One Piece is often criticized for being too silly, especially with Luffy’s Gear 5 form, but Eiichiro Oda explains why he did it and how it fits the story.
Ever since Kaido’s defeat, Luffy’s Gear 5 form, which transforms his body and allows him to manipulate the environment freely, has been scrutinized for being cartoonish and too silly for One Piece. Eiichiro Oda, however, explains why he’s drawn it in such a way.
What Oda reminds us about Luffy’s Gear 5 is that the silliness and goofy moments are the essence of the story. One Piece wouldn’t be One Piece without a few random moments sprinkled throughout the journey. While it does deal with incredibly dark themes, such as slavery and genocide, the creator doesn’t want it to lose its greatest aspect.
Eiichiro Oda Wants to Keep One Piece Fun, as It Always Has Been
One Piece has been goofy and fun since its beginning, with Luffy being stuck in a barrel and accidentally insulting Koby when he’s just being honest. Although the humor has died down after the two-year timeskip, fun has been ingrained into One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda emphasizes that the fun aspect has been forgotten in many Shonen battle manga series. The battles are a lot more serious now, pandering to what fans want out of it.
The One Piece creator, on the other hand, prioritizes what he feels fits the tone of his story. For Oda, it’s the silly expressions and exaggerated actions that he loves to play around with. It goes against Shonen norms, especially with how serious most are nowadays.
During an interview titled Over 100 Miracle Talk (via @WSJ_manga’s transcript on their X account) with Gosho Aoyama, who wrote Detective Conan, Oda was asked about Chapter 1044 and Luffy’s changed appearance with Gear 5. He states:
I drew this because I really want to have fun, and I think that it’s okay if people don’t like it. I just want to play around with my battles. Since I was an assistant, I have felt that silly expressions that were so characteristic in manga have been gradually lost. Putting a light bulb in a character’s head when they come up with some idea, or making the character’s legs go in circles when they’re running, for example.
I have always loved those symbolic expressions, but they keep disappearing. Nobody draws them anymore even though they’re our predecessors’ creations who also left many formulae we still use.
Battle manga has to keep getting more and more serious to keep up with readers’ expectations and I honestly hate that. I definitely don’t want my work to become a serious manga like that. I want and have decided to have fun, and I feel like I’m finally able to do that. When I was drawing this, I actually had fun.
Thus, Oda wants to pay homage to the legacy that classic manga and cartoons have built. One Piece is filled with tiny moments that evoke that humor. There’s no way fans didn’t anticipate Gear 5 being silly when they’ve witnessed Luffy do stranger things, or the time when Zoro used Usopp as a sword, or Franky’s dancing. The list goes on, so why stop?
One Piece Fans Are Missing the Point of Luffy’s Gear 5
Luffy’s character has always been about freedom. He likes to sail free in the seas, loves partying at every chance he gets, and liberates anyone in need. Gear 5 is the perfect Devil Fruit awakening for him. He gets to have fun and freely manipulate the environment to his will.
Chapter 1044 reveals that his Devil Fruit is actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika. It essentially gives Luffy the powers of the Sun God Nika, who was the warrior of liberation. Joy Boy was its previous user, who was likely influenced by a smiling figure of the same name in Caribbean folklore whose music compels people to dance.
Overall, Gear 5 is not just some typical Shonen power upgrade. For Luffy’s story, it encompasses who he is. What’s the point of freedom if there’s no fun along the way? It doesn’t always have to be suffering or darkness. His freedom is accompanied by joy.
What do you think of Luffy’s Gear 5 form? Is it too goofy, or is it perfect? Let us know in the comments below!
