Since it first set sail, One Piece has gone the distance for Monkey D. Luffy. The captain of the Straw Hat pirates has been with fans for decades now, and he has come a long way since we met him in the East Blue. Time and again, Luffy has risen to the occasion when called, and his power has scaled in kind. Of course, Luffy and his strength are buzzing as of late courtesy of Gear 5 making its anime debut. So if you have questions about the Gear form, well – we are here to break things down for you.
First and foremost, you must understand Luffy's Devil Fruit if you want to understand his Gears. After all, the power forms come from the fruit and its versatility. At its base, the user of the Gomu Gomu no Mi enjoys a body made completely of rubber. From their bones to their skin, the Devil Fruit changes everything to rubber, and Luffy uses this baseline change to make his Gear forms. So with that in mind, you can read about Luffy's different levels below:
Where does Luffy's Gear transformation rank amongst your shonen favs? Does One Piece need to take it up a notch? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
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At its most basic, the Gomu Gomu no Mi gives Luffy an edge by turning his body into rubber. After eating the Devil Fruit as a child, Luffy's entire body is made into a stretchy rubber, so he can elongate his limbs at will. In fact, Luffy is able to elongate and inflate his body in lots of ways as he grows older. By harnessing the power of his elasticity, Luffy's rubber body can be weaponized as we see in attacks like his pistol punch. And given his elastic body, Luffy is also incredibly durable in battle.
Once Luffy took to the sea with his own crew, the Straw Hat finds new ways to apply his Gomu Gomu no Mi gifts. During his fight with Blueno, this training culminates in the debut of Gear 2. By exerting fine control over his internal muscles and organs, Gear 2 Luffy has an untold increase in speed. As his oxygen absorption soars, Luffy grows more powerful and much faster. But as enemies like Rob Lucci note, the overuse of this form and its metabolic overdrive will reduce Luffy's lifespan if overused.
After bringing Gear Two to life, Luffy unlocks his next Gear form while fighting Rob Lucci. This power boost gives Luffy the ability to inflate select parts of his body and reinforce them with his bones. And yes, we do mean bones here. Luffy blows his rubbery bones up rather than his skin. This means Luffy's hit hurt way more, but there is a catch. The pirate must maintain air levels in his bones if he wants to keep fighting, and if he needs more than one limb inflated, his response time dwindles due to their sheer size.
Known as one of Luffy's most powerful forms, Gear Four is a beast to handle. After being taught the ways of Haki, this Gear combines Luffy's inflation ability with Busoshoku Haki. This form of Haki allows users to create a sort of invisible armor around themselves, and Luffy uses this combo with different Gear Four subsets. Boundman turns Luffy into a bouncing ball of death while Tankman turns our pirate into a walking tank. As for Snakeman, the sleek form allows Luffy godly reaction times with a built-in defense. So thanks to the power of Haki, Gear Four is one of Luffy's most versatile powers.
What can we say about Gear Five? Well, there is a lot to break down about the form despite it begins so new. Upon its debut, Gear Five may have appeared like a new application of Luffy's rubber powers, but that is not the case. It is not an evolution so much as it is an awakening as Gear 5 reveals the Gomu Gomu no Mi's true origin.
The form's debut brings the Devil Fruit and its real nature to life. It turns out Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Mi does gift users rubbery powers, but its true ability embodies that of the Sun God, Nika. When in Gear 5, Luffy is at his peak in terms of raw power, speed, and defense. He is even able to totally transform their environment including scenery and weaponry. If Luffy can dream it, Gear Five can do it, and this apex form has yet to fully unpack its power since debuting against Kaido.