Zoro vs Mr. 1 - Two Unusual Sword Fighting Styles, The Battle Play by Play

This is one of the more interesting sword fights in One Piece so far. (The other one is Zoro vs Kaku, which I intend to cover too some time.)

Roronoa Zoro is a member of the Straw Hat crew. He is second only to the captain, Luffy, in raw power and combat skill. As you can see from the following image and his ‘pirate flag‘, Zoro is a master of Santoryu – three sword style. (See also The Katana’s Name is Sogeking! for a related post!)

His opponent is Daz Bones, code name Mr. 1. His entire body has the properties of solid steel, and not just steel, but steel blades.

Due to the fact that his very limbs are his weapons, Mr. 1 doesn’t fight like a traditional swordsman so much as an ‘unarmed’ martial artist – using kicks, hand strikes and Capoeira/acrobatic spins to engage the opponent.

Pit these two very unconventional swordfighting styles against one another, and you have a unique matchup, which I present to you along with play by play narration below the fold!

Captions follow images.

Here you can see how Mr. 1 blocks with his forearm-turned-blade.

And here changing the front of his leg into a blade…

To do a vertical kick with, Taekwondo style.

Now he uses the back of his leg in an almost literal axe kick.

Palm strike with bladed fingers.

Followed by a side kick.

Zoro gets serious and equips his third sword.

ONI…

GIRI!

TORA…

GARI!

Pow! Zoro just hit Mr. 1 with two of his most powerful Santoryu attacks, each combining the blows from all three swords simultaneously! A short interlude to describe them.

The first, Oni Giri, literally translates as ‘Demon Slash’. Zoro strikes with all three swords crossing at a single point:

The second, carried out in mid air while Mr. 1 is still airborne from the force of Oni Giri, is Tora Gari, lietrally translating as ‘Tiger Hunt’. Zoro slashes vertically with his two handheld swords while slashing horizontally with his mouth-held sword.

Zoro is surprised and annoyed when Mr. 1 gets up and brushes himself off after the two supposed-to-be-devastating attacks! How does one cut steel?

Mr. 1 returns to the offensive with a flying kick…

Immediately afterwards landing in a handstand and performing a Capoeira-style spinning kick.

Zoro replies with a flurry of quick strikes. Three swords mean three times the attack rate!

But Mr. 1 easily parries with his bladed arms. Even if his body were hit, it would do little more than stun and annoy him.

Zoro goes for a powerful double slash, and is stopped by Mr. 1′s rising kick.

Or is it the other way around? Here’s where the Santoryu style really shows its immediate advantage over two sword styles. While Mr. 1′s leg is immobilized by the first two swords…

Zoro clenches his jaw hard…

And strikes with the third sword!

Mr. 1 recovers only to see Zoro already in stance for another attack.

GAZAMI…

DORI!

Literally, ‘Crab Seize’. Mr. 1′s head is pincered between two swords moving in opposite directions.

The invulnerable Mr. 1 has had enough of the treatment he’s been receiving from the quicker and more skilful Zoro. It’s time for an ultimate attack – circular blades pop out from his arms.

They’re spinning excavator drills! SPIRAL HOLLOW!

Their speed is great enough to cause sparks to fly!

And Zoro takes a direct hit to the abdomen. Can he survive the punishment? Will he find a counter to Mr. 1′s seeming invincibility against swords?

Find out for yourself! Read the entire fight in Chapter 194 and Chapter 195 at OneManga (with preliminary sparring starting from page 16 of Chapter 193), or watch it in Episode 119 at Watch One Piece (with preliminaries in Episode 118).

And if you want another action-packed fight – along with heartbreaking drama – then see Luffy vs Usopp: The Spirit of the Clashing Men.

Tags: daz bones, gazami dori, mr 1, One Piece, One Piece Anime, One Piece manga, oni giri, read one piece manga, Roronoa Zoro, santoryu, three swords, tora gari, Watch One Piece Anime, Watch One Piece Anime Online, zoro vs mr 1