Monkey D. Luffy
Encyclopedia
, often addressed as , is a fictional character
and the main protagonist
of the One Piece
franchise created by Eiichiro Oda
. He is introduced as a boy who possesses elasticity powers from eating a devil fruit called the Gum-Gum Fruit and superhuman strength.
One Piece revolves around his exploits in searching for the fabled treasure. Through his adventures he meets many others who share similar goals, organizing a diverse crew known as the Straw Hat Pirates. As Luffy's exploits are revealed to the World Government, he becomes one of the strongest pirates and protects his crew from villains who wish to harm him and his friends. Luffy is depicted as a carefree when at ease, but is quick to become serious in a fight. Luffy is able to concentrate his strength and power to use attacks, the most prominent being his signature Gum-Gum Pistol, an attack that uses elasticity from his hands.
As the franchise's main protagonist, Luffy features in most of the episodes, films, television programs, and OVAs
of the anime series One Piece, and many of the spin-off
video games. Outside of the One Piece franchise, Luffy has had an appearance in the crossover manga Cross Epoch. He has also been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in various special events and in Japanese pop culture. Due to the series' international popularity, Luffy has become one of the popular anime characters worldwide. Luffy's critical reception has been largely positive.
series created by Akira Toriyama
. To make the readers relax without being stressed out, Oda added elasticity powers to Luffy for a comical effect. Oda tries to draw Luffy very straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels.
The devil fruit that Luffy gained his abilities from was originally called the , but after the editor pointed out that a real rubber fruit existed, the name was changed to the .
, which is given to him by "Red-Haired" Shanks after being saved from an attack by a Sea King. In his Gear Second state, Luffy's body changes to a more darker skin complexion.
In his early childhood, Luffy is first introduced wearing a shirt and blue shorts with a scar under his left eye. Throughout One Piece, Luffy is commonly seen wearing a red vest, blue shorts, and sandals. Eventually, Luffy replaces his vest with a red cardigan
, and also starts wearing a yellow knot-tied belt.
He invites several people, such as Chopper or Brook, onto his crew generally for their personality but also because of his instinctual ability to be able to read people. His main reason has been stated a few times in the story. He needs several key jobs filled in his crew (i.e.: cook, navigator, doctor, musician, shipwright, and so on) that each crew member fulfills. Luffy stated in the beginning of the series that he wants at least 10 crew members, each with abilities that he feels necessary for his goal. Each members of the crew respect him in their own way despite his carefree personality.
He is rarely concerned with the consequences of his actions, doing what he feels even if it leads to retaliation by a powerful force.
However, he is an extremely loyal captain, who has demonstrated at many points throughout the series that he is willing to risk his life for the well-being of his crew.
. In the OVA Defeat the Pirate Ganzack!, Luffy was voiced by Urara Takano
. In the numerous English versions, Luffy has been played by different voice actors because different companies produced the dubs.
In 4Kids Entertainment
's dub of the first five story arcs of One Piece, Luffy was voiced by Bella Hudson. In Funimation Entertainment
's dub of the entire One Piece franchise, Luffy has been consistently voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard
.
Luffy's signature move
is the , a punch technique which he learned during his years of training. Another technique, developed later in the series, is , an attack that increases his strength and overall speed for a limited amount of time, but can strain his body afterwards. , another technique using air inflated into his bone structure to attack with massive limbs and strength, but causes him to shrink afterwards.
He is capable of using both techniques simultaneously. Each of these techniques transforms his appearance. Luffy also develops his latent ability to use . This ability renders people or animals in his proximity unconscious and can amplify the force of attacks and negate a devil fruit user's defense, allow physical contact and damage and can read a person's moves. He has a rare variation, the .
Eventually, Luffy masters the three types of Haki, and uses it in conjunction with his attacks.
magazine on August 4, 1997. He first appears as a young boy living in Windmill Village who befriends the pirate "Red-Haired" Shanks, intending to become one himself. Before the series' narrative begins, he accidentally eats the Gum Gum Fruit, gaining elasticity powers as a result and he is saved by Shanks from being eaten alive by a Sea King. Ten years later, Luffy leaves Windmill Village in search of a treasure known as the One Piece and to become King of the Pirates. Sailing alone, Luffy meets a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, the navigator
and thief Nami, the cowardly marksman and liar Usopp, and the womanizing chef Sanji, who also join on his quest. He also encounters and defeats several pirates in the East Blue, such as Buggy the Clown and the fishman Arlong. These actions cause him to be placed on the Marines' most wanted
list . Luffy later accepts an offer to return the princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi, safely into her homeland to stop a rebellion, incited by a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and leader of the crime syndicate Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile. Along the way, Luffy finds a reindeer doctor named Tony Tony Chopper in Drum Island. In Alabasta, the crew defeats Crocodile and Baroque Works and the civil war ends. Leaving Vivi behind, Luffy allows Crocodile's former second-in-command
and archaeologist Nico Robin to become his ally.
While visiting Skypiea, the crew gets drawn into a war between two races and Luffy defeats the god Eneru, ending the war. Luffy meets Admiral Aokiji, and is defeated after he learns about Robin's heritage. Luffy continues to face other enemies linked to Robin's heritage, such as Franky, a cyborg who eventually becomes Luffy's ally and the intelligence agency Cipher Pol No. 9, who causes Luffy and his crew to save Robin at Enies Lobby. Robin rejoins the crew after their battle on Enies Lobby - declaring war on the World Government in the process - and each member receives their bounties. The crew returns to Water 7 and after the Going Merry breaks down, they get their second ship, the Thousand Sunny; there, they meet Luffy's grandfather, Monkey D. Garp. When the crew come across Thriller Bark, they meet a skeletal musician named Brook. While there, they defeat the Warlord Gecko Moria, returning Brook's shadow in the process. After releasing the rest of the island's prisoners, Brook becomes Luffy's ally. The crew goes to the Sabaody Archipelago to coat their ship, but an incident involving the auction of the mermaid Camie eventually causes the crew to be separated during the encounter against Admiral Kizaru, and the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
Luffy is sent to Amazon Lily, an island ruled by the Warlord Boa Hancock. Hancock eventually falls in love with Luffy and helps bring him to Impel Down, a prison, to save his brother Portgas D. Ace, who was imprisoned there after being defeated by Blackbeard. Luffy breaks into the prison and meets foes-turned-allies, such as Crocodile and Buggy, as well as new allies, such as the Warlord Jimbei and Emporio Ivankov, releasing the prisoners in the process. Luffy is nearly killed, but he and the convicts from the prison to Marineford. After arriving there, Luffy is drawn into a war between the Marines and Whitebeard's pirate crews. Luffy saves Ace, but Ace's love for Luffy causes him to sacrifice himself by receiving a fatal attack from Admiral Akainu. Luffy and Jimbei are evacuated from Marineford. When they return to Amazon Lily, Luffy looks back on his how he first met Ace. Shortly following Shanks' departure, Luffy is adopted by the bandit Curly Dadan. He also befriends Ace and Sabo during this time, but ends up losing Sabo in the process. Silvers Rayleigh trains Luffy to be his successor on Ruskaina and Luffy has the crew undergo training regimens. Luffy returns to the Sabaody Archipelago two years later and reunites with his crew. The crew are eventually separated again while sailing to Fishman Island. Luffy and the others meets Jimbei and the island's princess Shirahoshi, and are drawn into a battle for the island against fishmen Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX. Luffy and the crew, along with Jimbei, eventually regroup and conceive a plan to defeat Hody's troops and stop the ship Noah from destroying the Island.
and Jump Ultimate Stars
. In 2006, he is featured in the Dragon Ball Z/One Piece/Naruto
crossover game Battle Stadium D.O.N.. Luffy, along with Son Goku and Naruto Uzumaki
, made guest appearances in avatar form in the MMORPG Second Life
for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life. In addition to his in-game appearances, Luffy has also been featured and mentioned in some songs. "Wanted!" features Luffy singing about himself as a wanted pirate. "Every-One Peace!" features Luffy singing about the One Piece.
Luffy has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. Luffy and several other characters would team up with the cast of Dragon Ball in a spinoff titled Cross Epoch. On April 3, 2011, Luffy and the other One Piece protagonists appear premiere episode of the Toriko
anime series and the crossover manga chapter. In the Yakitate!! Japan
manga, 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 ("tenobi" means "stretching arms"). Luffy makes a cameo appearance in a Weekly Shonen Jump binding in an episode of To Love-Ru
. The Gum-Gum was referenced in the 50th episode of the Gin Tama anime series. Luffy has also appeared in the popular web comic VG Cats
. In 2008, Toei Animation
sponsored the Pallavolo Modena
Italian
volleyball
team. To represent their sponsorship, Pietro Rinaldi's and Edoardo Ciabattini's traditional black uniforms were emblazoned with an image of Luffy on the front. He was featured in the cover of the January 2010 issue from the Japanese fashion magazine Men's Non-No, becoming the first manga character to appear in the cover of such magazine. His new clothes were designed by Shinichi "Miter" Mita.
Luffy was mentioned in the video game Half minute Hero for the PlayStation Portable
, where the description of the usable item 'Straw hat' said it makes the user feel rubbery and want to become a pirate. In the manga Rookies, Luffy's image appears on a girl's cell phone strap during a graduation ceremony. There is also a reference to Luffy in the online MMORPG
, Aika Online. In-game, there is an NPC wearing Luffy's style of clothes named "Monkey C. Lupis III" and even has a title above his head saying "Future King of Pirates". In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV
, players who choose Limsa Lominsa as their starting city get to see an NPC pirate in the intro scene who wears clothes similar to Luffy.
characters.
's Mike McFarland
and Christopher Sabat
, both stated that they felt that Luffy was more likable than the Dragon Ball character Son Goku
. Mayumi Tanaka
, Luffy's Japanese voice actor, comically mentioned she feels sorry for making Luffy's voice due the fact she is a mother while Luffy is much younger. When asked about how she does Luffy's voice, Tanaka replies that she "strives for reality" during scenes that the character talks while eating or while touching his nose. In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Luffy was nominated for the category "Best Male Character". However, he lost to Alucard
from Hellsing. He was also 22nd in IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time by writer Chris Mackenzie. The GumiGumi Gatling technique has ranked appeared in a Japanese survey that featured the most popular moves in manga and anime: it was second in the male category and fourth in the female category.
Luffy's character has also been received positively by publications from several media. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews calls Luffy "likable goofy", and an idealist with an infectious optimism. In a review for the fourth One Piece movie, "Dead End Adventure", The Star Online describes Luffy as "an airhead and brilliant fighter." Rika Takahashi from EX comments that Luffy's character with his stretching powers is what sets One Piece apart from "the old stereotypical adventure manga" and the many other "combat-oriented ", turning the series into "something new and interesting". On the other hand, Anime News Network
(ANN) writer Zac Bertschy found Luffy remminiscent to Rurouni Kenshin
s character Himura Kenshin
due their personalities and attitudes. However, he still noted Luffy to be entertaining. Mania Entertainment's Bryce Coulter called Luffy a "great shonen hero". Carl Kimlinger from ANN comments that "Colleen Clinkenbeard
's Luffy continues to grow on you".
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...
franchise created by Eiichiro Oda
Eiichiro Oda
is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of One Piece.-Early life:As a child, Oda was inspired by Akira Toriyama's works and aspired to become a manga artist. He recalls that his interest in pirates was probably sparked by the popular TV animation series titled Vicky the Viking...
. He is introduced as a boy who possesses elasticity powers from eating a devil fruit called the Gum-Gum Fruit and superhuman strength.
One Piece revolves around his exploits in searching for the fabled treasure. Through his adventures he meets many others who share similar goals, organizing a diverse crew known as the Straw Hat Pirates. As Luffy's exploits are revealed to the World Government, he becomes one of the strongest pirates and protects his crew from villains who wish to harm him and his friends. Luffy is depicted as a carefree when at ease, but is quick to become serious in a fight. Luffy is able to concentrate his strength and power to use attacks, the most prominent being his signature Gum-Gum Pistol, an attack that uses elasticity from his hands.
As the franchise's main protagonist, Luffy features in most of the episodes, films, television programs, and OVAs
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
of the anime series One Piece, and many of the spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
video games. Outside of the One Piece franchise, Luffy has had an appearance in the crossover manga Cross Epoch. He has also been the subject of other parodies, and has appeared in various special events and in Japanese pop culture. Due to the series' international popularity, Luffy has become one of the popular anime characters worldwide. Luffy's critical reception has been largely positive.
Creation and conception
When Eiichiro Oda created Luffy, he wanted to strive for a "manliness" quality similar to those found in the Dragon BallDragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
series created by Akira Toriyama
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...
. To make the readers relax without being stressed out, Oda added elasticity powers to Luffy for a comical effect. Oda tries to draw Luffy very straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels.
The devil fruit that Luffy gained his abilities from was originally called the , but after the editor pointed out that a real rubber fruit existed, the name was changed to the .
Design
Luffy is usually recognized by his straw hatStraw hat
A straw hat is a brimmed hat that is woven out of straw or reeds. The hat is designed to protect the head from the sun and against heatstroke, but straw hats were also used in fashion and as a decorative element of a uniform.- Manufacture :...
, which is given to him by "Red-Haired" Shanks after being saved from an attack by a Sea King. In his Gear Second state, Luffy's body changes to a more darker skin complexion.
In his early childhood, Luffy is first introduced wearing a shirt and blue shorts with a scar under his left eye. Throughout One Piece, Luffy is commonly seen wearing a red vest, blue shorts, and sandals. Eventually, Luffy replaces his vest with a red cardigan
Cardigan (sweater)
A cardigan is a type of machine- or hand-knitted sweater that ties, buttons or zips down the front; by contrast, a pullover does not open in front but must be "pulled over" the head to be worn. The cardigan was named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British military commander,...
, and also starts wearing a yellow knot-tied belt.
Personality
Luffy is portrayed as a carefree and happy-go-lucky character with great ambitions and a huge appetite. He often thinks with his stomach and eats to the point of becoming comically fat. He is caring and generally good hearted. However, he is not naïve and understands most situations more than he shows. Knowing the dangers ahead, he is willing to risk his life to reach his goal to become the King of the Pirates, and protect his crew.He invites several people, such as Chopper or Brook, onto his crew generally for their personality but also because of his instinctual ability to be able to read people. His main reason has been stated a few times in the story. He needs several key jobs filled in his crew (i.e.: cook, navigator, doctor, musician, shipwright, and so on) that each crew member fulfills. Luffy stated in the beginning of the series that he wants at least 10 crew members, each with abilities that he feels necessary for his goal. Each members of the crew respect him in their own way despite his carefree personality.
He is rarely concerned with the consequences of his actions, doing what he feels even if it leads to retaliation by a powerful force.
However, he is an extremely loyal captain, who has demonstrated at many points throughout the series that he is willing to risk his life for the well-being of his crew.
Voice actors
In the original Japanese version of the entire One Piece anime series (and later spin-offs in the franchise), Luffy has been voiced by Mayumi TanakaMayumi Tanaka
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...
. In the OVA Defeat the Pirate Ganzack!, Luffy was voiced by Urara Takano
Urara Takano
is a Japanese voice actress from Togane, Chiba. Takano runs the talent agency Remax, although she was originally affiliated with Ken Production. She is the mother of actress Anna Kirie. Her real name, as well as her former stage name, is , in addition, she and Jennifer Tilly both does Celia...
. In the numerous English versions, Luffy has been played by different voice actors because different companies produced the dubs.
In 4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment
4Kids Entertainment is an American film and television production company in bankruptcy since April 2011. It is known for English-dubbing Japanese anime and specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States...
's dub of the first five story arcs of One Piece, Luffy was voiced by Bella Hudson. In Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
's dub of the entire One Piece franchise, Luffy has been consistently voiced by Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard is an American voice actress, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and series, most notably, Monkey D...
.
Abilities
Luffy's elasticity powers are a result from eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, which makes him virtually immune to all blunt force attacks except especially strong attacks and attacks filled with Haki. The fruit also gave him the ability to stretch at will. Combined with the elasticity of his body, he uses that ability to accelerate parts or the whole of his body as if shot by a slingshot to deliver punches, kicks, head butts, body checks, or simply for propulsion. However, Luffy is unable to swim and when he is touched with sea-water, it quickly negates his powers. In addition to his powers, Luffy also possesses extreme endurance due to his training with Garp.Luffy's signature move
Signature move
A signature move is a move or ability that is almost analogous to the person or character that uses it. This may infer that the move is usually a staple of the user's repertoire, and on most occasions was invented by the performer.-Usage:...
is the , a punch technique which he learned during his years of training. Another technique, developed later in the series, is , an attack that increases his strength and overall speed for a limited amount of time, but can strain his body afterwards. , another technique using air inflated into his bone structure to attack with massive limbs and strength, but causes him to shrink afterwards.
He is capable of using both techniques simultaneously. Each of these techniques transforms his appearance. Luffy also develops his latent ability to use . This ability renders people or animals in his proximity unconscious and can amplify the force of attacks and negate a devil fruit user's defense, allow physical contact and damage and can read a person's moves. He has a rare variation, the .
Eventually, Luffy masters the three types of Haki, and uses it in conjunction with his attacks.
Appearances
Luffy first appears in the manga chapter , first published in Japan's Weekly Shōnen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
magazine on August 4, 1997. He first appears as a young boy living in Windmill Village who befriends the pirate "Red-Haired" Shanks, intending to become one himself. Before the series' narrative begins, he accidentally eats the Gum Gum Fruit, gaining elasticity powers as a result and he is saved by Shanks from being eaten alive by a Sea King. Ten years later, Luffy leaves Windmill Village in search of a treasure known as the One Piece and to become King of the Pirates. Sailing alone, Luffy meets a swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, the navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
and thief Nami, the cowardly marksman and liar Usopp, and the womanizing chef Sanji, who also join on his quest. He also encounters and defeats several pirates in the East Blue, such as Buggy the Clown and the fishman Arlong. These actions cause him to be placed on the Marines' most wanted
Most Wanted
*Lists used by law enforcement agencies to alert the public, such as:**FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives**FBI Most Wanted Terrorists**United States Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives**U.S...
list . Luffy later accepts an offer to return the princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi, safely into her homeland to stop a rebellion, incited by a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and leader of the crime syndicate Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile. Along the way, Luffy finds a reindeer doctor named Tony Tony Chopper in Drum Island. In Alabasta, the crew defeats Crocodile and Baroque Works and the civil war ends. Leaving Vivi behind, Luffy allows Crocodile's former second-in-command
Second-in-command
The Second-in-Command is the deputy commander of any British Army or Royal Marines unit, from battalion or regiment downwards. He or she is thus the equivalent of an Executive Officer in the United States Army...
and archaeologist Nico Robin to become his ally.
While visiting Skypiea, the crew gets drawn into a war between two races and Luffy defeats the god Eneru, ending the war. Luffy meets Admiral Aokiji, and is defeated after he learns about Robin's heritage. Luffy continues to face other enemies linked to Robin's heritage, such as Franky, a cyborg who eventually becomes Luffy's ally and the intelligence agency Cipher Pol No. 9, who causes Luffy and his crew to save Robin at Enies Lobby. Robin rejoins the crew after their battle on Enies Lobby - declaring war on the World Government in the process - and each member receives their bounties. The crew returns to Water 7 and after the Going Merry breaks down, they get their second ship, the Thousand Sunny; there, they meet Luffy's grandfather, Monkey D. Garp. When the crew come across Thriller Bark, they meet a skeletal musician named Brook. While there, they defeat the Warlord Gecko Moria, returning Brook's shadow in the process. After releasing the rest of the island's prisoners, Brook becomes Luffy's ally. The crew goes to the Sabaody Archipelago to coat their ship, but an incident involving the auction of the mermaid Camie eventually causes the crew to be separated during the encounter against Admiral Kizaru, and the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
Luffy is sent to Amazon Lily, an island ruled by the Warlord Boa Hancock. Hancock eventually falls in love with Luffy and helps bring him to Impel Down, a prison, to save his brother Portgas D. Ace, who was imprisoned there after being defeated by Blackbeard. Luffy breaks into the prison and meets foes-turned-allies, such as Crocodile and Buggy, as well as new allies, such as the Warlord Jimbei and Emporio Ivankov, releasing the prisoners in the process. Luffy is nearly killed, but he and the convicts from the prison to Marineford. After arriving there, Luffy is drawn into a war between the Marines and Whitebeard's pirate crews. Luffy saves Ace, but Ace's love for Luffy causes him to sacrifice himself by receiving a fatal attack from Admiral Akainu. Luffy and Jimbei are evacuated from Marineford. When they return to Amazon Lily, Luffy looks back on his how he first met Ace. Shortly following Shanks' departure, Luffy is adopted by the bandit Curly Dadan. He also befriends Ace and Sabo during this time, but ends up losing Sabo in the process. Silvers Rayleigh trains Luffy to be his successor on Ruskaina and Luffy has the crew undergo training regimens. Luffy returns to the Sabaody Archipelago two years later and reunites with his crew. The crew are eventually separated again while sailing to Fishman Island. Luffy and the others meets Jimbei and the island's princess Shirahoshi, and are drawn into a battle for the island against fishmen Hody Jones and Vander Decken IX. Luffy and the crew, along with Jimbei, eventually regroup and conceive a plan to defeat Hody's troops and stop the ship Noah from destroying the Island.
In other media
Luffy has made several appearances in other media, including, but not limited to, every One Piece licensed electronic video game to date, including Jump Super StarsJump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
. In 2006, he is featured in the Dragon Ball Z/One Piece/Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
crossover game Battle Stadium D.O.N.. Luffy, along with Son Goku and Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
, made guest appearances in avatar form in the MMORPG Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life. In addition to his in-game appearances, Luffy has also been featured and mentioned in some songs. "Wanted!" features Luffy singing about himself as a wanted pirate. "Every-One Peace!" features Luffy singing about the One Piece.
Luffy has made guest appearances in various Japanese television shows and manga. Luffy and several other characters would team up with the cast of Dragon Ball in a spinoff titled Cross Epoch. On April 3, 2011, Luffy and the other One Piece protagonists appear premiere episode of the Toriko
Toriko
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since 2008, and the individual chapters are being collected in 15 tankōbon volumes published by Shueisha. It follows the adventure of Toriko, a Gourmet Hunter, as he searches...
anime series and the crossover manga chapter. In the Yakitate!! Japan
Yakitate!! Japan
is a manga, authored by Takashi Hashiguchi, serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday, which has been adapted into a television anime series by Sunrise. The manga has spanned 25 tankōbon volumes, as of January, 2007, while the weekly serialization of the manga has ended as of January 10, 2007...
manga, 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 ("tenobi" means "stretching arms"). Luffy makes a cameo appearance in a Weekly Shonen Jump binding in an episode of To Love-Ru
To Love-Ru
is a Japanese manga series written by Saki Hasemi, and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, creator of Black Cat. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump between April 24, 2006 and August 31, 2009; 18 tankōbon volumes have been published in Japan...
. The Gum-Gum was referenced in the 50th episode of the Gin Tama anime series. Luffy has also appeared in the popular web comic VG Cats
VG Cats
VG Cats is a webcomic written and drawn by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it features the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphic cats, who often play the roles of characters in popular video games that are parodied in the strip. Strips are usually presented in...
. In 2008, Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
sponsored the Pallavolo Modena
Pallavolo Modena
Casa Modena is a professional volleyball team ofPallavolo Modena, based in Modena, Italy. It plays in Italian Volleyball League and it is one of the most important, famous and prominent volleyball clubs in the world.-Squad 2010-2012:-Achievements:...
Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
team. To represent their sponsorship, Pietro Rinaldi's and Edoardo Ciabattini's traditional black uniforms were emblazoned with an image of Luffy on the front. He was featured in the cover of the January 2010 issue from the Japanese fashion magazine Men's Non-No, becoming the first manga character to appear in the cover of such magazine. His new clothes were designed by Shinichi "Miter" Mita.
Luffy was mentioned in the video game Half minute Hero for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, where the description of the usable item 'Straw hat' said it makes the user feel rubbery and want to become a pirate. In the manga Rookies, Luffy's image appears on a girl's cell phone strap during a graduation ceremony. There is also a reference to Luffy in the online MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
, Aika Online. In-game, there is an NPC wearing Luffy's style of clothes named "Monkey C. Lupis III" and even has a title above his head saying "Future King of Pirates". In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV
, also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in September 2010 for Microsoft Windows, with a PlayStation 3 port in development. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by...
, players who choose Limsa Lominsa as their starting city get to see an NPC pirate in the intro scene who wears clothes similar to Luffy.
Merchandise
Besides being featured in pieces of merchandise based on the One Piece, he has appeared in crossover figurines which show him along with Dragon BallDragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
characters.
Reception
Luffy ranked first in all three Shōnen Jump character popularity polls. Funimation EntertainmentFunimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
's Mike McFarland
Mike McFarland
Michael Charles McFarland is an American voice actor, ADR Director, Script, and Line Producer at Funimation Entertainment. He also did work with ADV Films, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, New Generation Pictures and Okatron 5000...
and Christopher Sabat
Christopher Sabat
Christopher Robin Sabat is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Line Producer. He has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as video games...
, both stated that they felt that Luffy was more likable than the Dragon Ball character Son Goku
Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
. Mayumi Tanaka
Mayumi Tanaka
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo currently affiliated with Aoni Production.She is best known for the roles of Ryuunosuke Fujinami in Urusei Yatsura, Pazu in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, Krillin, Yajirobe and Uranai Baba in Dragon Ball...
, Luffy's Japanese voice actor, comically mentioned she feels sorry for making Luffy's voice due the fact she is a mother while Luffy is much younger. When asked about how she does Luffy's voice, Tanaka replies that she "strives for reality" during scenes that the character talks while eating or while touching his nose. In the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards from 2008, Luffy was nominated for the category "Best Male Character". However, he lost to Alucard
Alucard
Alucard may refer to:*Count Alucard , the title character in the 1943 film Son of Dracula and other works....
from Hellsing. He was also 22nd in IGN's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time by writer Chris Mackenzie. The GumiGumi Gatling technique has ranked appeared in a Japanese survey that featured the most popular moves in manga and anime: it was second in the male category and fourth in the female category.
Luffy's character has also been received positively by publications from several media. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews calls Luffy "likable goofy", and an idealist with an infectious optimism. In a review for the fourth One Piece movie, "Dead End Adventure", The Star Online describes Luffy as "an airhead and brilliant fighter." Rika Takahashi from EX comments that Luffy's character with his stretching powers is what sets One Piece apart from "the old stereotypical adventure manga" and the many other "combat-oriented ", turning the series into "something new and interesting". On the other hand, Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
(ANN) writer Zac Bertschy found Luffy remminiscent to Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin
, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...
s character Himura Kenshin
Himura Kenshin
, known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, as well as the related media in the franchise...
due their personalities and attitudes. However, he still noted Luffy to be entertaining. Mania Entertainment's Bryce Coulter called Luffy a "great shonen hero". Carl Kimlinger from ANN comments that "Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Clinkenbeard
Colleen Smith Clinkenbeard is an American voice actress, Line Producer, ADR Director, and Script Writer who works for Funimation Entertainment, ADV Films, and OkraTron 5000. She has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and series, most notably, Monkey D...
's Luffy continues to grow on you".