Who Is Kaya in One Piece? Explained

One of Usopp’s best friends played a vital role in the Syrup Village arc, gifting the Straw Hats their first pirate ship in One Piece. As longtime fans might remember, it is none other than Kaya, who is basically like the ‘Richie Rich’ of the One Piece universe. Although she appeared in the series for a short time, it was more than enough to make her one of the most popular female characters in One Piece. If you want to learn more about Kaya in One Piece, keep reading.

Kaya Is Usopp’s Best Friend in One Piece

Kaya is an affluent girl who hails from Syrup Village, which is a part of the Gecko Islands in East Blue. We first met her during the Syrup Village arc, where we learned that she was one of Usopp’s most beloved friends.

One Piece creator Oda Eiichiro never really revealed too much about Kaya’s past. All we know is that her parents passed away due to unexplained circumstances. After that tragedy, she was taken care of by her butlers, namely Klahadore and Merry. However, that wasn’t enough as she became depressed and grew frail while being constantly worried.

Fun Fact:
The word Kaya translates to “Rich” in Malay and Indonesian language. Thus, making it a befitting name for her character.

This was when the infamous liar in the town, Usopp, came into her life. He would climb atop a tree near Kaya’s bedroom and tell her tales to cheer her up. Usopp’s presence made a big change and kept her going in life, and their bond started to grow thick. It was later revealed that Klahadore, her butler, was actually a pirate named Kuro, planning to kill her and obtain all her wealth the moment she turned eighteen. But luckily, the Straw Hat Pirates were there to save the day.

Kaya, once weak, has made significant progress to return to a healthy state later on. She is currently a medical student and is pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. Kaya gave the Going Merry ship (one of the best pirate ships in One Piece) as a gift to the Straw Hats, and from that day on, she has been considered an ally of the crew.

Who Plays Kaya in One Piece Live-Action?

2023 marked the arrival of the first season of the One Piece series (review) on Netflix. In this live-action adaptation, we got to see renowned actors playing the roles of our favorite characters. Kaya’s character was played by South African actress Celeste Loots (see image above), and we look forward to more of her cameos in the upcoming seasons.

One Piece fans couldn’t help but think of shipping these friends together, and this was a popular ship for a very long time. Fortunately, this became a reality later in the live-action series, where we finally saw a romantic encounter between Kaya and Usopp as they kissed each other, which never happened in the source material. This is rather a welcome change for the fans as we can finally tick off one favorite ship from our list.

Several other changes were made in the Syrup Village arc of Netflix’s live-action series, such as the way Kaya finds out Klahadore’s identity, Straw Hat Pirates being invited to a dinner party, Kaya’s conversation with Nami, etc. Some of these sequences enriched Kaya’s character in One Piece.

Does Kaya Die in One Piece?

For those wondering what is Kaya up to in One Piece right now, we have a definite answer. Does she die in the story? Well, the short answer is no, Kaya does not die in One Piece. Kaya wasn’t as strong-willed and appeared frail when we first met her in One Piece. But after the Straw Hats put an end to her miseries by defeating Klahadore (aka Kuro), she started to look healthy and work towards her dream of becoming a doctor.

Right now, she is studying medicine in the series and her last appearance was during the Egghead arc. As Dr. Vegapunk’s message was broadcast to the whole world, we saw a reaction from Kaya in the manga recently. So, she is in good health, and we can’t wait for Usopp and Kaya’s reunion.