All forms of Luffy, explained

Key insights

  • Luffy's transformations are crucial power-ups in battle, with different strengths and weaknesses.
  • Gear 2 increases Luffy's speed and strength, but quickly drains his energy.
  • Gear 5, Luffy's newest form, grants near-invincibility and the ability to manipulate objects.



Just like most other shonen anime series One piece New transformations that serve as power-ups for the characters are no stranger. While not as outrageous and common as in many other franchises, transformations are often an important part of a story arc, whether they serve to increase the strength of a hero or even a villain. For this reason, they often carry far greater weight once shown compared to other series.

Therefore, the main character, Monkey D. Luffy, has been through a lot over time One piece. These transformations have often made the difference in the battles in which they have been used, although they are not completely infallible. So let's look at all of Luffy's different transformations and take a look at all of their strengths and weaknesses.

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Luffy's base form

The default state


First appearance

One pieceChapter 1, “Romance Dawn – The Dawn of Adventure”

Story arc

Romantic dawn

While this isn't technically a form, it's basically the state Luffy is constantly in and the one he used when he began his journey as a pirate, so it's worth mentioning compared to the others mention. Over the years, Luffy has grown stronger and learned to rely on more than just his Devil Fruit, which is why he can now use Haki expertly. He also applies this power to his regular attacks in his base form.

Hero? NO! We are pirates! I love heroes, but I don't want to be one!


Because of this knowledge and the power he has acquired over the years, Luffy remains a formidable fighter even without being aware of his changes. However, this form alone could only take him so far, as he already had to unlock a stronger state in the Enies Lobby arc against Blueno. Although this state is stronger than ever due to Luffy's ability to use Haki, it is still fairly low on the power scale.

Aisle 2 Luffy

Luffy's very first transformation

First appearance

One pieceChapter 387, “Equipment”

Story arc

Enies Lobby

The first transformation Luffy ever showed in the series was Gear 2, which he used against Blueno during their fight in Enies Lobby. By controlling the blood flow in his body and transporting it to the different parts of his body faster, he supplies those parts of his body with more oxygen and nutrients, making him much stronger and faster than before. Because of this, the body's increased blood flow and oxygen consumption causes this form to release vapor.


You won't be able to catch me. Each of my techniques goes to the next level.

Due to Gear 2's increased strain on the body, Luffy cannot use the form for too long as it uses up all of his food and energy reserves to maintain it. Using Gear 2 makes him much hungrier than usual, but can even cripple him for a while if he uses it too much. This form made short work of Blueno, but was not strong enough to defeat Rob Lucci during their fight in the Enies Lobby.

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Aisle 3 Luffy

Luffy's gigantic transformation

First appearance

One pieceChapter 403, “Mr. Rivalry”

Story arc

Enies Lobby


Similar to Gear 2, this transformation utilizes Luffy's powers, which were granted to him due to the unique properties of his rubber body. Unlike Gear 2, however, this is less of a form and more of a temporary power-up, as Luffy must use the air in his bones to inflate his arms to gigantic size. By biting his thumb hard, an opening is created that allows him to blow air into his bones to inflate the arm.

If you want backbone, I'll show you another tactic. Equipment… third party!

Not only does his arm increase in size, comparable to that of a giant, namely Oars, but he also has as much penetrating power as it appears, with Luffy being shown to be able to destroy entire buildings and massive structures with just one punch to destroy. In his fight against Rob Lucci, Luffy destroyed a significant portion of the Enies Lobby when he threw Lucci out. However, once he stops using it, his entire body loses energy and he shrinks, looking like a child and depleting his stamina.


Nightmare Luffy

A powerful, unique form

First appearance

One pieceChapter 476, “Nightmare Luffy”

Story arc

Thriller Bark

During the events of Thriller Bark, Gecko Moria proved to be an extremely dangerous threat to the heroes, to the point where even Gears 2 and 3 were not enough to defeat him. Despite being quite weak on his own, his powers were quite impressive, although they also proved to be his downfall when Luffy managed to harbor 100 shadows to unlock his Nightmare Luffy form.

Hey, big idiot. What are you supposed to stomp? Nobody is under your foot.


This form was incredibly powerful from a physical perspective, making Luffy much larger and giving him more physical strength than any of his other forms. This was evident in his climactic battle against Oars, where he used his incredible strength to block Oars' punch head-on and even throw him around. Although the form only lasted a very short time, it is considered one of Luffy's strongest.

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Aisle 4 Luffy

The state with the most sub-forms

First appearance

One pieceChapter 784, “Aisle 4”

Story arc

Dress pink


Gear 4 is perhaps the most interesting of all of Luffy's transformations, as it includes multiple subforms, each with its own specialty in a combat situation. The defining feature of this form is the fact that this is the first of Luffy's transformations to use Haki, coating much of his body in Armor Haki to allow his attacks to do far more damage. Similar to Gear 3, Luffy inflates his body by blowing air into his arms, although this time it affects the entire body and not just one limb at a time.

You made my friends cry and my crewmates angry. But you still haven't fallen, so I'll take it all upon myself! Equipment… Fourth!

Unlike the other forms, Gear 4 has various states that emphasize different aspects of combat situations, which Luffy can cycle through to suit the particular situation he finds himself in. Boundman, for example, is a condition that gives his body quite a bit of buoyancy, but also gives his attacks a lot of power behind them, which allowed him to simulate flight by kicking the air. On the other hand, Snakeman ensures that Luffy is almost the same size as his normal state, is much slimmer, and gives his punches an incredible boost of speed and agility.


Aisle 5 Luffy

The power of the sun god Nika

First appearance

One pieceChapter 1044, “Warriors of Liberation”

Story arc

Wano

The greatest and still most mysterious of all of Luffy's transformations is his latest; Gear 5. This is the most unique transformation not only in terms of powers and abilities, but also due to the near invincibility it grants Luffy in this state, essentially giving him the powers of the Toon Force, both offensively and defensively. Although Luffy was only shown very briefly in this form, the potential it holds is limitless considering fans know next to nothing about it in the current setting.

This… is my highlight. This is aisle 5!


Gear 5 made its debut in Luffy's grueling battle against Kaido, who was an enemy that Luffy, even at his strongest form at the time, had far too much to contend with. After Luffy's Devil Fruit was pushed to the brink of death, it awoke and proved to be one of the most powerful mythical Zoan Fruits in the world One piecewhich transforms Luffy into the state of the sun god Nika. In Gear 5, Luffy can essentially do anything he wants by granting his Devil Fruit's rubber properties to all objects next to him. Although he wasn't able to do any real damage to the Gorosei, Gear 5 Luffy is currently the strongest known character in the entire series.

One piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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one-piece-1999.jpg

One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spawn a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Release date
October 20, 1999

story of

Number of episodes

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