Kotatsu is a giant lynx and belongs to a rare subspecies. He was a member of the Spade Pirates. Kotatsu got the name from Ace. After Whitebeard defeated the gang, the complete crew was taken over by him.This information comes from One Piece novel A
Contents
Personality
In the beginning, Kotatsu was very timid and reserved, but the feline predator regained his natural courage over time with the Spade Pirates. Still, Kotatsu acted more like a giant pet instead of a wild animal. Kotatsu was very devoted to Ace and always stayed close to him, especially liking the warmth he radiated.
Skills & Strength
Even though he was like a giant house cat to the gang, he had a completely different effect on enemies. Often a simple growl was enough to scare them away. In addition, he belonged to the “fighter squad” of the Spade Pirates and used his sharp claws in battle.
History
Rise of the Spade Pirates
Even after Ace formed the Spade Pirates, he came across Kotatsu, a wild animal stuck in a poacher’s trap. Ace freed Kotatsu, after which the animal followed him back to the ship and always stayed by his side. Thus, Kotatsu joined the Spade pirate gang relatively early after its formation. Due to Ace’s rapid rise, bounty hunters and the navy were always on their heels. After one such attack by bounty hunters, they spotted a naval fleet led by Isuka. A maneuver by Masked Deuce allowed them to escape, but Isuka swore to them that she would capture Ace one day. So she eventually pursued the pirates across the entire first half of the Grand Line, but was never able to apprehend them. They eventually reached Sabaody Archipelago and dived from there to Fish-Man Island. Their destination was the New World, where Ace had it in for Whitebeard.
New World
In the New World, the Spade Pirates met up with Shanks and the Red Shirt Pirates because Ace wanted to thank him for Luffy. Bound together by Luffy, they then had a party.
Then, about three years ago, the Spade pirate gang docked at Kuri on Wano Country. The starving villagers including O-Tama overpowered them and stole their food. However, it turned out that Ace and his comrades had deliberately allowed themselves to be tied up in order to let the residents have their food. Alerted to Kaidou’s plight by the residents, they then went to Onigashima, where they met Yamato, but Kaidou was not there.
However, their goal was still Whitebeard and so they went into his territory, but they were first opposed by Jinbe, who wanted to prevent a fight with Whitebeard. After a five-day battle, Whitebeard then appeared in person and the Spade Pirates were defeated. They were taken to the Moby Dick.This information comes from One Piece novel A
While their captain did not really want to accept his defeat and always attacked Whitebeard, the members quickly arranged themselves aboard the Moby Dick. They lived by the code of earning their food. Kotatsu was the first member of the Spade Pirates to take this to heart and lend a hand. So he went hunting and brought the spoils to Thatch, the commander of the fourth division and also responsible for feeding the crew.
After several defeats, Ace finally accepted Whitebeard as his father and the Spade Pirates joined the Whitebeard Pirates.
Miscellaneous
- His name was first announced in One Piece magazine for the manga series’ 20th anniversary.
- Kotatsu has only appeared in flashbacks in the manga so far. Thus, he did not appear during Marine Ford’s summit battle either.
- In the manga adaptation to the novel, One Piece episode A, Kotatsu makes no appearance.
