Jump to content

Monkey D. Luffy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kimilio D. Ark (talk | contribs) at 15:49, 14 June 2008 (→‎About Luffy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Monkey D. Luffy
One Piece character
Monkey D. Luffy from the anime and manga series One Piece
First appearanceManga Volume #1-Chapter #1
Anime Episode #1
Created byEiichiro Oda
In-universe information
Nickname"Straw Hat Luffy"
"Anchor" (Red Haired Shanks and Don Krieg)
"Rubber Man" (self)
SpeciesHuman
GenderMale
OccupationPirate (Straw Hat Pirates, Captain)
RelativesMonkey D. Garp (Grandfather)

Monkey D. Dragon (Father)

Portgas D. Ace (Brother)

Monkey D. Luffy (モンキー・D・ルフィ, Monkī D. Rufi) is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the anime and manga series One Piece created by Eiichiro Oda. He is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Creation and conception

When drawing One Piece, Eiichiro Oda was heavily influenced by the manga Dragon Ball, and had the series in mind when designing his characters.[3] Oda has said that when he was creating Luffy, he was thinking about "manliness", because Dragon Ball had already done all the things that a child could possibly be happy about.[4]. Luffy's stretching powers were a result of Oda's desire for the fighting style to be silly, so that no matter how tense a situation got, the reader could relax without becoming stressed out.[5] The fictional Devil Fruit Luffy gained his abilities from was originally called the 'Gomu Fruit', but after Oda's editor pointed out that a real gomu fruit existed, the name was changed to "Gomu Gomu no Mi"[6]. When drawing him, Oda has said he tries to make Luffy very straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels.[7]

About Luffy

Eiichiro Oda has mentioned that the animal Luffy most resembles is a monkey.[8] According to Oda, Luffy is represented by the color red and he smells of meat. [9] Like many protagonists of Japanese manga, Luffy has a huge appetite, often eating to the point of becoming comically fat.

Luffy's dream is to become the Pirate King of the "One Piece" world, and he will stop at nothing to achieve it. He is portrayed as the carefree and sometimes airheaded captain of the Straw Hat pirates and is the son of Monkey D. Dragon, brother to Portgas D. Ace, and the grandson of vice-admiral Monkey D. Garp. His trademark Straw Hat (from which he gets his nickname 'Straw Hat Luffy') was entrusted to him by the legendary pirate captain Red-hair Shanks.

Luffy grew up in the fictional Fushia town, and as a child he was inspired to become a pirate by the legendary captain Shanks. He accidentally ate the Devil Fruit Gomu Gomu no Mi, giving his body the durability and stretchability of rubber. According to series author Eiichiro Oda, Luffy can stretch any part of his body.[10]. While defending the Red Hair pirates' honor from a gang of mountain bandits, Luffy is kidnapped by their leader, Higuma. Higuma takes Luffy hostage and escapes to sea, throwing Luffy overboard when he is no longer of use to him. Luffy is then almost swallowed by a fearsome Sea King; one of a variety of mammoth sea monsters that inhabit the oceans of the One Piece world, but Shanks saves him from the creature, losing his arm in the process. This event only serves to steel Luffy's determination, and when Shanks and crew leave the island, Luffy decides to set his sights on becoming the Pirate King.

Abilities

Luffy gained stretching powers from eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi, one of many Devil Fruits in One Piece. As a result, Luffy's body gained the properties of rubber, giving him stretching abilities. Luffy uses the malleability of his limbs to achieve tremendous velocity to strike enemies with devastating impact. His rubber body is virtually immune to recoil attacks. As such, blunt objects, punches and even bullets deflect off his body harmlessly. Fighters with superhuman strength however, such as CP9 member Rob Lucci, have proven capable of damaging Luffy regardless of his normal resistance. Luffy's body also resists electricity, an ability which gave him an advantage while fighting Enel. Luffy is also able to store large amounts of liquids in his body (such as water) as seen during his battle with Crocodile. Like all Devil Fruit users, Luffy cannot swim.

Luffy's most powerful abilities are his upgraded Gears, which he developed after being beaten effortlessly by Admiral Aokiji. Luffy's Gears are used to enhance his basic attacks, and are regarded as different forms of his regular body. To date, Luffy has used two forms in the story; Gear Second and Gear Third. He has also been shown as capable of using both techniques simultaneously, although it greatly strains Luffy's body. Luffy has also demonstrated the innate ability to intimidate a foe into submission without throwing a single punch, much like his hero Red-haired Shanks.[11] This ability is known as "spirit" in the world of One Piece and is exhibited by Shanks, Luffy and more recently Silvers Rayleigh.

Reception

Luffy has been ranked as the most popular One Piece character in a recent Japanese fan poll. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews calls Luffy "likably goofy", and an idealist with an infectious optimism.[12] In a review for the fourth One Piece movie, "Dead End Adventure", The Star Online describes Luffy as "an airhead and brilliant fighter".[13] FUNimation's Mike McFarland and Christopher Sabat, both stated that they felt that Luffy was more likeable than Goku.[14]

Appearances in other media

In Yakitate!! Japan, episode 56, there is a parody of One Piece where Kuroyanagi turns into a "Tenobi Man" as a reaction from trying Azuma's Ja-pan dumpling. To this effect, he dons a straw hat and starts stretching his arms like rubber to great lengths.

Luffy's Devil Fruit was referenced in the Japanese TV Drama show Trick.

Luffy appears in Cross Epoch, a collaboration between Eiichiro Oda and Dragon Ball Z creator Akira Toriyama.

Luffy appears twice in the Webcomic VG Cats, the first[15] commenting on 4Kids Entertainment's treatment of the American anime dub; the second[16] being Michael Jackson wearing Luffy's clothing. His wanted poster is also parodied in their Advent Children Pirating comic [17] in the Marine base on the right side of the frame.

Luffy's face can be seen on a Weekly Shonen Jump binding in an episode of the anime for fellow Jump series To Love-Ru.

Notes and references

  1. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.4, Chapter 27, Fan question: What are the ages of Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Shanks?((JP) ISBN 4-08-872594-8 (US) ISBN 1-59116-337-4 )
  2. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.15, Chapter 130, Fan question Oda-sensei!! I've been thinking about this a lot... what are Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji's birthdays? Tell us!! ((JP) ISBN 4-08-873009-7 (US) ISBN 1-4215-1092-8 )
  3. ^ Shonen Jump - Interview with Eiichiro Oda
  4. ^ One Piece Color Walk - Vol.1 - Interview with Eiichiro Oda and Akira Toriyama ((JP) ISBN 978-4088592176)
  5. ^ Shonen Jump - Interview with Eiichiro Oda
  6. ^ Interview with Eiichiro Oda - 2007/12/17 - http://manganohi.jp/2007/12/9419.html
  7. ^ Interview with Eiichiro Oda by Roy Watanabe - COMICKERS - Oct. 1998 issue
  8. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.20 - Chapter 177, Fan question: What animals represent each of the 5 crew members, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami and Ussop?
  9. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.40 - Chapter 380, Fan question: What colors do you use for each the crew? What do each of the Straw Hat Crew smell like?
  10. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.8 - Chapter 64, Fan question: Can Luffy's lower parts stretch too?
  11. ^ One Piece Manga - Chapter 495
  12. ^ THEM Anime Reviews 4.0 - One Piece the Movie 1: I'll Become the Pirate King!
  13. ^ "Nice Piece of Work". The Star Online. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  14. ^ One Piece: Season 1, First Voyage Disc 1; Staff Commentary on Episode 1
  15. ^ VG Cats: Lost in Translation
  16. ^ VG Cats: Golden Locks
  17. ^ VG Cats: Advent Children

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monkey_D._Luffy&oldid=219301200"