One Piece on Netflix: This hero of the series is inspired by a French pirate who really existed!

Did you know that one of the characters in the One Piece manga is inspired by a real pirate? Yes, one of the characters in Eiichiro Oda’s iconic work pays homage to an authentic 17th-century French filibuster named after François L’Olonnay.

Born in 1630 in Les Sables-d’Olonne, this legendary pirate, whose real name is unknown, lived an extraordinary existence consisting of bloody battles, robberies and conquests in the territories of South America and the Caribbean.

Animated by an unbridled hatred of the Spanish, François L’Olonne was nicknamed “Francois the Cruel” because of his pronounced taste for torture and other physical abuse of his prisoners. He died at only 39 years old, captured by Indian cannibals according to legend.

However, Roronoa Zoro, the swordsman of One Piece, was not inspired by his brutality, but by his swordsmanship skills. Character name is Roronoa (“R” and “L” are pronounced the same in Japaneselisten)) also refers to the surname of François L’Alone, sometimes pronounced “Lolona” by his Spanish enemies.

Other One Piece characters are also inspired by real people, mostly from the world of movies or music. Thus, Sanji gets his features from the American actor Steve Buscemi, Nami’s appearance pays homage to Winona Ryder, and a young Leonardo DiCaprio inspired the character of Kobe.

The One Piece series is now available exclusively on Netflix.

Discover the list of all series currently available on the platform!