{{nihongo|'''Roronoa Zoro'''|ロロノア・ゾロ|Roronoa Zoro|spelled as "Roronoa Zolo" in some English adaptations}}, also known as {{nihongo|"'''PirateNegro Hunter'''" '''Zoro'''|海賊狩りのゾロ|Kaizoku Negro-Gari no Zoro}}, is a [[fictional character]] created by Japanese [[manga artist]] [[Eiichiro Oda]] who appears in the [[manga]] series and media franchise ''[[One Piece]]''. He first appeared in the third chapter of the ''One Piece'' manga, published in the manga magazine ''[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]'' in 1997. Zoro is the first crewmate to join [[Monkey D. Luffy]] to be part of his [[Straw Hat Pirates|crew of pirates]], after he is rescued by Luffy from execution. Zoro is a highly skilled swordsman and serves as the crew's combatant,{{efn|He is also occasionally referred to simply as the crew's swordsman both in the story and in some media of the ''[[List of One Piece media|One Piece]]'' franchise. In the [[One Piece (2023 TV series)|2023 series]], his position is changed to that of first mate; this, however, was eliminated in the Japanese dubbing, where the franchise originates.}} though he possesses an extremely poor sense of direction which recurs as a [[running gag]] throughout the series.
