One Piece: Why Yamato Didn't Join The Straw Hats

One Piece has now fully thrust itself into the final saga of Eiichiro Oda's massive long-running manga series, and unfortunately, the fan-favorite fighter Yamato is not an official part of the Straw Hat crew like many fans had hoped. Luffy and his crew has officially left the shores of Wano Country, and although the Grand Fleet has gotten even bigger, it's still far from another physical addition to the main crew that fans were hoping for. But at the same time, there's a pretty big reason why Yamato has not gotten into the crew. It just might not be the right time for it.  

Yamato was first introduced to the series with the third part of the Wano Country arc as Luffy and the others made their way to Onigashima. Kaido's son was a huge hit with fans early on for the declaration that not only did they believe themselves to be Kozuki Oden, but wanted to sail out on the seas with Luffy's crew (like they had been waiting for years to do). But in a sudden turn of events, Yamato revealed that they wanted to stay on Wano for a bit rather than heading out to seas. It's a bummer, but Yamato would really have no real reason to be on the crew now. At least not yet, anyway. 

The timing's been rough for Yamato from the start. While Luffy has had a history of bringing on a new member of the crew within a single arc's time, Yamato was technically only in the third part of the Wano arc overall. Taking this even further, Yamato's time with Luffy was even shorter. Though Luffy has a connection with Yamato as a friend (and did offer a position on the crew should Yamato want it someday), it's not exactly one where you'd totally buy Luffy accepting Yamato as a full member of the crew. On top of that, it was also someone else's time to join the crew. 

Jinbe has officially become a member of the Straw Hat crew, and Wano Country is his official arc in which he joins completely! Following the set up from Whole Cake Island, Wano was the first battle Jinbe fought as a member of the Straw Hats. Not only that, but much like the other members of the crew he serves a major purpose and will be their shipwright for the foreseeable future. Yamato would have been fun to watch in an Oden like capacity, but the fighter also serves no main purpose to keep in the crew for now. At least not yet. 

Yamato notably knows the secret of the One Piece thanks to Oden's journals and will likely have the info for a major reveal in the future. But that's not exactly a role that needed to be filled for now. Yamato says that the decision to stay was made to follow in Oden's footsteps and at least explore Wano before heading out to the rest of the world, so it's not like they won't be a part of the crew forever. It's just not time yet, and we'll likely see Yamato come into play again when the manga really is in the endgame and Luffy makes a finally play for the One Piece. 

How do you feel about Yamato joining the Straw Hats? Do you think the door is still open for Yamato to join in the future? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!