Zoro is a highly skilled swordsman and serves as the crew's combatant,[a] though he possesses an extremely poor sense of direction which recurs as a running gag throughout the series.

After the two year time-skip, Zoro has a scar across his left eye (obtained during his training under Dracule Mihawk, although not confirmed by anime) and replaces his shirt with a long dark green samurai's coat which he can even open the torso while fighting (against the New Fishman Pirates) or when he experiences heat (burning side of Punk Hazard).

Concerning his ethnic appearance, Oda revealed that he imagines Zoro to be of Japanese descent, albeit in a real-world context.

In the original Japanese version of the One Piece anime series, Zoro is voiced by Kazuya Nakai as an adult and Megumi Urawa as a child.

In the 4kids Entertainment's dub of the first 104 episodes of One Piece, Zoro was renamed "Zolo," which was later influenced and implemented in the Viz Media adaption of the manga series; he was voiced by Marc Diraison and Andrew Rannells as a child.

Sabat compared Zoro's characterization with Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle's Kurogane and YuYu Hakusho's Kazuma Kuwabara, describing them as "the tough guy with a heart of gold".

Zoro had never called Sanji by his name in the original Japanese manga, he uses phrases like "dumb-cook", etc.

Unlike Luffy and most of the other Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro has been known to kill his opponents if he has to, though never in cold blood.

Zoro has a stern, serious, and distanced personality, but unlike Robin, he often reacts in a goofy and exaggerated comic style due to his short-tempered and impatient attitude.

Another notable trait is his lack of orientation, as Zoro often gets lost, even in small, familiar spaces or when being led by someone.

Despite his stern personality, Zoro had a strong sense of loyalty and mutual respect towards his crewmates when accomplishing their dreams.

After his humiliating loss to Dracule Mihawk, Zoro pledged his loyalty to Luffy as his captain vowing that he will never lose again.

As Luffy's first mate, Zoro often reminds others of the harsh reality of a sudden situation, which shocks some other crew members, although they usually decide he is right.

Zoro has stated that he does not pray to any god, does not care one way or the other, and has never believed in anything except himself, and for him, only one man is above him (his captain, Luffy).

He also adheres to a strict sword master's code of honor and never falsely brags or lies about his abilities, sometimes outright admitting a weakness, even to an enemy.

Although it hasn't been confirmed, Zoro is heavily linked with conqueror Haki by the beast pirate captain himself after the wound he gave to him.

[9] Before the beginning of the series' narrative, Zoro loses his childhood friend Kuina and vows to become the strongest swordsman in the world.

[10] For years, Zoro hunts pirates as a bounty hunter only to get money for food in the company of his friends Johnny and Yosaku.

Zoro is later easily defeated at Mihawk's hands at the Baratie restaurant and pledges to Luffy that he would never lose again.

He receives a bounty of 320,000,000 after cutting up an antagonist as large as a mountain and assisting Luffy at the end of Don Quixote Doflamingo's tyrannical rule.

[17] DVD Talk praises Zoro's "hilarious" three-sword fighting style as a great example of the show's sense of humor.

[19] Sabat's work with Zoro has resulted in him being nominated in the category "Best Voice Actor (English)" in the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) Awards from 2008.