Waifu Wednesday: Boa Hancock (One Piece)

One Piece is absolutely loaded with not just waifus, but incredible character designs in general, each with a very distinct look, ranging from one extreme to the next. There are characters such as Frankie, a cyborg with a humongous body and the ability to shoot lasers from his nipples (yup, it’s true). On the other end of the spectrum, you have a character like Makino, a bar owner back on Luffy’s home island whose design is fairly simple, but she is still memorable. 

Intertwined within this enormous cast of characters that Oda has blessed up with is a plethora of fantastic waifus. The lady we will be focusing on today will be none other than the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock.

Who is Boa Hancock?

She goes by many names: Pirate Empress, Snake Princess, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World. But we know her as Boa Hancock. She is the leader of an island known as Amazon Lily that is inhabited only by women, and it’s here that we first get to know about Hancock, her traumatic past, and her fierce power as the leader of the Kuja Pirates.

When Hancock was younger, she and her two sisters were captured and enslaved by the “Celestial Dragons”, a family of nobles who seemingly have the entire World Government wrapped around their finger. Day in, day out Hancock wished for nothing more than her death as an escape from these nobles. It’s due to these events that, despite being freed from slavery, she is plagued with trauma, which has made her into a cold-hearted woman — until Luffy arrives, that is. 

During the events of the “Sabaody Archipelago” arc of One Piece, Luffy and his crewmates are separated from one another. Luffy finds himself on Amazon Lily and shortly after arriving he is captured and put to the test by Hancock. After Luffy proves himself and performs a selfless act to protect one of Hancock’s sisters, she begins to soften as a character — and before we know it one of the most hilarious and adorable relationships is born. 

Why we love her

Hancock starts out as being very cold, to the point where she seemingly doesn’t care for the safety of her own people. After meeting Luffy, however, she performs the smoothest 180 and becomes an incredibly lovable character — to the point where many people in the One Piece fandom will call her best girl. 

Luffy is a very special character, in the way that he doesn’t hold a person’s past against them, but focuses on the person as they are now in the present. It’s this ability to accept that starts to break down Hancock’s walls, allowing her to open her heart and not only fall in love, but become a more compassionate leader. 

Oh did I mention she fell in love? That’s right after Luffy slaps some sense into her, she begins to go through feelings she has never felt before, and the former Empress informs her that these feelings are love. From this point forward, Hancock becomes a mushy mess who constantly pines for Luffy’s company and attention. 

What separates her from simply being an overly obsessed and in love character though, is her dedication to helping Luffy, no matter how dangerous his request is. She uses her authority as not only the Pirate Empress but as a Warlord of the Sea, to sneak Luffy into the highest security prison in One Piece. Not only does she do this, she also fights for him during the great battle at Marineford — an enormous war between pirates and the Navy in order to save Luffy’s brother, Portgas. D. Ace. Hancock is lovestruck, but she backs it up by being a complete badass who not only cares about Luffy, but also for the things he holds dear.

Why you’ll love her

Even before meeting Luffy, Hancock was a well-established name amongst the pirates of the world. She is the leader of an entire island, and she is a part of the Warlords of the Sea, a select group of incredibly strong pirates that have some level of immunity and freedom when it comes to the World Government. 

She possesses the power of the “Mero Mero no mi” or Love Love Fruit, which allows her to petrify anyone so long as they feel some form of attraction towards her, and as I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, she is considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her devil fruit power also gives her access to a number of long-ranged heart-shaped attacks that can also petrify her enemies on contact, as well as being incredibly talented in a form of martial arts that focuses on using her legs to fight. (Tell me more – Ed.)

I don’t know what else I can say to sell you all on Hancock. She’s a character that many people adore and hope to see again soon in both the anime and manga. She’s a total badass who is notorious throughout the entire world of One Piece and to top it all off, she is a hilariously lovestruck beauty. Considering how confident, cold, and stern she usually is, this love-obsessed side of her makes her all the more lovable. 

More waifus here!

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