The Spread in Volume 1
In the bonus pages of Volume 1 — before SBS had even started — Shanks and Buggy were drawn together in an explanation of the Great Pirate Age.
Even back then, it was already decided that Buggy would rise to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Shanks as one of the great pirates.
“Buggy” — Former Warlord of the Sea, current Chairman of the Four Emperors’ Buggy’s Delivery, aka “Buggy the Clown.” Age: 39. Former bounty: 15,000,000 Berry. Devil Fruit ability: Chop-Chop Fruit.
While rivals like Coby rapidly grow stronger by mastering the Six Powers and Haki, Buggy keeps rising through pure luck and his irresistible personality.
He’s the kind of guy you’d love to have as a friend. Let’s take a closer look at Buggy’s character.
A Straightforward Pirate Personality
Loves Flashiness
“Flamboyant” — a quality of being eye-catching and dazzling. Buggy’s love of all things flashy is central to his identity as a pirate showman.
Hot-Tempered and Bold
Famous for his love of cannons, Buggy has a deep complex about his red nose. Whether someone mishears it or teases him on purpose, he absolutely cannot stand anyone making fun of his big red nose.
Poke fun at Buggy’s nose, and you’ll get blasted by his prized cannon!
Cowardly but Easily Swept Up
Buggy was approached by Whitebeard for an alliance — and because the audience was reacting so positively, he just kept riding the wave, getting more and more fired up.
Just seconds earlier he was trembling at the mere sight of Whitebeard, and yet he ended up saying “I’ll team up with ya!!” — that total flip-flop is pure Buggy.
That change in expression is exactly what makes Buggy so lovable.
Honest
Buggy can’t keep secrets. His feelings are written all over his face, and he blurts out whatever is on his mind.
He’s too sweet to deceive anyone — an endearing quality that makes him easy to take advantage of.
Easily Fooled
It’s well known that you can get Buggy to do anything by dangling treasure in front of him. Shanks has probably used the same trick on him countless times over the years, and yet he still falls for it every time.
He can’t help but cry “Oh yeaaaah!!” with pure joy.
Listens to Others
Buggy is so earnest that he actually listens to what people say and acts accordingly. That’s exactly why he gets tricked so easily.
But he’d rather have fun than anything else — parties come first! In the end, he became drinking buddies with Ace, who just randomly joined his crew.
Always Up for a Good Time
Without anyone prompting him, Buggy will just start telling his own hardship stories — then heckle himself mid-speech.
He has a natural talent for public speaking, and his performer’s spirit always comes out — he can’t help but entertain the people listening to him.
Big Heart
Buggy, who doesn’t know how to be suspicious of others, genuinely rejoices when he reunites with crewmates who are filled with ulterior motives.
Honest, easily tricked, attentive, trusting, obsessed with treasure, cowardly, hot-tempered, goes along with everything, cries easily, loves flashiness.
Buggy’s personality is like a collection of all the strengths and weaknesses of the entire Straw Hat crew combined — making him a truly lovable character that everyone would enjoy having as a friend.
An Impressive Track Record
His bounty of 15,000,000 Berry was lower than Don Krieg’s 17,000,000. He can’t use Haki, and his attacks rely on cannons and daggers.
His Devil Fruit ability only means slashing attacks don’t work — blunt force is totally effective. A Haki-infused blade could probably kill him outright, right?
Buggy was thought of as nothing more than a stepping stone — but the tides started turning around the Marineford War. After all, he’s a veteran pirate from the same generation as Shanks!
Crew of the Pirate King
At the time of the latest chapter, Buggy is 39 years old. His first encounter with Blackbeard was 26 years ago.
That means Buggy and Shanks were both just 13 years old then. Marco mentioned that Buggy had been with the crew “for a long time.”
When Roger faced Whitebeard, he said “How long has it been, Newgate?!”
So just how young was Roger when he became a pirate? Either way, Buggy was a member of the Pirate King’s crew from the time he was old enough to remember — making him an elite pirate in the truest sense.
Known to the World at Marineford
- Mastermind of the Impel Down jailbreak
- His image as a mighty pirate spread across the world through the all-out war between pirates and the Marines
- Was frozen by Aokiji and still came back to life; escaped even when targeted by Akainu
- Helped Luffy escape — the fugitive the Navy most desperately wanted to eliminate
- Escaped from Marineford safely by slipping in among Shanks’ crew
Whatever the circumstances, when you just line up the facts, he sounds like a total badass.
Joining the Seven Warlords
Thanks to the above achievements and his powerful subordinates, Buggy made it into the ranks of the great pirates. His core members have low bounties, but the people he brought back from Impel Down were something else entirely!
Deep Trust from His Subordinates
The prisoners who escaped Impel Down alongside him were so overwhelmed by the greatness of Buggy’s track record that everything he did — no matter what — got reinterpreted positively.
Even when Whitebeard talked him into something…
Even when he was running away crying out of sheer terror…
Just like he said himself — the wind was clearly blowing in Buggy’s direction!
How Did Buggy Rise All the Way to Emperor?
Still, no one expected him to actually climb all the way to Yonko. What on earth happened to make Buggy an Emperor?
The answer has to be the “power of his subordinates.” The powerful Impel Down veterans who swore to follow Buggy for life after witnessing his performance at the Summit War.
As Whitebeard put it: “He’s quite a handful — you don’t want him as an enemy.”
As Alvida put it: “Every single one of them is a high-bounty criminal I’ve seen somewhere before.”
If a crew like that showed their true grit all at once, even 10 or so Navy ships might not have stood a chance. Buggy has a talent for raising pirate morale.
And that’s all for today.
