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Zoan is one of the three Devil Fruit types. This type of fruit allows the user to transform into another species and inter-species hybrid forms at will.[2] Zoan types are especially effective in close combat. The term was first used when Dalton's Devil Fruit was used to attack Wapol.[3]

Effects

Zoan Devil Fruits allows the user to transform into another species. This type of fruit provides three basic forms:

  • Human Form (人型, Hito-gata?)[4]: The user's natural form.
  • Human-Beast Form (人獣型, Jinjū-gata?)[4]: A hybrid form, combining both the original and the fruit-bestowed species into an unusual form (usually in a bizarre way where the size is greatly exaggerated).
  • Beast Form (獣型, Kemono-gata?)[4]: A fully transformed type.

However, through training, it is possible for Zoan users to unlock different transformations (for instance, Marco, who could transform individual parts of his body, and Chopper, who could transform into at least seven different forms even without the use of a Rumble Ball). The only known hybrid forms of human users shown so far that were not bipedal is the Hebi Hebi no Mi series (as snakes do not have legs). Another effect shown is that in many different known Zoan users, when in a half-human half-animal hybrid, sometimes the user tends to get bigger than they originally are, even to giant proportions.

Inanimate Object Zoan

Inanimate objects have been shown to be able to "eat", or otherwise consume Devil Fruits. The technique used to make objects "eat" a fruit was developed by Dr. Vegapunk, and has not yet been revealed, but is not limited to solid materials, as gaseous slime can also be used as a medium. So far, Zoan is the only type of Devil Fruit that inanimate objects have been shown as being able to absorb. Only five cases of this have been seen so far: Mr. 4's bazooka Lassoo (Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dachshund), Spandam's sword Funkfreed (Zo Zo no Mi), Caesar Clown's pet slime Smiley (Sara Sara no Mi, Model: Axolotl), and — non-canonically — Shuzo's bazooka Alpacacino and Patrick Redfield's pen Pato (Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Bake-danuki).

Objects that have ingested a Zoan fruit gain the mobility and intelligence of the animal they turn into. This can be a drawback as the object can also feel pain as well as become susceptible to diseases. In the animal form, they can be intimidated, as seen when Franky threatened Funkfreed.[5] This has only been used on weapons so far, to increase their destructive power. Inanimate object Zoans also seem to be very loyal to whomever owns them.

Strengths

The Zoan fruits primarily improve physical abilities and allow the user to use his or her three forms to adapt to a situation during a fight to find the form that gives the biggest advantage.

Zoan powers are usually utilized for their hybrid form, as this form enhances the physical statistics of the user by combining positive attributes from both the user and the physical-level equivalent of the Zoan species. Zoan fruits are thus favored among already strong users who prefer to enhance their physical abilities for the use of martial arts, such as Kaku. This can help create new fighting styles. Another rather minor advantage is that depending on the scenario, a Zoan user can go undetected by simply changing the physical form they have to one unfamiliar to those around them. It also offers the element of surprise when the foe has little experience with fighting that particular form.

Inu Inu no Mi, Model Dachshund Infobox

This type can be applied to inanimate objects, thereby giving life to the objects.

In their hybrid form, Zoan users experience enhanced senses, as this form uses a combination of both the user's and the fruit's abilities. Skilled Zoan users are also capable of using their powers to shape-shift out of harm's way; this is particularly useful, especially when the Zoan's body has been restrained, as Chopper demonstrated so many times (such as Chopper switching from heavy point to the smaller brain point to dodge a strike).

In addition to an increase in physical strength and enhanced senses, some Zoan users may have an special ability affiliated with the animal their fruit is based off, such examples are:

  • Pell's bird type Zoan allows him flight.
  • Miss Merry Christmas' mole type Zoan allows her to tunnel through the earth.
  • Rob Lucci's leopard type Zoan gives him sharp claws and teeth, and so does Jabra's wolf type Zoan.
  • Boa Marigold's king cobra type Zoan allows her to spit venom.
  • Pekoms' tortoise type Zoan grants him a protective shell.

This fruit type is also useful for applying to objects such as guns or swords, giving an otherwise inanimate object life and increasing its value to the owner of the item. The method of application is however, as of yet, unknown.

Zoans could be considered amongst the seemingly least impressive type of Devil Fruits, as they primarily rely on brute force and some of them are physically very weak animals (such as a Dachshund). However, it is also the type that was most extensively experimented on so far, even leading to the creation of man-made Zoan Fruits.

However, rare Zoans such as those labeled "Mythical" can be considered as impressive and as powerful as Logias and may even display some attributes of the Paramecia and/or Logia classes to generate rare and incredible powers combined in one person. An example is Marco's rare ability as a phoenix to instantly regenerate from any wound, making him more than equivalent to Logia users in damage tolerance as well his ability to generate his own certain element: the blue phoenix flames.

Another type of rare Zoans is one labeled "Ancient," such as X Drake's Zoan Devil Fruit. He is able to transform into a large dinosaur, which explains the label of "Ancient." Ancient Zoans are supposedly stronger than regular Zoan users.

Awakening

Jailer Beasts Infobox

The Jailer Beasts are Awakened Zoan.

Like all Devil Fruit abilities, Zoan types can also be "awakened", attaining the ability to be stronger, faster and tougher than normal. This also includes faster recovery time, which functions involuntarily even when the user is unconscious. However, an Awakened Zoan fruit user has no sign of complex thought, seemingly acting out on instinct and power. They are always in a form similar to their animal form, and yet they are somehow able to stand erect and hold weapons. The five Jailer Beasts are all classified as such users.[6]

Weaknesses

Physical powers granted are restricted to just the capabilities of the proportionate physical equivalent of the animal they are able to transform into. In hybrid form, these strengths of both species may be combined, but again seems to be just a mixture of both forms. While it is true that they enhance the strengths of the consumer, they rely primary on the consumers fighting skills and capabilities. Some users such as Pierre demonstrated little improvements in their capabilities overall, therefore depending on what species the user is and what the fruit has to offer, a Zoan fruits abilities may end up nothing more than a physical change of appearance to that particular consumer. However this does not mean the fruit itself was worthless as all Devil Fruits are subject to fate on who consumes them. As demonstrated by Kaku, when a Zoan Devil Fruit is first consumed the most difficult task may prove simply learning how to fit the change of physical appearance to the fighting styles already known to the user. Kaku himself also seems to have little control at first over what form he took, in one case landing in the wrong form during the fights at Enies Lobby.

Like the Paramecia, Zoans may leave their users as "freaks" in their hybrid form due to the way that the combination of both physical forms is mashed together. Both Chopper and Kaku in particular were considered freaks due to the strange way their hybrid forms had materialized with Chopper being considered a "monster" even by his family and Kaku ending up mocked for his heavily cube-like body.

Furthermore, inanimate objects animated to life through the use of Zoan fruits become living creatures that need to be fed and groomed. Also, these once-inanimate objects gain their own free will and basic life's weaknesses, such as Funkfreed being threatened by Franky[5] and Lassoo contracting a cold.

If an animal ate a Zoan-class Devil Fruit that is exactly the same as their original species (such as a human eating the Hito Hito no Mi), it would result in a complete waste, as they do gain no transformation whatsoever, yet all the typical weaknesses of Devil Fruit users.[7]

Sub-Classes

Among the Zoan Devil Fruits and users, some of them can be categorized together into common types with common traits depending on what type of animal they turn into.

Carnivorous Zoan

File:Neko Neko no Mi Model Leopard.png

The Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard is a Carnivorous Zoan.

As stated by Tony Tony Chopper, animals of the Carnivorous Zoan (肉食の動物系, Nikushoku no Zōn-kei?) are more predatory and bloodthirsty than others by nature and as such tend to be better adapted for combat. Users that turn into such animals are naturally more dangerous and powerful in physical combat, and may have useful features, such as claws, to aid in a fight.[8] One of the most extreme examples of such a Zoan user is Rob Lucci, who went as far as to maul his opponent in full-leopard form.

Ancient Zoan

File:X Drake's Dinosaur Form.png

Drake's dinosaur fruit is an Ancient Zoan.

As stated by Scratchmen Apoo, the Ancient Zoan (「動物系」古代種, Zōn-kei Kodaishu?) is apparently a much rarer type of Zoan Devil Fruit which allows the users to transform into ancient and extinct animals, such as prehistoric reptiles like dinosaurs. The only Ancient Zoan that has been shown so far is from X Drake, allowing him to transform into a carnivorous dinosaur. It was also implied that the Ancient Zoan users are physically stronger than normal Zoans.[9]

Mythical Zoan

File:Marco's Phoenix Form.png

Marco's phoenix fruit is a Mythical Zoan.

Mythical Zoan (「動物系」幻獣種, Zōn-kei Genjūshu?) fruits are an exceptionally rare and immensely powerful type of Zoan Devil Fruit and is said to be even rarer than Logia Devil Fruits. Unlike the other types of Zoan Devil Fruits, this type of fruit may be the only one considered impressive, owing to its rarity and the unique powers it bestows upon the user. They allow users to transform into mythological creatures (which may have special abilities that are comparable to Paramecia and Logia Devil Fruits), the sorts of which could be regarded as the subject of legends and the like. Only two canonical have been shown so far, belonging to Whitebeard's 1st division commander, Marco "The Phoenix"[10] and Sengoku with his Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu, both of whom are considered extremely strong and immensely powerful individuals. Two non-canonical are Pato with his Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Bake-danuki and his owner Patrick Redfield with the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire.

Artificial Zoan

File:Kaido's Artificial Zoan Army.png

Kaido's army of Artificial Zoan fruit users.

In the Punk Hazard Arc, it is revealed that Dr. Vegapunk attempted to create his own Devil Fruit, however the resulting fruit was a failure. Momonosuke found the failed Devil Fruit and ate it out of hunger. As a result, he was transformed into a Chinese dragon, though he has shown little to no control over the ability.[11] After that, Caesar Clown succeeded in designing specialized Artificial Devil Fruits (人造悪魔の実, Jinzō Akuma no Mi?) which he named Smiles (SMILE(スマイル), Sumairu?), but is only able to produce Zoan types. They are created through the substance concocted by Caesar known as SAD. Kaido, one of the Yonko, uses them to create an army of Zoan users in collaboration with Doflamingo.[12][13] Unlike normal Devil Fruits, these artificial Devil Fruits don't have the typical swirl pattern on them, instead they have ring patterns. The fruit developed by Vegapunk also had these ring patterns.

Other Information

While most Zoan users can only use the three forms, the Straw Hat Pirates' doctor Tony Tony Chopper can utilize more forms for a given amount of time with the aid of the "Rumble Ball", which he developed. It is unknown if other Zoan users can also be affected by the Rumble Ball as Chopper is the only one who has eaten it. However, consecutively eating two or three Rumble Balls in under six hours can cause disastrous results, as the tampering with a Devil Fruit's powers is not something meant to be done. After the timeskip, Chopper does not need a Rumble Ball for his six transformations; only one for a special transformation.

Other scientific research has been done on the Zoan-class Devil Fruit, by Dr. Vegapunk, who has found a way to apply the fruit and the fruit's powers into an inanimate object. This gives the said object new life, and is usually administrated into weapons, creating mobile weapons with their own minds. Only Lassoo, Funkfreed, and Smiley have been confirmed to have undergone this. Outside of the manga canon, Alpacacino and Pato are other examples of inanimate objects consuming Zoan fruits.

A majority of the Zoan Devil Fruits also come in different "models" that result in variations of the animal. For example, the Inu Inu (Dog) Fruit has Jackal, Dachshund, and Wolf models, the Ushi Ushi (Bull or Cow) Fruit has Bison and Giraffe models, and the Hebi Hebi (snake) has Anaconda and King Cobra models. Even for fruits without a model, there may be other fruits within the same series that do have one: an example is Chopper's Hito Hito no Mi and Sengoku's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu.

Users

See also the associated category: Zoan Devil Fruit Users.

  •  (Deceased): the character is deceased.
  •  (Unknown status)?: the character's status is unknown.
  •  (Non-Canon): the character is non-canon.
  •  (Former): the character is no longer part of this group. Hovering the symbol may give further details.
  •  (Note)*: other relevant information. Hovering the symbol gives further details.

List of Known Zoan Fruits

Ushi Ushi no Mi (Cow) series
Hito Hito no Mi (Human) series
Tori Tori no Mi (Bird) series
Inu Inu no Mi (Dog) series
Neko Neko no Mi (Cat) series
Hebi Hebi no Mi (Snake) series
Sara Sara no Mi (Salamander) series
Mushi Mushi no Mi (Insect) series
Batto Batto no Mi (Bat) series
Single model series

Translation and Dub Issues

  • The name "Zoan" for these types of Devil Fruit likely comes from zoanthropy. Zoanthropy is a term that refers to metamorphosis of humans into animals, a term that is interchangeable with therianthropy.
  • The Japanese term Genjūshu has been translated wrongly as "Crypto Zoan" or "Cryptic Zoan" though 幻獣種 literally means "mythical beast type".

Trivia

References

  1. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 15 Chapter 132 and Episode 80, Dalton is introduced.
  2. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 15 Chapter 135 and Episode 81, the concept of Zoan Devil Fruits is introduced.
  3. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 15 Chapter 136 and Episode 82, The term Zoan was used for the first time.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 One Piece Blue: Grand Data File (p. 98-99), Zoan forms named and explained.
  5. 5.0 5.1 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 44 Chapter 423 (p. 9) and Episode 306, Funkfreed reverts to his animal form after Franky threatens him that he will blow a hole to his head.
  6. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 56 Chapter 544 (p. 11) and Episode 447, Crocodile explains that the Jailer Beasts of Impel Down are "awakened" Zoans.
  7. SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 20 (p. 166), Oda reveals that a human eating the Hito Hito no Mi gives no change in the user.
  8. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 37 Chapter 349 (p. 6) and Episode 246, Chopper mentions how carnivorous Zoans are more predatory.
  9. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52 Chapter 509 and Episode 402, Drake reveals a dinosaur Zoan form to Kizaru.
  10. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 57 Chapters 553554 and Episode 463, Marco is revealed to be a Phoenix Zoan.
  11. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 69 Chapter 685 and Episode 611, Luffy encounters Momonosuke who uses his levitation ability to allow them to escape the garbage disposal.
  12. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 69 Chapter 689 and Episode 615, Caesar explains the primary agenda of his experiments for Joker's underworld trafficking.
  13. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 70 Chapters 697698 and Episodes 623625, Law explains Doflamingo and Kaido's business dealings.

External links

  • Therianthropy - A Wikipedia article about human to animal metamorphosis.

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