the beloved Merry.
10 MORE STRIKING: Heart Pirates, Polar Tang
Polar Tang is one of the few pirate ships in the series that are not exclusively ships-- she is more of a submarine than she is a ship. Polar Tang’s unconventional design resonates closely with the Heart Pirate’s quirky dynamics.
Although she does not possess the regular qualities of a pirate ship as shown with its menacing look, Polar Tang still leaves quite a solid first impression.
9 BLAND: Sun Pirates, Second Ship
When the late Fisher Tiger founded his crew, the Sun Pirates, he designed a ship that would represent the aforementioned crew. That first ship was named Snapper Head. And per name, the ship resembled a blue snapper riding the ocean.
The crew’s second ship, however, was subpar at best if she was to be compared with their initial ship. She was re-tinkered from a marine vessel which explains its basic look.
8 MORE STRIKING: Blackbeard Pirates, Saber Of Xebec
Besides her cool name, the Saber Of Xebec has got every quality to support a yonko on her deck. The ship’s design is reminiscent of the Blackbeard Crew’s starter ship(if it could even be called a ship), the giant raft.
The ship also shares a name with the legendary pirate, Rocks D. Xebec. It’s unknown whether Blackbeard derived her name from the legend in question, or it was just an innocent fluke.
7 BLAND: Blackbeard Pirates, Raft
Completely opposed to the crew’s second ship, this raft has little to no redeeming qualities. It might be aesthetically pleasing and unique in its own way, but at the end of the day, it’s just a bland raft.
This raft met its end before the Blackbeard Pirates could transition to the second half of the Grandline-- the New World. They had to find a better replacement, and they sure did.
6 MORE STRIKING: Kid Pirates, Victoria Punk
There’s something magical about the names of these cool-looking ships. It’s even more apparent in the case of the Kid Pirate’s ship, Victoria Punk. She is a gloomy-looking ship that seamlessly blends with the Kid Pirates’ dark vibes.
Whether it be the names of these ships or their overall designs, it’s pretty apparent that Oda put a lot of effort into them. Each crew remotely relevant to the plot gets a ship with their special trademark on her.
5 BLAND: Nox Pirates’ Ship
The Nox Pirates left the safe haven that is Zou in order to experience the wider world. The main goal of their voyage was to find the poneglyphs, and the secondary goal was to experience the true freedom preached by Roger.
Little did they know that shortly after their journey’s start, they’ll be flagged as pirates by the World Government. Even with a ship implying otherwise, they were still chased by the marines.
4 MORE STRIKING: Barto Club, Going Luffy-Senpai
Going Luffy-Senpai is a weird blend of Luffy, Barto Club’s idol, and Going Merry. She is a ship with a Luffy figurehead and similar other components which closely resemble Merry's. She truly is Bartolomeo’s highest level of fanboying.
The Going Luffy-Senpai is a cool ship for plenty of reasons. Any One Piece fan would surely appreciate the creativity behind her.
3 BLAND: Ideo Pirates Ship
Ideo captains the fourth ship of the Straw Hats Grand Fleet. The ship, which he captains, was one he received from Orlumbus. She used to be a basic ship that later underwent some shallow customization.
That being said, as she is technically the crew's first (emergency) ship, it would make sense for her to be on the lacking side. In all likelihood, the crew will upgrade their vessel once they settle down.
2 MORE STRIKING: Big Mom Pirates, Queen Mama Chanter
Queen Mama Chanter is the Big Mom Pirate’s flagship. And just like the ‘Queen Mama’ in question, this big girl is...well, big. Normal pirate ships --which are already quite big-- dwarf her in size. Going Merry, the smallest of pirate ships, is insignificant in size when compared to this big bad girl.
Furthermore, besides her enormous size, Queen Mama Chanter also enjoys a basic level of sentience-- she is powered by Big Mom's Soru Soru no Mi.
1 BLAND: Big Mom Pirates, Oven’s Ship
Unlike the crew’s flagship, Oven’s personal ship is quite basic in shape. The same could actually be said for the majority of the ships in Totto Land’s grand fleet. There’s just not enough creativity to go around every ship.
The only unique component of this ship is the "Oven" insignia on her forefront. Barring that piece, everything about her is generic.