A skull in a straw hat now flies over Asia’s most defiant youth movements.
What began as a fictional emblem in Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga One Piece has transformed into a real-world symbol of resistance and defiance.
The Straw Hat Jolly Roger — flown by Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in their fight against the corrupt World Government — has been adopted by Gen Z protesters across Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines as a visual shorthand for rebellion, unity and the demand for accountability.
Philippines
Last 21 September, the Straw Hat flag was seen at the “Trillion Peso March” in Luneta Park, Manila, where youth demonstrators protested billions lost to ghost flood control projects. Vendors sold straw hats in solidarity and the flag flew as a symbol of defiance.
Environmental activist Jonila Castro captured the sentiment: “While we are sinking in floodwater and mud, they are drowning in money they stole from the people.”
The flag also appeared earlier at an anti-corruption run at University of the Philippines-Diliman, drawing over a thousand participants.
Indonesia
The pirate flag first appeared in Jakarta in July 2025, when youth protesters responded to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s call to fly the national flag ahead of Independence Day. Instead, many unfurled the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, sparking backlash from lawmakers who labeled it “treasonous.”
The protests intensified after a police vehicle fatally ran over 21-year-old Gojek rider Affan Kurniawan on 28 August. The incident galvanized public anger against corruption and elite privilege. Murals of the One Piece flag began appearing across cities, with artist Kemas Muhammad Firdaus calling it “a warning for the government to look at its people.”
Nepal
In Kathmandu, the flag flew high as youth-led protests erupted over a controversial social media ban and widespread allegations of government corruption. Demonstrators hung the flag across Singha Durbar, the seat of government, as buildings burned and slogans like “Unmute our voice” and “The time is now” echoed throughout the capital.
The protests, dubbed the “Gen Z uprising,” led to the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after at least 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Organizer Bikhyat Khatri explained the flag’s resonance: “We wanted the movement to feel like a Gen Z movement, so the slogans and symbols were linked with things we could relate to.”
Why the flag resonates
The Straw Hat Jolly Roger is more than anime nostalgia — it is a symbol of resilience, freedom and rebellion.
As media professor Nuurrianti Jalli told CNN, pop culture symbols “elevate what the people are trying to say without having to say it word for word.”
Andrea Horbinski, a scholar of Japanese comics, added that Luffy’s unwavering pursuit of justice resonates deeply: “He never gives up. That’s what people are responding to.”
From Paris to Kathmandu, Jakarta and Manila, the One Piece flag has become a rallying cry for a generation demanding change.