One Piece: What Is Toon Force?

One Piece is now in the midst of a new era in the anime thanks to the debut of Monkey D. Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation, and he has such ridiculous abilities that it’s gotten many cartoon fans to dub it as Luffy wielding “Toon Force.” Luffy’s stretchy body means that he’s already been different from many of the opponents he’s taken on over the years, but it never quite felt outlandish or outside of Eiichiro Oda’s built in reality in One Piece as there are characters with even wackier abilities and powers introduced as Luffy and the Straw Hats travel the seas. 

With Luffy unlocking the true power of his Gum-Gum Fruit in the Gear 5 transformation, his body now moves much differently than before. Not only is he rubber, but his body continues to defy the physics of One Piece’s world with the fact that everything he touches seemingly turns to rubber as well. Moving his body in a cartoon character like fashion, Luffy has introduced the full concept of “Toon Force” to One Piece. Which means that now it will start dealing in cartoon physics. 

What Is Toon Force? 

Toon Force is the colloquial term for cartoon physics given by fans to animated works like Bugs Bunny in the Looney Tunes franchise. This “ability” means that these cartoon characters are usually the only ones who are aware of their place in a cartoon, and use it to their advantage to twist and bend the laws of their world to accomplish pretty much whatever they want. It’s usually best seen when in contrast to a more grounded character to better show the “zaniness” of a particular toon. In more extreme and zany examples, Toon Force users can essentially be gods in their respective worlds. 

Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation taps into this idea as he becomes more of a cartoon, and fighting Kaido gives Kaido those rubbery physics as well. He’s able to do pretty much anything he sets his mind to (such as reaching through Kaido’s eyes to escape from Kaido’s body before using him as a giant jump rope), but it’s still not a complete version of the Toon Force concept just yet. Luffy’s still hampered by his physical stamina, and Toon Force is fueled by laughter, something that Luffy can’t always provide despite his constantly laughing transformation. 

As Luffy continues to introduce cartoon physics to the One Piece world, now it’s just a matter of seeing how the rest of this world might change in a way to compensate. Luffy has access to Toon Force now, but it’s not at the level where he could end the series with its use. Not yet anyway. But what do you think of Toon Force making its way to One Piece? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!