Over the years, One Piece has redeemed many a villain, even converting some into members of the Straw Hats, though no other character in the series better encapsulates the series’ powers of character redemption than Buggy. Initially introduced as a pathetic, gag villain, Buggy’s character has grown quite considerably over the years, as has Buggy’s importance in the world of One Piece, and at some point during Buggy’s journey of failing upwards, his character has grown on fans to the point that many are even rooting for him to beat Luffy at finding the One Piece. Other than being completely in line with Buggy’s character and a completely unexpected plot twist, Buggy becoming the Pirate King would also be incredibly funny, and One Piece just gave him the spotlight for his birthday.
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August 8th marks the birthday of everyone’s beloved clown, the one and only Buggy, and One Piece just shared an all-new illustration in his honor. In a recent post on X by @OPcom_info, One Piece shared new birthday art of Buggy as a child, along with young Shanks and Roger. Buggy can be seen holding a cake, topped with raspberries as red as his nose, and shoving Shanks away while smiling devilishly. Meanwhile, the former Pirate King, Roger, can be seen in the background smiling at his two adoptive sons like the proud father that he is.
One Piece Highlights Buggy for His Birthday in New Art

Given that dedicated birthday posts and art are reserved for Luffy and the Straw Hats and almost-Straw Hats like Carrot, it is quite special to see Buggy get the recognition and attention he deserves on his birthday.
Besides this adorable new art featuring Roger and Shuggy, One Piece’s official X handle also shared a second Buggy poster highlighting one of his best moments in the entire series, the moment Buggy declares his intentions to claim the One Piece even in the face of absolute humiliation and scorn from Mihawk and Crocodile. This one moment truly gives fans an all-new perspective on Buggy, while the flashback even evokes strong sympathy for him.
Overall, love him or hate him, there’s certainly a small part of Buggy that’s respectable, this being his ambition and conviction to never give up. Even if he continues to fumble and stumble his way into success, Buggy does indeed deserve to be the Pirate King at some point, be it before or after Luffy, and it’s nice to see One Piece give him the appreciation he deserves on his birthday.
One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
Source: @OPcom_info on X.