The world of One Piece is home to a number of elite groups, and membership in each group is not easy. The Seven Warlords of the Sea are among the most formidable pirates in the Paradise half of the Grand Line, for example, and the standard of the Four Emperors is even higher. Each generation has its own brilliant talent that can enter these groups, such as Dracule Mihawk, who proved himself worthy of joining the Warlords while that group existed. The question now is: why didn't he go on to the emperors?
Not just anyone can be an emperor of the sea, but then again, Mihawk is no ordinary pirate. He is the world's greatest swordsman, a master of the blade who still puts Roronoa Zoro to shame, and his fame spreads far and wide across the Grand Line. Mihawk's fans want to see him take the next step and reach the pinnacle of his glory as Emperor, but at this rate, it's never going to happen. Even if a spot opened up among the Emperors, it seems unlikely that Mihawk will claim it, regardless of his skill. There are some good reasons for this.
How is Mihawk worthy to be an emperor in the new world?
Being Shank's rival is the honor of a lifetime
The effect is increasing One Piece continues to rise again and again as the story marches on, but even after the story has expanded into Haki and awakened the Devil Fruits, Dracule Mihawk has remained relevant. It's remarkable for someone who was introduced so early to still hold a place among the world's most talented fighters, doubly so since Mihawk has no Devil Fruit to call his own. Mihawk's battle kit is pretty “basic” by many standards, with him only using his oversized sword Yoru and two types of Haki in battle. His observation color Haki is like One Piece's Sharingan, with Mihawk able to easily track an opponent's movements and retaliate with great precision. His Color of Arms Haki is quite advanced, to the point where he permanently coated Yoru's blade in it, hence the dark color of the weapon.
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Especially some One Piece fans say that Mihawk is worthy of joining the Emperors because he is the sworn rival of his fellow swordsman, Shanks himself. Notably, Shanks is indeed one of the Four Emperors, and had held this position since the days of Luffy's childhood. Shanks is the last of the original four emperors, surviving in the New World while Whitebeard, Kaido and Big Mom met their different fates. Fans all know how incredibly powerful Shanks is, even if he only rarely shows it, like striking Whitebeard during a polite duel or ending the Marineford battle with his presence alone. And of course, Shank's strength, swordsmanship and Haki are almost unmatched.
If a true emperor like Whitebeard can be a serious rival to Shanks, if Mihawk is also Shank's rival, then Mihawk is surely on the level of Whitebeard and Shanks. It's a case where if A = B and B = C, then A = C, where A is Whitebeard, B is Shanks, and C is Mihawk. Combat power is an important indicator of rank for many of One Pieces most respected or feared factions, from the Warlords of the Sea and the Four Emperors to the Admirals and elite pirate crews like the Beasts Pirates. Mihawk is in this league as a former warlord who calls Shanks his rival, and he certainly earned the respect of both Zoro and Sir Crocodile. All of this makes a strong case for Mihawk being Emperor material, but there are still a few factors holding him back.
Mihawk is a Solo Fighter while Emperors Command Fleets
Mihawk's ambitions are more personal than ruling the Pirate Kingdoms
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Mihawk feels like Emperor material thanks to his elite fighting skills, his rivalry with Shanks, and his lofty reputation as the world's greatest swordsman. Critically, however, Mihawk is lacking in other areas where actual emperors excel. It's true that Mihawk can stand up to emperors like Shanks and Whitebeard, but those emperors have things that Mihawk doesn't. One of the greatest assets of any emperor is a fleet to command, where Mihawk has none at all.
Emperors hold that title because they are the leaders of huge pirate fleets, keeping a tight grip on each Emperor's territory in the New World. After all, no one can be king or emperor without having people to rule. Whitebeard, the benevolent emperor, claimed a number of islands under his protection, and Kaido ruled Wano alongside Kurozumi Orochi while Big Mom was the queen of her own cluster of islands. These emperors also commanded their own powerful fleets, from the Blackbeard Pirates and Beasts Pirates to the Whitebeard Pirates.
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Dracule Mihawk, by comparison, has no fleet to call his own, not even a modest crew. He's a total loner and clearly prefers it that way, so it would be silly to call him an emperor if he only ever commands himself. Mihawk is strangely humble in this regard, to the point that his own ship was a tiny little piece of wood in the Baratie Arc from so long ago. Mihawk called the Muggy Kingdom home and felt like a king there, but that's not enough to make him a real one leader as typical emperors are. Mihawk needs more than Perona's company and Zoro's rivalry to say he has a fleet of his own.
What's more, Mihawk's ambitions are too different from other emperors. The other emperors tend to dream big, like Kaido and Big Mom who both aspire to claim the One Piece treasure himself to rule the world, or Blackbeard who aims to overthrow the world government that his late father, Rocks D. Xebec, once intended to do. Emperors live up to their reputations as they make grand plans to reshape the world, while Mihawk dreams small. This lonely swordsman only hopes to find a worthy rival who can surpass him and relieve his boredom as an elite swordsman with no equal.
It's a common “lone champion” trope in anime, where someone is too powerful or skilled for their own good, and it's the only real motivation Mihawk has. Emperors don't mind rivals, but they also ask more of themselves and the world than that. Even joining the Cross Guild with Crocodile was just an attempt to stabilize his life and ward off the pesky marines and other parties that would bother him. By trying to get away from competition, Mihawk only further distances himself from emperor status, and obviously that's the dream.
One Piece
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Author
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
