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Japanese Name:     ビッグトップ号
Romanized Name:     Biggu Toppu-gō
English Name:     Big Top
Affiliations:     Buggy Pirates
First Appearance:     Chapter 8; Episode 4

Appearance

Big Top is a brightly colored ship, which imitates a circus feel. It has many circus tent designs on it, furthering Buggy's theme. Its figurehead is a circus elephant with the trunk as a cannon. The prow also has two cannons on it. The ship overall is fairly large compared to many ships on the sea.

History

Invading Orange TownBig Top was first seen parked on the shores of Organ Island when Buggy and his crew took over Orange Town.[2] After Buggy was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and sent flying off the island, the remainder of the crew took the ship and fled the island as the townspeople chased them.

New Captain Soon the ship took the crew to Kumate Island, where the crew would unfortunately run into a tribe of cannibals there. Richie, who became the new captain while defeating Mohji and Cabaji in his sleep, was captured by the cannibalistic tribe and was about to be cooked, but was rescued by Buggy, who returned after an adventure of his own, bringing Alvida with him as an ally.

Grand Line After escaping Marine Captain Smoker from Loguetown, the Buggy Pirates took the Big Top and entered the Grand Line.[3] Due to Buggy's past experience with the unforgiving oceans, he was able to guide his crew through it with relative ease.

Eventually, Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the adoptive brother of Luffy, who was in search of the traitorous Blackbeard, boarded Big Top to join the party. Buggy ordered the crew not to attack, due to him fearing Whitebeard's wrath.[4] Eventually, Ace left and continued his search.

Alvida Taking Over Sometime after Ace left, Buggy was captured by the Marines due to him mistaking their base as Captain John's treasure hold, and was sent to Impel Down.[5][6] Alvida then took over, and she claimed Big Top as her ship and left with it, despite Mohji and Cabaji's initial protests, stressing that they should be saving Buggy. With that, the Big Top sailed away from the Calm Belt.[7]

Reunion and New Recruits
After Buggy escaped from prison and participated in the Battle of Marineford, his actions and past as Gol D. Roger's crew mate were revealed in the newspaper which led him to acquire a massive amount of fellow convict followers. They somehow managed to find the rest of the Buggy Pirates and Big Top, which were docked somewhere on an island in the Grand Line, and the crew reunited and increased in size and power.[8]

Trivia

  The name of the ship refers to the big top in a circus.

References

    ↑ One Piece Yellow: Grand Elements - Big Top's name is revealed.

    ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime - Vol. 1 Chapter 8 and Episode 4, The Big Top is first seen.

    ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime - Vol. 12 Chapter 100 and Episode 53, Buggy declares that he is intending to return to the Grand Line.

    ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime - Vol. 25 Chapter 233 and Episode 145, Ace party crashes on the Big Top.

    ↑ SBS One Piece Manga - Vol. 54 Chapter 526, Oda speaks on how Buggy was captured.

    ↑ One Piece Anime - Episode 424, Buggy was arrested for invading a Marine Fort.

    ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime - Vol. 54 Chapter 525 and Episode 422, Alvida takes the Big Top and leaves Buggy.

    ↑ One Piece Manga - Vol. 60 Chapter 593, The Big Top parked on an island in the Grand Line.