OnePieceis often considered to be an anime that does not cover much in the way of dark themes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The series covers serious issues such as racism, slavery, and even human experimentation.
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By covering these themes, it educates the viewers about how these things affect people in real life. The anime has also shown how insanely cruel humans can be, not to just other races, but even to themselves. With that in mind, here are some of the most disturbing moments inOne Piece.
Updated June 30, 2025, by Suzail Ahmad:The One Piece anime has crossed the 1,000-episode mark, which is a huge accomplishment for any series. The series started airing in 1999, and it has managed to stay relevant over all these years, proving that it has the quality that is needed to withstand the test of time. While many consider One Piece to be a light-hearted anime though, it has never shied away from delving into graphic themes. The most disturbing things that have occurred in the One Piece anime are really quite shocking and will no doubt come as a surprise to some of the series' more casual viewers.
14Big Mom Devouring Mother Carmel
Big Mom was one of the Yonko and ruled over Totto Land. As a child, she lived with her parents, but they abandoned her due to her abhorrent behavior. They left her in the care of Mother Carmel, who seemed to be a kind-hearted woman, although it was later revealed that she had a history of selling children in the underworld market.
Once she got her hands on Big Mom, Carmel instantly knew that she would go on to do great things. On Big Mom’s sixth birthday, a horrendous incident took place. Shortly after Big Mom started to eat the croquembouche, Mother Carmel and the other kids disappeared. It is not confirmed what happened to them, but judging by the fact that Big Mom inherited Carmel’s powers, it is very likely that she ate all of them.
13Otohime Shot By One Of Her Own
TheOne Pieceworld is known for its diversity. There are different islands that are inhabited by various races. While the myriad of races is beneficial for the series as a whole, it does create problems for them.
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People of other races are imprisoned and often sold into slavery by humans. One of the most discriminated against races is the Fish-Man. During the Fish-Man Island arc, it was revealed that their hatred for humans was so immense that Hody Jones shot Otohime, who was trying to improve their relations with humans.
12Hogback Making Cindry A Zombie
Hogback was a member of the Thriller Bark Pirates, who were captained by Gecko Moria. As Moria’s underling, Hogback carried out all the orders of his captain. Before joining Moria’s crew, Hogback had an obsession with Victoria Cindry. When she was still alive, he proposed to her, but she rejected him because she was already married.
After some time, Cindry died, which left Hogback heartbroken, so he decided to dig her grave and use Moria’s power to turn her into a zombie. Before completing the process, Hogback altered Cindry’s personality so that she would be more submissive. All of the events associated with Hogback and Cindry are extremely disturbing.
11Doflamingo’s Family Nearly Being Crucified
Born into the noble Donquixote family, it seemed that life was going to be amazing for Doflamingo. However, his father decided to relocate to a normal city instead of living in Marijoa. This decision backfired massively as his wife fell ill and eventually died.
Donquixote Homing and his two sons were chased by the townsmen. The three of them were tied up and used as target practice by the common folk. This decision deeply traumatized Doflamingo, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it was his villain origin story.
10Ace Getting Impaled
Portgas D. Ace was prepared to be executed by the Navy at Marineford. Ace had accepted his fate and he did not want anyone to rescue him, but Luffy being the stubborn person that he is, managed to free him. Just when it seemed that the Whitebeard Pirates were the victors, Akainu decided to attack Luffy, who was trying to pick up Ace’s vivre card.
Ace could not let it happen, so he jumped in front of Akainu’s attack. Since Akainu has the power of the Magu Magu no Mi, Ace’s insides were completely burnt and there was a huge hole in his chest.
9Akainu Murdering People Of Ohara
Currently, Akainu holds the position of the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. As a firm believer in “Absolute Justice,” Akainu deals with violators of the law with extreme force. At Marineford, Akainu killed a Marine who decided to run away. In the past, Akainu was among the Navy personnel who were sent to destroy Ohara.
When the Buster Call was finished, the remaining citizens were sent to another place on a ship, but Akainu was against the idea. He casually destroyed and sunk the ship, which led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.
8Blackbeard Pirates Shooting Whitebeard
Blackbeard disgraced the name of his former captain, Whitebeard, by killing Thatch. Blackbeard has lofty ambitions, and after he returned from freeing the prisoners in Impel Down, he decided to take things up a notch.
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Whitebeard was infuriated by seeing Blackbeard at Marineford, and he decided to attack the latter. Blackbeard somehow withstood Whitebeard’s attacks and decided to counterattack with his crew. So, theBlackbeard Pirates began to shoot Whitebeard, and it resulted in the death of the Yonko.
7Human Experiments
There are several powers inOnePiece, who continuously find ways to gain territory and improve their armies. Nations such as Germa used the lineage factor to build an incredibly powerful army that is nigh impossible to defeat.
During the Punk Hazard arc, it was revealed that Caesar was performing experiments on kids. He was trying to turn them into giants and sell them as weapons to his employers. It was extremely disturbing to see that not even kids were spared.
6Law’s Hometown being Destroyed
Law’s backstory is extremely grim, and it once again showed the callousness of the World Government. He was born in Flevance, which was famous for Amber Lead. Amber Lead was poisonous to humans, and the World Government knew about it, but they chose not to inform the people of Flevance as they wanted to earn maximum profits.
Eventually, the entire country was affected by an incurable disease and the people decided to leave the island. However, the neighboring countries feared the disease would spread, and hence, they murdered all the citizens. Trafalgar Law was the only survivor of the massacre.
5Kuma’s Being Treated Like A Slave
Bartholomew Kuma used to be a well-known pirate and people feared him. He earned the epithet of “The Tyrant,” and he was even a member of the Revolutionary Army before he joined the Shichibukai.
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As the series progressed, Kuma’s condition became even worse. He was turned into a mindless weapon and then eventually sold into slavery. The fans last saw Kuma being used by a Celestial Dragon as his personal ride.
