Buggy Pirates

The Buggy Pirates are a band of pirates led by Buggy, a former Roger Pirates apprentice.
Initially an undistinguished (albeit feared) presence in the East Blue, it began pursuing a vendetta after being defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, and followed them into the Grand Line. Since then, several unlikely circumstances and Buggy's constantly-revolving fortunes have repeatedly overhauled it: first into an alliance with the Alvida Pirates, then into the Seven Warlords-affiliated Buggy's Delivery, and finally into the Four Emperors-affiliated Cross Guild.
Due to their actions and role, they serve as the main antagonists of the Orange Town Arc, the protagonists of the Buggy's Crew Adventure Chronicles mini-arc, co-antagonists (alongside Smoker and his Marine unit) in the Loguetown Arc, and side-characters in the Jaya Arc. After the timeskip, they have made tertiary appearances throughout the Dressrosa Arc, the Zou Arc, and the Wano Country Arc.
==Jolly Roger==
The crew's Jolly Roger features the standard comic-style skull-and-crossbones, modified with a large red nose and black "makeup" crosses on the eye sockets—both reflecting Buggy's personal motif. Following the timeskip, a new version of the Jolly Roger is seen on Buggy's hat. This version has been updated, with the eyes of the skull now featuring smaller crossbones covering them, which mirror Buggy's face paint. The nose is also significantly smaller, likely a result of Buggy's own insecurities about its size.
==Crew Members==
===Tightrope Walking Funan Bros===
The are a minor three-person pirate group within the Buggy Pirates.
One of them is an overweight dark-skinned man, with a crescent shaped unibrow and a rounded off goatee. He has short black hair, and a black vest. He also has an anchor necklace with a dark green sash and light grey shorts. Another has pale skin, and a black cap with the Buggy Pirates Jolly Roger on it. He wears a dark yellow shirt with a purple lining. The third has orange poofy hair split into two sides. He wears a sleeveless yellow and blue striped shirt and has thick lips.
They are very gullible and cocky, as they were tricked by Nami, and tried to fight Zoro, but are very weak in comparison to the swordsman. After they are tricked and defeated, they become scared of the Straw Hat Pirates.
The trio came together and formed their group on February 25.
===Superhuman Domingos===
The are a minor three-person pirate group within the Buggy Pirates.
One of them has dark brown skin, and black hair parted to either side of his head. He wears a large circle earring, and a dark yellow button up shirt with brown pants and a light brown belt. The second is bald and pale and wears a reddish-brown shirt with writing on it. He has a white sash, and dark colored pants. He also has two horizontal scars around the upper part of his head. The last one is tanned, with red hair and makeup on his eyes and lips. He wears a black and white chequered bandana, and a green V-neck shirt, with a brown sash and black pants.
Their name suggest that they may be much stronger than average humans, but nowhere near as strong as Luffy. They're all loyal and honest towards their captain, as they reported their failure to re-capture his stolen map.
Domingos means "Sundays" in Spanish and Portuguese. The trio came together and formed their group on February 19.
===Acrobatic Fuwas===
The are a minor four-person pirate group within the Buggy Pirates.
The largest and chubbiest one wears a short sleeved yellow shirt, under black suspenders, that are holding up large blue pants. He also wears a jester style hat, with the same color. He also sports black shoes. Another, skinnier, shirtless one wears a light pink pointed collar, black pants, and a pointed, orange and red striped hat, with a white ball on the top. A third, average sized one sports a black short sleeved shirt with white lines on it, and tan pants. He also has black shoes, and a panda hat. The last one wears a light blue shirt, with a dark blue bandana.
Like the rest of the Buggy Pirates, they are quite cocky, as they lunged at Nami after she refused to fire a cannon at Luffy. They were easily defeated by Zoro.
The four came together and formed their group on July 13.
===Impel Down Convicts===
After Buggy's escape from Impel Down, many fellow convicts from the prison heard of his past as a member of Gol D. Roger's crew. They missed out that he was a mere apprentice, and potentially the weakest member on board. Consequently, they came to admire him as a powerful pirate. During the course of the Summit War of Marineford, Buggy repeatedly shows his cowardice, but the convicts kept mistaking it as courage and bravado, furthering their admiration. By the end of the war, when Buggy reunited with his old crew, the convicts joined the crew, admiring First Mate Mohji and Chief of Staff Cabaji as well.
In truth, these new recruits are mostly more powerful than Buggy himself, and that they all have high bounties on their heads, but according to Mr. 3, who also joined the crew along with these other convicts and the only one who sees through the facade, their ears are so full of hope that they are half-deaf.
==Crew Strength==
===Original Crew===
The crew, being one of the first to appear, is initially one of the weakest crews Luffy meets on his journey. They were defeated by the Straw Hats pirates in their early days when Luffy, Nami and Zoro were the only members and later were defeated in Loguetown by the Straw Hats and the Marines. It is possible, however, that they have grown in strength since then. One hint of this is that in Loguetown, Cabaji unveils a new technique to take out several of the Marines. Another hint that they probably became stronger is that although most average pirate crews simply cannot survive on the Grand Line, they seem to be perfectly capable of operating on it. Also, the fact that their crew has a Devil Fruit user such as Buggy, who not only having the experience of sailing on the Grand Line once before but also being a trainee on board of Gol D. Roger's crew, puts Buggy's crew on par with most other Grand Line crews. At this point, they have made it halfway through the Grand Line, something few pirate crews ever do. As their captain Buggy is now an Emperor, this makes them one of the four most powerful pirate crews in the world. Their power was further strengthened when their Captain formed the Cross Guild, recruiting former Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile (former Leader of the Baroque Agency) and Dracule Mihawk (known as the World's Strongest Swordsman) in the process and issuing bounties on Marines, increasing their power and influence throughout the world.
===Impel Down Recruits===
After the breakout of Impel Down, the Marines now consider Buggy as a bigger threat as he was considered one of the two main instigators of the riot, along with Monkey D. Luffy. Unintentionally, his involvement made the Marines research his background and discover that he had had a brotherly bond with Shanks and was an apprentice of the Roger Pirates, which they, and the Impel Down escapees, mistake to mean that he is powerful and influential.
The new recruits of this crew are all powerful criminals, all of whom have a higher bounty than Buggy, and are presumably more powerful than he is (though they don't know the latter, being blinded by Buggy's famous past). His new "crew" from Impel Down should be mainly from Level 2 (hence above Buggy in bounty but below 50,000,000) and given that one would assume there are more small-time pirates caught than the greater-known ones. Buggy's group could be half of the escapees. One of the escapees, Kinoko, however, escaped from Level 5, and so his strength should be well above other escapees from lower levels.
During the Marine's war against the Whitebeard Pirates, Buggy and his new crew intended to take Whitebeard's head to acquire fame for themselves, but instead formed an alliance with him to defeat the Marines first, with Buggy dreaming of being king of the world. He and his crew later stole a Visual Den Den Mushi to broadcast a commercial about Buggy's fame of being a member of the Pirate King's crew, but were eventually caught by Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who ordered Admiral Aokiji to freeze them and cease any further broadcast, though not before revealing to the world that Squard stabbed Whitebeard as part of Sengoku's plot, which led the world to mistakenly believe that Whitebeard would sacrifice his allies to save his own crew, and that Squard did so in revenge. However, they had just been unfrozen by one of Akainu's attacks directed at Whitebeard that also hit them, reviving the broadcast.
When Buggy fled after the Blackbeard Pirates assassinated Whitebeard, his crew thought that he was respectful of Whitebeard and refused to desecrate the late Emperor's corpse any further, and they continued to follow him in more admiration than ever, even though he was in truth fleeing in fear. Even more, when Buggy got angry at Shanks for using him and acting as though they are still friends, the crew showed even more admiration, not knowing that Buggy's only reason for not fearing Shanks is due to their past relationship.
===Reunion and Unification of Crews===
After the war, Buggy is reunited with his original crew, and they lie, stating they never gave up looking for him and tearfully welcome him back. Alvida speaks up about them abandoning Buggy but is mostly ignored. Buggy welcomes them back, and Cabaji and Mohji introduce themselves to the Impel Down crewmates, who instantly worship them as well. Mr. 3 is also amongst the crew, as he has stayed with Buggy. As such, the Buggy Pirates have since then gained vast amounts of power and status. Buggy was invited by the World Government to join the recently open position of Warlord of the Sea due to his influence during the war, to which he accepted. Later in a break away, Buggy asks his assistant about several giants that had joined his crew.
==Ships==
===Big Top===
The Big Top is the Buggy Pirates' main ship. She carried them all the way through East Blue and into the Grand Line. After Buggy's imprisonment in Impel Down, Alvida took over the ship, and proclaimed herself captain of her, with Mohji and Cabaji's protests ignored. After Buggy escaped and participated in the Summit War of Marineford, he managed to relocate his ship and reclaim his captaincy.
===Super Flashy Raft===
The Super Flashy Raft is a raft built by Buggy. It was first used by Buggy to leave an unknown island. After making its first trip, it was destroyed by cannibal fish. After the events in Gaimon Island, Gaimon managed to repair it. After he left Gaimon's Island he used this raft in search of the rest of his body, but it was destroyed by a giant crab who tried to have Buggy as his dinner, but he survived and was rescued by Alvida who shared a common goal; to get revenge on Luffy.
==History==
===East Blue Saga===
====Orange Town Arc====
The Tightrope Walking Funan Bros were first seen after being tricked by Nami, before being rescued by Zoro who was chasing after Luffy. They then led him to Organ Islands, where the Buggy Pirates took over a small town. Meanwhile, the Superhuman Domingos were chasing Nami who stole Buggy's map to the Grand Line, before Luffy dropped down and defeated the trio, prompting Nami to offer him to work together. Afterwards, the Straw Hats and Nami learn about the town's situation and decide to fight back. Zoro defeated Cabaji, and Nami tied up Buggy's main body, Luffy sent his head, hands, and feet flying all the way to another island.
====Buggy's Crew Adventure Chronicles====
Through a series of adventures, Buggy manages to enter into an alliance with the newly transformed Alvida to further his cause. Thinking they lost their captain, Mohji and Cabaji face off for the position of new captain. Finally, after Richie defeats them sleepwalking, he is chosen as the new captain by the crew, who are captured by the Kumate Tribe. Later, Buggy regroups with his crew and save them after recombining with the rest of his body.
====Loguetown Arc====
They follow the Straw Hats to Loguetown, where Buggy manages to trap Luffy onto the execution platform, but before he can lop off his head, a bolt of lightning strikes his swords, destroying the platform and letting Luffy escape. After this event, the Buggy Pirates follow the Straw Hats into the Grand Line, but they take a different path than them.
===Sky Island Saga===
====Jaya Arc====
They met by chance with Portgas D. Ace, who decides to help them look for Luffy, apparently unaware of his goal. Buggy is also unaware of Ace being Luffy's brother. It also seems Ace has later left them behind and gone off on his own.
===Summit War Saga===
====Impel Down Arc====
Buggy was somehow arrested by the Government and sent to Impel Down. As a result, the rest of the crew was forced by Alvida to leave him alone and departed. However, after a series of events within the great prison, Buggy escaped and recruited many criminals, all of whom are, in truth, more powerful than he is.
====Marineford Arc====
Buggy was at the sidelines during the Summit War of Marineford, until the end when he helps Jinbe and Luffy reach the Heart Pirates submarine for their treatment and escape. Since the prisoners are blinded by his status as one of the late Pirate King's former apprentices, and that he has been approached by Whitebeard and Shanks, two of the Four Emperors, they are willing to follow him anywhere, thus forming a new crew for the Clown Pirate.
====Post-War Arc====
After the Summit War of Marineford, Buggy reunites with his old crew, and the two combined, greatly increasing the crew's status and power. Mr. 3 receives a letter from the World Government and delivers it to Buggy. The letter was later revealed to be an invitation for Buggy to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea which he later accepted.
===3D2Y===
Immediately after Buggy became a new Warlord of the Sea, the Buggy Pirates received the summons to fight against the World Pirates. Coincidentally, they happened to come upon the World Pirates' ship and saw that Luffy and Boa Hancock were fighting with Sebastian. On board the ship, they encountered Gairam who fights against them.
===During the Timeskip===
Due to Buggy joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he, his newly expanded crew, as well as Alvida (due to their alliance), have been pardoned from their crimes and has used his Warlord status and his newly gained infamy to operate in the New World, where they occupied Karai Bari Island. With this island as their base, the crew expanded even further, becoming an underworld organization of hired mercenaries called Buggy's Delivery, also known as The Pirate Dispatch Organization. Some time later, Hajrudin and four other giants joined the organization as mercenaries.
===Whole Cake Island Saga===
====Zou Arc====
Buggy's Delivery celebrated the fall of Donquixote Doflamingo's Underworld business, which gave them the monopoly in the war market. Buggy ordered his men to go and pillage after they feasted. Suddenly, Mohji told his captain that Hajrudin and the other four giants in their employ had quit to reform the Giant Warrior Pirates and follow the Straw Hat Pirates.
===Wano Country Saga===
====One Piece: Stampede====
The Buggy Pirates are one of the pirate crews that attend the Pirates Festival on Delta Island. With the exception of the five main staff members, the rest of the crew, supposedly escaped prisoners from Impel Down, continually cheer and praise Buggy's actions.
====Wano Country Arc====
After the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was abolished, the Buggy Pirates once again became wanted criminals. After the defeat of Kaidou and Big Mom during the Raid of Onigashima, Buggy was declared as a New Emperor along with Luffy to replace them.
==Early Concepts==
Oda's plans for Buggy's crew were for an animal tamer and a strange swordsman to be part of the crew. When they were first designed, none of the members of Buggy's crew had names. There was also another unnamed member of Buggy's crew who was dropped in later versions. Buggy himself was originally called Boogie.
In another rethink of their design, Zoro was added as a bodyguard of Buggy, but that was scrapped. In this version there was also a Carrier pigeon planned called Hachi who was an "opo bird" and he came from the Grand Line. Hachi was later scrapped from the final version of the crew. At this point in the design, Buggy remained unchanged.
One Piece Color Walk 1 also depicts Eiichiro Oda's concept designs for other possible crewmembers, who didn't make the cut, so to speak. These include a fat, checkerboard-skinned man apparently named "Big", and a character apparently named "Top" that looks strikingly similar to one of the Tightrope Walking Funan Bros.
==Anime and Manga Differences==
The anime slightly expands the roles of several "grunt" pirates outside of Mohji, Cabaji, and Buggy himself. For instance, the pirate who initially reports Nami's theft of the Grand Line map, instead of being executed, is spared after sufficient begging; and the small, thick-lipped, party hat-wearing pirate who brings Nami's join-offer to Buggy (and later reports that Nami has also stolen the key to Luffy's cage) is shown performing other duties, such as loading Buggy Balls into the crew's cannons.
More generally, while the manga depicts almost none of these pirates after the Orange Town Arc, the anime continues to depict many of them among Buggy's crew up to at least the Jaya Arc.
The unnamed "Buggy Ball attendant" is also notable for controversies over his racial implications (see Translation and Dub Issues below). While the anime gives him a dark skin tone, the Digitally Colored Manga gives him a Caucasian one.
==Translation and Dub Issues==
In the 4Kids-dubbed anime, the aforementioned Buggy Ball attendant was digitally recolored with a Caucasian skin-tone, likely because his original coloring evoked the "blackface" caricatures common to minstrel shows (a controversy recurrent among many other dark-skinned anime/manga characters, such as Pokémon's Rougela (Jynx) and Dragon Ball's Mr. Popo).
The 4Kids anime also removed the Buggy's Return arc, leaving no explanation of how the crew regrouped with its captain (or allied with Alvida).
==Trivia==
*The Buggy Pirates clearly have a circus theme given their attire and the epithets of the captain and two officers:
**Buggy, from his epithet and down to his appearance, represents a clown.
**Mohji, from his epithet and ownership of a lion (and his self-proclaimed ability to control other animals), represents a circus animal trainer.
**Cabaji, from his epithet and fighting style, represents an acrobat.
*The writing on the bald Superhuman Domingos member's shirt says "Hanswurst", which is the name of a character in an early form of German stand-up comedy from the 16th to 17th Century. It's also an archaic swearword, referring to a stupid or silly person.
==Notes==
==References==
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