Zoro usually maintains a stern, serious and distanced personality, but often loses his temper in a goofy and exaggerated comical style.

He can also be extremely intimidating, easily frightening weaker opponents with just his glare. It has been stated that he has

a monstrous killing intent evident from the fact where he almost drew his sword on one of the Tenryubito.

Furthermore, it has also been stated that Zoro is a born killer capable of showing no mercy during combat; it has been mentioned

that Zoro has killed before. Despite this, Zoro has a kind heart, shown as he was willing to risk death for the sake of a little

girl he did not know shortly after his introduction. When fighting weaker innocent people, he does try to hold back when fighting

and use the dull side of his swords in order to not seriously injure them. He has a strong sense of leadership and reasoning.

While technically not a samurai, Zoro maintains Bushido to a certain degree (e.g. he consistently refuses to attack an adversary

whose back is turned, the only exception being when his friends are in imminent danger of losing their lives in which Zoro would

strike the attacker from behind, and Zoro himself considers a scar on the back to be a swordsman's greatest shame). Whether he

agrees with them or not, he will stand by Luffy's decisions, stepping in only to point out the seriousness of a situation where

it has been overlooked by his crewmates (most notable when they wanted to bring Usopp back into the crew after Usopp challenged

Luffy to a duel over the Going Merry and lost). A running gag throughout the series is that while he is very perceptive during

battle (as well as out), his sense of direction is extremely poor, to the point of getting lost on a straight path. This is often

the result of Zoro not understanding directions. In the Alabasta Arc, he mistakes going north for going up. In the Drum Island Arc,

he believes that he can keep the ship on course by heading toward a large cloud (which can move and change shape). He is unaware of

his lack of direction. Often when he gets lost, he mutters "the others are lost again". However, after the timeskip, Zoro is the

first Straw Hat to arrive back at Sabaody days before the others, shocking Sanji, though it was Perona who helped Zoro reach Sabaody

early. He seems to make up for this, though, by confusing a gigantic pirate galleon for a fisherman's small boat when it's pointed out to him.

Another running gag of the series is Zoro's ability to effortlessly deliver perfectly timed lines in passing or even during battle that

are deemed "cool" by other characters, leading him to be borderline worshiped and idolized especially by crewmates Usopp, Chopper, and

Brook. Another running gag is how Zoro keeps untying bandages when he is not fully healed, claiming that they make it hard to move, only

to be scolded by Chopper, who tells him that they are there so that he doesn't move. Zoro is very proud of the reputation he has built

for himself both as a swordsman and as "The Pirate Hunter", starting with his 60,000,000 bounty which has doubled since then. He also

enjoys the fact that he has a higher bounty than Sanji. During the assault on Enies Lobby, one of the Marines referred to Zoro as "Luffy's

underling" much to the delight of Sanji, who quickly became infuriated when Zoro pointed out that Sanji's lack of notoriety puts him below

Zoro in status. Since then, once in a while to anger Sanji, Zoro will refer to him as "Pirate A". More recently he has been calling Sanji '

#7', referring to his placing in arriving at Sabaody. However, in spite of his personal pride and self-respect, Zoro has shown to be willing

to lower himself to the ground in complete humility for the sake of his friends, as was seen when he begged Kuma to spare Luffy's life in

exchange of his own (Zoro's). And then again when he shamelessly bowed before Mihawk, begging the Shichibukai who is his enemy, to train

him in the ways of the sword. While the crew sails from one island to another, he normally spends time on lifting weights or naps

(sometimes both at the same time), only to be regularly awakened in a rather violent way by Nami, Sanji, or (accidentally) Luffy.

He also likes to drink alcohol (sake), almost to the degree that Luffy likes meat, and Nami likes money. Also like Nami, he has an

inhumanly-high tolerance for alcohol. He also regularly reverts to drastic measures to solve simple problems, suggesting solutions

that others would normally consider to be their last possible, worst-case-scenario choices. When he and Usopp were accidentally

handcuffed together, Zoro's first suggested solution was to cut off one of their hands. He also is one of the first Straw Hat

members to suggest killing someone or threatening to kill someone. Zoro can also be very vigorous when he is determined to achieve

a goal or defeat an enemy. The risks that he will often take to pursue his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman often

leave others wondering if he is crazy. As far as Zoro is concerned though, only he has the right to call himself "crazy." However,

he is able to accept defeat when he perceives it to be inevitable. Also, as pointed out in the Skypiea Arc, Zoro is atheist. He does

not believe in any god but holds nothing against those who do. When Zoro has the intention to fight seriously, he ties his bandana

(normally kept knotted around his left arm) around his head. Zoro lives for the thrill of combat; Scratchmen Apoo commented on his

"insane killing intent", acknowledging that Zoro was a "real beast".[8] Indeed, when an average human has the intention of fighting Zoro,

his glare alone is usually enough to make them back off. He also has a habit of smiling joyfully whenever he faces a particularly skilled

opponent, which often unnerves both friend and foe alike. Even when not in combat, he often displays a manic smirk that gives the impression

of him being a monster. He also seems to have taken a liking to fishing.