Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers up the Zou arc.

Love him or hate him, it is undeniable that Law has come to be a very popular character among the fandom, especially in the series’ home country in Japan. Even before the results of the fifth poll were revealed, many believed Law had the chance to take on first place. Climbing into the top ten right after his first appearance, his popularity escalated even further due to his major involvement in the recent arcs, beating the perennial favorite Zoro, and trailing behind the top-placer Luffy by just four hundred votes. Whether or not the polls had any effect on the main storyline, his increasing importance in connection to his relationship with Luffy ensures that he will be making more appearances in the future. As the spotlight shines on him, what are the underlying characteristics that makes him endearing to the audience?

「ロー様マジイケメン」Heartthrob Surgeon



Aside from the polls conducted by Shueisha, Law has also ranked high in other official polls in Japan, such as the Jeans Freak’s One Piece Jeanist Contest, and Banpresto Figure Colosseum’s Figure King Summit Showdown V. The Japanese merchandising department has taken note of his popularity, and the amount of merchandise featuring him has been comparable to that of the main characters and dark horses such as Ace and Sabo. Similar to the debut of the perpetually shirtless Ace in Alabasta, Law has grown to be a wildly popular character since his first appearance in Sabaody, eventually having his role expanded and developed later in the series.

Clearly, Law’s handsome features served as a major factor to his initial popularity. Barring his dumbfounded reactions towards the actions of the Straw Hats, Law is shown to be quite photogenic in the various panels that he has appeared in throughout the series. Of course, One Piece already has its fair share of attractive male characters, ranging from the adorable Luffy to the virile Zoro and the blazing hot Ace. Like the lovely ladies in this series, the men have their own share of fanservice, and Law is no exception. While wearing a disguise comprising a pair of sunglasses and a fake mustache, Law only wore a long jacket with no shirt underneath, treating the characters and the audience to a clear view of the tattoos on his well-toned chest. Unsurprisingly, various official merchandise also includes various shirtless figurines and posters of Law.

Initially appearing as a scheming pirate slouching on his seat, Law comes off as a personification of the bad boy archetype. With tattoos adorning his body and associating him with death, he is a pirate who does anything he wants, and gets away with it. His mannerisms even reflect his look, such as his use of the middle finger, and his tone in speech. In addition, his casual and rather stylish outfit makes him stand out among the other characters. All of this enhances his image as a typical “cool” character. Combined with his good looks, his design and attitude appeals to both girls and boys alike.

Law is also a very enigmatic character. Like a mystery novel driving its readers to search for clues in order to find the answers, Law makes the audience question his motives and his background. Moreover, his alliance with Luffy brought quite a number of debate on his true intentions. While the Dressrosa arc revealed some insight on his character, some parts of his backstory are still unknown, as well as what his role in the future will be.

In addition to his good looks, Law is also a man of many talents. Aside from his Devil Fruit abilities, Law is also an accomplished surgeon at a young age of 24, and was able to bring Luffy back from the brink of death following the Paramount War. Rocinante even emphasized the importance of medical knowledge for the user of such fruit, making his control over his abilities even more impressive. Moreover, he is also a capable fighter, having been trained by the Don Quixote family in the fields of swordsmanship, gunnery, and martial arts. Furthermore, he also studied books on strategies while under the Heavenly Demon’s wing, giving some credence that he should not be underestimated.

「嵌ったら2度とは出られない」Prolific Artist



In the Japanese dub, Law is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya, a prolific voice actor in Japan. In recent years, he has won various awards, such as “Best Lead Actor,” “Best Personality” at the Third Seiyu Awards, and “Most Votes Award” in the succeeding Seiyu Awards for four consecutive years since 2012. Aside from One Piece, Kamiya is notable for providing the voices for various characters in other series such as Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Durarara!!, Noragami, Kuroko’s Basketball, and Attack on Titan.

Due to these characters all sharing the same voice actor, comparisons have been made regarding the similarities with some of the characters’ personalities. As an example, Levi from the highly acclaimed Attack on Titan is a stoic character considered to be the ace of the team for his skills in using his blades to slay the titular titans. Like Law, Levi also has quite a following in his respective fandom, ranking first place in the more recent popularity polls. Amusingly (or perhaps coincidentally), FUNimation has clearly taken note of the connection by casting the Matthew Mercer to do both Law and Levi.

In the past, Kamiya played a number of background characters in One Piece, such as “Pirate A,” who appeared in the first episode of the series as part of Alvida’s crew. In an interview , Kamiya revealed that both Hiroaki Shibata, the anime producter, and him were quite unaware of Law’s importance in the plot. While it may have been unintentional, it did seem to elevate Law’s popularity, resulting in the release of two character songs sung by Kamiya himself. The song “Dr. HeartStealer” was included in the Sabaody DVD Log Collection. During the release of the One Piece Crossing Through Japan 47 Cruises , Law’s CD Lost in the New World (LOST IN 新世界) ranked 27th in first week of February, compared to Zoro’s Katana ( 39th ) and Ace’s Living Fire ( 40th ).

「弱ェ奴は死に方も選べねェ」Brooding Loner



Given his current personality, Law seems to come across as an attempt by Oda to create a dark and edgy character. This type of character has gained quite a lot of prominence in various notable works, including the Batman from DC Comics, Severus Snape from Harry Potter, and Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. In particular, many have compared Law to Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto, given the latter’s infamous reputation as a brooding, self-absorbed loner with some form of rivalry with the main character. On the other hand, Law seems to resemble Gaara from the aforementioned series even more, considering his popularity within the fandom, and the author’s intention for him to be a foil to the main character. In addition to having the tailed beast like Naruto, Gaara turns out to be just a misunderstood character with a tragic backstory, though he eventually became good friends with the main character. Much like Law and his heart-shaped tattoos, Gaara has the character for “love” (愛) carved on his left temple.

However, it should be noted that the concept of a brooding and self-absorbed loner as a character has existed at least as early as the early nineteenth century. Having emerged from the Romantic period, the Romantic hero is a literary archetype of a character who defies social norms and is rejected by society, focusing on the self as opposed to civilization at large. One particular variant of the Romantic hero is the Byronic hero, a type of character named after English poet Lord Byron. The Byronic hero is portrayed as a charismatic yet arrogant character, having strong passion while possessing some form of inner conflict. Such a character was presumably written as a response to their disappointment towards Napoleon after the French Revolution, currently serving as a precursor to many modern forms of the antihero. As a pirate, Law has all the characteristic of the archetype. In addition to his childhood, he also spent the past thirteen years on his vendetta, which he later realized to be unnecessary thanks to Cora. His role as a tragic characters makes him sympathetic to the audience.

「〝D〟はまた…必ず嵐を呼ぶ」Dark Luffy



On one hand, Law can be the polar opposite to fun-loving and happy-go-lucky Luffy, where the former is shown to be serious, intelligent, and manipulative. Given their seemingly contrasting personalities, Law serves as one of the foils for Luffy. Nevertheless, he does share a surprising number of similarities with him. Without the hat, Law resembles an older and gruffer version of Luffy. Early on, one of Law’s crewmates notes that he shouldn’t go overboard again, implying that Law can also be as reckless and hot-blooded as Luffy. During the Dressrosa arc, Nami calls him out on being just like her captain. In hindsight, it is a rather subtle foreshadowing on him possessing the Will of D, given that both him and Luffy would do whatever they want to the point of endangering the entire world with their actions.

With the Will of D in mind, Law is also established to be a parallel to Luffy. In the formation of the alliance, the two captains are of equal ranks, in contrast to the father-son relationship Luffy has with the Grand Fleet. Not only are they both a part of the Worst Generation, the current bounties of the two pirates also match, making a grand total of one billion berries. In addition to their trademark hats and fluffy team pets, the two even have their own father figure who made great sacrifices to save their lives, where Shanks lost his left arm and Rocinante gave up his own life. Incidentally, Rocinante would have even been the same age as Shanks if he were still alive.

Despite having a notorious reputation, Law does have some honorable characteristics. His reason for saving Luffy may be due to empathy. After the Paramount War, Law is even shown in deep thought as he stared at Luffy’s straw hat in his hand, while Luffy is rampaging off in Amazon Lily over the loss of his brother. Having been a loving big brother to his little sister Lammy, Law understands the pain Luffy went through. Much like how Law and his crew sailed to Marineford to save Luffy after Ace’s death, Luffy rescues Law as Doflamingo was about to crush his head. Basically, they rescue each other while at their lowest point, and separated from their respective crew. Law is also quite protective of his allies. As he plans his revenge towards Doflamingo, he may have left his crew in Zou to keep them out of harm’s way. When Doflamingo prepares his attack on Sanji, Law risks his own life, jumping in between them in an attempt to protect Sanji. Moreover, he feels guilt in bringing his allies into his personal business, intending to atone for his actions by getting killed if his partner goes down.

Even as a generally stoic character, Law is shown to be a rather comical. During his alliance with the Straw Hats, he expresses genuine shock at their actions and his actions are strange to them. He slowly and unintentionally integrates himself into the crew. By utilizing the contrast between his serious personality and a silly situation, Oda manages to enhance the hilarity of Law’s interaction with them at the expense of his dignity. His interactions with Luffy can be compared to the manzai, the traditional Japanese equivalent of a double act. Here, Law plays the role of the serious and reasonable “straight man” (ツッコミ tsukkomi), as he berates the actions of the air-headed “funny man” (ボケ boke) that is Luffy.

Law is also shown to be a relatable character. He comments on his distaste for certain food items, as well as expressed some interest in ninjas. Despite being portrayed as a cold and ruthless criminal, he eventually does open himself up to the main characters as bits of his past unfolds throughout the Dressrosa arc. In addition, he’s also shown not to be infallible with his plans, given how his allies don’t even follow through with them. Throughout Dressrosa, he’s had to improvise and adapt to the situation due to a series of unforeseen events. Even with his cold and calculating nature, his rash decisions during his fight with Doflamingo led to the temporary loss of his arm, though he is fortunate enough to have the Little People sew it back. Given his personal demons and similarities with the protagonist, Law seems intended to be written as a darker version of Luffy.

「おれもここで共に殺されるべきだ」Wandering Swordsman

As a serious swordsman who wields a cursed blade, Law is quite similar to the ever popular Zoro. Law’s sword, Kikoku (鬼哭; lit. “ghostly wails”), even shares the character ki (鬼 “demon“) with Zoro’s Kitetsu III. Both even dedicated their lives to someone they cherished who passed away. Unsurprisingly, they seem to get along really well in Zou, expressing their distaste over the dramatic display of their friends and other minor inconveniences encountered along the way. While Zoro is typically associated with the samurai, Law’s life has subtle references to that of a rōnin (浪人), a masterless samurai. A samurai is a Japanese warrior trained in self-discipline and to uphold a sense of duty, where their doctrine emphasizes loyalty to their master unto death. Upon losing his lord, a samurai is expected to commit seppuku. Choosing against it is considered to be a great shame, thus they are discriminated against by society. In order to seek employment, they would have to become bodyguards or mercenaries, though some became criminals on their own or through joining organized crime groups. After Rocinante’s death, Law became a pirate and dedicated his life in avenging Rocinante, paralleling the Akō vendetta. In this famed event in Japanese history, the 47 rōnin avenged the death of their master by killing the official who compelled him to commit seppuku. In the end, the rōnin were compelled to do the same thing as their master did after committing the murder.

Apart from the his sword, Law also has a goatee on his chin, as well as sideburns. The perception of facial hair (髭 hige) in Japanese society is marked with ups and downs throughout history. During the early half of the Edo period, the grooming of facial hair was a necessary duty for the samurai. A samurai without any would be ridiculed. As the government entered a calm period, shaving was encouraged as to not “disturb public morals,” and facial hair slowly became associated to barbarians. During the Meiji period, the facial hair became a status symbol, due to influences from the fads during Victorian-era Britain. Nowadays, facial hair is again frowned upon in Japanese society. As a pirate, Law’s goatee further enhances his look as a rebel, and also connects him to the samurai of the ancient times.

In the Japanese version, Law tends to attach the suffix -ya (～屋) when referring to someone. The -ya (meaning “shop” or “house”) is an honorific used to refer someone who does a certain job, being a close equivalent of -er or -ist in the English language. Nowadays, this honorific is considered to be derogatory and old fashioned, though such connotations didn’t exist during the ancient times. However, it is still in use to refer to the guild of kabuki actors, where the name of the guild can be used in place of the actor’s surname. As Law generally speaks with a rash tone, the -ya serves as an interesting bur rather fitting quirk for his speech.

While his good looks and cool abilities garner the initial attention of the audience, his development as a dynamic character makes him more likable to the fans. His beliefs and use of antiquated terms evoke that of the bygone era when the samurai roams the land. Together with his casual clothing and mannerism, the combination of the archaic and the modern makes him quite a quirky character. Meanwhile, his tragic past elicits sympathy from the readers, and gives a sense of hope as he carries on his will to move on with his life. His sense of duty and concern for his friends make his character more endearing to the audience. With all these factors combined, it makes a well-developed character that appeals to a wide range of the fandom.

References

* Japan’s Epic History of Discrimination Against the Mustache

* Kappei Yamaguchi’s Interview with Hiroshi Kamiya (Part I)

* Kappei Yamaguchi’s Interview with Hiroshi Kamiya (Part II)

Thank you to @JoOnBulba , @iMuhammadA, @PiratessUnluck for their feedback on Law’s character.