8 Characters Who Shouldn't Have Survived Marineford

The Summit War of Marineford is one of the defining moments One piece. It marked the end of one pirate era and the beginning of another. Hundreds of pirates and marines died during the war, including Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace. One piece creator Eiichiro Oda tends not to kill off characters, and this was on full display in Marineford, as several characters were not supposed to survive the war.

Most of One piece the characters who were not supposed to survive Marineford are the pirates who found themselves in the middle of the battlefield. This means that the former admiral should have fallen as well. Many of these characters suffered life-threatening injuries but survived thanks to the plot. One character in particular only survived because he ate a devil fruit that resists all sword attacks.

8

Squard

Image via Toei Animation

Squard wasn't a Yonko Commander, nor did he have the power of any of the most powerful reality-altering Devil Fruits, but he was still an infamous pirate from the New World. He is the captain of the Maelstrom Spider Pirates and fought on Whitebeard's side during the Summit War of Marineford. Believing Akainu's lie about Whitebeard selling everyone to save Ace, Squard decided to stab the legendary pirate in the chest. Whitebeard may have forgiven him, but One piece fans don't.

Squard suffered no injuries from the war, which is a testament to his skills, but it would have been the right thing for him to sacrifice himself to protect Whitebeard when he fought Akainu. It would make sense story-wise, given how awful he felt. It would also be a redeeming death. Since Squard hasn't been seen or mentioned since, there was no point in keeping him alive.

7

Joz

Jozu has been a part of Whitebeard's crew for decades and is probably the most underrated Yonko commander in the series One piece. Not only does she have an impressive Haki armor, but she also has the power of the Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit: a Paramecia-type devil fruit that makes her immune to most physical damage. Jozu can turn his body into diamonds that are durable enough to stop Dracula Mihawk's attacks.

Jozu was the commander of the Third Division and faced off against Doflamingo and Crocodile during the Summit War. At one point, Jozu faced Admiral Aokiji, who used his Logie powers to freeze Jozu in ice. Jozu fell and shattered his left arm. The problem is that Joshua's whole body was supposed to shatter when he hit the ground. Nico Robin was supposed to die in a similar way when she was frozen by Aokiji. She only lived because Luffy saved her, so Jozu should have lost more than just his arm.

6

Akainu

Image via Toei Animation

As the current fleet admiral, Akainu is recognized as one of the strongest marines in the Final Saga, but he was still an admiral during the Summit War of Marineford. Akainu is the man who killed Ace, causing Luffy to enter a grief-stricken catatonic state. Whitebeard, on the other hand, sought revenge on Ace by attempting to kill Akainu with his bare hands. Akainu is a Logia user who can turn into magma thanks to the Magma-Magma fruit.

The Logia's incorporeality is the only reason Akainu seemingly survived a direct hit from Whitebeard's powerful earthquake strike. Even with this incorporeality, Akainu suffered serious injuries. Whitebeard's earthquake strikes have the power to destroy an entire island, so even a marine admiral shouldn't be able to land a direct hit. Akainu is supposed to play a role in the Final Saga, which explains why he survived, but if the marines were going to lose anyone important during the war, it should have been him because he took the most damage.

5

Jinbe

Jinbe officially joined the Straw Hat Pirates during the Wano Arc. It's a good thing the plan was always to make him part of the crew, since technically he was supposed to die near the end of the Summit War. Not long after Ace was killed, Admiral Akainu attempted to kill the defenseless Luffy, but Jinbe arrived just in time to block Akainu's deadly magma strike.

Jinbe was easily the strongest Fishman in the world during the war and his Haki armor is very powerful. That means he was somehow blocking Akainu's attack with his bare hands. This attack pierced Ace's Logie body as well as Whitebeard's body, but only burned Jinbe's hands. When Jinbe tried to escape with Luffy, Akainu successfully blasted Jinbe's body with magma. Based on the location, Jinbe's heart and lungs should have been destroyed, but it only became a life-threatening injury.

4

Koby

Image via Toei Animation

Of all the Marines with the highest potential, Koby has the brightest future, but that future was almost snuffed out by Akainu towards the end of the war. Ace and Whitebeard were already dead, Luffy and Jinbe were no longer threats, and the Whitebeard Pirates had lost the will to fight. Akainu wanted to continue the war, but Koby stood in his way to end the bloodshed.

Akainu believes in Absolute Justice, which means he is happy to kill other marines if they get in his way. Koby was ready to die from Akainu's magma strike, but Shanks appeared just in time to block the killing blow with his sword. It was a great moment for Shanks, but seeing him literally appear in mid-air with the rest of his crew made it feel like a plot for Koby. It's true that Koby plays a role in the Final Saga, but if it weren't for Shank's miraculous appearance, he'd be dead.

3

Buggy

Image via Toei Animation

Buggy may be one of the weakest pirates One piecebut he repeatedly managed to fail up until he is now a Yonko. He went to Marineford with Luffy to repay him for freeing him from Impel Down, but he also wanted to continue impressing the prisoners who followed him. Somehow, Buggy left the war completely unscathed and was then invited to join the Seven Warriors.

During the war, Luffy grabbed Buggy and used him as a human shield against Mihawk, the strongest swordsman in the world. Buggy is one of the few One piece characters who inadvertently ate a devil fruit, but it saved his life. The Chop-Cop Fruit makes him immune to all chopping attacks, so when Mihawk slashed at him, his body was safely split in half. Luffy then threw Buggy's upper body at Mihawk, who performed several slashes at high speed. Chop-Chop Fruit split Buggy into multiple parts and saved his life. If it had been anyone else, Mihawk would have finished them off.

2

Marco

Image via Toei Animation

Marco was the commander of Whitebeard's 1st Division and served as the legendary pirate's right-hand man. He fought on par with Kizaru, a naval admiral who can shoot explosive lasers thanks to the Glint-Glint Fruit. Marco ate the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix, a mythical Zoan-type devil fruit that allows him to transform into a phoenix. It also provides incredible healing properties.

The Glint-Glint Fruit is one of the few Devil Fruits that can rival Marco's. This was shown in the later stages of the Summit War when Kizaru shot him three times in the back. Marco was able to recover, but was still shot in the heart and intestines. Kizaru fired two more shots at Marco after his Devil Fruit was nullified by the Sea Stone's bonds. These shots should have killed Marco, but instead temporarily incapacitated him.

1

Gecko Moriah

All seven warriors had special abilities, and Gecko Moria had the ability to manipulate shadows thanks to the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. He answered the call of the World Government and fought with the Marines during the Summit War. Moria overpowered many pirates during the battle and severely injured the already injured Little Oars Jr. by impaling him with a massive shadow.

In the later stages of the war, Moria was briefly knocked out by Jinbo, who took him down with a single punch. When the war ended, Moria was critically wounded by Doflamingo, another warrior who was ordered to kill Moria for being too weak. Moria somehow survived Doflamingo's attacks without using Haki and escaped Marineford. Moria played his part in the series, so keeping him around is pointless, especially since he was easily defeated by Blackbeard during his last appearance and disappeared again.

Release date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imayomura, Yashiôhiro Mayuū Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)