One Piece (Canon) Kids: Annoying or Likeable?

[BellisarioFaith]

Hey, guys. I just got done watching the CP9 saga in the dub, and it got me thinking about the young kids who occasionally tag along in the Straw Hats' adventures. The anime filler arcs are notorious for adding annoying Filler Kids whom the fandom generally dislikes; however, disregarding those guys, there are still several canon, Oda-created kids who come along for the ride in the manga. I'm curious as to how they're generally regarded by the fandom: do you guys like them? Dislike them? Or are they just kinda "there" for you? Here are the canon kids I could think of from the story so far:

• Rika (Romance Dawn arc: Morgan portion)
• Usopp Pirates: Carrot, Pepper, and Onion (Kuro/Syrup Village arc)
• Chabo (Arlong Park arc; he's the little boy from Gosa Village at the beginning. Debatable as to whether or not he counts.)
• Aisa (Skypeia arc)
• Chimney and Gonbe (CP9 saga)
• Momonosuke (Pirate Alliance saga so far)
• Punk Hazard Kids (Punk Hazard arc)
• Sugar (Dressrosa)
• Some of the Dwarves (Dressrosa arc; most of them probably aren't actually kids, but several, like Wicca, played a very similar role to what the kids usually do.)

If I forgot to add any to the list, let me know.

[Razh]

I don't really dislike any of them.

Save Momo.

If you're counting Chabo, may as well count PH kids.

[BellisarioFaith]

Good point. Added them.

[Tanuki]

Honestly I generally dislike the tagalong kid as a trope.
Chopper is pretty much a permanant tagalong kid, but at least he also has a role, skill and unique character traits outside of being 'cute'.

That said; the Usopp pirates fighting against Django to protect Kaya alongside their general loyalty to both Usopp and Kaya AND their individual dreams for the future(as unlikely as it is we'll see anything come of these) fleshes them out just enough that I view them as solid individual characters.

Mocha is one of the other kids I have respect for, willing to die to save the lives of all the other children. That reckless bravery gives her something aside from 'sweet child' to focus on.

[.access timeco.]

My opinion about kids in fiction is just like in real life: I absolutely adore babies, but starting from toddlers I just… I... take them away!

So most of the kids in OP I dislike (especially Mocha). I like Momo, though, and I really liked Chimney back in W7/EL, they are the only exceptions.

[Lazy_Monkey]

Best kid by far is Chimney, and Aisa close second. As for Momo I don't think we should judge him until his ark takes place.

[Psycrow]

We've always gotta have some of these in a manga/anime to make us "care".

And old people or other helpless invalids such as Rebecca. (But not her one-legged father, of course, even in toy soldier form.)

[RamistaR]

Chimney and Gonbei are irreplaceable!

[omy785]

Obviously…annoying. Chimney and Gonbe are cool, though

[Galaxy 9000]

@Tanuki:

AND their individual dreams for the future(as unlikely as it is we'll see anything come of these)

We're likely to see the fruition of their dreams in the epilogue.

[jmbjr]

Never really got why some of the kids in One Piece get hated on so much, especially the Punk Hazard kids. They're…just kids, really. I don't see what was so annoying about them, as any complaining they did was totally valid, given their circumstances. Mocha especially proved to be a very brave and strong young girl.

Chimney and Gonbe were fun characters, though people generally seem to like them alright.

The Usopp Pirates were totally fine as characters, and even proved useful.

Rika performed her role, then was gone. Don't see what's to complain about her.

Don't even remember Chabo.

I remember Aisa annoying me a little bit a couple times, but for the most part she was fine.

Momo will probably play a bigger role later, so I'll wait and see on that. Can't say I'm too fond of him right now, though.

I feel like most people just have the gut-reaction of "Ugh, KIDS.", without actually considering them as characters at all. That's not to say they're great characters or anything, but most of them really aren't that bad at all. I guess I just fall under the "they're just kinda there" category; I could take or leave them, but if they do their job, then great.

The FILLER kids, on the other hand, have almost always annoyed me.

[FelRes]

Rika was pleasant

Usopp's gang was okay

Aisa was decent

Chimney was the best

Mocha was nice

Rest should be sent to an orphanage. Chuck Momo off the elephant

[King Cannon]

Are you counting Sugar on this?

What about the kid versions of the Straw Hats and Law?

[BellisarioFaith]

@jmbjr:

Mocha especially proved to be a very brave and strong young girl.

Chimney and Gonbe were fun characters, though people generally seem to like them alright.

The Usopp Pirates were totally fine as characters, and even proved useful.

Rika performed her role, then was gone. Don't see what's to complain about her.

Don't even remember Chabo.

I remember Aisa annoying me a little bit a couple times, but for the most part she was fine.

Momo will probably play a bigger role later, so I'll wait and see on that. Can't say I'm too fond of him right now, though.

This is pretty much how I feel about everyone, too. I didn't remember Chabo's name either, and actually had to look it up, lol; that's why I said that he's debatable.@King:

Are you counting Sugar on this?

What about the kid versions of the Straw Hats and Law?

Hmm, Sugar's tough because she looks ten when she's really 22. I suppose since there are a couple of other debatable characters up there, I'll add her, too.

As for Straw Hats + Law, my line of thinking when I made this thread was more for characters who are kids in the present time and interact with the Straw Hats on their adventures. Sadly, I guess that's not very clear from the thread name, which probably would've ended up too long and convoluted if I had tried to clarify that.

Still, I don't mind hearing what other people think about the kid versions of Straw Hats and close friends. We didn't see the childhoods of Brook and Jimbei, but for me, the other eight Straw Hats + Law (and maybe Vivi too) all had tragic enough childhoods that I can forgive their more negative traits. Sure, Franky was kind of a brat, but his parents abandoned him. Sure, Vivi was a little too naive and pacifistic, but she obviously lost her mom at some point and watched her best friend almost get killed protecting her from people who wanted to kidnap her. Yeah, Law was a dick and very creepy as a child (pre-Rocinante therapy), but he'd seen some horribly fucked up shit. And Nami's words to Bellemere were really horrible, but actually, I can totally imagine a ten-year-old girl who'd been adopted into poverty and had to constantly watch her mom struggle to make ends meet having that kind of fight with their parent in real life. Since we know how they all turned out in the end, I think that, for the most part, if you like their adult versions, you'll probably at least accept their child versions, and if you hate the present-day character, you'll probably hate their child self, too.

[Riddler]

Sugar really shouldn't count as she isn't even truly a kid, just someone who doesn't age. Her personality certainly isn't that of a kid.

In general, I think Oda is fairly good at introducing kid characters that are not annoying, but just as likable and fun as his adult characters. My favorite is probably Chimney, with the Usopp Pirates being a close second. Mocha was also really good.

[Razh]

@FelRes:

Rest should be sent to an orphanage. Chuck Momo off the elephant

Laughed way too much at this.

[fuzi11]

• Rika - I guess she was fine, she appeared in like 2 episodes or 3

• Usopp Pirates: Carrot, Pepper, and Onion - they fit the story

• Chabo - who?

• Aisa - she was fine, but she wasn't more than a compass

• Chimney and Gonbe - she was weird in a fun way

• Momonosuke - as of now he doesn't really have a purpose in the story, but I don't mind him. He is creepy though every once in a while

• Punk Hazard Kids - they were fine. I was never really annoyed by them. Also Mocha ate all the bonbons :cwy:

• Sugar - isn't really a child. If she counts, you have to count Bonney

• Some of the Dwarves - there were kids? I didn't notice

  I also remember Abiz with the whisper fruit and … yeah, no, I don't remember the other filler arcs

[Razh]

The only reason I remembered Chabo was because he mistook Usopp for a fishman. That was fucking hillarious.

[Riddler]

Honestly, I think if you compare the canon children vs. filler children, it becomes really clear how superior Oda's creations are. Filler children are usually incredibly annoying and pointless, only there to be saved, cry, and look cute. Canon children, on the other hand, are most of the time sympathetic, fun and helpful.

[Lazy_Monkey]

It could be kind of cool if we ever get a sequel it'll be about this kids.

[BellisarioFaith]

@Riddler:

Honestly, I think if you compare the canon children vs. filler children, it becomes really clear how superior Oda's creations are. Filler children are usually incredibly annoying and pointless, only there to be saved, cry, and look cute. Canon children, on the other hand, are most of the time sympathetic, fun and helpful.

Agreed. Also, with filler kids, they get way too much focus/emphasis/backstory, to the point that, in several cases, you could argue that they were the main characters or deuteragonists of their filler arcs at the expense of the Straw Hats, who basically devote the entire arc to helping them and many of whom play a minimal role. The canon kids, if they do get flashbacks at all, get enough to make them sympathetic without overdoing it, and the Straw Hats may help them out along the way, but they have a bigger overall goal than just "let's help save this crybaby kid". (Such as Punk Hazard, where they weren't just trying to help the children, but also put Kin'emon back together and defeat/kidnap Caesar.)

[DIO]

Oda has done ok in my book with kid characters until Momo

Momo just really annoys me, at first he seemed ok but after he did that troll face, just hated him instantly because he went from a slightly whiny kid samurai to the kid who uses his age and "innocence" to get near Nami & Robin.

He is in my idiot anime kid group that involves Rumiko's characters Shippo & Jariten

[Katzztar]

Oda's kids are likable most of the time. Anime created filler kids are crappy and annoying as hell.
At least the kids in canon manga are balanced and seem like realistic kids. Yes, some kids are whiney at times, some are brats at times, but they are more balanced than the one dimensional anime filler kids.

My fave has to be the Usopp Pirates= Piiman, Ninjin and Tamanegi

Playful kids yet totally loyal to Usopp. Even helpful against one of the main subonates of the arc's big bad= they helped save Kaya by raming a shovel into Jango's backside
why they even have their own dream

Main reason some (not all) don't like Momo is 'oversaturation' of his chidish behavior. If it was in smaller does or his appearances was more limited like some others, I think it wouldn't be so annoying. (note I did not say 'not annoying') But he's the longest running appearance of a kid.
The Usopp Pirates, Aisa & Chimney all played semi-critical roles in the arc that introduced them, more than Rika & Chobo but less than Momo.
Most were in one arc, the one they were introduced in.
The Usopp Pirates has a 'guest appearance' in one chapter, main story & not on cover, pre-time-skip after their first appearnce when Luffy first got a bounty, they recognized the back of Usopp's head in the bounty pic.
Chimney was in two = first appeared in Water 7, played a bigger part in Enies Lobby when she followed Rob Lucci then showed Luffy the way.
So far Zou will make it 3 arcs that Momo has been in but wasn't really much in one of them: Punk Hazard (introduced) , Dressrosa (sidelined with the Swirlyhats) and now Zou.
Its been what? 2 (or going on 3?) years of this one kid compared to the usual only 1 year (or less) for the other ones.
Far more saturation than any other kid and its getting on many nerves.

[BatrozX]

Chimney and Usopp Pirates are the best IMO. Chimney was hilarous especially with her pet bunny that thought it was a cat. Usopp Pirates are loyal and have really noble dreams and aspirations.

Not a fan of Momo though. Really don't like that pervy side of him.

[Atuin]

Rika: She was cute and not overly annoying.
Carrot, Pepper, Onion: They were OK I guess but a little annoying
Chabo: Don't remember him
Aisa: tad whiney mostly forgettable
Chimney and Gonbe: I adore Chimney
Momonosuke: VERY irritating
Punk Hazard Kids: Quite liked them
Sugar: No thanks
Dwarf children: Generally forgettable but I do like Wicca

[Katzztar]

Frankly Sugar shouldn't count. She may look like a kid thanks to her power stopping her aging, but she is 20 yrs old, not a kid.
She's an annoying adult that's stuck in a kid's body

[BellisarioFaith]

@Katzztar:

Frankly Sugar shouldn't count. She may look like a kid thanks to her power stopping her aging, but she is 20 yrs old, not a kid.
She's an annoying adult that's stuck in a kid's body

The main reason I agreed to put her there was because, even though she's been alive 22 years, I wasn't sure if her mind stopped aging/developing along with her body. Since she hasn't matured physically, she may not have matured mentally or emotionally, either, and may always have the body and mind of a 10-year-old. Did Oda ever clarify that somewhere?

[Long John Silvers Rayleigh]

Caroline should count IMO since it was a canon idea that was added to the anime because oda wanted them to hit 100 on the dot.

She was pretty funny and alright when she was on the screen

[FelRes]

Caroline was decent from what I remember.

As far as semi-canon-but-not-really kids go, the worst is by far:

!

[dpstatic]

I don't really find any of them to be annoying, but none of them stand out as being likable. Except for Chimney, I find Chimney (and Gonbe) to be quite hilarious.

[Katzztar]

@FelRes:

Caroline was decent from what I remember.

As far as semi-canon-but-not-really kids go, the worst is by far:

!

How is that one semi-canon? I can't remember, and thought she/he appeared only in anime filler, never in manga?

Caroline, daughter of Daddy Masterson, is the only semi-canon kid that I know of. As Long Jon said above, Oda originally planned for her and her dad to appear in the manga but they got cut out so 'debuted' in anime. At first she was annoying but it was in character for her since she was spoiled by her loving father but when befriended Usopp she showed a different side…. didnt' she call Usopp 'brother goblin' at one point?

[Lazy_Monkey]

Now that I think about it, most of this kids played an important role in their respective arks. Enough to say that without them the straw hats would have failed.

[FelRes]

@Katzztar:

How is that one semi-canon? I can't remember, and thought she/he appeared only in anime filler, never in manga?

I just remember it being a lead-up to Strong World, and I just associate everything with that and movie Z as semi/pseudo-canon since I don't recall how related they were.

[Katzztar]

@Lazy_Monkey:

Now that I think about it, most of this kids played an important role in their respective arks. Enough to say that without them the straw hats would have failed.

True most did play pretty important roles to aid the SHs. Notable exceptions are Sugar who was the enemy and Chobo. But he played the role of 'character who helps explain the situation'. Well others did that too (Aisa's character helps explain existence of mantra, Rika's explains Morgan's cruelity) but many did more than just be tools to deliver info or the tool to make the crew have an emotional link to events (Nami and the PH kids, Chobo helps some but not as strong as the PHKs)

[Tangaroa]

I understand that it's an easy way to show the reader there are big stakes/ emotions happening, but not a fan of it myself.

Chimney never seemed to lose her cool even during the worst of Einnes Lobby, so she's my fave.

[mbaruh]

I think the main problem people have with kids in the manga is that they're not independent and need the care of others.. or in other words just like virtually any other kid. Maybe because people see them as those who divert the protagonists from doing their thing, having to take care of those children.

I personally don't really have a problem with any child in the manga. Like you said, they're kinda just "there" for me. Their characters aren't really ever developed and they go away pretty quickly. They're usually used as a plot device or comic relief.

[Lifeswork]

The cannon kids pre-timeskip were all good.
Plot device, comic relief, or in the Usopp pirate's case they had enough character buildup for the reader to care about.
To say likable is hard however, being only for plot or humor makes it hard to say 'I like this character'
Post time-skip are meh.
Sugar/dwarves don't really count for me.
The PH kids are another plot device for 'Ceasar is a dick'
Katzztar nailed why I find Momo annoying, and really my entire view on the cannon kids basically.

[Boing]

I love the Punk Hazard kids.
My favorite island people yet.

[sanji''s_dad]

Momonosuke is needed since he will be the new leader of wano so wano's forces can help the strw hats in the final war now that his dad is dead plus his dad was a roger
pirate. Usopp Pirates can make their own pirate crew or join Usopp when they're older if he makes his own pirate crew. Aisa: kid that can use observation haki which helped introduce haki also had funny wtf face when luffy survived enel's attacks Chimney was part mermaid and saved luffy from drowning when he tried to cross the water in a crappy boat.

Sugar is not a real kid since her devil fruit just stops her aging she is around the same age as monet in her early 20's

[Jabberwok]

Chimney, Rika, and the Usopp Pirates are all great. Everyone ranges from occasionally mildly annoying to Momo.

[Nitwit]

@BellisarioFaith:

Agreed. Also, with filler kids, they get way too much focus/emphasis/backstory, to the point that, in several cases, you could argue that they were the main characters or deuteragonists of their filler arcs at the expense of the Straw Hats, who basically devote the entire arc to helping them and many of whom play a minimal role. The canon kids, if they do get flashbacks at all, get enough to make them sympathetic without overdoing it, and the Straw Hats may help them out along the way, but they have a bigger overall goal than just "let's help save this crybaby kid". (Such as Punk Hazard, where they weren't just trying to help the children, but also put Kin'emon back together and defeat/kidnap Caesar.)

"Looks at my avatar for a minute" :sad:

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

@BellisarioFaith:

The main reason I agreed to put her there was because, even though she's been alive 22 years, I wasn't sure if her mind stopped aging/developing along with her body. Since she hasn't matured physically, she may not have matured mentally or emotionally, either, and may always have the body and mind of a 10-year-old. Did Oda ever clarify that somewhere?

It was never stated that it involved her mind.
Also comparing her to other silly characters in the story it should be obvious that we should count her as an adult.