Nico Robin is one of the most important and beloved Straw Hat Pirates A piece. From resident archaeologist to one of the crew's more mysterious characters, her popularity has only increased with time and as A piece as he enters his final story arcs, Robin will soon take the spotlight as one of the main characters in the Final Saga to come.
Despite her overwhelming popularity, Robin only gets a few moments in a story arc to shine, usually when poneglyphs are involved, but hopefully that will change as poneglyphs become more prominent as the Straw Hats attempt to locate Laugh Tale. Nico Robin's history as a character and her role in the narrative have made many fans fall in love with her, and rightfully so. Kind, yet distant, mysterious, yet dark, Robin is a character with many contradictions and quirks that make the resident archaeologist a firm favorite among Straw Hat fans.
The Tragedy of the Devil Child
Nico Robin's past defined his life as a pirate
Nico Robin's story, like that of most Straw Hats, is one of tragedy and hardship. As a child, Nico Robin survived the complete destruction of Ohara by a Buster Call after Ohara researchers discovered the truth about the Void Century. The event became known as the Ohara Incident, where a fleet of navy warships, along with Akainu and Aokiji, killed every inhabitant of the island, along with much of their research, to completely cover up what they had discovered. Only through Aokiji's mercy did Nico Robin survive the massacre and escape the island.
After the Ohara Incident, Nico Robin became known as the Devil Child due to the World Government's propaganda to demonize the Ohara researchers and because Nico Robin was the only person left alive who could read poneglyphs. As the Devil Child, Nico Robin grew up constantly hunted by both the World Government and pirates for her massive initial bounty of 79,000,000 berries at just eight years old.
With such a high bounty, Nico Robin has never had a moment's rest, as she has never trusted anyone after being constantly betrayed by adults who were supposed to protect her, but instead chose to sell an innocent child to the World Government for money. She grew up distrusting everyone and constantly betraying her allies before they had a chance to betray her, jumping from one pirate group to another over the decades, until she met Sir Crocodile and joined Baroque Works.
Under Sir Crocodile, Nico Robin did not have to worry about being betrayed until they found the Alabasta Poneglyph. As Vice-President of Baroque Works, Robin displayed unwavering leadership qualities and helped Crocodile grow his organization until the Straw Hat Pirates arrived and ruined his plans. With no one to turn to, Robin forced Luffy to take responsibility for his actions by allowing her to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
Nico Robin's rise to popularity within the fandom
Robin's message for living has captured the audience
Robin's life of loneliness and isolation was over the moment she joined the Straw Hats, but she didn't know it yet. It took several story arcs between Alabasta and Enies Lobby for Robin to fully appreciate and accept her new family. The moment that made many become Robin fans was when she chose to live atop Enies Lobby and put her full trust in the Straw Hats. Nico Robin's moment of vulnerability in the wake of a life of utter tragedy had a profound impact on both her story arc and her popularity as a character.
She has gathered quite a following in the fandom and her popularity has only increased over time, not to mention Robin's importance to the overall plot. As a key figure in the narrative, Nico Robin is one of the most important Straw Hats and her popularity is mainly due to several other factors, such as her unique Devil Fruit ability and her dark sense of humor that have captured the hearts of many fans. She is mysterious, yet cool, but most importantly, she is one of the few characters who understands how Luffy thinks and can plan accordingly. Even Nami still has trouble handling Luffy at times, but considering that Nico Robin is one of the few adults in the group, her maturity has benefited the crew.
Robin may act aloof and mysterious, but her character bounces off the rest of the Straw Hats and shows a surprising level of chemistry with the rest of the crew, especially Nami, as she is the only other female on the crew. The two share a fantastic synergy as some of the more rational members, being the voices of reason when the other crew members' antics become too much for Nami to handle. One of the main running gags of Robin's character is how dark her humor is compared to the rest of the crew, constantly making morbid jokes at Usopp's expense.
Before Enies Lobby, some of the Straw Hat Pirates had a hard time fully trusting and accepting Robin, but after her heartfelt desire to live, Nico Robin has truly become a Straw Hat Pirate and a fan favorite among many. As Robin's importance in the narrative increases, so does her popularity and the amount of screen time she receives in a given story arc. Considering A piece is finally reaching the Final Saga, Nico Robin is one of the few members of the Straw Hat Crew who will be crucial to their success in reclaiming the A piece and discover the secrets of the Void Century.
Nico Robin is essential to find One Piece
The importance of Robin as a character in the future
The Straw Hat Pirates are a unique pirate group, consisting of only a handful of crew members, who trade quantity for quality. Each member has a hyper-specific role, and Nico Robin's role may be the most important job heading into the Final Saga. As the Straw Hat archaeologist, Robin is at the forefront of major lore drops throughout the series, as she is the only one who can read poneglyphs and reveal some of the A pieceThe greatest mysteries of .
Nami could be the navigator who will guide Luffy towards A piecebut Nico Robin is the one who will find the A piece using the world's Poneglyphs. Without Robin being able to decipher the Road Poneglips, Nami would have no destination to reach. In fact, Robin's importance as a character has grown throughout the narrative, surpassing other members of the Straw Hat Crew in terms of relevance due to her knowledge and skills.
Robin's title as the Devil Child may have been cruel to the World Government, but their fear of Nico Robin is justified. Of all the Straw Hats, including Luffy, Robin is probably the greatest threat to the World Government's order and control. Once the truth behind the Void Century and the World Government's crimes is discovered, it is almost certain that revolution will spread like wildfire across the world. Luffy may be Joyboy with all the power in the world, but the pen is mightier than the sword.
Nico Robin will likely be an important character in the final story arcs of the Final Saga, and his role in the narrative will be particularly crucial to the Straw Hat Crew's success in reclaiming the A piecebut outside of the Straw Hat Pirates' overall journey, Robin's main goal is to uncover the truth about the Void Century, and his discovery will likely shock the world. Given that he has a history with the Revolutionary Army, it's safe to say that Robin will no doubt share any information he uncovers with the Revolutionaries and the world at large. Moving forward, Nico Robin's overall importance will only increase as the end draws near for A piece.
A piece
Created by Eiichiro Oda, the One Piece franchise explores the adventures of pirate Luffy D. Monkey and his crew, the Straw Hats. Since the manga debuted in 1997, One Piece has been adapted into an ongoing anime series that has seen several films. Most recently, it has been adapted into a live-action series by Netflix.
- Created by
- Eiichiro Oda
- First TV show
- A piece
- Latest TV Show
- One Piece on Netflix
- First episode air date
- October 20, 1999
- Launch
- Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Christopher Sabat, Kerry Williams, Kappei Yamaguchi, Sonny Strait, Hiroaki Hirata, Eric Valette, Ikue Ootani