Every time Zoro gets lost in One Piece (And why fans love it)

In the high stakes world of One Piece, Roronoa Zoro is legendary as a feared Swordsman Supreme, a staunch loyal lieutenant to Luffy, and one of the most dangerous Straw Hat Pirates to ever sail the Grand Line.

As great a warrior as he is, there’s one thing he can’t master—his confusing sense of direction!It’s transformed into one of the most beloved, running jokes within the entire series. No matter the story, no matter the place, if Zoro is ever on his own for a second, he’s going to get lost. From traveling the opposite direction on a direct route, to scaling buildings due to misreading his compass, Zoro’s navigational blunders are always hilarious.Here’s our definitive count of every time Zoro got lost in the anime, showing that he really is directionally challenged.

1. Lost at sea (East blue saga)

Shortly after joining Luffy, Zoro departs on a rickety dingy with no navigator. Unsurprisingly, the two continue to flounder until they meet Nami. This would be the first of many clues that Zoro’s internal compass is irreparably off kilter.

2. The little garden hunting competition

In the midst of the Little Garden arc, Zoro and Sanji engage in a competition to see who can hunt the biggest prey.

Zoro promptly gets lost in the jungle, walks in circles, and keeps walking past the same tree without realizing it.

3. Snowstorm training gone wrong (Drum island arc)

During his extreme training of swimming in frozen oceans, Zoro gets lost in a blizzard, causing him to accidentally get stuck in an avalanche. Not only does he get lost—he almost dies of exposure.

4. The alabasta mix-ups

Alabasta is arguably one of Zoro’s most head-scratching arcs. First, he runs the wrong way when a critical flare is launched while searching for the bomb to defuse.

Soon he finds himself venturing beyond the city walls altogether. In an even worse moment, even the Marines feel sorry for him and point him back in the direction of his home town.

5. "North" means up?

In pursuit of a new target, Zoro receives instructions to travel up north. Rather than orient himself with a compass, he gambles that “north” means “up”—and scales the exterior of a skyscraper. Even the Straw Hats are confused.

6. The sky island snake loop (Skypeia arc)

After being separated in the Upper Yard, Zoro’s team gets eaten by a massive snake.

Once they break out, wouldn’t you know it, Zoro is able to stumble his way back directly to the same spot, none the wiser.

7. A bird literally carries him away

Later in Skypeia, Zoro is forced to anger a gigantic skybird, engage it in combat and through what I can only imagine as a scene of comedic poetic justice, gets picked up and carried off through the skies. He was indeed attempting to walk a straight line before this kicked in.

8. The G8 base filler arc

My favorite example is when Zoro gets arrested in the G8 Marine base simply because he was unable to find the secret hiding place that everyone else was able to locate.

In the face of overwhelming danger, he makes it to the surface—all while strolling through underwater enemy territory, searching for his fellow crewmates.

9. Leading a group into a trap

Even as they’re fleeing the G8, Zoro refuses to consult a map or admit that he’s lost. Usopp tells him not to take charge of the team and lo and behold, Zoro immediately leads them right into a Marine trap.

10. Davy back disaster

In a “Red Light, Green Light” style game in which everybody freezes mid-movement except one player, Zoro ends up walking the opposite direction down a totally clear path.

His bad call leaves the Straw Hats in a tough spot going into the Davy Back Fight.

11. Stuck in a chimney (Water 7 arc)

After going missing after the battle, Zoro is later discovered trapped upside down in a chimney. At first, Chopper even thinks his legs are some kind of sea monster!

12. Wrong way in enies lobby

On one of the most notable missions in Enies Lobby, Nami instructs Zoro to go upstairs. Of course, he bolts down the stairs. Now it’s up to Chopper to get him back on track before he bolts off in the wrong direction yet again.

13. Running in circles on water 7

Bound to alert the crew to approaching Marines, Zoro circles back to the same plaza four times. Finally, one benevolent citizen stops and takes pity, rescuing him before he goes sliding off course.

14. Lost on a shopping trip

When on a brief vacation, Zoro goes missing after a shopping trip. Next, he miraculously finds himself loaded into a dead-end alley nowhere near where the crew is working.

15. Left behind on an iceberg (Post-Enies lobby)

As Zoro takes his eye off the ball, cutting apart icebergs to make way for the ship, Zoro gets distracted.

His crew abandons ship, leaving him to live alone on a drifting, freezer-sized hunk of ice.

16. Grove number confusion (Sabaody archipelago)

Zoro, meanwhile, is instructed to make his way to the crew’s temporary base of operations at Grove 41. He looks at Grove 1 and thinks it is the right one, despite the big red bubble covering the true value.

17. Stuck in a castle (Kuraigana island)

Once Mihawk’s training starts, Zoro spends hours wandering Perona’s spooky castle in search of his lost swords. She is forced to stop him after he walks by the same rooms several times.

18. Walking in circles after time skip

Once he’s rescued his prized swords, Zoro sets out to find his own way around the strange island. He eventually comes back—mad as hell—under the assumption that nobody was sent to look for him at all. As it turned out, he had been going around the outside of the castle all along.

19. Mistakes a pirate ship for the sunny

Zoro takes a snooze on what he believes to be the Thousand Sunny. In reality, it is the pirate ship of the Seven Seas, a boat used for illegal fishing.

By the time he gets out of bed, they’re well on their way in the other direction.

20. Running from poison gas (Punk hazard)

While fleeing alongside Tashigi, Zoro constantly gets lost. Through some lucky coincidence, he’s on pace to finish long before the rest of the team.

21. Dressrosa sword chase fail

In search of his stolen sword, Zoro pursues a miniature human called Wicca. With explicit guidance, somehow he still gets turned around and arrives too late to the first battle.

22. Lost during wood chopping (Zou arc)

Tasked with aiding the reconstruction of the Mink Tribe’s capital city, Zoro disappears into the forest while gathering firewood.

Nami later discovers him… cutting down the same tree repeatedly.

Why fans love this gag

Zoro’s inability to ever figure out where to go is one of One Piece’s longest running, side-splitting gags and biggest visual gags. It’s the ideal complement to his coldly murderous demeanor. Whether he’s battling foes with three blades or scaling a mountain side because he heard "north" was up, Zoro never fails to bring the fun.Even the character’s creator, Eiichiro Oda, has admitted to this character flaw in both interviews and fanbooks. It’s a wonderful, yet subtle, character touch that adds humor, warmth and unpredictability to an otherwise stoic warrior.

So even though Zoro may be the crew’s greatest warrior, whatever you do, don’t let him guide you on your journey.