SUMMARY

Joyboy’s silhouette in chapter #1115 suggests he may have been a human, not a Buccaneer or a Giant.
Nika’s legend originating from Elbaf led to speculation about Joyboy being a Giant or a Buccaneer.
The Buccaneers’ great crime could still be linked to Joyboy and his battle against the World Government.

Joyboy’s identity is a puzzle that fans of One Piece have been trying to put together for years and the latest chapter has added to the mystery by disproving a major fan theory. The latest chapter of One Piece has revealed the first-ever glimpse of Joyboy, whose silhouette suggests he may not be a Buccaneer or a Giant as fans have speculated.

Chapter #1115 depicts Joyboy’s silhouette fighting against a group of kings in a form resembling Gear Five as Vegapunk talks about the Void Century and Joyboy’s defeat. While the large straw hat at Mariejois and the mysterious great crime committed by the Buccaneer race have previously pointed to Joyboy having been a Buccaneer, Joyboy’s silhouette in the latest chapter looks fairly human both in size and proportion, not unlike Luffy.

joyboy's silhouette fighting the twenty kings as vegapunk delivers his message in one piece

Joyboy’s silhouette also confirms that Joyboy and Nika are indeed two separate entities, as Joyboy’s silhouette is quite different from that of Gear Five or Nika in chapter #1115. This inevitably brings fans back to square one with Joyboy’s true identity, which is ironic considering Vegapunk has revealed more information about Joyboy in the last few chapters than One Piece ever has throughout the entire series.

One Piece Hints Joyboy Was a Human Just Like Luffy

Created by Eiichiro Oda, Chapter #1115 “Pieces of a Continent“

blacked out silhouette of luffy in a straw hat representing joyboy with luffy in gear 5 laughing in the background with a hand covering his eyes in one piece Luffy in his Gear 5 form standing ready to fight. Behind him, a panel with Joy boy can be seen. a young gol d roger smiling wearing a straw hat representing joyboy in one piece with the silhouette of sun god nika and the nika fruit in the background One Piece: a young luffy smiling with a hand on his straw hat with Roger seated behind him Robin speaks about Joy Boy after reading what seems to be an apology letter from the manblacked out silhouette of luffy in a straw hat representing joyboy with luffy in gear 5 laughing in the background with a hand covering his eyes in one piece Luffy in his Gear 5 form standing ready to fight. Behind him, a panel with Joy boy can be seen. a young gol d roger smiling wearing a straw hat representing joyboy in one piece with the silhouette of sun god nika and the nika fruit in the background
One Piece: a young luffy smiling with a hand on his straw hat with Roger seated behind him Robin speaks about Joy Boy after reading what seems to be an apology letter from the man

With Nika’s legend seemingly originating in Elbaf, it made perfect sense that Joyboy could have been a Giant or even a Buccaneer. The Buccaneers are said to carry the blood of the Giants, which seemingly explains why they were well acquainted with the legend of the Sun God and religiously passed down the knowledge across generations. The large frozen straw hat at Mariejois also seemed to be the perfect size for a Buccaneer which, together with the Buccaneer race’s great crime mentioned in chapter #1096, all pointed to Joyboy belonging to the newly introduced race.

Nonetheless, the latest chapter suggests Joyboy may have been a regular human, throwing every meticulously crafted fan theory out the window. Incidentally, this revelation also makes Joyboy much more similar to Luffy and Roger. Fans have always envisioned Joyboy looking like a younger version of Roger with the classic broad, toothy smile on his face that often accompanies members of the D Clan, which could coincidentally end up being right on the money.

luffy winking on the cover of volume 27 of one piece and luffy with an eye patch

On the flip side, Joyboy could also end up looking a lot like Luffy, with the only difference between them being an eye patch. According to a statement by Oda from 2007 in the One Piece 10th Treasures, a pirate with an eye patch is set to appear in the Final Saga of One Piece. Given that Joyboy was recently revealed to be the first-ever pirate, the character with the eye patch that Oda has been itching to draw all these years may be none other than Joyboy.

What Could Be The Buccaneers’ Great Crime?

One Piece Saturn reveals the truth about the Buccaneer race

If Joyboy wasn’t a Buccaneer, the main question that remains is that of the Buccaneer race’s supposed crime against the World Government. After all, this crime was the reason the Buccaneer race was enslaved and hunted down to extinction for centuries. The Buccaneers did not create the legend of Nika, nor did they produce the individual who went on to become the first-ever pirate, both of which could have fit the bill perfectly.

One Piece Zunesha Joy Boy Connection

It is possible that the Buccaneers, like Zunesha, were part of Joyboy’s so-called ‘faction’ that clashed against the twenty kings. Zunesha is the only other being in One Piece similarly accused of such a grievous crime, and his status as Joyboy’s companion may be a clue to his crime as well as that of the Buccaneer race.

Overall, Joyboy’s identity is a mystery that continues to deepen with every new piece of information revealed about him. Every time fans feel like they’ve come a little closer to the truth, Eiichiro Oda throws in a curveball that messes with any theories. However, this ability to keep fans on their toes is what has made One Piece such an enduring classic.