Straw Hats' Jolly Roger

Lore & Background

In Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, each pirate crew has a distinct Jolly Roger reflecting its traits. The Straw Hats' flag features a cartoonish skull with two crossbones and a straw hat like that worn by protagonist Monkey D. Luffy. Although Luffy originally drew the flag, his poor sketch led crewmate Usopp to redesign it. The series, one of the longest-running and most popular Japanese media franchises, has its manga (beginning in 1997) as the best-selling of all time and its anime running since 1999.

The flag's anti-authoritarian usage references a major storyline involving the fictional World Government and the Straw Hat Pirates' struggles to fight back while hunting for treasure. CNN described the flag as symbolizing Luffy's quest to chase dreams, liberate oppressed people, and fight the autocratic World Government. Multiple academic works have analyzed how the manga draws parallels to real-world politics and authoritarianism.

The flag was first used in protests in Indonesia in October 2023 in Yogyakarta during protests against the Gaza war. Its usage increased during the August 2025 Indonesian protests (the 17+8 movement), where students protested against the Indonesian House of Representatives allowance hike and rising costs of food and education. The flag's use gained attention online and spread worldwide, including to the 2025 Philippine anti-corruption protests.

Reader's Guide

The Straw Hats' Jolly Roger became a key symbol of Generation Z protests globally, first emerging in Indonesian protests in October 2023 and gaining prominence during the August 2025 Indonesian anti-government protests. Its use spread to Nepal, where protesters displayed it during September 2025 demonstrations that toppled the government of K. P. Sharma Oli, and to Madagascar, where a variant with a traditional Betsileo hat was used during September–October 2025 protests that led to a coup and the flight of President Andry Rajoelina. The flag also appeared in protests across Africa, the Americas, and Eurasia, including in the Philippines, East Timor, France, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Morocco, the United States, Mexico, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Netherlands. The Indonesian government, particularly leading figures from the People's Consultative Assembly, called the flag a threat to national unity and declared it a symbol of treason and sedition, while other officials found no problem with its use. The flag's adoption reflects the One Piece series' themes of teenagers fighting a corrupt ruling class on behalf of the oppressed, as noted by participants in the Philippine protests.

Did You Know?

• The flag was first used in protests in October 2023 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, during protests against the Gaza war.
• In Madagascar, protesters used a variant of the flag with a pink-and-green satroka hat, traditional of the Betsileo people, in place of the straw hat.
• During the 2025–2026 Philippine anti-corruption protests, a participant said the characters taught values and morals that influenced how they perceive society.
• The flag was spray-painted on the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam in August 2026, alongside phrases 'Time to wake up!' and 'Stop the human trafficking'.