One Piece: 10 funniest moments that’ll make you cry with laughter

Tristan Stringer
An image of Luffy from One Piece anime

Hold onto your funnybones, because today we’ll be ranking the 10 funniest moments in One Piece that gave us a good chuckle

One Piece may be full of emotional moments, but it also specializes in getting you to laugh as hard as Luffy at times, mostly without even trying. The Straw Hat crew’s all-star cast mixes exceptionally well as characters; whenever the laughs start, it’s hard to stop the comedy ball from rolling down a joke-filled hill.

One Piece is full of laughs; whether it’s a spoken joke, physical comedy, or an instance where the joke lands better when it’s still on the page, you won’t find yourself short of gags. So today, we’ll be ranking our picks for the funniest moments in the One Piece series.

The funniest moments in One Piece ranked

We’ll only be including gut-busting moments from completed arcs, that’s not to say the ongoing Egghead Island is abscent of giggles, but the tone is definitely different.

10. Luffy fighting with Gear 5

One Piece opening Gear 5 Luffy

Enchiiro Oda really said, “Who’s ready for some classic cartoon fun?” when Gear 5 appeared, didn’t he? Luffy whips out the Looney Tunes cartoon logic whenever he fights in Gear 5, pulling off all sorts of hilarious techniques like using a mighty dragon as a jump rope and pulling the ground up to use it as a wall.

It’s not just his fighting style that changes, but Luffy’s overall demeanor against the enemy changes, taking the fight completely seriously and appreciating the challenge at most. When Gear 5 hits the scene, our favorite rubber pirate can replicate any Tom and Jerry skit imaginable, all while his eyes poke out of his face.

9. The Wano faces

You know the situation is bad when even Nico Robin pulls a face like that. Pulling a funny face is a basic comedy trope that One Piece often falls back on, with over-the-top expressions being the go-to for reacting to most absurd situations or comments, usually made by Luffy.

While almost every Straw Hat isn’t immune from the “EHHH?!” anime face, Robin has always been the grace under pressure, but when Luffy is beaten and imprisoned by Kaido, even she cannot compose herself and releases a mix of shock and sadness. It may not be a funny moment when you know the context, but what a reaction.

8. Luffy’s impressions of the crew

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Luffy may take things to the next level with his impressions of his own crew. Being made of rubber, admittedly, gives Luffy an edge, but a laugh surely follows whenever he whips out the impressions.

Luffy does this throughout the series, but we get the best laughs during Arabasta, when Crocodile traps the crew in his headquarters; Luffy passes the time by impersonating Sanji, and later, after everything has calmed down, with the help of Robin, pulls off an outstanding Chopper.

7. Sanji dealing with his doppleganger

As we approach Saboady Archipelago, the crew must deal with a gang of criminals turned pirates after Sanji for a seemingly unknown reason. An important thing to remember is that the crew received new bounties for their adventure in Water 7, in which Sanji expresses despair over the ugly picture drawn for his bounty picture in place of a photograph. It turns out a lowdown criminal resembled Sanji’s bounty poster and was driven to the sea to escape the Navy.

So, is Sanji sympathetic to his plight? Does he empathize with the fact that this is the face representing him, who has also suffered for the Marine’s mistake? Of course not. He kicks him in the face. Sanji kicks his face so much that he physically warps his facial structure, so he looks very different and handsome to boot. Get it? Boot?

6. Law “becoming” a Straw Hat

The world of piracy may be full of romantic adventure, but some take it a lot more seriously than our Straw Hats. Particularly fellow Worst Generation member Trafalgar Law, whose tragic backstory brings a tear to our eyes, but after he meets up with Luffy and the gang in the New World, he’s got big plans for the Straw Hats.

Law tries his hardest to keep Luffy on track after forming an alliance, but he can’t help getting caught up in the hilarious antics of the Straw Hats and even begins to act like them. When Eustass Kidd enters the fray in Wano, things go even further, with the three captains measuring their steel in the fights against Kaido and Big Mom. Luffy’s funny attitude may just be contagious.

5. Enel’s face when he faces Luffy

Most of what you read in the manga goes directly into the anime, and Enel’s ridiculous reaction to realizing Luffy cannot be injured by his lightning powers is one-to-one comedy from page to screen. Luffy’s dopey expression cannot be ignored, but Enel just pulling out the stereotypical gag face during a serious situation is priceless.

While hilarious, there’s a second layer here of Enel’s genuine shock. He’s relied on these lightning powers ever since he acquired them and rarely had to rely on anything else, so when a rubber boy with a 100% resistance stat against electric-type attacks comes to ruin your plans and upheave your kingdom, pulling a face like that is natural.

4. Usopp becomes the mighty Sniper King

When Usopp leaves the crew and says he wants nothing to do with their journey to save Robin, we all know he can’t just abandon her and throws on a mask declaring himself as Sniper King, a totally different-not-Usopp person who’s appeared to help the Straw Hats in Enis Lobby and will only be addressed as such, while singing his own theme song.

The best part of this gag is that the community goes along with it with posts on the internet, since only Luffy and Chopper fall for the disguise genuinely, writing things like, “Who do you think Sniper King really is?” with answers like, “He’s the king of sniper island!” It takes effort to make a joke work on this many levels so the One Piece team and community should be proud of themselves.

3. The Straw Hat crew meets Crocus

Picture this: the crew is finally entering the Grand Line; excitement is peaking as they sail over Reverse Mountain, only to be greeted by a giant whale blocking their path, which causes the crew to split from their captain. You wouldn’t expect a grouchy lighthouse keeper living inside cracking jokes, would you?

The fourth-wall-breaking running stare gag might be one more for anime watchers, as it doesn’t translate well on the page. The cuts and “boom” sound effects help the joke along. Very few characters can claim to have as funny an introduction as Crocus, especially a side character, so this is an underrated early series joke that we treasure as much as Luffy’s straw hat.

2. Franky. Just Franky.

Though initially introduced as a faceless villain, as soon as Franky makes his presence known in Water 7, you know precisely what this scantily-clad cyborg is all about. From Chopper treating him like an experiment with different Cola drinks in his fight against Champa in Enis Lobby to Franky blowing up a mountain with a smile on his face, the laughs rarely end when Franky is involved.

Franky adds that well-meaning manly-man comedic element to everything he does, even when it’s played for jokes. The fight against Senior Pink is a prime example of how Franky thrives in a nonsensical situation against an equally macho opponent, keeping the laughs and action equal in true One Piece fashion throughout the drama.

1. Buggy’s accidental rise to fame

Our favorite pirate clown, Buggy, saw an inexplicable rise in popularity during the rush through Impel Down and Marineford. He somehow channels Luffy’s ability to make allies, with his subordinates being inspired by the most nothing that Buggy does. His journey of failing upwards keeps working in his favor as he reaches a big title.

Saying Buggy is in way over his head is an understatement; any character of note knows that Buggy, but the Marines cannot deny his sphere of influence and elevate his status to one of the Seven Warlords. When that system is broken apart, and Big Mom and Kaido are defeated, does he somehow become one of the Four Emperors?! Buggy’s journey to stardom is beloved by Oda and fans alike, and we can only imagine how this all plays out as we enter the “Final Saga” of One Piece.

Those are our picks for the funniest moments in One Piece; what made you laugh the hardest? If you are looking for a tone change, check out our rankings for the best fights One Piece and our picks for the best story arcs in One Piece.