One Piece: Roronoa Zoro (ISTP)

Ti:

“Lay off the name calling. I devoted my entire life to becoming the world’s greatest swordsman. I made my choice so I’m the only one who gets to call me stupid.”
“I am always serious.”
“Either in belief or doubt, if I lean to one of these sides, my reaction time will be dulled if my heart thinks the opposite of what I choose.”
“I don’t care what the society says. I’ve not regretted doing anything. I will survive and do what I want to.”

Zoro is a very private person and clearly values logic over emotions. While most of the characters reference their past in some way, Zoro keeps his past completely to himself as much as possible. In order do his back story, the show had to do it via a dream, because otherwise it’s not natural for the character to bring it up himself. Zoro keeps his emotions to himself, usually putting forth a degree of calmness or indifference. He reacts to the way Usopp leaves the crew almost apathetically, even when Sanji tries to initially blame Zoro for it. He never shows a hint of emotion during the duel either. In addition, Zoro is very skeptical and distrusting. He declares things to be ridiculous or questions them when he doesn’t think they make sense. For instance, he questions the possibility of such a screwy looking bird (the South Bird). He questions the idea of Zenny dying in 3 days, because Zenny has a huge appetite and appears healthy. He declares the theory of Sky Island to be ridiculous, and keeps struggling to believe that it exists. Plus, when Nami talks about feeling uneasy at the prospect of the Going Merry flying, Zoro agrees… because the masthead is now a chicken, and chickens don’t fly. This all demonstrates Ti logic. He’s also frequently shown analyzing situations, especially with Robin. Zoro also demonstrates typical Ti sharpness. He makes matter-of-fact observations, not paying mind to other people’s feelings. For instance, when a young girl they had rescued prepared a particularly scary looking meal, Zoro is the first one to disregard politeness by saying, “ugh. Is this considered food?”

I have seen several instances where Zoro is typed as an INTJ, so I feel the need to briefly explain my objection to that. Zoro never demonstrates any desire to control his environment. He, for the most part, just goes along with whatever Luffy says, even when everyone else is objecting. There are few rare instances where he speaks up, like objecting to Luffy wanting to allow Usopp back without an apology. However, usually Zoro stays completely out of it, by either stating that it’s the captain’s decision or just refusing to give an opinion. Zoro just rolls with the punches, only feeling the need to take command when he’s obviously the most qualified.

Se:

“I’ll just cut your electricity in half with my sword.”
“You want to kill me? You couldn’t even kill my boredom!”
“When the world shoves you around, you just gotta stand up and shove back. It’s not like somebody’s gonna save you if you start babbling excuses.”

Zoro is a very clear extraverted perceiver. He has a very physical approach to the world. He prefers to handle conflict with fighting, and he’s not afraid to do so. Zoro finds a lot of Luffy’s reckless antics to be funny, and just goes with whatever happens. He’s fueled by competition, and reacts quickly to any problem he faces. Whenever there is downtime, Zoro is either training, sleeping, or eating, which are all sensory activities. He feeds his senses however he wishes in the moment, whether via sleep, food or drink. He’s very present and in the moment, not worried about much else. If he’s not needed, Zoro has no problems sleeping in the middle of a battle or sleeping during dangerous situations. I briefly considered him being an ESTP, but his Se doesn’t appear to be dominant. Zoro has no problems standing aside and just observing. He doesn’t feel the need to be in the middle of every situation. He’s either all in or all out.

Ni:

“I’m going to be the world’s greatest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny! My name may be infamous…but it’s gonna shake the world!”

Zoro is very focused and single minded. He’s not easily distracted, or scattered. He frequently makes comments about fate and destiny, and has a general vision of how he wants his future to play out. When Zoro finds cursed sword in a store, he instantly identifies it as cursed, claiming to be able to “feel” it. He then decides that he’ll buy if his luck is stronger than the curse…if it does not slice his arm off when he throws it up in the air and holds his arm out. Zoro follows his gut and instincts. When captured by Arlong on Nami’s home island, Zoro calls Nami’s bluff by, in a suicidal fashion, jumping into the water while completely tied up. He has a hunch that she is not the evil pirate she is pretending to be, and risks his life on the theory that she won’t allow him to die.

Fe:

“Ok, anyone else feeling awkward here?”
“Alright, I’m done keeping up with your mood swings!”

Zoro is not comfortable with emotionally fueled situations. He’s also easily embarrassed when seen in certain situations. For instance, during the Water 7 Arc, Zoro is unwillingly “adopted” and ends up helping a family of mostly children. He is annoyed at being dragged into it, but can’t bring himself to just walk away. He keeps feeling compelled to help them, and it is almost as if he needs their permission to walk away. However, when at risk of his fellow crew members seeing him carrying around babies, Zoro runs, hides, and then turns red when Robin catches him. Zoro also appears to be more concerned with other people’s emotions than his own. When he is defeated by Mihawk during the Baratie Arc, the first words out of Zoro’s mouth once rescued from the ocean are an apology to Luffy for disappointing him.