If there's one thing to take away from One Piece's anniversary movie One Piece: Stampede, it's that the series has a lot (A LOT) of named characters, enough to rival the gallery of blockbuster franchises like Star Wars or even Lord of the Rings. Going by the One Piece Fan Wiki, there are currently over 900 named characters and counting. With that in mind, the sheer number of characters within the series may make one think about exactly how much detail is going into each and every one of them and if certain characters are getting their fair share of screen time.
While the franchise as a whole does a great job of adapting as many characters into the series as possible, a few do slip through the cracks (mostly cover story characters), and anime-only fans are left without ever knowing their names. And vice versa, there are also a few non-canon characters from filler arcs and the movies that are written well enough to make the manga drool. As such, this list will be running down the 5 canon characters we really wish were in the anime, and 5 non-canon ones we wish were in the manga.
10 Canon: Bimine
Bimine is the mayor of the Gourmet City Pucci, one of the islands connected to Water 7 via the sea train. While not much is exactly known about him, his appearance in the cover story "From the Decks of the New World" does include a lot of interesting detail, including his jovial expression, his eccentric daughter with binoculars, and his worrisome butler, all unspoken yet vibrant characters that would surely make for an interesting scene in the anime. On top of that, as one of the major influences over the sea train, it would also be interesting to see his thoughts of it as well as his dynamic with Iceburg.
9 Non-Canon: Captain "All-Hunt" Grount
The Marine Rookie Arc, if anything, provided an interesting look as to what the next generation of Marines may look like. The answer: an edgy, '90s reboot of regular Marines. This is not to take anything away from Grount and his colleagues. If anything, it's interesting to see how young and battle hungry Marines are during their early stages, especially young ones like Grount himself.
While we did get a taste of what Marine training is like through Coby's cover story arc, it would be interesting to see the manga flesh out how this training and early years may be seen by other Marines, especially angry and arrogant ones like Grount.
8 Canon: Columbus
Out of most of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, the Yonta Maria crew are one of the most conceptually realized and structured, great details on top of being obviously the largest contribution to the fleet. One of the best examples of this being Columbus, a small, young girl under Orlumbus who appears to be one of its leading commanders. Seeing Columbus in action in the anime would not only give a little insight to who Orlumbus is but would also add a genuinely unique, female character in One Piece's increasingly dry pool.
7 Non-Canon: Daddy Masterson
Let's take a moment to appreciate the anime naming a character "Daddy the Father." While it is really on the nose for one of his central character traits, it is one of the many factors helping Daddy Masterson stand out as an interesting One Piece character.
The name alone draws reference to an oddly detailed backstory (for a filler arc) that shows him as an aspiring, upstart Marine who, after losing and being spared in a duel to Usopp's father Yassop, quits the Marines to only take on small time criminals for his daughter's sake. If that wasn't enough, his cowboy design, sharpshooting skills, and amazing exchange with Usopp have not only made Daddy Masterson memorable but a key figure in Usopp's journey.
6 Canon: Minochihuahua
The fact that the anime doesn't do a full run down of all the post-time skip changes is a disservice to fans in more ways than one. One of the most disheartening omissions within the anime would be its total glossing over of Impel Down's newest and cutest contributions to its demons from hell, Minochihuahua.
For those who are a little unsure of how to read that, it's like "Minotaur," but the taurus is replaced with a chihuahua. As such, Minochihuahua is an awakened Zoan fruit user who becomes a giant chihuahua that the guards have decided to arm with a rope to hang prisoners with. If that doesn't become animated soon, then what good is even having an anime?
5 Non-Canon: "Black Arm" Zephyr
The recent One Piece movies have been doing a great job of blending exhilarating bonus content with actual, consequential details to the series. One of the best examples of this being the "Golden Lion" Shiki from One Piece: Strong World, a major character in Gold Roger's backstory who is now an actual, named character within the manga.
However, not every movie character gets this much canon treatment. Case in point, "Black Arm" Zephyr from Film Z is one such character whose inclusion in the One Piece canon would add so much to its history and character dynamics. Beyond being a corrupted marine, Zephyr is supposedly the trainer of several of the series key marines, brandishing everyone from Smoker to Akainu.
4 Canon: Sarfunkel
For those who don't remember, there was an actual canon, i.e. non-filler, story within the early years of One Piece that featured the early Straw Hats coming across and befriending Gaimon, a man trapped in a treasure chest who had befriended the rare animals of his island.
To the surprise of manga readers everywhere, his story kept going on, even post-timeskip, as one cover story not only showed how he's been but has also added a new, lady friend to his cast, complementing him with her own predicament of being trapped within a barrel. Not only would it be interesting to see Gaimon again but to see how he's grown with his new relationship with Sarfunkel would be immensely fun.
3 Non-Canon: Douglas Bullet
The freshest entry on this list, Douglas Bullet would be a very welcome entry on the "this person actually existed" side of One Piece. Douglas Bullet is not only the superhuman beast that took on everyone in Stampede but also had an interestingly designed backstory with Gold Roger.
As his story goes, Douglas Bullet was an exceptional Marine prospect who the Marines turned against over fear of his increasing power. Bullet would then challenge Gold Roger who would not only beat him but also convince the brute to join his crew as an equal to Silvers Rayleigh, giving him the name "the Demon Heir." Seeing anyone from the Roger Pirates is always a delight, so it would be interesting to see Bullet fully acknowledged as part of that canon.
2 Canon: Dr. Tsukimi
If you're an anime-only fan, then you really missed out on an insane cover story that literally takes One Piece out of this world. After Enel leaves Skypeia on the Ark Maxim, he eventually reaches the "endless vearth," i.e. the moon. There, he surprisingly comes across a series of space pirates, little robots, and aliens seemingly themed after 20's cartoons (How dare Toei not let any of this touch the anime!).
However, if one were to choose a major character to really bring to the anime, it would be the creator of the cute and eccentric robots, Dr. Tsukimi. Not only was his death a major catalyst for the automata to invade the Moon, but his ability to create artificial sentience of that caliber should surely rival a lot of One Piece's technological advancements, even those of Dr. Vegapunk.
1 Non-Canon: Vice Admiral Jonathan
Finishing off this list is a key character of what many not only call One Piece's best filler arc but also one of the best filler arcs ever made and for good reason. The characters and environment of the G8 Arc are so realized and consistent with what's been established in One Piece that it was a major surprise to people to find that it wasn't actually canon.
One of the biggest disappointments to come out of this is to find that its central antagonist, Vice Admiral Jonathan, isn't actually a canon character. This is a major shame since he not only showed great chemistry against the Straw Hats and with his wife but also a genuine sense of patience and intelligence that Marines could really use.
