Tony Tony Chopper (Tonī Tonī Choppā?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. He is the fifth member and the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates.

He is the Straw Hat crew’s general physician despite being a reindeer. After a set of unusual circumstances, he ate the Hito Hito no Mi (Human Human Fruit), which permitted him the ability to speak, think, and (to a limited extent) change into a human. One of the most innocent Straw Hat Pirates, Chopper is also very naïve, resulting in a tendency to believe anything told to him, even the outrageously fictitious, exaggerated lies of Usopp.

Chopper’s left antler has a metal plate wrapped around it at all times. He originally broke it while retrieving the mushroom for Doctor Hiruluk. It is unknown how his left antler manages to transform during his transformations; given that they disappear completely during his human form, one can assume the devil fruit’s power is capable of doing this.

Chopper’s reindeer appearance often comes in handy. Enemies will usually assume he is just a pet when they haven’t actually interacted with him. This was especially useful in Alabasta, when he played an instrumental role in Sanji breaking the others out of Rain Dinners.

The name “Tony Tony Chopper” is partly a play on “Tonakai” (”Reindeer”), and partly on the idea that his horns look like they could chop down trees, according to Hiruluk.

In Japanese Fan Polls, Chopper is constantly the fourth most popular character. He’s in fifth place in the 4Kids poll. His birthday is Christmas Eve.

Oda has stated that he uses the color pink to represent Chopper, and (Oda was answering the questions as Chopper) for his smell, “how am I supposed to know?”.

Chopper is a bit naive and is missing a bit of toughness and often acts like a child, but an upright friend and companion who will try anything to overcome a task given by his team. He also still has distrust of humankind because of his youth and will often outright insult a human who compliments him while smiling, dancing, and being obviously pleased. Chopper also shows a certain interest in books, but mostly medicine related ones.

Chopper is more or less on a journey to define himself, seeing almost anybody on his crew as a role model. This, combined with his naivety, often causes him to imitate the other Straw Hats’ actions, no matter how obviously silly. Because of this, he often gets involved in the crazy antics of Luffy and Usopp, wholeheartedly believing that what they are doing is sensible and fun.

Chopper is also a thankful listener to Usopp’s lies, most of which he really believes, at least for a short time after he hears them. Robin calls him “Doctor-san” which makes him dance in joy. Luffy originally didn’t know that Chopper was a doctor. When asked why he recruited him, then, Luffy responded, “Seven level transformation. Cool reindeer,” and Sanji said, “Emergency food supply.”

Despite his strength, Chopper is rather hapless, and copes with stressful situations nearly as badly as Usopp. When Chopper recognizes someone who needs medical attention he often will start to run around screaming for a doctor, before realizing that he is one.

Another one of Chopper’s habits is his reverse cartoon peek where he’s standing behind a wall or doorway and peeks at people, trying not to be seen by them. Unfortunately he’s not hiding his body behind the wall, as a result his body is visible and only one half of his face is hidden. A running gag is that various though random characters in One Piece think Chopper is a Tanuki whilst in his Brain Point form. His Heavy Point form likewise is mistaken for a gorilla or an abominable snowman.

In any case, due to the fact he is commonly in his brain point or walk point, he is often treated as the crew’s pet. This attribute to the fact that he only got 50 Beli (”berries” in the English manga) for his bounty.

Note: In the English dub by 4Kids, he refrains from using curse words and often just acts happier than normal, or he calls the other character(s) “punks” (though the latter is only done in One Piece: Pirates Carnival).

Most people call him Chopper, however Nefertari Vivi calls him “Tony-kun”, and Nico Robin refers to him as “Sen’i-san” (”Mr. Ship’s-Doctor”).

Chopper’s dream is to cure all disease.

Chopper was originally a reindeer with the slight oddity of a blue nose, which caused other reindeer to treat him as an outcast (always making him follow the herd from far back). However, when the young reindeer ate the Hito Hito no Mi, he was even more ostracized from his herd (and with the increase in intelligence granted by the fruit, now acutely aware of it) and struck out on his own.

Unfortunately for Chopper, his attempts at communicating with the humans on Drum Island proved disastrous, and he was shot by villagers who mistook him for The Abominable Snowman. Luckily, though, he was rescued by the quack Dr. Hiriluk (Hiruluk in the Japanese version), who named him and took him in as his friend and ‘assistant.’ Although his deeds were of dubious medical value, Dr. Hiriluk became Chopper’s role-model. Hiriluk taught Chopper his philosophy on life (that all diseases could be cured) and his strong faith in the Jolly Roger as a symbol of strength against all odds.

The two went from house to house, administering their “cures” in a country where all doctors not sanctioned by King Wapol were banned.

When Hiriluk’s health took a turn for the worse, however, Chopper found himself left out in the cold once again as the old man didn’t want Chopper to watch him die. But once Chopper found out what was going on, he was determined that he would find something to cure his mentor and only friend.

He soon found what he was looking for: a special kind of mushroom with a skull-and-crossbones prominently displayed in the medical book, unaware of what that sign really meant due to Hiriluk’s praising of pirates. Remembering what he overheard by some villagers that certain special type of mushroom can heal every illness, Chopper steals Hiriluk’s favorite medical book to find the miracle mushroom. Chopper’s arduous journey was a success, although he risked his life and suffered many injuries, such as a broken left antler.

Hiriluk overwhelmed with tears of gratitude, ate the mushroom to show his love and appreciation to Chopper, but Chopper would later find out from Dr. Kureha that he had given Dr. Hiriluk a fatal dose of poison. But Hiriluk was not to live much longer, anyway. Declaring that he had had a wonderful life, he committed suicide by blowing himself up outside of Drum Castle (before being killed by the poison, for Chopper’s sake), where he wanted to heal the sick before he died.

As per Hiriluk’s last wish, Dr. Kureha (the last remaining doctor not owned by King Wapol) took Chopper in and taught him ‘real’ medicine for the next 6 years. Chopper worked as hard as he could, in order to become a doctor like his idol, Hiruluk.

However, Chopper’s isolated life in Drum Castle (which he and Dr. Kureha annexed after the King Wapol fled) would one day come to an end with the arrival of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew. Chopper, naturally distrustful of humans, was not pleased, especially given Luffy and Sanji’s desire to cook and eat him.

But when Chopper showed both his medical powers and his skills in battle against the returned forces of King Wapol, Luffy offered (forced) him the (as-yet unfilled) position of Ship’s Doctor in his crew. While Chopper was at first unwilling to leave, he remembered Dr. Hiruluk wishing Chopper to sail around and seeing the world on his own and with his desire to broaden his medical horizons, he decides to join Luffy and his crew.

Fleeing the castle with the Straw Hat Pirates, Chopper was given a send-off of gigantic proportions: Kureha had turned the snow into Sakura blossoms, and the cliff where the castle stood became the sakura tree the very same that Hiruluk had researched over 30 years that would one day, cure the people of Drum of their “sickness of the heart”, passed to Dr. Kureha as one of his last request before death. Overcome with tears, Chopper made a fond farewell to his birthplace and mentors, setting out to sea for the first time in his life.

Chopper was originally abandoned by his family for being different, and being with humans was the same. Chopper’s first friends (other than the people who raised him) were the Straw Hats, which opened him up to the world.

Aboard the Going Merry, Chopper was quickly thrust into battle against the forces of Baroque Works, on the island of Alabasta. While unused to the heat, Chopper was instrumental in getting the assistance of the island’s animals and defeating the Mr. 4 / Miss Merry Christmas team.

As time would go on, Chopper would become a vital aspect of the crew, treating their injuries and keeping their spirits up with his constant amazement at the variety and wonder of the world.

As of late, he continues to be faithful to his crew and dispense valuable medical assistance, he was badly shaken when Usopp chose to leave. Panicked and saddened by this development, it was all Chopper could do to leave behind some medical supplies to treat his former crewmate’s wounds, while he followed his captain into the Venetian-styled city of Water Seven.

He was instrumental in saving both Iceburg and Paulie from the destruction of Galley-La Company’s headquarters, and afterward expressed his determination to help retrieve Robin from the clutches of the World Government organization CP9. While Sanji succeeded in retrieving both Usopp and Franky the shipwright, Usopp is currently in the guise of Sogeking (a sharpshooting hero of Usopp’s own invention, from the Island of Snipers).

Despite the others immediately seeing through “Sogeking”, Chopper and Luffy do not recognize Sogeking as actually being Usopp (with Chopper even asking for his autograph). Usopp does not seem to want Chopper to know the truth yet, and guards his disguise carefully. Chopper’s Monster Point defeats his CP9 opponent with ease.

Chopper received his first bounty of 50 Beli, and the only reason he got it is due to the fact that he is a “pet” of Straw Hats. This possibly gave him the smallest active bounty of all time. Chopper is shocked that his bounty is so small, since he believed he fought like a man.

When Garp attacks and Usopp tries to rejoin, Chopper was the only one who didn’t deny his attention.

Chopper stayed on the Thousand Sunny with Robin, Zoro, Franky and Usopp while Luffy, Sanji and Nami investigated a ghost ship discovered in the Florian Triangle, the ‘cursed zone’ on the way to Merman Island. When Brook the abrasive skeleton musician arrived on the ship, Chopper joined Usopp in trying to exorcise him with various (utterly useless) chants and religious icons.

Along with Nami and Usopp, he is currently trapped on Thriller Bark, the ‘Ghost Island’, after crashing into it on one of the Thousand Sunny’s landing craft; escaping from the island’s three-headed watchdog by hiding in a tree, he reacts with shock to the name of the island’s supervisor - Dr. Hogback.

He reveals that Dr. Hogback is a famous doctor, who disappeared ages ago, and had since become legend. He is excited at the chance to meet his idol in person, but his plans seem squashed when Nami and Usopp request that Hogback’s assistant, Hildon, return them to their ship. Chopper argues, but eventually gives in, and the group rides on for ten minutes. Hildon suddenly leaves the coach, and the group finds themselves in a graveyard surrounded by zombies bursting from the earth.

They flee to Hogback’s mansion, where Chopper happily says that he gets to see Dr. Hogback after all. Later, Chopper helps save Nami by smelling out the invisible man that attacked her. Once inside the mansion, Chopper ends up meeting Hogback, but becomes disturbed when he sees his idol being reduced to bringing the dead back to life as opposed to healing the sick such as a doctor should do. After further discovering more secrets within the mansion, Hogback dispatches Ryuma, a samurai zombie, to slice them all down.

Seemingly defeated, the trio are moved out of the mansion by more zombie servants, but Chopper and the others escape until they find themselves confronted by a platoon of animal zombies, who quickly knock out Chopper and Usopp.

Suddenly Absalom and Lola appears in the garden and Chopper flees from Lola with Usopp and Nami. next they are seen hiding in Bearsy. They witness the removol of Luffy’s shadow and the implanting of it in Oz at which point Chopper freaks out. Having been discovered they take off but Chopper and Ussopp are taken down by Absalom and Nami is kidnapped.

Zombie’s close in on Chopper and Ussop until Franky and Robin show up. Chopper, Usopp, Robin, and Franky have reach the Thousand Sunny and wake up Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. They are now mounting an attack on Thriller Bark to save Nami and defeat Moria. In Chapter 461, Chopper has begun fighting Hogback, claiming that the former doctor is no longer his idol.

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