Gold Roger
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Gold Roger, or Gol D. Roger the former Pirate King in the anime and manga series One Piece |
Gol D. Roger, known to most as
Gold Roger, is a fictional character in the
Japanese
manga and
anime series
One Piece. He is the first character introduced, and the very reason for the "Age of Piracy" that is the setting of the story.
Gold Roger was the
the Pirate King, the strongest pirate alive, and owner of the legendary treasure known as
One Piece. Born in
Loguetown (Roguetown in the English dub), Roger was famed as the man who did what no one thought possible - he conquered the Grand Line. Even before setting out, he was the only man who truly did not fear the dangers of the Grand Line and was even excited about venturing out there. Even with warnings about ships never returning from that ocean, he did not care; in fact, he even declared that was the reason for him going.
He was said to be completely fearless, and those who witnessed his
execution even claim that he smiled gleefully just before his death.
As the original Japanese theme tune states:
* (
Note: the following is anime only)- One of Roger's famous battles involved 'Killer Giant', a rough man with a large sword who killed hundreds of pirates and was described as a devil. Gold Roger defeated and killed Killer Giant in a short-lived battle, leaving a fatal gash in Killer Giant's skull. In his dying breath, the man praised Roger and dubbed him 'Eternal Pirate'. Other battles included fights against the King of the Eric Pirates, the famous gunner Silver-Silver, and the devilish Kung-Fu Brothers, each described as dangerous men until they met Roger.
Gold Roger was apparently well versed in ancient languages (able to decipher Poneglyphs), and they had allegedly visited most (if not all) of the islands in the Grand Line; he befriended Gan Fall, then "God" of Skypiea, a few years before his death, and left a cryptic inscription near the Poneglyph of Shandora (which was on the golden bell of Skypiea).
Gold Roger's pirate ship, the
Oro Jackson, was constructed by the fish-man
Tom the greatest shipwright of all time and mentor to Water 7's mayor
Iceburg, as well as its "underground face"
Franky.
[ One Piece Manga - Vol.37 Chapter 357, Who built Roger's ship?]The final act by the King of the Pirates was to be captured and executed; how the marines captured Roger remains a mystery in itself. Considering how powerful Roger was in life, it is hard to believe he was captured at all.
Exactly how Gold Roger died is a subject of debate, however. In the anime, two men jabbed spears into his heart,
impaling him (though utterly failing to make him stop smiling); in the American dub he was "
hung" (
hanged) at the "Roguetown" gallows; and the American manga says the Navy "lopped off his head" (
decapitated him). The original Japanese manga never reveals precisely how he was executed (though it depicts the scene), but it remains to be seen whether this will become an important plot point in the future, or if it was simply a way of lessening the visceral impact of the character's death.
In the American dub, Roger's last words before he died were: "My fortune is yours for the taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I owned in one piece." In volume one of the graphic novel of One Piece, Roger's last words were: "My treasure? Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it. But you'll have to search the
whole world!" So with his legendary treasure
One Piece now up for grabs, people took to the seas in search of it. The words "In One Piece" are an American interpretation. In the original Japanese opening, Gold Roger states "My wealth and treasures? If you want it, I'll let you have it...search for it! I left all of it at that place." The common understanding of these words were that he hid his treasure at "that place", which is generally believed to be Raftel, the last island on the Grand Line. It should also be noted that Roger may well have been about to name the island or place in question, if not for his short speech being interrupted by his execution (this is only shown in the Japanese anime).
Upon his final words, possibly the greatest achievement Roger made was to start the "Great Age of Piracy", dubbed by a few characters as the 'Age of Dreams'.
With the demise of Gold Roger,
Whitebeard (the only person who ever tied in a fight with the Pirate King) is now considered the strongest man alive, although, in present storyline, he is currently vulnerable.
Gold Roger's treasure dubbed later as
One Piece remains unclaimed and its location unknown. Many pirates have since set sail hoping to find that treasure, become the Pirate King and make all their wildest dreams come true. The series' emphasis on what 'wealth' and 'treasure' are, and how the definition changes for some people (such as Luffy's hat as his treasure) leads some fans to believe that his treasure may be nothing more than something Roger himself treasured. This also challenges the English translation of "in one piece."
One phrase, which was repeated several times early in the series and was included in the second introduction to the series, was spoken by Roger as he climbed the Gallows to await his death.
What Gold Roger meant by this phrase is not certain, but one thing is for sure, a lot of the current events in the One Piece world seem to put emphasis around many aspects of these words. They however hint that Roger may have known something that possibly could have been linked to his capture and death.
One possiblity is linked to his knowledge of being able to read Poneglyphs. From
Nico Robin we learn reading them is forbidden. The Rio Poneglyph, the most important of them all, was taken by Roger to the end of the Grand Line, to Raftel. Each of the Poneglyphs (ancient stone tablets) reveals something lost to normal history. Even if Roger had not been punished for the crime of raising the Jolly Roger, the act of reading the stones alone would have brought him his final conviction to be executed by the Marines and the World Government.
Later on in the manga, Dr. Kureha reveals that his true name was
Gol D. Roger. The significance of the middle initial "
D" (which is shared by
Luffy, his brother
Portgas D. Ace,
Blackbeard (Marshall D. Teach), and recently the giant
Jaguar D. Saul) could suggest either that Gol D. Roger was related to Luffy in some way, or perhaps that their fates are all somehow intertwined. The real reason is unknown, and is the subject of much speculation among fans.
*Gold Roger's personality is often commented by people who knew him to have been similar to
Monkey D. Luffy's personality.
*Most references on Roger are made after Luffy has left or in his absence
*Gold Roger's real name, Gol D. Roger has never been spoken in front of Luffy.
