About Sanji

Sanji is the Straw Hat crew's chain-smoking chef, whose dream is to find 'All Blue', a legendary ocean which contains all the fish in the world^[5]. He takes great pride in the meals he makes and considers them works of art. Sanji is also a very skilled fighter, who uses a fictional martial arts style called 'Red Leg' that makes use of only kicks. Sanji states that this is because a chef's hands are his prized possession, and should not be risked in battle^[6]. He was trained by the once infamous pirate Red Leg Zeff, who was a chef himself and once battled in the grand line. In battle, he typically manipulates things from off-panel and then appears in the front lines at a very crucial moment. This has led to a running gag in the series centering around Sanji never being recognized by the Straw Hats' enemies, a joke culminating in the release of his first wanted poster. Sanji was born in the North Blue, but grew up in the East Blue. His left eye is always covered by his hair and almost always remains unseen.

Powers and abilities

Sanji is a powerful martial artist with superhuman strength, speed, and endurance. He is considered by the Straw Hat crew to be one of their strongest fighters. Sanji has mastered Red Leg, a fictional unarmed martial art which strictly uses the lower body and legs in combat similar to capoeira. Sanji's leg strength is great enough to smash through rock and defeat monstrous beasts in a single blow. Oda rates Sanji's kicking power as enough to shatter twenty one wooden baseball bats in one kick^[11] Sanji is also shown to be very acrobatic, using flips and handstands in his fighting. His fighting style's name is taken from the alias of "Red Leg" Zeff, Sanji's mentor and developer of the style. Red Leg possesses a variety of special attacks, most of which are simply exceptionally powerful kicks. These techniques are named in French, and generally refer to the part of the body Sanji is attacking.

Sanji's most powerful attack is Diable Jambe, which involves rotating at high speeds, heating his leg via friction until it glows red-hot. This powerful kick literally burns his opponent when it connects, though it does no damage to Sanji. Oda states this is because Sanji's heart burns even hotter^[12].