10 Most Easily Forgettable One Piece Characters, Ranked

When it comes to One Piece, the writing and animation of the series have decades of meticulous crafting behind the shonen giant we see today. The mangaka Eiichiro Oda has created some of the most iconic characters who played major roles in the story, only to be completely forgotten over time.

This list focuses on those characters, characters we once thought were iconic but gradually got lost among the archive of manga chapters and the episode library. We’ve also ranked these characters based on how iconic they were and their contribution to the story, but mostly on how easily we’ve forgotten about them.

TITLE	One Piece
CREATORS	Eiichiro Oda
RELEASE DATE	October 20, 1999
IMDb RATINGS (as of July 5, 2026)	9/10
WHERE TO WATCH	Crunchyroll

10 Higuma – The Mountain Bandit Who Kickstarted Luffy’s Whole Journey

Higuma ran the mountain bandit gang that picked a fight with Red-Haired Shanks over nothing, then dragged a kid into it, the kid who turned out to become the protagonist himself. After Luffy stood up for Shanks’ honor, Higuma kidnapped him, rowed him out to sea, and kicked him overboard to drown, only to get swallowed whole by a Sea King the very next second.

That same Sea King then went after Luffy, and Shanks lost an arm pulling him to safety. Higuma barely lasts five minutes on the page, but his death directly sets Luffy’s whole story in motion. He ranks lowest here because his scene, brief as it is, directly shapes Luffy’s whole reason for setting sail.

9 Jango – The Hypnotist Who Once Commanded The Black Cat Crew

Before he was a Marine, Jango ran with the Black Cat Pirates as their first mate and eventually took over as captain when Kuro decided to retire. His whole gimmick was a swinging pendulum blade and the chant “one, two, Jango,” which could knock people out cold or juice them up with false confidence; he was Oda’s ode to Michael Jackson. Usopp took him down with a single Gunpowder Star to the chin.

He later switched sides entirely and joined the Navy. Ironic career change aside, he’s rarely brought up next to flashier East Blue villains. He ranks above the top slots because his hypnosis gimmick still gets referenced by fans, even if his face doesn’t.

8 Cabaji – The Acrobat Swordsman Who Performed Under Buggy’s Flag

Cabaji rode a unicycle into a sword fight, which honestly tells you everything about how seriously Buggy’s crew took themselves. As Buggy‘s second-in-command, he actually held his own against Zoro for a good stretch, mixing acrobatics, fire breathing, and cheap tricks like striking Zoro’s open wound before finally going down.

He shows up again later in Loguetown, pinning Luffy down for Buggy’s execution attempt. Despite fighting one of the Straw Hats directly twice, he rarely comes up when people talk about early antagonists. He sits mid-list because that Zoro duel earns him just enough lingering recognition to edge past total obscurity.

7 Mohji – The Beast Tamer Who Fought Alongside Richie The Lion

Mohji’s whole deal was commanding Richie, a lion who somehow ended up scarier to look at than to actually fight. Sent to track down Zoro, Mohji instead crossed paths with Luffy after torching a beloved pet shop out of spite, and Luffy beat both him and Richie without much trouble.

He and Richie stick around through the rest of the Buggy Pirates’ adventures, including a weird arc where Richie briefly becomes captain. Mohji’s fight is memorable in the moment, yet his name rarely comes up unprompted these days. He ranks here because his gimmick is memorable in the moment, yet almost nobody brings him up unprompted these days.

6 Chew – The Water-Spitting Fishman Loyal To Captain Arlong’s Crew

Chew could spit water hard enough to punch holes through wood, which made him one of the more creative fighters on Arlong’s crew. As kids, he, Kuroobi, and Hatchan all dreamed of running a takoyaki stand together before piracy got in the way.

During the Arlong Park fight, Usopp faked his own defeat to lure Chew in, then set him ablaze and knocked him out cold with his hammer. Water-based fighters are rare in this series, which gives Chew a slightly better shot at sticking in memory than most. He ranks above the previous names because water-based fighters are rarer in this series, giving him a slightly better shot at sticking in someone’s memory.

5 Kuroobi – The Karate Fishman Who Enforced Arlong’s Reign of Terror

Kuroobi was Arlong’s top enforcer, a stingray fishman who used real karate instead of gimmicks and openly distrusted Nami from the start, correctly as it turned out. He’s also the one who gave Genzo his scars, cutting him down years earlier when the old sheriff tried to stop Arlong from taking Nami.

Sanji eventually dragged him onto dry land, where fishmen lose their underwater edge, and beat him through a wall, resulting in one of the best Sanji fight scenes. Being Arlong’s most dangerous subordinate should count for more than the little screen time he actually gets. He ranks in the middle because his rank matters more than his screen time, which barely reflects his supposed authority.

4 Miss Merry Christmas – Mr. 4’s Overlooked Baroque Works Partner

An older woman with a surprisingly sharp tongue, Miss Merry Christmas, also known as Drophy, partnered with the slow, lumbering Mr. 4 during the Alabasta Arc, doing basically all the talking and strategizing for both of them. She dug tunnels using her mole-based Devil Fruit and told Usopp flatly that Luffy was already dead, just to break his spirit, which only made him angrier.

She and Mr. 4 nearly took down Usopp and Chopper before their own attacks backfired. She brought real strategy to a fight, unlike a few names further down this list. She ranks here because she actually contributed to a real fight, unlike some names still left on this list.

3 Buchi and Sham – The Cat-Themed Guards of Captain Kuro’s Ship

Known together as the Nyaban Brothers, Buchi and Sham guarded Captain Kuro’s ship during the Syrup Village arc and barely got any dialogue beyond nervous complaining before a fight. Once Jango forced them into action against Roronoa Zoro, they revealed genuine teamwork, using combo attacks and even briefly gaining the upper hand before Zoro cut them both down.

Their captain, Kuro, then showed up and casually humiliated them for losing. Being sidelined by their own boss right after their big fight makes them easy to forget almost immediately. They rank near the top of this list because so little dialogue means so little memory retention.

2 Wanze – The Ramen Chef Who Guarded the Train to Enies Lobby

Wanze is a CP7 agent guarding the Sea Train to Enies Lobby, and also a ramen chef who makes noodles by kneading dough in his mouth and pushing it out through his nose hairs. His fighting style, Ramen Kenpo, involves shooting noodles as projectiles and building armor from them mid-fight.

He and Sanji trade blows before Sanji, furious over wasted food and insults toward Robin, kicks him clean through several train cars. He’s bizarre enough to stick in memory, yet still gets buried under bigger Water Seven names. He ranks second because he gave a pretty decent fight scene to enjoy; however, his actual presence is almost nothing.

1 Genzo – The Village Police Chief Who Quietly Watched Over Nami

Genzo raised Nami and Nojiko alongside Bell-mère in every way that mattered, running Cocoyasi Village’s police force while quietly sitting on Nami’s plan to buy back the village from Arlong. He tried fighting Arlong’s crew directly and paid for it in scars from Kuroobi, yet kept the village together for eight brutal years anyway.

Despite basically being a father figure to a main character, he rarely comes up when people discuss the East Blue Saga. His emotional weight in the story is huge, yet his name barely registers with fans. He tops this list because his emotional role is enormous, yet his name barely registers with most fans.

What are your thoughts on our list of One Piece characters we barely remember despite once being iconic appearances? We’d love to hear your top picks in the comments below.

The One Piece anime series is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.