One Piece: Kaido's Backstory and Character Analysis

One Piece: Kaido’s Backstory and Character Analysis

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Kaido’s Backstory will be the most important one in One Piece yet. Kaido’s motivations & ideals have been hinted at subtly throughout the arc but we are yet to understand him fully. Kaido’s backstory is not only essential to understanding Kaido but also necessary in understanding the meaning of the Wano arc itself.

Also have to add that the entire storyline from Punk Hazard culminates in Wano & Kaido is the most built-up villain in One Piece along with BB. The simple fact that we haven’t seen the flashback this long into the arc suggests that this will be one of the most important flashbacks yet.

Kaido’s Core Characteristics

There are 6 main aspects of Kaido that have been hinted at,

Failed Joyboy
Wano’s importance
Belief in Pirates’ Betrayal

Breaking Will
Wanting Death
Oni lineage

Interestingly all of these have separate plot points in Wano outside of Kaido with so much thematic relevance.

1. Failed Joyboy

Kaido being a failed Joyboy is definitely the most interesting development for Kaido we have gotten. A joyboy-related plot is something you would expect for someone like Blackbeard, not Kaido. Kaido once believed that he could change the world by himself and even had shining eyes just like Luffy. But after sometimes he realized he can’t be Joyboy and decided to go to Wano.

On the other side, we have Luffy, Nika, Zunisha, and Joyboy stuff developing.

The Joyboy aspect of Kaido was thrown in chapters 1035 and1036. And From 1037 Nika Devil fruit plot started to develop. This isn’t a coincidence. Luffy is being juxtaposed with Kaido in the Joyboy plot.

Oda has set up Kaido as a failed Joyboy to show why Luffy will be better. This is why it is important to get why Kaido failed and why he lost the shine in his eyes.

2. Wano’s Importance

Kaido is in Wano because Wano is important. We still don’t know why that is the case. This might tie with Failed Joyboy idea too.

Without explicitly stating, Oda has implied Wano’s importance several other times too.

Seastone & Poneglyph origin,
City of Gold,

Sengoku dialogue,
Onigashima’s Real Name
Big Mom dialogue about answers of One Piece being in Wano and
most importantly one of the main goals of the Wano arc, Opening Wano borders.

Opening Wano borders is the main goal of the arc. We need to understand what that means before Wano is opened. Kozuki closed the borders due to the threat of the outside world. Wano is closed not just socially but also geographically. Kaido likely knows the reason for this too as he himself intends to keep Wano closed.

In my opinion, Wano’s importance ties with opening Wano borders, and his backstory will explain it.

3. Pirates Betrayal

Kaido’s other core belief is that Pirates will betray when they lose. It also probably ties with what happened at God Valley & Rocks. We already know Rocks pirates had a lot of infighting between them.

Not only to Kaido, but the theme of betrayal is also core to Wano. And most importantly for Kid and Law’s character.

Kid faced betrayal in this Yonko Saga. Apoo betrayed him & Hawkins switched sides just like Kaido said. Kid’s character arc in Wano is about trusting others. It was even hinted at in chapter 1047.

Betrayal of Law is more subtle, with foreshadowing starting from Punk Hazard. But most importantly, the betrayal plot for Law has been clearly set up in Act 2. Hawkins even directly asks Law whether he still believes in the alliance. During the weekly Act 2 period, Law being the traitor was even a theory and it was due to the extensive setups for Law’s betrayal which is yet to have a payoff in the story.

We will see how Kaido got that belief of pirates betraying to show how the Luffy and the alliance prove Kaido wrong. It is especially important for both Law and Kid’s character.

4. Breaking Will/Conqueror

Kaido breaks people’s will & makes them join his crew. He doesn’t like many Conquerors running around as he tried to break even Luffy and Kid’s will. Interestingly Rocks had so many top pirates with him having Conquerors Haki. And they had a lot of infighting among them.

Kaido’s idea of breaking the Will of others and not liking having other Conqueror Haki users are because of Rocks pirates. Even Whitebeard didn’t like Oden joining his crew at first and Zoro also said too many leaders sink the ship.

This arc is about leadership and the Conquerors’ spirit. Luffy will prove that idea of breaking will is flawed and show why he is a better leader than Kaido. Zoro might also have a leadership moment.

Rocks’ downfall needs to be shown to better explain the Conqueror & leadership theme.

5. Wanting Death

Kaido wants to have a grand death. He wants a death on par with Roger, Whitebeard, and Oden that will be talked about for generations. Interestingly he doesn’t mention Rocks as an example of having a great death. As we know Rocks has been erased from history. In One Piece, true death is when one is forgotten as said by Hiruluk.

Maybe, Kaido might be trying to avoid a fate similar to Rocks?

The theme of death isn’t tied only to Kaido, Wano arc literally starts with a chapter titled “Seppuku”. Death is a prevalent theme for the entire arc. A samurai’s worth is their end and this idea is followed by the Samurai of Wano. The same point is reiterated by even Yamato. So many death references like Grim Reaper, awakening, and ghosts are there in Wano.

The message of death hasn’t been conveyed fully yet & Kaido’s motivation for death will be key.

6. Oni lineage

Based on the interaction with Yamato, we know that Kaido is an Oni. Seems Onis are supposedly hated by humans. Kaido says to Yamato that she cannot become friends with humans. Whatever happened to Kaido due to his Oni lineage has made him bitter.

Oni part is extremely important for Yamato’s character. Yamato is currently struggling with identity and Oni part will play a part in her character arc. Why Kaido feels that way towards humans will be key to understanding where he is coming from.

There are several other things I skipped to not make it even longer. Like Dragon DF, Vegapunk experiment, etc. With so many subtle things set up, Kaido will end up as one of the best antagonists of the series once fully explored.