History Characters / OnePieceMonkeyDLuffy

** After Luffy starts using his "Gears" to match powerful opponents, it becomes clear that there is a downside to them. They all have an HourOfPower drawback that restricts the amount of time he can utilize them during combat. This vulnerability leave him defenseless when time runs out, which is a significant problem when he can't defeat his adversary before this occurrs, particularly before the TimeSkip. However, through additional training during and after the two-year time skip, Luffy makes notable progress in mitigating this flaw in his fighting style.

** The Paramount War Sagainflicts one continuous and painful Worf Effect on Luffy; from Boa Hancock smashing Pacifistas effortlessly (while Luffy needs his whole crew to barely beat one) to Smoker [[NoSell no selling]] the Jet Gatling Gun (which is his strongest Gear Two move at the time), the entirety of the saga mocks the notion that Luffy is any kind of threat to the top tier powers in the New World. Cue two years of training to catch up, and he effortlessly dodge a lightspeed beam and defeat a Pacifista with a single punch.

** In the first half of the story, Luffy is not well-versed in using Haki. He relied solely on his brute strength to overpower his opponents. Many characters pointed out his lack of abilities and knowledge during the Paramount War. Luffy's inability to detect when his opponents were using Armament or Observation Haki resulted in a long string of defeats against stronger adversaries. However, he has since become stronger and more skilled, having learned to master using Haki during the TimeSkip. This has enabled him to overcome these challenges and improve his abilities.

** The Whitebeard War Saga (from the Sabaody Archipelago arc up until the Timeskip) inflicts one continuous and painful Worf Effect on Luffy; from Boa Hancock smashing Pacifistas effortlessly (while Luffy needs his whole crew to barely beat one) to Smoker [[NoSell no selling]] the Jet Gatling Gun (which is his strongest Gear Two move at the time), the entirety of the saga mocks the notion that Luffy is any kind of threat to the top tier powers in the New World. Cue two years of training to catch up, and he effortlessly dodge a lightspeed beam and defeat a Pacifista with. A. Single. Punch.

** The Whitebeard War Saga (from the Sabaody Archipelago arc up until the Timeskip) inflicts one continuous Worf Effect on Luffy; from Boa Hancock smashing Pacifistas effortlessly (while Luffy needs his whole crew to barely beat one) to Smoker [[NoSell no selling]] the Jet Gatling Gun (which is his strongest Gear Two move at the time), the entirety of the saga mocks the notion that Luffy is any kind of threat to the top tier powers in the New World. Cue two years of training to catch up, and he effortlessly dodge a lightspeed beam and defeat a Pacifista with. A. Single. Punch.

** Luffy often struggles when facing opponents who rely on cunning and deceptive tactics as their primary mode of attack. Zoro explicitly points out this vulnerability during the Thriller Bark arc. It is justified by Luffy basically being a WildChild who's used to dealing with wild animals, not tricksters and con men.
** After Luffy started using his "Gears" to match powerful opponents, it became clear that there was a downside to them. They all had an HourOfPower drawback that restricted the amount of time he could utilize them during combat. This vulnerability left him defenseless when time ran out, which was a significant problem when he couldn't defeat his adversary before this occurred, particularly before the TimeSkip during the Paramount War Saga. However, through additional training during and after the two-year time skip, Luffy made notable progress in mitigating this flaw in his fighting style.

** Luffy often struggles when facing opponents who rely on cunning and deceptive tactics as their primary mode of attack. Zoro explicitly points out this vulnerability during the Thriller Bark arc.

* AchillesHeel: Luffy often struggles when facing opponents who rely on cunning and deceptive tactics as their primary mode of attack. Zoro explicitly points out this vulnerability during the Thriller Bark arc.

** The anime version of his fight with Lucci has the opening moments of Luffy transforming into Nika with full comedic ArtShift styles, to Lucci's confusion, before he gets serious and zips straight into the [-CP0-] agent's face, his PerpetualSmiler nature now a SlasherSmile and [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] GlowingEyesOfDoom, complete with the background tempo of the Drums of Liberation going silent to emphasise how terrifying Luffy's overwhelming power is despite his goofy exterior. Even Lucci cannot help but [[OhCrap momentarily panic]] at the sight.

* KingInTheMountain: The legendary Joy Boy was predicted to return 800 years after the Void Century. Luffy Awakening his Devil Fruit and becoming the new Joy Boy effectively fufills that prophecy.

* RealityWarper: Gear 5 transforms surroundings to rubber and is said to grant "ultimate freedom", possibly even from the laws of the world. Luffy's exaggerated movements are accompanied by classical cartoon noises, and just being nearby him causes one to likewise exhibit cartoonish effects, such as Kaido demonstrating CirclingBirdies after getting pounded or several characters witnessing Luffy's gigantified head getting smacked through the roof sporting an even more cartoonishly exaggerated EyePop than has been shown before. It's Downplayed in that Luffy's actions clearly follow a specific logic as he needs to have the heartbeat of Nika's drums and doing so clearly clouds his judgment, not to mention that he is still somewhat vulnerable to cuts. Even so, what he can do in this form seems to be based on RuleOfFunny and the whims of his altered mind.

** The World Government willingly goes to the extent of pretending Luffy's Devil Fruit is just the Paramecia-class Gum-Gum Fruit in their efforts to suppress the truth of its abilities and hide the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika's existence. The only mention of Joy Boy's name comes from an indestructible Poneglyph and the heresy passed around slaves of the Sun God Nika -- other than that, there are no indications that Luffy's fruit is something special. When it awakens, [[DeusExMachina nobody has any context]] for ''how'' Luffy's suddenly pulling off all these fantastical abilities (besides the Five Elders, and Zunesha, who was a companion to the previous Joy Boy), but Luffy's more focused on putting them to use against Kaido.

* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: All his [[SuperMode Gears]] carry significant drawbacks; Gear Two is CastFromHitPoints and Gear Three had the side effect of making him shrink and lose speed and mobility. After two years of training, he's overcome those weaknesses. [[spoiler:Gear Four has the biggest drawbacks yet, it's a DeathOrGloryAttack. It [[HourOfPower only lasts so long]], and when it's up, he's drained of his Haki and exhausted to the point that he can't even move for ten minutes. Meaning, he must finish the fight while it lasts, or his enemy will make short work of him after. This is even more evident when you realize that none of his enemies have such downtime when using ''their'' SuperMode[=/=]LimitBreak.]]

** Luffy destroys Enel's Raigo before it destroys Skypiea by wildly swinging around the large gold ball [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Enel welded onto his arm]]. The lightning is conducted by the gold, then neutralized by Luffy's rubber body, destablizing the attack... but WordOfGod says that Luffy didn't have a clue what he was doing.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm:

** Does again versus [[spoiler:Katakuri]]. When you exhaust literally every option at your disposal and only manage to gain a temporary advantage that you've lost the moment that he regained his bearings, were otherwise getting wrecked, and temporarily lost your Haki as a result of your final attempt to put the hurt on him, running really is your only shot at staying alive.

* CompetitiveBalance: Non-videogame example. Luffy's Awakened state comes with powers and abilities outside the norms of even the Devil Fruit powers of the world, but also comes with a unique drawback. Unlike other Awakened Zoans, who can maintain their forms seemingly at will for an extensive amount of time and suffer no loss of energy upon returning to normal, Luffy needs to active a TransformationSequence involving his HeartbeatSoundtrack to active the power, and it is only active for [[HourOfPower a short period]]. Upon that time limit being reached, Luffy's stamina drain from it is so immense it renders him into a withered appearance like an old man's, unable to even use Haki to defend himself and practically no energy to move on his own, needing to either rest or eat some food to regain his energy levels in a shorter period. Given that the form gives Luffy immense [[ConfusionFu creative flexibility]], [[AmusingInjuries increased durability]], strength and even the ability to [[{{Hammerspace}} create objects from thin air]] (mainly for comedic effect), if he could freely use this power non-stop he'd be unstoppable.

* BewareTheSillyOnes: Luffy is at his most-fun loving in this state and is constantly laughing his head off, not to mention looking distinctly odd with exaggerated [[WildTake facial expressions]] and EyePop effects InUniverse, but it also comes with a ''massive'' boost to his strength, and the effects his powers can pull off on the environment and his opponents. Luffy's first act upon awakening the form is to bodily drag Kaido in full dragon form back up to the roof and subject him to MetronomicManMashing with ease, inflicting CirclingBirdies on the Emperor from his attacks, showing how strong he's become that he can easily manhandle Kaido in his previously nigh-unstoppable dragon form.

* SuperStrength: In addition to enhancing his rubbery body and giving him power over ToonPhysics, the fruit also enhances Luffy's physical strength, as with all Zoan awakenings. With his already pre-existing CharlesAtlasSuperpower, this allows Luffy to do things like manhandling Kaido in his ''dragon form'', via subjecting him to MetronomicManMashing on Onigashima's rooftop -- an obscene feat of strength by any measure.

* KlingonPromotion: Luffy rises to become one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, a highly respected rank in the world of ''Manga/{{One Piece}}'' pirates and a leading contender for the title of Pirate King, by defeating and replacing Kaido of the Beasts. Kaido is not only one of the Four Emperors, but also widely regarded as the most powerful creature in the world. * KnowWhenToFoldEm:

* KnowWhenToFoldEm:

** After several attempts to defeat the Five Elders, Gear 5 Luffy, Dorry, and Broggy realize that their attacks are not causing any significant damage. Even when hit by their own strikes, the Elders kept rejuvenating quickly. Frustrated, Luffy calls for a retreat.

** [[spoiler:After liberating the Land of Wano, Luffy is officially laaboutd as one of the Four Emperors.]]

* SlasherSmile: In the heat of battle, Luffy's eternal smile and laughter occasionally take an ominous and deathly tint, especially in the anime, where it's typically accompanied with GlowingEyesOfDoom. [[BloodKnight Rob Lucci's]] own smile died the microsecond he was at the receiving end of it.

* TheAce: Throughout his journey to become the Pirate King, Luffy achieves incredible feats, solidifying his status as a powerful pirate in just over two years. He inspires others to pursue their dreams with determination and passion.

** [[spoiler:After liberating the Land of Wano, Luffy is officially labeled as one of the Four Emperors.]]

** Crocodile is a full meter taller than Luffy and with his CoatCape he appears much larger too. Notably, Crocodile is the first Warlord Luffy faces, and his defeat at Luffy's hands brings a small change in the status quo and a new bounty for Straw Hat, since he's gathered more attention from the World Government.

* WeakWilled: While normally incredibly strong-willed, Luffy tends to be very susceptible to hypnosis early on in the series, even when he's not the intended target.

* PersonalityPowers: Oda commented in an SBS that he gives his hero RubberMan powers to reflect his fun, carefree and out-there personality, plus to make a contrast to the more "serious" shonen heroes.

* PersonalityPowers: In an interview with SBS (a question and answer column written by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda), he reveals that the inspiration behind the protagonist's (Luffy) unique ability to stretch his body like rubber was to reflect his eccentric, fun-loving, and carefree personality. Furthermore, Oda explains that the choice of such a power is also intended to contrast with the more "serious" shonen heroes. However, there is more to Luffy's power than just a reflection of his personality. Oda also hinted that Luffy's ability to stretch his limbs embodies the essence of freedom, symbolizing the human spirit's boundless and limitless potential.