By the end of the Wano Country arc, Luffy has gained extraordinary strength in the fight against Kaido. Finally, his devil fruit awakened and this helped him access the true power he possessed. The incredible power of Luffy’s devil fruit was demonstrated through Gear 5, which is also Luffy’s most powerful transformation.
Gear 5 greatly increases Luffy’s power, while ensuring that he is in the most free state. This free-spirited nature of him is often shown when doing humorous things, but many fans do not appreciate this side of Luffy, especially during serious fights. There’s a lot about the Gear 5 that needs to be discussed, and that’s exactly why this power-up could be divisive among some fans.
Concept of Gear 5
Luffy awakened the power of Gear 5 at the end of the Wano Country arc. When Kaido defeated the main character, causing Luffy’s heart to stop beating, soon after, his devil fruit awakened, giving him enough strength to fight against Kaido again.
Then the truth was revealed that Luffy’s devil fruit was actually Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, this is a legendary devil fruit whose real name was hidden by the World Government. Its true classification is revealed to be Mythical Zoan, instead of Paramecia.
As soon as Luffy awakened this legendary devil fruit, he entered a unique all-white transformation state, known as Gear 5. The transformation brought Luffy at his best, both about strength and freedom. Gear 5 is essentially a power associated with the nature of freedom. Luffy becomes Sun God Nika in his Gear 5 state and that is why he is truly dangerous.
According to the explanation of the Five Elders, the Sun God is a liberating warrior, traveling from place to place to spread joy wherever he goes, bringing smiles to the faces of those in need. At the same time, he fights freely without any limitations and that is truly Nika’s nature. Now, Luffy has transformed into this character and his power is immense, as seen in many battles in One Piece.
When Luffy used Gear 5 against Kaido, fans could see quite clearly that he had increased his power quite a bit. In fact, Luffy went from being the underdog in the fight against Kaido to fighting on equal terms with him. Even Kaido was surprised at what Luffy could do in battle. It could even be said that Luffy overpowered Kaido in certain instances during this great battle.
Why is Gear 5 the most ridiculous possibility?
During Luffy’s fight with Kaido, it became quite clear to fans that the Gear 5 ability was the most ridiculous thing to ever exist. The Five Elder Stars even believe that it is the most ridiculous ability, not in the sense of being the most powerful but simply because it can often be quite ridiculous.
Gear 5 allows Luffy to transfer his rubber powers to his surroundings, turning the entire island into rubber. He can also transfer his rubber powers to his enemies’ bodies, penetrating tough defenses and dealing great damage to them.
Furthermore, Luffy’s humorous nature often confuses his enemies. During the fight against Kaido, Luffy did things like turn him into a giant balloon, use him as a jumping rope, and many other things.
Similarly, in the fight against Lucci, Luffy also used some bizarre techniques. Then in his fight against Kizaru, he takes things to the next level and shows off some of the funniest abilities in all of One Piece.
At the very least, fans can say that Luffy made them laugh when he used the power of Gear 5 and turned even the most serious situations into humor. Although Luffy’s comedic nature is inherently fun, it often overrides the serious nature of the battles, and that has become a problem for some fans.
Does Gear 5 make Luffy less serious?
Regardless of what one thinks of Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation, there’s no denying the fact that it’s quite hilarious and often helps eliminate bad situations in the series. However, saying Gear 5 is too funny is not necessarily accurate. Gear 5 perfectly represents Luffy’s personality. Luffy always fights his battles with incredible creativity and a smile on his face.
Whether it’s his battle with Arlong or even Crocodile, Luffy always fights foolishly. Even the fight against Rob Lucci demonstrated these aspects of his personality, and as the fights became more difficult, this aspect of Luffy remained unchanged.
As such, it would be dishonest to say that Luffy used to take fighting very seriously and Gear 5 completely changed that for this character. Gear 5 just plays up this aspect of his personality and takes it to its absolute maximum. Battles with Gear 5 often look quite humorous and that is simply the nature of Luffy’s character. Gear 5 is associated with Luffy’s character as a liberation warrior. One can really find joy in his battles. Furthermore, Luffy’s battles are quite creative and let the audience witness him explore his abilities in ways that fans cannot even imagine.
On top of that, it’s also incorrect to say that Luffy isn’t currently participating in any serious battles. During his fight against Kaido, Luffy clearly demonstrated that he can be serious when the time is right and goofy when the time is right. For example, Luffy definitely showed off his rubber powers to the max when facing Kaido in battle and even used some of the most ridiculous abilities to take him down. However, as the battle atmosphere became more serious, it became clear to fans that he was serious.