One Piece's Wano Country arc saw one of the biggest wars in the story unfold as the Straw Hat Pirates allied with other pirate crews, the ninjas, Minks, and the Samurai of Wano to challenge the supremacy of two Yonko of the Sea in Big Mom and Kaido, along with the Shogun Kurozumi Orochi.
The war was fought on the night of the Fire Festival where the alliance raided Onigashima in an attempt to liberate the country. While every little contribution from the alliance's side was crucial to the war being won, some characters certainly played bigger roles than others and became the MVPs of the arc.
Updated On February 2, 2023, by Rei Penber: The Wano Country arc of One Piece has effectively wrapped up now and this gives fans more time to reflect on the events upon the rereads. Wano is an incredibly long arc, spanning over 100 chapters. As such, the events of Wano are sprinkled over several acts, each of which had their own MVPs. Overall, this arc has seen the birth of several powerful characaters and, at the same time, commendable villains. It also introduced some legendary figures to the fans and some of the most important characters in the entire story made their appearance in Wano Kuni. As such, there are quite a few who made a tremendous impact in the arc and proved to be valuable characters. This list already included 10 of the most valuable characters in Wano, however, given the length of the arc, there are certainly a few more who deserve a mention.
13 Franky
Frankie is the shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates and, just like every other member of the crew in Wano aside from maybe Nami and Usopp, Franky played a key role. Franky was responsible for carrying all the samurai to Onigashima. Without him, the many ships that carried them that would not have been built and the raid would have been possible, as a result. On Onigashima, he saved Nami from sure death and, later, took on Sasaki of the Tobiroppo.
Franky defeated him in a sound manner and didn't stop just there. He went on to aid other people in battle and, later on, saved Zoro from certain death when the latter was exhausted after his fight against King the Wildfire.
12 Akazaya Nine
The Akazaya samurai were some of the most important characters in Wano and it was this group who kickstarted the war. According to Luffy, only they had the right to draw first blood and when they did, they fought Kaido bravely.
Even though they lost, the Akazaya samurai ended up playing big roles across the island and helped wherever they could. Without a doubt, they were among the MVPs of One Piece's Wano arc.
11 Chopper and Marco
Without the doctors, the war would never have been won. Both Chopper and Marco were key to the alliance, especially on the Performance Floor of the castle. Thanks to Marco's flame, Queen's Ice Oni virus was kept in control until Chopper found a cure.
At the same time, Marco also fought both King and Queen alone for a significant period of time until Chopper did his job. Once done, Chopper cured everyone around him with his nebulizer.
10 Kid and Law
Kid and Law played massive roles in the Wano Country arc when they took on Kaido and Big Mom on the rooftop alongside the other members of the Worst Generation present in Wano.
Later, the two teamed up against Big Mom in an incredible battle that saw them use their Devil Fruit awakenings. The two took a Yonko down together and, for that, they remain among the most crucial characters in the arc.
9 Roronoa Zoro
Zoro played a big role in the Wano Country arc from the beginning to the very end. From saving the likes of Toko from death to joining the battle on the rooftop, Zoro did it all.
Zoro saved his comrades by taking the brunt of Hakai from Big Mom and Kaido. What's more, he later went on to save the people on the Performance Floor by fighting King the Wildfire and defeating him.
8 Hiyori and Denjiro
Hiyori and Denjiro both played a key role in the arc by acting as the Ushimitsu Kozo and saving countless lives on a daily basis for years. On Onigashima, they ended up being the ones to take down Orochi.
Being the ones to strike down a major antagonist, Hiyori and Denjiro were both incredibly important in the arc and certainly among its MVPs.
7 Sanji
Sanji was quite a crucial figure in the Wano Country arc. Like Zoro, he rushed to save Toko when she needed help and even saved many citizens of the Flower Capital from Page One.
In the bathhouse, Sanji saved his crewmates, and, later on Onigashima, he saved Zoro by giving him first aid. He also saved Chopper from certain death against Queen. Sanji even fought both King and Queen together until Zoro recovered to full health. Later, he took on Queen and defeated him, aiding the victory of the alliance in the process.
6 Otama
A very unlikely MVP, Otama wasn't expected to show up on Onigashima at all. However, her desire to aid the alliance saw her bring some headliners with her. Using her Kibi Kibi no Mi powers, she tamed nearly all the gifters on the island.
Otama single-handedly turned the tide of the war using her ability and thus paved the way for the Straw Hat Pirates to take down the Tobi Roppo. Although a child, she's among the most important characters in the Wano Country arc.
5 Nico Robin
Nico Robin is the archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates. Among all the members of the crew, she is one who desperately needed more attention when it comes to the fighting side of things. After all, One Piece is a battle shonen and Nico Robin was severely lacking in this aspect. In the Wano Country arc, Nico Robin finally got her fight against Black Maria of the Tobiroppo. As was the case with her crewmates, Robin ended up awakening new powers of a Devil Fruit.
She made use of Grande Fleur and combined its powers with Fishman Karate, which she learned during the two-year timeskip. Later on, she awaken the powers of Demonio Fleur and defeated Black Maria soundly. Towards the end of the arc, Robin made some massive revelations about the Ancient Weapon Pluton and the Road Poneglyphs.
4 Yamato
Kaido's son, Yamato was only introduced in the Onigashima section of the Wano Country arc and ended up becoming one of the most crucial characters therein.
Yamato not only saved Luffy but also ended up protecting Momonosuke. When Luffy was out of commission, Yamato held Kaido back on his own and, later, even helped stop Onigashima from blowing up into flames.
3 Momonosuke
Momonosuke is quite possibly the most important side character in the Wano Country arc and his journey has shown that to the fans time and again. Being the Shogun, he rallied his people despite being just 8 years of age.
Momonosuke also saved Onigashima from crashing and even commanded Zunesha when needed. Eventually, Momonosuke became the leader that Wano desperately needed and ended up becoming the greatest Shogun of the land.
2 Kaido
Although on the losing side as the major antagonist of the Wano country arc, Kaido certainly was one of the MVPs. In Kaido, Oda wrote a compelling villain with a unique way of looking at the world. Kaido was the strongest creature in the world and to defeat him, Luffy needed something special. Kaido proved to be the biggest obstacle in the path of the Straw Hat Pirates to date and he did so in quite some fashion, defeating their captain almost four times.
What's more, it was thanks to Kaido that the story of Wano worked as well as it did. Due to his tyranny, the pain and suffering of the people of Wano became more visceral and helped the fans get attached to the story more. At the same time, Kaido also had an interesting way of looking at life where he wanted everyone to be equal and merit to be based on how strong one is, instead of simply being decided by the corrupt people in power, such as the World Government or monarchs. Above all, Kaido was also deeply linked to Joy Boy, as seen towards the end of the arc.
1 Monkey D. Luffy
Luffy is, without a doubt, the biggest MVP of the Wano Country arc. His biggest job in the arc was to defeat Kaido and he did so in quite some fashion, even if it took him a few tries.
By defeating the strongest creature, Luffy liberated Wano Country and gave a new life to the land. Luffy also led the Samurai, and, in Udon, gripped their hearts and raised their spirits once again.