Summary
Thefierce rivalrybetween Sanji and Roronoa Zoro inOne Pieceis, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining and interesting relationships in the world of shōnen anime & manga. The cook and the combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates are always clashing against each other for petty reasons, but deep down, they care about each other, and they both want to help Luffy become the next Pirate King.
Their tense (but admittedly endearing) relationship is a natural result of their differences, as they have contrasting personalities, fighting styles, talents, life philosophies, etc. Because of this, there are a lot of things that Zoro can’t do, but Sanji can, and these are some of the most notorious examples of their dichotomy.
1Cooking Complex Dishes
There’s A Good Reason Sanji Is The Crew’s Cook
Sanji is one of the bestchefsin the world ofOne Piece, since not only was he mentored by “Red-Leg” Zeff, but he even improved his culinary skills when he trained in the Kamabakka Kingdom during the two-year time skip. As a result of his effort and experience, he’s able to cook complex dishes that taste excellent and give his crewmates all the nutrients they need to carry on their adventure.
Whenever Sanji is absent, some of the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates (like Nami or Usopp) can cook in his place, but it seems like Zoro is an exception. While he can most likely cook some basic rice or fish, he can do nothing at the level of his lifelong chef rival. This makes sense, though, seeing as Zoro is more interested in alcohol than food.
2Not Getting Lost
Zoro’s Iconic Running Gag Doesn’t Apply To Sanji
Zoro’spoor sense of directionis one of the most common and most hilarious gags inOne Piece, as he’ll constantly get lost over and over in every story arc, even if he’s just supposed to go through a straight line. This always results in the other Straw Hats having to retrieve him before he gets in any trouble, and Sanji is often in charge of carrying out this monumental task.
This is because, unlike his green-haired rival, the chef of the crew has a surprisingly solid sense of direction. Not only does he never get lost, but he has also been able to infiltrate specific places and go back to his crew without getting noticed, like he did in the Water 7 Arc and Enies Lobby Arc.
3Being Stealthy
Subtlety Is Not Exactly Zoro’s Forte
Different members of the Straw Hat Pirates have different functions on each mission, and these two are a perfect example of this occurrence. Like Luffy, Zoro is pretty much incapable of lying low and infiltrating a place without getting noticed.Instead, he has a much more direct approach to things and prefers to confront and defeat his enemies upfront,without hiding.
On the other hand,Sanji is so proficient atstealththat he has accidentally become the crew’s spy, since he has infiltrated places to gain the upper hand on multiple occasions. Additionally, in the Whole Cake Island Arc, he was even able to kick Charlotte Oven and rescue Chiffon so quickly that nobody even saw him. And of course, this talent was enhanced even further when he gained the ability to turn himself invisible during the Wano Country Arc.
4Quickly Heal His Wounds
Sanji’s Genetic Enhancements Give Him A Significant Advantage
Since he tends to fight his enemies head-on, it is not uncommon for Zoro to end up incapacitated at the end of a story arc. Many times throughout the series, Chopper had to tend to his wounds for several days, and in the Wano Country Arc, he and Miyagi even had to heal him in between fights with a special Mink medicine. This aspect of his character makes sense, though, since Zoro has a resilient body that can take a lot of hits, but also takes a few days to properlyheal.
But Sanji is built differently, since he hasn’t needed to rest and wait for his wounds to heal as often as Zoro. Furthermore, in the Wano Country Arc,he unlocked his genetic enhancements, which gave him a durable exoskeleton and an accelerated healing factor, two useful power-ups that were perfectly displayed during his fight against Queen. Even in the Egghead Arc, Sanji was able to withstand powerful attacks to his body without even using Armament Haki.
5Staying In The Air
Sky Walk Is An Essential Ability In Sanji’s Move Set
Without even taking Haki or genetic enhancements into consideration, both Zoro and Sanji have impressive physiques that have allowed them to achieve all sorts of incredible superhuman feats. For example, Zoro has been able to jump to high altitudes to attack his enemies on more than one occasion, like in his encounters against Kaku, Pica, and King.
But that’s all he can do: jump and fall. Meanwhile, Sanji can stay in the air for long amounts of time,especially after he learned theSky Walktechnique during the time skip. Now he’s able to traverse the skies at extreme speeds, not to mention that he has also come up with powerful new attacks that rely solely on this ability, like Poêle à Frire: Spectre and Concassé.
6Setting His Body Parts On Fire
Sanji Can Use Powerful Elemental Attacks In Battle
Neither Sanji nor Zoro has eaten a Devil Fruit, which makes all their achievements all the more impressive. In battle, Zoro uses his immense strength and incredible swordsmanship skills to overpower his enemies and cut through almost everything that gets in his way, whereas Sanji is more acrobatic, faster and, to top it all off, has a significant advantage over his green-haired rival: he can use powerful elemental attacks.
The cook of the Straw Hat Pirates can activate his iconicDiable Jambetechnique, which allows him to set his legs on fire without harming himself, to unleash burning kicks on his enemies. While he has been using this technique since the Enies Lobby Arc, in Wano, Queen implied that this is something he obtained from his genetic enhancements, just around the time Sanji upgraded his Diable Jambe to the even more powerfulIfrit Jambe.
7Sensing When A Woman Is In Danger
Sanji’s Most Absurd Character Trait Can Be Surprisingly Useful
If there’s one area in which Zoro has an advantage over Sanji, is their relationship with women. The green-haired swordsman can function like a normal human being whenever he’s around a woman,and he has formed interesting relationships with some prominent female characters, like Kuina, Nami, and Tashigi. On the other hand, however, Sanji is so obsessed and flirtatious with women that it has become an unexpected weakness for him. There’s a good reason Zoro calls him “perverted cook.”
However,Sanji’s unhealthy obsession with women has resulted in a unique and useful ability he has officially namedLady Radar, which allows him to sense whenever a woman nearby is in danger. Weirdly enough, he has been able to achieve many things with this bizarre “power.” He found Nami in Little Garden, he found Tashigi in Punk Hazard, he detected that something was wrong with Robin in Water 7, he detected that Viola was not being sincere in Dressrosa, and he realized Hiyori was in danger in Wano.
