What Arlong Is In One Piece: Netflix's Live-Action Fishmen Explained (2024)

WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for the One Piece manga and anime.

Since Netflix's One Piece does not delve into the details of Arlong's identity, his race, and where he comes from, here is a breakdown of everything the original manga and anime have revealed about him and other fish-men. After walking through a myriad of adventures in Luffy's journey as a pirate, Netflix's live-action One Piece finally introduces Arlong in its final arc by highlighting how he had enslaved Nami. Unlike the manga, which takes its time to unveil the true motives of the fish-men and the reason for their hate towards humans, the live-action series explicitly mentions why Arlong shows no mercy towards other humans.

However, despite establishing a well-defined lore for the fish-men from the beginning itself, One Piece holds back from introducing others of their kind. For instance, Momoo, a prevalent part of Arlong's crew in the source material, does not appear in the show. Apart from not introducing key fish-men characters, Netflix's One Piece also abstains from delving too deep into the history, abilities, and motives of the fish-men because of its limited runtime. Hence, here is a detailed explanation of Arlong's race in One Piece.

What Fishmen Are In One Piece's World

In One Piece's universe, two primary humanoid races live underwater: the fish-men and the merfolk. Unlike the merfolk, who possess the upper bodies of humans and lower bodies of fishes, the fish-men have several distinct human and fish-like features distributed all throughout their bodies. For example, as seen in the One Piece live-action series' ending arc, most fish-men stand on two feet like humans but have other fish body parts like webbed hands and feet, gills under their necks, and sharp teeth. The live-action adaptation also accurately portrays how, depending on the kind of fish they take after, the fish-men can vary in size and appearance.

RELATED: What The “D” Stands For In Monkey D. Luffy: Essential One Piece LoreBiologically, the fish-men possess both lungs and gills, allowing them to survive on land and water. While some fish-men exhibit the features of only one particular fish, many of them portray a combination of features, belonging to a myriad of fish species. Arlong, as seen in the live-action, takes after saw sharks. Fish-men can also interbreed with humans, merfolk, and even giants. There are over 30 known subspecies of fish-men and at least 5 of that of fish-men hybrids. Since they are intellectually more evolved than other regular species of fish, they believe that they were born to dominate all underwater beings and establish their rule over all fish.

What Powers Fishmen Have Compared To One Piece's Humans

Netflix's One Piece accurately shows how the fish-men are incredibly strong even on land, and regular humans do not stand a chance against them in one-on-one battles. Volume 8, chapter 17 of the manga and episode 31 of the anime also mention that the fish-men are precisely born with ten times more strength than an average human, which explains why even Luffy struggles to keep up with Arlong in a showdown. When in their natural underwater habitat, the fish-men become all the more potent and can also swim way faster than even the fastest human swimmers. Compared to merfolk, however, they are relatively much slower at swimming.

Fish-men not only vary in appearance but also possess different abilities. For instance, some fish-men can effectively communicate with other species of fish and use them as weapons during battles. Arlong is easily one of the strongest fish-men, and his shark-like teeth are capable of crushing through the hardest of substances. If his teeth get damaged, he can also regenerate or straighten them. During his battle against Luffy in the live-action, Arlong merely splashes water on Luffy, but that alone is enough to send Luffy flying. Many fish-men possess similar "water bending" abilities, allowing them to hurl water at their enemies and cause severe damage.

The fish-men also primarily practice two martial arts: fish-man karate and fish-man jujutsu. Many techniques and combat styles in these martial arts allow them to manipulate water in such a way that even tiny drops can hit as hard as bullets. The Netflix series also establishes that the ones like Luffy, who eat the Devil Fruit, acquire unique powers but permanently lose their ability to swim. The fruit has a similar impact on fish-men when they eat it, killing their ability to swim but still allowing them to breathe underwater.

Why One Piece's Arlong Is Angry At Humans - History Explained

Netflix's One Piece also portrays that Arlong has a deep-seated hatred towards humans. The primary reason behind this is that, for centuries, humans discriminated against the fish-men, and the World Nobles even enslaved them. Both the fish-men and merfolk were also referred to as species of "fish" instead of being considered "human," which reflects how humans looked down upon them for ages. Not only do fish-men despise humans, but many of them, like One Piece's Arlong, refuse to believe that humans can ever have good intentions because of the persecution they faced at the hands of humanity throughout history.