One Piece is an anime that certainly has its share of strong and powerful characters. And even though its protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, has been featured most often in our One Piece comparisons, this one won't focus on Luffy at all. Namely, the protagonists of this comparison will be Buggy the Clown, the guy who became a legend despite all odds and without anyone knowing how or why, and Dracule Mihawk, the best swordsman in the world of One Piece. In this article, we will analyze both, as we will pit Buggy against Mihawk to finally determine who is the strongest of the two.

Dracule Mihawk can beat Buggy anywhere and under any conditions. The difference in strength and skill between them is so great that Buggy's relatively practical Devil Fruit powers would be completely useless against Mihawk, as they wouldn't help him win. He might be able to hold his own for a while, but Mihawk is so much more skilled that Buggy couldn't even hurt him and would eventually be defeated.

The rest of this article will expand on the answer given above by comparing Buggy and Mihawk in more detail. Across several categories, you'll see who is stronger and why our answer is the way it is—that is, why Mihawk would ultimately be able to defeat Buggy.

Physical powers

While not as powerful as the other former Roger Pirates, Buggy is a very capable fighter; he is strong enough to survive all the battles against the Whitebeard Pirates and the extreme dangers of the Grand Line. While he was a major adversary early in the series, he became less of a threat as more powerful enemies appeared.

Finally, in the Impel Down Saga, several prisoners, such as Baroque Works agents or Jinbe, commented on his incredible weakness. However, he can still survive trials that even the most powerful people cannot (even with help). Buggy has very high endurance, as he survived the explosion of a Muggy Ball redirected towards him. He also possesses great physical strength, as he was able to grab and choke one of his subordinates with one hand.

Mihawk's enormous superhuman physical strength, complemented by his mastery of the sword, contributes to his talents as the world's most formidable swordsman.

Mihawk can quickly produce extremely powerful compressed air blasts or energy blasts with enormous range, powerful enough to effortlessly tear through battleships and a mountain of ice. A tough swordsman with great strength, Zoro, was also stopped by him using only the dagger he held in one hand. Mihawk possesses exceptional agility and can leap and jump great distances and heights. He moves quickly enough to compensate for the increased speed of Luffy's Gear Second. He also possesses exceptional reflexes.

Although Buggy is bulked up at one point, Mihawk simply overpowers him with ease. Buggy is more or less useless against any powerful opponent, and Mihawk is simply above him in every aspect.

Points: Buggy 0, Mihawk 1

Devil Fruit

Buggy ate the Paramecia-type Bara Bara no Mi, allowing him to take his body apart and put it back together like a puzzle. Additionally, his body automatically splits if hit by a bladed weapon, to which he is completely immune. Buggy can split horizontally and vertically. Once detached from the body, the pieces can float in the air at will, making them an invisible target for enemies. However, the feet are incapable of levitation, and once Buggy splits into parts, they can only fly within a limited distance of the feet.

Like Zoro, Shanks, and a few other powerful characters, Dracule Mihawk hasn't consumed any Devil Fruits in his life and owes his powers and abilities to his natural skills and training. Dracule Mihawk is a formidable fighter, and the fact that he achieved all of this without any help, simply through his training, makes him even more impressive. There's a reason Mihawk is considered the best swordsman in the One Piece world, and we can only confirm it from this perspective.

This category is pretty straightforward, as Mihawk doesn't have a Devil Fruit, unlike Buggy, who does. In light of this fact, Buggy definitely wins this point, and there's no dilemma about it, but we should note that it wouldn't really be of much use to him.

Points: Buggy 1, Mihawk 1

Dragon Ball Figure

Come see

RIGHT

There are three types of Haki in the world of One Piece. Only the most powerful pirates can use all three; stronger pirates usually use two, while other characters—in most cases—use at least one. How much can Buggy use? None. The guy is so dumb and incompetent that he's the only known Yonko who can't use any type of Haki, which is an achievement in itself. How he became such a notorious pirate with such an obvious lack of skill (besides his luck) is beyond us, but he's here and well... yeah.

Mihawk can use at least two of the three types of Haki. Mihawk possesses great mastery of Observation Haki, being able to track Luffy while using Gear Second with great ease. Like Luffy and Otohime, Mihawk can also detect people's emotions. It has been confirmed that he can use Armament Haki, as in Zoro's fight against Pica.

He is shown in a flashback as Mihawk tells him about the power of his black sword and that he should be able to transform his katanas into swords, just like him. He even stipulates that Zoro cannot drink alcohol until he produces some. It is also possible that he can use Conqueror's Haki, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Yeah, as for Buggy, the guy is so useless that he can't even use a single type of Haki, which speaks for itself. Mihawk clearly wins this point, and that's it.

Points: Buggy 1, Mihawk 2

Weapons

Buggy seems to prefer bladed weapons, particularly favored by the use of knives. He tends to keep one or three knives between his fingers at a time and can apparently perform small feats, slashing or stabbing his enemies.

Buggy appears to carry an impressive array of such weapons on his person at all times, some of which he prefers to keep hidden under his gloves or in his shoes (where he also has blades and attacks directly with his feet). He was also seen with a sword in a (failed) attempt to cut off Luffy's head in Loguetown. Inside Impel Down, he first wielded a tomahawk and used a pistol used by one of the jailers.

Mihawk wears a cross knife pendant around his neck. He is shown using it as an eating tool, but when combined with his swordsmanship, it can also be a devastating weapon that can take out any swordsman with low or average skills, including Zoro, who used three swords in his fight.

It was the smallest blade he possessed, Mihawk said. Yoru, a black sword, is Mihawk's primary weapon. The Yoru is a human-sized, single-edged sword with a cross-shaped point at the end. He only draws this sword when someone challenges him for his title and he has the courage or strength to do so; otherwise, his Kogatana suffices.

Mihawk is known as the best swordsman in the series, while Buggy is… useless. He can hold a sword and maybe defeat a child with it, but Mihawk could—as he did—easily slice him like a piece of salami.

Points: Buggy 1, Mihawk 3

Mihawk easily beats Buggy in all conditions

Now let's move on to the most important and interesting section of our article: the analysis. Here, we'll take what we've learned about these two characters and analyze how all these facts would help them (or not) in a fight against each other. Let's move on.

And while we love to write our analyses and explain—in varying degrees of detail—why this character is or isn't stronger than another, Buggy made it pretty straightforward. Buggy was great at first when we first met him. Later, he became a weak and useless pirate wannabe who used his luck and God knows what to become a warlord of the sea and later even a Yonko.

The guy succeeded—he became a Yonko, in the same category as Shanks, Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Luffy, Kaidou, and Big Mom—without even knowing any Haki… how… well, that's a mystery, but a mystery whose implication on this duel is such that one can easily conclude that Buggy wouldn't stand a chance against Mihawk in a fight.