A 139-Year-Old Doctor Asking About Youth
Dr. Kureha, also known as Doctorine, is the physician who drilled her medical knowledge into Tony Tony Chopper. The quiz from Japanese anime news site Anime Anime describes her as a doctor whose treatment is rough but whose skill is unmatched, then delivers the answer: 「若さの秘訣かい？」, or "The secret to my youth?"
The age is the joke. Kureha is 139 when the Straw Hats crash into Drum Island and 141 after the series' two-year time skip, which makes her the oldest human ONE PIECE has introduced. The official ONE PIECE character database backs the quiz answer, listing the same line as her catchphrase alongside two epithets, "Witch" and "Master of Doctors", and a September 8 birthday.
Her role in the story is brief but important. She was the only doctor left on Drum Island after King Wapol rounded up the rest. She patched up Nami and Sanji when the crew arrived in bad shape, and she took Chopper in after Dr. Hiriluk died, turning a reindeer who had eaten a Devil Fruit into a ship's doctor.
Five Rounds of Anime Elders
Respect for the Aged Day fell on September 21 in 2026. Japan created the holiday to thank people who have supported society across a long life. The country originally set it on September 15, then moved it to the third Monday in September. Anime Anime built a quiz series around it. The framing: anime and games are full of older characters who turn decades of experience into a weapon, whether they mentor younger leads, brawl with more energy than their age suggests, or hide real strength behind a breezy attitude.
Kureha was round five. Earlier rounds asked for Namihei Isono's age in Sazae-san, Grandpa Tomozo's favorite food in Chibi Maruko-chan, and the lettering on Netero's T-shirt in HUNTER x HUNTER. The format never changes: the question, a few spacer lines so no one's eyes jump ahead, then the answer.
Looking Ahead
Masako Nozawa voices Kureha in the anime, and Japanese audiences also know Nozawa as Goku in Dragon Ball. The role carried into live action as well. Netflix Japan announced that Nozawa would voice Katey Sagal's Dr. Kureha in the Japanese dub of its live-action ONE PIECE series.
Sagal's version has already streamed. Netflix released all eight episodes of Season 2, subtitled Into the Grand Line, on March 10, 2026, and Kureha appears in the Drum Island arc that closes the season, including the finale "Deer and Loathing in Drum Kingdom". Mark Harelik plays Dr. Hiriluk opposite her.
Viz Media publishes the ONE PIECE manga in English, and the anime streams internationally on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The quiz series itself runs in Japanese only, and Anime Anime has not announced an English edition.