19/06/2026
is continuing the Elbaph arc with the release of new chapters, and in the past few chapters, the series has surprisingly dived into Brook’s past and seemingly confirmed that he is the most tragic Straw Hat. While the series doesn’t outright say this, it is heavily implied by how it has portrayed Brook as a character plagued by multiple tragedies. This is relatively more than any other Straw Hat. While tragedy can be subjective, as the traumatizing events depicted in Sanji, Robin, or Nami’s backstories could be considered more severe, Brook’s multiple stories have layers that have continuously left him alone.
Before the latest backstory, Brook was revealed to have died from poisonous wounds after his crew engaged in a fatal battle in the treacherous Florian Triangle. However, due to the Revive-Revive Fruit, Brook came back to life a year after his death, thus acquiring his skeleton body. While living in a skeleton body is already a tragedy, Brook then spent the next 50 years alone in the mist of the Florian Triangle. While this highlights that he has spent more time alone than anyone else, his dynamic with Laboon is another tragic story that could bring tears to anyone’s eyes. While these were already enough tragedies, the latest backstory highlights that Brook had been plagued by tragedy since his childhood.
Ever since the latest backstory about Brook began, it has already started on a tragic note by revealing that Brook’s parents and brother died of starvation, prompting him into a life of suffering and scraping for food until he was eleven years old. This was the point when his life began to change with the involvement of Prince Reuven of the Esperia Kingdom, who gave him a proper education and the opportunity to learn music and become a great swordsman. As Brook grew older, he eventually became a leading soldier of one of the kingdom’s prominent reinforcements and the protector of Reuven’s daughter, Shuri, as well.
However, this did not last long, as one of the major conflicts Brook witnessed involved the God’s Knights, who overtook Shuri and made her cut down her own father. It is clear that with this development, Brook will be forced to move on from his home kingdom and become a pirate. This backstory proves that Brook has been alone during multiple periods throughout most of his life, and none of the other Straw Hats come close to that. Brook constantly watched his loved ones die, yet he continued to be as cheerful as he could, never reflecting that pain in his personality.
What’s worse is that Brook might also be the last Straw Hat to remain alive, seeing his crewmates die of old age since Brook cannot age. One Piece has done well to portray Brook as a cheerful character who is always joking, but it is tragic that all of this stems from his constantly being lonely after facing multiple tragedies, which is why he emerges as one of the most tragic Straw Hats.
