'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Luffy’s newfound Gear 5 transformation is very popular among One Piece fans, who praised the form’s uniqueness and extravagance. However, many fans also criticized Gear 5, asserting that it turns Luffy into the “chosen one,” a hackneyed shonen trope that One Piece could do without.
The Gear 5’s emphasized goofiness is another bone of contention. Many fans claimed that the deliberately exaggerated comic effect is not funny but rather redundant and cringe, to the point that when they see Luffy entering Gear 5, they immediately lose any interest.
In One Piece chapter 1106, Vegapunk was grievously wounded while lasers struck Franky, Sanji, Kuma, and the others. Even then, Gear 5 Luffy laughed out loud and floated around cheerfully. This scene rekindled the debate about Gear 5, as many fans claimed that the form’s forced silliness is ruining Luffy’s character.
Trending
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1107.
Waiting for One Piece chapter 1107, fans debate whether Gear 5 is peak fiction or a cringe and repetitive trope
What makes Gear 5 unique
Much more than just a battle shonen, One Piece is a multifaceted adventure story that also encompasses fights. This reflects on the franchise’s main character, Luffy, who is different from the typical Shonen protagonist. His fights blend epicness and comedy, which is why the Gear 5 form suits him perfectly.
Gear 5 turns Luffy into the second coming of Joy Boy, giving him the unreal abilities of the fabled “Sun God” Nika. Upon entering this transformation, Luffy can break the law of physics, using his creativity and imagination to bend reality to his will. His powers are only limited by his fantasy, which is known to be boundless.
Luffy is not a hero, but throughout the One Piece story, he has always helped people. He can’t stand injustice, which often leads him to take the side of the most disadvantaged. This connects Luffy with Nika, who used to fight to bring freedom, hope, and happiness to the oppressed.
The core concept of Luffy’s character is that he desires freedom for himself and for others. The One Piece world is filled with mighty individuals who aim to subdue and dominate people. Luffy, however, uses his abilities to make fun of them, creating a stark contrast between their thirst for power and his good-hearted silliness.
In this regard, Luffy’s uncontrollable laughter in Gear 5 doesn’t mean he isn’t serious. He just unleashes all the spontaneous ingenuity in his soul, using it as the lifeblood to fight those greedy pirates or World Government members who suppress people’s natural freedom.
Did Luffy's goofiness go too far?
Even before Gear 5 was introduced, Luffy’s fights have often featured hilarious moments. However, goofiness wasn’t the primary aspect of his battles; but only one of the many components. There were silly moments even in the most dramatic struggles, but the tone always remained serious overall.
Luffy wore Arlong’s teeth but also swore to punish the latter for all the suffering he brought to Nami. In Arabasta, Luffy turned into the ludicrous “Water Luffy,” a comical moment that didn’t overshadow his drastic speech to Vivi and the drama of the clash with Crocodile.
During the fight against Enel, Luffy literally switched off his brain. Still, in the same occurrence, the captain of the Straw Hats demonstrated his respect for Mont Blanc Cricket’s dream to prove the truth of his ancestor’s tales about the Golden City in the sky.
Innumerable examples could be made, as it’s pretty clear that, before the Nika reveal, Luffy’s character mixed silliness, commitment, compassion, and unexpected eloquence in some instances. Now, Luffy seems to have become one-dimensional, as his only recurring trait is the Gear 5’s signature goofiness.
When facing Kaido, the evildoer who enslaved and starved an entire nation for years, causing the deaths of countless innocent people, Luffy always went on and on about the same monothematic sentences:
“Hahah, now I’m having fun!”
“Hahah… isn’t this fun… Kaido?”
Luffy isn’t the stereotyped positive hero but a pirate who does what he feels without thinking much about it. Still, this behavior didn’t seem like Luffy. He remembered Tama’s hardships and expressed his own conception as opposed to Kaido’s, but that wasn't enough to make his resolve believable like in the past.
Fans especially criticized Luffy’s behavior in One Piece chapter 1106. He was about to restart fighting Kizaru when he entered his Gear 5 form and began laughing and saying:
“Hahah! Let's have fun now!”
Just moments before, however, Vegapunk had been stabbed by Saint Saturn. Franky, Sanji, and the others also seriously risked their lives as Kizaru attacked them. Fans blamed Luffy for behaving cheerfully while his companions, and even the otherwise helpless people he swore to protect, were in such a hazardous situation.
In all fairness, Luffy becoming Nika in front of Bonney and Kuma was necessary for narrative reasons. They have been suffering their entire lives, only kept alive by the hope that the Nika legend was true, and now they can see its reality with their own eyes, which is amazing.
Still, the scene could have been implemented in better ways and times. Luffy laughing despite having failed to protect Vegapunk would be anti-climatic. However, it must be mentioned that there’s no confirmation that Luffy actually saw Vegapunk being stabbed.
The sequence is a bit unclear, meaning that the best course of action is to wait for One Piece chapter 1107, as the new installment of the manga will better clarify the dynamics of the scene.
Is the Nika-Luffy plotline boring?
On the one hand, the decrease in Luffy’s serious moments makes sense, as, despite his young age, he is now an accomplished pirate who has even become a Yonko. Luffy is not the same underdog as before, meaning that he is much more relaxed and comfortable even without considering the Nika features.
Still, it’s pretty evident that, since the Gear 5’s onset, Luffy is all about bouncing around and laughing while unleashing some powerful attacks here and there. He no longer pronounces inspiring lines or gives unexpectedly cool speeches, and he hardly shows any commitment or feeling.
Hence, while Gear 5 is appreciated within the One Piece community, an increasingly larger portion of the fandom seems to have grown tired of Luffy’s mood when using the Nika transformation. For instance, some fans are worried about the future confrontation with Blackbeard.
Luffy and Blackbeard represent two opposite ways of being a pirate who believes in the “Age of Dreams.” Fans would like them to have some sort of ideology clash but are afraid that such a thing would never happen, given the former’s current characterization.
Annoyed by the exaggerated silliness, many fans claim that Gear 5 drastically lowers, if not outright kills, the stakes in the story. While this might be an overstatement, Luffy using cartoonish powers and unleashing all his trademark ingenuity is one thing, but his constant laughter, regardless of the situation, is another.
Another aspect that many One Piece fans aren’t too happy with is that the “Sun God” narrative has become all-pervasive in the series. The most common criticism is that the omnipresence of Nika in the lore makes the story boring and repetitive, as if the author were force-feeding the notion that Nika-Luffy is the person who will save the world from tyranny.
Literally, every single character with narrative importance in the ongoing Egghead Arc is linked to Nika-Luffy in some way, whether as a believer or an opponent of the “Sun God.” Whether Vegapunk, Bonney, Kuma, Saturn, or Kizaru, every plotline concerning these characters is simply a part of the main Nika plot.
Even Dorry and Brogy, whose arrival foreshadows the next arc in Elbaf, come to Egghead, especially because they have to assist the “Sun God” Luffy. The risk, which some say is already a reality, is to turn Luffy into a boring protagonist, constantly worshipped by all the “good” characters and hated by the “evil” ones.
Many fans are already alarmed that the long-awaited Elbaf Arc could be nothing but another Nika-focused moment, with the various characters, as always, being split among those who pray to the “Sun God” to save them and those who despise him.
One Piece is a story that has been going on for over 25 years with certain established dynamics. In the opinion of many, making Luffy the umpteenth godlike savior of the world would be a deliberate deviation from how the former has been portrayed throughout most of the series.
Some compared what Oda is doing with Luffy to Masashi Kishimoto's reveal about Naruto and Sasuke being the reincarnations of previous godly figures. As it's well known, few Naruto fans appreciated that plotline.
The narrative of One Piece has always focused on a group of comrades who would overcome harsh circumstances through resolve, friendship, and teamwork. Thus, it’s understandable why many fans are upset that Luffy has suddenly been turned into some sort of god to which the whole world looks up.
It feels weird to see Luffy as a reincarnated deity. Throughout the rest of the One Piece series, Luffy is depicted as a pirate ready to do anything if it means helping his friends, driven by nothing but his own will.
Notably, Luffy himself seems unaware of what revolves around him. He values freedom above anything else and has always been in charge of himself, but right now, he seems just a vessel for Nika.
Notably, Zoan Devil Fruits have a will of their own. As Luffy’s Gear 5 also manifests the “Sun God” Nika’s will, which is impressed in the Zoan itself, Nika’s personality may be overriding Luffy’s.
During their fight, Kaido asked Gear 5 Luffy “who” he really was, which might have been a hint of the young pirate losing his will and conscience, which are being replaced by Nika’s.
In this regard, there’s an interesting line from the very beginning of the manga. Woop Slap, the mayor of Luffy’s hometown, said this line. Upon hearing about Luffy making the first steps to realize his dream, Woop Slap said:
“It’s his dream… or his destiny!?”
This enigmatic line implies that, while Luffy thinks he is acting according to his own will, he is merely fulfilling a pre-determined fate. Whether this is true or not, it’s hard to believe that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda would insert such a powerful line without it having a certain significance.
Final thoughts
Probably, the perfect balance would be to depict Luffy as his nemesis, Blackbeard—goofy most of the time but serious when required. Luffy has always been like this, after all. Admittedly, it would be rather unsatisfying to see Luffy laughing while fighting, for instance, Akainu to take revenge for Ace’s death.
The Gear 5 transformation is a brilliant idea, as it fits Luffy’s character and gives background and development to his Devil Fruit, which seemed rather basic up to that point. Likewise, as with every other aspect of a fictional work, Gear 5 shouldn’t be immune to criticism. People should be allowed to appreciate or be dissatisfied with it.
Otherwise, the debate would be polarized between the two opposite extremes. On the one hand, there will be those who claim that anything One Piece author Eiichiro Oda portrays can never be criticized, as even the slightest dissatisfaction would mean being unable to understand Oda’s storytelling. On the other hand, there will be those who argue that Gear 5 is nonsense that destroyed Luffy’s characterization and ruined the story irreparably.
Considering that One Piece is far from reaching its end, the best thing to do is wait and see how things will play out. With the story about to achieve its climax after decades of entertaining serialization, Oda can’t disappoint his devoted fans and certainly won’t.
Keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, and live-action news as 2024 progresses.
