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Apr 23, 2023 8:17 AM
#1
| [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Trying to analyse all sides of Luffy's character , his developments , conflicts , ideas and how he fits perfectly into the story of One piece.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]CAPTAINS ROLE WATER 7[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Uptil Water 7 arc , no one had actually recognised Luffy as the captain. Sure they fought with him but the sense of leadership wasn't present. Anyone would freely disobey Luffy and cast his opinion aside. Basically , Strawhats weren't a pirate crew , just a bunch of friends who were tough enough to survive that long.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Water 7 was the reality check. Unlike previously , Usopp's luck didn't work here. He got brutally beaten down and lost the crew's treasure making it clear just how far he was from his crewmates. Then the Merry plot happened and the heart and soul of the crew , Usopp decided to duel and leave. Here comes the first point where Luffy' leadership's test began. He had to think , not as a friend , but as captain. Thus , he accepted Usopp's duel and beated him down. This scene marks the first time Luffy's leadership started getting recognized. Nami , who would usually beat him up for things , was talked down. Sanji understood what he was doing. And Zoro put his complete trust in him as his captain. "If you can't be decisive , who can we trust in?"[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]For the crew , this was the most dangerous times they had faced yet. One of the main crewmates was just beaten down and left. Robin left as well and her intentions were uncertain to know if she's even a crew member or not. And the one who had to take the toughest decisions in this turbulent times was Luffy the captain. First time he actually felt the load of being the leader.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]CAPTAINS ROLE (ENIES LOBBY)[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]If Water 7 was the lowest point for the crew and Luffy , Enies lobby was the jump above. As soon as Luffy realized Robin's actual intentions , all fear left him and he set out for battle. Uptil now , he wasn't sure who he was fighting and if Robin even cared. But now that he saw a clear enemy and friend , his power doubled and he went straight to Enies lobby.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]This was the first time , Luffy had encountered a foe that was impossible to defeat. The entire world itself. From the Foxy arc itself , Aokiji told "You'll eventually realize how troublesome that woman is". Throughout the Water 7 and Enies lobby arc , people had commented on how her existence itself had made her the "devil child". Hell , even Robin herself shouts that she doesn't want to stay with them as eventually the amount if trouble she will bring will make them hate and cast her aside later. Literally the most dangerous person in the world , one whom the entire world's greatest forces are hunting down , one who herself doesn't believe she deserves to live , one whom so many people have told how much trouble she would bring. A person like that had walked into the crew , bringing in unprecedented challenges.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]And what does Luffy do after hearing all this? He declares war on the whole world. This is what makes him the goat that he is. During the final gatling against Lucci , he remembers all the conversations of how Nico Robin would bring doom to his crew from various people. He knows the amount of burden he's taking trying to save her. Yet , he decided to fight the whole world because his crewmate cried and begged him to take her to the sea. Its not just Lucci he's fighting there , its the whole world. This , combined with Usopp's cheering , makes the final gatling such an impactful moment. A captain is fighting for the sake of a crewmate who had barely been in the crew yet her cry is enough for him to put every ounce of his strength in protecting his crew. Usopp , who fought and left , once again put his entire faith in Luffy for his own life. And just like he said , Luffy became stronger to protect his crew. The great captain Monkey D. Luffy is born. From now on , no Strawhat would ever loose faith in Luffy and he holds command as the captain.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"] LOSS (SUMMIT WARS)[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]If Enies lobby was Luffy's triumphant victory over all odds , Summit war is his descent into pure loss. Luffy put the most amount of effort to save his brother he had ever put in his life. He fought and fought , nearly died in Impel down , cut his lifespan short through Ivankov's treatment just for fighting ahead , got destroyed again and again by people way above him. This saga made it clear just how small of a fish Luffy was in the grand scheme of things. He failed in even saving his crew at Saboady. Then failed to retrieve Ace at Impel down. And then , the greatest loss he had ever taken , the death of his brother. Luffy was someone who would put his life on line for crewmates he barely met like Robin in Water 7. And this was his sworn brother he had lived years with. Luffy even broke the pirate rule of not interfering with each other's lives. This wasn't the pirate Strawhat Luffy fighting. It was a younger brother. And even after going through all lengths and getting beaten down again and again , he still loses Ace. For the first time , Luffy loses consciousness in the midst of battle with his brother's dead body in his hands marking the most painful moment of the series imo. You literally see the most optimistic dude with tremendous will always fighting ahead , losing the most important person in his life at the moment and blank out from pain. No powerups , no a$spulls. The protagonist faces utter defeat and loses consciousness. The one who protects others himself loses will to fight.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]During the post-war arc , Luffy literally loses even the will to become his Pirate king. The reason this hits so hard is cuz its coming from the most cheerful and optimistic character. You've already heard him say he will become pirate king since the starting itself when he had just a boat roaming aimlessly on the sea. And yet , here he loses the will to achieve even that dream. Luffy is so broken at this point. He blames himself for not even having the strength to protect his brother and mocks his own dream that he had fought 500 chapters for. This is by far , Luffy at his lowest point. Lost the person most important to him , lost his dream and will to fight and blaming himself for being too weak for even saving his brother.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The reason the 'I have my crew' moment is so beautiful is the place its written into the story. You have already seen Luffy pushing himself to be stronger and surpass anyone , even challenge the whole world to a fight for his crew. Then you have seen an entire saga of Luffy descending into loss upon loss , failing at everything , losing his brother , losing his will to fight , losing even his dream. And what is it that makes him return to his life? His crew.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Water 7 and Enies lobby was Luffy being the pillar of support whom every crewmate has faith in. And Summit War was his crew being his support when he's at his lowest and lost everything.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The Strawhat crew we will be seeing next is one with connections stronger than anything. Every crewmate trust their lives in the hands of Luffy. And Luffy trusts them to be his own support. Thus the pirate crew that'll overturn the world is born.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/tUdQFkd.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]The unshakeable bond of trust formed between a Captain and his crew post-Enies lobby and Marineford.[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/ssWzqEz.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Development[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy has developed through all the experiences he had. The loss of Ace has strengthened him. Now , he does not blank out when learning about deaths of his comrades. He has accepted it as a natural consequence of sailing on the seas. That's why you see him unfazed by Pedro's death and continuing the battle. At the start of Wano arc , when Kaido blows up the Oden castle , Luffy actually thinks his crew migbt be dead. But instead of crying and blanking out in the middle of battle like he did at Marineford , he chooses to try taking down Kaido right there as the logical act. Current Luffy fighting Kaido was told Kinemon and others are dead by a crying Momo. Yet he's unfazed and instead of crying , continuing the battle in the midst of pressure.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Also , he got way more serious post-timeskip. Sure he still goofs around , but at points where things get serious , he knows how to act and take decisions for the crew. He's grown into a fine leader capable of winning over Udon prisoners through his speech and act alone. He even is a mentor figure to the future Shogun of Wano. Basically , the development he had in Water7+Enies lobby+Marineford has been grounded into making a great captain.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/nOHdkHz.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Freedom[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]What inspires Luffy to go for the journey of becoming pirate king ? From the vivre card , we know that Luffy wanted to become a pirate even before meeting Shanks. And seeing Red hair's crew , the one thing he was most baffled by them was the boundless freedom they enjoy.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]In Luffy's mind , a pirate is the only free man in the world. Away from the world's worries , going on adventures wherever they want to , picking up a fight against whoever they want to regardless of status or power , is what a pirate's life is. No authority applies on the pirates. No organisation is above them. They live by stealing and hunting for treasures. All of this , is the perfect representation of freedom. Luffy does not want to conquer anything at all. He just wants to reach the zenith a.k.a Pirate king , who is the freest man on the sea. That's his actual dream.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The sea in One piece represents freedom. The land is place for people who want to live with safety and security for their lives by obeying the authorities , thus sacrificing their freedom. However , once you set on the sea , you are free from all the shackles of this world but have no security for your life or room for morality. Basically , everyone views a pirate as scum as they aren't obliged to any morality and make their living through dirty works and cheating. You will never find Luffy giving a speech on good vs. evil or some sh*t like that. He is a pirate , knows that he isn't answering to any morality check and thus , never gives lecture like other protagonists on morality. He doesn't consider himself a hero. In Luffy's mind , he hasn't done a single heroic act in his life. All he's done is go on an adventure , make friends and beat up whoever is troubling them which also coincidently brings light wherever he goes without him realizing it.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The sea is limitless , no authority rules over the sea , no one is bound by any organisation above them. Tho its also unsafe and there are countless dangers to your life you won't have on land , but that too adds to thrill of a pirate life. Once you set on the sea , you choose a life of danger where you can be killed or abducted any day. This is what Zoro said in Foxy arc when Chopper was getting taken through davy back fights. Even Luffy was unfazed by it , as he knows onve you set out for a pirate life , no one is responsible for your life. That's the price you pay for freedom.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/O3rYVoI.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Conflict[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Now here comes the one authority whose goal is directly counter to freedom , the World government. This authority that rules with an iron hand , mass-massacring to hide information , commiting great cleansings , defining justice in their own terms , manipulating the populace and sitting as gods above everyone else in their holy land forcing everyone to obey them. Essentially , the World government is the very thing that goes completely counter to Luffy's concept of freedom. And thus , both will eventually clash where one will topple the other.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy is the natural enemy of the celestial dragons. All of his values are the exact things World government tries to curb. This is why they are so bound to "destroying this era of piracy" through ancient weapons or any other force as the existence of pirates , free-willed sailors who don't want to obey any authority , is the exact thing that's the most dangerous to the corrupt oppressive authority that they have setup.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]This conflict is just masterfully written in the story. Unlike other stories , Luffy isn't someone searching for freedom from some authority. Luffy literally is the embodiment of freedom , the natural enemy of authority , and by his existence alone makes his clash with the World government inevitable. That's why only Luffy can bring the dawn of this world. The darkness that has covered the world restricts a man's freedom. And Luffy was born as the light itself just because of his desire to attain freedom i.e. become the pirate king thus being the "freest man on the sea".[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]This whole story started as a simple boy's journey of romance to go become the freest man he can imagine i.e. the pirate king. As soon as he set sail on the sea as a pirate , he was already free. Over the course of the story , we found out that this world isn't as happy as it seems and is actually a dystopia where an oppressive authority poses itself as false gods and is the anti-thesis of a man's freedom. So , the boy who was already free when he set sail , eventually collided with this looming oppressive authority and their eventual war is inevitable. Both represent the complete opposites of a coin and eventually , Luffy will overturn this dystopia , destroy it all till its roots and thus will be born a world of freedom. To this day , Luffy has never thought of himself as a hero. All he's done is help his friends and overturn authority wherever he went , thus bringing light to all islands he visited without ever realizing it himself. And eventually , he'll come into conflict with the greatest oppressive authority , the World government , and thus bring the dawn to the whole world. That is his destiny.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/vtPG6UQ.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Dreams[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy's dream itself is to become free. From what we know , he wants to be free so he can go on adventures anywhere he wants and protect everyone close to him. That's why his definition for Pirate king is being the freest man on the sea. Skypiea is the arc representing his feeling towards dreams the best. At first , going to an island on the sky was just a random fantasy he got obsessed with. Bellamy is the anti-thesis to him as in he's mocking all dreamers themselves through his dream of going to a Sky island. This is why Luffy does not fight with fists in the bar. Because what Bellamy said is rather an attack to his ideals more than anything he can do physically.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The only way Luffy can defeat Bellamy here is not by beating him to a pulp , but rather proving his whole ideology wrong by accomplishing the wildest dream that he got mocked over. Going to Skypiea. Now , going to Skypiea isn't just a random fantasy in his mind. Its a need. Its not a battle of fists he is fighting here , its rather his ideology that is clashing. He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. All he needs to do is accomplishing his dream of going to Skypiea. He goes to Skypiea and even finds the golden city , 2 things both Luffy and Cricket were mocked over for dreaming about. Later in Dressrosa , you have Bellamy calling Luffy "the only other man I ever respected" indicating Luffy won that battle of ideologies back in Jaya.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/QpoaK4g.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Inherited Will[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy is the one "shouldering centuries of history". Through just his nature alone , of searching for freedom and overturning authority wherever he goes , he unconsciously brings unfulfilled wills to fruition. In Skypiea , even tho Wyper and Cricket were the ones who had inherited the will , Luffy was the one who ultimately fulfilled it by ringing the golden bell without even knowing their stories. Same way , he fulfils Otohime's will in Fishman Island , Corazon's will in Dressrosa and is currently fulfilling Oden's will and Wano. And in the grand scheme of things , he's fulfilling Roger's will in this world.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]That's his destiny in this world. Eventually , he will fulfill all other fallen wills in the same way. The ones who perished awaiting for the "dawn of the world" , their unfulfilled wills will all be fulfilled by the man Roger was waiting for , without him even caring once about it.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/DEkRqZN.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Romance[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Now first of all , the word "Romance" doesn't just mean the general understanding of it among people. It also means "the feeling of excitement , mystery and remoteness from everyday life". That's why the first chapter is called "Romance dawn" because its the dawn of Luffy's romantic adventure.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy's reason for going on the journey isn't material wealth , status or quo like other pirates of the world. Its the very adventure of reaching Laughtale that's more important for him than Laughtale itself. The perfect contrast to this is Blackbeard. While for BB , Pirate king is just the destination and only that one point is important so he takes shortcuts through betrayals and treachery to advance to his destination. On the other hand , for Luffy , the journey is what matters the most , the pure romance of sailing on the seas , going to adventures at places he never knew , travelling with his crew.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]This "romance of the sea" ties back into freedom , as his goal for becoming Pirate king is to be the freest man on the sea so he can go on romantic adventures wherever he wants without any authority obstructing him. And this ties into the theme of dreams as his dream itself is related to freedom and romance. And this ties back into inherited will , as all these qualities in Luffy make him the complete adversary to authority a.k.a World government thus making him overturn the WG thus fulfilling countless wills of Ancient kingdom , Roger , Oden and so many others who fell for the "dawn of the world to come" and their wills have come down crossing ages. And you know what all this ties into ? To [url=https://i.imgur.com/w7O9cT8.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]the page in chapter 100[/url] , entitled "the legend begins" , with the quote :[/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]"These things cannot be stopped. Inherited will , one's dreams , the ebb and flow of ages. As long as people hunger for freedom , these things will exist."[/font] - Gold Roger [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]In this sentence , Oda lays down all 4 core themes of One piece. Inherited will , Dreams , Flow of ages and most importantly freedom. And over the course of the time , Luffy turns into the literal embodiment of all 4 themes. Thematic writing at its peak.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/BuZdSIB.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Roronoa Zoro[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]The fact that a conqueror like Zoro , the one whose dream is to stand above everyone else , follows someone is baffling. Zoro is the one type of guy whom no one could keep subordinate. He'd always had asked for leadership wherever he went. Zoro is a leader not a follower. And the fact that a leader and one who has the biggest dream of standing at the top follows Luffy speaks about Luffy's character more than anything. Like , Zoro literally went from having pride to the point of not showing his back when faced with death , goes and abandons his dream as well as pride for Luffy.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]You see his respect for Luffy slowly increasing through time. At first , he just came in with a threat that he'll kill Luffy if he comes in his dream's way. Then , over the course of time , he observes and has respect for him enough that he agrees to getting ridiculed and not fight Bellamy's crew cuz his captain ordered him to. Then you have him reminding Luffy of his role in Water 7 and Enies lobby. Then you have him literally throwing his dream and life away for his caltain in Thriller bark and then abandoning his pride in post-war.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Current Zoro , just like other SHs , trusts Luffy enough that he will trust his and other's lives in him and have faith he will overcome the threat , like we saw in Dressrosa. The reason this is so baffling is because of the character that Zoro is. This is a leader who has followed someone to the point , he trusts in him for everything he holds important.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"][url=https://i.imgur.com/j9WBcnB.jpeg][color=var(--newCommunityTheme-linkText)]Death[/url][/font][/color] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Luffy seems to have the philosophy of "choosing one's own death" which has been hammered several times in the story. When Sabo got apparently killed , he mentioned "I don't know what it was that took Sabo's life but whatever it was , it was complete opposite to freedom". That's the kind of death he fears the most. On the other hand , he is completely fine with getting killed on his way to freedom as we have seen multiple times now. That's what he chose his life to be when he set out to the sea for his dream. His life can be over the very next day , but he'll be happy it did while he was free and on the path to his dream and die smiling. The one thing he fears tho is the death of those close to him and living a lonely life. That's why he keeps struggling to get stronger so no one has to go.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Conclusion[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]So yeah , tho I'd like to see more developments and conflicts in certain areas , Luffy is one of the best written characters in all fiction I've consumed and obviously my favourite. His character writing is actually meticulously executed but is very subtle so can be missed from a surface-level view. He's the embodiment of all themes of One piece. He's a free dreamer who carries will of the fallen. He lends his strength to those too weak to accomplish something by themselves. He brings dawn and destroys darkness wherever he goes and eventually will bring dawn to this whole world which has been in darkness for centuries now.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]But he himself never considers him as a hero or a messiah. All he thinks of himself is a free pirate who has helped his friends along the way by clobbering their enemies. And his very nature alone is why only and only he can bring the dawn.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]He's already a great leader and I'd like to see developments in his leadership specially during the Wano arc which seems to be centred around the theme of leadership.[/font] [font="\"Noto Sans\", Arial, sans-serif"]Overall , Monkey D. Luffy is one of the best protagonists out there who fits perfectly into the story he is written in.[/font] |
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