Roronoa Zoro and Sanji from One Piece have one of the most iconic, beloved and interesting rivalries in the entire anime and manga industry: even though these two powerful fighters are always competing against each other, deep down they still care for the other and want to help their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, become the next Pirate King.
Naturally, this intense rivalry was born because, despite sharing a few obvious similarities, these two characters are extremely different from one another. While the “perverted cook” can do many things that the “moss head” can’t because of this dichotomy, the opposite scenario is also true: Zoro can do many things that Sanji can’t, and these are the most notorious examples of this occurrence.
1 Using Conqueror's Haki
Sanji Still Hasn’t Been Able To Unlock The Final Type Of Haki
After the time skip, both Sanji and Zoro have been shown to be quite skilled at wielding the two basic types of Haki, Armament and Observation. However, during the Wano Country Arc, the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates finally unlocked the third and most powerful type, Conqueror’s Haki. Not only did he use it briefly against Kaido, but he also mastered it very quickly, to the point that he was able to coat his swords with it in his climactic fight against King.
While Sanji also gained a few new useful abilities during the same story arc – mainly the genetic enhancements granted to him by his Germa 66 raid suit – and his Haki is still quite strong, he still hasn’t been able to unlock Conqueror’s Haki. Naturally, this difference in power has been a major source of conflict among Zoro and Sanji fans who are constantly comparing both characters.
2 Cutting Durable Materials
Zoro’s Signature Fighting Style Gives Him An Advantage In Specific Situations
Every single member of the Straw Hat Pirates has a signature fighting style. For example, Luffy performs whacky and over-the-top attacks with his Devil Fruit powers, while Sanji specializes in quick and effective martial arts techniques. In the case of Roronoa Zoro, his main method of attacking is his impeccable swordsmanship.
Thanks to his proficiency with bladed weapons (and his powerful Armament Haki), Zoro has gotten so incredibly strong and skilled that he is now able to cut through durable materials, like steel and rock, or even through the skin and Haki of durable opponents. This unique ability has been really useful in different situations, like in Arabasta, Dressrosa, and Wano – mainly because none of his crewmates can do the same. Granted, Sanji is strong enough to destroy most solid objects with his kicks, but some specific situations require precise cutting with a sword instead.
3 Wielding Three Blades At The Same Time
Sanji Is Surprisingly Good With Swords, But Zoro Is A Lot Better
Even though he almost always prefers to fight with his legs, it’s important to point out that Sanji is quite efficient at wielding bladed weapons (like knives), since he’s a talented chef who knows how to precisely cut ingredients. Naturally, the moment he chose to wield two large knives against Wanze’s Ramen Kempo remains one of his most impressive and memorable feats in the entire series.
But that is still only one small skill in Sanji’s large repertoire of talents, whereas Zoro dedicated his entire life to learning the ways of the sword. This not only means that he’s way more skilled with bladed weapons than his blonde-haired rival, but he’s also a master of Three Sword Style, which allows him to wield three swords at the same time, by using two in each hand and one in his mouth. Sanji is not able to do anything similar and, truth be told, he most likely would never want to hold a dirty metallic sword with his teeth.
4 Fighting With His Bare Hands
Sanji Only Utilizes His Hands For Cooking, While Zoro Is A Walking Weapon
As previously mentioned, Sanji is the talented cook of the Straw Hats and thus, his mentor, Zeff, taught him to never fight with his hands because he may end up damaging them and thus, not being able to cook tasty and nutritious meals for his friends. This is quite a commendable self-imposed challenge, but it also marks a huge difference in fighting styles with his main rival, Roronoa Zoro.
After all, Zoro already risks his hands and arms every time he fights by wielding multiple swords at the same time, so he doesn’t even care if he ends up damaging them, especially because he’s always sure that Chopper will help him heal them. Even if he’s not wielding any swords, Zoro won’t hesitate to punch opponents with his bare fists in a rare fighting style called No Sword Style, which he can be seen using in the Long Ring Long Land Arc and an anime-only scene from the Wano Country Arc.
5 Talking Normally To Women
Zoro Treats Women Like Regular Human Beings
Roronoa Zoro grew up and trained alongside his childhood friend/cousin Shimotsuki Kuina, meaning that he has always been used to interacting normally with women, even though his area of expertise is mostly dominated by men. This part of his personality was perfectly showcased when both Nami and Nico Robin joined the Straw Hat Pirates, whom he treated like any other member of the crew (of course, he initially distrusted Robin, but that was only because she used to be part of Baroque Works). Additionally, he has an endearing and funny rivalry with the marine captain Tashigi.
Sanji, on the other hand, is obsessed with women and will always try to flirt with and/or act chivalrously around them, giving them better treatment and even higher-quality food. Because of this, characters like Nami, Kalifa, or Viola have been able to use his weakness toward women to trick him on more than one occasion, not to mention that he blindly trusted Robin the moment she joined the crew. However, at least Sanji knows a lot more about women, their preferences, and their sensibilities, something that Zoro is extremely ignorant about.
6 Fighting Female Enemies
Sanji’s Biggest Weakness Doesn’t Really Apply To Zoro
Sanji’s love for women is so extreme and so debilitating that he has a self-imposed rule (also taught to him by Zeff) to never actually hit a woman, no matter what. This aligns very well with his personality and beliefs, but it has also been a huge weakness for the entire crew on a few different occasions, since it means he’s downright unable to fight female enemies, like Kalifa from CP9 or Black Maria from the Beasts Pirates.
But Roronoa Zoro treats women like an equal, and thus, he has never had this issue, so he has been able to fight and defeat a few female enemies: he has clashed with Tashigi more than once, he effortlessly took down both Miss Catherina and Miss Monday in Whiskey Peak, and he even had an intense battle against Monet in Punk Hazard.
7 Never Leaving Luffy’s Side
Zoro Is Way Too Loyal To Luffy And Never Had To Leave The Crew
Different members of the Straw Hat Pirates left the crew at some point, and every time this happened, it was because someone else forced them to do it. It happened to Nami in the Arlong Park Arc, it happened to Robin in the Water 7 Arc and, of course, it also happened to Sanji in the Zou Arc and the Whole Cake Island Arc. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s not loyal to his captain and crew, but he sadly had some obvious weaknesses that malicious and manipulative people (in this case, Germa 66 and Big Mom) were easily able to exploit.
On the other hand, Roronoa Zoro has become Monkey D. Luffy’s most loyal friend and crewmate, and he has never left the crew since the moment he joined. It’s hard to say if someone else would be able to manipulate him in the same way CP9 blackmailed Robin or Germa 66 blackmailed Sanji, but considering Zoro is much more straightforward and insensitive than his eternal rival, it would certainly be much more difficult to do that to him. Yes, he did temporarily leave the crew for his childhood friend Saga in One Piece: The Cursed Holy Sword, but that movie is not canon, and many fans have criticized it for its out-of-character portrayal of Zoro.
