10 One Piece Characters Who Should Have Joined the Straw Hat Crew

1 week ago 8

One Piece Perona, Yamato, and Law over Manga Panel

Published Jun 5, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT

Aden Carter is a Contributor at DualShockers who has been covering games professionally since 2020. He specializes in lists and guides, with a focus on RPGs, horror games, survival horror, Soulslikes, cozy/sim games, and action-adventure titles.

Before joining DualShockers, Aden contributed to GameRant, XDA, Gamepur, Impulse Gamer, and WePC. He currently also works with GameSandwich and VideoGamer, where he handles guide content, news, and reviews for the latest games. Across his games writing career, he has worked as a freelance writer and editor, with experience reviewing around 40 games and interviewing multiple indie developers. Aden holds a B.A. in Creative Writing for Entertainment.

One Piece has no shortage of great characters who have graced both the pages of the manga and the screen. Nearly every arc has some character who stands out amongst the rest, who forms a relationship with the Straw Hat Pirates, and then disappears.

Many would agree that at this point, the Straw Hats need another crew member. After all, the crew is rather small, and it would be nice to see someone else be a mainstay instead of a passing trend.

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Of course, when choosing a new member of the crew, there are many characters who could make the cut. Here are some of the most deserving characters that should join up with the Straw Hats.

10 Perona

Ghosty Girl

Perona is a fan-favorite character who appeared during the Thriller Bark arc, using her Negative Hollows to harass the Straw Hat crew. She was later defeated by Usopp and then ended up on Mihawk's island with Zoro.

Perona was a fun villain who stood out amongst other Devil Fruit users. Her Negative Hollows, having the ability to completely sap the will to live from anyone they touch, make her a force to be reckoned with.

With how playful, fun, dramatic, and sassy she can be, it would be amazing to see her join the Straw Hats. Plus, she has already built up a relationship with Zoro since they spent two years together.

9 Marco

The Phoenix

Marco has made some smaller appearances throughout the manga and anime of One Piece, with one of his most notable appearances being when he helped the Straw Hat Pirates during the assault on Wano.

This fight showed how well Marco would function with the crew, and his being a more experienced doctor would help give Chopper some more training for his role.

Additionally, the Whitebeard Pirates have been disbanded for some time. This conveniently leaves Marco with some free time to join another crew. To top it off, Marco has ties to Ace, which would make a bond between him and Luffy all the more special.

8 Bartolomeo

The Superfan

Bartolomeo first appeared in One Piece during the Dressrosa arc. This green-haired superfan immediately showed Luffy how obsessed he was with the Straw Hats by gawking every time Luffy appeared.

Since the Dressrosa arc, we have seen how far Barto is willing to go to defend Luffy. He is also part of the reason the Straw Hat Grand Fleet even exists.

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Unfortunately, at this point, Barto did make a mistake and paid dearly for it, so it is up in the air whether we will even see him again. It would be cool to see Luffy take Barto under his wing and teach him how to use Haki.

7 Trafalgar Law

His Crew is Gone

Law has played one of the biggest roles in One Piece, with him swiftly moving up to the rank of Warlord. Afterward, he partnered with Luffy during Punk Hazard, helped with taking down Doflamingo during Dressrosa, participated in the event of Zou, and continued on to help take down Big Mom during both the Whole Cake and Wano arcs.

There are few characters outside the Straw Hat crew who have been involved in the story as much as Law, making him a prime candidate for the crew. With him being a more mature character, he would also help keep the crew in line.

Currently, Law's whereabouts are unknown, as he was saved by Bepo after his ship was destroyed during the battle against Blackbeard. If he does appear, Bepo and Law should join the Straw Hats on their adventure.

6 Bon Clay

A Fan-Favorite

Bon Clay has been a fan-favorite since he appeared in the manga and anime during the Arabasta arc. Since his fall as a major antagonist, we have seen him go through a few trials, with his most notable being the events of Impel Down.

During the Impel Down arc, Bon Clay saved Luffy's life by carrying him across a snowfield, taking down multiple wolves, and delivering Luffy to Ivankov. If it weren't for this heroic action, Luffy would be dead from Magellan's poison.

The fact that Bon Clay has made the change from being a major antagonist to becoming a friend of the Straw Hats, and then went on to save Luffy's life, means that he should definitely be on the crew at this point.

5 Carrot

Around for Several Years

Carrot was involved in the story of One Piece for several years, with her first appearance as a stowaway on the Thousand Sunny. During these years, fans quickly warmed up to her being involved with the crew and grew to love her.

Now, Carrot is often mentioned by fans as someone who should have joined the Straw Hats when they had the chance. Many cite her relationships with the crew members and how her Sulong form would be an undeniable asset. Plus, with Chopper developing a Rumble Ball that can transform a Mink into their Sulong form, Carrot could become even more powerful.

Unfortunately, the events of the story led to Carrot carrying on Pedro's will, returning as the new ruler of the Mokomo Dukedom. Still, it would have been nice to see her join the crew.

4 Vivi

Major Story Involvement

Vivi was one of the first side characters in One Piece who fans desperately wanted to join the Straw Hat pirates. She played a huge role in the Arabasta arc, and fans will always remember the arm raise at the end as the crew set sail.

The sad part about this is that Vivi, for a time, was considered part of the crew, but she had to give it up and leave her friends to resume her role as the princess of Arabasta. Of course, since this is no longer an issue, Vivi could return as a permanent member of the crew.

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Vivi has a major role to play in the story, as revealed by Imu in the Room of Flowers, so it feels like Vivi will return at some point, even if it is another temporary addition to the crew.

3 Loki

A Massive Addition

Loki has been teased throughout the story for some time, with him first appearing as a silhouette during the Whole Cake arc. Now that Elbaph is here, we have seen Loki in all his giant glory, and he is pretty hardcore.

The giant has a direct tie to Hajrudin, who is already a member of the Staw Hat Grand Fleet. Additionally, he is rocking the ancient Elbaph fruit that allows him to turn into Nidhogg, making him a major asset to the crew.

We are currently seeing Loki go head-to-head in battle, and it is very impressive. There is no doubt that he and Luffy could have some serious chemistry on the battlefield, but it has yet to be seen what kind of relationship he could form with the rest of the crew.

2 Yamato

A Memory of Ace

The tragedy that was the death of Ace is something that many fans have still never gotten over. Not many characters have a memory of Luffy's brother, and that is where Yamato comes in.

Yamato is the daughter of Kaido, and a powerful Devil Fruit user who spent time with Ace when he visited Wano. She shared her memories of Ace with Luffy during the arc, and the pair grew pretty close.

It would be nice to see Yamato join the crew to help carry on Ace's memory, but it would also be amazing to have another member who can effectively use Conqueror's Haki, as this would give the Straw Hats a major advantage.

1 Jewelry Bonney

Another Nika

Jewelry Bonney is perhaps the most deserving character to be on the Straw Hat crew due to her ties to Nika. Growing up, Bartholomew Kuma taught Bonney about the Sun God, Nika. She learned to dance to the sound of the Drums of Liberation.

There is nobody that Bonney idolizes more than Nika, and during the Egghead arc, she finally saw Luffy take on his Gear 5 form. This inspired Bonney to use her Devil Fruit to take on her own Nika form, allowing her to be her freest self.

With Bonney on the crew, she could easily learn from Luffy to master her Nika form, and it would give the crew a major power-up, allowing them to consistently have access to the power of two Nikas.

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Release Date October 20, 1999

Network Fuji TV

Directors 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 Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou