TV-Series
Description
The character known in the anime One Piece as Oars, with his name sometimes rendered as Oz, is a giant whose presence spans both ancient legend and the events of the Thriller Bark arc. Born more than five hundred years before the main storyline, Oars belonged to the ancient giant race and was far larger than an ordinary giant, standing several times taller than a typical member of that race. He earned the epithet the Continent-Puller because of his habit of conquering nations and hauling away entire islands, which he would add to his own territory in order to build what was described as a nation of villains. He was also called the Devil, a title given to only one figure in recorded history, reflecting the fear he inspired as a demonic, destructive berserker. Although he was not from Elbaf, the homeland of the giants, his reputation as a fearsome and evil warrior was known even there.
In life, Oars was a ferocious figure defined by conquest and ambition. He rampaged across the seas, toppling countries and collecting islands as trophies. His end, however, came not in battle but from the cold. He died in the Land of Ice, and the explanation offered within the story is that he froze to death after wandering through the freezing environment wearing almost nothing, a detail that highlights a certain recklessness and simplicity in his nature as well as his overwhelming physical power.
Centuries later, his corpse was discovered and unearthed by the Thriller Bark Pirates. Gecko Moria, the captain of that crew and a former Warlord of the Sea, wanted to use Oars as the ultimate weapon in his scheme to challenge one of the Four Emperors, Kaido. Under the direction of Dr. Hogback, the preserved body was rebuilt and stitched into an undead creation designated as Zombie Number 900, the only zombie in Moria's army to be classified as a Special Zombie. To bring this creation to life, Moria implanted the stolen shadow of Monkey D. Luffy into the giant's body.
As a reanimated zombie, Oars was a red-skinned creature with a skull-like face, two large horns, long yellow hair, and a missing right eye. His body was covered in stitches, his left arm bore the label SZ-900, and his right arm had been replaced by Hogback. A blue cloth stitched across his stomach concealed an opening in his hollow torso that functioned as a cockpit, allowing Moria to ride inside and assist him during combat. His size was extraordinary even by giant standards; he was more than four times the size of a normal giant, so immense that members of the Straw Hat crew initially mistook his body for a large wall.
Because Luffy's shadow inhabited his body, Oars took on many of Luffy's personality traits. He was excitable, impulsive, and simple in his thinking, and he proudly declared his intention to become the Pirate King. He shared Luffy's fondness for meat, failed to recognize that Usopp and Sogeking were the same person, and named his attacks in the style of Luffy's Gum-Gum techniques even though his body could not stretch at first. Upon awakening, he was also notably defiant toward Moria, displaying a strong sense of individuality, and although zombies were expected to obey their master, Oars continued to act freely and preferred to fight his own battles without interference.
In the Thriller Bark arc, Oars served as one of the principal adversaries the Straw Hat Pirates had to defeat. His physical abilities made him a tremendous threat: his strength was enough to send groups of opponents flying with a single blow, his huge body was resilient and felt no pain as a zombie, and he moved with surprising speed, at times seeming to vanish for an instant before striking. Because of his massive scale, the small amounts of salt that could neutralize ordinary zombies had no effect on him. The crew lost their first direct encounter with him, but they adapted and began working together to weaken his enormous frame. When Moria intervened and made the giant's body stretchy and rubber-like, Oars gained the ability to perform Gum-Gum style techniques on a massive scale, nearly overwhelming the crew. The arrival of Luffy in his empowered form known as Nightmare Luffy shifted the battle, and after being felled once, Oars rose again before being finally brought down by a coordinated combined attack from the entire Straw Hat crew that shattered every bone in his body. His existence ended when Moria absorbed the shadows of all the Thriller Bark zombies, removing the force that animated Oars along with the rest of the undead army.
Oars's influence extends beyond his own defeat. He is the direct ancestor of Little Oars Jr., a giant who later served under the pirate Whitebeard and fell during the war at Marineford, carrying the bloodline of the Continent-Puller into a later generation. Within the Thriller Bark arc itself, his connection to Luffy is central to his role: Oars combined the body of an ancient giant with the shadow and will of the series protagonist, making him a unique and memorable opponent whose legend, resurrection, and final downfall all reflect the broader themes of ambition, power, and cooperation that define his appearance in the story.
In life, Oars was a ferocious figure defined by conquest and ambition. He rampaged across the seas, toppling countries and collecting islands as trophies. His end, however, came not in battle but from the cold. He died in the Land of Ice, and the explanation offered within the story is that he froze to death after wandering through the freezing environment wearing almost nothing, a detail that highlights a certain recklessness and simplicity in his nature as well as his overwhelming physical power.
Centuries later, his corpse was discovered and unearthed by the Thriller Bark Pirates. Gecko Moria, the captain of that crew and a former Warlord of the Sea, wanted to use Oars as the ultimate weapon in his scheme to challenge one of the Four Emperors, Kaido. Under the direction of Dr. Hogback, the preserved body was rebuilt and stitched into an undead creation designated as Zombie Number 900, the only zombie in Moria's army to be classified as a Special Zombie. To bring this creation to life, Moria implanted the stolen shadow of Monkey D. Luffy into the giant's body.
As a reanimated zombie, Oars was a red-skinned creature with a skull-like face, two large horns, long yellow hair, and a missing right eye. His body was covered in stitches, his left arm bore the label SZ-900, and his right arm had been replaced by Hogback. A blue cloth stitched across his stomach concealed an opening in his hollow torso that functioned as a cockpit, allowing Moria to ride inside and assist him during combat. His size was extraordinary even by giant standards; he was more than four times the size of a normal giant, so immense that members of the Straw Hat crew initially mistook his body for a large wall.
Because Luffy's shadow inhabited his body, Oars took on many of Luffy's personality traits. He was excitable, impulsive, and simple in his thinking, and he proudly declared his intention to become the Pirate King. He shared Luffy's fondness for meat, failed to recognize that Usopp and Sogeking were the same person, and named his attacks in the style of Luffy's Gum-Gum techniques even though his body could not stretch at first. Upon awakening, he was also notably defiant toward Moria, displaying a strong sense of individuality, and although zombies were expected to obey their master, Oars continued to act freely and preferred to fight his own battles without interference.
In the Thriller Bark arc, Oars served as one of the principal adversaries the Straw Hat Pirates had to defeat. His physical abilities made him a tremendous threat: his strength was enough to send groups of opponents flying with a single blow, his huge body was resilient and felt no pain as a zombie, and he moved with surprising speed, at times seeming to vanish for an instant before striking. Because of his massive scale, the small amounts of salt that could neutralize ordinary zombies had no effect on him. The crew lost their first direct encounter with him, but they adapted and began working together to weaken his enormous frame. When Moria intervened and made the giant's body stretchy and rubber-like, Oars gained the ability to perform Gum-Gum style techniques on a massive scale, nearly overwhelming the crew. The arrival of Luffy in his empowered form known as Nightmare Luffy shifted the battle, and after being felled once, Oars rose again before being finally brought down by a coordinated combined attack from the entire Straw Hat crew that shattered every bone in his body. His existence ended when Moria absorbed the shadows of all the Thriller Bark zombies, removing the force that animated Oars along with the rest of the undead army.
Oars's influence extends beyond his own defeat. He is the direct ancestor of Little Oars Jr., a giant who later served under the pirate Whitebeard and fell during the war at Marineford, carrying the bloodline of the Continent-Puller into a later generation. Within the Thriller Bark arc itself, his connection to Luffy is central to his role: Oars combined the body of an ancient giant with the shadow and will of the series protagonist, making him a unique and memorable opponent whose legend, resurrection, and final downfall all reflect the broader themes of ambition, power, and cooperation that define his appearance in the story.