On my first read of One Piece, there were many events that had taken me by surprise that were awe-inspiring, emotionally heart-wrenching, oddly chilling for a shōnen so deeply encapsulated in humor, or a mix of one of the formerly mentioned. But there is one moment in the franchise that will always continue to stump me to this very day, that being the drastic change in appearance of one Tony Tony Chopper.

Chopper is as beloved a member of the Straw Hat crew just as all of the others have been, with a signature tragic backstory of being an outcast cementing him as a perfect character to Luffy’s ranks. In One Piece, the series undergoes a time skip of approximately two years under the direction of the captain, a moment the crew seizes to take advantage of by becoming stronger. Given their young age, it’s no surprise that every member of team Straw Hat comes out radically different within a mere two years, but none as drastic and jarring as Chopper.

Chopper’s Timeskip Appearance is Astronomically Different

It’s Not Just For Ease of Animating Either

There are significant changes in Chopper’s appearance from before and after the timeskip in One Piece. Some would say that he loses his animal qualities, but that’s not entirely true, since you can still recognize that he’s a deer creature even if he begins to resemble something more of a tanuki or a raccoon! He still has a certain roundness, his prominent antlers, hooves, and the shape of a mouth resembling a snout. What is most significantly missing are the tufts of fur on his body, a well-proportioned body shape, and my respect (just kidding.)

Chopper’s current model resembles something more of a mascot rather than a respected member of the crew.

A couple of other differences include that he now wears more clothes on the regular, and there’s also his hat which used to resemble Doctor Hiriluk’s hat in that it is shaped more to be a tophat. Fans say that he still wears this hat underneath the blue one he wears to this day, but it doesn't give the same refined look. It’s such a shame that the design changed so much because Chopper’s current model resembles something more of a mascot rather than a respected member of the crew, one of the most important actually given that he’s the doctor!

Our adorable reindeer was already beginning to change slightly even leading up to the timeskip, and it’s not so strange that he changed so drastically given his Devil Fruit powers. The Hito Hito, or Human Human, Devil Fruit gives him the ability to change his appearance, but I would have loved him just as much if he kept his old one! No matter the shape or size, Chopper continues to be the cutest and most adorable mascot member of the Straw Hat Crew though it’s curious how this timeskip also changed his battle forms.

Chopper’s Upgraded Forms and Battle Formations Have Also Undergone Changes

He Can Even Control The Monster Form Now

Thanks to his Devil Fruit, Chopper is able to undergo multiple transformations, though originally he only had access to a select few that would allow him to look like his original self, a more humanoid shape, and a reindeer. With the use of a Rumble Ball, he’d be able to unlock many more that could help him in combat. After the timeskip, using all of these forms interchangeably became a breeze for him, only requiring the Rumble Ball to unlock his Monster Point.

Naturally, due to the timeskip and his alterations, Chopper’s battle formations have also changed, some more than others. His Monster Point and Guard Point forms haven’t differed much, still exuding many of the same characteristics in body shape. Kung Fu Point, which is a combination of all of Chopper’s battle and brain qualities, is new and an additional exception. But it’s also caused the erasure of Arm Point, Jumping Point, and Brain Point. While it streamlined Chopper’s fighting style, it got rid of his unique characteristics that gave him a cooler edge when fighting prior to the timeskip.

The most crime-worthy changes have been made to Chopper’s Humanoid form, his Horn Point Battle Form, and his reindeer form. Chopper’s Human form is similar in that he has a larger upper body and hands to help better take care of patients, but his tuft of fur that surrounds his neck is now shaped like a comical collar, making him look more like a stylish poodle rather than a reindeer. If this form was meant to help him look more like a human, it certainly wasn’t living up to the task.

His reindeer form also takes a bit of a backseat, no longer looking like an accurate depiction of a reindeer, but rather one that is much more cartoonish and, like his humanoid form, resembles more of a dog than the actual animal it’s meant to depict. Instead of the jagged and dangerous appearance of his antlers in Horn Point, they have now been rounded off and curled which gives it a larger appearance, but not one that looks like it’d deal much damage. Perhaps more so in blunt force.

One Piece's erasure of some of Chopper’s most unique forms was disappointing, and his newer ones just didn’t live up to the creativity that was displayed when Chopper used the Rumble Ball before the time skip. They each had their purpose, allowed him to fight differently depending on his type of opponent, and just looked cooler in appearance to the cute and harmless forms we have now.