Last year, Luffy’s Gear 5 in episode 1071 was the peak of the One Piece anime series. There have been praises for Tatsuya Nagamine and his team of animators who have successfully brought the manga panels to life, awaited by millions across the world. While there are pros and hype about Luffy’s Gear 5, a few fans feel that Eiichiro Oda has made the ultimate power play of Luffy’s character a bit too goofy. Here is why!
What Is Gear 5?
In One Piece Episode 1071, Luffy was defeated by Kaido, who forced his heart to stop just before he used his devil fruit powers. Luffy had the chance to face Kaido again because of the power of Hito Hito Devil Fruit, a legendary fruit known as Mythical Zoan. Luffy, an embodiment of the Sun God Nika, represents a liberated fighter who battles freely and without limits, spreading laughter and joy wherever he goes with a unique white appearance.
With the help of his power, he can transfer his rubber-like abilities to his surroundings, for example, turning an entire island into a rubber or make his enemies bodies rubber-like, enabling him to pierce through their defense.
Luffy’s Gear 5 In One Piece: Why Fans Feel Eiichiro Oda Has Made His Character A Bit Too Goofy?
Luffy gained his ultimate power during the Wano Country Arc, during his fight against Kaido. He could fully utilize the power of his Devil Fruit to its full potential, known as the Gear 5. The power, despite being one of Luffy’s impressive transformations, has been a subject of debate among the One Piece fans.
The liberated nature of Luffy leads him to do a lot of humorous things during serious battles, which supporters dislike since his activities occasionally perplex his enemies. During his fight with Kaido, Luffy transformed Kaido into a gigantic balloon and used him as a skipping rope.
I mean I did give one piece a chance but luffy is just an insufferable goof ball. Idk if the series gets less comedy as time goes on but seeing gear 5 convinced me it's just not a series for me
— NessaLev (@NessaLevv) September 7, 2023
Since Solo Leveling has recently outpaced the excitement and appeal around Luffy’s ultimate power, One Piece fans are taking this seriously. Many argue that a main character shouldn’t act like a “clown” in pivotal fighting sequences.
The anime series has several fight scenes with a distinctly comedic tone, which occasionally takes away from the dramatic moments’ emotional effect and prevents audiences from completely immersing themselves in the scene’s emotions. A few fans have also voiced dissatisfaction with the animation’s sluggish pace.
Final Thoughts on One Piece
Monkey D Luffy has always been presented as a silly main character who enjoys the moment in time. Luffy’s Gear 5 is a comic interpretation of his persona, which blends in the circumstances given that he is the manifestation of Sun God Nika, famed for spreading joy wherever he travels. This could also be taken as a distinct aspect of the character and his style of fighting as a liberator.
Fans can stream One Piece on Crunchyroll, with previous episodes available on Hulu. Additionally, both Crunchyroll and Hulu offer the English dub for viewing.
