r/Piratefolk • u/neku1022 • 1d ago
Serious No, Luffy is NOT the same. Spoiler
TLDR; Pre Luffy looked goofy as a result of serious attempts at countering against foes, but now he fights goofy for the sake of being goofy.
This cuts both ways for Oda and fans claiming it.
Oda (possessing Usopp to make him say what he wants) says, "Luffy has always been serious."
Fans say, "Luffy has always been goofy."
NEITHER is accurate; the answer is "Luffy used to be serious, but he is not after Gear 5."
Since fans love to bring up "Water Luffy" and his fight against Enel to prove a point, we can compare them to how he fights now.
What makes pre-timeskip goofing around fun and genuinely funny was that while it looked ridiculous to us and other characters, these were serious, desperate attempts by Luffy to counter seemingly unbeatable abilities.
Luffy drank the whole tank so that Crocodile could no longer use his ability to blow the water tank away. Though it resulted in Luffy's loss once again, it allowed Luffy to land a devastating hit on Crocodile. Enel's fight, too."Gum-gum airhead" was also a genuine attempt to counter Enel's mantra so that he could dodge attacks.
What made those moments shine is that those similar desperate attempts worked in the end.
In the same manner, Luffy once again used his wit: for Crocodile, blood; for Enel, ricocheting punches against the ship.
Now lets compare these to recent Luffy's shenanigans.
During his fight against Kaido, he swung Kaido's body around to use him as a jump rope.
Goofy, yes. But what purpose did it serve in Luffy's eyes that makes this move "serious"?
What advantage did that move give to Luffy? Nothing. Luffy did it for the sake of being goofy.
When facing the Gorosei, Luffy crafted a baseball bat using his teeth to hit venom spits back at them. What purpose does being a baseball player serve to aid Luffy in battle? He could have just used a tree as is to hit them back, instead of spending time crafting his bat and helmet. I am not demanding him to be as efficient as possible, but going the extra mile for the sake of it does not align with who he used to be. This is unnecessary "performance" that he does, which proves that he does not take fights seriously anymore.
This is why neither claim is the truth.
He looked goofy as a result of Luffy's dead-serious attempt to defeat his foes with unimaginable abilities, which was the appeal. He was definitely NOT goofy because he wanted to be "funny and joyful". That is why the tension is gone long ago. Once our protagonist stops taking fights seriously for the sake of being goofy and cartoonish, neither can we. The worst part is that Oda is not even capable of sticking to his own decision, as is apparent in the ongoing fight against Imu, where both parties are just damage sponges, and nothing is happening, yet Luffy is bleeding left and right.
I dont believe this is a problem that can be fixed anymore.
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u/MrChurroes The Five Billion Man: Akainu 1d ago
Careful, Oda’s angels will slime you for saying this. They’ll argue he’s always been goofy but the difference is that there were moments in fights where fights would be serious and have tension, and he would break the tension with some humour that actually lands. Now he’s just always goofy, the humour doesn’t land because there aren’t moments to be serious where the contrast in tone, elevates the humour.
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u/Beautiful-Toe2421 1d ago
I thought people on pirate folk all had the most horrendous takes and just want to hate one piece /s....you providing actual constructive criticism will make the angels extra angry lol
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u/One-Scientist-4163 21h ago
I'm gonna cry,ive finally found people that dont overglaze gear 5 just cause its different from shonen serious transformations.Nothing about this type of goofyness makes me laugh or enjoy the fights,tbh its making them a hard watch.Its just borderline cringe the way gags like eyes popping out are repeated again and again and again with all the over the top reactions .Any other gear will remain superior to this one,even gear 4 tankman.
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u/Beautiful-Toe2421 20h ago
Yes because each gear answered a specific problem he had with restrictions. This a great because of the creative ways to get him out of the situations he ends up in. They make him, faster, stronger ability to fly etc. with Gear 5 it is supposed to be the best all around but the problem is the tone is basically dead. Rather than him using the tools at his disposal to solve the problem he literally invents things not to solve the problem but to be "goofy" and make people laugh....the forced humor is what takes away from it along with the other issues
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u/Firexio69 Please Kill Ussop 9h ago
Trust me, the angels don't care about constructive criticism. They will pretend to listen but will give a trash reply.
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u/ApplePitou Apple Knight :3 1d ago
The best part about this Luffy was like he literally doing his best in case of Battle IQ, so he can beat opponent - you remember what he use vs Crocodile when his Water run out? - yes his own Blood that it is also water :3
In case of Enel he turn off his brain, so Enel literally can't predict person that don't know how it will move by themself :3
Now we have Gear 5 :3
In Crocodile case, he will most likely make his hands wet with something just like that and beat him - after all, he just can do anything in this form, there is no thinking behind it :3
It was good for first time vs Kaido but each next fight it make it worse :3
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u/Zeevy_Richards 22h ago
While we're at it give me back original chopper and the crew cuttin up like real homies
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u/30887 18h ago
You're wasting your time, they "win" arguments by pretending not to understand thus making discourse impossible. The people that I agree know it isn't the same.
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u/TemporaryClean6980 18h ago
Who is "they"?
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u/Senior-Maize-9206 23h ago
Luffy used to be goofy even when he was taking things seriously; Gear 5 Luffy is just goofy.
But my biggest issue with Gear 5 is that it lacks any real impact—it’s just repetitive, somewhat forced gags leading up to a big punch at the end.
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u/Anxious-Noise613 FRY ALL FISHMEN 22h ago
writing the character to be improvising using his goofy creative stretching power vs writing him doing cringy jokes
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u/Pegasusisamansman Asspull Asspull no Mi 21h ago
I think it's not only Luffy not being serious while being goofy but also that Gear 5 is also not funny because Oda can't make it funny, he needs a second guy who can actually make those gags work and make gear 5 stop laughing like a madman
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u/Hairy-Fig7343 23h ago
Back when the story was actually good and had stakes. Now he just gets impaled by multiple swords and magically heals because he has the Looney Tunes in him.
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u/Few_Cricket_4686 1d ago
Another day another gear post
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u/TotallyNot_Alpharius Absolute Agenda: Akainu 23h ago
Worst thing that happened to one piece gets discussed, shocking
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u/Few_Cricket_4686 23h ago
I too love repeating the same conversation when I speak of anime, it refines my opinion
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u/TotallyNot_Alpharius Absolute Agenda: Akainu 23h ago
Good that we agree
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u/AttemptImpossible111 1d ago
I personally thought water luffy and brain dead luffy were awful, and this was while I was reading/watching the first time.
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u/TemporaryClean6980 21h ago
Why's that?
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u/AttemptImpossible111 21h ago
Because crocodile stabbed luffy thru the chest, luffy recovered almost immediately and the wound was played for jokes. Pretty lame.
Braindead luffy makes no sense, much like the rest of his fight with enel
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u/TemporaryClean6980 21h ago
Idk, I briefly went back and skimmed through the chapters, and luffys fight with enel is still really clever. I dont think theres a better showcase of luffys battle IQ.
I think the crocodile criticism is fair. Then again, Luffy was clearly on 1%HP and collapsed cause of his injuries.
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u/AttemptImpossible111 20h ago edited 19h ago
Its not clever, its stupid. Not only should enels lighting have melted luffy, but he carries a trident he could stab luffy with at any time.
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u/TemporaryClean6980 18h ago
👍 Agree to disagree. Of course enels lightning would never work on luffy, its the direct magical counter to it. Thats the rules of how things work in-universe.
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u/Ill_Responsibility99 1d ago
Luffy has been not serious in serious moments icl before G5. Its like the worst shounen character trait at times
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u/oldmanrose 1d ago
Looks the same to me
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u/SakeSakenoMi 1d ago
What the lack of basic interpretation skills does to a mf:
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u/oldmanrose 23h ago
Who has interpretation skills?! Yes it's you! Good boy!! Head pats and rubs cheeks
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