Luffy is a total idiot that has no character development
whatsoever. Why do people like a guy like that? - is
something I often hear from people who haven’t watched One Piece for more than 10 minutes.
In my last video I made my case why Luffy is the the best Shounen Hero from a storytelling
perspective, and since you guys kept asking for it, today, we’re gonna change that to a more
personal perspective. Basically, why I personally find Luffy to be a very relatable
person & a fantastic role model. This video, for obvious reasons, will be a lot more subjective,
because different people are drawn to different personalities. Nonetheless I’m convinced I’ve
found the reason, why so many people are drawn to him and the overall story so much. So,
after watching this video, the next time someone tells you that Luffy sucks, you’ll know exactly
what to tell them. Also, if this is the second or third video of mine that you have watched,
this is the YouTube gods telling you to subscribe.
Oh, and just as a quick caveat, because I saw a lot of people commenting about this in part I,
when I talk about Luffy as a Hero, I mean it in the literary sense of Luffy
being the hero of the story, not Luffy running around with All Might. Also,
while I personally think Luffy is the most well written Shounen hero, I obviously haven’t read
or watched every single shounen. Plus there are a ton of other protagonists I aboszultley
love - looking at you Itadori. So don’t take this as an attack on your favorite show.
Okay, so first of all, let’s deal with the common points of criticism about Luffy as a person.
Is Luffy dumb? Well, the short answer is - yes. Luffy is clearly not gonna win a Nobel price in
chemistry any time soon. In fact he knows close to nothing about science or politics.
And even on a much more fundamental level, he’s not even able to see through even the
most basic disguises. So basically, when looking at it from an academic perspective,
Luffy is not exactly to smartest cookie in the jar. And for someone who only follows One
Piece very sporadically, it’s only natural that this idiotic & naive side of Luffy
seems to be all there is to him. However there are many forms of intelligence,
and while Luffy clearly lacks in a number of areas, he is an absolute genius when it comes to
social and emotional intelligence, that I would argue is just as crucial as intellectual one.
And I think that’s exactly what sets him apart from many other heroes. Luffy is well aware of
his true self and that of those around him right from the start. He knows exactly what he can and
can’t do. That’s exactly why he gathered a crew of people that made up for his weaknesses.
Luffy’s emotional intelligence allow him to understand more about the people around him
than they do about themselves. He is fantastic at identifying people’s true feelings and intentions
- What’s driving them and what’s holding them back. And he does so with friends and foes alike.
Luffy might be bad at cooking or navigating or fixing things, but he he knows people. And that
is arguable the most important skill any leader needs. So, is Luffy idiotic at times? Sure, but
I would argue he’s not idiotic to the point where it gets annoying. This is my personal impression,
but for example with Naruto, especially in Shippuden, I often got annoyed with his attitude
towards things. Compare running after Sasuke without question with Usopp leaving the crew.
Or how Naruto stubbornly keeps fighting enemies that are too strong for him,
only to get a mid-fight power-up, while Luffy knows exactly when it’s
time to run. No matter if against Aokiji, Kizaru, Smoker or Big Mom.
Luffy, as the leader is prepared to buy time or even die for his friends,
but he’s fully aware that the best bet is to avoid a confrontation. And whenever Luffy actually
decides to stay behind and fight, as Naruto does, he actually has to face real consequences.
And this brings me to the second big point of criticism: Luffy has no character development.
I already stated in the last video that Luffy’s arc is about becoming a better leader. His
change in personality is slow, but inarguably there. The reason for that is, that Luffy is
already a very good leader by nature, that pulls others up, instead of pushing them down,
like many other characters in the story. Luffy build trust with people extremely fast, one of the
most fundamental elements of being a good leader. He leads by example and has a very clear vision,
that aligns with the dreams of his crew, so that it is incredibly easy to follow him. Put simply,
Luffy is someone you would want to lead the way when shit goes down,
as he does every single arc of the story. So, having all these natural leadership traits
already, what Luffy’s personal development is really focused on is loosing a bit of his
naivety and carelessness, so he can be a captain that can protect his crew and their dreams.
Moments like Sabaody or Marineford are all about that concept. However, since Luffy’s
naivety and carelessness are also a big reason why he’s able to do all the crazy things he does,
he can’t loose these traits completely either, so he never stops dreaming.
And for all his goofing off and recklessness, Luffy takes his duties as the captain
very seriously. This is shown when Luffy listens to Vivi and takes a peaceful approach,
instead of just beating up everyone at Drum Island. Or when he listens to Iceberg and decides
to get a new ship, despite being very attached to Going Merry. Or when he decides to fight Aokiji
one-on-one, despite being vastly outmatched, to save his crew. And of course, when he takes the
hard decision to disband the crew for two years, so that they can all grow and come back stronger.
All of this shows certain maturity on Luffy's part and his ability to make tough decisions.
As a result, you have only very little character development.
Rather we see Luffy giving massive character development to those around him.
And now that we have countered the two biggest arguments against Luffy as a person, let’s look at
what I believe makes him so incredibly relatable and actually a wonderful role model to follow.
Fulfilling the trope of the typical Shounen Hero, Luffy has a number extremely cool traits.
He’s basically fearless, to the point where he doesn’t even fear death. He has incredibly
physical power & uses it creatively, another form of intelligence by the way. He has a ridiculous
level of pain endurance and also an iron will, that never seems to falter. All of these traits
are really cool to watch and see in action, but are they actually relatable? Heroes like Goku
and Ichigo share these same traits, but they are so detached from what being a real human being
is, that it’s hard to actually identify with. Much rather I think it’s exactly
those characteristics in Luffy that make him so lovable, that seem to be the opposite of cool.
Take for instance what we talked about earlier:
Luffy has a lot of weaknesses and actually gets his ass handed to him quite a lot. Having
weaknesses and failing? Now that’s something everyone can relate to. And so it’s the way
that Luffy deals with these faults, that make him stand out to me. The fact that he works hard and
isn’t afraid to fail over and over, and that he doesn’t mind openly admitting his faults to
neither himself nor his friends, is what I find so admirable. I also absolutely love
Luffy’s child-like curiosity and joy, something that especially as an adult I think deep down,
everyone misses. Luffy also has an extremely strong and straightforward identity. He knows
what he wants, what he values and who he is and in the process doesn’t take himself too seriously.
That’s an incredibly attractive trait to have as it speaks for a lot of self-confidence and
a sense of purpose and clarity about one-self that I personally find absolutely admirable.
But maybe the most fascinating trait about Luffy, is his extreme altruism. Luffy ties his
own happiness tightly to that of his friends. Unlike Blackbeard, becoming pirate king on his own
means nothing to him. His strong sense of justice and fairness always push him to help those who
need a light in the dark. Due to his compassion and empathy, his identity is based around saving
people. Not only physically, but especially mentally. And he does so with incredible
fairness. Because Luffy is able to judge people purely by their character and not their
appearance and manner. And I would argue that that’s a skill we could all use a lot more of.
Every single straw hat is someone with an incredibly kind heart,
no matter how much they might have looked like a villain, as for instance with Robin or Franky.
Before meeting Luffy, every single straw hat had been stuck in a really dark place mentally.
And every single one of them, Luffy pulls out of that darkness, rekindles
their dreams & gives them a worthy leader to follow as well as a family to support them.
In a way, Luffy is a sort of Buddha, that is kind, doesn’t lie, is pure of heart and is
guiding others on their path. Since I meditate myself, I want to use the term carefully here,
as it’s pretty controversial. But one could argue that Luffy has actually
reached a certain state of enlightenment, where he is living in the here and now
with an incredible sense of clarity & mindfulness.
It’s these traits, that for me make Luffy someone who’s not only relatable,
but someone who encourages me to be a better, kinder and happier version of myself. And so
I hope that this video brought you some joy as well. Thanks for watching. Peace.