Roronoa Zoro, the former pirate hunter and one of the 11 supernova is a fan favourite of the readers not only because of him being a powerful character but because of his ability to be the rock that holds the rag tag bunch together.

The vice-captain, known for his absolutely trash sense of direction, does not sway when he chooses his words for the opponent or to make sure the crew is kept in check. Zoro, a man of few words generally, does not fail to rouse the fans with some of the most badass lines in anime, making him a character whose popularity exceeds that of the main character Luffy himself.

Zoro is a realist in a crew filled with idealist. He often keeps the crew reminded about the harsh realities of the One Piece world. Being an incredibly straightforward individual, he often words things that sound harsh, but are the realities of living in a world of zero sum.

The epitome of loyalty, Zoro – on his path to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman and to take the position as the Right Hand of the Future of the Pirate King, is One Hundred Percent concentrated power of will. Believing in his goal with such conviction, shouldering the promises to his childhood friend Kuina, his Captain, Zoro forges on in the series with grit, determination, resolve and sometimes his witty, condescending, one liners to his adversaries. 

Now let’s look at some of the quotes said by the Vice-Captain, Roronoa Zoro!!!

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Best Roronoa Zoro Quotes:

Kicking things off with number one quote on the list is,

“Fine! I’d rather be a pirate than die here”

The words that sealed the fate and bound both the future king of pirates and the future world’s swords man to each other. Zoro was a Swordsman-Pirate Hunter who made a living hunting down pirates in the East Blue village.

Due to some circumstances, he ends up bound to a pole up for execution, and in exchange for his freedom from the capture, “the son of the devil” as Zoro calls him, Luffy tells him to join his crew and Zoro, being the realist who will do anything to make his dream come true, says “Fine, I’d rather be a pirate than die here”.

A quote showing Zoro’s will to survive and doing whatever it takes to become the best swordsman in the world.

“Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame”

This is a quote by Roronoa Zoro that made the current Strongest Swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk take an interest in the novice swordsman.

When his search for the strongest swordsman was cut short after finding Mihawk before entering the grand line, Zoro challenges the swords master to a duel. Giving his strongest attack and losing, Zoro, true to his nature, exemplified that he ain’t a coward. He then asks Mihawk to strike him on the front with his Black Blade.

These are words that embody the spirit of Zoro like Courage, Fairness and Honour.

“To meet someone so extraordinary, I cannot allow myself to be ordinary.”

This quote is from the time when Zoro fought the self-proclaimed master of the 6 sword style Hachi of the fish man pirates led by the despicable Arlong. Zoro, severely wounded after his battle with Mihawk, breaks in to Arlong park with the Straw hats to avenge Nami and end up fighting the fishman.

Zoro pushes himself unconditionally during the battle with Hachi, after understanding the power gap that he needed to close the gap between him and Mihawk.

Even though this quote was not said out loud, with a badass reaction from everyone – it shows what Zoro is made of – a man of focus, commitment and sheer will, something we mortals know very little about.

“I may have only 3 swords, but the weight of our swords are completely different”

Once again a quote from the very scene in Arlong Park Arc we mentioned above. Hachi who equates his strength to the number of blades and the weight of each of the blade he has, is retorted by Zoro saying that despite numerical superiority of blades, Hachi’s blades will never match up to the weight Zoro carries.

His dream, his best friends’ aspirations, the promise to his captain, the prayers of his rival will only makes his blade heavier and heavier every step of the way.

Despite being seen like a wild beast who only operates solo, deep down Zoro knows that there are many people who he can count on as he pushes to become the world’s strongest swordsman.

“Is leaving the crew such an easy thing ?”

Zoro says these lines as Luffy and Chopper go to get Usopp after their fight for Going Merry. This entire monologue by Zoro has to be one of the best descriptions of what it means to exist as a team in a world that is fighting for survival.

Even though all the members of crew have very specific individual goals, at the core of the Straw Hat Pirates is always a ‘We’ and never ‘I’. Leaving the crew or challenging a member over their whims and joining the crew back again without any consequence was a big NO for Zoro as he knew any one of them could do it over again.

He even threatens to leave the crew if Usopp was brought back without any consequence. Though it sounds incredibly selfish on his part, realistically it made so much sense that Sanji agreed with the Mosshead without any questions asked.

Truly a realist through and through.

“A crew whose captain has lost his ‘dignity’ will surely collapse”

In the same scene as above, as Zoro continues to school Chopper and Nami, he says that the crew which loses it dignity for the captain is a crew that is bound to collapse. And he goes on to say that in case Luffy humiliates himself by bringing back Usopp with no consequence, he would leave the crew.

This statement may not seem like a rational argument, but these are words that come out of the loyalty that the swordsman has for the captain, it comes from a place where he put is life on the line for another person and he would never like to see the name of that person tarnished.

If this is not loyalty and admiration to the captain of the crew, I don’t know what is!!

“The only one who has the right to call me an idiot is me alone”

If not giving 2 cents about what people think had a face, that would be of Zoro.

Zoro says this quote to Sanji when he ridicules the crew on listening to their ambition to go to the grand line. An irked Zoro responded to Sanji stating that the moment they all set sail to achieve their dreams, all the crew members had cast aside their lives for the goal.

They had to advance through the difficulties that lay ahead and the grand line was just another stepping stone for them to achieve what they desired and make their dreams a reality.

So don’t go around making fun of people’s dreams y’all. You’ll never know when you might come across Zoro. (YOLO I guess).

“If it’s a fight he wants, then I won’t back down”

After the battle with Moria, Kuma the tyrant appears on the battlefield on the orders of the world government to take Moria to safety and pummel the Straw Hats in the process.

After defeating the Straw Hats with his power and incapacitating half of the victims of Thriller Bark, Kuma turns to Zoro. Zoro complies with his orders asking the remaining members to stand down.

The words show the brute swordsman’s soft side in making sure the people were safe and his exhausted self would take the brunt of Kuma’s attack. This is definitely a quality that one can learn from – to protect the weak and innocent. Pretty cool.

“Nothing Happened”

“Nothing Happened” is a line that sends shivers down the spines of One Piece lovers. If there was a giga-chad moment in One Piece, this would be a top contender for the spot, if not the number one. Zoro strikes a deal with Kuma asking him to spare the lives of his crew mates saying “If I cannot protect my captains dream’ then whatever ambition I have is nothing but talk”.

Kuma, honoring his words, pushes out the pain from Luffy’s body for Zoro to take on; leading to Sanji finding him covered in blood. This truly shows the belief he has about Luffy and his dream.

Even if his dreams remain unfulfilled, he wants his captain’s to be fulfilled and in that process, loosing blood and breaking bones for the captain is nothing for Zoro.   

I’ll be the world’s greatest swordsman so that my name will reach the heavens.

This quote by Zoro is a promise. A promise to his deceased rival, Kuina.

As Zoro receives the sword Wado Ichimonji from his sensei and Kuina’s father – he promises to each of them that he would become the greatest swordsman in the world. So strong and powerful that his name would reach the heavens.

More than a promise to them, it is a promise to self that plays in the back of Zoro’s mind. It’s the will that keeps Zoro moving forward, the one that pushes him while in a pinch, the very same desire that made him ally with Monkey D. Luffy and the very same one with which he swings his sword.

These words have always been very special to him, making him get stronger and protecting his friends. It’s a promise so strong that he would even strike a deal with devil if it meant assuring that the goal is reached.

“A hero is someone who will share his sake with other people, But I want to drink it all by myself”

This is quote shows how hilariously oblivious the vice-captain of the Straw Hats Pirate is in reality. The pirates are traditionally considered to be evil and the marines are always said to be righteous. Black and white right? But the thing we need to notice is that the Straw hats are not pirates in the traditional sense.

They have always been liberators of the oppressed. They just do it without expecting anything and being called heroes are probably the last thing they think about.

When Shirahoshi asks Zoro why he does not want to recognized as a hero, he gives the best reason possible. Funnily the reason is eerily similar to what his captain Luffy says. So, like Captain, Like Vice-Captain the fandom guess.

“Everyone should do what they can with their lives on the line and say to the next guy; if you don’t finish it, I’ll come kick your ass”

The essence of the conversation between Zoro and the recently joined Chopper in the Alabasta Arc waters down what Zoro says in the above quote. The straw hats are a bunch of individuals that all have their own dreams they aspire to achieve, that is very different from what Luffy wants.

But that diversity is what makes the Straw hats have a sense of team work –Everyone does in their bit, instead of one person helping another. If you don’t do your part, someone from the team will definitely kick your ass.

This is such a unique take on the idea of teamwork – instead of one team focusing on making one idea come to light, everybody does contributions to their capacity in different areas and make everyone’s dream come true. 

“Being caught off guard is gonna cost us our life from now on”

Following Luffy’s defeat at the hands of Ceaser clown, an irked Zoro yells this quote to Luffy. The manner in which he yells, even though pretty harsh, it signifies the deep care he has for the crew.

Continuing from the above, here Zoro is kicking Luffy’s ass for not doing the one thing he is supposed to be doing. Be alive. 

After the event that transpired at Sabondy, Zoro knows the pain of being helpless in the face of stronger foes. Almost dying just after starting in the New World made Zoro extremely angry at Luffy, and Luffy understanding the assignment promises Zoro that it would not happen again. 

“Have you seen an animal so fierce that you were sure would never bite?”

Arguably one of the most badass quotes of Zoro in the story has to be this statement he said to Monet. Such levels of confidence in his own power, that Zoro condescendingly looks down on the latter.

His presence was so strong that Monet could not even move due to the realization of the power gap. Monet understands that she was being played around by Zoro and he could have had her cut down any moment he wanted to when she thought, she was toying with the Vice commander Tashigi.

This also shows how Zoro does not bother with the weak and can quite look down on swordsman who are all talk and no show. 

“Luffy! Must be the man who becomes the pirate king”

Zoro says this line to Kuma while asking to spare the captains life and take his own instead. A person who always believed in his gaols and kept advancing toward his goals was ready to lay down hi life for someone else. Now that is saying something.

Call it loyalty, dedication, admiration or whatever, this was a moment of pure Goosebumps!! Knowing that he placed Luffy above his dreams and wanted to make sure that Luffy would become the King of pirates, and in doing so he also indirectly entrusted his will to the captain knowing that he would carry it forward.

A hardcore, yet an amazingly touching moment from Zoro to end the list.

Which of these Zoro quotes from One Piece is your favorite? List them out in the comments below!!