Every member of how heartbreaking Nico Robin's backstory is, Brook is the member of the crew who has arguably suffered most before meeting the other Straw Hats, making his backstory the saddest by far.

Brook's story, as seen in his flashback, actually starts out happy. He was a senior member of the Rumbar Pirates, a crew that gained fame when the future Pirate King - Gol D. Roger was still just an infant. It was a close-knit crew whose mutual love of music was only equaled by their lust for living the pirate life on the high seas. While they were one of the strongest crews sailing the Four Seas, their desire for greater fortune led the crew to the fateful decision to brave the waters of the Grand Line and circumnavigate the world.

However, soon after entering the Grand Line, while exploring a jungle island, the captain and a few of the crew contracted a plague. Before long it spread to nearly half the crew. Not wanting to doom the whole expedition, the captain and infected crew took a ship and tried to sail back home. Taking over command, Brook continued the Rumbar Pirates' journey along the Grand Line. However, tragedy hit again. First, they encountered the Demon's Triangle - a mysterious area where constant fogs make escape almost impossible. Next, after repulsing an attack by another band of pirates, Brook and his crew learned that the enemies had laced their weapons with poison, condemning the Rumbar to a slow and painful death.

One After Another, Brook Watched His Friends Die

Adrift in the fog and gloom of the Demon's Triangle, the crew slowly and painfully ed away one after another. Brook was the last one, and he kept playing the crew's favorite song until, one by one, they all died. The tragedy for Brook however did not stop there. As a result of eating the Revive-Revive Devil Fruit (Yomi Yomi no Mi) at some point earlier during their travels, once Brook died, his soul returned to his body and resurrected him. Unfortunately, being in the Demon's Triangle, Brook's soul took one year to find his body and by that time all that was left was his skeleton. Now a walking pile of bones, Brook was in essence imprisoned on the same ship he died on, surrounded by the remains of his crew.

There are a number of levels to the sadness of Brook's backstory. First, there's the fact that his Devil Fruit powers failed him. It resurrected him as a monster and forced him to live in eternal loneliness on a floating coffin. Second, it imprisoned him at the very location where he saw his friends die and their dreams crushed by the harsh reality of the Grand Line. For someone with a happy and positive personality like Brook, who loved hanging out with others, living absolutely alone and in isolation for decades must have been unbearable. Finally, there's his music. Brook loved composing songs and singing to others, it gave him joy beyond compare. While he was still able to compose and sing on the ship, there was no audience to listen to him.

Brook's Resurrection Was A Curse, Until Luffy Found Him

When taken together, Brook's time on his ship was undoubtedly a truly soul-crushing experience. Moreover, unlike the causes of grief his other Straw Hat crew mates encountered in their own backstories, there's no one Brook can blame for his predicament. The Rumbar Pirates were just one of the many crews annihilated by the perils of the Grand Line, the most dangerous stretch of seas in the world. Indeed, for all the pain Nico Robin suffered, she at least has the chance to get her revenge. Brook, on the other hand, was forced to see his friends die and their dreams disappear due to events he had no control over, at least until he met Luffy and the Straw Hats, who literally saved his soul, making Brook the saddest but also the most uplifting character in One Piece.

One Piece is now available from Viz Media.