One Piece is one of the longest running anime and franchises still hitting it big with new releases to this day, but there are some big moments throughout the decades that prove Monkey D. Luffy is truly the next King of the Pirates. Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece manga introduced fans to Luffy nearly 30 years ago, and with it saw a pirate heading out into the unknown in order to make a name for himself. But rather than be the typical definition of a pirate, Luffy has become a much bigger icon over the years thanks to how much impact he’s had on the world around him.
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There are tons of fights, episodes and more that truly showcase why Luffy is such a great main protagonist for a sprawling world like One Piece. But with over 1,100 plus episodes of the anime, it can be hard to narrow down every single time Luffy has been a major badass so far. Below are seven moments that truly made Luffy look like a badass worthy of being the King of the Pirates, but there are so many that we couldn’t possibly cover everything. Let us know your favorite badass moments in the comments!
7). Luffy Decides to Save Wano
One Piece‘s Wano Country arc is host to some of the biggest Luffy moments we’ve seen in action yet, but one of the highlights comes early on when he first crash lands on the island. Meeting the young O-Tama, Luffy starts to see how rundown the region has become thanks to Kaido and his crew. While Luffy had some reason to take on the Beasts Pirates before, it wasn’t until he realized that O-Tama and many of the other citizens have been going hungry.
Wanting to create a world where people can be free to live and eat as much as he wants, from that point forward Luffy declares he’s going to fix everything and ultimately follows through by defeating Kaido later on. It’s just such a cool moment that helps to highlight Luffy for who he is.
6). Luffy Smiles at Loguetown
One of the earliest moments that really started to tease Luffy’s grand future to come was the Straw Hats crew’s exit of the East Blue. Heading into the Loguetown port where Gol D. Roger himself was executed years before, Luffy too finds himself nearly being executed in the same way. But rather than fear his imminent death at the hands of his enemies, he smiles and accepts that this must be where it ends.
Smiling in the face of death draws a direct parallel to Roger himself, but this also really cements Luffy as the kind of pirate who was not driven by fear or even self-preservation. He really just been living life and doing whatever he wants for as long as he can. A true freedom.
5). Luffy Defeats Sir Crocodile
Luffy’s first major victory in the Grand Line was what also helped to really put him on the map in the world at large. The Alabasta saga really emphasized just how deadly of an opponent Crocodile was, and Luffy even lost to the villain heading into the final confrontation. But pushing through and even using his blood as a liquid to make contact with Crocodile’s sandy body, this was the most significant victory for Luffy at this point in the series so far.
It’s an incredible moment to see him overcome such a massively overpowered enemy in comparison, and it’s also what cemented Luffy as someone who was usually going to get the victory at the end of the day. If you weren’t all in on Luffy before, you were by now.
4). “Shoot Down That Flag”
Luffy and the Straw Hats deciding to invade Enies Lobby, a World Government controlled area filled with tons of enemies, to save Nico Robin was already a huge deal. But when he asks Usopp (who was then going by the masked hero “SogeKing”) to shoot down the World Government’s flag, Luffy declares war on the government from that point on. He was usually pitted against the Marines through his fights in the series before, but this is when Luffy firmly took a stance that the rest of the world made note of.
And to top it off, he didn’t really care. He was only doing all of that to save his friend (after confirming that she indeed wanted to be saved), and it was such a moment that really made you want to join his crew.
3). “Luffy, Help Me”
It was the first major instance of wanting to help a friend in trouble that really showed off how much of a badass Luffy was, however. Despite Nami trying to push him away, and even stating that she never cared about the Straw Hats in the first place, Luffy believed in Nami. He refused to make a move until she directly asked for help first, however, and that’s what makes this moment special. When Nami completely breaks down and finally asks Luffy for help, he’s finally able to let loose all of the anger that he’s been holding in the whole time.
Declaring “Of course I will!” Luffy then heads directly to Arlong with the rest of the Straw Hats as they all fight for Luffy’s sake. This was the arc that really helped to cement Luffy as a Captain. It was the moment that really highlighted that Luffy would of course help his friends, but he’s also not someone who would jump into a situation unless asked to. It was his respect for the situation that he did not have the full perspective of, but jumped into gear as soon as it called for it.
2). Luffy Punches a Celestial Dragon
While shooting the flag at Enies Lobby was Luffy declaring war on the government, Luffy punching the Celestial Dragon Saint Charlos in the face was the most satisfying version of that. After seeing Charlos hurting his friends and nearly selling them into slavery, he’s so angered that he punches Charlos without any care of the consequences it might bring on. Striking a person that had a higher position than even the government themselves, this was Luffy declaring war on the rest of the world.
Luffy had full confidence in himself and his crew at this point. While it ended up biting him in the back as this arc’s fallout continued, it was still a moment where nothing was ever going to be the same. It was Luffy living his life like only he could, and would literally put the hugest target on his back if it meant that he could help those he cherishes.
1). Luffy Unleashes Gear 5
But if we’re talking about Luffy at his peak, and living life as freely as he wants to, there’s no better example of that than when he unlocked Gear Fifth. This form was hidden within his Devil Fruit and revealed that it wasn’t just that he had a rubber body, but was actually the form of the Sun God Nika. This gives Luffy the ability to morph the entire environment around him, and turns everything into a rubber hose cartoon. This power has Luffy at his happiest, and sees him pulling off feats never thought of before.
It’s Luffy literally bending the world around him to meet his needs, and he’s never seemed cooler. Coupled with the way that this form was brought to life in the anime, and Luffy has never been more badass. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films -
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
