This is a list of villains (major antagonists only) what I consider least evil to most evil. They must be a main antagonist of an arc to be considered. They are determined by the cruelty of their behavior, as well as redeemable qualities (if any).
27-MAGELLAN
Just doing his job
26-BUGGY
He’s a typical pirate. Selfish, violent, but cares about his crew and is capable of forming alliances with rivals.
25-ALVIDA
Typical pirate with a slightly more cruel edge than Buggy.
24-KATAKURI
He’s ruthless to his enemies for sure, but he’s very protective of his family, has a sense of honor, and is magnanimous in defeat. I was going to put him as least evil but what he did to those chefs was pretty nasty.
23-GEKKO MORIA
He’s what a pirate should be. Lazy, selfish, and ruthless. He cares about his crew and even suffers from the loss of his previous one.
22-BELLAMY
He was a very cruel person but has changed his ways.
21-BLUEJAM
He’s a really bad guy but he’s a bit too pathetic and sad for me to rate him highly.