When it comes to One Piece's supporting characters, Dracule Mihawk is not only one of the strongest, but he's also one of the most interesting. He's the best and most skilled swordsman in the series and a character seemingly allied with many villains (he was a warlord of the sea...), but is he a villain himself? This article will focus on that question and tell you whether or not Dracule Mihawk is a villain in the series.

Dracule Mihawk can't be considered a villain in the series. He's more of a maverick anti-hero type character, someone who's a lone wolf with his own goals in mind, but those goals aren't evil and they don't align with those of the series' true villains, the World Government. He may not always agree with his friends (Shanks) or allies (Zoro, Buggy, Crocodile), but he's not a villain, which has been proven multiple times throughout the story. He can't be considered a hero either, but he's definitely not one of One Piece's villains, that's what we can be sure of.

The rest of this article will focus solely on the character of Dracule Mihawk in One Piece, as we bring you everything you need to know about him and his actions that will help you understand why he is not a villain in the series. We will give you some information about the character's history, as well as his role in the entire story. This means that many spoilers will be present here, so if you don't know the whole story, be careful how you approach it.

Dracule Mihawk is a lone wolf, but he's not a bad guy.

Dracule Mihawk is definitely a supporting character in One Piece, and he hasn't appeared much in the series. However, he is undoubtedly a relevant character, not only because his story is closely linked to Zoro's, but also because he is a formidable character and a legend in the world of One Piece.

But unlike Shanks, whose allegiance is quite clear, Mihawk's actions can't be interpreted as clearly, so people continue to wonder if he's a villain in the series. Now we'll introduce you to his personality to see what kind of person he is, after which we'll talk about his role in the series.

Mihawk is a very serious person, so much so that he rarely smiles. He is also shown to be imperturbable and unemotional, as demonstrated when, unlike everyone else present, he is not surprised by Luffy's kinship with Dragon, or when he remains impassive after seeing Jaws block his blow aimed at Whitebeard. He has a strong sense of honor, a trait unique to few pirates. Furthermore, he has a high opinion of his own abilities, to the point of stating that he is tired of facing fighters who are nowhere near his level.

However, he knows how to recognize a talented person when he meets them, so much so that he expresses the desire for Zoro to join him after personally seeing his great will and allowing him to become his student.

He is also aware of Luffy's ability to surround himself with talented people thanks to his charisma and considers this ability to be the most powerful of all. Despite being a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Mihawk had a habit of attacking other pirates only when he felt like it, so much so that Zeff suspected that behind the persistence that led him to destroy all the Creek men's ships, there was only the fact that these men had disturbed his nap.

As proof, Mihawk reveals that he only reached the East Blue to pass the time. Mihawk uses his immense talent as a measure to evaluate that of others: he tries to hit Whitebeard with a very powerful blow just to understand the gap between the two, and he also attacks Luffy just to satisfy his curiosity to see if fate had helped the boy or not. Although he seems to have no friends, Mihawk greatly respects the people he enjoys fighting and those who survive.

He has a discreet sense of hospitality, to the point of tolerating the presence of Perona and Zoro for two years in his castle. He also informed the latter of his captain's fate and gave him a boat on which he could sail if he wished.

When the Seven Warlords of the Sea are disbanded and Mihawk becomes a wanted man again, he claims to shudder because he hasn't faced the ships that came to capture him in a long time. However, following the creation of the Cross Guild, he declares that the title of emperor doesn't interest him and, instead, only wishes to live in peace.

So, as you can see, Dracule Mihawk is a maverick type of character—a lone wolf, to be precise. He's definitely not a hero, we can confirm that, but there really isn't enough evidence for us to call him a villain either. Okay, sure, he attacked some pirates, and he didn't exactly help the heroes directly; he also took down Zoro and initially refused to train him during the time skip, but there's a lot more to him than that.

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While taking down Zoro, he praised him and motivated him to improve, and he eventually agreed to teach him during the time skip. He is also very close friends with Shanks, which speaks for itself, as Shanks isn't really friends with just anyone, so if Shanks approved of him, it means he's definitely not a villain, despite his actions.

On top of that, Mihawk never truly aligned himself with the World Government, who are the true villains of the series. Sure, as a Warlord of the Sea, he had a relationship with the World Government, but he was never a G-man, so to speak, and he was never truly loyal to them. This is why he immediately became a wanted man again when the Warlords were disbanded.

Ultimately, Mihawk is just doing his own thing. He's a guy who likes his peace and quiet, a guy who wants to be his own person and doesn't really want to be accountable to anyone. And that's what he does, what he continues to do throughout the series, and all his actions are aimed at finding the best possible solution for himself. In this respect, he can't be called a villain, but he's no hero either—at the end of the day, he's simply (and that's more than enough) Dracule Mihawk.