This article contains major character or plot details.
In ONE PIECE, Nami is a fiercely independent thief who’s had to make difficult choices in the name of self-preservation. She resents those who didn’t work for what they have and rarely allows herself to get close to others. Beneath her cunning and cold exterior is a strong sense of justice and a deep desire to explore and make sense of the world. Recognizing her immense talent, practical mind, and soft heart, Luffy forges a friendship with Nami, and she becomes a vital member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
“Nami has spent her entire life learning how to navigate, partially because she loves it but also because she was forced to do it,” says Emily Rudd in the second episode of ONE PIECE: Into the Grand Line: Official Podcast. “It’s nice that now she’s in a position where she gets to live her dream and chase her dream, which is to draw a map of the world. And it’s on her own terms with her friends, and she gets to encounter a lot of things she never in her wildest dreams would’ve expected.”
Read on to learn more about ONE PIECE’s Nami.
Key info
Name: Nami
Played by: Emily Rudd, Lily Fisher (young Nami)
Crew: Straw Hat Pirates, Arlong Pirates (formerly)
Role: Navigator
Place of origin: Oykot Kingdom, Coco Village
Weapons: Bo staff
First appearance: Season 1, Episode 1, “ROMANCE DAWN” (25:27)
Relationships
Mother: Belle-mère (deceased)
Sister: Nojiko
Crewmates: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp
Former ally: Arlong
Special abilities
Nami is both an expert navigator and cartographer, and series co-creator Matt Owens says she’s the smartest of the Straw Hats. Her quick wit, combined with some seriously impressive bo staff skills, makes her the stealthiest of thieves.
Motivation
When her Marine unit was dispatched to engage a band of pirates in the Oykot Kingdom, Nami’s adoptive mother, Belle-mère, found her and her sister, Nojiko. The girls were orphaned, so Belle-mère took them back to Coco Village and raised them as her own. Frustrated with her family’s lack of money, Nami once stole a book to satisfy her budding fascination with maps. Right after her mother persuaded her to do the right thing and return the book, the Arlong Pirates attacked Coco Village. Without the funds to pay Arlong’s tribute for her family of three, Belle-mère sacrificed herself to save her daughters.
After Arlong murdered her mother in front of her, Nami struck a deal with the fish-man: She would work as a cartographer on his crew if he let her buy back Coco Village for a hundred million Berry. So Nami devoted the next eight years to securing freedom for her fellow villagers by serving Arlong and raising the money by any means necessary. When Arlong reneged on their deal, however, Nami’s new captain, Luffy, took Arlong down, finally liberating Coco Village. Now, as the navigator for the Straw Hats, Nami is pursuing her dream of drawing a map of the world.
Season 1
- After commandeering a new ship from some pirates, Nami lands at Shells Town, where she first encounters Luffy, Koby, and Zoro. Disguising herself as a Marine, Nami breaks into Captain “Axe Hand” Morgan’s office alongside Luffy and steals a safe that holds a map to the Grand Line. She and Zoro then set sail with the Straw Hat captain.
- Nami breaks into the safe, gaining access to the map of the Grand Line, but others are after it, too, including a clown named Buggy, who soon attacks their ship. Nami and Zoro save Luffy from Buggy, and the trio free the townspeople Buggy is holding captive. Back on their ship, Nami makes a mysterious call regarding the stolen map.
- In Syrup Village, Nami, Luffy, and Zoro meet Usopp. He introduces them to his wealthy friend Kaya, who may be able to help get them a new ship. While at Kaya’s mansion, Nami and the others face off against an evil butler named Klahadore — fka Captain Kuro — who’s poisoning Kaya to steal her fortune. In their new ship, the Going Merry, Nami sets sail again with Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp, but soon the crew battles it out with the Marines.
- The crew stops at a floating restaurant called Baratie, where they meet Sanji. Worried about getting caught by the Marines before she’s able to complete a mysterious mission, Nami contemplates leaving Baratie on her own but decides to stay behind to help the Straw Hats. When a fish-man pirate named Arlong arrives at Baratie, Nami reveals she’s been working with him all along. Nami gives Arlong the maps and leaves with him.
- Alongside Arlong, Nami returns home to Coco Village, which the pirate occupies. While there, she tries to pay Arlong the hundred million berry she owes him to liberate the village, but Arlong betrays her by allowing corrupt Marines to steal her treasure. Nami finally turns to Luffy for help, and the Straw Hats defeat Arlong and free Coco Village from the fish-man’s rule.
Season 2
- On a stop in Loguetown for supplies, Nami and the crew face off against Alvida and Buggy, who’ve joined forces to take down Luffy.
- Nami successfully routes the Straw Hat Pirates to the Grand Line. But just as they reach its edge, a whale swallows the Going Merry with Nami, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp aboard. In the whale, Nami steals the navigator’s compass and then fights off Miss Wednesday, an agent for a criminal organization called Baroque Works. With help from Luffy and a lighthouse keeper named Crocus, the ship is recovered. Armed with new navigation skills from Crocus, Nami continues to direct them through the Grand Line, now with two captives, Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9.
- After Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 escape, the crew lands on Whisky Peak, which is run by Baroque Works. Nami and Luffy fight two members of the crime organization, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. When it’s revealed that Miss Wednesday — whose true identity is Nefertari Vivi, princess of Alabasta — has been working undercover against Baroque Works, the Straw Hats promise to deliver her home safely. Ever practical, Nami asks for a billion berry in exchange for carrying out the mission.
- As Nami and the other Straw Hats explore Little Garden, Miss Valentine, Mr. 5, and two other members of Baroque Works, Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek, track them down. Miss Goldenweek puts Nami in a trance, and Mr. 3 holds her, Zoro, and Vivi captive by encasing them in wax. Usopp rescues Nami, Zoro, and Vivi, who then fight off Miss Valentine and Mr. 5. Back on the Going Merry, Nami sets a course for Alabasta but suddenly passes out on the ship’s deck.
- The crew takes an ailing Nami to get medical attention on the nearest island, Drum Island. There, Dr. Kureha treats her for a Kestia bite that she sustained while exploring Little Garden. Sanji and a blue-nosed reindeer-boy named Tony Tony Chopper, who’s training to be a doctor, also tend to Nami. Nami grows closer to Sanji as he shares more about his past. Once Nami is healed and the Straw Hat Pirates defeat Drum Kingdom’s tyrannical king, Wapol, they set sail for Alabasta with a plan to help Vivi take down Baroque Works.
