While One Piece has some of the darkest moments in a Shonen series, it is also in many ways a comedy at its heart. Eiichiro Oda loves to give his characters goofy designs and even the powers of the main character Luffy are very cartoonish. This makes it unsurprising that the series also has a myriad of hilarious moments to balance out its tragedies.
One Piece is a manga following the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates, led by the rubber man Monkey D. Luffy. Each of the Straw Hats has its own fun quirks that can play off each other very well from Nami's love of money to Zoro's tendency to get lost. The interactions of these larger-than-life figures are often what leads to the funniest moments in the series, the ten best of which are listed below.
10 Luffy Misreads His Bounty
After Luffy fights a high-ranking member of the Big Mom Pirates, he and the rest of his crew's bounties all are changed. While this is generally an exciting occasion, with many of the Straw Hats taking pride in the high bounties offered for their capture. Luffy however is dejected as he thinks his bounty has gone down. However, his crew points out to his shock that he actually misread the number on his bounty poster and that he has actually achieved the new milestone of an over 1 billion berry bounty. This is a humorous misunderstanding that is enhanced by the monumental achievement attached to it.
9 Luffy Reburies a Zombie
Upon first exploring the gothic island of Thriller Bark, Luffy and his crew encounters a zombie that rises from its grave to menace them. Instead of getting scared or fighting it, Luffy instead calmly pushes the living corpse back into its grave. This is such a nonchalant and unexpected reaction that it makes this potentially creepy moment hilarious. Thriller Bark as a whole is an arc that could have been genuinely scary, but due to the lighthearted nature of the Straw Hats and One Piece's art style it was much more funny than scary. This moment is a perfect example of why that is actually a point in the arc's favor.
8 The Straw Hats Meet Crocus
Upon entering the Grand Line, the Straw Hats encounter the giant whale Laboon. While Laboon eventually becomes a major piece of One Piece foreshadowing, the whale initially eats them. In the whale's stomach, they encounter the crotchety old man Crocus who has made his home there. Their meeting is delightfully awkward, with the Straw Hats not quite knowing what to make of this old man who acts as if living inside a whale's stomach is perfectly normal, especially considering he is the first person they have encountered on the Grand Line. There isn't much of an actual joke here but is still a hilarious and rare example of a time when the Straw Hats were at a loss for what to do in the face of someone even weirder than they are.
7 Usopp Defeats Sugar
One of the most terrifying enemies in the Dressrosa arc is Sugar, a girl who can turn people into dolls and make everyone forget about them. After Sugar does this to Robin, Usopp reverts to his worst traits becoming a coward again, but knows he has to defeat her in order to free his friend. The marksman initially fails, but when Sugar feeds him a Tabasco grape he tried to use on her, the grotesque face he makes in response scares her into submission. This is a very poetic moment that also helps catapult Usopp into his godlike status. The facial expressions Oda uses to portray the scene is what makes it so hilarious with both Sugar's terror and Usopp's agony looking gloriously silly.
6 Zoro Tries to Cut Off His Legs
Zoro is one of the most stoic characters in the series but this actually ironically tends to make him one of the funniest Straw Hats. The best example of this is when Zoro was trapped in Little Garden by Mr. 3, who was turning him into a wax statue. With all hope seeming lost, Zoro starts to ponder chopping off his legs in order to free himself, which his fellow captives vehemently object to. Zoro's stoic determination in the face of a clearly dumb idea makes this moment funnier than it has any right to be. Right after that, Zoro assumes an epic pose, thinking that if he's about to be turned into a statue, he may as well look good.
5 Zoro Gets Lost On a Ship
Another thing that makes Zoro a hilarious character is his tendency to get lost in the most dramatic way possible. The funniest example of this is immediately after the time skip when the Straw Hats are meeting up in Sabaody after a long time apart. Sanji goes looking for Zoro but discovers that the swordsman wandered off onto another ship where he promptly took a nap. The ship then departed for Fishman Island, taking Zoro with them. When Zoro woke up, he cut the ship in half to escape and return to land. This moment was a welcome and dramatic reminder of how silly Zoro can be after the series had gone on hiatus in addition to being absolutely hilarious.
4 Zoro Tries to Kill Sanji After Wano
Zoro and Sanji's often contentious rivalry is one of One Piece's best running gags. The gag just keeps getting better with each passing arc with its best joke actually occurring right after Wano. During the Raid on Onigashima before Sanji used his family's technology he asked Zoro to take him out if it transformed him into a monster. Luckily the technology didn't do this, but after the battle Zoro remembered this promise and tried to kill Sanji while the chef protested. This entire scene goes on in the background of another panel, but it is still a perfect joke for their relationship, which is based on trust in battle but devolves into a hilariously petty rivalry outside tense situations.
3 Sanji's Doppelgänger
After the Straw Hats first became infamous, wanted posters were released for them that featured a hilariously ugly and inaccurate picture of Sanji. Later on, a group of mysterious pirates attacked the Straw Hats, apparently after Sanji. It was revealed in the fight that the captain of this crew looked exactly like the picture of Sanji on his bounty poster resulting in a hilarious coincidence and a newfound ally after the Straw Hats beat his face into a new shape. This was an extremely funny punchline after the initial setup was planted many chapters previously, but it also served to hide a deeper mystery about Sanji's family of villainous power rangers, making this joke even better in hindsight.
2 Ryunosuke's Tragically Short Life
After Dressrosa, the Straw Hats travel to the elephantine island of Zou with the Wano samurai they have encountered on the way. In order to get up to the island, one of these samurai, Kanjuro, uses his Devil Fruit power to create a poorly drawn dragon named Ryunosuke that takes some of them up to the top. The Straw Hats form an unnaturally strong attraction to Ryunosuke and actually mourn his necessary death after his task is completed. Ryunosuke's derpy appearance is a subtle piece of foreshadowing, hinting at Kanjuro being a traitor, but it also makes the Straw Hat's entire journey with him even funnier and cements this short episode as one of One Piece's funniest moments.
1 Buggy Failing Upward at Marineford
Buggy the Clown is one of One Piece's earliest antagonists and also one of its silliest, being responsible for some of the funniest moments in the series long history. Despite being a former member of Gol D Roger's crew alongside Shanks, Buggy just isn't threatening enough to be an intimidating villain. However, his character arc drastically changes during the Marineford arc, where he accidentally makes a name for himself as a major pirate. This starts a trend of accidental success that has culminated in Buggy becoming a Yonko with a fleet of devoted followers under him. This running gag has even led some fans to speculate that Buggy will become the Pirate King. This all makes the moment where Buggy first began his upward rise the funniest moment in One Piece.
Despite having some iconic tragic scenes, the moments listed above show that One Piece has just as many awesome comedic moments. While many fans might try and ignore the goofier side of the series in favor of the more serious plot points, these moments are just as essential as the ones that tug at the heartstrings. In the world of One Piece, just like in the real world, tragedy and comedy coexist and these hilarious moments beautifully remind fans of this fact.