Best Character Designs Post-Time Skip

The sprawling saga of One Piece features a stunning variety of cool character designs. Top-tier character design can be found on several levels, from a character’s real-life inspirations or references to their stylish outfits, cool powers/weapons, and their general vibe. Sometimes, a character’s appearance and/or powers will speak volumes about who they are and what they’ve been through, even if they don’t say a word.

The early arcs of One Piece featured some cool character designs such as Captain Whitebeard, the hero/villain Dracule Mihawk, and Sir Crocodile, among others. Then, the post-time skip era of One Piece upped the ante with even better character designs, including meaningful twists on existing character designs and outstanding designs for all-new characters who made their debut in the New World. Ten particular designs for characters old and new stand out in the post-time skip phase of One Piece‘s story.

10 Brook Got a Glow-Up as the King of Music

First Appears in “Venture Into the Devil’s Sea! The Mysterious Skeleton Floating Through the Fog”

Brook the undead skeleton made his debut in the Thriller Bark story arc, and at the time, he was a goofy wanderer who loved tea, swords, and women’s underwear, but under all that comedy was a lonely and tearful soul. Brook stayed that way until the time skip occurred, and when he reunited with the other Straw Hats, he had glowed up as the Soul King.

Brook became one of One Piece‘s best character designs with his flamboyant rock star outfit and his self-confidence and happiness to match, proving he was making the most of his second life. It made him more than just a horror character – he was something truly unique, a joyful musical skeleton whose colorful clothes and persona contrasted with his stark white bones.

9 Monkey D. Luffy Acknowledged His Vulnerability By Showing His Scar

First Appears in “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King!”

The protagonist himself, Monkey D. Luffy, had a simple yet effective visual design as a shonen hero. He was introduced as a dark-haired teenage boy with a red vest, jean shorts, and sandals, and of course, his trademark straw hat on his head. When Luffy returned after the time skip, he was a proper balance of new and familiar.

It would be strange to totally overhaul Luffy’s visual design, so One Piece merely tinkered with it, giving him a new jacket and most of all, an X-shape scar on his chest. He often wore his jacket parted to show that scar, symbolically showing the scar that represent how Luffy was willing to show his vulnerability. The scar was also a product of his harsh training with Silvers Rayleigh to learn Haki.

8 Big Mom is a Classic Blend of Cartoony and Scary in One Piece

First Appears in “Sweets Lover! Emperor Big Mom”

Charlotte Linlin, who usually goes by Big Mom, was introduced as one of the Four Emperors in the post-time skip era of One Piece, a deadly pirate on par with the likes of Shanks and Gol D. Roger. Big Mom was also a classic One Piece blend of silly and deadly, with a colorful pink visual motif combined with her terrifying hunger faces.

Big Mom may not have looked traditionally “cool” compared to pirates like Mihawk and Shanks, but she was capable of horrifying brutality, often a product of her intense hunger. She could look like a friendly matron one moment, then become a nightmarish monster the next, all with blank white eyes, a hungry open mouth, and a deadly hat-sword named Napoleon.

7 Roronoa Zoro Looks Cooler Than Ever With His Scars and New Outfits

First Appears in “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Become the Pirate King!”

Roronoa Zoro was always one of One Piece‘s coolest and best-design characters of them all, and he managed to become even more stylish after the time skip and the New World adventure began. By then, Zoro had a few scars of his own, including a vertial one over his left eye, forcing it closed. Fans might even compare that to Guts from Berserk, except the eyes are switched.

Zoro also started wearing some great new outfits to make him look more serious and cooler than ever. He stopped wearing his distinctive bandana as much, but fans might not mind since he made up for it with outfits like his Wano robes and his Sabaody outfit, a dark green ensembled that suited him so well.

6 King the Conflagration Is the Last Known Lunarian

First Appears in “A Legendary Samurai – The Man Who Roger Admired!”

In the long run, King the Conflagration was just one of many foes in the epic Wano story arc, but any One Piece who stops to take a look at him can see how cool his design actually is. For one thing, King is the story’s sole example of his race, the Lunarian people. Lunarians, evidently, are tall tan-skinned people with white hair and black-feathered angel wings, all with fire powers to round things out.

That’s a cool new species design for fans to enjoy, joining the ranks of the Fish-men, mermaids, and pirates as non-human characters. Personally, King stood out with his ruggedly handsome looks and his stylish black leather ensemble, which hid his face up to a point. He could also morph into a pteranodon, one of the most graceful dinosaur forms in Kaido’s entire crew.

5 Trafalgar Law Enhanced His Wardrobe and Started Using His Devil Fruit For Real

First Appears in “New Rivals Gather! The 11 Supernovas”

Trafalgar D. Water Law made his debut in the Marineford story arc, but he didn’t become a major character in One Piece‘s narrative until the time skip was complete. By then, Trafalgar Law swapped his original, rather plain outfit for more visually distinctive duds, including a new hat with a brim and a variety of coats. He showed off his cool new look in arcs like Punk Hazard and Dressrosa.

Ability-wise, Trafalgaw Law became one of the New World’s best designs thanks to his Devil Fruit, the Op-Op Fruit. With its power, Law has become the famed Surgeon of Death, able to rearrangre people’s body parts and split them up within an area of effect known as his “room.” It’s a formidable fruit that Doflamingo once wanted to command, but now it’s in Law’s hands, and he won’t ever give it up.

4 Kozuki Oden is a Samaurai With Cool Real-Life Inspirations

First Appears in “A Legendary Samurai – The Man Who Roger Admired!”

Kozuki Oden only ever appeared in flashbacks in One Piece, since he was already dead for years by the time the Straw Hat Pirates learned about him and his exploits in Wano. Kozuki Oden was once the daimyo of Kuri and was a respected leader, and for a time, he even sailed with the Roger pirates and made it to Laugh Tale.

Design-wise, Kozuki Oden is fascinating not just because of his cool samurai vibes and swordsmanship, but also his real-life inspiration. For example, he clearly derives elements from Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Shinto god of the sea and storms. Oden’s demise also echoes the real-life execution of ishikawa Goemon, who died in Japan in the 1500s.

3 Charlotte Katakuri Fought Luffy as a True Equal at Whole Cake Island

First Appears in “Liar – Luffy and Sanji”

The Straw Hat Pirates met many of Big Mom’s minions/children in the Whole Cake Island saga, including the elite generals. Luffy spent hours fighting Charlotte Cracker the swordsman, and then he faced an even tougher foe in Charlotte Katakuri, the second son of Big Mom’s pirate crew. In many ways, Katakuri was Luffy’s equal, but that didn’t mean they got along or understood each other.

Charlotte Katakuri boasted a menacing and cool visual design that made him stand out from his cartoony brothers and sisters, including his leather boots and spurs. Also, despite his serious and scary persona, Katakuri had a comedic theme — his incredible love of doughnuts. In private, he would devour those desserts nonstop, shoving them into his huge, sharp-toothed mouth. However, he felt insecure about his fanged maw, so he kept it hidden, hence his outfit’s design.

2 Kaido is an Ogre of a Man With a Legendary True Form

First Appears in “Sending a Shock Wave – The Worst Generation Goes Into Action!”

The mighty Emperor Kaido terrorized Wano with his ally Kurozumi Orochi, and between the two of them, Kaido was far stronger. In fact, Kaido was famed as the world’s most powerful living creature, and he had a beastly appearance to match, from his brutal face to his horns and strong build.

Most of alll, Kaido’s Zoan-type Devil Fruit form is incredible to behold. He can transform into a massive blue-scaled dragon capable of devastating breath attacks, and he is all but indestructible in that form. He looked like a monster from legend as he hovered over Onigashima Island in that form, and it took the miraculous power of Gear 5 to take him down.

1 Yamato Honors Oden’s Memory as a Horned Hero

First Appears in “The End of the Battle! Oden vs. Kaido!”

Yamato made his debut later in the Wano arc, appearing to be Kaido’s daughter but identifying as Kozuki Oden, the heroic man of legend. That added an intriguing new layer to One Piece‘s narrative, with a character discarding everything about their original identity to envision themselves as somebody they admire.

Yamato visually resembled his father Kaido with two curling monster horns and an iron club weapon, but aside from that, the two of them had many differences. Kaido was a total villain, while Yamato aimed to become a great hero and thus fought alongside the Straw Hats during the massive Onigashima raid. Yamato could also morph into a wolf deity, one of the most visually stunning Zoan transformations seen so far in One Piece.