Summary
Zoro is one of the main characters inOne Pieceand the first person to join Luffy’s crew, the Straw Hat Pirates. InOne Piece Live Action, fans got to see Zoro being recruited in Shells Town and it was made clear immediately after his introduction that he is a proficient Sword Master. He relies on three swords in combat and uses one in each hand, while the third one goes in his mouth.
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Zoro has practiced this sword style for years now and has mastered it to perfection. Given that he carries three swords, some of them are bound to be special. Currently, inOne Piece Live Action, Zoro only has one named sword and this blade is called the Wado Ichimonji. While not much has been revealed about this sword, there is a lot of lore attached to it which enriches the character of both Zoro as well as those connected to him.
Zoro’s Swords In One Piece
Zoro is a three-sword style swordsmanand for any powerful blade wielder, using named blades, also known as Meito, is a given. When Zoro embarks on his journey, he does not have three named blades. Instead, he has just one and this is the Wado Ichimonji. This sword is quite beautiful to look at. It has a white hilt, with golden imprints on it. The sword itself has a clean temper pattern and, unlike many other swords inOne Piece, it does not emit any negative energy. Zoro has never mentioned any trouble controlling this sword, which is starkly different from some of the other swords that he acquires later down the line in the series. It can be assumed that out of all of Zoro’s swords, he has always had the easiest time controlling the Wado Ichimonji.
Furthermore, this is one sword that Zoro absolutely cannot replace ever in the story. All his other swords have been replaced at some point. When Zoro began his journey, he carried two regular blades, along with the Wado Ichimonji. In his duel with Mihawk, his regular swords ended up shattering. These are the ones that Zoro would replace later on, and he does that in Loguetown. Zoro also upgrades his blades further, later down the line, however, he never replaces the Wado Ichimonji. The reason for that is simple. The sword holds a lot of significance to Zoro’s character and is possibly the most important possession of his.
The Owner Of The Wado Ichimonji
Originally, the Wado Ichimonji did not belong to Zoro. Instead, it belonged to a person named Kuina. Zoro spent the vast majority of his childhood life in Shimotsuki Village. There, he trained relentlessly at the Shimotsuki Dojo, where he learned the way of the sword. While Zoro was stronger than everyone there, even adults, there was one person that he could not best, and that person was Kuina, a young girl with tremendous skills with the sword.Zoro and Kuina fought often and every single time, he ended up losing to her. The last time the two fought was with real blades and Kuina used the Wado Ichimonji on Zoro. Once again, she ended up defeating him effortlessly, successfully marking her 2001st victory against him.
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While she was certainly strong, the fact that she was born a woman was something that discouraged her from pursuing greatness. However, Zoro ended up making a promise to her that together, the two would compete for the position of the World’s Strongest Swordsman or Swordswoman in an attempt to rise to the top. Quite clearly, Kuina intended on doing so using her blade, the Wado Ichimonji, at her side. This sword was certainly special to her, given that it was assigned to her at birth, as it is the custom in those of the Shimotsuki.
How Zoro Got The Wado Ichimonji
As fans know, the Wado Ichimonji is currently in possession of Zoro and not Kuina and the only conclusion that one would come to is that something happened to her. Zoro’s flashback, which takes placein episode 4 of One Piece Live Actionexplains that quite well. As Zoro and Kuina make their promises to each other, the two train individually to get to their goal, continuing to get stronger all the while.
However, it isn’t until much later that Kuina ends up dying. In theOne Piece Live Action series, the cause of her death is not explained. However, in the original manga, it is revealed that Kuina ended up falling down the stairs and dying. While this might appear bizarre to some fans, it actually exists in the story for a reason.
Kuina believed that her body was fragile as a woman and that she would eventually be surpassed by boys who grew stronger as they grew older. Zoro vehemently argues against this and says that it doesn’t matter and that she is his goal. This certainly convinces Kuina, however, at the same time, she ends up dying anyway. When it comes to Zoro, it gives him the idea of how fragile humans really are and reinforces what Kuina said to him.
Despite the massive loss that Zoro faces, he still decides to keep his promise to her. That is why Zoro is obsessed with becoming the World’s Strongest Swordsman. To keep his promise, Zoro asks for Kuina’s sword, the Wado Ichimonji. Clearly, he wants to do it using the blade that she once wielded and keep his promise to her. Ever since that day, all the way to the day that he becomes the World’s Greatest Swordsman, Zoro is going to carry the Wado Ichimonji with him.
The Power Of The Wado Ichimonji
Named blades inOne Piecehave a certain level of power attached to them. Regular swords might be strong, however, they can never be as strong as named blades. The Wado Ichimonji in itself is a very powerful blade and it belongs to the rank of 21 Great Grade Swords in the world ofOne Piece.This means that this sword is crafted to excellence and that it is quite powerful, especially for someone who is loitering about the East Blue. The 21 Great Grade Swords are only surpassed by the 12 Supreme Grade Swords and that just goes to show how strong the Wado Ichimonji truly is. While some swords have specific powers woven into them, such as curses, or other abilities, the Wado Ichimonji appears to be a rather peaceful blade. This might be due to the fact that the literal translation of the name of the sword means “the straight line through the path of harmony.”
While the sword is quite powerful, at the end of the day, the swordsman itself matters as well.Zoro is a very skilled swordsmanand he knows how to bring the best out of this blade. He has used it on countless occasions to perfection and as he grows stronger, so does Wado Ichimonji. Fans have already seen quite a lot of this majestic blade in action and they can rest assured that Zoro will have plenty of fantastic fights coming up inOne Piece Live Actionwhere he will be made to rely on the powers of this blade.
One Piece Live Action is available to watch onNetflix.
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