While One Piece boasts of having a vast, bustling world, its universe isn’t an easy place to live in.
Not only is it chaotic with the constant power struggle between the pirates, World Government, and the Revolutionary Army, but it also has countless islands with harsh living conditions. Power is pretty much a necessity when it comes to survival.
One method of getting stronger in One Piece is consuming the mythical Devil Fruits. But as its name implies, eating a Devil Fruit isn’t always a good thing. Doing so comes with specific repercussions, and as the series tread on, we learn more about these power-granting consumables.
What are Devil Fruits?
Devil Fruits are mystical fruits found throughout the world of One Piece. Their exact origin hasn’t been revealed yet, but there are some convincing theories. According to Shanks, Devil Fruits are the incarnation of Sea Devils. Meanwhile, Vegapunk theorizes that they are the product of human desire. According to the genius scientist, each Devil Fruit is a possibility of human evolution that someone wishes for. It is a branch of a possible future of humanity.
While we don’t know exactly where these fruits came from, we do know that eating a Devil Fruit bestows the consumer with a unique, supernatural ability. The granted power ranges from manipulating elements to transforming into animals. The exact nature of these powers varies greatly depending on the type of fruit consumed.
What are the types of Devil Fruits?
Devil Fruits mainly fall under two categories: Artificial and Natural. Natural Devil Fruits are pretty much self-explanatory, though further classifications exist. Artificial Devil Fruits are man-made imitations designed to replicate the powers of natural Devil Fruits. These fruits have been developed through extensive research and experimentation, primarily by Caesar Clown and Dr. Vegapunk.
Caesar’s creation is the SMILE, which grants Zoan-like abilities. Unlike natural Zoan Devil Fruits, however, SMILE fruits only transform their eater into a half-man, half-animal hybrid. While they do gain the animals’ special abilities, they cannot shift from one form to another. In addition, consuming SMILE fruits does not guarantee a successful transformation. There is a good chance it will result in nothing, though the side effects remain apparent. The eater will still lose their ability to swim while also being forced to constantly don a smile on their faces.
Dr. Vegapunk’s rendition of an Artificial Devil Fruit is far more functional. It offers exactly the same power. However, Vegapunk’s ability to recreate them is limited to Zoan Devil Fruits. Furthermore, he deems it a failure since the resulting color of the transformation is different from the original. Momonosuke’s Devil Fruit is the best example of this.
Natural Devil Fruits are majorly classified as Zoan, Paramythia, and Logia. Each type offers a different range of abilities.
First, there are the Zoans, which can further be typed as ordinary, Ancient, and Mythical. Ordinary Zoans grant their eater the ability to transform into usual animals. Rob Lucci’s Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard is a good example of this. Ancient Zoans are pretty much like ordinary Zoans, but they let their eater transform into ancient creatures. Most of Kaido’s high-ranking crew members possess this kind of Devil Fruit. Meanwhile, Mythical Zoans are much more unique. They grant the ability to transform into mythical creatures like Kaido’s Azure Dragon and even Luffy’s Nika. As such, they not only grant transformative ability but also extra abilities that the form comes with. For the Azure Dragon, that is the ability to control the weather and generate Flame Clouds.
Paramythia Devil Fruits are the most common and grant users superhuman abilities or alter their bodies in some way. These powers can be incredibly diverse, ranging from Buggy’s ability to separate his body into multiple segments to Law’s power to generate spherical rooms, which further allows him to manipulate everything within the said space.
The third type of Natural Devil Fruits is the Logia. Logia Devil Fruits are among the most powerful, allowing users to control, create, and become a natural element or force. This can make them virtually invincible, as they can turn their body into their respective element. Examples include Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit, which allows him to control fire, and Enel’s Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which grants control over electricity.
What are Devil Fruits’ strengths and weaknesses?
Consuming a Devil Fruit is a double-edged sword. The most obvious pro is that it grants special powers. Further mastering the Devil Fruit ability can also lead to Awakening. For Paramythia Devil Fruits, Awakening will usually result in the user affecting their environment. Dofflamingo’s Awakening allows him to turn objects and even buildings into strings. Zoan’s Awakening further boosts the user’s abilities. While it also grants a sleeker form, it’s more like a mega evolution of their hybrid form. But since only a handful of characters have managed to achieve Awakening, there is still no known information about Logia and Mythical Zoan Awakenings.
Devil Fruits also come with distinct weaknesses. The first is that it takes away the eater’s ability to swim. Alongside that, they also become extremely weak when submerged in seawater or its energy. Haki also overpowers Devil Fruit abilities, making even Logia powers vulnerable to blunt attacks. In addition, Devil Fruit powers also follow a certain hierarchy. For instance, the Magma-Magma Fruit stands above the Flame-Flame Fruit, allowing Akainu to punch a hole through Ace’s chest. Certain Devil Fruit abilities also have specific weaknesses. Crocodile’s Sand-Sand Fruit is vulnerable through water, while Enel’s lightning is ineffective against rubber.
