One Piece is a popular Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew as they search for the legendary treasure known as “One Piece” in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
One of the most mysterious members of Luffy’s crew is Brook, a skeletal musician who ate the Revive-Revive Fruit and came back to life after dying once. This has led many fans to wonder – is Brook immortal in One Piece?
Brook’s Backstory
Brook was originally the musician of the Rumbar Pirates crew. However, the crew got ambushed by enemies and were left stranded on a deserted island. Most of the crew succumbed to illness and poison, but Brook survived long enough to fulfill his promise to deliver a song recording to their friend Laboon, a whale waiting for them at the Twin Capes.
After making the delivery, Brook’s soul searched for his body but got lost in the dense fog surrounding the island. By the time he found it, his body had decayed into just bones. However, the power of the Revive-Revive Fruit he ate allowed his soul to reanimate his skeletal remains.
Brook lived a solitary life on the island for many years, with only the bodies of his deceased crewmates for company. He eventually repaired his ship and set sail, searching for a way to reunite with Laboon and fulfill his former crew’s promise.
The Nature of Brook’s Immortality
The Revive-Revive Fruit allows the user’s soul to reanimate their corpse after death, giving them a second life. While this makes Brook very difficult to kill, he is not truly immortal.
Brook can still die again if his skeletal body is damaged beyond repair. For example, he would perish if his skull is smashed into pieces or his bones disintegrated. The Revive-Revive Fruit only lets him revive once, not multiple times.
Additionally, Brook still feels the effects of aging despite being just bones. He retains memories from his first life before death, implying his soul ages normally over time. After over 50 years of isolation, Brook complained about feeling lonely and old.
Ways Brook Can Potentially Die
Here are some speculated ways that Brook could potentially be killed off for good in One Piece:
- Having his skull completely shattered into fragments
- Getting dismembered with his bones being separated
- Getting his bones burnt into ashes
- Having his soul captured or destroyed
- Drowning at sea (this leaves his soul unable to find his body)
- Running out of calcium and having his bones disintegrate over time
Brook’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Brook does gain some advantages from his undead state. As just bones, he is extremely lightweight and can move quickly, jump high, and access small spaces.
Being dead also makes him immune to things that only affect living beings, like poisoning, bleeding, or suffocation. He has no need to eat, drink, or sleep either.
However, Brook also has notable weaknesses. He is vulnerable to attacks that don’t depend on flesh, like crushing damage. Loud noises can also incapacitate him since his soul resonates inside his hollow skull.
Additionally, while Brook doesn’t need sustenance, he does still need calcium. Without sufficient calcium, his bones will become fragile over time and eventually crumble away.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Very lightweight and agile | Vulnerable to crushing damage |
| Immune to poisoning, suffocation, etc | Loud noises can incapacitate him |
| Doesn’t need to eat, drink or sleep | Requires calcium to maintain bones |
Brook’s Role in the Straw Hat Pirates
As a member of the Straw Hats, Brook serves as both their musician and a fencer-style swordsman. His lightness allows him to walk on water, expanding the crew’s options in naval battles.
Brook’s icy sword techniques combined with his soul powers provide him additional options in combat. His soul can leave his body for reconnaissance missions, letting him spy or possess enemies when needed.
As an undead, Brook is also helpful when the crew needs to enter dangerous areas like anomalous ghost islands in the New World. His revive ability means he can continue fighting even after “dying” in battle.
However, Brook’s tendency to scare people unknowingly causes trouble for the crew at times. His skeletal appearance and cold body temperature freak out civilians easily. The crew has to rein him in to avoid unnecessary chaos.
Notable Moments
Some prominent examples of Brook helping the Straw Hats include:
- Using his soul to scout out Big Mom’s poneglyphs in Whole Cake Island
- Temporarily disabling Big Mom’s homies by countering their souls
- Helping petrify enemy fodder during battles with his freezing aura
- Using his speed and agility to quickly retrieve antidotes or treasures
Interactions with Other Characters
As an undead, Brook’s interactions with other characters are often comedically tense until they get used to his appearance. However, Brook builds strong bonds once past the initial awkwardness.
With the Straw Hats
The Straw Hats find Brook scary at first but quickly warm up to him. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp especially enjoy his funny skeleton jokes and occult horror stories. Nami utilizes Brook for scams involving fake hauntings.
Zoro spars with Brook as a fellow swordsman to keep their skills sharp. Sanji was jealous hearing Brook saw Nami naked but the two bond over being lecherous perverts. Robin finds Brook’s revival abilities academically interesting.
With Other Pirates & Marines
Rival pirates often underestimate Brook until they experience his swordsmanship firsthand. Some pirates are frightened of him being undead.
Marines have little data on Brook initially since his first life wasn’t prominent. But they eventually classify him as a threat post-timeskip after his involvement with the Straw Hats grows.
With Women
Brook is infatuated with women, always asking to see their panties much to their chagrin. However, Brook is very chivalrous deep down and protects women fiercely when they are endangered.
He builds friendships with female allies like Shirahoshi after protecting her from Vander Decken. Older women like Big Mom don’t fall for his goofy pervert routine though.
Conclusion
In summary, while Brook gained pseudo-immortality from the Revive-Revive Fruit, he is not truly invincible. Ways still exist to permanently destroy his bones or captured soul.
Brook remains vulnerable to crushing/shattering damage and needs calcium to maintain bone integrity over time. However, he provides useful strengths to the Straw Hats with his speed, reconnaissance, and sheer stubborn survivability.
As one of the more eccentric Straw Hats, Brook’s interactions with other characters are initially awkward but develop into strong bonds after his antics dispel tension. His undead status provides interesting story opportunities moving forward.