Best marine character designs in one piece

Important takeaways

• Marine design in One Piece is unique, with individualized changes to their traditional uniforms.
• Characters such as Hina, Aokiji, Smoker, Dalmatian, and Fujitora display distinct looks and personalities.
• Each Marine's design reflects their personality, background and role in the story, adding depth to the “bad guys”.

In the world of One Pieceit's not just the pirates that get unique character designs, as this applies to quite a few of the marines as well. While many of the marine grunts can look quite normal and uninteresting, in the higher ranks they tend to have a lot more to their performances, making them a joy to watch when they appear on screen, despite technically being the villains of the story.

Since the Marines are a collective group of soldiers, they technically have uniforms, but most of the time the members will tinker and change the traditional formation to have something that suits their style. A character's design and choice of clothing can say a lot about them, and given that the marines usually don't get as much screen time as the pirates do in One Piecethis can be handy to get a good idea of ​​who they are just by looking at them.

8 Hina

Hina's stylish design makes her instantly recognizable during her brief appearances

• First appearance: Episode 127

Hina doesn't do that many appearances all the time One Piece's history, but she is still instantly recognizable thanks to her shiny red coat and purple-shaded sunglasses that can always be seen resting above her eyes. Her pink hair is also a pretty unusual color, but it does a good job of setting her apart from the other female characters in the series, which Oda can often struggle with at times.

Hina also tends to have a very stern and serious look on her face which can make her quite intimidating, despite not even being an admiral. Hopefully she can make more appearances in the future and have more of an impact on the story as a loyal member of the Navy.

7 Aokiji

A formal yet relaxed design that speaks volumes about Aokiji's lazy personality

• First appearance: Episode 226

Since Aokiji is leaving the Marines after his match with Akainu, this will focus on his appearance before the timeskip, where the unbothered cool admiral has a rather unusual fashion sense. On the one hand, there is an element of formality to Aokiji's appearance, with the yellow tie and half-buttoned jacket, but the inclusion of the sleeping mask, along with his unkempt hair, also highlights his rather lazy personality.

Aokiji's design is quite unusual in the sense that you wouldn't guess he's an incredibly strong admiral based on his looks alone. It's always been implied that Aokiji isn't exactly fond of being in the Marine Corps, so having barely any references to his position is a clever way to express his more lone wolf personality.

6 Smoker

The smoker's appearance manages to look terrifying and absurd at the same time

• First appearance: Episode 48

Smoker has lots of little features integrated into his design that can be pointed out, but by far the most noticeable are the two cigars that never leave his mouth. Although he looks fierce with his sleek silver hair and fur collar jacket, the pair of cigars, along with the extras he keeps strapped to his arm, add some goofiness to his design, while feeding his Devil Fruit.

The large blade hanging from his back still ensures that Smoker has an intimidating aura around him, along with his facial expressions that usually range from mildly frustrated to full blown annoyance. Smoker has largely kept the same design after the timeskip, albeit with sharper facial features and longer hair.

5 Dalmatians

It's hard to look away from Dalmatian's cute and polka dot design when he appears

• First appearance: Episode 462

Dalmatian probably has the most out-of-the-box design of any marine, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Dalmatian's Devil Fruit allows him to transform into the animal of the same name, causing the top of his head to turn into a spotted god and a tail extending out behind him.

While this sounds like it should look ridiculous on paper, the Dalmatian's physical prowess and stern expression still make him come across as a fearsome member of the Marines. There are also some vibrant color contrasts in his outfit, especially his red undershirt combined with a dark green jacket manages to make him even more eye-catching, as if he wasn't already.

4 Fujitora

Fujitora's appearance presents him as a calm and stoic sage with quite a story behind him

• First appearance: Episode 630

Compared to many One Piece characters that often have exaggerated and over-the-top designs, Fujotira presents himself as a well-put-together admiral who doesn't need to go overboard with his style to look cool. Instead, Fujitora opts for a purple robe and scarf that reaches up to his neck, while his admiral's jacket follows him from behind.

Another prominent design feature of Fujitoria is, of course, the slash across his eyes, which has rendered him blind. It may be a small detail, but it's one that added so much intrigue to his character as fans wondered where the scar came from, and if losing sight had somehow enhanced Fujitora's Haki. Still, Fujitora's humble old wise look sets him apart from many of his fellow Marines.

3 Kizaru

A striped dress code combined with iconic facial expressions make Kizaru a joy to watch in action

• First appearance: Episode 398

Sakazuki's goofy expression, along with his striped suits and tie, highlight that he is one of the more fun and carefree marines in the series. Not only that, but Kizaru has an unusually realistic facial structure and hairstyle unlike most other characters in the series, the reason being that he was actually modeled after Kunie Tanaka, a popular Japanese actor from the 70s and 80s.

He therefore almost looks like someone ripped straight out of a seinen manga, but still retains just enough silliness to fit him perfectly into One Piece throw. Oda hasn't tinkered with his design too much throughout the series, but the changes to his stripes suggest that Kizaru potentially has several of the same shirts stashed away that are all different colors, which is definitely in keeping with his character.

2 Aramaki

Aramaki's design is full of exciting details and references

• First appearance: Episode 882

Aramaki, also known as Greenbull, was only recently revealed in One Piece history, but to say his designs are eye-catching would be a huge understatement. Aramaki decides to ditch his undershirt to instead expose his bare chest while his admiral's cloak covers his back, indicating that he is a much more reckless and unkempt marine than some of his peers.

Looking closely, there are also small floral designs on one side of his pants, along with a tattoo running down the left side of his chest. Just from looking at him, it's clear that Aramaki has a lot of stories to tell, and it's really refreshing to see an admiral whose design is a little more rough around the edges rather than opting for the formal look.

1 Akainu

A perfect example of how to showcase an evil villain while still maintaining a human element

• First appearance: Episode 278

Akainu, the former admiral who would go on to become admiral of the navy, has a terrifying look to say the least. His broad shoulders covered by a long white cape, paired with a look that never leaves his face and a cap that often covers his eyes, immediately tells viewers that this is not a guy to mess with.

What takes Akainu's design to the next level, however, are the smaller details that hint there's a lot more to this character than meets the eye. For example, the floral Hawaiian shirt and the pink flower provide a more elegant contrast to the rest of Akainu's look. This makes sense considering he's revealed to be a much calmer person behind the scenes as he enjoys hobbies like trimming his bonsai tree, but his design is simply a masterclass in presenting a villain as terrifying, while providing just enough features to remind viewers that they are still human.