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Monkey D. Luffy

Fictional character from One Piece

  • 25 min read
  • 4 chapters

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Monkey D. Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat Crew, and has dreamt of becoming a pirate since childhood from the influence of his idol and mentor Red-Haired Shanks. At the age of 17, Luffy sets sail from the East Blue Sea to the Grand Line in search of the legendary treasure One Piece, to succeed Gold Roger as the King of the Pirates. He fights multiple antagonists, and aids and befriends the inhabitants of several islands on his journey. Usually cheerful and carefree, he becomes serious and even aggressive when he fights or if one of his friends is harmed. Luffy has developed a range of attacks around the rubber properties of his body. In his signature attack, the Gum-Gum Pistol, he slingshots punches at opponents from a distance. Luffy also grows stronger over the course of the story by transforming his body through different "Gears"; this is reflected in his bounty, which is used to measure the threat he poses to the World Government, which forbids piracy. Luffy clashes with the three kinds of great powers in One Piece: the World Government's Marines and its allied privateers known as the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the most influential pirate captains known as the Four Emperors.

Luffy is the son of Revolutionary Army Leader Monkey D. Dragon, the grandson of Marine Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, and sworn brother to Portgas D. Ace and Sabo. During the course of Luffy's journey, he makes many friends and recruits to the Straw Hats the swordsman Roronoa Zoro, navigator Nami, sniper Usopp, chef Sanji, doctor Tony Tony Chopper, archaeologist Nico Robin, shipwright Franky, musician Brook, and helmsman Jimbei. Luffy's rise alters the balance of power between great powers on the Blue Planet. After two years, Luffy puts Fish-Man Island and the Wano Country under his protection, gains a grand fleet of over 5,600 pirates and becomes one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. Luffy is currently one of the three most powerful pirate captains alongside his mentor Shanks and his rival Blackbeard.

Luffy appears in most episodes, films, television specials, and OVAs of the manga's anime adaptations, as well as in several of the franchise's video games. Due to the series' international popularity, Luffy is one of the world's most recognizable manga and anime characters. Beyond the One Piece franchise, the character also appears in various manga, anime series, and collaborative video games. His critical reception has been largely positive, with him placing first in every popularity poll.

Creation and conception

Development

When Eiichiro Oda created Luffy, he initially strove for a "manliness" similar to that of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series. Oda said that he named his main character "Luffy" because he felt that the name suited him. When he later learned about the sailing term, "luffing", he was delighted by the coincidence. In his prototype one-shot, "Romance Dawn", Oda refined the artistic style and story elements before publishing the final product a year later as the first chapter of One Piece. In the second version of "Romance Dawn", Luffy resembled his design at the beginning of the series.

After the one-shot of One Piece was made, Oda contacted his former mentor, Nobuhiro Watsuki, whom he assisted in making the manga Rurouni Kenshin. Watsuki was pleased with Luffy's characterization and advised Oda to briefly change him for the main series to make it look like Luffy is always acting on his own free will. To please his readers, Oda added rubberization to Luffy for comic effect and tries to make the character straightforward. In retrospect, Watsuki felt characters like Luffy reflect a trend of heroes who do not kill their enemies similar to his character Himura Kenshin.

Portrayals

In the original Japanese version of the One Piece anime series and later spin-offs of the franchise, Luffy is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka. Tanaka said jokingly that she regrets providing Luffy's voice because she is a mother in real life and Luffy is much younger. Asked about her voicing, Tanaka said that she "strives for reality" in scenes where Luffy speaks when he is eating or touching his nose. In the OVA Defeat the Pirate Ganzack!, Luffy was voiced by Urara Takano.

In Odex's English-dubbed VCDs produced by Voiceovers Unlimited, Luffy is voiced by Chuck Powers, the director of said English version. In this edition his name is mispronounced as "Luh-fee" (). The character was voiced by Erica Schroeder in 4Kids Entertainment's English-language dubs of the franchise between 2004 and 2006. Following Funimation/Crunchyroll's acquisition of the franchise license in 2007, Colleen Clinkenbeard became the voice of Luffy in all English-language releases.

In the live action adaptation of One Piece, Luffy is portrayed by Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy, while Colton Osorio plays Luffy as a child. Godoy and Tanaka reprised their roles as Luffy in the Latin American Spanish and Japanese dubs of the adaptation respectively.

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