With the One Piece anime’s return, the Egghead arc is about to dive into one of the series’ most mysterious characters. Bartholomew Kuma has cast a long and large shadow over the series and for good reason. He appears during critical moments at the behest of his government overlords while showing he has his own agenda. The world’s Revolutionaries recognize him as a friend. On top of all that, he’s the father of one of the Worst Generation: Jewelry Bonney.
For anime only fans, finally getting answers on how all of that works is incredibly exciting! But, it also highlights just how long it has taken to get to this point of the story. Kuma has been around since before the time skip. It’s entirely possible to forget all of Kuma’s appearances and impacts on the One Piece narrative up to this point. To help fans prepare for one of the series’ best backstories, we’ve put together a straightforward guide to all of Kuma’s appearances leading up to this part of the Egghead Arc.
So yes, there are One Piece anime spoilers ahead – sail accordingly!
Jaya
Episode 151 “100 Million Man! World’s Greatest Power and Pirate Black Beard!”: This episode sets up so many interesting plot threads and characters – some that are still wide open for exploration today – that Kuma mostly exists imposing in the background. Nonetheless, this is the character’s first appearance, with his former bounty and iconic Bible.
Thriller Bark
Episode 368 “The Silent Assault!! The Mysterious Visitor, ‘Tyrant’ Kuma!”: Kuma doesn’t appear for over 200 episodes, making a surprise arrival on Thriller Bark while the Straw Hats face Moria and Oars. Perona gets the short end of Kuma’s first anime dialogue as he demonstrates his strange Devil Fruit powers and terrifies Nami.
Episode 369 “Oars + Moria! The Most Heinous Combination of Brains and Brawn!”: Kuma meets with fellow Warlord of the Sea Gecko Moria to update him on Blackbeard’s ascendancy to the group. He also warns of the increasing concern the Government has of the Straw Hats, though Moria declines his offer to help.
Episode 375 “Not Out of Danger Yet! Orders to Annihilate the Straw Hat Crew!”: Following Luffy’s defeat of Moria, Kuma reappears with orders to eliminate all witnesses. He demonstrates more of his power, terrifying the survivors of Thriller Bark by warping around and easily attacking a group of them.
Episode 376 “It Repels Everything! Kuma’s Paw-Paw Power!”: Kuma reveals his full Paw-Paw fruit power to repel in a skirmish with Zoro and then the rest of the crew. It’s here that we see his paw hands for the first time, as well as get the hints at what else is different about his body.
Episode 378 “The Pain of My Crewmates Is My Pain! Zoro’s Desperate Fight!”: When Kuma’s offer to spare everyone in exchange for Luffy is soundly rejected, he unleashes his Ursa Shock, defeating everyone save a barely hanging on Zoro. Zoro retaliates and finally lands a slash, revealing Kuma’s robotic enhancements. Kuma reveals to Zoro and us that he is the government’s secret weapon, the Dr. Vegapunk designed Pacifista. He and Zoro reach a deal and weirdly, nothing else happens in this episode?
Sabaody Archipelago
Episode 385 “Halfway Across the Grand Line! Arrival at the Red Line!”: Kuma appears briefly to be scolded by Fleet Admiral Sengoku for failing to capture Luffy alongside Garp. Garp’s antics provide Kuma enough plausible deniability.
Episode 399 “Break Through the Siege! The Navy Vs. the Three Captains”: In the fallout of the greatest punch in the series history, Kuma appears and faces the crews of Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law.
Episode 401 “No Escape!? Admiral Kizaru’s Light Speed Kick!!”: Kuma takes off his glove to reveal no paw, but another laser cannon?! More Kumas appear all over the Archipelago, including in front of the escaping Straw Hat crew!
Episode 402 “Overwhelming! The Navy’s Fighting Weapons, the Pacifistas”: Of course, the Kumas are revealed to be the completed Pacifistas being taken for a test drive on the Worst Generation. All over the Archipelago, the Kuma-based machines give the various pirate crews their biggest challenge yet.
Episode 403 “An Even Stronger Enemy Appears! The Battle Axe-Carrying Sentomaru”: After managing to KO one Pacifista, the Straw Hats begin to speculate on how it is possible for a different cyborg to look exactly like Kuma before another Pacifista arrives with Sentomaru.
Episode 404 “Admiral Kizaru’s Fierce Assault! The Straw Hats Face Certain Death!”: The tables turn hard for the Straw Hats as they try to face Sentomaru, a Pacifista, and Admiral Kizaru. At the last moment, the real Kuma appears and Zoro disappears.
Episode 405 “Eliminated Friends – The Final Day of the Straw Hat Crew”: Kuma delivers the Straw Hat Pirates a complete and gut-wrenching defeat as he teleports them away from each other, one by one. The only explanation he gives is an ask to Dark King Rayleigh to trust him and an ominous message that he and Luffy will never meet again.
Amazon Lily
Episode 421 “The Friends’ Whereabouts: A Negative Princess and the King of Demons”: As the destinations chosen by Kuma for the Straw Hats are revealed, he makes a brief appearance alongside his fellow Warlords as they prepare of the execution of Luffy’s brother, Portgas D. Ace.
Marineford
Episode 459 “Ticking Down to the Time of Battle! the Navy’s Strongest Lineup in Position!”: Kuma once again appears with his fellow Warlords as the Marines expect Whitebeard to arrive and interfere in Ace’s execution.
Episode 464 “A Descendant of the Beast! Little Oars Jr. Full Speed Ahead!”: Kuma joins the battle against Whitebeard. Using Ursa Shock, Kuma severely wounds Oars Jr., opening the opportunity for his defeat.
Episode 467 “Even if It Means Death! Luffy Vs. The Navy, the Battle Starts!”: Emporio Ivankov engages Kuma, revealing that they’ve known each other for years and is shocked that Kuma would attack them.
Episode 468 “Hard Battles, One After Another! Devil Fruit Eaters Vs. Devil Fruit Eaters!”: Ivankov continues to defend against Kuma and speak with him, but Doflamingo taunts Ivankov in his classic asshole way, telling Ivankov that Kuma is dead.
Episode 469 “Kuma’s Transformation! Ivan-san’s Blow of Anger!”: Ivankov and Luffy learn from Doflamingo that Vegapunk had completed the modification of Kuma days prior, removing his sense of self completely. This horrifies Ivankov, and Luffy now understands what Kuma meant back on Sabaody. Kuma continues to fight and Ivankov finally fights back.
Episode 489 “Here Comes Shanks! The War of the Best Is Finally Over!”: Kuma and the Pacifista stand down under Sengoku’s agreement to end the Summit War at Shanks’ demand.
Episode 507 “Reunited With Dark King Rayleigh! Decision Time for Luffy!”: Rayleigh reveals via flashback that Kuma disclosed his membership in the Revolutionary Army during the battle on Sabaody. Shortly after that, Kuma later returned to provide a clue on how to find Luffy to Rayleigh, noting he didn’t have much time left.
Fishman Island
Episode 523 “A Surprising Fact! the Man Who Guarded the Sunny!”: Franky discovers and then shares with the crew that Kuma returned to Sabaody following the Summit War. He stays to help guard the Thousand Sunny until Franky’s arrival, then departs.
Reverie
Episode 888 “Sabo Enraged! The Tragedy of the Revolutionary Army Officer Kuma!”: Kuma finally makes another appearance, in which the Revolutionary Army members sneaking into Marijoa learns he’s been regulated to slavery at the hands of the Celestial Dragons. The awful people use him to carry them around and stick him full of weapons. Luffy’s brother Sabo vows to save his former friend. He’s not alone, as pirate Jewelry Bonney is also here and equally heartbroken and mad at Kuma’s treatment, swearing revenge.
Wano
Episode 1081 “The World Will Burn! The Onslaught of a Navy Admiral!”: It’s revealed that during the events on Wano, the Revolutionary Army staged their attack and successfully freed Kuma, among other things.
Episode 1088 “Luffy’s Dream”: The Revolutionary Army gets Kuma back to their hideout. In a chilling moment, Monkey D. Dragon asks Kuma to tell him what he saw and Kuma bows and repeats “As you wish.”
Egghead
Episode 1089 “The Eccentric Dream of a Genius!”: As the Revolutionaries attempt to repair Kuma’s body and restore him, he begins to stand and move on his own. He begins to flee, ultimately using his powers to teleport away.
Episode 1092 “Bonney’s Lamentation! Darkness Lurking on the Future Island”: A very different image of Kuma as a happy and smiling man appears as Jewelry Bonney begs Luffy not to destroy the Egghead Pacifista because it looks like her father.
Episode 1102 “Sinister Schemes! The Operation to Escape Egghead”: Kuma flies through the air and collides with the Red Line at the Red Port leading up to Marijoa. He gets up and stares at the massive mountain formation.
Episode 1104 “A Desperate Situation! The Seraphim’s All-out Attack!”: Bonney discovers that Kuma left a Paw bubble of his life’s memories to Vegapunk to study. Meanwhile, Kuma begins to climb the Red Line with his bare hands.
Episode 1107 “A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory”: Bonney briefly peeks into Kuma’s memory bubble. She watches a scene from Kuma’s youth, as a crying young boy begging to not be taken back somewhere as he’s surrounded by mysterious people trying to take him back. He resists and is physically beaten, leading him to beg for death.
Episode 1111 “The Second Ohara! The Mastermind’s Ambition!”: Bonney is once again seen with the memory bubble, now on the ground weeping at the weight of what she’s seen.
Episode 1126 “Looming Despair! Admiral Kizaru’s Depressing Mission”: Kuma reaches the top of the Red Line and enters Marijoa. He faces Fleet Admiral Akainu head on, but after suffering wounds bypasses him and teleports away once again.
Episode 1128 “The Nightmare Strikes – Godhead of Science & Defense, St. Saturn”: St. Saturn’s terrifying arrival on Egghead triggers Bonney as she sees flashes of him ordering Vegapunk to take Kuma’s will in her mind, along with an image of a weeping Kuma. She lashes out and stabs Saturn in the chest.
And with that, you’ve got the decade plus of history to be ready to dig even deeper into Kuma as the One Piece anime resumes this Sunday. If you’re a Rookie Pirate Radio listener, you already know this, but bring tissues.
Featured images ©Eïichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
