From Paris and Rome to Jakarta, Indonesia, and New York, a curious banner has appeared in protest squares. With hollow cheeks, a broad grin and a straw hat with a red band, the figure is instantly recognizable and has been hoisted by young demonstrators calling for change. In Kathmandu, Nepal, where anger at the government boiled over in September 2025, the flag became the defining image as flames spread through the gates of Singha Durbar, Nepal’s ornate palace complex and seat of power.
The Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger flies in front of the Singha Durbar after people set fire to the seat of Nepal government in Kathmandu.
Sunil Pradhan/Anadolu via Getty Images
The image, usually adorning a flag with a black background, comes from “One Piece,” a much-beloved Japanese manga.
And what began as a fictional pirate crew’s emblem almost three decades ago has become a powerful symbol of youth-led resistance, appearing in demonstrations from Indonesia and Nepal to the Philippines and France.
As a scholar of media and democracy, I see the spread of the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats Pirates – which has gone from manga pages to protest squares – as an example of how Gen Z is reshaping the cultural vocabulary of dissent.
Filipinos wave a ‘One Piece’ flag as they take part in a protest against corruption at Rizal Park on Sept. 21, 2025, in Manila.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
Pop culture as political expression
“One Piece” arrived at the birth of Gen-Z, created in 1997 by Japanese manga artist Eiichiro Oda.
Since then, it has sold more than 500 million copies and has a Guinness World Record for its publishing success.
It has spawned a long-running TV series, live-action films and a more-than-US$20 billion industry, with merchandise licensing alone generating about $720 million each year from Bandai Namco, the company best known for creating Pac-Man and Tekken.
At its core, “One Piece” follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as they challenge a corrupt world government while seeking freedom and adventure.
For fans, the “One Piece” flag is not a casual decoration but an emblem of defiance and perseverance. Luffy’s ability to stretch beyond physical limits after consuming a magical fruit has become a powerful metaphor for resilience, while his unwavering quest for freedom against impossible odds resonates with young people navigating political environments marked by corruption, inequality and authoritarian excess.
When protesters adopt this flag, they are not simply importing an aesthetic from popular culture, but are drawing on a narrative already legible to millions.
The flag began cropping up in protests over the past few years. It was being waved at a “Free Palestine” protest in 2023 in Indonesia and in the same year in New York during a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
But it was in Indonesia in August 2025 that the flag’s political life truly took hold.