One Piece Strongest Characters Over Time Based on Fight Performance
92This data visualization shows the strongest characters in One Piece over time based on fight performance from manga chapters 1 - 983. The plot uses an elo-inspired fight performance algorithm to calculate character ratings.
Note:
A def B, means Character A defeated Character B
A v B, means Character A and B clashed/fought but there wasn't a definite winner (fight was a draw)
About the metric I used to make the rankings:
I initially planned to use a standard chess-style elo rating system to create the rankings for this plot, but found that it had a number of deficiencies that made it inadequate to deal with this data set:
1. There are not enough total fights and interactions between characters for standard elo to produce good numbers.
2. Certain characters that are known to be powerful rarely fight; starting such characters at a rating of 1500 is too low.
3. Characters introduced later in the series are generally stronger.
To address these issues, I created a new ranking algorithm that is similar to elo but that also:
1. Takes account of a character’s title (admiral, yonko, warlord, main antagonist, etc.) to set an initial rating that may be higher than 1500.
2. Gives a bonus to starting rating based on how far into the series the character recorded their first recorded fight.
3. Allows for large point gains and losses when a character defeats an opponent with a higher rating.
4. Allows for larger point gains when fighting an opponent to a draw.
5. Splits ranking gains and losses among team members (gains and losses are reduced when fighting on a team).
The system isn’t perfect as it tends to somewhat overrate characters that fight and win against inferior opposition more often than average (Luffy and Zoro) and may underrate characters who haven't had a fight for a long time or ended their last fight on a loss. The lack of data points means making any algorithmic-based ranking is going to result in a list that will not be completely in line with most people’s subjective power rankings. I wanted to come up with some sort of objective/data-supported way of ranking character strength for series other than Dragon Ball that do not have known power level numbers. This is certainly not a perfect system and has some subjectivity in terms of deciding what constitutes a fight, a win, a draw, etc. and how much weight to give to various parameters. My hope is that it produces a reasonable and interesting result.
Note that the plot generally does not include fights that occurred in flashbacks except in a few cases earlier in the series to help establish initial ratings.
Tools Used:
R, MovieMaker, flourish.studio (https://flourish.studio/ )
Music:
Audio Library:
Adventure Theme
We Could Reach
Hot Heat
One Piece - Katakuri Theme (HQ Cover) by PokéMixr92: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhu1E6QkKMw