One Piece: There was already a Great Pirate Era before Roger’s execution

The very premise of One Piece is Gol D. Roger’s execution, where he announces the existence of a treasure and begins the Great Pirate Era. However, after countless flashbacks, it seems that Gol D. Roger’s execution wasn’t the catalyst of the Great Pirate Era in One Piece.

One Piece builds its complex storyline through countless backstories. The series starts with the narration of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, declaring to the world about the treasure of One Piece that anyone can claim if they find it. He gets executed seconds later, only to begin a Great Pirate Era.

After learning about a treasure that contains everything the world has to offer, thousands of pirates set out to the sea. Twenty years later, a young pirate from the East Blue, Monkey D. Luffy, sets out to the sea in hopes of finding the treasure and claiming the title of the Pirate King.

The series has come a long way since then, and fans learn more about Roger and his intention to announce such a treasure to the entire world. However, as One Piece reveals more about the past, we realize that Roger’s era was no less than the current Great Pirate Era.

Roger’s Era is comparable to the Great Pirate Era

Crunchyroll

During Roger’s prime, twenty years ago, the world didn’t know anything about the treasure. And yet, the seas were filled with powerful pirates. Gol D. Roger and his crew were the most formidable pirates, including Rayleigh, Oden, Gaban, and even Shanks. Roger is the only captain who led his crew to the last island and even named it Laughtale. Furthermore, his most formidable opponent during that era was Whitebeard, whose crew was equally as strong.

If we go back further in time, around forty years, we learn about a pirate named Rocks D. Xebec whose crew consisted of Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, Shiki, and several more notorious pirates worldwide. The crew disbanded after Xebec’s death, and almost all of them became famous around the world. Compared to the pirates from before, the current generation isn’t nearly as strong.

Sure, there are Yonkos and Warlords such as Shanks, Blackbeard, and Mihawk, but they became pirates before Roger’s execution. Therefore, if we look at the pirates from Luffy’s generation, the most formidable pirates don’t even compare to the previous generation. There were Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid, who had great potential, but soon got defeated in the Final Saga.

Sure, the number of pirates has increased after Roger’s execution. However, in terms of strength and impact on the world, it seems the true Great Pirate Era in One Piece was the time before Roger’s execution. That said, the story is still far from over, and no one knows what Eiichiro Oda has in store for fans. 

One Piece can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll. In the meantime, check out our other anime coverage below:

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