Monkey D. Luffy

Luffy is the kind of person who is honest and carefree, yet he is stubborn and determined to achieve his goals. Much of his personality is simple and laid back as he hardly gets irritated at anything (he does get angry at some things like dishonesty and cruelty however). But what is most important to him is loyalty and friendship. He admires bravery and rightousness and is willing to help those who show those two traits. His main weaknesses are his gullibility and extreme honesty; things which almost always gets him in trouble. Although its obvious pirates have a bad reputation, Luffy's idea of becoming one is much different than what others perceive. His dream is to one day reach the Grand Line and obtain the "One Piece!"

As a youngster, Luffy always wanted to become a pirate. He looks up to the red haired pirate captain Shanks (who loaned Luffy the straw hat he always wears) and his crew. His main goal is to one day form a crew of extrodinary men and become the Pirate King. At the age of 7, Luffy accidentally ate the rare cursed Gum-Gum Devil's fruit (also known as the Devil's fruit or Gomu Gomu no mi) which gave him the ability to stretch his body like rubber. With this power, Luffy is able to use strong attacks, repel bullets and do many other useful things (you'll be suspired with the many clever and powerful techniques he developed over the years: jumping, propelling himself, becoming a big shield; the uses are limitless). The downside to all this however is Luffy will never be able to swim again! 10 years after Shanks left Foosha Village, Luffy sets out (mindlessly on a small boat) on his adventure to begin building his elite crew of pirates!

Roronoa Zoro

Zoro is the first to join Luffy's crew.  He is the kind of character most will like: cool and calculated, often flooring opponents with one blow. He uses the unique 3 sword style or santoryu, where he holds the 3rd sword in his mouth. His demeanor is almost always serious but there is a side to him that has a sense of humor. He is also good natured; having the heart of a true warrior. Never really intended to become a pirate of course, but  perhaps being curious of the adventure Luffy will embark on caused him join the journey to the grand line.

He is famously known as "Pirate Hunter Zoro" and is a feared bounty hunter with his excellent swordsmanship skills. But his true ambition is to one day become the greatest swordsman in the world, due to a promise he made as a kid to his friend and rival Kuina who he could never beat (she was the daughter of his sensei who passed away in an accident). Luffy met Zoro at a navel base in Shells town while he was imprisoned for killing the naval captain's son's dog (Hand Morgan's son Helmeppo). While Zoro has the reputation of being a savage beast, he really is a good guy, only killing the dog to save a little girl's life. Knowing this and Zoro's strength and skills convinced Luffy to ask him to join his crew. At first Zoro rejected the idea of becoming a pirate, let alone help one in his ambitions. But seeing Luffy's honest and good hearted nature, (and agreeing to join if he is set free) changed his mind as he agreed to join the crew; just as long as it (or Luffy for that matter) doesn't get in the way of his path to becoming the greatest swordsman!

Nami

Webmaster note: Allot of Nami's past is intentionally shrouded in mystery in the beginning of the story, which explains her behavior and ambitions. I decided to cut down on Nami's profile until at least we see more of it in Shonen Jump USA, but be warned: this character profile reveals minor points of her past giving spoilage to the character's background. If you don't mind some mild spoilers, read on - Nami is a thief dedicated to stealing from pirates. Her main goal is to earn one hundred million beli (that's dollars in One Piece world) for a deep secret connected to the safety of her home village. She has a great hatred for all pirates because her foster mother was unfortunately killed by one. At the time Luffy and Zoro met Nami, they were in desperate need of a navigator and coincidently Nami has better skills than that of a navigator. Initially Nami didnt trust Luffy and Zoro because they were pirates. But once she learned they were good, she agreed not to become a pirate, but to cooperate with them on the journey to achieve their common goals, which is to get to the Grand Line and obtain the "One Piece."

Usopp

Usopp, the 3rd member to join Luffy's crew, is the misunderstood character of the Straw Hat Pirates. Lets face it: Usopp is odd looking, standing with strange poses, and oftentimes making Luffy laugh. Although he has the outward attitude of a coward and would rather run from a fight than to confront it, he would step up to the plate and fight for what he believes in (despite still being scared of the situation). He didn't know too much about his father, who was a pirate himself. But hearing all the stories of his father told by his mother gave him a good impression of what pirate life is like. He is proud of what his father does and believes he is a great man. Deep down inside Usopp always wanted to experience being a pirate. His mains skills are being a sharp shooter (using his slingshot) and creating clever weapons for him to use. He's not as strong as Zoro nor does he have special powers like Luffy, but in his own right Usopp is useful for many things, and often is able to keep up with everyone.

Usopp pretty much grew up in Syrup village alone; with his father being a pirate, always away (his name was Yasopp), and his mother dying of illness while he was young. He is known as the village liar. Growing up without any parents caused him to do various pranks on the town, just to get the attention of others (whether is was good or bad). Everyday he falsely alerts the townspeople of pirates attacking the village. He enjoys spending time playing "Pirate Crew" with his 3 young friends Ninjin, Tamanegi and Piman (Ninjin = Carrot, Tamanegi = Onion, Piman = Green Peppers; they call themselves "Usopp's pirates" where Usopp is the captain of the crew). Usopp cares for the people of the village, especially a wealthy but ill young lady named Kaya. He would tell her fake pirate tales to make her laugh feel better about life. Luffy likes the fact they have lots of things in common: the same age, a similar sense of humor and the treasure of looking up to a great pirate. He sees Usopp treasuring his ideas about his father the same way he treasures his memories about Shanks. This is the reason why Luffy wants Usopp to join his team of elite pirates!

Shanks

Shanks is the red haired pirate who Luffy looks up to and respects. He has a heart of gold and in many ways Luffy grows up to be just like him. At the age of 7 Luffy would learn the adventures of the sea told to him by Shanks and his pirate crew, who would frequently dock at the Foosha Village. Luffy wanted to join the pirate crew, but Shanks thought he was too young for the dangerous adventures and told him "wait ten years and maybe I'll let you join my crew." One day (due to his overactive appetite) Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil's fruit which was a treasure found by Shanks and his crew. Shanks got upset and tried to get Luffy to spit out the fruit only to find it had already been digested and the damage was done.

A bunch of bandits came into a bar looking for sake (a Japanese alcohol drink).  Because Shanks and his crew drank all of it at the bar they were at, the head bandit got angry and humiliated Shanks in front of everybody. Shanks and his crew actually laughed the whole thing off, but Luffy was angry Shanks didn't fight back. So when the bandits left, he later went after them and demanded they apologize for insulting Shanks and his crew.  Shanks later learned about this and came to help Luffy, but during the skirmish, the head bandit escaped taking Luffy and throwing him into the sea. A dangerous sea monster was nearby and it ate the head bandit first, heading  for Luffy who was barely keeping afloat. Fortunately Shanks saves Luffy from drowning and the sea monster, but in doing so he lost his left arm. When the time came for Shanks and his crew to leave, Luffy vowed to become king of the pirates and to assemble a crew better than that of Shanks. Shanks admired Luffy's ambition and left him his straw hat, making Luffy promise to return the hat when he becomes the pirate king.

Buggy the Clown

The evil and impatient captain of his crew, Buggy has a big red nose in which he is very sensitive about. He ate the Chop-Chop Devil's fruit which gives him the ability to split his body into different parts. His body parts can also float in mid air as he can lunge his hands, torso or legs several feet away from his body to attack opponents in the distance. A long time ago Buggy and Shanks were shipmates who used to always argue with each other. Althouhg they were comrads at the time, he hates Shanks because of a botched plan to steal and sell the Chop-Chop Devil's fruit (Buggy accidentally swallowed the fruit while trying to hide it from Shanks). He was going to use the money from the fruit to assemble a pirate crew and search for an underwater treasure. Because Buggy ate the Devil's fruit he could no longer swim and therefore was forced to steal treasures on land.

Luffy and Zoro first met Buggy at Orange Village, where his pirate crew scared away the townspeople. When Buggy first fought Zoro, he was split into 3 pieces, only to re-place himself back together with ease. Buggy owns the map to the Grand Line, something Nami is trying to steal.

Jango

Jango is the Michael Jackson look-a-like who has the ability to hypnotize anybody at will. Captin Kuro gave away his crew to his first mate, Jango, who now commands those pirates. He was instructed by Kuro to hypnotize Usopp's friend Kaya to sign away her entire fortune to him and to kill her making it look like an accident. This was the first step in Kuro's plan to take over Kaya's family inheritance. Jango style is very much eccentric moving (he moonwalks to Kaya's mansion when he was at Syrup Village) and dressing (the hat, the glasses, the jacket and even the shoes, but its not the right color) like Michael Jackson, however his personality is as normal as anyone else. He doesnt think he's weird but he sure looks it.