[One Piece] “The Bomb-Bomb Fruit Was Wasted” — Japanese Fans Argue It Should’ve Gone to a Top-Tier Pirate

Bomb-Bomb Fruit (Mr. 5) — May, 2018
Was this Devil Fruit secretly overpowered… and just given to the wrong guy?

Explosions are usually portrayed as devastating, unavoidable, and lethal.
So why does the Bomb-Bomb Fruit feel so underwhelming in One Piece?
Japanese fans revisit the ability and ask a blunt question: was it wasted on the wrong pirate?

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The Bomb-Bomb Fruit Was Given to the Wrong Tier

1: Anonymous Pirate
It shouldn’t have gone to some random weakling.
This is the kind of power a Shichibukai should’ve had.

2: Anonymous Pirate
Is it really just booger bombs though?

10: Anonymous Pirate
Explosions mean controlling fire, air, and wind.
There’s no way that should be weak.

14: Anonymous Pirate
A normal bird takes a city-wide explosion head-on and doesn’t die.
Explosions in One Piece are like stepping on a firecracker.

20: Anonymous Pirate
Explosions either look like they do nothing
or suddenly become insanely brutal.
There’s no middle ground, so whatever.

21: Anonymous Pirate
The firepower wasn’t even that high,
and the user’s durability was way too low.

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“Abilities Don’t Matter, Users Do” Counterargument

26: Anonymous Pirate
There’s a hard worker who climbed to Yonko commander
with an ability that just makes biscuits when he claps his hands.

31: Anonymous Pirate
Blades and explosions are way too weak in that world.
It’s hopeless.

41: Anonymous Pirate
>>31
Zoro doesn’t even get cut in half after getting sliced by the Dice-Dice Fruit.
I remember thinking, what the hell is this?
He’s basically half–Devil Fruit user himself.

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What Counts as a “Strong” Devil Fruit Anyway?

60: Anonymous Pirate
The only Devil Fruits ever clearly called “strong” in the story
are the Goro Goro, Ope Ope, and Gura Gura.

64: Anonymous Pirate
>>60
When the author officially said the Flame-Flame Fruit
is inferior to the Magma-Magma Fruit, that kinda killed the hype for me.

71: Anonymous Pirate
To fight as a Shichibukai,
you’d need to be able to turn literally anything you touch—
even people—into bombs.
Maybe awakening does that.

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Comparisons to Other Manga & Missed Potential

87: Anonymous Pirate
Successful bomb user example: Karasu from Yu Yu Hakusho.

93: Anonymous Pirate
If Sabo beats Akainu,
then what the hell was Ace even doing?

112: Anonymous Pirate
“I am the bomb.”

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Devil Fruits vs Natural Monsters

124: Anonymous Pirate
Big Mom wouldn’t have become a Yonko
if she had eaten the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

129: Anonymous Pirate
>>124
She easily would.
She’s a monster even without a Devil Fruit.

139: Anonymous Pirate
>>129
No fruit? Sure.
But if she ate the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, no way.

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Logia Dependence & Power Illusions

151: Anonymous Pirate
Wash-Wash Fruit lol.

162: Anonymous Pirate
Smoker relied too much on being a Logia
and never trained himself.
His main weapon is still a jitte—
that’s outdated as hell.

175: Anonymous Pirate
>>162
Seeing him desperately use a jitte
because he has no real attack methods is just sad.

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“Explosions Are Weak” Is a Worldbuilding Issue

196: Anonymous Pirate
If you eat a Devil Fruit and never leave your home sea,
you’d dominate it easily.

198: Anonymous Pirate
>>196
If you got a Logia,
you’d rule any sea before the Grand Line.

197: Anonymous Pirate
It’s rare to see a manga where explosions are this weak.
Normally they’d be top-tier, like Yoshikage Kira.

253: Anonymous Pirate
Once awakened, the Bomb-Bomb Fruit might be top class.
You can already ignite your breath,
so awakening should let you ignite the surrounding air.

306: Anonymous Pirate
They made string way too strong.

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Completely Unrelated, Yet Very One Piece

318: Anonymous Pirate
Nami was at her cutest here.

325: Anonymous Pirate
>>318
That was Bon Clay.

342: Anonymous Pirate
If it awakens,
he’ll basically become Yoshikage Kira from JoJo Part 4.

28: Anonymous Pirate
Explosions almost never kill anyone in One Piece.

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👉 Why Japanese Fans Think This Way
Japanese readers tend to judge abilities less by concept and more by results shown on-panel.
When explosions consistently fail to kill, maim, or permanently change outcomes,
they stop feeling dangerous—no matter how logical their real-world power should be.

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👉 It Was Never About the Fruit — Power in One Piece Belongs to the Character
This thread isn’t really about the Bomb-Bomb Fruit being weak.
It’s about One Piece quietly teaching readers that abilities don’t scale—characters do.
In that worldview, explosions, blades, and even Logia powers mean nothing
unless the story decides they should.