The Straw Hats are very much like a close-knit family.
Following events on the Sabaody Archipelago, all nine members were separated from one another. For two years, they train in relatively isolated locations, becoming stronger for the sake of helping each other.
The crew's Jolly Roger is a depiction of a traditional skull and cross-bone with the skull wearing Luffy's trademark straw hat. In addition to being on their flag, the jolly roger is also been shown on the sails of the Going Merry (Merrygo) and the Thousand Sunny.
As a result of Luffy's choice in who joins the crew, the Straw Hats are notable for being one of the most varied, if not bizarre, pirate crews in the One Piece world.
Their ranks have members so vastly different from one another that it almost seems random in retrospect. These include a doctor who is a shape-shifting reindeer that can be mistaken for something else depending on his form, such as a gorilla when full human or a tanuki when in his usual mid-form; a cyborg for a shipwright who has very eccentric behavior and wears almost nothing except shirts and speedos; and a lively, undead, perverted skeletal musician.
The Straw Hats have four Devil Fruit users: Luffy, Chopper, Robin, and Brook. The majority of them are also fairly young, with only three members being thirty or older, although the two oldest members are just as childish as the others. Unlike most crews, they consider their ships to be crew members.
Despite only having a small number of members, the Straw Hats are a very powerful crew. Their captain has continuously defeated people who are renowned for their incredible strength such as Crocodile and Gekko Moriah of the Shichibukai, the highly feared tyrant Enel from Skypiea, the infamous Rob Lucci of the CP9 and the legendary Shiki the "Golden Lion". The crew itself has done things which most would think impossible and completely insane like defeating an entire organization (such as Baroque Works and CP9), punching a World Noble and breaking in and out of the Judicial Island, Enies Lobby. In fact, after the incident that occurred at Enies Lobby, the World Government has labeled them as a very dangerous crew.
All of them have at least one talent at which they are virtually perfect at and each member is, more or less, a formidable if not downright fearsome fighter in their own right. While all of them have amazing strength in one way or another, three of them, the captain, the swordsman, and the chef, have such astonishingly inhuman strength that the rest of the crew have dubbed them the "Monster Trio".
Each member in the beginning has some fairly high fighting abilities, but as they progress, each member has had to become stronger due to each opponent they encounter either being significantly stronger than the last or has required them to develop new skills or techniques to combat new opponents.
Overall, their most unique strength is the fact that the Straw Hat crew, on many occasions, are extremely lucky, being able to achieve many things that would be considered impossible feats.
While each member can hold their own by themselves, what makes the Straw Hats truly strong is their teamwork, which has become more important as the series has progressed. When one of them is incapable of doing a task, another can help out in their place instead. This helps the crew very much in facing odds that may be too much for them if they work separately.
When at sea, the Straw Hats tend to be relaxed, playing with each other, training, reading or whatever else they may do to occupy themselves. They can maintain this attitude even in the unstable waters of Paradise, or even in their descent down to Fishman Island. However, whenever a crisis pops up, like storms, tidal waves, large sea life or falling ships, the crew instantly snap out of their relaxed state and swing into action. They all seem to know their place and will do what they should in the circumstances. Most of the time though, they tend to sail at a casual pace, without rushing.
After the two year timeskip, even though they have been dormant for some time, the Straw Hats are talked amongst pirates on a legendary level. Even Sentomaru casually comments that pirates are not like what they used to be. He calls the impostors of Straw Hats a wasteful trash when Demalo Black boasts of his lineage in front of him, prompting Sentomaru to take him down with a single blow of his axe.
The crew have gained legendary status since they first set sail, on par with all the other major crews of the world. They are currently the only known pirate crew to openly wage war against the World Government and have practically gotten away with it. It still stands that they are the only pirate crew to have escape from every branch of law enforcement that the government could throw at them; The Shichibukai, Cipher Pol, Impel Down, and Marineford have all failed in their attempts to hold down the crew (with the captain penetrating and escaping from the latter two by himself). Perhaps as a testament to their strength, they are the only known crew where every single member has a bounty on their head.
When news of them resurfaced, the entire Marine organization was thrown into a frenzy to stamp on their revival whilst the rest of the pirates cheered on. It is possible that their fame had led many to join the ranks of piracy, for when the fake Straw Hats started recruiting pirates, many flocked to join up, and were also greatly shocked when the "Monster Trio" gave a show of a small fraction of their power. Sentomaru goes as far as to award the fake Luffy a tough blow when he tried to boast of his lineage, saying that the real one would never have done so.
By the end of their two-year long training, it could be presumed that the Straw Hats have grown exponentially in individual power, as some of them took their self-imposed training under the tutelage of prominent figures of the sea like Silvers Rayleigh, Dracule Mihawk, Emporio Ivankov, and Monkey D. Dragon. Each member of the Monster Trio (Luffy, Zoro and Sanji) have shown to be able to defeat a Pacifista in a single attack, whereas it took the combined efforts of the entire crew to barely beat one before. Luffy easily destroyed a Pacifista with a single Haki-embedded Jet Pistol, and Zoro and Sanji, the latter using his Diable Jambe, both dealt crippling blows to a Pacifista with raw strength. Zoro and Sanji each used attacks that likely would have been sufficient to destroy the Pacifista on their own, had they not been trying to outdo each other. Another example of the Monster Trio's strength is that they were able to defeat a sea monster such as the Kraken (a creature several hundred times larger than the Thousand Sunny itself) without much of an effort underwater, where all their strength is greatly decreased. Afterwards Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Brook defeat all the troops stationed in the Ryuugu Palace with ease. The crew also easily took out the 100,000 lower members of the New Fishman Pirates which consisted of about 70,000 fishmen and 30,000 humans with Luffy alone taking out about 50,000 people with a single burst of Haoshoku Haki.
It seems that during their two-year absence, the Marines have remained ever-vigilant in case they return, despite the major belief they all mysteriously died off, as when a group of impostors appeared in Sabaody Archipelago, the Marines immediately mobilized to stop them.
Though they are pirates in name, the Straw Hat Pirates do not engage in the stereotypical activities of pirates. They are all kindhearted for the most part, and only fight in self-defense, or in vengeance for their friends. In fact, before the Enies Lobby arc, when CP9 initiated the conflict by blackmailing Nico Robin and detaining her, the Straw Hats mostly fought only other pirates (with the exception of Luffy and Zoro, who took down the dreaded Axe Hand Morgan and several of his unwilling subordinates, and Sanji, who beat up Fullbody and possibly some other unfortunate Marines prior to becoming an official Straw Hat) - it seems they were considered dangerous to the World Government and given bounties simply because they called themselves pirates.
They are considered villains by the World Government and the general public who aren't familiar with them. While this is a hassle for them, like most other pirates, the majority of the Straw Hats see their bounties as a form of achievement, a sign of how much fame and recognition their actions have produced. Nami notes that, as pirates, they are used to taking blame and being portrayed as the villains.
As the captain of the crew, Luffy has been recognized by the World Government as the most dangerous member of the Straw Hats. Due to Luffy being a relatively new pirate, the World Government originally didn't pay much attention to him. However, with each new outrageous exploit Luffy and his crew have accomplished, their views on him have changed.
"Straw Hat" Luffy
As the captain of the crew, Luffy has been recognized by the World Government as the most dangerous member of the Straw Hats. Due to Luffy being a relatively new pirate, the World Government originally didn't pay much attention to him. However, with each new outrageous exploit Luffy and his crew have accomplished, their views on him have changed.
* First bounty: 30,000,000 for defeating the three top pirates of East Blue.
* Second bounty: 100,000,000 for defeating Crocodile of the Shichibukai.
* Third bounty: 300,000,000 for defeating Rob Lucci and Blueno of the CP9, for orchestrating the assault on Enies Lobby, and for declaring war against the World Government.
* Fourth bounty: 400,000,000 Berries for some or all of the following: for defeating Gekko Moriah of the Shichibukai, for punching a World Noble, for breaking into and out of Impel Down along with 241 prisoners, for participating in the Whitebeard War, for ringing the Ox Bell (which was taken as an act of war), and for being the son of Revolutionary Dragon.
"Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro
Recognized as a powerful fighter within the Straw Hats through his battles with various opponents, Zoro is given a bounty by the World Government with just as much recognition as Luffy in terms of being a powerful threat.
* First bounty: 60,000,000 Berries for defeating Daz Bones and 100 bounty hunters in Whiskey Peak.
* Second bounty: 120,000,000 Berries for his involvement with his fellow Straw Hats in the Enies Lobby Incident and for defeating Kaku of the CP9.
"Cat Burglar" Nami
For her involvement with her fellow crew members in Enies Lobby and for defeating Kalifa of the CP9, Nami is recognized as a threat by the World Government and is given a bounty of 16,000,000 Berries. While most of the other Straw Hats are impressed at having bounties, Nami doesn't particularly like being a wanted person. Her picture was taken under the false pretense of a reporter wanting to take her picture for a magazine, hence the suggestive pose.
"Sniper King" Sogeking
For his involvement with his fellow crew members in Enies Lobby, specifically burning the World Government flag and sniping off marines on the Bridge of Hesitation, Usopp is recognized as a threat by the World Government and is given a bounty of 30,000,000 Berries. Due to Usopp disguising himself as Sogeking at the time, the authorities have attributed Usopp's bounty to his Sogeking persona. While most people easily recognize Usopp as Sogeking, Luffy, Chopper, and the people of Usopp's village (with the exception of Kaya and the former Usopp Pirates) do not realize that they are both the same person.
"Black Leg" Sanji
For his involvement with his fellow crew members in Enies Lobby, for defeating Jabra of the CP9, and for closing the Gates of Justice, Sanji is recognized as a threat by the World Government and is given a bounty of 77,000,000 Berries. However, because Attach of the Marines forgot to remove the lens cap when taking the picture, a proper picture of Sanji has not been taken. Instead, a crude drawing of a person that barely looks like him is substituted. This, along with other incidents involving the picture, are part of a running gag on how Sanji has bad luck being recognized because of his bounty image.
"Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper
Despite his involvement with his fellow crew members in Enies Lobby and defeating Kumadori of the CP9, Chopper is mistaken for a pet due to his normal size and appearance. Therefore, he is not considered much of a threat to the World Government, and was given a measly 50 Berry bounty.
"Devil Child" Nico Robin
While a cover story is given to the general public to explain Robin's initial bounty, the actual reason is because the World Government sees her ability to read Poneglyphs as a threat to world safety. After joining up with the Straw Hats, however, the government's view of her becomes more genuine.
* First bounty: 79,000,000 Berries for sinking six Buster Call battleships (in truth, for her ability to read Poneglyphs).
* Second bounty: 80,000,000 Berries for her involvement with her fellow Straw Hats in the Enies Lobby incident (her wanted poster also gains a new picture).
"Cyborg" Franky
While his gang's involvement in the invasion of Enies Lobby is overlooked, Franky's own involvement with the Straw Hats is recognized. Along with burning the blueprints for Pluton and defeating Fukuro of the CP9, Franky is recognized as a threat by the World Government and is given a bounty of 44,000,000 Berries.
"Humming Swordsman" Brook
In his previous life, Brook had gained a bounty of Bsymbol.gif33,000,000 for piracy. This bounty and the picture accompanying it were issued fifty years ago. After the timeskip, Brook's managers sell him out to the Marines, allowing them to connect Brook's skeletal appearance to the picture in the wanted poster. They also learnt of his connection to the Straw Hats.
Each member of the crew values their friendships very highly. Despite their usual comic annoyance with each other from time to time, they very much love being together as well as being a member of the crew, so much so, that they tend to forget their worries and burdens, as shown with Nami, Robin, Franky and Brook.
One of the major themes of the series is how committed they are to each other, to the point where they are willing to give up what is important to them, such as their lives, and even their dreams, for one of their crew members. If one single member is hurt by an outside force (physically or emotionally), the other members will become enraged and take drastic action to avenge their friends. Previously, they have gone as far as to take on an entire organization, make enemies with the World Government, and even attack the World Nobles.
Examples of their camaraderie include: During their fight with Bartholomew Kuma, Sanji, Zoro and Brook threw themselves in front of their friends to keep Kuma from getting to them. After Luffy was overwhelmed with grief over Ace´s death, not only was he able to overcome his pain by remembering that he still had his crew, but the others struggled to return to him for support when they realized how hurt Luffy would be. Upon receiving his message to wait two years, they all reminisced on how Luffy changed their lives for the better and resolved to use that time to hone their skills in order to be more useful to him and protect each other better from any danger.
Each member of the Straw Hats has a dream they want to achieve. These dreams are their reasons for joining Luffy's crew, and essentially the driving force behind their lives. Each Straw Hat's dream was inspired by tragedies (often deaths) in their childhoods that involved at least one person they idolized and cared for deeply.
Some, like Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky are fulfilling their dreams by accumulating knowledge and/or achieving a certain task while sailing the Grand Line. Others, like Luffy, Sanji, Robin, and Brook are searching for a person, place or thing that can only be found on the Grand Line.
Whatever the reason, each of the Straw Hat's dreams involve traveling the Grand Line, and each Straw Hat member refuses to die before achieving their dreams. However, their determination doesn't extend to sacrificing or abandoning their comrades for the fulfillment of their dreams.
* Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King and gather his own pirate crew to back him up. To become the Pirate King, he must find Gol D. Roger's famed treasure, One Piece, which is implied to be on Raftel. As for a crew, he has brought together so far eight people who have caught his attention. Luffy is also looking to meet up with Shanks again and return his straw hat to him, but will only do this after his crew has surpassed Shanks' crew in strength.
* Zoro's dream, shared with Kuina, is to become the world's greatest swordsman. To fulfill this dream, he must surpass every swordsman in the world, including the world's current greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk. Zoro nearly gave up his dream in an attempt to convince the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma to refrain from killing Luffy despite that the first time they met Zoro threatened to kill Luffy if he got in the way of his dream, proving his loyalty towards his captain as well as the rest of the crew, as he believes that he cannot be the world's strongest swordsman if he cannot protect his captain's dream (Luffy, likewise, believes that the Pirate King should have the best swordsman on his side).
* Nami's dream is to draw a map of the entire world. She has already mapped all the areas that she has traveled, and it can be assumed that she will create a world map once the story is over. Also at the beginning of the story, she was also trying to get 100,000,000 Berries in order to buy and save her hometown, Cocoyasi Village, from the clutches of the Fishman pirate Arlong; while her savings were confiscated after stealing 93,000,000 Berries, in the process of stealing from pirates, she met Luffy, who defeated Arlong and freed the village.
* Usopp's dream is to become a brave warrior of the sea like his father, Yasopp. Although he implies that he has accomplished this dream (before he leaves the crew), Usopp has a second dream. After the Little Garden Arc he hopes to visit Elbaf and see the warrior giants he idolizes, and during the Post-War Arc Usopp develops yet another dream, to be the true Sniper King, after he got Luffy's message to get stronger in two years.
* Sanji's dream, shared with Zeff, is to find All Blue, a legendary ocean. It is assumed to be in the Grand Line, a place where all waters from all over the four seas gather, bringing fish from all over the globe. During the early-Arlong Arc, Sanji had stated that he wanted to visit Fishman Island someday to see a Mermaid, which has recently been fulfilled; sure enough, the chef broke down crying upon seeing all the mermaids and implied that meeting the mermaids was on an equivalent level to finding the All-Blue. He also wished to consume the Suke Suke no Mi but unfortunately for him, Absalom destroyed that dream as he had already eaten it. However, Sanji, upon seeing Absalom's detestable actions, changed his mind about his desire to consume it.
* Chopper's dream is to become a great doctor that can cure any disease, much like his father figure Dr. Hiluluk's ambition, as well as to travel across the world, exploring with his friends, and expanding his horizons.
* Robin's dream is to find the Real Poneglyph which tells the True History of the One Piece world including the Void Century, continuing the research of her mother Nico Olivia and her old mentor Clover.
* The Going Merry's dream as the crew's ship was to sail with the Straw Hats forever which it revealed to the crew upon its demise. Due to its destruction, the Going Merry's dream appeared to go unfulfilled. However, Merry's spirit inhabits the Straw Hats' new ship, the Thousand Sunny, and therefore its dream can live on through it.
* Franky's dream is to create and travel with a dream ship which would experience countless battles, can overcome extreme hardships and can reach the end of the Grand Line. He has created the ship which the Straw Hats are riding and it's his task to keep it in good condition. Previously, one of his dreams was to beat Spandam to pieces, but this was fulfilled toward the end of the Enies Lobby Arc.
* Brook's dream is to return to his crewmate Laboon, whom his former crew, the Rumbar Pirates, had left behind at Reverse Mountain for his safety, with the promise to return after crossing the Grand Line. He wishes to fulfill that promise to Laboon, as well as that of his former crewmates, who died at their journey, to deliver their final song recorded in a Tone Dial before their death.
The X Mark is something the first six Straw Hats (Luffy through Chopper), as well as Nefertari Vivi and Carue, had on their left forearms.
During their adventure in Alabasta, they had to face a very tricky opponent, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, with his Devil Fruit Power, which can make him look like anyone of them. Zoro came up with an idea to counteract this power.
They made a black X mark on their left arms, as a symbol of their belonging to the Straw Hats. To prevent this being copied by Mr. 2, it was covered by a bandage, and only revealed as proof of identity. The intention being that the band appeared to be proof, but in fact concealed the true sign. Luffy then stated that the X mark was a symbol of their friendship.
The X mark came into play three times in Alabasta:
1. When Carue reached Alubarna to deliver a message to Cobra, Chaka noticed his bandage and, thinking Carue was wounded, tried to examine it. Carue promptly slapped his hand away.
2. When Vivi is heading toward Alubarna, the capital city of Alabasta, she met Usopp but she wasn't sure if he was him or not. As she asked him to show their recognizing symbol, he showed the bandage, but without uncovering the X mark. Vivi understood that he was Bon Kurei disguised as Usopp and ran away.
3. When the Straw Hats were leaving Alabasta, they could not say good bye to Vivi in a proper way, to avoid the princess being recognized by the marines as their crewmate. So, they stand with their backs facing Vivi, raising their left hands and showing their X. Vivi and Carue replied in the same way too, as a symbol of their unbreakable friendship tie.
As promised, every Straw Hat returned to Sabaody Archipelago. Roronoa Zoro was the first to arrive, next was Franky, then Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, Sanji, Nico Robin, and finally Monkey D. Luffy. During their two year hiatus, they have undergone significant changes in combat skills and appearance.
These changes include:
* Luffy has gained an X-shaped scar on the chest caused by Akainu in Marineford. He also now wears a yellow sash, similar to Zoro's. He has gained the use of the three forms of Haki, and has enhanced his Devil Fruit powers to point of vulcanizing his rubber body, making it extremely hard without losing its elasticity, and even being able to generate explosions with the impact of his attacks.
* Zoro has gained a scar over his left eye similar to Rayleigh, as well as having gained more muscle. He now also wears a green robe, instead of a shirt and pants, and a red sash. He has been enhanced with stronger versions of his old techniques, developed a new Three Swords Style Ultimate Technique and seems to have mastered his "flying slash" attacks greatly. He learned how to use Haki, however, the types of Haki he domains have yet to be seen.
* Nami gained a more "developed" body, she has also let her hair grow and obtained technology from Weatheria, including many "Weather Balls". She has upgraded her Perfect Climatact to Sorcery Climatact.
* Usopp has developed a muscular body and has grown a faint goatee, wearing a white hat with longer hair tied back, using plants called "pop greens" as weapons and claims that he has become a braver warrior. He now uses a smaller version of his Kabuto slingshot, and has also replaced his pair of goggles.
* Sanji's goatee grew significantly thicker, as well as a soul patch with it, and a few mustache hairs. He revealed his left eye, while covering his right eye with his hair. He is able to activate his Diable Jambe, much faster but still has to spin to activate it, generate huge amounts of flames and by angering (by remembering his painful stay in Kamabakka Kingdom) he can now enter in a completely new form where his whole body catches fire and is able to set fire to anything he kicks. He has developed an ability to swim at very high speed using only his legs, a flying ability similar to CP9's Geppou, and he has apparently learned the Spectrum technique from Ivankov. He learned how to use Haki, however, the types of Haki he domains have yet to be seen.
* Chopper's hybrid (half-man, half-reindeer) form has a lighter fur tone compared to two years ago, and in his animal form he appears as a fully grown reindeer. Another change is that he is wearing some kind of helmet over his hat, giving him the appearance of wearing an oversized baseball cap. He developed a new form named Kung Fu Point, and has reinforced his Horn Point, his Guard Point has grown dramatically in size and his Heavy Point has a greater amount of muscles and fur. All of his 7 transformation points have been renewed and reinforced and he is able to freely transform into 6 of them without a Rumble Ball, requiring it only for the Monster Point form. He now has full control over his Monster Point, although he can only be in that state for three minutes before his body becomes weak for a couple hours as a side effect.
* Robin no longer has bangs and her hair is much longer. It is pulled back with a pair of sunglasses resting at the top of her forehead. She has mastered her Devil Fruit powers to the point of being able to generate thousands of parts (generating gigantic limbs) of her body and even able to bloom her entire body, thus cloning herself.
* Franky has used the technology from Dr. Vegapunk's research lab to develop a bigger and more advanced body (adding a "BF-37" tattoo to symbolize the latest and greatest model, Battle Franky 37), his bulky arms with oval shape were replaced for square ones, and he installed a device in his nose to control his hair. He now usually goes with a shorter, buzz-cut hairstyle, but can revert to his old style or change to a new one. His arsenal has increased in firepower as well; he now has rocket launchers and a laser cannon (similar to that of Pacifistas and Kizaru's Devil Fruit) at his disposal. He can also fight inside a mecha that he developed.
* Brook, who has replaced his gentleman-style outfit with rockstar clothing, has gained notoriety as a famous musician with the title of "Soul King". He has learned the true nature of his Devil Fruit allowing him to put his body back together if the pieces get separated and to separate his soul from his body (acting like a real ghost by astral projection) and can "bring the very cold of the underworld" improving his Fencing Style with freezing effects. He also improved his musical ability, to the point where he can even hypnotize people.
The Straw Hats' new look after 2 years.
The first volume of the Japanese version of One Piece
